About the blog(ger)

Welcome to my repository of videos that I'm thinking I might use to show some material science concept along the way. If you have any suggestions, send 'em along.

My name is Lonnie Dusch. I'm a science teacher at Princeton High School in greater Cincinnati, Ohio. I have taught primarily chemistry since 1996 with a smattering of Earth science, physics, physical science, state test review, and materials science mixed in through the years.

I was lucky enough to see a few NSTA presentations by Andy Nydam and Debbie Goodwin and was stunned at their enthusiasm and approach to science teaching. Soon after that - for the summer of 2009 - I signed up for an ASM summer workshop and - without quite knowing what I had gotten myself into - convinced my department members to add Materials Science as a one-semester offering at Princeton. After that I took the second-year ASM summer workshop at Ohio State University and convinced a few of my department members to take the first-year workshops as well.

The next year I found myself as a shadow and master-teacher-in-training to lead the summer workshops. In the summer of 2012, then, I lead my first workshops in Houston and Indianapolis. I continue to learn from my students, my fellow master teachers, and the internet.

I did not create the videos that I am posting here, offering them up partially to keep track of them for myself. It is my strong recommendation that anyone hoping to learn more about materials science take part in one of the ASM summer workshops - they offer workshops both for teacher and for students. Even more importantly, anyone who wants to try any of the things that are shown in the video needs to consider safety to the utmost degree. I suggest the ASM workshops, Flinn Scientific, Chemical Safety Board, and the Laboratory Safety Institute as good starting points.

I can't possibly thank every person who has helped me along my learning about materials science. Every master teacher in the ASM program deserves a huge thanks - particularly Caryn Jackson, Rebecca Heckman, Todd Bolenbaugh - who posts here from time to time, Beth Eddy, Andy Nydam, Debbie Goodwin, Tom Glasgow, Charles Hayes, Brian Wright, and Jeanne Deatherage.