Chemical Education Today

934 Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 79 No. 8 August 2002 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu

NSF HighlightsProjects Supported by the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education

Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Education:Environmental Studiesby Marina Koether, Donald McGarey, Mark Patterson, and Daniel J. Williams

Kennesaw State University’s environmental studiesprogram is indicative of a growing trend of interdisciplinaryprograms in the post-secondary level. To support the devel-opment of this program, the Department of Chemistry andBiochemistry was awarded an NSF1 grant in the summerof 1999 for an Interdisciplinary Environmental Program(IEP): Environmental Chemistry Laboratory Course andField-Based Environmental Science Capstone Course.

The IEP was a collaboration consisting of two chem-ists, Marina Koether and Dan Williams; a biologist, DonaldMcGarey; and a geographer, Mark Patterson. During theSummer of 1999, Koether, McGarey, and Patterson devel-oped an environmental studies minor and participated in aProject Kaleidoscope workshop2 entitled EnvironmentalStudies: Issues for New and Expanding Programs. Subse-quent to the workshop, an environmental studies minorincorporating the field-based environmental sciencecapstone course, Applied Environmental Studies, as fundedby NSF, was approved by Kennesaw State University.

The chemists developed the environmental chemistrylaboratory course, and Williams, McGarey, and Pattersondeveloped the environmental science capstone course. Inaddition, summer and directed-study students aided in thedevelopment of the courses by testing the laboratory pro-cedures for length of time to complete and ease of use. Twoposter papers describing the two courses were presented atthe Pacifichem 2000 Conference (1). Both courses wereoffered in the fall semester of 2001 and the results were pre-sented by both faculty and students at the Georgia Acad-emy of Science meeting in 2002 and at the Fall 2002American Chemical Society national meeting. Future plansinclude the production of an environmental chemistry labmanual.

One goal of the environmental chemistry lab course wasto teach that environmental chemistry is found in all areasof chemistry, and not limited to environmental analysis. Thefunding for the lab course allowed for the acquisition of aYSI probe for field measurements, a Varian FAAS 220 FastSequential spectrometer, a 220Z Zeeman GFAAS, a jar-tester,turbidimeter, and two computers. In addition, the studentsused the computers obtained through an NSF-DUE-CCLI-A&I Grant3 to examine the SolEq program (2) and were ableto do molecular modeling on DDT, DDE, DDD, and meth-oxychlor because of a previous NSF-DUE-ILI grant.4 Dur-ing two field trips to a marsh in the main part of the labcourse students conducted field-testing and collected samplesand microcosms (3). They had a complete tour of a water

treatment plant, collected water samples, and conducted theirown jar-tests on the water to determine the correct coagu-lant dose. Studies on filtration and ion exchange were accom-plished using a Brita filter. In addition, students studied thesynthesis and chemical characteristics of soaps and detergents.Students studied acid precipitation through the SolEq pro-gram (2) and conducted some acid rain and buffer experi-ments. Similarly, by following an online lecture on ozone andUV radiation (4), students learned about the need for sun-screens and then examined the sunscreens by UV to deter-mine their efficacy (5). Students examined the characteristicsand synthesis of plastics and considered the issues of plasticsin solid waste, and also completed the first part of the labexperience by performing Tessier extractions of metals in sedi-ments and soils (6). For the last few weeks of the lab course,students developed an environmental research project andworked on it inside and outside of lab, as they were extremelyinterested in the results.

The environmental capstone course involved conduct-ing an environmental assessment of three field sites inBartow County, GA. These were all stream sites with adja-cent riparian zones and the students engaged in collectingchemical and biological data as well as incorporating thesedata into a geographic information system (GIS) to producemaps. One of the field sites was relatively free of impact byurban growth and served as a reference site while the othertwo sites were closer to the Atlanta metropolitan area whereurban growth had had a greater impact.

