An instructional faculty member in the Department of Chemistry for the past 14 years, Christian Ray was promoted in June 2020 to teaching associate professor of chemistry.
In addition to teaching, he is the director of the general chemistry division and faculty advisor for Project SEARCH (Science Education and Research for Children). In 2019, Ray received the Karen Wold Level the Learning Field Award, recognizing exemplary members of the Illinois faculty and staff who advocate and/or implement educational strategies, technologies and accommodations related to disabilities that provide equal access to academic resources and curricula for students with disabilities. In 2015, Ray received the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching by Instructional Staff.
Ray received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1999 from the University of Detroit Mercy and his PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005.
After spending one year as a visiting assistant professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, he returned to Chemistry at Illinois in 2006 when he joined the general chemistry teaching faculty.