Hi. I'm Cole.

I am an organic chemist, professor, and educator.

I created Cole Teaches Chemistry to help students learn organic chemistry as a connected, beautiful system of ideas rather than an ever-growing collection of facts and reactions to memorize. The subject becomes much more rewarding when you begin to develop an intuition for molecular structure, reactivity, and mechanism.

My background

I grew up outside Chicago before moving to UCLA to pursue a B.S. in chemistry. After scoring C's in introductory organic chemistry as a student, I realized that I needed to re-learn how to learn in order to pursue my love for organic chemistry. I went on to graduate from UCLA with departmental honors.

I earned my Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin studying transition metal catalysis and natural product total synthesis. I received a National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Health, and conducted postdoctoral research at University of Michigan. While at Michigan, I served as an instructor for introductory organic chemistry. In January 2027, I will join the faculty in the Department of Chemistry at Purdue University as an assistant professor, where my research group will work at the intersection of organic synthesis, biocatalysis, and data science.

Although research is a major part of my career, teaching has always been one of the parts I value most. Few things are more satisfying than watching a student realize that they can do it.

Why I created Cole Teaches Chemistry

Students should be able to find clear, serious organic chemistry instruction without paying hundreds of dollars for another course.

That is why the video lessons are publicly available, and why access to the complete collection of lecture notes, knowledge checkpoints, challenge problems, practice exams, and answer keys is priced at $5 monthly.

The membership supports the time required to write, revise, organize, and maintain those materials. It is intentionally priced to remain accessible. If the cost is not workable for you, please email me (coleteacheschemistry@gmail.com). No explanation is required.

These resources are independently created and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or required for any university course. They are designed so that you can follow the full curriculum or find materials that correspond to the order and terminology used in your own class.

You can learn this well

Whether organic chemistry currently feels overwhelming or has already become one of your favorite subjects, I hope these materials help you see more clearly, think more deeply, and enjoy the process of learning how molecules behave.