Two of the department's student organizations played host to high school chemistry students on April 16, providing a glimpse into what pursuing a career in chemistry might be like.
“This event aims to expose them to the field, spark interest, break down barriers, and build confidence,” said Jill Downey, Outreach Coordinator of WICTO, a student-led organization for advocacy and education on issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion within Chemistry and the broader STEM community.
The outreach, co-hosted by Green Chemistry Initiative, gives members of the chemistry community an opportunity to engage with high school students. “Some students may be inspired to pursue a chemistry degree after discovering new interests or overcoming any concerns,” said Downey.
This is the second year the two student organizations have collaborated on the outreach event with TDSB’s Central Technical School, Downey said.
“We opened with a panel on pursuing chemistry in university. The panelists were a mix of undergraduate and graduate students from U of T, who discussed the challenges and opportunities in our field and gave advice about earning a chemistry degree.”
The visiting students ate lunch while attending the panel and then heard an introductory lecture about green and sustainable chemistry by Professor Kylie Luska.
Next came hands-on lab work: after the mealtime lecture, Luska led everyone into the lab to perform three different activities exploring how chemistry can play a positive role in the life cycle of plastics. “Students investigated how chemistry can be used to sort traditional plastics, how polymers can be made from renewable feedstocks, and how plastics can be degraded back into their starting materials,” he said.
“The lab activity offered students real hands-on experience working in an undergraduate lab and allowed them to do some pretty cool science!” Downey said: “The goal is to make these experiences both fun and informative, introducing people to the field of green chemistry and demonstrating that working in a lab can be enjoyable and approachable.”
The hands-on component was developed from an outreach Luska had initially created while teaching at McMaster University. “Beyond inspiring students to pursue chemistry, we hope students come away from this event motivated to be more sustainable within their own lives, and to understand how chemistry can be used to positively address sustainability issues."
Léa Goutal, who coordinates outreach for the Green Chemistry Initiative, said she was pleased to add the lab component to the high school event. “The experiments Professor Luska proposed were more interactive compared to last year’s, which leaned on demonstrations rather than hands-on participation.”
She added, “This event means a lot to us, and as we organized it, we found ourselves looking forward to sharing our passion for sustainability and chemistry with everyone involved.”
GCI, who aim to provide green chemistry resources in order to promote sustainability in chemistry research and education, will be running their annual symposium on May 7-9, 2025, with a theme of Thinking Green(er) in Daily Life. Registration for the Symposium is open until April 25th.