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Jordan Mader and the Chemists of the Future
Written By: Ian Silvester
To avoid confusion, University of Arkansas 鈥� Fort Smith associate professor of chemistry Jordan Mader introduces herself to someone new by saying, 鈥淚t鈥檚 Mader, like Darth Vader, but no relation.鈥� Don鈥檛 let her silly quip about the Star Wars villain fool you; Mader is serious about teaching and helping usher in the world鈥檚 next generation of chemists.
Cemented to the 鈥楧ark Side鈥�
鈥淚 tell my students that I sort of tripped and fell into organic chemistry,鈥� Mader joked.
Originally, Mader dreamed of becoming a geneticist and aspired to major in biology, but it all ended during her junior year of high school. However, it wasn鈥檛 a change born out of negativity; instead, Mader鈥檚 AP Chemistry teacher made the change of heart possible.
鈥淪he was phenomenal,鈥� Mader recalled fondly. 鈥淚 loved AP Chemistry so much, and my teacher was really able to explain things on a daily basis of how chemistry impacts our lives.鈥�
It was the only AP exam Mader said she left confidently, knowing she passed with a five.
Growing up in upstate New York, in the small town of Glens Falls, and with a blossoming passion for chemistry, enrolling at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) was a natural fit. It enabled her to remain close to home and put her on a seven-year track to graduate with a Ph.D. In 2003, Mader became to begin the RPI accelerated science program, moving directly from undergraduate to doctoral work.
Mader was ecstatic to be part of the program and found her calling to be a professor, thanks to a less-than-desirable experience early on.
鈥淢y general chemistry professor motivated me to teach because I wanted to be recruiting chemistry majors, not losing them,鈥� Mader said.
She remained at RPI for the next five years before moving to South Carolina, where she completed her remaining two years with RPI at the University of South Carolina. The move was an opportunity to experience a new part of the country and to continue working as a research assistant.
Mader鈥檚 time at the University of South Carolina opened the door for her to teach. The university had a strong recruiting pipeline connection to Georgia Southern University. After completing her seven-year program with RPI, Mader was hired by Georgia Southern as a visiting instructor, and the rest is history.
鈥淚 wanted to recruit people to the chemistry major and not have them get frustrated and want to switch to something else,鈥� she explained as she recalled her desire to reverse her adverse experience. 鈥淚 wanted to encourage the next generation of chemists.鈥�
Finding Her (Teaching) Legs
Mader spent two years at Georgia Southern before an opportunity closer to home became available. She accepted a job as an Assistant Professor at Shepherd University, nestled along the banks of the Potomac River separating West Virginia and Maryland.
For seven years, Mader taught students at Shepherd University and climbed the professor ranks, eventually earning a promotion to become an associate professor, and later, a tenure. However, what she learned about herself