I can tell you that everything we do analytically depends on chemistry.
Everything. I acknowledge how important a good foundation of chemistry is to what we do.
And what we do is simple. Remove drugs from hair so we can measure them by Mass Spectrometry. It is all chemistry, even in the final analysis.
Don't ever underestimate how important chemistry is in just about every reaction in every process we do here in our tox lab.
It is the basic fundamental thread that runs through the lab. We hire chemists because they understand and can appreciate what we do. They can talk to each other and convey their appreciation of the nuances of the chemistry involved, and
they love to learn.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
I would join a demonstration for the support of chemistry. Sign me up!
I was trained in Pharmacology and Toxicology. everything is chemistry there as well.
Mike Schaffer
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
On Behalf Of Margaret Rakas
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2020 9:27 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Demonstrations
This Message Originated Outside the Company
Safe demos are fun, get people of all ages interested, and I'm all for them. However, I'd like to point out that biology courses rarely have the 'ohh ahh' demos, they don't 'do' explosions. and they have lots of students majoring in their
department who perform interesting research (and get hired). So...I'd be all for chemistry folks pointing out how chemistry is key for PCR reactions, for phenol-chloroform extractions, for...all sorts of bio 'stuff' that often appears to have nothing to do
with chemistry, but relies heavily on it...
That is really interesting and if the demos can spark some interest that would be a plus. Even the wrong kind of interest can be redirected once the person get into
the lab and realizes it is more that things that go "boom."
-----Original Message-----
From: Yaritza Brinker <YBrinker**At_Symbol_Here**FELE.COM>
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU
Sent: Mon, Jun 15, 2020 10:39 am
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Demonstrations
Let me tell you a bit about myself, and why I think videos and demos should both be used in education.
I attended a very small rural high school in PR (class of Ô96). The science budget was non-existent and the school didn't have any labs. The biology dissection
was a single frog the teacher pre-dissected and presented for us to look at. The physics experiment was the egg-drop. The chemistry experiment was Elmer's glue and borax. Yes, 3 experiments/demos in 4 years of high school.
The first time I ever stepped into a lab, I was attending a month long summer camp at UPR Rio Piedras. The university recognized the disparity between low-income
and high-income schools. The camp was intended to help incoming freshmen get up to speed by providing the lab experience we were not afforded in high school.
Not all school districts have the funds to do labs. Thus, videos do have a place in modern education. We do need well produced modern videos to replace the un-safe
old ones and you-tube. We also do need low cost experiments/demos and demo training for teachers. If we don't strike a balance between experiments, demos and videos, eventually high schools will do away with labs all together in the name of increased safety
and reduced liability. Our students won't have anything but videos.
I started college thinking of going into genetics or medicine. It wasn't until after I got the chance to step in a lab that I truly considered chemistry as a career.
Demos may not be the reason we go into science nor the reason we stay in it, but the lab experience just might be it.
I would encourage the membership to read Chapter 12 of NFPA 45 Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals in its entirety before doing any demonstrations. The
number of accidents this has caused led the committee to add significant restrictions and responsibilities.
On a personal opinion note, it is 2020 and why can't you show a video instead of creating a needless hazard. While I am sure we all have vivid memories of these type
demonstrations, particularly the less well planned and executed ones, how many of us can truly say this is what made us decide to go into science? I suspect few if any. These things, particularly the larger and more spectacular scale ones, are just not worth
the risk. With all due respect to Michael Faraday and all the other greats who came before us, times have changed and I don't see anyone suggesting that we should all throw out hot plates and ovens for Bunsen burners or get ride of our cars for horse drawn
carriages. I think it is time to rethink the need for hazardous demonstrations and consider if new technologies can't allow us to do something a lot safer.
Pilot plant and laboratory consulting, safety, design,reviews, and training
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--
Margaret A. Rakas, Ph.D.
Lab Safety & Compliance Director
Clark Science Center
413-585-3877 (p)
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