A Fun (but Educational) History of Chemistry

--- Celebrating the International Year of Chemistry 2011

Joint Meeting—AIChE East Tennesee Section and NET-ACS, May 19^th, 2011

We surely have come a long way since phlogiston, the alchemists, and the Harry Potter days. Wonder what the father of the modern periodic table Dimitri Mendeleev's favorite toy was? Wonder what Marie and Pierre Curie received as a wedding present? Wonder how Watson and Crick arrived at the determination of the structure of DNA (with the super help of Rosalind Franklin)? These questions, and many others will be answered, in this presentation that will surely bring the human side to our historical chemistry story.

Dr. Al Hazari

A native of Lebanon, Al received a B.S. degree in Chemistry from the American University in Cairo.  He also holds an M.S. degree in Chemistry from Youngstown State University in Ohio and a doctorate in Science Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Al has taught science and chemistry for several years at the school and the college levels here and overseas. Currently, he is the Director of the Undergraduate Chemistry Labs and a Lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In addition, he regularly teaches science education courses in the College of Education. He has received several grants from government agencies, industry, and various organizations to improve undergraduate chemistry lab instruction and also to support K-16 hands-on science and chemistry outreach activities. He was the 2000 recipient of the ACS Helen M. Free Award for Public Outreach.  

Al is a very active ACS member. He is a former chair of the ACS Committee on Chemical Safety, an ACS tour speaker, and the councilor for the ACS - East Tennessee Section. Recently, he became the President of East Tennessee's Southern Appalachian Science and Engineering Fair. Al is an affiliate of the Institute for Chemical Education and a member of the National and the Tennessee Science Teachers Associations. He has made several presentations and given talks at local, regional, national and international chemical and science education conferences. His book on "Misconceptions in Chemistry" was recently published by Springer.