An Industrial Chemistry Course Bringing Teachers and Industry Together James C. Fanning Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634 Sybil S. Fanning Seneca High School, Seneca, SC 29678 Why study chemistry? This question, or a form of it, is asked of teachers many times by students at aU levels. The teacher certainly will give an answer to the student, but if the teacher has had a direct interaction with the chemical industry, especially the local chemical industry, and knows what is being done in those facilities, the answer may be much more meaningful. The local industry is able to supply direct examples of basic chemical principles that the teacher might use in classroom instruction if he or she knew about them. Most chemistry teachers have had limited experience with chemical industry, and even with industry in general. This is unfortunate, because many of their students will enter a wide range of industrial jobs, and if the teachers could give some occasional insight into the industrial workplace, the students might then be better prepared for the future. With a clear understanding of industry, the teachers would be able to give their students some valuable career guidance information. In order to provide the teachers with information about chemical industry and allow them to visit the local industry, an industrial chemistry course for teachers was offered over a six-week period during the summer of 1991. The graduate-credit course was open to any teacher who had at least a year of general chemistry. High school chemistry and physical science teachers were the primary participants. It involved 13 tours of chemical facilities and 25 50minute lecture periods. Environmental Exploration and Awareness Much of the course centered around the facilities visited. The table shows the list of facilities toured, their ad-
dresses, and primary function. Ten of the tours were taken in the afternoon and threeSavannah River Site, Amoco, and Grace-required a full-day Most of the plants were within an hour's drive of the Clemson campus; however, the Savannah River Site tour required over a two-hour ~ and sewage drive to reach the facility. The ~ d c awater treatment plants not only offered some valuable examdes of basic chemistry in piactice, but also they illustrzked chemistry's role in dealing with environmental problems. Several of the industrial sites had modern, expensive waste treatment facilities that were displayed proudly. An obiective of the course was to eive the oarticioants an increased environmental awarenesoa better understanding of the environmental oroblems beine faced bv industrv and the ways they are behg solved.
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Lectures and Tours The lectures not onlv oreoared the oarticioants for their visits to the various facilities, but also they gave an overview of the chemical industrv in the nation and the world. One of the fvst lectures treated the history of the chemical industry and the leading chemical companies-who they are and what they make. The manufacturing processes of some of the top-selling basic chemicals were covered. Because this area of South Carolina has textiles and synthetic fiber production as a major industry, the basics of polymer chemistry were covered. A number of outside speakers were invited to present lectures to the class. A representative from the state environmental office (Department of Health and Environmental Control) talked about the recent environmental laws and a chemist from the state crime lab (State Law Enforcement Division) dis-
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cussed arson investi~ation.Because paper manufacture is a major industry in the eastern pa$ of South Carolina, a research chemist from Westvaco in Charleston visited the class and spoke about the chemical aspects of paper-making. Several of the tours required a waiting period between the lecture and leaving on the tour. When that occurred, appropriate "World of Chemistry" tapes were shown. Journals and Papers The teachers were required to keep a journal of their plant visits. They also were assigned a topic on which to write a term paper. The topics were common items used in everyday life, such as, paint, light bulb fdament, ink,aluminum foil, shampoo, etc. The paper was to trace the production of the item from basic raw materialsminerals. air, water, living plants or animals, petroleum, etc.- to the finished ~roduct.describine the chemistrv that took place in the tiansformation. Thl; activity was to stress chat few items today are used in their "natural" states. Along these lines, some discussion was carried out in class on the question, "What is a chemical?", which has been treated extensively in the Letters to the Editor column of recent issues of Chemical and Engineering News. A Unique View of industry The course provided the teachers with a unique view of industm. Not onlv were a varietv of chemical Processes seen, b i t also sue6 aspects as different management styles and approaches to safety were found. All of the industries emphasized the need for stressing teamwork and computer technology in the schools. Discussions were held on the economy, the nation's need for scientists and engineers, and world trade. The visits covered many more issues than were first anticipawd. Onecompany provided lunch forthe teachers and had some of their top management sit with the teachers and hear their concems about education. The .--~-~~~ ---~~-~~~ teachers felt a measure of respect and professionalism that they had not had in some time. ~
A Broader Scope The following fall several of the teachers asked to have a second session of the course wherein lesson plans were developed that incorporated the tours of the facilities. The t s anecdotal masummer course eave the ~ a r t i c i ~ a nmuch terial for their ;asses, bbt no way to introduce the ideas formallv into their courses. The ~ a r t i c i ~ a nmet t s one night a weekUfortwo to three hours i n d whrked on the lesion ~ l a n sThe . ~ l a n dealt s with different asoects of polvmer ehemistry (carbon fibers, water-soluble polym&-synthetic fibers). metal chemistw and environmental chemistry. Some lab experiments-under each category were worked out. The lesson plans and materials developed were shared with those participants who did not take part in this later activity. Follow Our Lead We would like to encourage others to offer a course of this type and would be pleased to share our experiences, mate-
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Journal of Chemical Education
Facilities Visited and Primary Materials Manufactured or Work Done
Amom PerformancePmducts Greenville. SC
Pitch-based and wlyacrylonitrilecarbonfibers and pre-pregnated mmposite products
BASF Corp.- Fiber Division Anderson, SC
Nylon fiber
Bausch 8 Lomb Greenville, SC Dowbrands - Homecare Division Greenville, SC
Eye-care solutions Cons~merhousehola and ind~strialcleaning products
Duke Power Co. Anderson, SC Engelhard Cop.-Speciality Chemicals Division Seneca, SC
Water purification for Anderson and Clemson, SC
Exide Cop. Greer, SC
Lead-acid storage batteries
W.R. Grace & Co.-Cryovac Division. Duncan. SC
Flexible plastic packaging material
Henkel Cop.-Emery Gmup Mauldin. SC
Surfactants and organic chemicals
Morton Chemical Division Greenville, SC
Latex polymers, textile cnemicals, and industrial adhesives and coatmgs
Phillips Fibers Corp Greenville, SC
Carry out chemical fiber research
Precious metal catalysis and preciom metal chem cals
Treats raw sewage from Western Carolina Regional Sewer Authority. Greenville,SC Greenville w t h cnemical and bio ogical agents WestinghouseISavannah River Site, Aiken. SC
Plutonium and tritium production and carry out research on nuclear energy and environment
rials, lesson plans, etc. with anyone wishing to undertake such a course. The participants and the instruetors benefit immensely from it, and the industries want it and will support it. The course is a way to bring together for further direct interaction the local industries and the secondary schools-a goal of many groups, including the ACS. Acknowledgment The authors would like to acknowledge the support of this course by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education through the awarding of a competitive grant under the Dwight D. Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Education Act. Thanks also go to the organizations listed in the table for their essential and willing help and to the course participants for their enthusiasm.
