Rissa Sorensen-Unruh
@clarissasorensenunruh.com
Learning/Teaching Enthusiast | Chem & Stats Prof | #STEMEd researcher | Emancipatory Pedagogies (Ungrading, Open, Critical, etc.) | Belonging | Grief & HERO (with Christy Albright) | LGBQTIA2S+ 🏳️🌈| She/They | 😈
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Teaching, Learning, and the Lessons of Grief, with Christy Albright + Clarissa Sorensen Unruh – Teaching in Higher Ed
Christy Albright + Clarissa Sorensen Unruh share about teaching, learning, and the lessons of grief on episode 596 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast
teachinginhighered.com
What an astoundingly beautiful conversation this was! I am still listening and reverberating with its insights. Christy & I did a Teaching in Higher Ed podcast with Bonni about grief & it was one of the most joyful conversations I think I’ve heard captured.
teachinginhighered.com/podcast/teac...
teachinginhighered.com/podcast/teac...
Reposted by Rissa Sorensen-Unruh
I'm doing a thread of everything I've published this year, but amassing everything I'm struck by how fast the Trump admin moved to wreck the country. I figured that they would move a bit more slowly breaking everything, but no, 2025 was the year of the crowbar and the wrecking ball.
(Plz boost!)
🧵
(Plz boost!)
🧵
December 31, 2025 at 7:29 PM
I'm doing a thread of everything I've published this year, but amassing everything I'm struck by how fast the Trump admin moved to wreck the country. I figured that they would move a bit more slowly breaking everything, but no, 2025 was the year of the crowbar and the wrecking ball.
(Plz boost!)
🧵
(Plz boost!)
🧵
Happy Sunday everyone. Just checking in to see how y’all are doing?!?
November 17, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Happy Sunday everyone. Just checking in to see how y’all are doing?!?
What an astoundingly beautiful conversation this was! I am still listening and reverberating with its insights. Christy & I did a Teaching in Higher Ed podcast with Bonni about grief & it was one of the most joyful conversations I think I’ve heard captured.
teachinginhighered.com/podcast/teac...
teachinginhighered.com/podcast/teac...
Teaching, Learning, and the Lessons of Grief, with Christy Albright + Clarissa Sorensen Unruh – Teaching in Higher Ed
Christy Albright + Clarissa Sorensen Unruh share about teaching, learning, and the lessons of grief on episode 596 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast
teachinginhighered.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:32 PM
What an astoundingly beautiful conversation this was! I am still listening and reverberating with its insights. Christy & I did a Teaching in Higher Ed podcast with Bonni about grief & it was one of the most joyful conversations I think I’ve heard captured.
teachinginhighered.com/podcast/teac...
teachinginhighered.com/podcast/teac...
Reposted by Rissa Sorensen-Unruh
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
DNA scientist James Watson has a remarkably long history of sexist, racist public comments
“People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,” he said in 2003. “I think it would be great.”
www.vox.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
Been lurking for awhile for the same reasons. Sigh.
October 7, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Been lurking for awhile for the same reasons. Sigh.
What Marie said. 😈🫶🏼
September 1, 2025 at 8:20 PM
What Marie said. 😈🫶🏼
Reposted by Rissa Sorensen-Unruh
We need to know what humans do before we argue that machines can do it just the same. There can’t be AI literacy without a literacy in being human: how we make meaning in work and life, distinguishing the artificial from the imaginary from the true. mail.cyberneticforests.com/human-litera...
Human Literacy
Something I Can Tell Students Now That I Am Not Teaching
You and I probably both keep hearing that students should be working toward AI literacy. They should know what to type into prompt windows, ...
mail.cyberneticforests.com
August 24, 2025 at 12:25 PM
We need to know what humans do before we argue that machines can do it just the same. There can’t be AI literacy without a literacy in being human: how we make meaning in work and life, distinguishing the artificial from the imaginary from the true. mail.cyberneticforests.com/human-litera...
FUND THIS CRITICAL WORK ALREADY @gatesfoundation.bsky.social
MacKenzie Scott Foundation
Hewlett Foundation NIH
www.science.org/content/arti...
MacKenzie Scott Foundation
Hewlett Foundation NIH
www.science.org/content/arti...
Driven by the pain of endometriosis, this scientist is uncovering clues to its causes
Katie Burns is helping reveal the immune system’s role in the long-neglected disease
www.science.org
August 26, 2025 at 12:26 PM
FUND THIS CRITICAL WORK ALREADY @gatesfoundation.bsky.social
MacKenzie Scott Foundation
Hewlett Foundation NIH
www.science.org/content/arti...
MacKenzie Scott Foundation
Hewlett Foundation NIH
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Rissa Sorensen-Unruh
Tried out Grammarly's AI grade predictor. Didn't want to use actual student work, so I had ChatGPT write a paper for one of my assignments and gave that to Grammarly. Grammarly promises to use publicly available info about your instructor to predict what they will say. The advice was *not* what I /1
August 20, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Tried out Grammarly's AI grade predictor. Didn't want to use actual student work, so I had ChatGPT write a paper for one of my assignments and gave that to Grammarly. Grammarly promises to use publicly available info about your instructor to predict what they will say. The advice was *not* what I /1
So, anyway, if you’d like to know more about my current elected role as Councilor, or about CHED or ACS Council, I’m here in the comments, DMs, etc. Let’s chat.
