Dr. Brian Peek

Education/Degrees:

• 1991 Ph.D.- Organic Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• 1986- B.S.- Chemistry- Wake Forest University

Honors/Awards:

• 2014-15- Governor’s Teaching Fellow
• 2013- Brady Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching
• 2007- Six Sigma Master Black Belt

Memberships:

• American Chemical Society

When I’m away from the classroom, I enjoy:

• Gardening
• Yard work
• Woodworking

Research Interests:

• Natural sources of raw materials from biomass to replace or supplement petroleum products in commercial products and as alternative fuel sources
• Formation and manufacture of composites containing cellulose and other natural materials, and their adhesives

Scholarly Work and Publications:

• Apparatus for Connecting Framing Components of a Building to a Foundation. US Patent 8793950
• Wood Composite Material Containing Strands of Differing Densities. US Patent 7993736
• Wood Composite Material Containing Strands of Differing Densities. US Patent 7662457
• Engineered Wood Boards with Reduced VOC Emissions. US Patent 7553549
• Strength-Enhanced, Lightweight Lignocellulosic Composite Board Materials. US Patent 7217458
• Phenolic Resins Compatible with Wax Emulsions. US Patent 6028133
• Composites Prepared with Ready-to-Use Resin/Wax Emulsion Adhesives. US Patent 6132885
• Liquid Crystal Composition and Alignment Layer for Display Device. US Patent 5578351
• Efficient Chemistry for Selective Modification and Metallization of Substrates. US Patent 5648201
• Development of a Standardized Laboratory VOC Test Method to Measure Hot-Press Emissions. Proc. 31st International Particleboard/Composite Materials Symp.
• Enzymatic Modification of a Chemisorbed Lipid Monolayer. Langmuir, 12(18), 4411-4416.
• Properties of Hydrophilic Self-Assembled Monolayers Effecting the Alignment of Liquid Crystals.
• Photoinduced Electron Transfer in Redox Active Lysines. J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 113 (1991), 8540 8542
• Synthesis of Redox Derivatives of Lysine and Related Peptides Containing Phenothiazine or Tris (2,2′- Bipyridine) Ruthenium (II). Int. J. Peptide Protein Res. 38 (1991), 114-123.

What courses do you teach at TFC?

• Chemistry I
• Chemistry II
• Organic Chemistry I
• Organic Chemistry II
• Physics I
• Physics II
• Biochemistry
• Scientific Literacy

When did you begin teaching at TFC?

• 2017

What is your favorite aspect of teaching at TFC?

• I really like the strong sense of Christian fellowship and community at TFC.

Favorite verse/ quote:

• John 1:1-3 (NIV)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.”