Andrew G Karatjas (he/him)
Professor, Department Chair College of Arts & Sciences Department of Biological and Physical Sciences Providence
Biography
After being heavily influenced by the education he received at Haverford College, Andrew Karatjas pursued his Ph.D. at Pennsylvania State University with a goal of teaching at the undergraduate level.
Since 2006, Karatjas has taught a variety of chemistry courses while focusing on organic chemistry. With a background in organic synthesis and methodology, he has done research in the methodology of indoles and related natural products as well as hydroboration methodology.
More recently, Karatjas has developed a focus on chemical education research, specifically in looking at student self-assessment and how that affects performance in courses.
Most of his work has focused around student learning and looking for ways to improve student learning. As an organic chemist, he often teaches what is regarded as one of the most difficult courses that students take.
Too often, organic chemistry is thought of (and presented) dryly and has gained a stereotype as a class used to “weed out” pre-med students. Karatjas has developed a teaching style that emphasizes more than just rote memorization. Students need to be encouraged to think critically by applying familiar mechanisms to new situations.
For example, when he teaches organic reactions, he presents the material organized by reaction mechanisms. Karatjas emphasizes to students that memorization will only take them so far in the course. When he teaches the chapter on nucleophilic acyl substitution, he makes sure students realize that while this chapter has more than 20 reactions, most of the reactions use two general mechanisms. Therefore he attempts to get students to learn reactions by mechanisms and not memorization as it will allow them to apply what they have learned to new reactions.
By challenging the students in this way, it is Karatjas’ hope that students can transfer this learning to other situations (whether school related or not).
Through different strategies in the classroom as well as his research in chemical education, Karatjas’ students are well prepared for their future coursework and careers of choice.
Education
PhD, The Pennsylvania State University
Chemistry
BS, Haverford College
Chemistry
CITI Certification
CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative)
CITI Certification
CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative)
CITI Certification
CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative)
National Science Teachers Association
American Chemical Society
Fana, M. & Murray, B. & Webb, J. & Karatjas, A. (September 9, 2024). The Effect of Gender on Post Examination Confidence in Chemistry Courses. (Journal Article).
The Journal of College Science Teaching, 54(1), 42-50.
Karatjas, A. & Webb, J. (May 12, 2024). Student-self Awareness: How well do Students Recall Recent Performance in a Course. (Journal Article).
International Journal of Research in Education and Science, 10(2), 394-406.
https://ijres.net/index.php/ijres/article/view/3371
Karatjas, A. (March 6, 2024). Student Self-Assessment of Exam Preparation in 100 and 200-Level Chemistry Courses.. (Journal Article).
Journal of College Science Teaching.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0047231X.2024.2316384
Webb, J. & Karatjas, A. (February 2, 2018). Grade Perception of Students in a Chemistry Program. (Journal Article).
Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 19, 491-499.
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2018/rp/c7rp00168a
Karatjas, A. & Webb, J. (2017). The Role of Student Major in Grade Perception in Chemistry Courses. (Journal Article).
The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 11, Article 14.
Karatjas, A. & McBriarty, H. & Braye, S. & Piscitelli, D. (2016). Synthesis of Pinacolboranes: Boron Reagents in Synthesis. (Book Chapter).
American Chemical Society, 1236, 227-240.
Karatjas, A. & Webb, J. (2015). The Role of Gender in Grade Perception in 100-Level Chemistry Courses. (Journal Article).
The Journal f College Science Teaching, 45, 24-29.
Karatjas, A. (2014). Use of student self-assessment of exams to investigate student learning in organic chemistry classes: Innovative Uses of Assessments for Teaching and Research. (Book Chapter).
American Chemical Society, 1182, 133-143.
Karatjas, A. (2014). A. G. The Use of iSpartan in Teaching Organic Spectroscopy. (Journal Article).
Journal of Chemical Education, 91, 937-938.
