Each fall the School of the Sciences has an Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) event for middle school girls. The purpose of this day long event is to show these girls the excitement of science so that they consider careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) careers. The highlight of the event is a series of workshops developed and run by women scientists, from Stevenson and local industrial partners, in which the girls participate in hands-on activities.
In one such workshop, SU chemistry professors, Dr. Sara Narayan and Dr. Michelle Ivey, demonstrated chemiluminescence. Two solutions, one containing luminol and other other potassium ferricyanide, were combined and light was produced. They explained to the students that this light is called “cool light” because heat is not produced by the reaction, only light.
Dr. Narayan explained, “I enjoy watching the girls explore chemistry in such a fun way.” Dr. Ivey added, “I volunteered for the event because it was a similar event that convinced me to go into sciences. I had a lot of fun interacting with all of the girls.”