If there was ever anyone at Duke whose name was synonymous with chemistry, it was James Bonk. So much so that it was common among the students who took his general chemistry class to refer to his class as “Bonkistry.”
Bonk began teaching at Duke in 1959; he spent 53 years educating more than 30,000 students about atomic and molecular structure and chemical reactions. He literally wrote the book on chemistry.
“There was a period of time when I had written the lab manual and I had written the text and I had written the problem book and I gave all the lectures, so the only thing they ever saw was me when it was associated with chemistry,” Bonk said in a 2010 interview.
In 2001, after teaching the same course for 40 years, it was replaced by a class focusing on semi-independent laboratory investigation, taught by several different professors in the chemistry department. Bonk went on to teach a new environmental chemistry course for non-majors. He also continued in his role as director of undergraduate studies.
But Bonk wasn’t just known for his love of chemistry. He also loved tennis and helped to build the university’s tennis team. He lettered in tennis while earning his B.S. at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wis., and later his doctorate at Ohio State.
He also served as tournament chairman for the United States Tennis Association National Boys Interscholastic Championship held at Duke for 18 years. In 2011, court number three in Ambler Tennis Stadium was renamed “Bonk Court,” in his honor.
He received several awards, including the David and Janet Brooks Teaching Award, the Dean’s Service Award, and the University Medal, the highest award the university can bestow upon one of its own.
Bonk died in 2013 at the age of 82.
