Biography

Dr. Klaus Woelk is a tenured faculty member of the Chemistry Department at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), where he teaches general and physical chemistry to major and non-major students. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Bonn, Germany, and worked several years as a researcher at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago. Dr. Woelk's research expertise is in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and imaging (MRI), NMR relaxometry, chemical catalysis, and hydrothermal conversion of cellulosic biomass to fuel. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed scientific articles and was issued several U.S. and international patents. Among other research recognitions, he won the R&D 100 award for toroid cavity NMR spectroscopy and imaging . Dr. Woelk has served multiple years as Missouri S&T department chair of chemistry and was rewarded with the American Chemical Society (ACS) Salutes to Excellence Award for services to the ACS South Central Missouri local section.
Dr. Woelk is a member of the Advisory Board for the Missouri S&T Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE) and served as director of S&T's New Faculty Teaching Scholarship program and Freshman Faculty Forum. He led a team that considerably redesigned general chemistry education at Missouri S&T as part of an initiative established by the Missouri Governor and Missouri's public four-year institutions. He is currently a member of the Missouri Department of Higher Education (MDHE) Common Curriculum Advisory Council (CCAC) for the implementation of Senate Bill 997 (Core Curriculum Transfer Act) . Dr. Woelk has won multiple teaching awards for undergraduate- and graduate-level education, including the coveted "We Love Your Class" award from S&T's freshman engineering students, the Missouri S&T Faculty Teaching Award, and the President's Award for Innovative Teaching of the University of Missouri System.