Houghton College Chemistry Department

Dr. G. David Toot, Associate Professor of Physics and Director of Stull Observatory at Alfred University, and Dr. Irmgard Howard, Professor of Chemistry at Houghton College, rejoice in their ten-year collaboration in church music; Dr. Toot as choir director, and Dr. Howard as organist.

Dr. Irmgard K. Howard is a biochemist with specialties in immunochemistry and clinical chemistry. She holds the A.B., magna cum laude, from Duke University, where she majored in zoology and minored in chemistry. She also holds the Ph.D. from Duke, where her graduate major was biochemistry and her graduate minor chemistry, and where she worked under Dr. Harvey J. Sage and Dr. Ralph E. Thiers. For one year she served as a Research Associate in Molecular Genetics at Duke, working under Dr. Samson Gross. At Houghton College, she has expanded her biochemical interests into the area of nutrition 

Dr. Howard enjoys conveying chemistry to the public, as she has done in teaching Elderhostels and in hosting two radio-broadcast series entitled "Nutrition Notes" and "Consumer Concerns." She is a National Tour Speaker for the American Chemical Society, speaking to local sections on profession/public interactions. And she is a Templeton/Oxford scholar, studying science/religion relationships, particularly at the level of nuclear ethics. 

Among her academic and professional honors are undergraduate election to Phi Beta Kappa, graduate selection as a James B. Duke Fellow, and listings in American Men and Women of Science, 16th Edition and Who's Who of American Women, 17th Edition. Her commitment to the teaching of science literacy received an award from Hawkhill Associates (Science Publishing Company.) 

As Professor of Chemistry at Houghton College, Dr. Howard regularly teaches the pre-medical level Biochemistry and Bioanalytical Laboratory courses. She also regularly teaches the nonmajor-level Introduction to Nutrition or Clinical Chemistry. She occasionally teaches General Chemistry (two semesters), nonmajor-level Elements of Biochemistry, Impact of Science on Society, and Chemistry Seminar. She also directs student research at the "Chemistry Project," "Independent Study," and "Honors in Chemistry" levels. 

Outside the classroom, Dr. Howard is interested in the history of science and word-origins, as well as contemporary technological ethics, but she is primarily involved in musical composition and performance. She serves as organist of a local congregation, and students recognize her for the songs she writes to help them remember concepts in chemistry and nutrition. 

Send an e-mail to Dr. Irmgard Howard