August 21, 2025 at 1:29 PM
So, anyway, if you’d like to know more about my current elected role as Councilor, or about CHED or ACS Council, I’m here in the comments, DMs, etc. Let’s chat.
CHED ExComm approved almost $100K in CHED member scholarships for #BCCE2026. & while our role is often fiduciary, the ability to give back to CHED (via webinars (POGIL, Early Career Chemists, etc) or communication & solidarity in hard times or scholarships) is a breath of fresh air. #ACSFall2025
August 21, 2025 at 1:27 PM
CHED ExComm approved almost $100K in CHED member scholarships for #BCCE2026. & while our role is often fiduciary, the ability to give back to CHED (via webinars (POGIL, Early Career Chemists, etc) or communication & solidarity in hard times or scholarships) is a breath of fresh air. #ACSFall2025
#LGTBQ+ Chemists unite! #ACSFall2025
Side note: CALC still has to be approved by the Board, but we expect this to happen.
Do I want to be on CALC? Yes. Do like 80 other people? Also yes. So we’ll see.
Side note: CALC still has to be approved by the Board, but we expect this to happen.
Do I want to be on CALC? Yes. Do like 80 other people? Also yes. So we’ll see.
a rainbow background with the words love is unstoppa written on it
Alt: a rainbow background that emerges from left to right like someone is painting and creating a color palette with the words love is unstoppable on it.
media.tenor.com
August 21, 2025 at 1:19 PM
#LGTBQ+ Chemists unite! #ACSFall2025
Side note: CALC still has to be approved by the Board, but we expect this to happen.
Do I want to be on CALC? Yes. Do like 80 other people? Also yes. So we’ll see.
Side note: CALC still has to be approved by the Board, but we expect this to happen.
Do I want to be on CALC? Yes. Do like 80 other people? Also yes. So we’ll see.
Most of the time the votes are for things that help the society by slightly restructuring or enacting something.
Yesterday, we voted to create a Committee on the Advancement of LGTBQ+ Chemists (CALC) & it passed with more than 85% of the vote & 0 discussion. That was a magical moment. #ACSFall2025
Yesterday, we voted to create a Committee on the Advancement of LGTBQ+ Chemists (CALC) & it passed with more than 85% of the vote & 0 discussion. That was a magical moment. #ACSFall2025
August 21, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Most of the time the votes are for things that help the society by slightly restructuring or enacting something.
Yesterday, we voted to create a Committee on the Advancement of LGTBQ+ Chemists (CALC) & it passed with more than 85% of the vote & 0 discussion. That was a magical moment. #ACSFall2025
Yesterday, we voted to create a Committee on the Advancement of LGTBQ+ Chemists (CALC) & it passed with more than 85% of the vote & 0 discussion. That was a magical moment. #ACSFall2025
…lots of reports from different entities (chair succession, ACS CEO, & most (all?!?) of the Society committees), & some stuff to vote on (usually w/ highlighted blue or yellow pages).
The ACS Council agenda book is available for every National Meeting well in advance of the meeting. #ACSFall2025
The ACS Council agenda book is available for every National Meeting well in advance of the meeting. #ACSFall2025
August 21, 2025 at 1:11 PM
…lots of reports from different entities (chair succession, ACS CEO, & most (all?!?) of the Society committees), & some stuff to vote on (usually w/ highlighted blue or yellow pages).
The ACS Council agenda book is available for every National Meeting well in advance of the meeting. #ACSFall2025
The ACS Council agenda book is available for every National Meeting well in advance of the meeting. #ACSFall2025
The agenda booklet for ACS Council is publicly available here: www.acs.org/about/govern...
& it’s what we use (& what is constantly referred to) for the 4-hr meeting. It includes election info for different Society Committees (which do the ongoing work of Council for the members of the Society)…
& it’s what we use (& what is constantly referred to) for the 4-hr meeting. It includes election info for different Society Committees (which do the ongoing work of Council for the members of the Society)…
Council - American Chemical Society
The Council shall act as an advisory body in matters pertaining to the general management of the Society.
www.acs.org
August 21, 2025 at 1:05 PM
The agenda booklet for ACS Council is publicly available here: www.acs.org/about/govern...
& it’s what we use (& what is constantly referred to) for the 4-hr meeting. It includes election info for different Society Committees (which do the ongoing work of Council for the members of the Society)…
& it’s what we use (& what is constantly referred to) for the 4-hr meeting. It includes election info for different Society Committees (which do the ongoing work of Council for the members of the Society)…
ExComm runs the Division (CHED) & is lead by the Current Chair (rn it’s Thom Bussey) [& the Chair Succession (immediate past chair, current chair, incoming chair)].
