Chemistry Department News

National Chemistry Week was celebrated at the local middle school!  Anil Waghe, Marguerite Crowell, Kim Duncan, and four undergraduates led hands-on activities with Mr. Helgerson's sixth graders.  Shannon Courcelle (chemistry education), AJ Dangelo and Jamie Reetz (physical science education), and David Ashley (chemistry) engaged students with investigations of pennies, silver, and copper and discussed the resulting reactions with an enthusiastic group of children.  A rainbow connection demonstration provided a dramatic finale to the day. 

We welcome Jeremiah Duncan and Kimberly Duncan to our department!  Jeremiah is our new Assistant Professor of Chemistry, and his wife is our new Research Assistant Professor of Chemistry and for the Center for the Environment.  They come to us from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Senior Jon Goulette receives the Senior Chemistry Award from Dr. Susan Swope.

Photo (right) Marsi Wisniewski, Laura Bowker, Aparna Waghe, Anil Waghe, Brandon Scanlon, Jon Goulette, Katie Rose Boissonneault, Susan Swope, Eric Hoffman

Chemistry and Biotechnology students and faculty enjoy a day on the lake at the end of the year cook-out!

 

Ian and Dan in the canoe! Ian, Dan, and Pat in the water! (It's May!) On shore!

 Partial group photo! (some of the group missed the photo)

 

Anil Waghe and Marguerite Crowell and four PSU undergrads, visited Plymouth Elementary School students for "Chemists Celebrate Earth Day".  Chemistry Education majors Patrick Gile, Shannon Courcelle, Ashley Maxner, and dual major in Chemistry/Meteorology Ian Axtell worked with students on activities exploring Green Chemistry.  A parent of one of the children commented on how excited her child was after the visit.  When her son arrived home, he immediately gathered materials he would need to reproduce one of the activities he learned on that day.  She said, "He was chattering and jumping around the whole time, saying he was going to sell this product (if he could get it to smell better).  He finally said, 'This is the find of the century!  I'm a chemist!  I made my first solution!' Looks like Chemistry Day was a big success!"

                   

Anil Waghe presided over a session on ‘Analogical Approach to General Chemistry Teaching' at the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) 2009 National Conference on Science Education in New Orleans, March 22. This is the third consecutive year Dr. Waghe was invited to preside over a chemistry session at NSTA national meeting. Waghe's presentation focused on teaching chemistry in a ‘student friendly' way.

"Teaching general chemistry is always a challenging task for any teacher in any university," Waghe said. "Many students have little or no background of chemistry and math. The ‘hands on,' or analogical approach, is gaining popularity and many schools are moving towards it."

Waghe said Plymouth State students receive a solid basis in science instruction, compared to many other schools.

"Big universities are focusing on research and moving away from teaching," said Waghe. "PSU has a diverse population of students who can really verify the validity of various methods. We are always striving for better methods to teach harder subjects to the student population. Newer approaches are more important to the universities like PSU than anyone else."

The AS & C Dept. mourns the loss of chemistry major John E. Dagher, who died tragically in a car accident in March.  A memorial service was held on campus in his honor.  The Dagher family will be presented with a posthumous degree in chemistry at graduation on May 16.

Wavell Fogleman, after 31 years at PSU, retires from the Chemistry Department. Dr. Fogleman is an Analytical Chemist who came to Plymouth State from Old Dominion University in 1977. He taught courses in General Chemistry, Inorganic, Instrumental, and Forensic Science, to name a few. He will be truly missed by his colleagues and students.

Dr. Fogleman (4th from the right) along with several recently retired Science faculty/staff at his Retirement Party this December, 2008.

Wavell Fogleman with former PSU Chemistry graduate, Joshua Keaton. Mr. Keaton is Chair of the Science Department and a chemistry teacher, at Winnisquam Regional High School in Tilton, NH. Mr. Keaton brought his AP class to PSU for a workshop on DNA profiling this November, 2008.

Anil Waghe and Marguerite Crowell of the Department of Atmospheric Science and Chemistry, along with two chemistry undergraduates, Shannon Courcelle and Andrew Hornberger, visited local middle school children as part of National Chemistry Week. NCW (National Chemistry Week) is a community-based event to connect the world of chemistry with people and their lives and is held yearly. This years theme was "Having a Ball, Chemistry and Sports". Waghe and Crowell led the discussions and Shannon and Andrew helped engage the students in the various hands-on activities. Students learned about polymers in sports equipment, clothing, and accessories, as well as understanding the importance of electrolytes in sports drinks. Inquiry-based examination of different types of polymers and testing various liquids for electrolytes, enabled the students to better understand how chemistry and sports are related.

Jaci Bergeron '08 is working as an Assistant Chemist in Analytical Services for Lead and Jewelry at VHG in Londonderry, NH. Congrats Jaci!!

Susan Swope and Anil Waghe led an Advanced High School Chemistry Teachers workshop run by the American Chemical Society. Susan was at Hope College in Holland, Michigan and Anil was at Texas State University at San Marcos, Texas. The workshops were in August of 2008.

