Head and shoulders image of Ron Steer, Professor of Chemistry.

Bio/Historical Note: Image appeared in 18 May 2001 issue of OCN.

Bio/Historical Note: Ron Steer received B.Sc., Ph.D. and D.Sc. degrees from the University of Saskatchewan. He did postdoctoral research in the late 1960s at the University of California, Riverside, where he first became interested in the chemistry and relaxation dynamics of electronically excited molecules. He returned to his alma mater as Assistant Professor of Chemistry in 1969 and has been studying the chemistry and physics of excited species ever since. He was promoted to Professor of Chemistry in 1978, served a term as Department Head from 2002 to 2005, and served as the elected representative of the faculty on the U of S's Board of Governors from 2001 to 2004. He has taught at all levels, from introductory general chemistry, through introductory and advanced undergraduate physical chemistry, to graduate courses in laser chemistry and physics and excited state chemistry. Steer was awarded an earned Doctor of Science degree in Chemistry by the U of S in 1995. He was honoured with a Master Teacher Award by the U of S in 1996 and with the John C. Polanyi Award by the Canadian Society for Chemistry for excellence in physical chemistry/chemical physics research in 2013. Steer now conducts research collaboratively as Distinguished Professor Emeritus (2021).