Dr. Gary Hickernell earned a B.S. degree in chemistry at Allegheny College and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle. Following graduate school he studied the chemistry of food flavors for nineteen years at the General Foods Technical Center in Tarrytown, NY, as a research scientist. During this period, hewas awarded two patents, a US patent for Novel Sweetener Effects, and a Canadian patent for the Resin Decaffeination of Coffee. His second career began at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie where he taught general and organic chemistry as an associate professor. During this period, he co-authored chapters in the NSF-funded series of engineering and environmental books, Accident and Emergency Management: Problems and Solutions and Pollution Prevention: Problems and Solutions. After two years at Vassar, Dr. Hickernell joined the science faculty at Keuka College, where he participated in the MADCAP project to bring project-based chemistry to college freshmen. Most recently, Dr. Hickernell joined the staff at It's About Time as the Project Coordinator for the NSF-funded project, Active Chemistry.