Photos by Dr. Bommanna Loganathan
     
MSU Chemistry Students
Visit Modern Laboratories in Japan

      A new course on International Experience in Chemistry (CHE-388) has been created and offered for the first time at Murray State. A group of ten undergraduate students and four faculty visited some of the most modern laboratories in Japan January 5 to 15, 2007. Dr. Bommanna Loganathan organized the trip.
      The course gave the students an opportunity to prepare for international travel and to learn about various chemistry related research and educational activities in universities, industries, national and private laboratories in Japan. The course also provided opportunities to see modern technology and analytical instrumentation as implemented in Japan and to appreciate differences in scientific and regulatory issues in other parts of the world. Students experienced the challenges of dealing with a different environment and culture and will be better prepared when they encounter cultural differences again in the future.

      The trip included visits to: (1) The Hiroshima hypocenter and Peace Memorial Museum, where students learned about nuclear chemistry and the effects of atomic bombs on plants, animals, humans, buildings and other structures. (2) The modern PCB treatment plant in Osaka. (3) Nobel Laureate Koichi Tanaka's (winner of 2002 Nobel Prize in chemistry) laboratory at Shimadzu Corporation, Kyoto. (4). Faculty and Student presentations and a trip to chemistry laboratories at the University of Toyama. (5) Two pharmaceutical industries in Toyama. (6) The Advanced Institute of Science and Technology National Laboratory in Nagoya, including talks by Senior Scientists, and (7) the Chuo Garbage Incineration Plant in Tokyo, that generates electricity by burning garbage.



A student participant wrote:
"It was a wonderful opportunity for me to gain more knowledge and expand my mind by finding out new aspects of chemistry used in real life. Besides that to gain Japanese cultural experience firsthand and learning about different societies is a two-in-one package. It was an amazing trip. I loved this trip. I had a wonderful time and made new friends. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I am excited about learning Japanese and one day returning."



A faculty participant wrote:
"This program is a fantastic opportunity for chemistry students at the beginning of their careers. To see another culture and how they approach and handle pollution and recycling for sustainable living is extremely important. This was an awesome trip. Enjoyed every moment."