Jennifer K. Bachman
Laboratory Coordinator and Inventory Specialist
My main function as Laboratory Coordinator is to set up for introductory chemistry labs. I assemble all the equipment necessary, make up reagents and lay out chemicals in the common areas of the room for the students to weigh out and transfer to their apparatus as required. Most of our intro labs have about 20 students per section, so I would prepare 10 setups. I walk through the labs every morning to make sure everything is ready to go for the next lab class. As Inventory Specialist, I manage the chemical stockroom and maintain the hazardous waste storage facililty. Every year my students and I do a physical inventory of all of our holdings.
This is me doing a demonstration of chemical fireworks (photo by Scott Hardage). One of the things I love the most about my job is being able to grab some of the Student Affiliates and go to local schools and do hands-on chemistry or do demonstrations with fire, smoke, and the like. We do a demonstration blitz during National Chemistry Week, which is always the third week of October, and we travel to all the schools in Sewanee and do hands-on activities suggested by the American Chemical Society. We also have an annual magic show called An Evening of Chemical Magic, usually held in April. About 60-80 students, faculty, and community members and their families come to Blackman Auditorium to see the show. The last couple of years we have done an information table on campus for Earth Day. We try to promote the importance of chemistry in saving the earth. This year (2010) we gave away piggy banks made of recycled denim which went with the Chemists Celebrate Earth Day Theme "Plants: The Green Machines.
