To introduce the public to
science in a combination of comedy and education, Dr. Anca Constantin and Dr.
Klebert Feitosa host the event Demystifying
the Expert. The program brings together a guest
speaker, who is an expert in their field of science, and comedians from JMU’s
very own New &
Improv’d, who attempt to “demystify the expert.”
Questions, games, trivia and improvised skits all contribute to the fun as the
audience learns about the expert’s work. Podcasts for previous Demystifying the
Expert events can be found here on
SoundCloud!
On
November 8, 2018, Drs. Constantin and Feitosa welcomed our final guest for the 2018 term, Dr. Kevin Caran from the
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry as our guest expert for the evening. He received his Bachelors Degree of Science
in Chemistry from Cologne University and his doctoral degree from Emory
University. After a post-doctoral position
at Georgia Tech, Dr. Caran came to JMU, where he has remained since 2003.
The members
of JMU’s New and Imrpov’d who participated in the event were: Abigail, a sophomore
theatre major whose fish acts like a dog, Kat, a freshman SMAD major who jumps
out of planes for fun, and Noah Etka, a junior ISAT major who spends most of
his time explaining to potential employers what ISAT is.
The
night kicked off with the twenty questions game, where each comedian took turns
asking Dr. Caran yes or no type questions to help them deduce what area of science
she studies. Our comedians were
scattered in their questions, unable to deduce much from Dr. Caran beyond how
he didn’t study plants, animals, or humans.
However, near the end, our comedians were able to deduce that Dr. Caran studied
chemistry, and from there were quickly able to discover that he was an organic
chemist.
As he explained
with open ended questions, there are many different fields of chemistry, from organic
to analytical to materials, and he also explained that organic chemistry
studies molecules based off of the element carbon. In particular, he was involved with a process
called organic synthesis, or the creation of new molecules that have never been
created before.
In his elevator
pitch, where he gives a brief overview of his work and how it relates to the
greater world, Dr. Caran explained that the types of molecules that he is interested
in creating are amphiphiles, which have unique antibacterial properties that
are able to kill bacteria in ways that most antibiotics currently do not. Unlike most orally taken antibiotics, the
molecules that Dr. Caran tries to manufacture are polymers, long carbon chains that
form the basis for, in his study, plastics.
These plastics are potential key players in the fight against antibiotic
resistance, as he says that if we are able to mass produce these plastics
efficiently, we can create materials that bacteria cannot grow on at far lower
costs. The current regime utilizes many rarer
metals like silver and costly to manufacture plastics, so if these materials
are cost effective, they may be more accessible worldwide.
The
second game was the headliner game, during which the comedians guess words that
complete titles of articles that relate to Dr. Caran’s research. Here, our comedians were very quick to guess
the correct words, and the articles in question mainly talked about antibacterial
properties, from the efficacy of current antibiotic medications to the
solutions through antimicrobial plastics and shapes of these molecules that give
them these resistant properties. Dr.
Caran also mentioned that the place where cheap antimicrobial implements were
most needed was in the medical industry, where cross-contamination is a very
dangerous scenario, especially if so-called ‘super-bugs’ with antibacterial
resistances were to be spread.
The comedians and
Dr. Caran briefly discussed what a day in the lab looked like, with Dr. Caran
also mentioning his collaborations with the biology and physics departments at
JMU, including with our own host, Dr. Feitosa, in the manufacturing of
molecules. This came into play when he explained
that his work involved taking current molecules, analyzing their shapes and trying
to see how to edit them to produce different qualities that we may want,
including antimicrobial properties. With
biology, he is able to test their efficacy, and with physics, he is able to see
just how these molecules can be created more effectively.
Next was the jargon game
during which the comedians guess what certain acronyms or terms mean in the
expert’s field. Here, the comedians learned about colloids, or systems where
different items are mixed very finely, and how it is used in Dr. Caran’s work
to see how molecules hold on to each other.
We also learned some of acronyms used, such as MIC, or the minimum
inhibition concentration, or the lowest concentration of wasted materials used
to produce Dr. Caran’s molecules, and his favorite acronym to say, SOPAR, or
the sum of pi bonds and rings in a molecule.
Finally,
the audience got to learn more about Dr. Caran outside of his life as a chemist
with the Two Truths and a Lie game. During this game, the comedians and
audience learned that Dr. Caran’s father had a family dog, Jilli, who was able
to play poker to great effect! And, we
also learned that Dr. Caran not only plays guitar, but also writes songs about chemistry
to help his students remember the material, such as his ‘Alkane Song,’ which we
got to hear in its entirety!
The
final planned event of the night was the improvised skit with quotes from
chemistry related pop culture like Back to
the Future and Medicine Man. We had the typical student-professor scenario
where students in Dr. Caran’s lab are trying to clarify some point in their
work, but eventually goes into a sing-off between the students and Dr.
Caran. As an unexpected encore
presentation, Dr. Caran sang his song ‘Fishy, Oh Fishy,” for us, and the
comedians and even some of the audience members joined in during the chorus!
We’d like to
thank you all for a great fall showcase of Demystifying the Expert, and we hope
to see you at our next show in the spring on Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 7:00
PM at Taylor Down Under!
