Dr. Daniel Osipovitch (Dr. O), chemistry teacher at Waterford, received his Ph.D. in Experimental and Molecular Medicine from Dartmouth College (NH) in February of 2015. His thesis research used protein engineering/bioengineering to develop new ways of treating drug-resistant Staph. infections with engineered enzymes. Dr. O also has a B.S. in chemistry and a B.S. in forensic science from the University of New Haven (CT). Through tutoring, he developed his passion for teaching and recognized that he needed to be in the classroom inspiring our future scientists and engineers; he hopes to show students that chemistry, although challenging, is a beautiful and exciting view into how the world around us works. Dr. O believes that science is one of the best ways to connect to the world around us. Other passions of his include playing a variety of games (D&D, Magic the Gathering, board games), cooking, hiking, metalsmithing, and enameling.
He has taught a variety of classes throughout his tenure at Waterford including honors chemistry, AP chemistry, food science, game theory, pharmacology, and a variety of independent study courses. He helped to start and currently coaches our highly competitive Science Olympiad team which has come top-3 in state the past couple years. He has also acted as a mentor for the Pharmacology Research Program at the U, where students get an intensive 8-week experience doing scientific research in state-of-the-art labs.
It is Dr. O’s goal to develop in his students a curiosity about the world, and he hopes his students leave with a true understanding of Rosalind Franklin’s poignant statement, “science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated.”