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Chemistry for the Public: Our Challenge David N. Harpp,* A. E. Fenster, and J. A. Schwarcz Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal H3A 2K6 Canada ABSTRACT: This article summarizes our experience at McGill University in developing a strong connection not only with a large number of students but also with the general public. This has led to the establishment of a cooperative team to deliver useful information about chemistry and science broadly via the radio, television, the Internet, lectures, articles, and courses. KEYWORDS: General Public, Public Understanding/Outreach, Communication/Writing, Distance Learning/Self Instruction, Internet/Web-Based Learning, Multimedia-Based Learning nasmuch as the year 2011 has been designated “The International Year of Chemistry”, it is even more appropriate to address the need for the public to understand and appreciate the importance of chemistry in everyday life. It is a challenge that requires continuous attention, taking on a variety of forms, including explanatory articles for newspapers and magazines, the Internet, appearances on television and radio, public lectures, courses, and other presentations. A variety of publications along parallel lines have been noted with titles such as • “Changing the Image of Chemistry”1a • “Covert Approaches to Countering Adult Chemophobia”1b • “Physical Chemistry for Everyone”1c • “Reaching Out”1d • “Celebrating 20 Years of National Chemistry Week”1e These articles affirm the need for outreach activities. Our paper outlines the activities of the Office for Science and Society describing a model that has had a significant impact in communicating with our community. It would be our hope that part or all of this template might be used in other locales. Traditionally, most scientific outreach programs are carried out on irregular schedules, with the exception of National Chemistry Week in North America. Publically oriented activities usually create a brief flurry of interest that quickly abates. The challenge before us as chemists and scientists is to find a way to emphasize the importance of chemistry year-round. The chemical community, from industrial firms to academic groups, is frequently requested to interact with the public, not only to educate them on a wide variety of issues but also to reverse a somewhat negative image that the public tends to have about chemistry. The latter is derived from the frequent association by the media of the word “chemical” with adjectives such as “harmful”, “toxic”, “smelly”, and “dangerous”. We contend that a small (2 5 people) dedicated group of chemists, whether they are from industry, academia, or a mix, can make a lasting and positive impact on the public’s perception and understanding of chemistry and science. Using just such an approach, our group of three chemists at McGill University has designed a successful science outreach program that has brought chemistry to the public on a number of levels. The McGill Office for Science and Society was initiated in 19992 with interest and support coming from the university and faculty of science. Our group is composed of one full-time
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Copyright r 2011 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
academic, another special university-funded position for the Office’s director, and a third individual who is supported by soft money gained through donations from arm’s length supporters. The soft money also supports a number of student interns who participate in writing many of the documents that are made available to the public. The benefits to the university are significant. Outreach activities embrace weekly newspaper articles and radio presentations as well as frequent television appearances. In addition, a Web site, public lectures, scholastic events, and demonstration programs for various groups are designed not only to deliver information for the wider public but to also provide the university with a reputation for community support.3 The program “counts” for the individuals involved as a combination of teaching and service. The acknowledgments to the Office are frequent and strongly supported by numerous quite positive references made in public and private.
’ PUBLIC LECTURES The public lecture is a time-honored way of contributing information and focusing attention on topics of general interest.4 Because it is daunting for a single person to prepare multiple major presentations, our approach is to employ a team effort. Three speakers each prepare 20 25 min of material for a lecture in coordination with one another. Consequently, the effort involved in creating the material is less time-consuming for each individual, yet the result is an impressive, hour-long presentation. Because a new presenter takes the stage every 20 min or so, it allows the audience to refocus their attention, thus bringing a refreshed atmosphere to the room. The net result is that, aside from the benefit to the public and to our institution, it was inspiring to educate ourselves. With the advent of the Internet facilitating searches for information, these kinds of lectures are easier than ever to produce in a highly visual format. The key is to have more than one professional create this program. Some examples of our presentation titles are included in Table 1. After the first year, the public lecture series generated enough material to initiate a new course at McGill, which has since 1981, expanded into four course offerings.5 This multiplication was not a primary goal, but we were intrigued by how rapidly we acquired the necessary information to create these courses. While Published: March 31, 2011 739
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Table 1. Sample Lecture Titles for Public Presentations Food and Nutrition
Precious Chemistry: Gold, Silver, and Gemstones
Food Additives
Chemicals in the News
The Evolution of Drugs
Chemical Fascinations—With Explanations
Over the Counter Drugs
Atom Power—Boon or Boom?
