ACS Field Trip
 

October 28, 1999 found several ACS students and faculty (12 of us in all) journeying to Indianapolis to visit the forensics crime lab in the basement of the Marion County Jail. We were given a tour by Jim Hamby, the director of the lab and a very entertaining man. The first room Mr. Hamby took us to was the morgue, which got everyone in the group into the proper frame of mind for the rest of the tour!! We were given a short talk by a woman who analyzed handwriting samples and counterfeit currency. She discussed the analysis of handwriting in holdup notes and suicide notes. We were taken to see the room where evidence is stored, mostly in paper grocery bags, to await analysis or for use in trials. Mr. Hamby discussed use of fingerprints and handprints as evidence and told us the story of the conviction for murder of a man who left a partial bloody handprint on the jeans of his victim. A scientist in the drug chemistry room showed the group a variety of drug samples, including forms of crack, marijuana, cocaine, and various drug paraphernalia confiscated from drug users. We were also able to see the instruments used in the lab, such as the gas chromatograph, IR, and GC/MS. To conclude the tour, he took us into the ballistics section of the lab where every type of ammunition imaginable and a huge variety of handguns, rifles, and automatic weapons were stored. After such a rigorous two-hour tour, we were all desperate for food, so we made our way to the Circle Center Mall for lunch before heading back to the cozy confines of Manchester College. We made sure to enjoy the clear, uncontaminated Indianapolis water before heading back to campus! October 28^th was the day we had to do without our precious water in North Manchester, and many of us were thirsting for water we could drink with a clear conscience! With our fall field trip in the pages of history, we look forward to hearing from you about where you want to go next semester!!

Steve Knaus

ACS SPEAKER
 

The ACS was fortunate to have a very knowledgeable and entertaining speaker – Dr. George Bodner, a chemical professor at Purdue University. Dr. Bodner received his Ph.D. in inorganic/organic chemistry from Indiana University. Originally a spectroscopist, he now studies epistemology which is the study of how we come to know. His topic of discussion was ethics and science. He spoke of the fraud in science including hoaxing, trimming, cooking, and forging data. He included examples of fraud in work of many world-renowned scientists including Millikan and Mendel. ACS members learned the importance of being honest and never manipulating data in science.

Janel Bailey

NATIONAL CHEMISTRY WEEK
 

National Chemistry Week was the first week in November. On Thursday, November 4 four groups of Manchester College chemistry students went to Manchester Elementary School to perform science experiments for fourth graders. The students asked many questions and enjoyed watching the demonstrations. ACS members showed the fourth graders dancing raisins, chemilluminescence, gold pennies, and crushing cans. The students were especially excited to see an exploding hydrogen balloon. The purpose of doing these demonstrations was to engage students in the fun and excitement of chemistry. From the reactions of the students and teachers, we believe this goal was reached. The Manchester College students enjoyed sharing their knowledge of chemistry with the fourth graders at Manchester Elementary during National Chemistry Week

Amy Rogers

BOY SCOUT PROJECT
 

On October 6 and 9, 1999 four local boy scouts visited the Chemistry Department at Manchester College to work on merit badges. The boys were all from a troop in North Manchester led by Brad Pyrah (accounting faculty at MC) and ranged in age from 10-13. With the help of Dr. Susan Klein and Dr. Jim Streator the boys conducted a variety of experiments and participated in several exercises that resulted in attaining merit badges in both chemistry and fingerprinting. A total of 10 ACS members volunteered to help setup the activities and to assist the boys. Pictures of the activities will be posted to the ACS student affiliate web page www.manchester.edu/users/facstaff/sjklein/acs-sa.html   The Boy Scouts of America can receive merit badges in over 100 different activities. The chemistry and fingerprinting badges are just two that are in science and related areas. Plans to conduct this program again next year with an expansion to other science merit badges are being considered.

Dr. Klein

UPCOMING EVENTS!
 

There are two upcoming events to help us celebrate the Holidays as a group. I am also pretty sure that they will provide a good opportunity to take a break from the rigors of final exam studies On Friday December the 10th at 6pm there will be a joint TUNSIS/ACS Christmas party at the house of Dr. Klein. We will be enjoying the sights of and sounds of Christmas – a real Christmas tree, music and cookies with punch. There will also be a white elephant gift exchange at the party. Each person will bring one gift to the party to trade with others. (All gifts should be $5 or less.) The second holiday celebration that ACS will be participating in is the All Science Holiday Party. This party will be held at Amy Hlavacek’s home from 6 - 8 pm on Sunday December 12. All of the science faculty and student organizations will be invited to the party for dinner, music and Holiday fun!

We hope that all of the members of ACS will be involved in the upcoming Holiday events. There will be more information posted on bulletin boards and signs around campus as the times draw closer. I hope that we will all have fun celebrating the Holidays and the end of the first semester together! See you all there!

Eliza Smoker