Four Seton Hill University (SHU) students majoring in forensic science and chemistry were required to do either research or an internship and present it at an American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting as part of their departmental exit evaluation.
On March 24 to March 28, seniors April Kiral, Jess Keith, and Jessica Ludovici, all majoring in forensic science, and senior Katie Donaldson, majoring in chemistry, attended the ACS National Meeting, which took place in Chicago this year.
By Mike Diezmos,
Photo Editor
Four Seton Hill University (SHU) students majoring in forensic science and chemistry were required to do either research or an internship and present it at an American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting as part of their departmental exit evaluation.
On March 24 to March 28, seniors April Kiral, Jess Keith, and Jessica Ludovici, all majoring in forensic science, and senior Katie Donaldson, majoring in chemistry, attended the ACS National Meeting, which took place in Chicago this year.
According to Kiral, the ACS meeting is like a science fair.
�They have rows of bulletin boards (with the student’s chosen project)…and people walk around asking the (students) what they did and learned,� Kiral said.
Kiral presented an outline of her internship at Allegheny Energy Chemical Supply Laboratory in Greensburg where she did different testing on coal and waste oil.
�I did a sulphur analysis on coal…(and) on oil, I did flash point and four point,� said Kiral. Her internship gave her experience working in a chemistry laboratory as a lab technician.
Keith presented her internship at OMNOVA Solutions, Inc., and Ludovici presented her research on DNA.
Ludovici learned new things at the ACS National Meeting.
�It is necessary to share (new) ideas with your colleagues and peers so that the scientific community as a whole can benefit,� she said.
�The other students learned about different instrumentation, about possible careers in Chemistry and most importantly about how to take chemistry out into the community,� said Donaldson.
Kiral, Keith, Ludovici, and Donaldson also accepted the Outstanding Chapter Award for 2005-2006, the highest honor given by ACS to chemistry clubs affiliated with ACS. Each club chapter is evaluated by the activities and community outreach program it did. A detailed annual report at the end of the year is sent to ACS.
�This is the SHU chapter’s 12th Outstanding Award (in its 14-year history) participating in the national ACS meetings,� said Assistant Professor of Chemistry Susan Yochum.
�It says a lot about the officers and members who participated last year…we worked very hard,� said Donaldson.
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