Optical properties discovered by non-science students

During class time, students in a General Science course (GSCI-101) have performed the simulation of the interaction between infrared radiation and very thin oxide films. The students worked in pairs using up-to-date codes. Each pair worked on different systems. In one hour, the twenty pairs of students collected information that the instructor (Dr. Scarel) finds very useful for her research. It would take Dr. Scarel months to collect that information without the help of the students!