Council runs the Society (along w/ the Board of Directors) & is lead by the Current Chair (rn it’s Dorothy Phillips). #ACSFall2025
Council runs the Society (along w/ the Board of Directors) & is lead by the Current Chair (rn it’s Dorothy Phillips). #ACSFall2025
August 21, 2025 at 1:01 PM
ExComm runs the Division (CHED) & is lead by the Current Chair (rn it’s Thom Bussey) [& the Chair Succession (immediate past chair, current chair, incoming chair)].
Council runs the Society (along w/ the Board of Directors) & is lead by the Current Chair (rn it’s Dorothy Phillips). #ACSFall2025
Council runs the Society (along w/ the Board of Directors) & is lead by the Current Chair (rn it’s Dorothy Phillips). #ACSFall2025
So, let’s start by putting this in context. I am a Councilor for the Division of Chemical Education (CHED) in @acs.org & that requires me to attend at least 2 4-hour ish long meetings at every National Meeting (Fall & Spring) - Executive Committee (ExComm) for CHED & ACS Council. #ACSFall2025
August 21, 2025 at 12:54 PM
So, let’s start by putting this in context. I am a Councilor for the Division of Chemical Education (CHED) in @acs.org & that requires me to attend at least 2 4-hour ish long meetings at every National Meeting (Fall & Spring) - Executive Committee (ExComm) for CHED & ACS Council. #ACSFall2025
Ok, #ChemSky folks were saying that they missed when their pocket friends talk about #ACSFall2025, & while I didn’t go to DC (insta or Discord are better places to get pics of the experience from other former #ChemTwitter folks), I’m gonna talk about what I did go to virtually - governance. #LetsGo
August 21, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Ok, #ChemSky folks were saying that they missed when their pocket friends talk about #ACSFall2025, & while I didn’t go to DC (insta or Discord are better places to get pics of the experience from other former #ChemTwitter folks), I’m gonna talk about what I did go to virtually - governance. #LetsGo
This is exactly how the 19 yo has conceptualized capitalism to me recently. And I’m like oh my goodness. Like am I ready to do a deep dive on the philosophical underpinnings of capitalism and why it is extraction based?!?
No, Sherri. No I am not.
No, Sherri. No I am not.
July 18, 2025 at 1:12 PM
This is exactly how the 19 yo has conceptualized capitalism to me recently. And I’m like oh my goodness. Like am I ready to do a deep dive on the philosophical underpinnings of capitalism and why it is extraction based?!?
No, Sherri. No I am not.
No, Sherri. No I am not.
Reposted by Rissa Sorensen-Unruh
I just left the Everglades Immigrant Interment Camp. No, I’m not using their ridiculous name. It was a very tough to witness humans in those cages. Every Floridian should be ashamed that our taxpayer money is being used for this.
July 12, 2025 at 11:28 PM
I just left the Everglades Immigrant Interment Camp. No, I’m not using their ridiculous name. It was a very tough to witness humans in those cages. Every Floridian should be ashamed that our taxpayer money is being used for this.
Amen and amen. Like JFC stop trolling Tressie y’all.
I pray that someday people can act normal with @tressiemcphd.bsky.social on the internet
July 10, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Amen and amen. Like JFC stop trolling Tressie y’all.
Reposted by Rissa Sorensen-Unruh
What shocks me is how many professors, administrators and students who blithely use LLMs do not know this
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
July 3, 2025 at 1:36 AM
What shocks me is how many professors, administrators and students who blithely use LLMs do not know this
Reposted by Rissa Sorensen-Unruh
Congrats to Prof. @donnablack.bsky.social, recipient of the 2025 Centenary Prize for Chemistry and Communication from @rsc.org—awarded for pioneering work in kinetic methods of organic catalysis, asymmetric catalysis mechanisms, homochirality, and excellence in communication. More: ow.ly/iFhM50Wgn0z
June 26, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Congrats to Prof. @donnablack.bsky.social, recipient of the 2025 Centenary Prize for Chemistry and Communication from @rsc.org—awarded for pioneering work in kinetic methods of organic catalysis, asymmetric catalysis mechanisms, homochirality, and excellence in communication. More: ow.ly/iFhM50Wgn0z
Reposted by Rissa Sorensen-Unruh
The bipartisan American Science Acceleration Project sounds promising, but "move fast and break things" isn't a strategy for trustworthy research. I write in @science.org about why we need acceleration that opens doors to participation and accountability.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Ten times faster is not 10 times better
As the Trump administration systematically defunds the American research ecosystem, while disingenuously promising a return to so-called “gold standard science,” hope can be drawn from the new biparti...
www.science.org
June 27, 2025 at 9:59 AM
The bipartisan American Science Acceleration Project sounds promising, but "move fast and break things" isn't a strategy for trustworthy research. I write in @science.org about why we need acceleration that opens doors to participation and accountability.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Rissa Sorensen-Unruh
I am incensed. This is all so heartbreaking and despicable. The Iranian people do not deserve this violence. We do not deserve this governance. The world does not deserve this. These outrages must end.
June 22, 2025 at 2:14 AM
I am incensed. This is all so heartbreaking and despicable. The Iranian people do not deserve this violence. We do not deserve this governance. The world does not deserve this. These outrages must end.