Dr. Al Gotch was born and raised in the Cleveland, Ohio, area and received his B.A. in Chemistry from Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania.  He then completed his M.S. in Chemistry and Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at Purdue University, studying artificial photosynthesis and small molecule gas phase clusters respectively.  He taught college chemistry for 20 years at three different state and private institutions and was department chair for nine of those years at the last two institutions.  At each he led and managed the growth of the chemistry program.  He worked with over 30 undergraduate and high school science students on research, published 12 peer reviewed papers, and has given dozens of presentations on a wide-range of topics including photosynthesis, electrochemistry, fluorescence spectroscopy, molecular structure, chemical education, philosophy of science, macroemulsions, alternative energy, and renewable chemical feedstocks. He worked for five years as a Senior Analytical Chemist at an environmental testing lab where he developed and ran EPA approved methods for drinking water and soil samples. He currently is Lead Analyst and EHS Compliance Officer at Auris Noble, LLC assisting in process development and recycling of super alloy and other high value materials for the aviation and chemical industries.