During spring break a group of seven Ouachita students went to Salt Lake City to present research projects at the American Chemical Society Convention.
These presentations are part of their bachelor of science degree requirement. Seniors Drew Cason, Kenley Singleton, Matthew Clarkson, Sara Jane Love and Abby Brumley and juniors Dax Demaree and John Allen Cockerell all participated in the trip. The research was done during the summer.
“We worked on the projects for 10 weeks,” Cason said.
“It was really time consuming,“ Love said. “But it was worth it. I was in the lab all the time, but it was so rewarding and felt like a big deal.”
The work done by the students has continuing effects on the Ouachita’s science department. The professors are able to present the research at events and add to it in the future.
“It’s really rewarding because whatever you do helps the professor out with his research and can be built on and continued in the department,” Love said. “Other students will be able to carry on our work and that’s really cool.”
The students also had the opportunity to attend the Gateway Discovery Museum. The American Chemical Society funded the admission of 1,000 children and parents to come through the establishment and participate in experiments done by the various schools represented.
Ouachita’s experiment was called “The Buzz of Electrolytes” and involved a system showing the presence or absence of electrolytes in certain beverages.
“It was really cool, “ Love said. “The little kids eyes would light up when they got to take part in the experiment.”
The group participated in a demo exchange in the convention. Each school had a representative booth where it performed an experiment for the others so they could borrow ideas and see the works of each. Ouachita presented “Candy Chromatography” and “Ammonium Ghosts” as its experiments.
At the awards ceremony Ouachita’s ACS chapter won a commendable plaque for work done in the 2007-2008 school year.
