On a roll: Chem Club 'outstanding' for third straight year

Drs. Nate Beres and Aaron Roerdink took Kevin Scrudders, Melanie Cohn, Kiera Malone, Caleb Frye and Rory Bage to the National American Chemical Society Meeting in New Orleans from March 17-22. 

While at the meeting, the Chem Club was honored during an Undergraduate Awards Ceremony for winning the Outstanding Award. This award is the most prestigious award the ACS gives to student groups. Heidelberg's Chem Club was the only private university in Ohio to receive this honor. It marks the third year in a row for the Chem Club to win this award from the ACS. 

Kevin Scrudders presented during a poster session on Successful Student Chapters. Students also presented at the Chem Demo Exchange. During this session, they taught other student chapters about a demo (chalk chromatography) and how to explain it to various age groups. Two students, Kiera and Melanie, were interviewed by Chemical and Engineering News about the demo and how it works.

The HU Chem Club, along with students from The University of Toledo -- the only two universities in Ohio to win the Outstanding Award -- met with past ACS President Dr. Allison Campbell. Dr. Campbell is the third member of the ACS Executive Committee to meet with 'Berg students in recent years.  

Nate and Aaron presented a talk, Development of a Non-Majors Chemistry Course including an International Travel Component, during a Chemical Education session. The talk was based on CHM 108: The Science of Art, which includes travel to the Netherlands to study the work of Rembrandt, van Gogh and Vermeer while visiting with conservationists. The talk sparked a lot of conversation and faculty from other universities have since reached out to Nate and Aaron about starting similar programs at their institutions.

While in New Orleans, the group enjoyed dinner on Bourbon Street and went on a ghost walk in the French Quarter. Kiera, Melanie, Caleb and Rory earned Heidelberg some recognition by coming in second at an ACS-sponsored Trivia Night, open to all conference participants under the age of 35, which tested their knowledge of chemistry.