Luanne Johnson « The Erlenmeyer Flask

John Shelby is a high school Chemistry teacher in New York City. We asked John, “Why did you take an online class from OSU’s Chemistry department?”

I am fascinated by the details of how the world works, and this is what led to my interest in chemistry. In my work as a naturopathic physician, I used knowledge about the composition and interaction of different compounds on a daily basis. When I decided to shift gears to devote myself to teaching high school in the poorest congressional district in the country, I was instantly drawn to teach chemistry. Sometimes it is hard to feel that I am making a difference, but every now and then a graduated student will return and tell me they have done well in their college chemistry class, thanks to what we studied together. That experience really goes a long way.

When I needed to accumulate a few more chemistry credits for my New York teaching license, I had a very difficult time finding classes to take. It was easy enough to find General Chemistry or Organic Chemistry being offered on evenings or weekends so that I could work around my teaching schedule, but more advanced classes did not seem to be available. For two years I tried to find courses that would satisfy the requirements, to no avail. I was very happy, therefore, to find Oregon State’s Ecampus Chemistry program. I had concerns about online classes because of a bad experience in the past, but after corresponding with Professor Lerner, I was reassured that his Inorganic Chemistry class would be different.

I was extremely pleased with the level and quality of instruction provided by Professor Lerner. In his classes, each lecture was available through audio download and the lecture slides were also provided. I found the course to be quite challenging and very interesting. I can honestly say that I see the world differently as a result of this sequence of classes. I ended up taking both CH 411 and CH 412 from Dr. Lerner.

Outside of teaching, I enjoy spending time with my wife Lucia and my cat Pushkin. I play guitar and harmonica and I really like spending time in Central Park.

OSU’s President’s Commission on the Status of Women (PCOSW) is offering funds to cover registration costs for OSU Faculty, Staff, and Students to attend the 2015 Oregon Women in Higher Education (OWHE) conference in Bend, Jan. 22-23, 2015. To apply, please complete the Application Form no later than Sunday, Nov. 23. Questions? Contact: Natalia Fernández natalia.fernandez@oregonstate.edu

Four Search Advocate full-day workshops are now available! Be prepared to work with search committees by completing this workshop covering strategies to enhance validity, fairness, and diversity in the search process. Instead of requiring the typical two-workshop series (totaling ten hours), this workshop is a single day ( 8 am to 5 pm, breakfast and lunch included). Register at the OSU Professional Development website http://oregonstate.edu/training/index.php for one of the following offerings: Dec. 1 in Clatskanie, Dec. 15 or 17 in Corvallis, or Jan. 9 at North Willamette Research and Extension Center. Questions? Contact Anne Gillies anne.gillies@oregonstate.edu, 541-737-0865.

I am pleased to announce a call for proposals for
individual Learning Innovation Grants to help faculty bring innovation through technology to the learning experience.

Faculty are invited to apply for grants of up to
$10,000 for educational technology that improves the student experience in courses, in informal learning experiences, or in student life.

Grant guidelines and information about how to apply
can be found at http://oregonstate.edu/leadership/information/tech-funding/innovation-grant/individual.
Proposals are due by December 18, 2014.

An informational session will be held on Friday,
November 21, 1-2pm, in Kidder 202
to answer questions you may have about these grants. You will also be able to participate remotely
via
live.oregonstate.edu.

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Change

Do you know of a student, faculty or staff member who enriches our OSU community in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King?

Join us in acknowledging individuals who work to create inclusive communities and support diversity at OSU. We welcome nominations for recipients of our two community awards which are recognized yearly at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Breakfast in January. The two awards include:

· The Frances Dancy Hooks Award recognizes students, staff, or faculty who embody Frances Dancy Hooks’ work of building bridges across cultures, showing courage in promoting diversity, and “walking the talk” proudly;

· Phyllis S. Lee Award honors a member of the OSU community who exemplifies Dr. Lee’s commitment and dedication to social justice and the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We are requesting that nominations be submitted by December 10th, 2014. To find out more information or to submit a nomination visit: Frances Dancy Hooks and Phyllis S. Lee Award Information and Nomination Page

The OSU Homestay Program is seeking local families to share their Thanksgiving festivities with international students. Applications are currently available at https://jfe.qualtrics.com/form/SV_1yTjGUsntSs1cu9. Hosting application deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. Hosts will be informed of student placement Monday, Nov. 24. If you have any questions, please contact homestay@oregonstate.edu.

