The CIC is delighted to highlight Christopher M. Kozak, a member of the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC), head of his Local Section at Memorial University, as well as an executive member of the Green Division. The CIC met with Kozak for an interview where he shared how his involvement in his local section helps him share his love of teaching chemistry.  

Introduction  

In 1996, Kozak first became a member of the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC). At the time he was in his final year of his undergraduate program.  

“I got the most out of the CSC from networking at the CSC conference. Being able to attend mixers, networking sessions, and career guidance sessions was helpful,” Kozak said. However, it wasn’t until he became a faculty member that he found himself getting more involved in the society professionally.  

Journey as a chemistry professor 

During his graduate studies in inorganic chemistry, Kozak was a teaching assistant as a lab instructor, where he ran second year organic chemistry and third year inorganic chemistry labs. The gratification that he obtained from helping students made him realize that he wanted to pursue teaching as a career.  

Yet starting out as a new professor was not an easy ride. He explained that as he was going through his degree, he was not taught how to teach: as a student you are taught to teach yourself. “A lot of undergraduate students enrolled in his class were only just doing the class to get by,” he explained. “And those students were not enjoying the course content.”. The challenge of making his course content more engaging was taken on. 

While it sounds counterintuitive, he decided to focus on the students who were keen to learn. “When you focus your attention on them, they will feed you back with enthusiasm that will help bring you forward,” Kozak described. This strategy ultimately led to a snowball effect of learning: even the most reluctant students couldn’t help but get caught up in the energy of his classes.  

Newfoundland and Labrador Local Section at Memorial University 

Kozak had always found value in his membership with the CSC and knew it could help his students as well. And once he got involved, it wasn’t long before Kozak took on the role of being chair of his local CSC section, which brings chemistry students and other academics together to exchange ideas, enjoy educational activities, and much more.  

“We’re a very small provincial section. Everyone in the section is in my university!” Kozak said.  

Kozak encourages undergraduate and graduate students to come up with creative projects and events to promote chemistry. “We will set up in a pub or a coffee shop and just have very laid-back conversations about science with people in a community who are very interested.”  

The most recent conversation? The mysterious blob that washed up on Newfoundland’s shore, which Kozak and fellow Memorial University scientist Hilary Corlett worked on helping to identify the origin.   

Due to Kozak’s local section being small, he considers all his undergraduate and graduate students’ informal members. He hopes that his love of teaching the chemical sciences and promoting these events will help motivate students to join the CSC.  

By joining the CSC, students will have access to networking opportunities and access to the CSC conference. To learn more about the local sections and the opportunities that the CIC has to offer, click here.