College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty & Staff Profiles

Dr. Calloway joined the Winthrop faculty in 1995 after completing his Ph.D. at Wake Forest University. His teaching interests focus on analytical chemistry as well as introductory chemistry for science and non-science majors. Calloway also serves as the department's analytical instrumentation manager and system administrator for the Molecular Modeling Lab. He introduced computer-based molecular modeling, high field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and cooperative learning to the introductory chemistry labs. He incorporated instrument-based analytical chemistry labs into the quantitative analysis lab course using a wide variety of modern instrumentation. Calloway also developed the course "Forensic Analytical Chemistry," applying instrumental analytical chemistry to problems of criminalistics. He received the Joe B. Davis Award for Excellence in Chemical Education from Winthrop's students in 2000, 2001, 2004, and 2009.

His research interests focus on two areas. First is the development of novel chemical analysis instrumentation. Attention is given to design, fabrication and characterization, with the ultimate goal of advancing chemical analysis in terms of increased sensitivity, simplicity, data quality, speed of analysis, and lower cost. His second area of research interest is the incorporation of technological advancements into the undergraduate chemistry teaching laboratory courses and the visualization of chemical concepts as a means of improving student learning.

Instrumental Development of Tungsten Coil Atomizers — The goal of this research is the development of tungsten coils as atomizers for atomic emission and absorption spectrometry. Commercial atomizers, such as graphite furnaces and inductively coupled plasmas are expensive to operate, requiring large amounts of space, power, cooling water and support gases. Tungsten coils, extracted from commercial projector bulbs have been shown to be a viable alternative requiring less power, no cooling, minimal support gas, and small size. These characteristics lead to the possibility of smaller and potentially portable atomic spectrometers.

Technology in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum — The structure and behavior of atoms and molecules are not often directly observable, given the small size.  As such, chemistry frequently deals with concepts and principles that result from indirect chemical measurements. To probe the atomic and molecular realm requires sophisticated instrumentation where the operation of such instruments may obscure the chemical principle being studied. With widespread availability of PCs, control and operation have greatly simplified the collection and processing of data.  Incorporating and training students to use these modern tools of chemistry early in the undergraduate curriculum allows students to focus less on data collection and more on the chemical principle. In addition, the graphical or visual representation of data and molecular modeling often leads to a deeper understanding of these concepts.

Calloway's research has been supported by several grants from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security and Winthrop University's Research Council. His research has been published in scientific journals including Analytical Chemistry, Spectrochimica Acta, Analytical Sciences and Applied Spectroscopy. He currently has collaborations with researchers at Wake Forest University, Western Carolina University, and the University of So Paulo, Brazil.

Calloway is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Society for Applied Spectroscopy, and the South Carolina Academy of Science. He is active in the Carolina-Piedmont local section of the American Chemical Society, having served as section chair in 2002 and 2006. He also is a life member of the Sierra Club. Calloway is married and has a son.