Dr. Lance Talbert has been part of CSUB’s chemistry and biochemistry department since he joined the faculty as a full-time lecturer in the fall of 2019, but this year he returns to the department as an assistant professor.
“I have already been teaching here for three years and am excited to begin my career as an assistant professor at CSUB,” Dr. Talbert said. “I love the faculty in the department and look forward to collaborating with them on more research projects in the future.”
Originally from Highland, California, about three hours southeast of Bakersfield, Dr. Talbert earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Redlands and both his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside.
Dr. Talbert’s expertise is in analytical chemistry and chemical education. He is looking forward to starting an environmental chemistry project examining phthalate esters, known endocrine-disrupting compounds.
“While some phthalates have been banned due to their negative health effects, this does not retroactively remove phthalates from existing objects or the environment,” Dr. Talbert explained. “The goal is to characterize and quantify some of the more abundant phthalate esters, such as those commonly found in makeup and those that help with the flexibility of plastics. This will be accomplished by examining the soils around the Central Valley.”
As a lecturer, Dr. Talbert worked with Dr. Marina Shapiro on a chemical education project examining the effectiveness of virtual reality and simulation activities to improve student success in the general chemistry courses. He will continue to work on these projects too.
“These are very important to helping students succeed in their future careers, whether in STEM or other disciplines,” Dr. Talbert said. “I am interested in continuing in the development, implementation and assessment of more engaging learning environments in general chemistry lecture and laboratory courses.”
Dr. Talbert will primarily teach lower and upper division courses in the analytical chemistry sequence and other analytical instrumentation courses. He will also regularly teach introductory chemistry classes and physical chemistry.
Off campus, Dr. Talbert enjoys playing video games to clear his mind and enjoy the immersive storytelling. He finds it often allows him to come back to a problem more energized and with a fresh set of eyes. He and his wife, Michelle, also tend to a slowly growing plant collection.