Terry McCreary Author

About our authors John Hill received his Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas. As an organic chemist, he published more than 50 papers, most of which have an educational bent. In addition to Chemistry for Changing Times, he authored or coauthored several introductory-level chemistry textbooks, all of which have been published in multiple editions. He presented over 60 papers at national conferences, many relating to chemical education. He received several awards for outstanding teaching and was active in the American Chemical Society, both locally and nationally.  Terry McCreary received his Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Virginia Tech. He has taught chemistry at Murray State University since 1988 and was presented with the Regents Excellence in Teaching Award in 2008. He is a member of the Kentucky Academy of Science and has served as technical editor for the Journal of Pyrotechnics. McCreary is author of several laboratory manuals for general chemistry and analytical chemistry, as well as General Chemistry with John Hill, Ralph Petrucci, and Scott Perry, and Experimental Composite Propellant, a fundamental monograph on the preparation and properties of solid rocket propellant. In his spare time, he designs, builds, and flies rockets with the Tripoli Rocketry Association of which he was elected president in 2010. He also enjoys gardening, machining, woodworking, and astronomy.  Marilyn D. Duerst majored in chemistry, math, and German at St. Olaf College, graduating in 1963 and earned a Master’s Degree from the University of California-Berkeley in 1966. For over five decades her talents in teaching have flourished in every venue imaginable, with students aged 4 to 84, but were focused on non-science majors, preservice and inservice teachers. She taught at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls from 1981 to 2015; in 2006 she was presented with the Outstanding Teaching Award. Now a Distinguished Lecturer in Chemistry, emerita, from UWRF, she is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, an organization in which she has long been active both locally and nationally, particularly in outreach activities to the public. In 1999, she co-authored a book for children with John W. Hill entitled The Crimecracker Kids and the Bake-shop Break-in. Marilyn is a birder, rockhound and nature photographer, collects sand, minerals and elements, has traveled 4 continents, and studied a dozen languages.  Rill Ann Reuter earned her B.A. in Chemistry from Connecticut College and her M.S. in Biochemistry from Yale University. She worked in academic research laboratories at Yale University, Princeton University, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School for twelve years, with a primary emphasis on nucleic acid research. After moving to Minnesota in 1980, she taught at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, the College of Saint Teresa, and Winona State University and did research on photosynthesis. She retired from Winona State in 2015 as Professor Emerita of Chemistry. Over the years she has taught large numbers of general chemistry, non-science, and pre-nursing students. She was active in local and regional science fairs for 35 years and is a member of the American Chemical Society. She has a keen interest in history, politics, and classical music.