Harpp was born in
Albany, New York, on January 20, 1937, and did his bachelor of arts at
Middlebury College (1959), his master's degree at
Wesleyan University (1962) and his PhD at the
University of North Carolina (1965). He published more than 230 chemistry articles in peer-reviewed publications, his main research interest being
organosulfur and
selenium molecules. In addition, 20 of his articles on teaching innovation were published. He was appointed Tomlinson Chair in Science Education in 2013, with the mandate to "advance the understanding and practice of science education". With
Joseph Schwarcz and
Ariel Fenster, Harpp was a founding member of the
Office for Science and Society. Harpp experimented throughout his teaching career with various visual media, from photographic slides to
8mm movies. With his colleagues at the
Office for Science and Society, he pioneered the McGill COurses ONline initiative. A proponent of
massive open online courses, Harpp thought students can benefit from having access these academic opportunities: "What if the best organic chemistry course, anywhere, was put on by somebody from, say, the University of Illinois, why shouldn't we [assign it at our university]?" He was also interested in academic integrity. He followed up on his research on the prevalence of cheating by university students by inventing (with others) a computer program that spots cheating in multiple-answer exams. Use of the software, with the introduction of multiple versions of each exam, is credited to practically eliminating this type of cheating at McGill's: "I think 90 per cent of the students who tend to cheat will [look at all the obstacles] and say, 'Nah.'" Harpp died on February 14, 2026, at the age of 89. ==Selected awards==