AACT Member Spotlight: Jeromy Bentley



Every month AACT spotlights a passionate member who is dedicated to enhancing chemistry inside and outside the classroom. This month, we spotlight Jeromy Bentley. He teaches honors chemistry and forensic chemistry at Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Illinois. 

Tell us about yourself.
I'm a high school honors chemistry and forensic chemistry teacher at Naperville Central High School in the western suburbs of Chicago in Naperville, Illinois. I am a Senior Class Council co-advisor and enjoy planning Homecoming Dances and Graduation week activities for our Redhawk community.

I went to Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois and graduated with a B.S. in Biology, B.S in Chemistry, and M.S. in Chemistry. Working in the lab of Dr. Hitchcock, my fascination with molecular handedness and organic synthesis was born.

I'm lucky to have wonderful colleagues who put up with my overly abundant passion for forensic science, organic chemistry, and spectroscopy. My love of puzzles, Legos, and molecular models is obvious to all who meet me.

I try to attend and present at as many conferences as I am able. ACS, ChemEd, BCCE, and NSTA have all been great and I always take something away from it such as a new lesson, lab, or instructional technique.

When home, I'm usually playing with my wife and kids - Nintendo Switch, puzzles, Legos, chess, and Uno are the most common lately. My kids are also involved with activities such as dance, baseball, soccer, art club, and Lego club. As a family we love to travel and explore new places.

Share a story from your past that led to your choosing your field of work.

Having the opportunity to work as an RET participant via NSF grants allowed me to bring unique experiences and perspectives to my students. Working in Sir Fraser Stoddart's lab at Northwestern on a nanolithography project and the labs of Dr. Hong and Dr. Linninger at UIC on chemotherapeutic delivery systems has afforded me the opportunity to discuss the chemical research process with students. Being able to pass on my experiences in three different research labs and my research at Illinois State University has provided very deep and meaningful conversations with students about science and how the traditional disciplines of chemistry, biology, and physics are interrelated. I only hope that my research experiences may inspire them to consider a STEM field.

What are you most proud of in your work?

I'm incredibly proud of my students in my blended forensic chemistry (advanced chemistry) course. Students come into my course with different chemistry backgrounds. I see the kids who scored a 5 on the AP chemistry exam and I see the kids who took general chemistry and are curious and want to learn more. I was able to collaborate with a local college, North Central College, and have kids conduct an authentic assessment. Students work collaboratively in groups of 2-3 and are provided 2 unknowns. They get hands-on experience with a GC-MS, IR, and a proton NMR and collect spectral evidence to correctly identify both unknowns. Once they have the "puzzle pieces" interpreted, it's awesome to get to see them apply the theory we learn in class and complete the "puzzle."

What topic do you find hardest for students? How do you teach it?

Chemical bonding is the most challenging topic for my honors chemistry students due to its lack of "numerical" answers. I introduce the unit by informing them that they will learn an incredible amount of information, but what they learn will help them to answer some important real-world questions that they encounter on daily basis. So I have them generate questions about the world around them they might be curious about. Of course they will be very creative in their questions they develop, but I tend to notice common themes and reinforce that we will be exploring each of them together, as a team. Why does ice float on top of water? How does frost form on my windshield if it didn't rain the night before? Why do we sweat? When salt is put into water, why does it dissolve? Is it the same reason as sugar dissolving in water? Why doesn't oil dissolve in water? It's incredibly rewarding hearing the kids talk about the main reason for the properties of matter all comes down to attractive and repulsive forces due to the structure of a substance.

Why did you become involved with AACT? What are the benefits of being involved?

In my opinion, one of the greatest resources we have at our disposal is ChemMatters magazine. I love how the articles are written in a way that engages students in a meaningful fashion. My students use them to learn a difficult concept and take something away that they could discuss with a family member. In my Honors Chemistry class we are currently wrapping up our chemical bonding unit that includes topics such as Lewis Structures, molecular shapes, molecular polarity, and intermolecular forces. It tends to be a challenging unit due to the lack of "numbers and math" they are used to. I provided students with a few of the articles from the October 2025 ChemMatters issue: The Spice of Life. It allowed for a great discussion about how similarly structured molecules can do similar, but slightly different things. I'd also recommend teachers to peruse through the AACT classroom resource library. I've found various lesson plans and ideas posted by other teachers that were easily transferrable to my students. The AACT website is one of the first places I go when I begin my unit lesson planning. We are all great resources for each other and highly suggest teachers of all levels to join.

In three words, what would your students say they learned from you?

Passion, Responsiveness, and Determination.