education
Lemon Project Puts Zest Into Chemistry
T
he humble lemon was elevated to a starring role as an educational tool in the sixth annual science education awards of the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC). The awards, presented last month at CEFIC's annual meeting in Venice, recognized a wide variety of chemical and scientific projects, many carried out in cooperation with local chemical companies. The projects, CEFIC officials believe, will help secure the future of the European chemical industry in the hands of Europe's young science students, who are motivated in imaginative ways by their teachers. And that ^, work can only help improve public perception of the industry. Public perception is one of the major concerns of CEFIC, said Jean-Pierre Tirouflet, newly elected president of CEFIC and chairman and chief executive officer of France's Rhodia. "Every two years, CEFIC carries out a pan-European study of the image of the chemical industry," he explained. With this year's survey, "I am pleased to say that there are the first signs of an improvement. We need to ensure that this improvement in perception becomes an established trend." One way to improve the perception, the industry has long believed, is to encourage more and better teaching of chemistry and other sciences in schools. To that end, CEFIC launched an annual science education awards program. This year's winning school project came from the Instituto Tecnico Nautico Statale "N. Bixio" of Naples, Italy. Teacher Michela Pazzanese and her class of 27 students, aged 15 and 16, were selected by an international jury from 24 finalists who came from 15 European countries. Pazzanese received a check for 1,500 euro—roughly $1,425—and the "Excellence in Science Education Award" diploma. Professor Agostino Aversa, head 6 0 JULY 10, 2000 C&EN
of the institute, received the Science Award Trophy and a check for 5,000 euro for the purchase of scientific or teaching equipment for the school. And the entire class will take a one-week educational trip to Belgium and the Netherlands, hosted by those countries' local chemical industries. Pazzanese's project revolved around distillation of the local lemon-based liqueur "limoncello" and harnessed natural sciences and chemistry, as well as
turing process, led to research into the geography and hydrology of the local peninsula. The class studied the sources of the water, its chemical composition, and the water system for the region, including its old network of aqueducts. The class also studied other uses of plants, including phytotherapy, local fragrances, natural vegetable dyes, and food ingredients. Study of phytotherapy, for example, was carried out in conjunction with an old pharmacy from the region. And research into problems related to plant health, such as overfertilization, prompted study of biological agriculture. In addition, a workshop on biodiversity and genetic biotechnology was conducted by an expert from the biotechnologies section of Italy's national research center. | The CEFIC jury selectQ. ed six other prize winE ners: one second prize, ° two third prizes, and three honorable mentions. The second prize went to Gérard Larivière, a teacher
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CEFIC Science Education Award winners pose at the presentation; below: Pazzanese (left) receiving her award from Vornamo and Tirouflet
physics, geography, history, math, and computer science. The project built on the students' earlier environmental study of a historic citrus grove near the school. The first step in the project was chemical and physical analysis of plants at the citrus grove, followed by preparation and testing of local lemonbased liqueurs in the school's laboratories. Then, external visits put the class work in broader perspective. These included visits to the botanical gardens in Naples to work with its experimental station in extracting active ingredients from plants and to the local alcohol distillery to learn about alcohol fermentation and the properties of ethanol. The final stage, study of the water used in the manufac-
at the Collège Victor Hugo in Ham, France, for a project in which his class of 14- and 15-year-old students investigated water in the Hardines area of the town. The project involved a historical, social, and environmental study of a former way of life in the area, a low-lying patchwork of market gardens bounded by the River Somme and criss-crossed by a network of canals, streams, and drainage ditches.
^OTI^^^^J^VÎ The class contacted local industries, as well as the water supply company, an agricultural engineer, a doctor, the local weather station, the manager of the con servation association, and the town's waste center. Their discussions helped the students decide which parame ters—pH; water hardness; gas concen tration; and presence of nitrates, heavy metals, and so on—needed to be ana lyzed. Having reached their decisions on parameters, the students then devel oped the necessary research protocols. A partnership agreement with a local producer of amino acids, Rexim Degussa, provided the analytical chemicals needed and research facilities for any tests the class was unable to complete in the school labs. The third prizes, particularly com mended for excellence in their teaching concepts, were awarded to Dietmar Chodura of the Polytechnische Schiile in Perg, Austria, for his class's project studying polymers and plastics process ing, and to Svein Torkildsen of the Samfundets Skole, Posebyen, Norway, for a project investigating the environmental impact of nickel production in the local area over the past 90 years. Honorable mentions were awarded to schools in Raciborz, Poland; Baden, Switzerland; and Watford, the U.K. Hannu Vornamo, director general of the Finnish Chemical Industry Associa tion and president of the international jury, said, "When I look at the entries, I can sense the enthusiasm and creativi ty that the teams have put into their projects. This makes me optimistic about our future." And the experience of first-prize-win ner Pazzanese went a long way to under pin that optimism. According to Pazza nese, last year she taught two classes in chemistry in different ways: Class 2D, which carried out the CEFIC project, in volved a high level of student participa tion and cooperation; in the other class, she relied on traditional teaching meth ods. Toward the end of the year, she said, students in the school were sur veyed on their favorite classes. The members of Class 2D all said chemistry. In her traditional class, chemistry ap peared toward the bottom of the list of favorite subjects. Her conclusion: "To teach a demand ing and challenging subject like chemis try, students have to be educated in a creative and imaginative way. And it has to be fun!" Patricia Short
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