Like most of our adjunct instructors, Professor Pat Boettcher brings decades of industrial experience to his classroom that our full-time faculty cannot. Boettcher retired from industry in 2011 and has been a great aid to our department each semester since then by teaching freshman and sophomore chemistry laboratory classes. In fact, for two years, he served as a visiting lecturer because our need was so great. Boettcher enjoys the student interaction that the lab courses offer and delights in seeing the growth of students from the freshman general chemistry courses to the sophomore organic chemistry classes.
Although Boettcher is relatively new to us, IU South Bend is not new to him. He graduated from our campus with a BA chemistry degree in 1974 (when we did not yet offer a BS) and because he worked part-time to support himself during his college career he well knows the troubles many of our students face. Even before he earned his degree he had his foot in the door for a career in chemistry with his work in formaldehyde polymers at Kordell Industries of Mishawaka. Boettcher later worked at several chemical industries mainly in the role of quality control manager and routinely troubleshooted the transition from research & development to manufacturing. Between his graduation and retirement, Boettcher returned to IU to earn an M.B.A. from our business school while working for Bayer Corporation.
Boettcher is very active in the American Chemical Society and serves as treasurer of the local section. We appreciate his life-long dedication to chemistry and are grateful for his many semesters of teaching in our department. He is a joy to work with and we hope to continue working side-by-side with him for many years to come.
