You are invited to attend a zoom meeting hosted by Dr. Melanie J. Harvey, Johnson County Community College, on April 7 at 7:00 pm CST (8:00 pm EST) to discuss Dr. Christopher R. Vyhnal’s paper, “Curricular Materials on the Chemistry of Pottery, Including Thermodynamic Calculations for Redox Reactions in the 3-Stage Firing Process of Athenian Black- and Red-Figure Vases Produced from the Sixth-Fourth Centuries BCE”, published this year in the Journal of Chemical Education. In this paper, Dr. Vyhnal describes one unit of a new interdisciplinary Advanced Placement Chemistry course where typical inorganic topics are presented in three lessons related to the chemistry of ceramics. In the first lesson, topics such as stoichiometry and gas law calculations are covered along with the use of phase diagrams to study the structures of clay materials and how they change during the firing process. In the second lesson, students hand-build small pots with clay and measure the water loss during the various stages of drying and bisque firing. In the third lesson, students look at applications of thermodynamics and oxidation and reduction reactions to archeology and art history through the study of the decorative pigments used to create vases from the 6th century BCE.
In this meeting, the host will briefly introduce the paper and then facilitate an opportunity for attendees to ask questions of the author. In addition to asking questions, there will also be an opportunity for attendees to share ideas and related experiences with the group. This meeting is limited to the first 50 that register. We ask that you read the paper before attending and come prepared to ask questions. If you do not have access to this paper, you can indicate that when you register, and access can be provided.
ChemEd X Journal Club
Christopher R. Vyhnal, Curricular Materials on the Chemistry of Pottery, Including Thermodynamic Calculations for Redox Reactions in the 3-Stage Firing Process of Athenian Black- and Red-Figure Vases Produced from the Sixth-Fourth Centuries BCE, Journal of Chemical Education 2022 99 (2), 768-776, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00953
April 7, 2022, 8pm EST (7pm CST)
Host: Dr. Melanie J. Harvey, Johnson County Community College
This meeting is no longer available.
About the author of the article:
Chris Vyhnal, Ph.D., is currently the Chair of the Science Department and the Philip Bard Chair for Excellence in Science Teaching at The Thacher School in Ojai, CA. Prior to joining the Thacher faculty, Chris lectured in both chemistry and geology at the Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, OH, and the St. Mark's School in Southboro, MA. Chris taught SAT II preparatory chemistry for 23 years and AP Chemistry for 15 years, and he served on the American Chemical Society's High School 2019 Exam Development Committee. During a recent sabbatical year abroad in Italy, Croatia, and Cyprus, Chris designed and then implemented an interdisciplinary course for his high school students entitled, Advanced Chemistry: Applications in Archaeology and Art. Chris has been known to apply his knowledge of aqueous geochemistry to the pursuit of the perfect pint of home-brewed, German amber lager.