Gretchen Adams received her undergraduate degree in Teaching of Chemistry from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 1998. She earned her Masters of Science in Teaching of Chemistry from University of Illinois-UC in 1999. She joined the Chemistry Department at UIUC in January 2003. Prior to this, Gretchen taught high school science in Iowa for four years. In addition to teaching chemistry courses with the General Chemistry division, she directs the Chemistry Merit Program for Emerging Scholars and serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Gretchen's current research involves investigating the factors that influence the retention and success of all undergraduate chemistry majors at the University of Illinois, with a secondary emphasis on underrepresented groups.

G.M. Adams and J.M. Lisy, “The Chemistry Merit Program: Reaching, Teaching, and Retaining Students in the Chemical Sciences”, Journal of Chemical Education, Vol. 84, pp 721-726, April 2007