Date:Monday, September 11, 2000

Location:Eastman Lodge, Kingsport TN (at the foot of Bays Mountain)

Title:Va. Tech's Mobile Chemistry Lab

Abstract: Join us for the September meeting to see and hear about Virginia Tech's new Mobile Chemistry Lab from Dr. Barbara Bunn. This is an exciting resource that has been developed to help improve the level of science education in Virginia.

Barbara Bunn, assistant professor of chemistry at Virginia Tech, was formerly on the faculty of ETSU and is a NETSACS member. At Virginia Tech, she was challenged to develop an outreach program for rural Virginia schools that don't have the facilities or equipment required to conduct laboratory experiments in chemistry. A phone call to Volvo Trucks to see if they would donate a small truck to carry supplies eventually resulted in a fully-equipped laboratory in a 53-foot trailer pulled by a Volvo 770 tractor. The laboratory has the capability of handling up to 30 students working in pairs. So that the students can conduct experiments simultaneously, there are 15 pH meters, 15 hot plate-stirrers, 15 electronic balances, 15 conductivity meters, 15 temperature sensors, and 15 laptop computers connected to the Internet through a satellite uplink. In addition, the lab is equipped with 4 gas chromatographs, 5 UV-Vis spectrometers, an FT-IR, 3 fume hoods, an oven, a refrigerator, and much more.

During the social hour, there will be time to tour the lab and see the equipment. After dinner, Barbara will talk about how the lab came to be, the mission of the lab, curriculum development, and future plans. In the meantime, you can learn more about the Mobile Chemistry Lab by visiting http://www.chem.vt.edu/mcl/.