Chemical Education Today
In This Issue
Celebrating 75 Years! The Cover: Waters Symposium This month’s cover shows Rhodospirillum rubrum, a photosynthetic bacterium whose antenna proteins have been studied by Hochstrasser and discussed in the Waters Symposium on Lasers in Chemistry (page 559). He used femtosecond spectroscopy to investigate the rates of energy transfer processes. The antenna systems of such photosynthetic organisms harvest solar energy over a broad range of wavelengths and transfer the excitation to photosynthetic reaction centers to initiate charge separation and ultimately formation of carbohydrate from carbon dioxide and water. Lasers in Chemistry Other papers in the Waters Symposium continue the theme established by the cover paper. Bloembergen (page 555) discusses nonlinear optical instrumentation and its application to surface science and organic chemistry. Mourou (page 565) describes recent developments in extremely high intensity lasers and their future applications to achieve time resolutions in the attosecond (10–18 s) time scale. This issue also includes two applications of lasers that we can use today in teaching labs. Van Dyke et al. (page 615) describe a physical chemistry experiment that involves nanosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy: formation of the pyrene excimer. Weaver and Norrod (page 621) have developed a physical chemistry experiment in which students measure the Raman spectra of molecules adsorbed onto metal colloids (surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy). Surfing the Web A great deal can be discovered about lasers on the Web. Carolyn Judd’s News from Online column (page 526 䊕) gives URLs for sites that show how lasers work, history of development of lasers, and even hazards of laser pointers. Judd also has found a number of sites that deal with subjects ranging
from combination of quarks to make neutrons and protons to the far reaches of the universe and the crab nebula. Perhaps more mundane, but certainly very useful, is Wink’s guide to the NSF Web site (page 535 䊕). This month he describes how to retrieve documents, such as the Shaping the Future report, from the NSF. There’s lots more than any of us can assimilate on the Web, but with guides like these we can find the gems. Fire up your browser and enjoy! What We Teach and How We Teach It Mabrouk (page 527) describes NSF-sponsored workshops on curriculum in analytical sciences and the formal recommendations that resulted. Problem-based learning is strongly recommended. Kenkel et al. (page 531) describe the DuPont Conference for Chemical Technology Education held at Southeast Community College in Lincoln Nebraska. The characteristics of a good chemical technician and the curriculum needed to develop them were examined in detail. In July 1996 Gillespie, Spencer, and Moog proposed a number of changes in the way introductory chemistry is presented. Discussion of their proposals continues. Richman (page 536 䊕) takes
New Books and Media Several books and media reviewed this month may strike your fancy. Molecular Toxicology (page 544 䊕) presents concepts of toxicology from a chemical, biochemical, and molecular biological perspective and will serve many of us as a useful reference. Physical Chemistry: A Molecular Approach (page 545) organizes the subject in a new way that the reviewer thinks is an attractive alternative to the traditional one. Interactive Chemistry Journey (page 548 䊕) is a CD-ROM that contains a broad range of chemistry content intended for students in introductory courses and is useful and effective in promoting learning.
issue with their suggested approach to electron configurations and argues in favor of the current approach based on quantum numbers. Rioux and DeKock (page 537) remind us of the crucial role played by kinetic energy of electrons in interpreting ionization energies. Barrow (page 541 䊕) argues that modern courses provide students with a series of expert systems they can use to answer questions, but do not enable them to build their own understanding. Gillespie et al. respond on pages 539 and 541. Another approach to changing the curriculum is described by Russell, Chapman, and Wegner on page 578 䊕. The Molecular Science project, an NSFsupported systemic curriculum development effort, is developing network-deliverable curricula for the first two years of chemistry. One of its primary goals is to increase the quantity of writing students do and their facility in written expression. Grinbaum and Semiat (page 583 䊕) argue that chemistry students 䊕 should learn more about designates engineering so that articles of they can communispecial interest cate better with to high school teachers. engineers and broaden their knowledge and problem-solving skills. They believe that a compulsory course on process engineering should be given in every university chemistry department. Phanstiel et al. (page 612 䊕) review the history of soap making and describe a qualitative experiment in which students synthesize a broad range of soaps from triglycerides that they collect themselves. This experiment captures students’ interest, helps them learn laboratory skills, and develops their ability to observe chemical changes.
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 75 No. 5 May 1998 • Journal of Chemical Education
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