Chemistry students visit ANU

By Chris Main, Chemistry Teacher

On Thursday and Friday, 24-25 November, Year 11 International Baccalaureate (IB) chemistry students visited the Research School of Chemistry (RSC) at the Australian National University (ANU) to conduct research for their internal assessments.

The IB internal assessment requires students to design and conduct their own experiment. With the help of ANU's RSC, students investigated a broad range of topics, from the combustion of fuels to making pigments, the strength and viscosity of polymers, water hardness, cooking oil quality, the colours of advanced molecules, cleaning blood stains, and more.

It was a truly memorable experience for all. Working in the university laboratories gave students a glimpse of what a career in chemistry may involve. Having access to ANU's wonderful equipment, resources and expertise also meant everyone successfully completed their project and collected quality data in just two days, giving them a fantastic head start on Year 12 IB work.

Being on campus also meant soaking up the university atmosphere, and encouraged students to work independently, solve problems and find creative solutions to technical challenges presented when performing research. The students left this experience inspired. We are very grateful for this unique and exciting opportunity.

Our heartfelt thanks go to ANU RSC Senior Technical Officer Mr Vance Lawrence and his team: Technical Officers Bozena Belzowski and Avis Paterson, Trainee Technical Officer Lincoln Hall, and work experience student Dinara Gunasekera. The ANU RSC team prepared the equipment and chemicals in advance and then tirelessly worked with students for two days to troubleshoot. Finally, thanks to Associate Professor Mark Ellison (First Year and Outreach Coordinator) and Professor Mick Sherburn (Associate Director (Education)) for giving us this chance.

We look forward to a long and fruitful working relationship with the RSC and hope to return soon.