Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to footer content

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Dermot F. Donnelly-Hermosillo, Ph.D., B.Sc.

Associate Professor, Chemical Education
Office Location: Science 1, Room 258 
Office Phone: 559.278.5004
E-mail: ddonnelly@csufresno.edu
Websites: Research Group, ResearchGate, LinkedIn, Twitter

Dr. Dermot F. Donnelly-Hermosillo specializes in the role of instructional technologies and curriculum to support enhanced student ownership and learning of scientific concepts. Such instructional technologies include simulations, virtual laboratories, and virtual reality.

Dr. Donnelly-Hermosillo is involved in several research projects totaling over $2.7 million including the:

  1. "Introducing Research Deconstruction Pedagogy into Gateway Courses to Improve Student Engagement with STEM" project (CLL Grant); Co-PI. Cal Learning Lab Innovation Grant.
  2. "Advancing Computational Thinking for Teacher Education in Central California" project (NSF #1950031); Co-PI. National Science Foundation (NSF) Robert Noyce Scholarship Program.
  3. "Enhancing the Quality of Undergraduate Investigations in Physical Science (EQUIPS)" project (NSF #1712279); PI.  NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) Award. 
  4. "A Study of the Impact of Pre-Service Teacher Research Experience on Effectiveness, Persistence, and Retention" project (NSF #1660777); Co-PI. NSF Collaborative Noyce Proposal Track 4 Award. 
  5. "Investigating Chemistry Laboratories with Inquiry Projects (ICLIPs)" study (Curriculum Development Grant Award); PI. CSUPERB award.

Dr. Donnelly-Hermosillo teaches physical science classes to elementary pre-service teachers (NSCI 1A), general chemistry classes to non-chemistry majors (Chem 3A), chemistry and society to non-chemistry majors (Chem 10), and laboratory teaching techniques to graduate students (Chem 201; 100-250 students per semester overall). 

Dr. Donnelly-Hermosillo is an Assistant Director of the STEM Education Center, a Faculty Advisor to the Chemistry Club, a Faculty Lead for the DISCOVERe Mobile Technology Program, and a member of the university student ratings subcommittee and GE assessment subcommittee.  He has reviewed Learning Management Systems (LMS) as part of a faculty learning community and has integrated several Affordable Learning Solutions in his courses. He is also a former President of the Tenure-track Faculty Organization (TFO). Beyond Fresno State, Dr. Donnelly-Hermosillo is the Chemistry Communication Lead of the USAID STESSA project that is developing STEM syllabi and collaboration between Egyptian and US faculty.

Dr. Donnelly-Hermosillo is a member of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the American Chemical Society (ACS), and the California Science Teachers Association (CSTA).  He regularly presents at regional, national, and international conferences, and has published in numerous international journals.  He has reviewed over 90 submissions for over 20 international journals including the Review of Educational Research (RER), the Journal of the Learning Sciences (JLS), and Computers and Education. He has received several awards including a Fresno State Provost Promising New Faculty Award, two AERA Outstanding Reviewer Awards, two Publon Awards, a UC Berkeley Postdoc Leadership Award, and a national Irish Ph.D. award.

Dr. Donnelly-Hermosillo earned his B.Sc. in Physical Science Education and his Ph.D. in Chemical Education at the University of Limerick, Ireland, where he worked with Dr. John O'Reilly and Dr. Oliver McGarr.  He spent a year as a postdoctoral researcher at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, collaborating with Dr. Suzanne Boniface and Dr. Anne Hume, and 3 years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, working with Professor Marcia Linn.

Recent Publications

Donnelly-Hermosillo, D.F., Gerard, E.F., & Linn, M.C. (2020). Impacts of graph technologies in K-12 science and mathematics education. Computers & Education, 146, 103748. [Available Here]

Wood, J., & Donnelly-Hermosillo, D. F. (2019). Learning chemistry nomenclature: Comparing the use of an electronic game versus a study guide approach. Computers & Education, 141, 103615. [Available Here]

Other publications are available here: Google Scholar

Community Chemistry

Below are links to videos of Dr. Donnelly-Hermosillo's Community Chemistry program alongside Mr. Don Williams Physics Outreach from the Fresno State Physics Department.