Cosmetics: Fact and Fancy Food for Thought: Health-Food, Vitamins, and Minerals
Fun with Food—Wine and Cheese The ABC’s of Vitamins
H2O: From Acid Rain to Drinking Water
Chemistry and Health: Diseases and Possible Cures
Household Products: Effectiveness and Safety
Food Fads—From Calcium to Oat Bran
Our Plastic Society: Miracle Materials
Poisons
The Power of Chemistry: From Black Powder to Rocketry
The Air We Breathe
Photography: History, Chemistry, and Applications
The Science of Eating—From Hand to Mouth
Social Drugs
Science and Art—Deception and Conservation
Nutrition—From Junk Food to Diet Products The Smells of Chemistry: Perfumes, Skunks, and Sex Attractants
Body Chemistry: From Migraine to Alzheimer’s Aging—Who Needs It?
The History of Chemistry: From Caveman to Spaceman
Molecules and Disease
“The Magic of Chemistry” and the Chemistry of the Magic
The Chemistry of Crime—From Sherlock to OJ
Food Controversies: Salt, Pesticides, and Cholesterol
The Chemistry of Wine and Cheese
Scientific Discoveries: A Behind the Scenes Look
Current Trends in Nutrition—Hype or Hope?
Drugs and Body Chemistry
Fats and Flab: The Science of Weight Control
Cosmetic Chemistry: A Look Beneath the Surface
The Chemistry of Good Things: Liqueurs, Chocolate, and Wine
Fun with Chemistry The Chemicals of Food
Chemistry and Art—Facts and Fakes Minerals, Vitamins, and Herbal Supplements—Hope or Hype?
Quackery in Science
The History and Science of Money, Real and Counterfeit
Miracle Materials: From Guncotton to Krazy Glue
Frequently Asked Questions—Aspartame, Genetically Modified Foods, and More
Food: Beyond Nutrition
The Colors of Chemistry
The Chemistry of Pain
Our Homes—Havens or Hazards?
Sweet Chemistry: From Sugarcane to Chocolate
Table 2. World of Chemistry Course Topics: Food and Drugs food
drugs
Food
Drug History
Vitamins
Pain Relievers
Minerals
Table 3. World of Chemistry Course Topics: Technology and Environment technology
environment
Science and the Media
Risk
Toxicology
Science Publishing
Air Pollution
Photography Light and Color
Ozone Depletion and Global Warming Sick Building Syndrome
Cholesterol
Street Drugs
Weight Control
Headaches, Coughs, Colds
Food-Borne Illnesses
Stomach Chemistry
Diet and Cancer
Antibiotics
Food Additives Sweeteners
Allergies Heart Chemistry
Pesticides
Mental Illness
Cooking
Pain/Anesthetics
Coffee, Chocolate, and Ice Cream
Hormones
Wine and Cheese
Drug Marketing Tobacco Love Chemistry
primarily attended by full-time undergraduates, these classes are open to the public in evening presentations. Most “civilians” who sign up do not take the course for credit but rather take it for general interest. The four courses and their topics are listed in Tables 2 and 3; since their inception, over 27,000 students have taken these offerings (3 credits, 39 h). Our courses are grounded in current research and technological developments. As such, we expend considerable effort to remain informed and up-to-date on recent scientific activities.
Pigments
Accidents
Art and Health
Acid Rain
Art Fraud
Water Pollution
Silver and Platinum
Drinking Water
Gold
Garbage
Gemstones
Human Waste
Plastics Household Products
The Chemistry of the Car Nuclear Science
Biotechnology
Biotechnology and the Environment
Computers
Skin Products
Space Science
Hair
The Science of Money
Tooth Chemistry
The Human Side of Science
Smells
Science and the Paranormal
Perfumes
The benefit of our efforts is that we have developed a strong knowledge base for answering questions from the public. A group of committed instructors constitutes an obvious channel for questions from outside the confines of the university. 740
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Queries about scientific and chemical issues such as global warming, terrorist technology, food and medical concerns, pollution and Internet scams are just a few of the topics we have addressed over the years. In contrast, the common situation at many institutions is that questions from the public are usually shuffled to a staff member who is often unprepared to provide a satisfying answer. The end result is that the questioner is unfulfilled and may be left with a negative impression. The public-oriented program of the Office for Science and Society requires a wide knowledge base to function properly, but this task is less difficult to acquire than it appears. Our experience has been that the information builds up very quickly over time. Moreover, it is exceedingly rare that we elicit a negative response from the public when we are not able to answer a question immediately. In such cases, a reasonable response can simply be that “we will get back to you” with appropriate follow-up. If like-minded, outreach-oriented persons can combine for “egoless” cooperation, it is likely that success can be achieved. Having a team readily available to field these questions is likely to be warmly welcomed by the parent institution.
