As a chemistry graduate student I don’t normally take classes outside of the chemistry building, but this semester I happened to have an optics course in the physics department. So a few months ago when scientists at the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO for short) found gravitational waves,1 I got an inside look at just …
Scientific Lessons from Bread Baking
Every day chemists enter their laboratories, intent on making or studying something. For me, my daily task is to think about nanoparticles. At the end of the day the thinking process is no different than a chef working in the kitchen. Small changes in your recipe can make a huge difference. The ingredients, types, amounts, …
The Mysterious Inspiration of Future Scientists
Anyone who has watched CSI, Bones, or Breaking Bad on television has had the opportunity to see how chemistry can be important in solving (or committing) a crime. The popularity of forensics drama inspired scientists within our Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology to develop a set of outreach activities where middle school students can use chemistry …
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Science Discipline Drama – past and present
A Biologist and a Chemist Walk into a Lab…then they have to share space and tools and work together…(you thought that was going to be a joke, right?) Let me preface my opinion on this matter by putting it out there: I am a biologist. I work, however, in a chemistry laboratory. I am also …
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