Educational Outreach Activities between the AC - American Chemical

Downloaded by UNIV OF FLORIDA on December 22, 2017 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date (Web): November 2, 2017 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2017-1257.ch004

Chapter 4

Educational Outreach Activities between the ACS Division of Chemical Education’s International Activities Committee and the Sociedad Cubana de Química Charles H. Atwood*,1 and Luis Alberto Montero-Cabrera*,2 1Department

of Chemistry, University of Utah, 315 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States 2Facultad de Química, Universidad de La Habana, Havana, 10400, Cuba *E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

Ernest L. Eliel, in his capacity as ACS president, initiated contacts with the Sociedad Cubana de Química in the early 1990’s and 2000’s. Using those initial contacts as a springboard, several ACS presidents, especially Marinda L. Wu and Diane Grob Schmidt, continued to improve relationships between the two societies. In 2015 Presidents Raúl Castro and Barack Obama started normalizing relations between the two countries, permitting a Cuban delegation to attend the 2015 Boston ACS meeting. At this meeting representatives from the International Activities Committee of the Division of Chemical Education met with the Cuban delegation to discuss possible collaborations. This led to the attendance of four ACS educators at the 2016 Simposio Internacional de Química in Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba as well as a forthcoming workshop at the University of Utah.

Introduction Professional chemists and their affiliated chemistry societies are used to communication, cooperation, and collaboration with fellow scientists in other countries. Even in cases where the nations are involved in long standing © 2017 American Chemical Society Cheng et al.; Stereochemistry and Global Connectivity: The Legacy of Ernest L. Eliel Volume 1 ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.


disagreements, discussion and exchange are always better than distance and isolation. Regrettably, the Cuban and US chemical communities were isolated from each other for a long time because of a prolonged and frequently hostile political confrontation between the two countries. Furthermore, the few and feeble contact points that had been made had essentially no hope of continuation. The situation created barriers to knowledge exchange and human contact that few were interested in overcoming. Ernest L. Eliel, a graduate of the University of Havana and a former ACS president, was interested in bridging the divide between our two nations. In the early 1990’s he and Luis Alberto Montero-Cabrera, in their capacities as leaders of both the American (ACS) and Cuban (SCQ) Chemical Societies, began to discuss mutual chemical education interactions (1). Even though the relationship between the countries was contentious at times, some education exchanges occurred over the late 1990’s and into the early 2000’s. In acknowledgement of Dr. Eliel’s efforts, he was awarded a Dr. Honoris Causa in 2004 by the University of Havana. In August 2013 Professor Montero-Cabrera became president of the SCQ. Later that year at the Istanbul IUPAC meeting he contacted Dr. Marinda Wu, ACS president at the time, to renew educational contacts between the US and Cuba. Because of scheduling conflicts, Dr. Wu was unable to accept an invitation to visit Cuba. However, the momentum was beginning to build. In October 2014 at the Latin American Chemical Congress (CLAQ) meeting in Peru, Professor Daniel García, at that time a member of the SCQ board, contacted Dr. Bradley Miller, Director of the ACS Office of International Activities (OIA) regarding further collaborations. Dr. Miller relayed an invitation from the ACS for a Cuban delegation to attend the Boston ACS meeting in August 2015. Fortuitously, in December 2014 presidents Raúl Castro and Barack Obama announced the beginning of a relations normalization process between the two countries. At the Boston ACS meeting, four SCQ Board members met Dr. Diane Grob Schmidt, ACS President for 2015, with the intent to seize the initiative established by the Castro-Obama announcement. Included with the ACS announcement of the Cuban delegation’s presence at the meeting was an invitation for ACS Divisions to reach out to the Cuban chemists. Dr. Grob Schmidt and other ACS executives later visited Havana for the SCQ congress in October 2015. Several new and important proposals for further ACS-SCQ collaboration were made in this new era of improving relations between the two nations. One ACS group that heeded the call to reach out to the SCQ was the International Activities Committee (IAC) of the ACS Division of Chemical Education (DivCHED). The DivCHED IAC asked to meet with the Cuban delegation at the Boston ACS meeting. Committee members Resa Kelly, Conrad Bergo, and Lourdes Echegoyen met with the Cuban delegation to discuss areas of possible collaboration. Discussions revealed that the Cuban chemists were especially interested in improving Cuban high school teaching as well as understanding the impact chemical education research has had on university teaching in the US. Based on that information the DivCHED IAC established several goals to interact and collaborate with the SCQ. It was decided that the DivCHED IAC should send a delegation to Cuba to see how teaching there differs from teaching in the US. Plans were also made to hold a workshop in the US 58 Cheng et al.; Stereochemistry and Global Connectivity: The Legacy of Ernest L. Eliel Volume 1 ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.