Originally printed in Campus Technology 11/13/14

By Michael Hart

Oregon State University (OSU) is collaborating with a private partenr on a graduate-level course designed to help the students teach their own online laboratory science classes.

In the class, now offered online twice a year, students — most of whom teach online lab science classes themselves — work with a number of content delivery modes that include but are not limited to virtual labs, lab packs, kitchen science, data mining and field work, evaluating for themselves how the different modes work for the courses they teach.

eScience Labs, a company that provides customizable lab kits for online lab science courses at the university level, supplies lab kits, a set of hands-on experiments and curricular materials for the OSU courses titled “Instruments and Online Interactions in the Sciences.” The lab kits can be customized so that the students in the course can use them in the courses they teach themselves. Read more…

Name: May Nyman

Area of study / position title: Materials Inorganic Chemistry focused on aqueous inorganic clusters/Associate Professor

Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you, etc.): My father was a naturalist and took us hiking to look at trees, birds, flowers, animals. But I only cared about the rocks and the sparkly minerals that made up the rocks. We went to the Smithsonian many times and I only wanted to see the gem and mineral collection. This steered me towards geology as an undergrad. Then I took mineralogy and learned how the arrangement of atoms in minerals control the shape, and how the periodic table controls the color and arrangement of the atoms; I was totally hooked on inorganic chemistry…not organic chemistry: that was the trees, birds, flowers and animals!

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties?: Discovering new ways to make materials from water. Some materials are simply to understand how molecules and atoms interact with each other in water, and some are help solve global energy and environmental issues.

One thing that you truly love about your job?: Top three things: I love discovering new chemistry that totally surprises me, I love writing about it to share these discoveries with the scientific community and the world, I love working with young scientist in training, and colleagues from all over the world.

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself.: What really makes me happy and sometimes gets me through those rainy Oregon days is international traditional music and dance. Now if only I can get the international scientists to dance with me, my circle would be complete.

Hello All-

We’ve been assigned our Joy Drive family!! This year, we’ll be bringing holiday joy to a 5-year-old girl, a 2-year-old boy and a 3-month old girl. We’re asking for your help to bring these kids a great Holiday season. Please bring your donation to the main office (Gilbert 153) and put it in the giant beaker. We will be shopping for gifts on Wednesday, so we need your donations no later than Tuesday, December 2, 2014. Thank you all for your kindness and generosity in making these children’s holiday one to remember.

Name: Paula Christie

Area of Study / Position Title: Asst. to The Chair / Office Manager

Why Chemistry? (What about it initially interested you, etc): I joined the chemistry department in 2009, it was quite a culture shock compared to managing the Physics office. After many years of working for both departments, it is good to call Chemistry my home.
Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties?: Duties include: Assist the Department Chair and manage the Chemistry office. 🙂

One thing you truly love about your job?: I love working with people that have a true passion for what they do.

One interesting / strange factoid about yourself: I grew up on a small farm in Crabtree Oregon (population ~300 ) we raised sheep, pigs, cattle, rabbit and had 15 farm cats at one time.

The Erlenmeyer Flask

Where diverse minds inspire endless innovation.

Author Archives: Luanne Johnson

Focus on ECampus: John Shelby

Women in Higher Education Conference Scholarships

Search Advocate Training

Call for Proposals: Learning Innovation Grants

Call for Award Nominations: 2015 MLK Jr Celebration

Want to share Thanksgiving with an International Student??

OSU Course Helps Teachers with Online Lab Science Classes

Who Am I? Wednesday – May Nyman

2014 Joy Drive Family

Who Am I? Wednesday – Paula Christie

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