Educational Research in Nuclear Chemistry

Student: Jared Iversen

Faculty Mentor: Bogdan Negru

Chemistry

College of Science, Technology, and Business

Nuclear chemistry plays a critical role in healthcare, energy production, and national security. Nuclear chemists are needed to supply medically relevant isotopes to the healthcare system, reduce environmental contamination, refine the nuclear fuel cycle, and better understand nuclear structure. Given the national shortage of nuclear chemists, this problem must be addressed in undergraduate education. Currently, traditional chemical education does not incorporate topics from nuclear chemistry in college coursework. To address this crisis, a novel classroom approach was developed with the goal of improving understanding of electron capture for seniors in the Chemistry and Biochemistry majors. After achieving IRB approval, this curriculum was tested on two sections of Chemistry 401 in the Fall of 2024 to determine effectiveness and evaluate learning outcomes.