Jennifer Kelso Bachman

B.A., Chemistry, Rice University, 1994
International Certificate Conference & Goethe-Institut Zertifikat Deutsch als Fremdsprache, 1995.
Certified Scientific Materials Manager, National Association of Scientific Materials Managers, 2009.
Chemistry Laboratory Coordinator and Inventory Specialist
Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society, Sewanee Chapter, Professional Advisor
Member-At-Large, Iota Sigma Pi, National Honor Society for Women in Chemistry
2010 Chair, Chattanooga Local Section, American Chemical Society
Member, The Laboratory Safety Institute
Member, National Association of Scientific Materials Managers
View an ISO form CV here.

 




In a previous life, I was a forensic chemist for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).  I did things like analyze illegal drugs for content, purity, and amount, testify in court about my analyses, help agents in the field, and conduct field test training for police officers.  In the picture at right, I am wearing a Tyvek suit to protect me from a leaky tank of ammonia we found in the trunk of someone's car outside Little Rock, Arkansas. 




My main function as Laboratory Coordinator is to set up for introductory chemistry labs.  This picture illustrates a setup I would have to prepare for lab students.  I would assemble all the equipment necessary and lay out chemicals in the back of the room for the students to weigh out and transfer to their apparatus as required.  Most of our intro labs have about 20 students per section, so I would prepare 10 setups as shown.  (By the way, this setup is what you would see when the students do an experiment on the Law of Multiple Proportions.)



One of the ways I use chemistry in my spare time is to BAKE.  I baked this cake for a chemistry department dinner we had at our house.  Each fall the department has a large social dinner for majors and professors to socialize, to welcome new majors, and to court prospective ones.  For the past few years over 40 people have attended our fall social dinner.  The Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society, Sewanee Chapter, are always a huge help in organizing and executing social functions like this.



I was privileged and pleased to give two guest lectures last year in Deon Miles's Science of Food and Cooking class.  Deon is shown giving a talk about ice cream, and I helped him prepare ice cream both with a conventional rotating ice cream maker and then with liquid nitrogen.  My first guest lecture was on chocolate - the history, the manufacturing, the culture, the distinctions of the different varieties - there was even a taste test!  My second lecture was on baking, specifically on bread baking and how it differs from cake baking and cookie baking.  It was so much fun!  I now have a very good appreciation for what Rob, Deon, and the other professors go through to prepare a lecture class.  It made me thankful to have the job I have!


In December 2007, the Chattanooga Local Section of the American Chemical Society gave me their inaugural Community Service Award, which I received during the December meeting at the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo.  I was thrilled to be nominated for this award.




In July 2009, I gave a presentation entitled "Fun Chemistry Demos YOU Can Do!" at the 36th Annual Conference of the National Association of Scientific Materials Managers (NAOSMM) in Boise, Idaho.  I was also granted the designation Certified Scientific Materials Manager at the conference.  This is me at the awards banquet with my certificate.  (Photo by Kataren Johnson, Biology Lab Coordinator.)

Pictured are (L-R) Cain Green C’11, me, Sarah Fried C’11, Caroline Holman C’11, Joe Giesen C’10, ACS President Tom Lane, and Elizabeth Henry C’12.



Lucky me!  I got to take 5 Sewanee students to present their research at the 61st Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (SERMACS) in San Juan, Puerto Rico from October 21-24, 2009. Here we are at the Puerto Rican Social Night with the President of the American Chemical Society, Tom Lane.

Here I am explaining how to make glow-in-the-dark art with luminous zinc sulfide powder and glue at the Festival de Química, the San Juan celebration of National Chemistry Week.