For a second straight year, the St. Ambrose University Chemistry Club is among 104 college chapters to receive a commendable rating from the American Chemistry Society's Committee on Education.
The recognition is given based upon each chapter's activities and events.
The SAU club is led by Andew Axup, PhD, a professor of chemistry, and Kelly Gierlus, PhD, an assistant professor. It was formed four years ago.
The student organization actively promotes chemistry in the community, annually hosting an on-campus National Chemistry Week Open House for elementary school children and making a presentation during National Chemistry Week at The Family Museum in Bettendorf, Iowa.
Senior Courtney Pold, last year's club president, said she particularly enjoyed sharing the joys of science with children during the Open House. "It was fun to see the kids get so excited," she said.
"One of their favorite demonstrations was 'elephant toothpaste,' which is a chemical reaction that causes the rapid expansion of foam."
It also hosts an ACS Illinois-Iowa Undergraduate Research Conference that is attended by more than 60 students and faculty and which this year included presenters from the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, among many others.
"I am very proud of everything the club did last year and continues to do," Pold said.
Monthly club meetings feature research presentations by faculty and alumni as well as student presentations from Summer Research Institute projects. On a lighter note, there occasionally is ice cream made using liquid nitrogen, committee work that includes sampling local pizza parlors, an annual field trip and a Chemistry Trivia Night near the end of fall semester.
"The students are definitely deserving of this honor," Gierlus said. "I am continually amazed at the amount of thought, effort and enthusiasm they put into Chemistry Club activities. Also, I enjoy getting to know students outside the classroom and working alongside them to put on demonstration shows and the research conference."
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