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Students explore science
Hundreds of high school students attend annual UB event
By JESSICA KELTZ
Reporter Contributor
Although UB students were on spring break last week, the campus was not quiet. Hundreds of area high school students descended upon the North Campus on March 15 to learn about topics ranging from birds of prey and flesh-invading flies to radar waves to ceramics as the university hosted the 20th annual Science Exploration Day.
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"I think that the benefit (for students) is being exposed to a variety of scientific disciplines," said Bruce Donn, a retired science teacher from the Kenmore/Tonawanda school district who once brought his students to the event and now volunteers to help run it. "Hopefully, it will pique an interest in science."
Robert McClellan of Praxair Inc. proved to be a popular speaker with students attending Science Exploration Day. As part of his presentation on cryogenics, he dipped a carnation into liquid nitrogen and the flower crumbled into dust. McClellan ran through his demonstration twice during the day.
Rodney Doran, emeritus professor of learning and instruction in the UB Graduate School of Education, helped to get the annual event started and has worked on it ever since. He said the goal of Science Exploration Day is to get high school students interested in careers in science. "It certainly gets kids on our campus, to see the campus and meet some of the faculty, so that's a plus," he added.
Doran said that this year's keynote speaker, Robert McClellan of Praxair Inc., had been popular with past audiences. McClellan demonstrated cryogenics to a packed house in Norton Hall.
"It's a very showy, dramatic presentation," Doran said.
McClellan ran through his demonstration twice during the day. Among the highlights were dipping a carnation in liquid nitrogen and crumbling it into dust, flattening a balloon by cooling its contents from gas to liquid, shattering a rubber ball against the auditorium wall and using liquid oxygen to ignite a smear of grease and dust with a bang so loud students were encouraged to plug their ears.
The presentation wasn't all show, however. McClellan explained the concept of absolute zero and the very different properties of liquid nitrogen-which is inert, meaning it doesn't react with other elements-and liquid oxygen—which is highly reactive—as well as the practical uses of cryogenics.
Scientists often use cryogenics to test materials to see whether they can be used in space shuttles, McClellan said, explaining that the temperature on the "shade side" of a shuttle can drop to below 400 degrees F.
"Any material that you would use for the shell of a rocket or that would come into contact with the shell—you would want to test it," he said.
To demonstrate, he sank a small pink rubber ball in a beaker of liquid nitrogen, then tossed it against the wall of the auditorium: it smashed into hundreds of small pieces.
"You couldn't possibly use it for outer space," he said of the material comprising the ball.
McClellan got his biggest reaction from the crowd when demonstrating the intense reactivity—and thus flammability—of liquid oxygen. He said it's imperative that lab tools coming into contact with the substance be clean because even fingerprint grease can be enough to spark a fire. He then put a bit of dirt and grease across the bottom of a stainless steel cup and poured liquid oxygen over it.
The students, watching in anticipation, hands pressed over ears, saw a huge flame ignite and heard a room-shaking "bang."
After the presentation, students said it was the most memorable thing they'd seen so far that day.
"I didn't think science was that interesting, but I'm getting interested in it," said Melissa Friedhoff of Lakeshore High School.
Jake Fortini and three friends from Williamsville North High School also cited the cryogenics presentation as their favorite event of the day, but Fortini said his career interest might lean more toward geology.
"I like the imaging with radar presentation," he added.
Three girls from Depew also said they enjoyed the presentation, but one, Kelly Kielty, said another science career was for her.
"I'm going into pediatrics," she said.
Other students said they were as interested in getting a look at UB as in learning more about the sciences.
Rayna Wendover, from Springville, said she might want to become a teacher.
"I really like how big the Student Union was," she said. "It was really neat."
Ellen Rottner, from Amherst Central, said that UB is on her list of possible colleges, adding that she wants to study pre-med."
In addition to the keynote presentation, which all students attended, students participated in series of classes that varied, depending on which schedule they received. Other topics included "Snow Days: Part of Advances in Long-Range Weather Forecasting," with WIVB-TV meteorologist Don Paul; "Environmental Chemistry in Our Community," with UB faculty member Joseph Gardella; "What's Down There? Imagining the Earth with Radar Waves," with Philip Stokes of the Environmental Geophysics Lab; and "The Real Science Behind 'CSI': Applied Forensic Science," with Edinboro University professor Ted Yeshion.
In the forensics session, Yeshion told students that while the television show "CSI" is entertaining, it has "minimal education value."
"I've done hundreds of crime scenes. I've yet to come out of a Hummer or see anyone else come out of a Hummer," he said, referring to the vehicle of choice for many television crime-scene investigators.