Nate Bowling sees his role as creating opportunities for students.

 

Sure, he teaches chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. And he does research and writes grants so his students get paid for helping in his research lab.

 

The associate chemistry professor does this because of his sincere commitment to student development. “At the end of the day, it’s not about getting results to boost my career. It’s about creating opportunities for students to do these wonderful things outside of the classroom.”

 

When results of research he developed and supervised for several years was chosen as the cover story for a prominent international journal, his students took top billing.

 

“I was ecstatic and surprised,” said Rachel Thorson, a senior from Fairwater, Wis., who was listed as the lead author. “A very small percentage get to claim first authorship,” said Thorson, who was listed with Garrett Woller, Zak Driscoll, Brooke Geiger, Crystal Moss and Ashley Schlapper in The European Journal of Organic Chemistry earlier this year.

 

In their work on “Intramolecular Halogen Bonding in Solution,” the group described how they designed, synthesized and studied molecules that never before existed. This, in turn, sheds light on the fundamental chemical forces that could play a role in designing new technologies.
 

“That is a significant achievement most students do not have, especially as undergraduates. At any mid- or large school, that’s not going to happen,” Thorson said.

 

Opportunities are not the same at every college. At larger universities, undergraduates work with graduate students, rather than professors, and the quality of the experience depends on the supervisor, Bowling said. “Here undergraduate students do the things that need to get done.”

 

Bowling estimates spending more than 100 hours a year “tracking down money to pay students” for research work. He applies for grants from such agencies as the National Science Foundation.

 

Doing research helps students apply what they’ve learned. It also prepares them for what’s next in their careers or education.

 

“The big picture is, this is how you train scientists,” Bowling said. “Good scientists spend most of their time trying to prove themselves wrong.”

 

Research benefits students in several ways. “It’s beneficial for overall understanding. It’s one thing to learn it in class. It’s another to apply it in the lab. With Dr. Bowling, we have both,” said Driscoll, one of the published students.

 

Bowling typically groups five or six students together on a research project, coordinating and steering it, answering questions, mediating if needed.

 

“In a teaching lab, you follow a recipe for problems that have already been solved. In a research Iab, you try to identify and solve the problems,” Thorson said. “We’re learning how to fail. You have to learn how to deal with it and figure things out.”

 

Research experience is important for admission to graduate school. UW-Stevens Point is second only to UW Madison in the number of students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields who pursue graduate degrees.

 

Driscoll, of Oxford, was going to transfer to Madison, but stayed at UW-Stevens Point when offered a research assistant job. “It’s great working for Dr. Bowling. He knows so much. It’s amazing to listen to him.”

 

Bowling has inspired many students.  “It was with him I fell in love with chemistry,” said Thorson, who added a second major, biochemistry, to biology. “Chemistry is the basis for solving a lot of problems.”

 

While some recoil at the thought of taking an organic chemistry course, many of Bowling’s students blossom. “Dr. Bowling makes it easy to get. He has such passion for it,” she said.

 

Organic chemistry is half art and half science, Bowling said. “We conceptualize and put things together. Then we explain and justify. You have to be creative and resilient.”

 

Organic chemistry is most relevant to the medical field, said Driscoll, who plans to pursue a medical career.

 

Thorson, who plans to pursue a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry, is interested in academia and “helping others like I’ve been helped.”

 

She said she chose UW-Stevens Point because professors were approachable when she visited campus. “When I have kids I’ll try to steer them to a smaller school like Point. You have so many more opportunities.”