Our group is committed to promoting interest in various aspects of chemistry through scientific demonstrations and outreach events for our college students at UMass Lowell, local high school students, and the general public. For example, we introduce the audience to basic electrochemical reactions through demonstrations of ways that hydrogen can be generated electrochemically and then converted into energy using a fuel cell. The audience is able to gain hands-on experience in electrochemistry and understand the relationships between electrochemistry and energy conversion.
In addition, we have hosted forensic chemistry demonstrations through a program at UMass Lowell called ‘CSI: UMass Lowell’ that merges chemistry and forensic science to promote science through forensic chemistry. At the University’s annual open house for our college students and the local community, the audience is invited to learn how analytical chemistry techniques are used to solve crimes, e.g., how scanning electron microscopy and liquid chromatograph mass spectrometry are used to identify ballistic and drug samples. Our group also has partnered with Prof. Nelson Eby (a geology professor at UMass Lowell) to promote science through forensic geology. Furthermore, we have hosted demonstrations that target younger audiences (ages 8 to 12) where students can learn how microscopes are used to analyze sand samples and fingerprints.
