Chemistry

I grew up in South Holland, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). I attended Calvin Christian Grade School and Illiana Christian High School—where I developed a true love of the sciences. I went on to earn a B.A. in biochemistry at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. I decided to get a change of scenery from the Midwest and went to the University of Delaware for graduate school. After finishing my Ph.D., I spent a year-and-a-half doing post-doctoral research at the University of Texas at Austin before coming to Hillsdale College in 2007. I am married to a wonderful and supportive woman, Anita, and we have three daughters: Maya, Keira, and Brynna.

Enzyme kinetics—especially enzymes from thermophiles and acidophiles, as well as enzymes involved in RNA and DNA modification. Recent work has focused on proteases that degrade gluten, as a potential treatment for celiac disease.

All of them! I very much enjoy teaching Biochemistry and Advanced Biochemistry—teaching students about the subject I enjoy the most. But, I really enjoy teaching Science 101 as well—showing students who are not science majors (and sometimes fear science classes) how much fun chemistry can be and that they can understand real science.

It’s hard to pick one, but seeing the first students to graduate from Hillsdale College with a degree in biochemistry was a very rewarding experience.

The students and the faculty. Almost all the students I have in class or meet with want to learn and want to be here, which makes my job that much easier. The faculty here is also amazing; there are many excellent scholars and teachers, and they are very supportive of junior faculty in many ways.

Hillsdale College is a great place to learn, both inside and outside of the classroom. It is a college that actually believes its mission and shows you why. Professors here actually care about their students and want them to succeed, but be prepared to have to work hard and be challenged. If you are looking to just “get a degree” or be anonymous, then Hillsdale will not be a good fit for you.

Their openness and desire to learn—and not just what they need to know for the next test. Many students here truly desire to integrate the knowledge they have gained with what they already know, so that they can build upon it and use it in their future endeavors.

chamilton@hillsdale.edu