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Instructor: Dr. Eric D. Remy
Office of Instructional Technology and Training
Everywhere you go, you are surrounded by stuff! Your clothes, your car, your house, and even some of your food is made with materials that have been created to be better than what you can find in nature. History is in large part the story of how humanity has learned to master the extraction, combination, and use of the stuff around us. From the day some unknown Homo habilis discovered how to flake one rock with another to make a hand axe to today's use of exotic alloys to save a few pounds of weight in a jet engine, humans have manipulated materials both to their benefit and detriment. We use concrete and steel to span rivers, yet watch as bridges slowly disintegrate and eventually collapse from exposure to the environment and vibration from traffic. Heavy metal chemistry has given us the paint for glorious works of art by Rembrandt and Van Gogh, yet similar paints end up poisoning the toys of children. The invention of a simple method to fix nitrogen from the air led to both the foundation for the Green Revolution in agriculture as well as the basis for almost every modern weapon. In this Seminar, we will study chemistry through the lens of the history, properties, and transformations of the raw materials of the world.
Office of Instructional Technology and Training
Everywhere you go, you are surrounded by stuff! Your clothes, your car, your house, and even some of your food is made with materials that have been created to be better than what you can find in nature. History is in large part the story of how humanity has learned to master the extraction, combination, and use of the stuff around us. From the day some unknown Homo habilis discovered how to flake one rock with another to make a hand axe to today's use of exotic alloys to save a few pounds of weight in a jet engine, humans have manipulated materials both to their benefit and detriment. We use concrete and steel to span rivers, yet watch as bridges slowly disintegrate and eventually collapse from exposure to the environment and vibration from traffic. Heavy metal chemistry has given us the paint for glorious works of art by Rembrandt and Van Gogh, yet similar paints end up poisoning the toys of children. The invention of a simple method to fix nitrogen from the air led to both the foundation for the Green Revolution in agriculture as well as the basis for almost every modern weapon. In this Seminar, we will study chemistry through the lens of the history, properties, and transformations of the raw materials of the world.
300 North Washington Street · Gettysburg, PA 17325