Lucas Tucker

 Dr. Lucas J. Tucker is respected for his work inside and outside of the classroom at Siena College. His research efforts have resulted in multiple publications (journal articles, patents, and proceedings) and over a dozen (local, regional, and national) presentations, in the areas of pedagogy polymer chemistry, liquid crystalline holography, photoresist material synthesis, green methodology, and linear free energy relationships. Dr. Tucker has worked primarily in academia, but has also been the the VP of Product Development with a start up company, served as an expert witness in a patent case, and served as an R & D Fellow during his sabbatical.

Lucas attended Marist College and he graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry.  From there he continued on to Syracuse College where he earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry under Michael Sponsler. His thesis is titled “Liquid Crystalline Holography: The Effect of Various Additives on Photopolymerization”. As the VP of Product Development Lucas has directed contract work from one of the leading pressure sensitive adhesives companies in the country resulting in three patents and a nationally available sports enhancement product. His work as an R & D fellow extended the knowledge of tire rubber polymerization kinetics.

Lucas primarily teaches organic and general chemistry where he focuses his efforts on providing the best education possible to students. In 2012, Dr. Tucker was awarded "Lecturer of the Year" by the Siena College student senate followed by a 2017 Jerome Walton Excellence in teaching award.

Lucas resides in Waterford, NY with his wife and two daughters. Something most don’t know about Lucas: He has hiked to the highest point of 26 states.

My Siena Experience

My Teaching Philosophy

 The application of oneself to teaching is an act of dedication. This is not an occupation that can be done well by someone who lacks a true desire to change the lives of their students and to inspire them. Teaching is an attempt to instill a desire to learn and to provide the tools for doing so. I feel that interactive classes in which the students are expected to share their  analysis with the class fosters the sort of self-teaching that students will need for the rest of their lives. The success that I have had with this method can be highlighted by the fact that the student senate elected me “Lecturer of the Year” in 2012 and my colleagues selected me for the Jerome Walton Excellence in Teaching award in 2017.

What I Love About Siena

 Siena College students are on average motivated and respectful. If you can determine any error in their learning process they are on average willing to try to address these issues. I enjoy teaching general and organic chemistry because so many of our students learn how to learn in these courses. They see that application of their own efforts results in improvement and this changes their ability to succeed in life as well as my courses.

My Favorite Courses to Teach

 Organic chemistry is my favorite course to teach. The materials is facinating and beautiful. There is a moment during the second semester for a lot of students where the interrelated nature of the material becomes clear and the subject just clicks. This is often called chemical intuition. Assisting my students in their development of chemical intuition is very rewarding.

My Professional Experience

Current Research

Research offers students the ability to apply talents garnered through their course work and to flesh out their understanding of “doing” science. Through their research work, my students learn how to first understand the question that they are attempting to address and then use literature procedures to design methods of pursuing their particular problem. I have included over 40 different students in my research group totalling almost 10000 hours of research. This has lead to many presentations of our work at national conferences. 

The Tucker research group investigates a wide variety of subjects including rubber additives, grip technology, pedagogy, green chemistry, science education, nanomaterials, polymers, cold crystallization and especially liquid crystalline materials. Our LC materials projects have ranged from green synthesis to photoresist technology to generation of liquid crystalline sensors. 

Articles & Book Reviews

• Green Chemistry Teacher Professional Development in New York State High Schools: A Model for Advancing Green Chemistry
  Journal of Chemical Ed
  2023
• Non-Isothermal Cold Crystallization of Liquid Crystalline Porphyrins
  Soft Matter, vol. 19
  2023
• Impact of the Siena College Tech Valley Scholars Program on Student Outcomes.
  Journal of STEM Education, vol. 17
  2016
• Using iPads in the Chemistry Classroom: Focusing on Paperless Education and Identification and Directed use of Pedagogically Directed Applications
  Chemical Educator
  2013
• Holography Via Liquid Crystalline Photopolymerization: The Effect of Various Additives.
  232nd ACS National Meeting & Exposition
  2006
• Holography via Liquid Crystalline Polymerization: The Effect of Various Additives
  Polymer Preprints, vol. 47
  2006
• Trithiocarbonate-Mediated Free Radical Photopolymerization: Improved Uniformity In Hologram Recording
  Applied Optics, vol. 45
  2006
• Sequential Multiphoton Photopolymerization For Hologram Recording Using A Trithiocarbonate As A Raft Reagent.
  230th ACS National Meeting & Exposition
  2005
• Sequential Multiphoton Photopolymerization For Hologram Recording Using A Trithiocarbonate As A Raft Reagent
  Polymer Preprints, vol. 46
  2005
• Organotin Hydride Reduction of Benzyl Bromides
  Organometallics, vol. 21
  2002

Awards & Distinctions

• Jerome Walton excellence in teaching award
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College, 2017
• Lecturer of the Year
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College, 2012
• Trustco Bank Award for Excellence
  Category: Research
  Trustco Bank, 2011
• Phi Lambda Upsilon Chemistry National Honorary Society
  Category: Other
  Phi Lambda Upsilon, 2009

