Associate Professor of Chemistry
Department personal site
Center for Learning Innovation
University of Minnesota Rochester.
Mail address:
University of Minnesota Rochester;
111 South Broadway, Suite 300 Rochester, MN 5590
Publication sites: github.com/xavierprat, google Scholar, orcid.org/0000-0002-1380-6025
Web 2.0: linkedin, facebook, twitter , strava
Professional interests:
- Designing and implementing learning innovations in UMR's Chemistry Curriculum such as merging Organic and General chemistry, flipped classroom, specifications grading, gamification, and development of question banks for the assessment of low-order and high-order thinking:
https://sites.google.com/r.umn.edu/chemistry-at-umr - Visualization and navigation of chemistry data. Using cheminformatics tools to build resources for chemistry learning.
- Visualization and navigation of student data. Using learning analytics tools to understand student learning at a larger time scale.
- Computational and theoretical chemistry. Modeling of chemical and biochemical reactions. Dynamical and statistical methods applied to condensed phase systems: enzymatic reactions and proton channels.
- Investigating how to use Large Language Models ChatBots in the classroom. More specifically, how to use it to learn computer coding and how to write scientific and laboratory reports.
Other interests
- Parenting, above all. Coffee, hoppy locally brewed ales, running, pretending to read while staring out the window, "dolce far niente".
My life so far
- 1976-1994 A laid back and cheerful kid running around Esparreguera.
- 1994-1999 B. Sc. in Chemistry, major in Physical and Organic Chemistry (Universitat de Barcelona, Spain).
- 1999-2000 M Sc in Chemistry: 2000 Universitat de Barcelona and Univ.Studi di Bologna (Italy). See my master thesis (doc or pdf)
- 2000-2004 PhD in Theoretical Chemistry (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona). Directed by Prof. JM Lluch and Prof A. Gonzalez-Lafont.
See my thesis (html or pdf) - 2005-2006 Postdoctoral Research Associate (MEC/Fulbright fellowship) at the University of Wisconsin in Madison with Prof. Qiang Cui.
- 2007 “Juan de la Cierva” researcher at the IMIM/GRIB, Barcelona with Prof. Jordi Villà Freixa.
- 2008-2009: Research Associate at the Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin and the Journal of Chemical Education with Prof. John Moore.
- 2010-2018: Assistant Professor at the Center for Learning Innovation, University of Minnesota Rochester.
- 2018-Present: Associate Professor at the Center for Learning Innovation, University of Minnesota Rochester.
My name:
My name is pronounced in the Catalan language and it sounds in English like “Cha-vee-ay” (pronunciation: http://www.forvo.com/word/xavier#ca ). In Spain's tradition, people have two last names, the father’s (Prat) and the mother’s (Resina). In the US I write my last name hyphenated, when online forms allow it.