Two dozen students from five
Capital Region high schools were to become forensic chemists in “CSI: Willow
Creek” on Friday, April 4.
Teams of students were to use
clues – a white powder, pieces of wood and a clear liquid – from a “crime
scene” to match evidence to materials found with three suspects. The exercise
was part of Union's inaugural Irving Langmuir Chemistry
Laboratory Competition, an event designed to expose students in the
Regents-level chemistry courses to the excitement of doing chemistry.
Participating schools were Stillwater,
Saratoga, Ballston Spa, Schalmont
and Niskayuna.
In the make-believe case of
vandalism, the police chief of Willow Creek calls on the students to use their
laboratory skills to help solve the crime. The students will use Union's
laboratories and a variety of chemistry analytical techniques to solve the
mystery. They will be assisted by Union
College chemistry students.
The Irving Langmuir Chemistry
Laboratory Competition was organized by Union's
chemistry department with support from Schenectady International Inc., Albany
Molecular Research Inc., GE Global Research Center and the Dean for
Undergraduate Education's office.
The program was developed by David
Hayes, professor of chemistry, and a number of local and retired high school
science teachers. They will be available for interviews at the event.
“The Langmuir competition is
designed as a fun way to get the high school students to make creative use of
some of the things they have been learning in their Regents chemistry courses,”
said Hayes. “At the same time, this is a great way to introduce them to the fun
of doing chemistry.”
Irving Langmuir, a GE research
chemist who taught at Union, was the first industrial chemist
to win the Nobel Prize. His discoveries included the gas-filled incandescent
light bulb, atomic hydrogen welding and cloud seeding. Langmuir was the
inspiration for Dr. Felix Hoenikker, the central character in Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, in which the scientist
developed “Ice-Nine” that turned water into a solid.