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Chemistry educator · Ph.D., UC Irvine

Partho K. Paul, Ph.D.
Chemistry instructor

Many of the molecules we draw on paper can be difficult to visualize because their true structures are three-dimensional. Although physical model kits have traditionally helped bridge that gap, I built these digital tools so students can draw a molecule and immediately explore its structure from different angles. By making molecular shape more intuitive, the tools can help students better understand geometry, conformation, and molecular interactions.

I’m developing these resources in collaboration with faculty at UC Irvine and community colleges, and I hope to continue this work as an educator at a community college, primarily undergraduate institution, or state university.

Explore the tools Teaching CV (PDF) Email pk@chemustad.org

Teaching I’m looking for

Community colleges · PUIs · State universities

General chemistry through upper-division organic chemistry, full time or adjunct.

Email me Research
Rickshaw-art style painting: two bright birds face an Erlenmeyer flask under a flower shaped like a benzene ring. The banner reads Chemistry.

Interactive tools

Org chem · Conformations Newman Navigator Type, draw, or pick a molecule and look straight down any bond. Turn the back carbon and watch the Newman projection and the energy change from anti to gauche to eclipsed. Students can draw wedges and dashes straight from their book. Open the navigator › Org chem · Stereochemistry R/S Assigner Find the stereocenter, rank the four groups, and trace 1 → 2 → 3 to name it R or S. When two groups tie, it shows where they first differ. Open the assigner › Gen chem · Bonding VSEPR Builder Count electrons, find the steric number, and see the 3D shape for every geometry from AX2 to AX2E4. Open the builder › Gen chem · Equilibrium Equilibrium Explorer Work an equilibrium problem step by step (K expression, Q versus K, ICE table, solving for x), with feedback at every step. Open the explorer ›

Practice problems and free resources ›

How I teach

  • Students do the reasoning. My goal is for students to explain not only what answer they reached, but how they reached it. In discussion sections, students work in small groups, compare approaches, and present their solutions on the board. The student at the board walks me through each step; when something goes wrong, we locate the mistake and work through it together. One student captured this approach well: “the TA didn't just walk us through the problems but made us walk him through the problem.”

  • Mistakes give us somewhere to start. When a student is stuck, I ask questions that help them identify their next step rather than supply the answer. I encourage students to share ideas before they are certain, so that uncertainty becomes an invitation to think together. I also plan to introduce short weekly quizzes, with the lowest score dropped, to help students identify gaps in their understanding while there is still time to address them before an exam.

  • Understanding should not depend on what students can afford. Every tool I build is free and open-access, and I direct students toward free resources whenever possible. This commitment is also personal: Newman projections did not click for me until I could hold and rotate a molecular model. I bring model kits to class and office hours, and I built the Newman Navigator so students can rotate a bond themselves and connect a flat drawing to a three-dimensional structure.

  • Chemistry becomes meaningful when students can connect it to the world around them. At Irvine Valley College, I gave a lecture connecting organic chemistry to my research on CO₂ capture. I started with something familiar: flipping a light switch and using electricity to produce a change. In my research, electricity changes certain organic molecules so they can capture CO₂ more effectively. That connection gives students a concrete example of how the molecules they study can help address a broader environmental challenge.

  • A memorable moment can open the door to a deeper question. At K–12 outreach events, I use a gummy bear demonstration to make chemical energy visible. In molten potassium chlorate, the sugar burns rapidly with a violet flame. I connect the demonstration to the energy our bodies obtain from food: our bodies release that energy through a series of controlled reactions, while the demonstration releases it dramatically in seconds. The spectacle draws students in; the comparison gives them a familiar starting point for asking where that energy comes from.

Student evaluations

What students say.

From anonymous end-of-term evaluations of my UC Irvine discussion sections. Tutoring reviews ›

Partho K. Paul

About me

I grew up in a household where my grandfather and my mother were educators, and a lot of my early learning came through storytelling. In my second year of college I took organic chemistry and was fascinated by how visual the subject is. Chemistry started clicking right away. At UC Riverside I worked as a Supplemental Instruction leader and tutor, where I learned to answer questions with questions, and that grew into my own inquiry-based way of teaching that has worked for many students. I carried that into my Ph.D. at UC Irvine, where I taught at every level of organic chemistry, and into an internship at Irvine Valley College, where I had the opportunity to teach a few lectures at the community college level and share my research with students. I have tutored students from Ivy League schools to state schools and can teach at whatever level of rigor your course demands. I’m looking for a permanent teaching position, and I tutor in the meantime.

Ph.D. in Chemistry, UC Irvine · B.S. in Chemical Engineering, UC Riverside

Teaching CV (PDF)Email me