This is the story of how an enterprising high school student came to my lab one afternoon, asking if there were any way that he could gain "hands-on" lab experience by working with me. While I had some doubts about allowing him to work in an area with an expensive 150-mW focused laser beam, I eventually said yes. I was well aware that a…

At many universities, silver nitrate is used in teaching laboratories, and a resulting waste product is often silver chloride. Silver chloride is not a compound that can be discarded into a sink as it has harmful effects to the environment; however, commercial waste disposal is costly, and replacement of the silver nitrate reagent is expensive.…

An introductory, nonscience-majors chemistry course was converted to a Web-based course. The differences in student populations, teaching strategies, laboratory methods, and learning outcomes are described. Practical information is also given on the use of software and other online technology to implement course conversion. (Contains 2 tables.)

Historically, manufacture of automotive electronic components and screen-printing of automotive instrument clusters at DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc. required washing of equipment such as screens, stencils, and jigs with sizable quantities of volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants. Collaborative efforts between the Maryville…

This article discusses how the Bridge program, a partnership between Fisk University and Vanderbilt University, can become the nation's leading producer of doctoral graduates in astronomy, physics and material sciences. A graduate at Fisk, Ebonee Walker gets free tuition to attend one of the world's leading universities, a book allowance, a…