The students learned how to use hand-held globalpositioning system (GPS) devices to determine the geo-graphic coordinates of their sites and conducted a varietyof inventories and assessments including habitat, fish popu-lations, vegetation, benthic macroinvertebrates, fecal coliform,and chemical and physical parameters such as nitrate, phos-phate, ammonia, chlorophyll a, turbidity, temperature, dis-solved oxygen, and pH. A YSI Model 6820 Sonde dataloggingmulti-probe was used to measure pH, turbidity, temperature,and dissolved oxygen, while CHEMetrics field testing chemi-cal kits were used to measure ammonia (Kit K-1510), phos-phate (K-8510), and nitrate (K-6902) concentrations. Thestudents established a regular sampling regime and followedstandard protocols for collecting, transferring, storing, andevaluating samples collected. The data generated for each pa-rameter were used to formulate a comprehensive evaluationof the overall environmental health of each site, to identifyspecific perturbations in each system, and to propose reason-able actions to limit harmful impacts.

Chemical Education Today

JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 79 No. 8 August 2002 • Journal of Chemical Education 935

The final products were a written assessment reportand a formal presentation delivered to the faculty by theclass as a whole. A course Web site was constructed to fa-cilitate class instruction and support the field experience(7).

Environmental studies is a multifaceted subject. Asingle faculty member cannot adequately cover all mate-rial pertinent to a field-based course. Chemistry, biology,and geography provide different yet complementary per-spectives on the environment. The interdisciplinary effortsat Kennesaw State University underscore the value of col-laboration among faculty from various departments. Inrecognition of their teamwork, the authors were awardedthe Promising Collaboration Award from Kennesaw StateUniversity for the development of the EnvironmentalStudies Minor.

Notes

1. The Kennesaw State University Department of Chemistryand Biochemistry was awarded National Science Foundation DUE-CCLI-A&I grant 9950378.

2. Project Kaleidoscope held a workshop, EnvironmentalStudies: Issues for New and Expanding Programs, at Brown Uni-versity, Providence, RI, from June 18 to 20, 1999.

3. National Science Foundation DUE-CCLI-A&I grant9950288, Integrating Current Technology Across the Biochem-istry Curriculum.

4. National Science Foundation NSF-DUE-ILI grant9850679, A Computational Chemistry Visualization Laboratory.

Literature Cited

1. Williams, D. J.; Koether, M.; McGarey, D. J.; Patterson, M. Afield-based environmental science capstone course. COMM:166, and Koether, M.; Williams, D. J. An innovative environ-mental chemistry laboratory course. International ChemicalCongress of Pacific Basin Societies, COMM: 167, Pacifichem2000 Conference, December 2000, Honolulu, HI.

2. Koether, Marina. SolEq: Solution Equilibria, Principles andApplications, release 1. Software Review. J. Chem. Educ. 2000,77, 1414–15.

3. Williams, D. J.; Bland, D.; Williams, M. C.; Patrzalek, R. W.;Banks, L.; Logue, B.; Price, M. T. Lake Reserv. Manage., 1994,9, 124.

4. http://pigseye.kennesaw.edu/~jdumas (accessed May 2002)5. Walters, Christina; Keeney, Allen; Wigal, Carl T.; Johnston,

Cynthia R.; Cornelius, Richard D. The SpectrophotometricAnalysis and Modeling of Sunscreens J. Chem. Educ. 1997,74, 99–101.

6. Tessier, A. Campbell, P. G. C.; Bisson, M. “Sequential Extrac-tion Procedure for the Speciation of Particulate Trace Metals”Analytical Chemistry 1979, 51(7), 844–850.

7. http://mark.gisc.kennesaw.edu/4700/syllabus.htm (accessed April2002)

Marina Koether, Donald McGarey, Mark Patterson, andDaniel J. Williams are at Kennesaw State University, 1000Chastain Road, Kennesaw, GA 30144; Koether and Williamsare in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; McGareyis in the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences; andPatterson is in the Department of Sociology, Geography, andAnthropology. Email mkoether@kennesaw.edu.

edited bySusan H. Hixson

National Science FoundationArlington, VA 22230

Richard F. JonesSinclair Community College

Dayton, OH 45402-1460