David Cleary, Ph.D.

Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Dr. David Cleary

Contact Information

  • Fall 2024
    Tuesdays: 2-3 p.m.
    Wednesdays: 10-11 a.m.
    Thursdays: 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
    Fridays: 10-11 a.m.

  • (509) 313-6631

Education & Curriculum Vitae

Ph. D., Chemistry, University of Michigan, 1986

Courses Taught

General Chemistry, Chem 101
General Chemistry Lab, Chem 101L
Chemistry in Context, Chem 104
Chemistry in Context Lab, Chem 111L
Environmental Chemistry, Chem 123
Environmental Chemistry Lab, Chem 123L
Art and Chemistry, Chem 180
Organic Chemistry I, Chem 230
Analytical Chemistry, Chem 310
Analytical Chemistry Lab, Chem 310L
Physical Chemistry I, Chem 320
Physical Chemistry II, Chem 321
Unified Lab I, Chem 340
Unified Lab II, Chem 341
Directed Research, Chem 390
Photoelectrochemistry, Chem 399
Advanced Physical Chemistry, Chem 421
Biophysical Chemistry, Chem 450
Polymer Chemistry and Engineering, Chem 455
Chemical Bibliography, Chem 471
Senior Literature Review, Chem 488
Thesis, Chem 498A
Thesis, Chem 498B


Principles of Inorganic Materials Design, 3nd ed.,  John N. Lalena, David A. Cleary, and Olivier Hardouin Duparc; Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ, 2021.

Abboud*, Jean-Claude; Bartolome*, Edgar A.; Blanco*, Mayra; Kress*, Annalise C.; Ellis*, Ian Y.; Yazzolino*, Perry K.; Sorensen*, Kamrin I.; Winslow*, James R.; Cleary, David A.; Lefcort, Hugh  “Carbon dioxide enrichment alters predator avoidance and sex determination but only sex is mediated by GABAA receptors,”  Hydrobiologia (2019), 829(1), 307-322. 

Lefcort, Hugh; Cleary, David A.; Marble*, Aaron M.; Phillips*, Morgan V.; Stoddard*, Timothy J.; Tuthill*, Lara M.; Winslow*, James R. "Snails from heavy-metal polluted environments have reduced sensitivity to carbon dioxide-induced acidity"  SpringerPlus (2015), 4(1), 1-9.

Luke Allen*, Chris Collins*, Matt Cupp*,  Hailey Fitterer*, Teague Hatfield*,  Christine Ngan*, Lucas Rodrigues Rivarola*, Sue Niezgoda, Noel Bormann, Donald Carpenter, David Cleary, Mara London, Mark Muszynski, and Aimee Navickis-Brasch "Sharp Avenue Permeable Pavement Feasibility Study: Final Report" submitted to City of Spokane, August 29, 2014.

Rowley, J. G., Do, T. D., Cleary, D. A. and Parkinson, B. A., “Combinatorial Discovery Through a Distributed Outreach Program: Investigation of the Photoelectrolysis Activity of p-type Fe, Cr, Al Oxides”, Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2014, 6(12), 9046-9052.

Cleary, David A. "Use of WolframAlpha in equilibrium calculations" Chemical Educator (2014), 19, 182-186, 5.  

D. A. Cleary, "Use of JANAF tables in equilibrium calculations and partition function calculations" J. Chem. Educ.  2014,  91 (6), pp 848–852.

J. L. Hazen and D. A. Cleary, "Yielding Unexpected Results: Precipitation of Ba3(PO4)2 and Implications for Teaching Solubility Principles in the General Chemistry Curriculum" J. Chem. Educ., 2014, 91 (8), pp 1261–1263.

Principles of Inorganic Materials Design, 2nd ed.,  John N. Lalena and David A. Cleary; Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ, 2010.

Inorganic Materials Synthesis and Fabrication John N. Lalena, David A. Cleary, Everett E. Carpenter, Nancy F. Dean; Wiley-Interscience: Hoboken, NJ, 2008.

Principles of Inorganic Materials Design  John N. Lalena and David A. Cleary; Wiley-Interscience: Hoboken, NJ, 2005.

J. M. Haag*, C. Jacobson, D. A. Cleary, and B. Twamley, "Synthesis and characterization of lanthanide orthothiophosphates: LaPS4" Inorganica Chimica Acta 2005, 358(13), 4062.

J. M. Haag*, G. C. LeBret, D. A. Cleary, and B. Twamley, "Room temperature synthesis and solid-state structure of Ni2P2O6∙12H2O" Journal of Solid State Chemistry 2005, 178(4), 1308.

Lefcort, H., Abbott, D. P., Cleary, D. A., Howell, E., Keller, N. C., Smith, M. M., "Aquatic snails from mining sites have evolved to detect and avoid heavy metals," Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2004, 46, 478-484.

G. C. LeBret, H. C. McCoy, K. R. Kittilstved, D. A. Cleary, and B. Twamley, "Single Crystal and Far IR Analysis of Some Lanthanide Thiophosphates," Inorg. Chim. Acta, 2003, 343, 141-146.

D. A. Cleary and B. Twamly, "Synthesis and Structure of a New Layered Phase in the Lanthanide Thiophosphates: LuPS4," Inorg. Chim. Acta, 2003, 353, 183-186.

"Formation of Hexamethylbenzene and Octachlorostyrene During the Synthesis of Chromium(III) Chloride," P. Mataruse, B. Yuknis, B. McDonald, G. Booth, and D. A. Cleary, Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, 2003, 392, 69-74. 


* indicates undergraduate co-authors

Our current research involves monitoring water quality in local streams.  The work is in collaboration with the Civil Engineering Department in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences here at Gonzaga.  The civil engineers are developing methods to improve the water quality of local streams.  We provide the analytical chemistry necessary to determine the efficacy of these methods.  Specifically, we are determining nitrate, phosphate, and metal concentrations in stream water.  We use ion chromatography and colorimetric methods to determine anion concentrations and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine metal concentrations.