LAKELAND, Fla. (Jan. 4, 2006) — Florida Southern College welcomes scientist Sir Harold W. Kroto as keynote speaker for the high school teacher symposium “Great Ideas in Chemistry: A Day of Sharing” Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. in room 152 of the Polk County Science Building (PS) on campus. Kroto’s lecture, “The Internet: The Second Education Revolution,” and the reception to follow in the Eleanor Searle Drawing are free and open to the public. The symposium, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Polk County Science Building, is free to registered high school teachers.

Kroto received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the co-discovery of C60 Buckminsterfullerene (“buckyballs”). These clusters of 60 carbon atoms have the spheroid structure of a European football and are of great theoretical and practical significance to chemists. Kroto named the molecule after the late architect/inventor R. Buckminster Fuller as its configuration reminded him of Fuller’s geodesic dome. A Frances Eppes Professor in the chemistry and biochemistry department at The Florida State University, Kroto taught at the University of Sussex, UK, for 37 years. He has received several other scientific awards, fellowships and honorary degrees, was knighted for his contributions to chemistry in 1996 and won the Royal Society’s prestigious 2001 Michael Faraday Award for furthering public communication of science in the United Kingdom. An ardent advocate for science education, Kroto gives a popular series of public lectures, visits area schools and founded the Vega Science Trust, which broadcasts science programs over the internet.

The symposium, hosted by FSC chemistry professor Carmen Gauthier, George Sellers of the Vanguard School and Cheryl Pierce of Lakeland High School in association with the Florida Local Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS), is designed to provide high school teachers with tools to teach chemistry more effectively.  Registration is at 9 a.m. Teachers can make reservations online at http://membership.acs.org/F/Florida. For more information please email cgauthier@flsouthern.edu. Discussions and workshops will take place in the sessions below.

9:35 a.m. “Introduction to the Chemistry Teacher Connection and Other ACS Programs for High School Teachers”   Dr. Diane Mason, The University of North Texas (PS 152)
10:30 a.m. “Inquiry Labs”  Dr. Carmen Gauthier, Florida Southern College, and George Sellers, the Vanguard School (outside PS building)
12:15 p.m. “Dead Chemists Society: An Interactive and Explosive Chemical Journey Through History”  Dr. William C. Deese, Louisiana Tech University (PS 155)
2 p.m. “Chemistry Share-A-Thon”  Cheryl Pierce, Lakeland High School (PS 155)
3 p.m. “The Internet: The Second Education Revolution”  Sir Harold Kroto (PS 152)
4 p.m. Reception (Eleanor Searle Drawing Room)

About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1885, Florida Southern College is a private, comprehensive, United Methodist college with a liberal arts core. The college maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 38 undergraduate majors and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, and nursing. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student/faculty ratio, provides strong student/faculty mentorship programs, boasts 25 NCAA Division II national championships, and is ranked by U. S. News and World Report as one of the top ten Southern Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelors and by the Princeton Review as a “Best Southeastern College.” Located on scenic Lake Hollingsworth, Florida Southern is the home of the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.