Thomas W. Shiland graduated from Dartmouth College in 1973, majoring in chemistry. He has taught chemistry for 20 years at Saratoga Springs High School in Saratoga Springs, New York, where he is science department chairman and teaches Regents and advanced placement chemistry. He is past president of the New York State Science Education Leadership Association. He is presently vice president of the Science Teachers Association of New York State and will be president-elect during the 2004-2005 year. He has published articles on science teaching in The Science Teacher, the Journal of Chemical Education, Science Education and the Journal of Research in Science Teaching. He was on a team of teachers that revised the New York State chemistry curriculum in 1999- 2001 and has worked during the summer for the past five years editing and writing chemistry questions for the New York State Regents chemistry exam.