Elms College - Elmata Yearbook (Chicopee, MA)

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ROBERT I. O ' HERRON, M.A. Among the many scientific endeavors that absorb a greater part of this pro- fessor ' s time are the lectures of scientific significance he gives at the Elms. Last to arrive for 4:30 afternoon sessions he couples his formal notes with rather original chalk designs and chemical equations that are a common source of amusement and speculation to his students. An accom- plished scholar with a rich background of research and lab experience he brings an uncommon blend of knowledge and prac- tical experience to satisfy inquisitive science students. (phijAiccd QhswuAtAy Blackboard murals of figures and formulas, to be explained, analyzed and finally erased only after they have been permanently etched on the mind . . . these are the important tongue and memory-twisting pre- liminaries to the more rewarding experimental evidence of Physical Chemistry. Mr. O ' Herron traces with chalk the fundamentals of science; out- lining the struggle for understanding that lies behind the portrait of the test-tube scientist in the unruffled white coat. 24

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As sophomores these two science students have been eagerly watching and absorbing lab techniques for over a year now. Above, Mr. Shea demonstrates the simple but some- what confusing procedure of prep- aration. With apparatus set up and flasks removed from the lab closets he begins by mixing a solu- tion. At this point his two erstwhile students took over and concludeo the experiment. The results were various but no injuries were incurred, and that is an important factor in trial experimentation, says Mr. Shea. Scientific education isn ' t play. Careful chemists paraphrase their strenuous objections to Romberg ' s Student Prince who insisted that education was scientific play. The study of science demands absolute accuracy and attention to natural laws that allow for no improvisation or guesswork. Since a sudden slip of a test-tube might produce an unexpected explosion or a frustratingly neutralized combination, students of science watch and work to master their subject. Slightly on the safer side for both the students and the professor is the study of the complex but colorful chart of atomic weights that covers one wall of the Chemistry Lecture Hall. With world wide interest in atomic and hydrogen research these students display avid concern over the decimal weights of the symbols. It is only the starting point but nevertheless a good beginning.

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(Bioioqjf MARY D. WRIGHT, B.S. An unfamiliar sound to the name, but a familiar brightness in the smile. Mrs. Wright has been a home-loving professor for almost a year now, but upper-class and faculty tongues still connect a more identi- fiably Irish name with wavy garnet hair and faintly sprinkled freckles. Initiator of the mysteries of freshman science (such as formaldehyde frogs), in- structor in senior laboratory ventures into bacteriology and botany, patience is her virtue, hand-in-hand with interest and an earnest way with explanations. Definitely a person you like to say Hi to, as she surries through the halls, heels clicking, casual camel coat open, keeping pace with a busy schedule. A Freshman in a Biology lab has a beginner ' s fear of the unknown — in this case, of amoebas and frogs. But after first-hand experience with the scientific joys of dissection, her views ch ange considerably until even the dissecting scissors and probe fit familiarly between her fingers. Under Mrs. Wright ' s patient direction, the real marvels of zoology become meaningful and distinct from the cloudy smell of formaldehyde. 25