Central Michigan Life

Issue date: 10/26/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Matthew Stephens Mayville junior Cynthia Aguirre and Redford sophomore Christina Praedel make liquid nitrogen ice cream Thursday morning in Dow as part of National Chemistry Week. The money raised from the ice cream is donated to United Way. [Click to enlarge]

Most people would be weary of mixing ice cream with a chemical like nitrogen.

But not St. Clair Shores sophomore Melissa Boitos, an American Chemical Society student affiliate member.

Boitos stopped by the registered student organization's nitrogen ice cream fundraiser Thursday in Dow as part of National Chemistry Week. All donations were given to the United Way.

"My favorite part is the fog and foam," she said.

The organization made the ice cream out of milk, whipping cream, vanilla and sugar and then poured liquid nitrogen over the mixture, freezing the ice cream.

The liquid nitrogen sits around -232 degrees Fahrenheit. When poured over the mixture, it freezes the ice cream into solid form and evaporates before it is absorbed into the ice cream.

"Showing the fun side of chemistry and explaining it visually makes people see that chemistry isn't so intimidating," said Rachel Young, Lake Orion senior and ACS president.

The nitrogen ice cream fundraiser wasn't the only event that took place in honor of National Chemistry Week. The ACS used this year's theme, "The Many Faces of Chemistry," as an inspiration for activities around campus.

The RSO also performs chemistry demonstrations for younger students throughout the community.

Monday's demonstration was performed for a group of middle school students.

"The middle school age is where students start to get into science," said Beverly Hills senior and Katelyn E. Carter. "We want to be able to give them a positive view of chemistry."

Reaching out to younger students in the community is part of the reason the CMU chapter has won the ACS student affiliates' Outstanding Student Affiliate Chapter Award.

This is the chapter's fourth consecutive year winning the honor.

The ACS has more than 1,000 student affiliate chapters across the country and only 20 chapters received the top honor.

"It's a huge honor because there are so many groups. To be one of those is amazing," Carter said.


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