Dr. Cynthia McGowan
Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
Dr. Cynthia McGowan, Professor of Chemistry, joined Merrimack College as an Associate Professor in 1993. Prior to Merrimack, she was a faculty member for ten years at Wellesley College and was previously a research scientist at the Polaroid Corporation in Cambridge, MA. Dr. McGowan teaches Organic Chemistry, Advanced Organic Chemistry, Synthetic Design, Polymer Chemistry, and Instrumental Analysis. In 1999 she received the Edward G. Roddy Jr. Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. She has served on a number of college committees and was the President of the Faculty Senate for the 2011-2012 academic year. As Vice Provost of Academic Affairs her primary responsibility is advising the Provost on faculty issues.
Dr. McGowan’s research incorporates microwave energy in the promotion of organic chemical reactions, with a principal emphasis on environmentally sustainable chemistry. In collaboration with Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater of the University of Connecticut, she has published an organic laboratory manual entitled “Clean, Fast Chemistry,” incorporated microwave experiments into the 5th edition of “Microscale Organic Laboratory” by Mayo, Pike and Forbes, as well as co-authored a number of chapters in books on sustainable chemistry. Also in collaboration with Dr. Leadbeater, Dr. McGowan has recently completed an e-book laboratory manual, “Laboratory Experiments with Microwave Heating”, that utilizes microwave chemistry techniques across several chemistry disciplines.
Dr. McGowan has served on a number of committees for the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society, and is a member of Sigma Xi, American Women in Science, and the Project Kaleidoscope Faculty 21st Century Network. Dr. McGowan earned her undergraduate degree from Russell Sage College (NY) and received her MS & PhD in Organic Chemistry from Brandeis University (MA).
Email: mcgowanc@merrimack.edu