Coca, A. & Karatjas, A. & Pang, J. (2013). Chemistry 125 Lab Manual. (Instructional Material).
WH Freeman.
Karatjas, A. (2013). Comparing College Students’ Self-Assessment of Knowledge in Organic Chemistry to Their Actual Performance. (Journal Article).
Journal of Chemical Education, 90, 1096-1099.
Coca, A. & Karatjas, A. (2012). Chemistry 260 Lab Manual. (Instructional Material).
WH Freeman.
Karatjas, A. (2012). Chemistry 260 Laboratory Videos. (Instructional Material).
WH Freeman Custom Publishing.
Coca, A. & Karatjas, A. (2012). Chemistry 261 Lab Manual. (Instructional Material).
WH Freeman.
Karatjas, A. & Vedejs, E. (2008). Formation of Pinacol Boronate Esters via Pyridine Iodoborane Hydroboration. (Journal Article).
Journal of Organic Chemistry, 73, 9508-9510.
Clay, J. & Karatjas, A. & Vedejs, E. (2008). Hydroboration with Pyridine Borane at Room Temperature. (Journal Article).
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 130, 10828.
Feldman, K. & Karatjas, A. (2006). Extending Pummerer Reaction Chemistry. Asymmetric Synthesis of Spirocyclic Oxindoles via Chiral Indole-2-sulfoxides. (Journal Article).
Organic Letters, 8, 4137-4140.
Feldman, K. & Vidulova, D. & Karatjas, A. (2005). Development of a Strategy for the Regio- and Stereoselective Oxidative Cyclization of 3-(ω-Nucleophile)-Tethered Indoles.. (Journal Article).
Journal of Organic Chemistry, 70, 6429-6440.
Feldman, K. & Karatjas, A. (2004). Extending Pummerer Reaction Chemistry. Application to the Oxidative Cyclization of Tryptophan Derivatives. (Journal Article).
Organic Letters, 6, 2849-2852.
Fall 2026 American Chemical Society National Meeting, “Examination of the Accuracy of Student Predictions Over Time,” American Chemical Society, Chicago, IL, United States. (2026).
American Chemical Society National Meeting – Spring 2027, “Can Students Learn to Predict Their Own Performance? Changes in Student Self-Prediction Accuracy Over Time.,” American Chemical Society, New Orleans, LA, United States. (2025).
American Chemical Society National Meeting – Fall 2025, “Grade Perceptions in a Chemistry Program – A Second Look,” American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, United States. (2025).
STEM Thursdays, “Grade Perceptions in Chemistry Courses,” Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI, United States. (October 9, 2025).
JWU University Scholarship and Best Practices Expo, “Predictability of Student Course Grades in Chemistry Courses,” Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI. (April 12, 2024).
2023 Northeast Regional Meeting, “Predictability of student course grades in chemistry courses,” American Chemical Society, Boston, MA, United States. (June 16, 2023).
265th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Use of E-Factor in understanding green chemistry through a Diels-Alder reaction in the undergraduate organic chemistry curriculum,” American Chemical Society, Indianapolis, IN, United States. (March 29, 2023).
265th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Factors that affect student self-perception in chemistry courses,” American Chemical Society, Indianapolis, IN, United States. (March 28, 2023).
Johnson and Wales University Faculty Scholarship Showcase, “Student-Self Awareness: How Well Do Students Recall Recent Performance in a Course?,” Johnson and Wales University, Providence, RI, United States. (April 7, 2022).
263rd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “The Effect of Gender on Post Examination Confidence in Chemistry Courses,” American Chemical Society. (March 21, 2022).
263rd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Factors that affect student self-perception in chemistry courses,” American Chemical Society. (March 20, 2022).
263rd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Student self-assessment of exam preparation in 100 and 200-level chemistry courses,” American Chemical Society. (March 20, 2022).
259th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Student self-awareness: How well do students recall recent performance within a course,” American Chemical Society. (2020).
259th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Student self-perception throughout a course,” American Chemical Society. (2020).
