Figure 1 Student Jane Wilett at Bordan Chemical.
The co-op positions for the Chemistry Majors are chosen very carefully by the Faculty Coordinator in consultation with the Director of the Co-op Program. These positions are evaluated through an on-site visit and consideration of the followinr.. mints: working environment: nature, level. and varietv . .,f wrrk ; ~ . i ~ n m ~ n >\rl,errisi(,n t.;: ot'thr ntu(lent'>work: p03< ~ l , ~tl ~ ~~ t rs d v : ~ ~ d~ uw n w-n I ~I W ~sru(~ent's ~ ~ t tentjre; attd, suitability as a learning experience. Students (in pairs) are matched to positions hv the Faculty Coordinator. The students must interview with the company and the arrangements for filling a particular position must be agreeable to all parties. On-site visits are made by the Faculty Coordinator for each position during each semester. These meetings with the student and supervisor help to maintain close ties and open lines of communication between the company and the Chemistry Deoartment. while the student is working he or she is registered for a three-credit hour course which does not satisfy any chemistry course requirement hut can be used to satisfy general elective requirements. The award of a grade for this course is based on the student's learning experience with the following goals set forth: (1) an understanding of the functions of the various groups in a company (2) an understanding of the management of a company at various levels (3) an understanding of the relationship of the student's background in chemistry to applications made during the work assignment (4) an advancement of the student's knowledge as required to solve new problems (5) an understanding of the part played by the student's work in the hroader chemical and economic view of the company (fi) improvement of oral and written communication skills.
These goals are realized through the student's performance on the job and through the preparation and presentation of seminars. Durine each work oeriod. the student must submit three papers to the Faculty Coordinator and present them a t seminars attended hv the Facultv Coordinator. the other duoents im work a.sirnmrnrs rind other lacult) and s t i ~ l ~ n t i t h t (night u t t i d . 'l'lw I < B , I I ~8drhr S paper* art(1) Position Reports: a report on the products, functions, and/or services of the department in which the student works. (2) Procedure Report: a detailed report describing one important chemical procedure which is used by the student on the job. (3) Investigative Report: s report on a literature search done on a topic in chemistry related to but not part of the student's work assignment.
applications of chemistry, in theirlearning about the industrial atmosphere and in making themselves more desirable as
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Figure 2. Student Joe Kemper at Emery Industries.
potential employees. Students and faculty not involved in the program have also benefited through participation in the seminars.
The Faculty Benefits Gerald Franzen Thomas More College, Fort Mitchell. KY 41017
fairly knowledgeable ahout chemistry. l w a s sure that I knew
subsequently found that each of these words takes i n a special meaning when used in the chemical industry. If someone had asked me to describe a pilot plant, I might have guessed that it was a benchtop model of a plant made from ordinary elassware and other common eauioment. I had a verv shallow produced in ten thousand pound lots and that this is done ndt onlv bv the larze well-known comoanies hut also hv several and that ;difference in price of one-half cent per pound can he quite large. If someone had told me that a moderately sized locd chemical comnanv has. as its chief raw material. rendered animal fat or t h a t 1 skould even be interested in the above areas, I might have answered both by saying, "Who Cares?" A recent article1 on career maooine .. for chemistw- "eraduates mentioned that one of the characteristics of most chemistry vrofessors is their lack of exoerience with the oractice of chemistry in the "real world." There is concern, therefore, that
'
Chemists Offer Practical Advice on Mapping a Successful Career." Chem. and Eng. News. Oct. 22, 1979.32. Volume 58
Number 9
September 1981
709
students, although well grounded in the principles and techniques of chemistry, have little or no appreciation for the applications of chemistry in the real world. Participation in the Co-op Program provides for the student a unique opportunity to see and learn about these applications. Participation by a professor as a faculty coordinator can provide the same o~oortunitv for enrichment of the chemistry facnltv. .. While out visiting a company in order to evaluate apotential Co-op position, I am generally given a tour of the facilities. The laboratories are familiarly comfortable; the production areas are the most interesting. I have been in a "pilot plant" and have seen "reactors" larger than fifty gallons. The requirements for fluid distribution and heat flow go far heyond funnels, rubber tubing, beating mantles, andmagnetic stirrers, hut the analogous items can be found. While out visiting students on the job, I have seen the principles and techniques of chemistry put into practice. With the concern for the split between "academic" chemistry and "industrial" chemistry, I a m happy to note that the chemistry is really the same and that the applications are refreshingly different. I have learned more than could ever he expected from
to a reaction mixture. The transition from thin-layer chromatography to column chromatography, the design of a waste incinerator, the use of the latest in instrumentation for heavy metals analysis, and the requirements for the preparation of patentable materials are some of the topics presented by Co-op students in seminars and written reports. The many benefits2 of a Co-op Program a t a college or university have been extolled by members of the administration, by faculty, by employers, and by students. These benefits generally fall within the realm of career orientation for the student. In a much broader sense, education for total life might very well include a "real life" educational experience in one's major area of study. While most of the benefits are described in terms of the student, I am happy to say that a Co-op Program, with faculty participation as coordinators, can provide a type of "real life" experience for faculty members as well.
2Davies, G. and McClelland, (1980).
710
Journal of Chemical Education
A. L., J.
CHEM.EDUC., 57, 297