Presentations

• Collaborative pollution prevention efforts for high school teachers in New York
  2020
  2020 Biennial Conference on Chemical Educatio, Corvalis, Oregon
• Cholesteric liquid crystalline porphyrin VOC sensors
  2018
  255th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Community engaged learning to improve STEM student retention.
  2018
  25th Biannual Conference on Chemical Education, South Bend, Indiana
• Foundations in chemistry course at Siena College
  2018
  25 Biannual Conference on Chemical Education, South Bend, Indiana
• Knowing your colleagues: The importance of vertical and horizontal cohorts to the success of undergraduate research
  2018
  255th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Nanomaterial precursor synthesis for use in organic chemistry laboratory
  2018
  255th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Siena College general chemistry performance expectations.
  2018
  25 Biannual Conference on Chemical Education, South Bend, Indiana
• Building a community around general chemistry performance expectations
  2017
  254th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, Washington, District of Columbia
• Designing green chemistry outreach for nonscientists: A teach the teacher model.
  2017
  21st Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference, Reston, Virginia
• Engaging high school teachers in green chemistry
  2016
  41st Annual Northeast Regional Meeting of the ACS, Binghamton, New York
• Making high school labs greener: A discussion of the evaluation process.
  2016
  24th Biannual Conference on Chemical Education, Greeley, Colorado
• Siena College First Year Research Fellows
  2016
  24th Biannual Conference on Chemical Education, Greeley, Colorado
• Siena College Tech Valley Scholars Program and STEM student retention
  2016
  24th Biannual Conference on Chemical Education, Greeley, Colorado
• Siena College Green Chemistry Workshop
  November, 2015
  120th STANYS Conference, Rochester, New York
• Green Chemistry and Safety in the Lab Curriculum
  October, 2015
  NYS School Environmental Health Summit, Saratoga Springs, New York
• Making Labs Greener: A Discussion of the Evaluation Process.
  June, 2015
  Northeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Ithaca, New York
• Greening Up the Science Laborotory
  October, 2014
  2014 Diocese of Albany Professional Development Day, Albany, New York
• Synthesis of discotic liquid crystalline porphyrin precursors
  2013
  245th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Using Tablet Monitors and Computers to Teach Organic Chemistry
  2013
  47th Annual Meeting of MAALACT, Reading, Pennsylvania
• Using tablet monitors and computers to teach organic chemistry
  2013
  245th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Using iPads in the Chemistry Classroom: Steps toward a Fully Paperless Classroom
  March, 2011
  243rd American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition, San Diego, California
• A Green Synthesis of a Cholesteric Liquid Crystal
  2011
  Eastern New York ACS Undergraduate Research Poster Session, Loudonville, New York
• Polyesterification of Maleic Acid with Various Diols
  2011
  Eastern New York ACS Undergraduate Research Poster Session, Loudonville, New York
• Synthesis of Cholesteric Liquid Crystalline Porphyrins
  2011
  243rd American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition, San Diego, California
• Green synthesis of (E)-10,13-dimethyl-17-(6-methylheptan-2-yl)-2,3,4,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17-tetradecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-yl 6-(4-(3-(4-methoxyphenyl)acryloyl)phenoxy)hexanoate.
  2010
  240th National ACS meeting, Boston, Massachusetts
• A Green Methodology Toward the Condenstation Polymerization of Diols with Diacids under UV Light and Room Temperature.
  2009
  Eastern New York ACS Undergraduate Research Poster Session, Loudonville, New York
• Kinetics of a potassium sulfate, Potassium Iodide Reaction: Expansion to a Multiweek Experiment.
  2009
  238th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, Washington, District of Columbia
• Synthesis and Copolymerization of Cyanvinylbenzylcinnamate and MPAEB to Result in Liquid Crystalline Photoresist Materials
  2009
  Eastern New York ACS Undergraduate Research Poster Session, Loudonville, New York
• Synthesis and Copolymerization of MPAEB and 4-vinylbenzyl-4'-cyano cinnamate For Use in Liquid Crystalline Photoresist Technology
  2009
  238th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, Washington, District of Columbia
• Liquid Crystalline Materials For Sensing and Photoresist Technology.
  2008
  236th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Synthesis of 4-vinylbenzyl-4'-cyano cinnamate For Use in Photoresist Technology as a Liquid Crystalline Monomer.
  2008
  235th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Holography Via Liquid Crystalline Photopolymerization: The Effect of Various Additives.
  2006
  232nd ACS National Meeting & Exposition, San Francisco, California
• Holography Via Liquid Crystalline Photopolymerization: The Effect of Various Additives.
  2006
  Northeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Binghamton, New York
• Sequential Multiphoton Photopolymerization For Hologram Recording Using A Trithiocarbonate As A Raft Reagent.
  2005
  230th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, Washington, District of Columbia
• New Liquid Crystalline Monomer for the Formation of Dynamic Holographic Gratings.
  2004
  Northeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Rochester, New York