Page 7 - UMN Chemnews December 2020

Three key staff members retire with a combined 77 years of service
The Energy and U crowd erupts when it sees Joe Franek on his mini-motorcycle.
Joseph Franek: Chemical demonstration wizard
“I am not sure how many students make their way through the chemistry department knowing Joe, but I know that everyone who has been through a chemistry class has a lasting memory of just how exciting chemistry
can be.”
—Eric Kehoe, former student and high school science teacher
strations that illustrate fundamental and advanced chemical principles and that make chemistry accessible to students. He does
this for the department’s large undergraduate chemistry courses as well as specialized classes for juniors and seniors.
For example, for an advanced course on mate- rials chemistry, Joe created a demonstration of molecular scattering that uses a paintball gun to shoot velcro-covered balls at a hidden tar- get, perfectly illustrating what happens when a molecular beam scatters off a crystalline target in the laboratory.
In addition, Joe is known for his chemical trivia knowledge and he often shares the historic origins of reactions with students and faculty. His strong interest in educating and working with students has made him a
continued on page 8
Joseph “Joe” Franek
JOSEPH “JOE” FRANEK, the Department of Chemistry’s chem- ical demonstration director, is retiring after more than 26 years of service to the University of Minnesota, which
Joe has been key to the department’s teaching and outreach missions, creating and setting up demonstrations that are entertaining, illumi- nating, and designed to bring chemistry to life for students of all ages. Over the years, he has taught and reached people from pre-school through adulthood, contributing with passion and commitment to curriculum development, outreach, teaching, and research. For his out- standing service, Joe received the President’s Award for Outstanding Service in 2014.
Joe works with professors to imagine, design, create, and improve safe and exciting demon-
includes four years on the Morris campus and 22 years on the Twin Cities campus. He start- ed working for the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in July 1998.
www.chem.umn.edu 7