Heather Schenck

Heather Schenck is a Professor in the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She holds a B.A. in Music Performance (1989) and Chemistry (1992) from Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry (1998) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before joining UWL in 2006, she worked for 8 years at Kimberly-Clark Corp., where she transitioned from Research Scientist to Patent Facilitator and later Competitive Advantage Strategist, developing databases for product strategies.

Her research focuses on organic chemistry pedagogy, including innovative teaching methods for reaction mechanisms, and spectroscopic analysis of molecular properties via NMR. She teaches courses such as Organic Chemistry Theory II, Spectroscopy, and Fundamental Organic Chemistry Laboratory. Notable contributions include co-authoring a 2024 study on generative pedagogies for organic chemistry and winning the 2022 APPStart Challenge for a smartphone app proposal aiding students.

Her scholarly awards include the WiSys APPStart Challenge First Prize (2022). She has published extensively in journals like Chemistry Education Research and Practice and Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry, with work spanning NMR spectroscopy applications and protein structure studies. Her career bridges academic teaching, industry research, and educational innovation.