“What’s the matter?” said retired University of Florida chemistry professor Martin Vala. “I thought you were big, strong guys and could do it.”

Cohen and Freedy, students at Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, would soon learn they were human pawns in Vala’s demonstration. In front of more than 30 secondary-school students, the professor explained the vacuum effect, first described by German scientist Otto von Guericke in the 17^th century.

Von Guericke pumped out the air of large cooper hemispheres sealing them. He then tied 30 horses—15 on each side of the hemispheres— to show that even horse power couldn’t pull apart what atmospheric pressure was holding together.

Cohen and Freedy didn’t know that their “grippers” had a lever that forced the air out from between their rubber faceplates.

This was CHEMATHON, a day-long annual chemistry event in April sponsored by the UF Chemistry Department, the UF Center for Catalysis, and the Florida Section of the American Chemical Society.

“We decided years ago that we were going to have a chemistry event, and we’re going to make it fun,” said Gardiner Myers, also a retired UF chemistry professor who started CHEMATHON in 1981.

For 30 years, thousands of high school students from across Florida have participated in  the spirited competition where they test their chemistry aptitude, compete in a quiz bowl and watch a demonstration show of various scientific principles. Vala was the showman extraordinaire.

“AHHHH!” the audience released a collective scream, as he ignited mixed hydrogen and oxygen gases in test tubes that rattled off booms like a series of gunshots.

Stephen Dolbier and Kevin Hwang, both students at Buchholz High School in Gainesville, scored in the top tier of the CHEMATHON exam and received plaques. They seemed unfazed by their success and more enthralled by the show and the memories it conjured.

“Remember that sodium thing we blew up?” Hang said to Dolbier, who recalled an experiment with hydrogen gas during a Buchholz school activity.

Ultimately, the event organizers wanted participants to also learn about careers in chemistry. Students toured labs and spoke with UF graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.

“There are other, worthwhile things to do in life than go to medical school. That’s what I tell my students,” Myers said.

Precocious high school chemists aren’t the only ones to benefit from CHEMATHON.  Carol Hart, a teacher at St. Johns Country Day School in Orange Park, summed up the experience for teacher-chaperones who want to improve their lesson plans: “There hasn’t been a year that I’ve come that I haven’t been inspired to do something.”

CHEMATHON is one of several UF initiatives that encourage high school enrichment in the sciences.  To learn more about summer opportunities in STEM fields, visit the Center for Precollegiate Education and Training at http://www.cpet.ufl.edu/default.html.

Writer:  Claudia Adrien

Photo: UF Photography

Sheehan discovered early in her academic career that she suffered from learning disabilities and has worked tirelessly to overcome these challenges.

Sheehan works as an event coordinator at the Florida Innovation Hub helping the program grow by planning events to build a stronger ecosystem of innovation within the incubator. She has strengthened partnerships with representatives at Microsoft and provided education, training and networking opportunities for the tenants in the hub.

As president of the Entrepreneurship Club at UF, Sheehan coordinated 27 events in 16 weeks and singlehandedly raised $15,800 for the 4th Annual Venture Pitch Competition.

Her devotion to UF and the Warrington College of Business Administration has helped the student/entrepreneur community grow in Gainesville.

Henson is the first person in his family in more than seven generations to graduate as a doctor. Bob Ford, who lives in Canada and studies via distance learning, is the 2,000th graduate from the nontraditional Working Professional Pharm.D. program, known as WPPD.

The graduates are both receiving the Pharm.D. degree but are from two separate and distinct programs. Henson is an entry-level student, and Ford is graduating from the national program for working pharmacists. Ford received a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Alberta in 1975, while Henson will enter the workforce as a pharmacist for the first time.

Although they took different paths, each achieved his dream of being a Gator graduate.

Weinstein quickly became the coordinator for the program, in which students collect recyclable trash during Gator home football games. Her interest in the environment widened to include the world’s food resources, and she’s combining that interest with her next adventure: as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa. UF is among the top recruiting universities for the Peace Corps in the nation.

Udell, who has always had a love for music, grew up in a foster home where money was tight. He was a self-taught musician in high school and then followed his interest to the University of Florida.  Although he was denied admission to UF his first try, he pursued his dream and eventually was accepted. During his time at UF, he discovered a new interest, this time in electrical engineering, and decided to study both. He has invented a small device that combines his knowledge in both engineering and music. His mentor, music professor Paul Sain, describes Udell “as strong a Gator as you can get.”

On a Thursday morning at the picturesque center, vendors set out wares as more than 300 cattlemen and their families poured in, ready to soak up the latest research from UF faculty members on everything from forage to soil and water research and a national program to help assure consumers about beef quality.

The day was highlighted by frank — and often funny — talk from Grandin, whose research has helped revolutionize the way livestock are handled, making it more humane. She shared tips about how cattle think in pictures, how they make strong, specific associations between people or objects and good or bad experiences and how even simple changes can greatly reduce their fear and discomfort.

The CRC and Target teamed up to present three workshops on “Your Leadership Journey” for UF students. The highlight event was the third workshop, which included a panel of Gator graduates who answered students’ questions about what life is like in a leadership role after college. “The ‘Table for One’ panel discussion was important because it emphasized to students the need to celebrate who they are as individuals and understand how their unique qualities and experiences prepare for them for future leadership opportunities,” White said.

The 4-inch-cubed satellite is scheduled to launch in July 2013 on a mission that will test an onboard flight attitude stabilization system developed by UF engineers that is the first of its kind.

After speaking to an audience gathered at the Nanoscale Research Facility, Carroll joined students and researchers in the lab at the New Engineering Building as they initiated the communication system that will be used to maintain contact with the satellite once in orbit.

SwampSat’s first official message transmitted during Friday’s test? “The Gator Nation is everywhere.”

Photo by Eric Zamora/UF Photography