for several Cuban chemists. Another goal was for DivCHED memebers to give professional presentations in Cuba.


Initial Efforts Soon after the Boston ACS meeting, ACS President Diane Grob Schmidt announced that the 2015-2016 ACS Innovative Projects Grants would entertain requests that emphasized ACS-SCQ interactions. Based on this information Resa Kelly, Charles Atwood, and Joel Harris, incoming chair of the ACS Analytical Division (ANYL), submitted Global Improvement Grants (GIG) and Innovative Project Grants (IPG) to the ACS seeking funds to initiate contacts between the ACS and SCQ educational and analytical chemistry communities. Both grants were subsequently funded, permitting Atwood and Kelly to travel to Cuba in June 2016 (GIG) and lay the groundwork for an ACS-SCQ workshop in Salt Lake City in April 2017. Discussions between Luis Alberto Montero-Cabrera and Charles Atwood ensued from January to April 2016 regarding possible dates for a DivCHED IAC visit to Cuba. In mid-April the SCQ issued an invitation for the DivCHED to send several educators to the 2016 Simposio Internacional Quimica in Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba, to be held from June 7th – 10th, 2016. It was also decided to make this an Ernest L. Eliel memorial event. Atwood then sought out several speakers for the symposium, finally deciding on Norbert Pienta, Resa Kelly, Thomas Bussey, and himself. In parallel, discussions between the SCQ, ACS ANYL, and DivCHED IAC took place to decide details on the Salt Lake City workshop. The workshop was planned for April 6th-8th, 2017 so that it will occur soon after the forthcoming ACS meeting in San Francisco, CA. Our logic was that some Cuban chemists could attend the ACS meeting and then fly to Salt Lake City. The University of Utah Chemistry Department was chosen for the venue. The SCQ agreed to fly eight to ten chemists from Havana to Miami, using IPG funds to get them from Miami to Salt Lake City, provide room and board, and pay for any US workshop participants to attend. It was also decided that several aspects of analytical chemistry as well as an overview of US chemical education activities would be the main topics of the workshop. Another area of emphasis will be high school education, as this is especially important to the SCQ.

2016 Simposio Internacional de Química The symposium (2) began with a plenary lecture from SCQ President Montero-Cabrera on “Science, Technology and Innovation in Cuba: the Current Situation and a Desirable Evolution.” He drew a depiction of the current state of Cuban basic sciences, the problems and perspectives. That was followed by Pienta, Editor of the Journal of Chemical Education, who gave a plenary lecture on “Chemistry Education: the Roles of Evidence-based Research and the Journal of Chemical Education.” Afterwards, symposium participants went to a smaller 59 Cheng et al.; Stereochemistry and Global Connectivity: The Legacy of Ernest L. Eliel Volume 1 ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.

venue to start the Eliel portion of the symposium. Speakers and presentation titles are given below in Table 1.


