Marcy Hamby Towns is an American chemist who is Professor of Chemistry Education at
Purdue University. Her research considers the development of innovative ways to teach undergraduate chemistry. She was awarded the
IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry Award in 2021.
Early life and education
Towns is the daughter of a chemist.[1] She was an undergraduate student at
Linfield University[2][3] and moved to
Purdue University for graduate studies.[2] After completing college, she started teaching chemistry at
Valley Catholic School,[4] where she became interested in chemistry education.
Research and career
Towns joined the chemistry department at
Ball State University in 1995.[citation needed] She taught chemistry in
Indiana for twelve years, after which she returned to the faculty at
Purdue University and developed a research program in chemistry education and evidence-based learning.[5] She is particularly interested in undergraduate chemistry teaching and laboratory assessment.[6]