2021: Past Meetings

Bob Pribush will present his observations and conclusions based upon his 42 years experiences at Butler University (Indianapolis) as a professor and head of the Chemistry Department -- and as an expert witness in matters related to transition metal compounds, photochemistry, forensic sciences applied to fire investigations, and pigment analyses of oil paintings, including the T.C. Steele group and the Taos group of artists. During the period of time from Sputnik to the present, phenomenal technological advances have impacted the way chemistry instruction is delivered by instructors, how chemistry is learned by students and the manner in which student performance is assessed at universities and secondary schools. These advances were made possible by the availability of relatively inexpensive, highspeed, large-capacity computers.
In the current classroom environment, chemistry is taught on whiteboards or smartboards, and instructors interact with students using mobile devices. Because of technology, todays classroom is more interactive and engaging than ever before. In the future adaptive learning will enable instructors to more successfully deliver chemistry instruction to underprepared students as well as students with enhanced backgrounds.
This presentation provides a skeletal historical outline of how technology has impacted chemistry instruction by providing new tools for content delivery, learning, and performance assessment, and some problems associated with that technology of the launch of Sputnik, scientists who had immigrated to the United States after World War II and did much of the space-related research. The need for an increased number of better-educated homegrown scientists, engineers, and mathematicians became clear after Sputnik.

Mitch Zimmer will present his observations based upon his experiences as a Chemical Engineer in industry, in market research and competitive analysis consulting, and as an Assistant Professor of Business at Penn State - Berks Campus. His focus will be some of his earliest experiences, which for some unexplainable reason remain relevant today.