North Hennepin professor found a winning formula

Chemistry can be dry, if not boring, for many students. But that's not the case for students of Prof. Eugenia Paulus at North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park.

"She has a sense of humor, and when she comes in she brightens up the classroom," said Luke Sellars, 20, one of her organic chemistry students. "She is really good at keeping us interested and keeping us awake. ... She makes sure we do our studies."

Students aren't the only ones to notice the chemistry professor's flair for teaching.

Last month, Paulus received a national award for extraordinary undergraduate teaching. The awards, presented in Washington, D.C., are sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Paulus, 49, who has taught eight years at the college, was rated tops in the community college category. She became the first Minnesota college professor at any of the four levels recognized to receive a Carnegie national award, the college said.

Arif Hamid, 19, liked Paulus so much he took four classes from her before graduating and enrolling at the University of Minnesota. In his first chemistry class, "I expected to walk through the basic class requirements, but she started a foundation of curiosity in me."

"Her role goes far beyond the classroom," he said. "Because of the foundation she helped me find, I am engaged in research at the university," working with a professor studying genetic mutations and Huntington's Disease.

Paulus earned two master's degrees and a doctorate in chemistry from several Indian universities and became a professor. Later she married and in 1999, she returned to the United States because her husband was doing pain-control research for Medtronic. The Blaine couple have a son, 12, and daughter, 16.

Paulus said she initially planned to teach college math and physics like her mom. But then, as an undergraduate at National College in Bangalore, she studied with a chemistry professor whose influence propelled her into his field.

"I took as many classes as I could from him," recalled Paulus. He provided examples that still stick with her. When he emphasized important points, he told students, "OK, I am telling you this concept and these are the things you connect to it. Because if you connect it to other things [students] are learning or things they already know, it makes it easier for them to study, too."

Today, Paulus follows her mentor's example and connects chemistry to subjects familiar to her students. Take the chemical compounds called polymers, which she discussed in a recent organic chemistry class.

Paulus held up a styrofoam cup and told students it contains the polymer polystyrene. Then she made them think about another polymer, polycarbonate, that made headlines early this year. It is used in baby bottles that, when heated, leached harmful chemicals into babies' milk, studies found.

"The babies?" responded one student.

"Yes, we have milk bottles made from polycarbonates. They found one part per billion leached into the milk," Paulus noted.

One of the students, Uche Amajouyi, 23, said Paulus is her best teacher.

"She is able to explain things so people can understand it," said the premed student.

Not all her students come equipped with necessary lab skills. So Paulus found online video tutorials that students can view anywhere to learn how to use pipettes and other lab equipment. Then she takes her students to the college lab to practice before class. She also teaches an online chemistry class, including basic lab work students can do at home.

"She expects a lot out of you," said organic chemistry student Natalie Anderson, 23. "You have to know your stuff. ... She helps you learn by repetition and answering questions clearly at a level we can understand. I've never missed her class because I get so much out of it."

At the Washington, D.C., award presentation on Nov. 20, Paulus said her parents, both excellent professors, were her first teachers. Her mother was in the audience.

"From them I inherited my passion for student learning, student success and teaching," Paulus said. "From them, I learned that God gives talents, but only with hard work can we achieve."

Jim Adams • 612-673-7658