Chemical Education Today
NSF Highlights Projects Supported by the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education
Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Education: Environmental Studies by Marina Koether, Donald McGarey, Mark Patterson, and Daniel J. Williams
Kennesaw State University’s environmental studies program is indicative of a growing trend of interdisciplinary programs in the post-secondary level. To support the development of this program, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was awarded an NSF1 grant in the summer of 1999 for an Interdisciplinary Environmental Program (IEP): Environmental Chemistry Laboratory Course and Field-Based Environmental Science Capstone Course. The IEP was a collaboration consisting of two chemists, Marina Koether and Dan Williams; a biologist, Donald McGarey; and a geographer, Mark Patterson. During the Summer of 1999, Koether, McGarey, and Patterson developed an environmental studies minor and participated in a Project Kaleidoscope workshop2 entitled Environmental Studies: Issues for New and Expanding Programs. Subsequent to the workshop, an environmental studies minor incorporating the field-based environmental science capstone course, Applied Environmental Studies, as funded by NSF, was approved by Kennesaw State University. The chemists developed the environmental chemistry laboratory course, and Williams, McGarey, and Patterson developed the environmental science capstone course. In addition, summer and directed-study students aided in the development of the courses by testing the laboratory procedures for length of time to complete and ease of use. Two poster papers describing the two courses were presented at the Pacifichem 2000 Conference (1). Both courses were offered in the fall semester of 2001 and the results were presented by both faculty and students at the Georgia Academy of Science meeting in 2002 and at the Fall 2002 American Chemical Society national meeting. Future plans include the production of an environmental chemistry lab manual. One goal of the environmental chemistry lab course was to teach that environmental chemistry is found in all areas of chemistry, and not limited to environmental analysis. The funding for the lab course allowed for the acquisition of a YSI probe for field measurements, a Varian FAAS 220 Fast Sequential spectrometer, a 220Z Zeeman GFAAS, a jar-tester, turbidimeter, and two computers. In addition, the students used the computers obtained through an NSF-DUE-CCLIA&I Grant3 to examine the SolEq program (2) and were able to do molecular modeling on DDT, DDE, DDD, and methoxychlor because of a previous NSF-DUE-ILI grant.4 During two field trips to a marsh in the main part of the lab course students conducted field-testing and collected samples and microcosms (3). They had a complete tour of a water
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treatment plant, collected water samples, and conducted their own jar-tests on the water to determine the correct coagulant dose. Studies on filtration and ion exchange were accomplished using a Brita filter. In addition, students studied the synthesis and chemical characteristics of soaps and detergents. Students studied acid precipitation through the SolEq program (2) and conducted some acid rain and buffer experiments. Similarly, by following an online lecture on ozone and UV radiation (4), students learned about the need for sunscreens and then examined the sunscreens by UV to determine their efficacy (5). Students examined the characteristics and synthesis of plastics and considered the issues of plastics in solid waste, and also completed the first part of the lab experience by performing Tessier extractions of metals in sediments and soils (6). For the last few weeks of the lab course, students developed an environmental research project and worked on it inside and outside of lab, as they were extremely interested in the results. The environmental capstone course involved conducting an environmental assessment of three field sites in Bartow County, GA. These were all stream sites with adjacent riparian zones and the students engaged in collecting chemical and biological data as well as incorporating these data into a geographic information system (GIS) to produce maps. One of the field sites was relatively free of impact by urban growth and served as a reference site while the other two sites were closer to the Atlanta metropolitan area where urban growth had had a greater impact. The students learned how to use hand-held global positioning system (GPS) devices to determine the geographic coordinates of their sites and conducted a variety of inventories and assessments including habitat, fish populations, vegetation, benthic macroinvertebrates, fecal coliform, and chemical and physical parameters such as nitrate, phosphate, ammonia, chlorophyll a, turbidity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH. A YSI Model 6820 Sonde datalogging multi-probe was used to measure pH, turbidity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen, while CHEMetrics field testing chemical kits were used to measure ammonia (Kit K-1510), phosphate (K-8510), and nitrate (K-6902) concentrations. The students established a regular sampling regime and followed standard protocols for collecting, transferring, storing, and evaluating samples collected. The data generated for each parameter were used to formulate a comprehensive evaluation of the overall environmental health of each site, to identify specific perturbations in each system, and to propose reasonable actions to limit harmful impacts.
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 79 No. 8 August 2002 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
Chemical Education Today edited by
Susan H. Hixson National Science Foundation Arlington, VA 22230
Richard F. Jones Sinclair Community College Dayton, OH 45402-1460
The final products were a written assessment report and a formal presentation delivered to the faculty by the class as a whole. A course Web site was constructed to facilitate class instruction and support the field experience (7). Environmental studies is a multifaceted subject. A single faculty member cannot adequately cover all material pertinent to a field-based course. Chemistry, biology, and geography provide different yet complementary perspectives on the environment. The interdisciplinary efforts at Kennesaw State University underscore the value of collaboration among faculty from various departments. In recognition of their teamwork, the authors were awarded the Promising Collaboration Award from Kennesaw State University for the development of the Environmental Studies Minor. Notes 1. The Kennesaw State University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was awarded National Science Foundation DUECCLI-A&I grant 9950378. 2. Project Kaleidoscope held a workshop, Environmental Studies: Issues for New and Expanding Programs, at Brown University, Providence, RI, from June 18 to 20, 1999. 3. National Science Foundation DUE-CCLI-A&I grant 9950288, Integrating Current Technology Across the Biochemistry Curriculum. 4. National Science Foundation NSF-DUE-ILI grant 9850679, A Computational Chemistry Visualization Laboratory.
Literature Cited 1. Williams, D. J.; Koether, M.; McGarey, D. J.; Patterson, M. A field-based environmental science capstone course. COMM: 166, and Koether, M.; Williams, D. J. An innovative environmental chemistry laboratory course. International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies, COMM: 167, Pacifichem 2000 Conference, December 2000, Honolulu, HI. 2. Koether, Marina. SolEq: Solution Equilibria, Principles and Applications, release 1. Software Review. J. Chem. Educ. 2000, 77, 1414–15. 3. Williams, D. J.; Bland, D.; Williams, M. C.; Patrzalek, R. W.; Banks, L.; Logue, B.; Price, M. T. Lake Reserv. Manage., 1994, 9, 124. 4. http://pigseye.kennesaw.edu/~jdumas (accessed May 2002) 5. Walters, Christina; Keeney, Allen; Wigal, Carl T.; Johnston, Cynthia R.; Cornelius, Richard D. The Spectrophotometric Analysis and Modeling of Sunscreens J. Chem. Educ. 1997, 74, 99–101. 6. Tessier, A. Campbell, P. G. C.; Bisson, M. “Sequential Extraction Procedure for the Speciation of Particulate Trace Metals” Analytical Chemistry 1979, 51(7), 844–850. 7. http://mark.gisc.kennesaw.edu/4700/syllabus.htm (accessed April 2002)
Marina Koether, Donald McGarey, Mark Patterson, and Daniel J. Williams are at Kennesaw State University, 1000 Chastain Road, Kennesaw, GA 30144; Koether and Williams are in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; McGarey is in the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences; and Patterson is in the Department of Sociology, Geography, and Anthropology. Email
[email protected].
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 79 No. 8 August 2002 • Journal of Chemical Education
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