’ RADIO Because so many people can be reached via radio, it is important to outline the effectiveness of a regularly scheduled radio show to field questions from the public.3a,6,7 It is our experience that radio stations are generally receptive toward such a proposal. Each person in the Office for Science and Society has participated in radio programs over time, and one colleague has had a weekly show for 30 years. This program has become a Montreal and Toronto institution for the public; it is available on the Web at http://www.cjad.com/ (accessed March 2011) Sundays 3 4 pm EST. The broadcast range extends from southern Quebec to Ontario and the northern regions of New York State and Vermont, yielding extensive credibility and positive publicity for McGill University. These radio efforts originated during the summers of 1980 and 1981 when our group was asked to organize a chemistry display at the UNESCO pavilion of the “Man and His World” exhibition in Montreal. One of the presentations involved a demonstration of the making and properties of polyurethane foam. News of this demonstration found its way into the city column of the local newspaper when the writer expressed concern that “there must be fumes from the urea-formaldehyde foam insulation” demonstration of the exhibit, despite the material being praised as a technological breakthrough by chemists. A letter describing the significant differences between the two foams (polyurethane vs urea-formaldehyde) and the importance of factual scientific reporting was quickly sent to the newspaper thus resulting in an apology retraction by the columnist, which in turn led to an interview by a local radio station on the importance of chemistry in our lives. The interviewer became convinced that the insight into food additives, toothpaste, deodorants, medications (as made possible by chemistry) was of interest to all. An invitation for an appearance by one of us (J.A.S.) on an open-line show was offered, and the immediate outpouring of questions led to a regular spot as the “resident chemist”. His show has continued all these years and has proven to be challenging, rewarding, and eye-opening adventure. Another member of the team (A.E.F.), being fully bilingual, has delivered regular broadcasts in French, even resulting in invitations to lecture in France, Italy, the United States, and Israel.
We have gained a clear view of the breadth of scientific misconceptions and ignorance held by many members of the public, particularly concerning their understanding of the role of chemicals in food. For example, some believe that we are being poisoned by such additives as aspartame and food dyes; sucrose is believed by others to be harmful and should be replaced by the “fruit sugar” fructose. Similarly, ascorbic acid is described as a “chemical”, whereas vitamin C from rose hips is “natural”. Many in the public believe that cancer rates are increasing because we are polluting our bodies with chemicals, while our nervous system is degenerating on account of the mercury fillings in our teeth. Others rationalize that our salvation is to return to nature by ridding our orchards of pesticides, liberating our food from preservatives, or drinking only distilled water. There is legitimate debate regarding many of these concerns; quite often, however, facts are ignored in the discussion. Sometimes we are not able to answer callers’ questions, even when we embark on small-scale research projects to address them. One caller claimed that earwigs had been leaving brown stains on freshly laundered clothes. A sacrifice of time and earwigs ruled out this possibility, and the cause was never clarified. We have found that our listeners have been understanding and patient when we occasionally have had to do research before providing them with an answer, or even when we have no answer to particularly puzzling questions. A listener claimed to have found a novel energy source. Not having a washing machine, he regularly used a nearby laundromat. In order to expedite the laundry process, he mixed the bleach and detergent in a cup before leaving home. By the time he had arrived at his destination, the container had become almost unbearably hot. It was explained to him that bleach oxidizes detergent in an exothermic fashion. We like to remind the public that when they hear a phrase beginning with “I heard that ...”, they should greet it with a healthy dose of skepticism. As a result of these radio shows, we have received considerable positive feedback from across the metropolitan area and beyond, illustrating that even a simple outreach effort can have an enormous beneficial impact on the community. By providing concise, clearly stated scientific facts, we try to allay public misinterpretations about the use of chemicals, misunderstandings about scientific concepts, and negative perspectives about scientists and science in general.