Table 1. Program for the Ernest Eliel Session at the 2016 Simposio Internacional de Química Presentation

Speaker

Affiliation

Leslie YáñezGonzalez

University of Havana

Homage to Ernest Eliel

Charles Atwood

University of Utah

Outreach Opportunities to the Cuban Chemical Society from the International Activities Committee of the American Chemical Society’s Division of Chemical Education

Margarita Villanueva


The Transition from Secondary School to University: Difficulties and Challenges

Resa Kelly

San Jose State University

The Most Important Aspects of Chemistry Teaching, Where There Could Be Collaboration Between Cuba and The US

Dolores Torres and Grecia Garcia


The Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Teaching Chemistry. Use and Abuse of the Same

Rebeca Vega and Oneyda Fernández


Motivation for Studying Chemistry

Thomas Bussey

University of California – San Diego

Examining Instructors’ and Students’ Perceptions of Active Learning

Hassan Martínez Hung

Eastern University, Cuba

Introducing Real Situations into Chemistry Teaching

Venera Jouraeva

Cazenovia College, USA

Adding Fun to Teaching Chemistry

Manuel Alvarez Prieto


Why the Inclusion of Metrology is Important to Chemistry and Laboratory Management in Teaching Undergraduate Analytical Chemistry

Javier Ernesto Vilasó Cadre

Eastern University, Cuba

Pedagogical Design for Integrating Chemistry and Environmental Management Through Research and Action in Real Scenarios

Yolanda Zoe Rodríguez Rivero

Central University of Las Villas

Teaching General Chemistry Using Virtual Laboratories

60 Cheng et al.; Stereochemistry and Global Connectivity: The Legacy of Ernest L. Eliel Volume 1 ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.

Interactions between educators from the two countries were extensive, collegial and meaningful. Of significant importance was the recognition that educational issues in both nations were very similar. Many plans for future interactions were discussed. On Friday, June 10th the four ACS representatives left Cayo Santamaria for a 250-mile drive to Havana in a 1954 Chevrolet Belair station wagon. That evening we had dinner with Luis Alberto Montero-Cabrera, Manuel Alvarez Prieto and their spouses in downtown Havana. More discussions ensued, resulting in a plan for a contingent of ACS folks to return to Havana in early 2017 prior to the April workshop.


Future ACS-SCQ Interactions In February 2017, Atwood, Kelly, and Harris journeyed to Havana with these specific goals in mind: 1) Interact with Cuban chemical educators and analytical chemists to understand the present situations in both countries. 2) View analytical and educational facilities at the University of Havana. 3) Interact with Havana high school teachers. 4) View the present high school facilities in Havana. Margarita Villanueve and Leslie Yáñez Gonzalez agreed to host our small contingent. Once we completed the Havana journey in February, Harris, Kelly, and Atwood (in conjunction with SCQ members) began planning for the April workshop. Some important discussion points for both nations included what modern instrumentation could benefit research, what educational issues overlap in both countries, how analytical chemistry education is the same and different in both nations, what collaborative research can be done in Cuba and the US, teaching laboratory instrumentation in both countries, how we can improve high school education in both nations, and what future interactions between the ACS and SCQ could advance our initial efforts?

Conclusion Chemistry is the central science linking scientific disciplines studied by citizens of both countries. Consequently, chemical education is essential for human development in both the United States and Cuba. As decades of estrangement have been rapidly forgotten by good will and friendship during the last few months of interactions, improved SCQ and ACS actions can prove valuable for the futures of both countries. Several common initiatives should be pursued. Some examples are periodic seminars, summer courses, visiting scholarships, projects for lab and equipment investment and sharing, plans to promote scientific interests among minorities and isolated communities are a few of the potential benefits of this improving mutual trust which Ernest Eliel initiated in the 1990’s. Both the SCQ and the ACS must continue their pursuit of the educational and scientific interests our two nations share.


References 1.


2.

Montero-Cabrera, L. A. Science and Knowledge in the Service of Humanity: The Example of Ernest Eliel. Stereochemistry and Global Connectivity: The Legacy of Ernest L. Eliel Volume 1; ACS Symposium Series 1257; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017; Chapter 3 (this volume). 2016 Simposio Internacional de Química. http://siq.uclv.edu.cu/ (accessed January 29, 2017).


Educational Outreach Activities between the AC - American Chemical

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