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NMSI Blog

Chemistry, Diversity and Fire!

It's National Chemistry Week and we're highlighting one of our favorite chemists, Kate the Chemist.
 
Dr. Kate Biberdorf is the mad scientist we dreamed of as kids. She's energetic and a bit unpredictable. Her demonstrations (featured on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Amy Poehler's Smart Girls) involve fire-breathing, combustion and colorful chemical reactions. Her charge is to engage students in hands-on lessons, break stereotypes and prove that science really IS fun.
 
We first watched Dr. Biberdorf in action at the UTeach Conference in May. While we were blown away by her explosive presentation, it was something she shared that resonated most with us: Between experiments, she spoke on the importance of diversity in STEM fields. She underlined the value of having numerous, distinct voices to tackle a problem and how, in her own experience, that collaboration often generates fresh ideas and new, exciting outcomes.
 
We asked Dr. Biberdorf to perform a special demonstration that was changed — and improved — by diverse perspectives coming together. Spoiler alert: fire is involved! Watch below and click to share with other fun-loving chemsits!