Rate My Professor Laura Parmentier

Laura E. Parmentier is Emerita Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Beloit College, where she served for 34 years following her arrival in 1991 as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry. She advanced through the ranks, becoming Assistant Professor and Martha Peterson Jr. Professor in the Sciences in 1993, Martha Peterson Associate Professor of Chemistry from 1997 to 2008, and Professor of Chemistry in 2009. Parmentier held the position of Biochemistry Program Chair in the Department of Chemistry and served as chair of the Program of Health and Society. She earned her B.S. summa cum laude in Chemistry and Biology from Northland College in 1984 and her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1990, with a thesis on mechanistic studies of Aspartate Transcarbamylase using heavy atom isotope effects under advisors Professors Marion H. O'Leary and W. W. Cleland. Prior to Beloit, she was a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the Institute for Enzyme Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison (1990-1991), and an Instructor of Chemistry at Northland College (1984-1985). As a visiting scholar, she lectured at the Department of Chemistry, University of Glasgow in 2000 and 2005, and served as a visiting scientist at Sogn og Fjordane University College, Norway in 2006, studying glacial lake sediments for climate change evidence.

Parmentier's research spans mechanistic enzymology, including heavy atom isotope effects on enzymes like Aspartate Transcarbamylase and Ornithine Transcarbamylase, NMR spectroscopy, environmental studies such as radon testing, fatty acid composition analysis, and chemical education through guided inquiry and POGIL approaches. She developed and implemented curricular materials emphasizing student-driven knowledge construction and inclusive pedagogies, contributing to NSF-sponsored initiatives like ChemLinks. Key publications include "13C Isotope Effects as a Probe of the Kinetic Mechanism and Allosteric Properties of E. coli Aspartate Transcarbamylase" (Biochemistry, 1992), "13C and 15N Isotope Effects as a Probe of the Chemical Mechanism of E. coli Aspartate Transcarbamylase" (Biochemistry, 1992), "Studies on the Urea Cycle Enzyme Ornithine Transcarbamylase Using Heavy Atom Isotope Effects" (Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 1998), and "A Guided Inquiry Approach to NMR Spectroscopy" (J. Chem. Educ., 1998). She taught introductory, organic, and medicinal chemistry, as well as courses on food and health. Parmentier collaborated nationally and internationally, presented on topics like feminist pedagogy, career-family balance in academia, and women's health laboratory courses, and participated in POGIL equity initiatives.