He received B.A. degrees in Chemistry and Music from Washington and Jefferson College, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, and performed post-doctoral research in Biophysics and Chemistry Education at the University of Michigan. At UNH, Sam leads an active research group, specializing in both bioinorganic chemistry and chemistry education research, and co-directs the CC2CEPS Scholarship Program, designed to provide academic and financial assistance to community college students transferring to UNH to complete a baccalaureate degree in a STEM field. He is also a teaching/learning/assessment fellow with UNH’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Sam is a member of the American Chemical Society, and currently serves on the Society Committee on Education and on the Division of Chemical Education's Chemistry Education Research Committee.