103 CLEMSON ‘GREEN CHEMISTRY’ EXPERT SPEAKS OCT. 4-5 AT MTSU

Date: Oct. 3, 2006


Editorial contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-2919
Chemistry department contact: Dr. Martin Stewart, 615-898-2073
MTSU Chemistry Club contact: Taylor Barnes, taylor-barnes@jam.rr.com


(MURFREESBORO) — Dr. Gautam Bhattacharyya, assistant professor in chemistry education at Clemson University in South Carolina and an expert in “Green Chemistry,” will make two appearances at MTSU this week.
Bhattacharyya, will discuss “Green Chemistry: Bringing the Real World into the Chemistry Labs,” at an MTSU Chemistry Club meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, in Davis Science Building Room 100. A green chemistry workshop will follow at 6:30, said Dr. Martin Stewart, professor, chemistry, who added that the workshop would help students working on a poster presentation for the Tennessee Academy of Science annual meeting Nov. 17 at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site says the Green Chemistry mission is “to promote innovative chemical technologies that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and use of chemical products.”
At 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, Bhattacharyya will discuss “A Recovering Organic Chemist’s Explorations in Chemical Education” during the weekly chemistry seminar in DSB 100.
“This presentation will discuss the epistemic development of organic chemists and suggest a type of intervention strategy aimed to help students construct practitioner knowledge in organic chemistry,” Bhattacharyya wrote in his abstract for the chemistry seminar presentation.”
“Traditionally, organic divisions within the departments of chemistry train the largest number of students in chemistry doctoral programs,” he said. “Yet, very little is understood about the processes by which students evolve into practicing organic chemists. We have recently completed several studies on how individuals learn organic chemistry. Our participants ranged from students in sophomore-level organic chemistry through upper-level graduate students in toward the end of their Ph.D. degrees.”
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Media welcomed.