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Thomas C. O'Haver

Professor Emeritus

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of Maryland at College Park
College Park, MD 20742

B.S. Chemistry, 1963, Spring Hill College

Ph.D., Analytical Chemistry, 1968, Univ. of Florida (J. D. Winefordner)

Professional Interests

At the University of Maryland my research work was in the area of analytical spectroscopy and instrumentation development; derivative and wavelength modulation spectroscopy; continuum-source simultaneous multielement atomic absorption spectrometry; microcomputer applications in science education; diode-array spectroscopy; digital signal processing; science education; applications of constructivist pedagogy in science education. I have worked as a consultant for many companies and have presented numerous short courses and workshops.

In retirement since 1999, I've continued development of my popular Web-based tutorial and lavishly praised free toolkit of software programs for signal processing for science researchers and students, as well as a set of interactive simulation software modules for analytical chemistry instruction. My Web pages have been viewed millions of times from 162 countries and have been cited in over 160 published papers, theses, and patents. My signal processing toolkit is ranked by Google's search engine as the most highly praised and useful collection of science software worldwide, according to this search.

Publications and Presentations (Click here to search Google Scholar for my publications and citations).
I have published approximately 100 professional journal papers and book chapters; I have presented over 200 seminars and talks presented at national and international institutions and conferences. Click here for my academic Curriculum Vitae. 

  Since retirement, my wife and I have developed and presented a number of workshops for teachers on the applications of educational technology and Adult Education Courses on technology-related topics. I am a regular contributor to the Matlab File Exchange, where I am ranked in the top 1% of contributors.

National Awards and Distinctions
Tour Speaker for the Spectroscopy Society of Canada, 1979.
Tour Speaker for the American Chemical Society, 1980 and 1981.
Strock Award from the Society of Applied Spectroscopy for research on continuum-source atomic absorption spectrometry, 1988.
EDUCOM/NCRIPTAL awards for Best Design and for Best Chemistry software, for software program SPECTRUM, 1990.

Personal Information
Resides in Naples, FL and Silver Spring, MD. Married to Mary Louise O'Haver. Sons Christopher and Robert.
The Waterbird Gatherings of Naples, FL (Video)

My Retirement Hobby: Ornamental Landscape Gardening (Pictures of my current landscaping project)

Our Travel Pictures: Naples, FL, England, Scotland, China, Japan, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Alaska, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Galapagos, South Africa, Bush camps in Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Cuba, India, Mexico, Belize, Panama, Gibraltar, Morocco, Mallorca, Menorca, Tangiers, Curaçao, Aruba, most Caribbean islands, Panama Canal; National Parks and Forests of California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming and Nevada; Finger Lakes, Niagara Falls, Canada, Hudson Valley, Dry Tortugas.

Science-related Web-based projects

Interactive Computer Models for Analytical Chemistry Instruction 

Signal Processing Tools for Scientists and Engineers 

Introduction to Signal Processing in Chemical Analysis

ElectroSim: Electronic Circuit Simulations

Online material for chemistry courses I have developed and taught

On-line conferences

I organized the first CHEMCONF on-line conference during the summer of 1993. 450 participants used Listserv e-mail to discuss fifteen papers, which were available on FTP and Gopher servers. All subsequent conferences have been Web-based. Participation has approximately doubled since the first CHEMCONF, and the frequency of the on-line conferences, now called CONFCHEM, has expanded to several per year.  Press coverage:

Science education and other general educational projects

Completed projects, no longer being updated


Last updated March, 2016. Questions should be directed to Prof. Thomas O'Haver, at toh@umd.edu.
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