’ TOOLS FOR COMMUNICATION To provide outreach at the widest level, it is necessary not only to deliver stimulating lectures but also to employ tools that permit the dissemination of information via the Internet. Aside from print, the traditional lecture has been the dominant method of information delivery for most of recorded history.8 Technological developments over the years have allowed lecturers to include abundant visual materials in their presentations through the use of 35 mm slides,9 transparencies, chalkboard, and now PowerPoint slides and CDs. In the past several years, technology has expanded the options available for lecture delivery systems.10 Because of large enrollments in our classes, we have elected to provide students with a means of accessing lecture material should they have to miss a class or have a schedule conflict. Clearly, 24/7 access is important for the general public as well. To maximize access to our presentations, particularly from remote locations, we have designed an innovative, supplemental lecture retrieval and “broadcast” system. This is applicable for classic university lecture courses as well as for outreach delivery. 741
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Journal of Chemical Education At present, there are other, rapidly evolving commercial systems that deliver lectures on the Web. More sophisticated protocols are also available such as a two-semester course of general chemistry11 that provides both slides and a video view of the instructor talking to the class (or camera). We required a simple method that could be operated by the instructor to present a normal PowerPoint lecture at the site. We do not believe that videotaping the instructor “in action” is necessary, and while such a system might have some advantages, the streaming video takes extra bandwidth and is not always smoothly received. One of our primary goals in designing this system was to minimize postproduction editing and have an automated uploading mechanism to the server. We have accomplished our goals by using the expertise of a number of McGill graduates who participated in developing this slide delivery system.12 It is fully audio-synched with appropriate navigational thumbnails, a feature that permits the viewer to go to any part of the lecture and maintain the sound component in synchrony. Lectures can be accessed via the Internet. It should be clear that the system described here is not a video but an online slide show that is sound synchronized. However, at present we have the capacity for a more sophisticated variety of recording formats should the need arise. To make our presentations accessible via the Internet, we first had to convert our courses to the digital format, specifically using PowerPoint for the slide shows. For many years, we used thousands of 35 mm slides in the lap-dissolve format9 to illustrate our lectures. Since 1999, we have converted many of our chemistry courses to digital format by scanning over 16,000 slides. Scanning technology has improved significantly, and now slides can be captured at high resolution in a relatively short time, particularly with the use of automated devices.13 In a typical presentation, we show up to three or more frames per minute, because many of the color pictures are supplemented with explanatory textboxes to clarify concepts and to point out salient details. The generous use of appropriately placed and timed arrows or circles virtually eliminates the need for the oftenannoying laser pointer. These embedded aids make virtually any lecture understandable when captured for online use. At the beginning of a class or public presentation destined for Web delivery, the lecturer initiates a loading program and then toggles on the appropriate lecture file, with any portable microphone plugged into the laptop, and delivers the topic. The startup time is about 1 min after the LCD projector and computer are activated; of course studio or home “broadcasts” are even simpler. The full presentation can be available for access minutes after completion of the talk, as uploading to the server is automated. To date, our system handles thousands of hits per day without problems. Recently the university adopted this system for automatic recording in 39 lecture theaters and over 360 courses are now available for online retrieval.
’ RESULTS Surveys of student opinion have been collected for the online lecture retrieval system. The responses are consistently excellent, especially for the review feature. The most beneficial aspects of the system were cited as the capacity to review lecture details by replaying sections of the presentation, the sense of relief felt by students who had to miss a class, assistance to students whose first language is not English, and the capacity to take breaks during the lectures while viewing them at home. On an
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Table 4. Titles of Chemistry Minilectures Available Online Terroisme et explosifs
Changements Climatiques
Exam Copying
Pesticides
Chocolate
Les Risques de la Vie
The Chemistry of Love
Risks
Cheveux
The Chemistry of Wine
evaluation, one student responded as: “My favorite way of answering test questions is actually replaying the lecture in my head and with online access to the lectures with slides; I was able to do just this.” Another responded with “I want to keep learning like this for the rest of my life.” We find that many students have become ambassadors for chemistry frequently commenting that they discuss lecture information with their relatives and friends. The lecture retrieval system is well designed for public outreach. For the past seven years we have offered minilectures on a variety of topics for the general public (Table 4). These are available on our public site for the Office for Science and Society at http://oss.mcgill.ca/ (accessed March 2011). We do not have extensive surveys about public use, but anecdotal information indicates they are regularly accessed. These minilectures are similar to the popular information pieces in the online version of The New York Times. We believe that student and public appreciation is high in using this tool because this communication innovation empowers the viewer, greatly facilitating independence and self-learning by permitting complete access to presentations at any time and as often as necessary.
’ FUNDING Funding for the Office for Science and Society has evolved over the years, and the Office presently functions by arm’s-length private donations as well as some internal funding. This includes support from the university for space and for the salary for one of the members. We strongly believe that a group of strongly cooperative and committed individuals can make a significant contribution in this important area. While university or college officials might initially be hesitant to fund or even support such a novel activity, it is very difficult to deny the obvious goals. Once started, strong outreach activity should sustain itself; the general public very much wants to be informed. In academic circles, instructors may be reluctant to commit their time to such outreach-oriented activity for fear that there will not be appropriate recognition. Indeed, there is validity to this position in some institutions, but when a small group maintains a serious commitment, the contribution is impossible to ignore. This approach, if widely adopted in many centers, has the potential to be recognized as a significant contribution in the culture of our institutions. Even more importantly, we scientists should rise to the challenge of making clear, straightforward, unbiased information about scientific developments available to the public on as widespread a basis as is possible.
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected].
’ ACKNOWLEDGMENT McGill University is thanked for continuing support of this work. 742
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