Marguerite Crowell, Aparna Waghe and three undergrads Shannon Courcelle, Patrick Gile, and Jaci Bergeron, visited the local elementary/middle school for Earth Day. Students participated in various activities with the Streaming Chemistry theme including testing the water in a nearby stream and learning about some properties of water.

Susan Swope, Anil Waghe, Marguerite Crowell and senior chemistry major Jaci Bergeron, attended the 235th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans, LA, April 6-10. Susan and Marguerite presented a poster on connecting the general chemistry laboratory to the real world through an environmental study. Jaci presented a poster on her senior research on the fate and transport of PCPs in rural NH. Anil was her advisor.

Susan Swope and Anil Waghe traveled to the American Chemical Society Headquarters in Washington, DC, in February. This annual gathering of chemistry educators from both university level and high school level pairs 2 college/university faculty and 1 high school teacher to lead summer workshops. DeAna Irving, a PSU graduate, currently teaches chemistry at Merrimack Valley High School and will lead the Los Angeles workshop. Susan will lead one in Michigan and Anil will lead the Minnesota and Texas workshops this summer. Faculty were invited based on their expertise with the inquiry-based learning model used in the general chemistry curriculum at PSU. Visit the chemisty.org web site further information on these workshops.

Jamie Holland was accepted into the veterinary school at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Jamie is one of our Gen. Chem. Teaching Assistants and a tutor in our Chemistry Student Center. Congrats!

Jaci Bergeron received recognition from the EPA office where she conducted her undergraduate internship for quick and thorough analysis on a large-scale project. Great work!

Jaci Bergeron and Julie Mouchon, undergraduate Chemistry majors, both had their abstracts accepted for the Undergraduate Poster Session to be held at the 235th ACS National Meeting in New Orleans in April of 2008.

Susan Swope, Anil Waghe, Aparna Waghe, and Marguerite Crowell and undergraduates Lu Ferraris, Molly Dagher, Jaci Bergeron, and Dan Cossette worked with advanced chemistry students from Winnisquam Regional High School in Tilton, NH in November. Biotechnology and Chemistry experiments were conducted during a visit to PSU to learn more about these two programs.

Anil Waghe, Marguerite Crowell and two undergrad chem students, Jaci Bergeron and Shannon Courcelle, visited the local middle school as part of National Chemistry Week, October 21-27, 2007.

Susan Swope and Anil Waghe each led an Advanced High School Chemistry Teachers workshop run by the American Chemical Society in Hartford, CN and St. Paul, MN, respectively, this summer, 2007.

Susan Swopegave a presentation on Using Classroom Activities To Promote Concept Development in General Chemistry at the First-Year International Chemistry Conference in Boulder, Colorado in June, 2007.

Jaci Bergeron, a junior chemistry major, received an internship with the EPA in Chelmsford, Mass. for the summer of 2007. Good on you, Jaci!

Aparna Waghe, adjunct faculty teaching Physical Chemistry and General Chemistry, received her Doctorate in Chemistry at the University of Maine in Orono on May 12. Hurray!

Anil Waghe, Marguerite Crowell, and Beth Benton, a graduate student, visited third graders at Plymouth Elementary School as part of Chemists Celebrate Earth Day. The children took part in hands-on activities on recycling, such as making paper, sorting recyclable materials, and how to reduce, reuse, and recycle at home and in school.

Aparna Waghe was awarded a membership in Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society. Sigma Xi is an international, multidisciplinary research society whose programs and activities promote the health of the scientific enterprise and honor scientific achievement.

Anil Waghe, presided and chaired a session on “The Applications of Non-conventional Energy Sources” at the 55th National Science Teachers Association Conference on Science Education in St. Louis. Teachers and professors from 50 states and eight foreign countries were in attendance. Dr. Waghe met with the National Earth Science Teachers Association national committee to discuss adding more chemistry to the earth science curriculum. Dr. Waghe has been invited back next year for the national conference in Boston to present PSU undergraduate student research.

Anil Waghe, Marguerite Crowell, Al Davis and Beth Benton, a graduate student, were judges for the middle school science fair at Plymouth Elementary School on Thursday, March 15.

Susan Swope and Anil Waghe were invited to attend the Teacher Leader Conference held at the American Chemical Society Headquarters in Washington, DC Feb 23-25. The conference focus was the development of a model for the Advanced High School chemistry workshops to be held this summer 2007. Workshop presenters are comprised of 2 college/university faculty and 1 high school teacher. DeAna Irving, a recent PSU graduate, currently teaches chemistry at Merrimack Valley High School and will lead the Los Angeles workshop. Susan will lead the Hartford workshop and Anil will lead the St. Paul workshop this summer. Invitation was based on their expertise with the inquiry-based learning model used in the general chemistry curriculum at PSU. Visit the chemisty.org web site further information on these workshops.