Life After Graduation: Seminars in Real-World Chemistry by Alumni To give o w students a better ideaof what chemists do, o w seminar program for the past year has concentrated on bringing the" are doine. ~,~~ " Havine eone throueh our mogram, however much it might have changed in the years since their graduation, the speakers were abie to relatemuch more closely to our students than the industrial visitor. The range of activities in which they are engaged was an eye-opener for our faculty as well as for our students. One former student war working to develop better glues for bookbinding. Another was investigating wrtfinp,agents asgrowth promown for plants. A third was measuring ~ l l u u r n ~ s a n*,arkplace d exposure torhemink w m w r r rompllnnrr with the Occuoational Snfetv and Health Art. Others aere wurkinp, in environmental health, doing analyses i n n srltc crime laboratory (aid giving exp& testimony in court), working toward improving the maintenance-free battery, inventing a new process for paper pulping, making laminates for imitation wood paneling, and synthesizing pyrethrum analogs for use as insecticides. . maiorlry were BS eraduares Only une of thr speaken had completed a Phndegrcr. Twu had the MS d e g r ~ eThepreat without furthergradunte work. The presentations were uniformly excellent. The time and thought that had 6 m e intoeach seminar was quite evident. Student interest was the greatest in years. Attendance at Friday afternoon seminar was much larger than normal. Speakers were usually kept for an hour or more after the presentation to answer questions. One final point, not totally insignificant in these days of tight budgets: All speakers came at their own expense, with release time from their jobs. With zero cost, we gained an infinite return.
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John W. Hill University of Wisconsin River Falls, Wisconsin 54022
Volume 55, Number 2, February 1978 1 101
