December 18, 2024

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Department of Chemistry Hosts Tech Tour

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Student looking at a chemiluminescent reaction, tonic water fluorescence, and title image.

Top left: A student looks at a chemiluminescent reaction. Bottom right: Tonic water fluorescence.

Approximately 40 students and teachers from Chancellor and Courtland High Schools visited the UMW Department of Chemistry on Wednesday Oct. 10, 2014 as part of the Tech Tour sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce’s STEM 16 group.  Associate Professor Leanna Giancarlo and Professor Kelli Slunt introduced the students to background information on fluorescence and forensics. The students toured the chemistry department laboratory spaces and conducted experiments on the fluorescence of household items and on the reaction of luminol with bleach.

Honors Students Explore Washington, D.C. Architecture

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group of students posed in front of Union Station.

Honors scholars in front of Union Station during the fall 14 field trip.

In August, incoming UMW Honors Scholars participated in a common reading experience, reading the book “The Devil in the White City” by Eric Larson. To expand on the theme of the planning and architecture of the Chicago’s World’s Fair, Andrea Smith, Department of Historic Preservation, led the fall field for the honors program on Saturday Oct. 4. Twenty six honors students, Professor of Economics Steve Greenlaw, Professor of Chemistry Kelli Slunt, and Assistant Professor of Environmental Science Melanie Szulczewski enjoyed learning about the urban planning and contributions of Daniel Burnham (one of the main characters in “The Devil in the White City”) while exploring Union Station, The National Mall, and the National Building Museum.

NSF STEP Grant Presentation

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Dianne Baker, Venitta McCall, and Kelli Slunt attended the National Science Foundation Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program 2014 Grantees Conference in Washington, D.C. March 5 to 7, 2014.  On Thursday, March 6, the three principal investigators for the grant presented a poster entitled STEM Talent Expansion Through Research, Engagement, Preparation, and Scholarship.

Chemistry Faculty Member Mentors U.S. Team to Strong Performance

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US Chemistry Olympiad team with medals

US Chemistry Olympiad team with medals

Kelli M. Slunt, Professor of Chemistry, served as the head mentor for the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad.

The International Chemistry Olympiad is a competition for high school students.  Each participating country can send a team of up to four students to compete in theoretical and practical exams.  This year the U.S. team performed extremely well, earning 2 gold and 2 silver medals at the competition of 73 different countries in Moscow Russia.

More information can be found in articles in Chemical and Engineering News, published by the American Chemical Society:

http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/i30/Chemistry-Olympiad-Results.html

http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/i25/US-Team-Picked-International-Chemistry.html