Periodic Tabloid

"This is the story of eight colleagues, picked to present at a conference, and have their panels blogged about. This is what happens when people stop being polite...and start talking about public history."

Last Thursday Tom described a study that suggested early career graduate students (students like me) were found to be better researchers if given some teaching experience. While this might seem surprising to some people, it comes as no shock to me. I taught high school science between college and graduate school and without a doubt, that year informs my research even now.

It is commonly accepted that doing research on the frontiers of knowledge makes one a more effective—or at least a more authoritative—teacher. But is the reverse true as well, i.e. does teaching experience improve research proficiency? Thanks to a recent publication, there is now data on the seemingly age-old dichotomy of teaching and research.

The semiannual ACS national meeting is in Denver this week. Thousands of chemists, chemical engineers, and assorted hangers-on gathered in the mile high city to learn the newest results, enjoy each other’s company, and check out new offerings in the trade show exposition. Never mind that the economy is still sluggish and even showing signs of slipping backwards—it takes worse than this to dampen the enthusiasm of the gathered scientific community.

Did you get a chance to read this month’s book club selection? Read on to hear the thoughts of participating CHF staff, as well as our pick for next month.

I spent the morning playing – I mean, doing research – with all the pretty maps and graphs over at the United States Geological Survey’s website. Because oh yeah, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake forced us all to evacuate the building yesterday.

To build the next generation of science-literate citizens, CHF has started with one of the most science-phobic groups in this country: high school students. Studies have shown that the number of American students pursuing higher education and careers in the sciences has dropped steadily in recent years, leaving the United States faced with the prospect of losing its competitive edge in global scientific innovation and research if this doesn’t change.

Summertime, and the living is easy…or so it has been sung. In celebration of the dog days of August, today Periodic Tabloid offers you a pop soundtrack with a science flair for your summertime adventures.

On the First Friday of the month, CHF’s museum joins other Old City Philadelphia galleries, museums, and shops in hosting a community-wide open house. Take a look at last month's event!

History museums are beginning to experiment with smells in exhibitions, but they must tread carefully not to simply incorporate smells without thinking about context.