Dr. Kenneth J. McDonald, Ph.D.

Dr. Kenneth McDonald teaches courses in physical chemistry, materials engineering and general chemistry. He earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and a Master of Science in chemistry from Illinois State University in 2004 and 2006, respectively. Dr. McDonald received a Doctor of Philosophy in inorganic chemistry in 2012 from Purdue University, where he studied the electrochemical synthesis of semiconductors for use in photoelectrochemical cells to split water into H₂ and O₂ using solar energy.

After receiving his Doctor of Philosophy, Dr. McDonald worked for the Toyota Research Institute of North America for two years before returning to higher education. He has been at West Point since 2016 and has taught in both the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering- now the Department of Civil and Environmental Enginnering (Engineering Materials and the Fundamentals of Engineering Mechanics and Design) and the Department of Chemistry and Life Science - now the Department of Chemical & Biological Science & Engineering (General Chemistry I/II and Physical Chemistry I/II).