MACTLAC2017 1Pine Research is excited to exhibit at the MACTLAC conference, hosted by Monmouth College (Monmouth, IL), from 13 – 14 October 2017.

MACTLAC, or the Midwestern Association of Chemistry Teachers in Liberal Arts Colleges, hosts an annual conference that brings a wonderfully diverse crowd of chemistry faculty from liberal arts colleges across the midwest.  This year, Pine Research wanted to bring EChem in a Box, to demonstrate how easy, affordable, and accessible it can be to incorporate experimental electrochemistry into the undergraduate chemistry curriculum.

We are commonly asked the following questions:

  • “How can we teach electrochemistry without an electrochemist?”
  • “Is electrochemistry still interesting?  Didn’t we discover everything about electrochemistry in the 1970’s?”
  • “How can we afford to add another instrument to our already slim budget?”
  • “Do you have any electrochemical laboratories available?  Our faculty do not have time to develop new labs in the near future.”
  • “Is electrochemistry useful outside of the analytical curriculum?”
  • “We want to gain ACS accreditation of our chemistry program, but we need help for our instrumental offerings.  I see electrochemistry is one of the experiences that fulfills the instrumentation requirement by the ACS.  Do you have any products that can help us?”

EChem in a Box addresses all of these questions.  Yes, electrochemistry is timely (poll your class to see if there are any students without a battery-powered device in their pocket), as we are an energy hungry world.  Batteries, while not new, have room to be improved.  The fundamental concept of a battery is strictly electrochemical in nature.

We have put Echem in a Box together to make it easy, affordable, and accessible to implement across your curriculum.  At MACTLAC, we will give the midwesterners a demonstration and opportunity to run their own experiment, ask questions, and network about the electrochemical possibilities.