Do you use Wolfram|Alpha and widgets?

Perhaps you are familiar with Wolfram|Alpha, a search engine from the developers of Mathematica that specializes in answering quantitative queries. Recently it has become possible to turn queries into widgets that can be inserted into web pages, wikis, and blogs. I have been experimenting with building widgets that can be useful to students of physical chemistry. Below is an example of a widget I constructed: you can change the parameters, click submit, and the results (in Mathematica format) appear in a lightbox window.

Do you use Alpha widgets in your courses? If so, what have you learned from the experience?

Do you use the news as a vehicle for teaching physical chemistry?

To be sure, much of the science highlighted in the news tends to be biology, medicine, physics, geology, and astronomy. But there is a lot of chemistry behind even those stories labeled as 'physics' or 'biology' news. Take, for example, the story below:

California - Solar Plant Advances - NYTimes.com

Wouldn't a classroom discussion of this story--and the physical chemistry behind it--bring principles of thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, and materials chemistry to life? Wouldn't even those students who have already committed to an intensive course of study in chemistry benefit from this discussion? Let's share our views.

Finally, how many of you use news items to enhance discussion of concepts of physical chemistry in the classroom or laboratory? How do you choose the items for discussion?

Undergraduate research in chemistry: challenges for research-active faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions

In August of 2003 an Undergraduate Research Summit was held at Bates College, Lewiston, Maine. Funded by the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation and co-organized by Prof. Thomas Wenzel (Chemistry Department, Bates College) and Dr. Robert Lichter (Merrimack Consultants LLC), the summit consisted of discussions initiated by a number of white papers. A full report of the summit was disseminated and discussed at a number of American Chemical Society National Meetings.

Prof. John Stevens (Chemistry Department, University of North Carolina at Asheville) and I co-authored a piece on "Generating Research Ideas" for the summit and report. Are the views expressed in this seven-year-old white paper still relevant? Indeed, does the entire report still offer a useful perspective on the challenges associated with undergraduate research?

A new NSF program

The link below

US NSF - Office of the Director - Broadening Participation

takes you to the draft of a concept paper for a National Science Foundation program preliminarily titled "Comprehensive Broadening Participation of Undergraduates in STEM (CBF-US)." The goal of the program, to be launched in FY 2011, is "to enrich the quality and innovation potential of tomorrow’s STEM workforce through comprehensive broadening participation of undergraduates in STEM." The news release also tells us how to submit comments on this draft.

Standards in K-12 science education

This post is not about physical chemistry, but rather about K-12 science education.  These are related topics because the scope of the College chemistry curriculum depends strongly on how quickly high school students can make progress with calculus and introductory science before entering the wonderfully complex and interdisciplinary world of physical chemistry.

What can we as a community of physical chemists do about the level of preparation in science and mathematics that our students receive in the first twelve years of their education, before joining our classrooms?


It turns out that the National Research Council would like to receive comments by August 2, 2010, on a draft framework for K-12 science education standards. According to the news release:

"The National Research Council today released a draft framework that proposes the science content and concepts students should learn for grades K-12.  The independent, nonprofit Research Council is seeking comment on the draft from the science and education communities and the public.  The final framework will serve as the basis for new science education standards, to replace those based on documents developed over 10 years ago."

Please consider contributing to the debate.

Undergraduate research in Physical Chemistry

Much of what I wrote in my opinion piece from 2001 on undergraduate research is still valid today. The same topic is addressed in the same issue of Chemical & Engineering News by Profs. Abrash and Bussell.

Incidentally, the student profiled in my opinion piece, Shelli Frey, went on to receive a doctorate from the University of Chicago and is now an assistant professor of Chemistry at Gettysburg College.

What are your views on the role of research in undergraduate education?

Physical Chemistry and pre-medical education

Inside Higher Education published my opinion piece on reform of the pre-medical curriculum. Because physical chemistry naturally brings together chemistry, physics, and mathematics to explain chemical and biochemical phenomena, physical chemists can--and should--contribute importantly to new developments in pre-medical education.


Do you incorporate topics of interest to pre-medical students in your physical chemistry courses?