Introduction to Iowa State University and Iowa  
 
     
 

Welcome to the Eighteenth Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, to be held July 18 to July 22, 2004 at Iowa State University of Science & Technology, in Ames, Iowa. Our program committee is planning a wonderful array of workshops, presentations, plenary speakers, keynote speakers, exhibits, and posters designed to provide you with new ideas, strategies, and techniques for involving your students in active learning.

Tom Greenbowe, General Chair (General Contractor), 18th BCCE, and Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University

  
 

 

An Invitation to be Transformed at the 18th Biennial at Iowa State University

Colleagues have described the Division of Chemical Education’s Biennial Conferences on Chemical Education as “a transforming experience.” Your chance to have an experience like this will happen again at the 18th BCCE this summer at Iowa State University in Ames. What makes the BCCEs so exciting–and maybe transforming-is the opportunity to gather together and share expertise and experience among colleagues who are committed to excellence in chemical education. The BCCEs are the largest gathering of chemical educators in the world and truly reflect the wide interests and talents of people who teach chemistry in high schools, colleges, and universities as well as people in industry, government, who have an interest in chemical education.

The program committee for the 18th BCCE is planning an amazing variety of workshops, presentations, plenary speakers, keynote speakers, exhibits, and posters designed to provide you with new ideas, strategies, and techniques for involving your students in active learning. At any time during the conference I’m sure you’ll find more than one workshop, presentation, exhibit, or other activity that will stimulate your interest. Usually it will be a matter of deciding between conflicting schedules about what you’re going to do.

You’ll also find times to reflect and talk with your colleagues, to discuss something that you’ve seen, heard, or done and share your ideas. There will be great social events and things to see and do, perhaps, even time to relax. The BCCEs are truly the best deal someone interested in chemical education can get and can be transforming. I encourage you to join your colleagues in Iowa this summer and look forward to seeing you there.


John Clevenger
Chair, Division of Chemical Education
American Chemical Society

Truckee Meadows Community College
Reno, NV 89512 clevenge@scs.unr.edu

 
             
ISU has a beautiful campus        
         

Iowa State University

It's where George Washington Carver, who discovered hundreds of uses for the peanut and other crops, learned about science and agriculture. Where Carrie Chapman Catt, who would lead American women to the ballot box, organized one of the first female military drill units. Where John Vincent Atanasoff, a physics and math professor, and his graduate student Clifford Berry invented the first electronic digital computer. It's where the FAX machine was invented.

           
   
In 1942, Iowa State College's Frank H. Spedding, an expert in the chemistry of rare earth metals, and Harley A. Wilhelm set up and directed a chemical research and development program for producing pure uranium for the Manhattan Project. Their process produced the uranium that was used in first successful self-sustaining chain reaction initiating the controlled release of nuclear energy at the University of Chicago in December, 1942.
Iowa State University is a major research university located on a lush, sprawling campus in Ames, Iowa. The university got its start more than a century ago as one of the nation's first land-grants -- universities dedicated to the idea that higher education ought to be open to all, practical and shared with people outside the campus. Iowa State grew from agricultural roots and has a long-standing well-earned reputation for scientific and technological advances in agriculture, veterinary medicine, home economics, science and engineering. Over the past century, it has grown into a research university of international stature, with excellent programs not only in scientific and technical fields, but in the humanities and arts as well. ISU offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees through eight colleges and the Graduate School.
 

The 34 faculty members of the Department of Chemistry have offices and research laboratories housed primarily in Gilman Hall. Henry Gilman, the father of organometallic chemistry and a faculty member at ISU, was awarded the Priestley Medal in 1978. Spedding and Wilhelm Halls, part of the U.S. Department of Energy's federal research facility called Ames Laboratory, are located adjacent to Gilman Hall. ISU is listed as third in the number of patents awarded to US universities
                           
 

ISU varsity sports teams (the Cyclones) are members of the NCAA Big-12 Athletic Conference. In 2002, ISU's Cael Sanderson became the only undefeated NCAA college wrestler. His record is 159-0. Cael was a four time NCAA national champion.

 

  
                           
With a student population of 25,000 and a town population of 25,000, Ames is a suburban area surrounded by picturesque fields of corn and soybeans.
   
 
Jane Smiley was an Iowa State University faculty member when she wrote her novel, "Moo". ISU served as the book's physical setting and provided plenty of character development. Some of the buildings and settings discussed in the book are still present, i.e. "Old Meats" and the prized agronomy "garden". The Big Pig will be present for one day during the 18th BCCE. If you want to get an early introduction to ISU, read this book.        

Iowa

Iowa is known for excellence in education. ISU along with the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa are the three state public universities serving Iowa. Iowa has fourteen community colleges and over twenty private colleges. Iowa' s public elementary and secondary schools are among the best in the United States.

Iowa is the heart of the farm belt of the mid-west prairie states. Grant Wood's painting "American Gothic" captures the hard working farm ethic instilled in Iowans. The Mississippi and Missouri Rivers frame the east and west borders of the state, where gambling is permitted on licensed operating "Mississippi River style paddle-wheel" boats. There are no potato fields and the only good skiing is done cross-country or on one of the seven lakes.

One of four states designated as topographically challenged, Iowa has been the setting of four major Hollywood films "Cold Turkey" (starring Dick Van Dyke), "Twister" (staring Helen Hunt), "Bridges of Madison County" (starring Clint Eastwood), and "Field of Dreams". On a perfect July summer twilight, Shoeless Joe Jackson surveyed his baseball field and surrounding rural countryside and asked, "Is this heaven?", Kevin Costner replied, "No, it's Iowa!"

   
This page was up-dated on April 3, 2004 by Thomas J. Greenbowe, Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University