Johnson and Wales University Faculty Scholarship Showcase, “Who Does Extra Credit?,” Johnson and Wales University, Providence, RI, United States. (October 7, 2019).
Johnson and Wales University Faculty Scholarship Showcase, “The Role of Gender in Grade Postdictions in Chemistry Courses,” Johnson and Wales University, Providence, RI, United States. (October 25, 2018).
256th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Who Does Extra Credit?,” American Chemical Society, Boston, MA, United States. (August 20, 2018).
254th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Predictability of Final Course Grades Based on First Examination Scores,” American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, United States. (August 21, 2017).
254th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Role of Gender in Grade Postdictions in Chemistry Courses,” American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, United States. (August 21, 2017).
252nd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “General Chemistry Performance as a Predictor in Organic Chemistry,” American Chemical Society, Philadelphia, PA, United States. (August 24, 2016).
252nd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Grade Perceptions in a Chemistry Program (From non-majors courses through graduate students) – Examination Postdictions and the Kruger-Dunning effect,” American Chemical Society, Philadelphia, PA, United States. (August 22, 2016).
252nd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “The Role of Student Major in Grade Perception in Chemistry Courses,” American Chemical Society, Philadelphia, PA, United States. (August 22, 2016).
252nd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “The Use of Exam Reflections to Assess Student Examination Performance in Organic Chemistry Classes,” American Chemical Society, Philadelphia, PA, United States. (August 22, 2016).
3rd Annual Math Colloquium, “The Role of Gender in Grade Perception in Chemistry Courses,” Johnson and Wales University, Providence, RI, United States. (March 31, 2016).
248th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “The Role of Gender in Grade Perception in Chemistry Courses,” American Chemical Society, San Francisco, CA, United States. (August 14, 2014).
248th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Grade Perceptions in a Chemistry Program (From non-majors courses through graduate students),” American Chemical Society, San Francisco, CA, United States. (August 13, 2014).
248th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Formation of Vinyl Pinacol Boronate Esters from Hydroboration Reactions of Alkynes,” American Chemical Society, San Francisco, CA, United States. (August 11, 2014).
248th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “The use of iSpartan in teaching organic spectroscopy,” American Chemical Society, San Francisco, CA, United States. (August 11, 2014).
23rd Meeting of the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, “The Use of Exam Reflections to Assess Student Learning in Organic Chemistry Classes,” American Chemical Society, Allendale, MI, United States. (August 6, 2014).
39th Northeast Regional American Chemical Society Meeting, “Grade Perceptions in Chemistry,” American Chemical Society, New Haven, CT, United States. (October 26, 2013).
PAcE Seminar Series, “Grade Perceptions in Chemistry,” Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, United States. (October 25, 2013).
39th Northeast Regional American Chemical Society Meeting, “Synthesis of alkenylpinacolboranes from terminal alkynes,” American Chemical Society, New Haven, CT, United States. (October 24, 2013).
246th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “The Use of Exam Reflections to Assess Student Learning in Organic Chemistry Classes,” American Chemical Society, Indianapolis, IN, United States. (September 11, 2013).
246th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Development of a method for the synthesis of 6-5-6 fused indole ring systems,” American Chemical Society, Indianapolis, IN, United States. (September 10, 2013).
38th Northeast Regional American Chemical Society Meeting, “Synthesis of Alkenyl Pinacolboronates From Alkynes,” American Chemical Society, Rochester, NY. (October 1, 2012).
244th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, “Progress Toward the Total Synthesis of Coerulescine and Horsfiline,” American Chemical Society, Philadelphia, PA, United States. (August, 2012).
“Extending Pummerer Reaction Chemistry: Asymmetric Synthesis of Spirocyclic Oxindoles,” Indiana University of Pennsylvania. (November 9, 2007).
223rd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society National Meeting, “Synthesis of the Oxindole Core of TMC-95,” American Chemical Society, Orlando, FL, United States. (April 11, 2002).