Schenectady High School took top honors on Friday, April 2, at the second annual Langmuir Chemistry Laboratory Competition, an event designed
to expose students in Regents-level chemistry courses to the excitement of
doing chemistry.
South Colonie took second place in the contest in which 40 students from 10 Capital Region high schools became pollution investigators for the fictional town of Willow Creek.
Other participating schools were Ballston Spa, Guilderland, Hoosic Valley, Mechanicville, Mohanasen, Saratoga Springs, Shaker and Stillwater.
The students used their
laboratory skills to solve the make-believe case, using real samples they tested
to determine which business or industry in Willow Creek was the culprit. Teams determined that the pollution originated from a bee apiary in the town.
The
students used Union's laboratories and a variety of
chemistry analytical techniques. They were assisted by Union College chemistry students.
The Irving Langmuir Chemistry
Laboratory Competition was organized by Union's
chemistry department with support from Albany Molecular Research Inc., GE
Global Research Center, and Schenectady International Inc.
This year's program was developed
by Joanne Kehlbeck, assistant professor of
chemistry, and a number of local and retired high school science teachers.
“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 Kehlbeck. “At the same time, this is a great way to introduce them to the fun of doing chemistry at the college level.”
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.