Background:

A.J. Bates is a transplant from the Hoosier State. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and a Master of Arts in Chemistry from Indiana University-Bloomington. A.J. has been at Skyline College for nineteen years, where he teaches Chemistry courses for the science majors sequence. He has taught Chemistry at the high school and college levels for over twenty years.

At Skyline College, A.J. was the advisor to the Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SaGA) for seventeen years. The club organizes events on campus to raise awareness of the LGBTQ+ community. The club holds weekly meetings, is politically active, and sponsors social events for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. A.J. continues to be an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community at the college.

In addition to his love of Chemistry, A.J. enjoys bicycling, photography, snow-skiing, and water-skiing. He has cycled from San Francisco to LA in the California AIDS Ride & Lifecycle events nineteen times to raise money for HIV and AIDS services and education, and he will again in June 2022. A.J.'s other obsessions include fun, mostly cycling or science-related T-shirts, many television series, and a nearly lifelong fascination with all things STAR WARS.