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Date
Contact:
Tom Davis
Troy Office of University Relations
334/670-3196
tomdavis@troy.edu
Office of University Relations
253 Adams Administration
Troy, AL 36082
(334) 670-3196
(334) 670-3274 (fax)
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STATE UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY RELATIONS PRESS RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 1-334-670-3196 |
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professor makes work easier for chemists A Troy State University professor has developed a modification for computer software that makes it easier for chemists and chemistry teachers to do one of the more mundane aspects of their job—type equations—more quickly. Dr. Chris King, Acting Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Troy State University, has developed "add-in" programs for popular software such as Microsoft Word and Excel that allows chemists to type in lengthy equations in a fraction of the time it formerly took to complete these tasks. "This system allows chemists to write these equations more easily," he said. "About two years ago I just got tired of formatting long equations and since I enjoy computer programming I decided to see what I could do." What Dr. King did was develop a timesaving system that is receiving praise from chemists and chemistry teachers across the country. In simplest terms, it allows for a shorter series of keystrokes to take the place of a much longer series of keystrokes to type in the equations. Dr. King said while the add-in has many potential uses, he likes it because it takes much less time for him to type chemistry tests and lecture notes. "I’ve heard from teachers all over the county and they love it," Dr. King said. "Most of them find my website and pass it along to other teachers. I have no idea how many teachers are using it. My brother-in-law teaches in Arkansas and he says chemistry teachers across the state are using it." A typical reaction came from Jean Poulton of Henrietta, N.Y., a high school teaching assistant and graduate student at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, N.Y. "I have been using it non-stop in my grad courses for the past few weeks, and used it in a presentation of available software for an educational technology course," Poulton said in an e-mail to Dr. King. " Everyone who has seen it is impressed. I showed it to one of our teachers who works with the state ed department mentoring new teachers and designing the state exams. He shared it with the rest of the mentors and test writers, so now it is in use throughout the State of New York. "The teachers in my department figure it will save them 30 minutes of typing on every test and worksheet." In light of such glowing testimonials, how much is Dr. King charging for his breakthrough? "Nothing," he said. "The first thing I did was post it on my faculty web page. I would feel I’ve been rewarded if every chemist in the world could save some time and frustration by using it. That’s why I’ve made it available for free." Dr. King’s chemistry equation formatter add-in was featured in the July issue of the Journal of Chemical Education. He said his system was reviewed by other chemists before the results were published. "Like most scholarly journals, this one requires that papers be reviewed by anonymous reviewers. They made some suggestions that resulted in a better product," he said. |