Popolan-Vaida’s research group has been involved in several outreach activities designed to engage communities, particularly those that have few opportunities to see science in action. Sparking interest in science at any age is vital both to recruiting new students and to establishing better communication of scientific goals with society. Below are listed the outreach activities performed by Dr. Popolan-Vaida and her students:
Earth Day
Lake Eola, Orlando April 20th, 2024
Dr. Popolan-Vaida and her students, Alec and Arden, met up with the UCF ACS Student Chapter to share the fascinating chemistry of batteries with attendees at the 2024 Lake Eola Earth Day event. This year’s ACS Earth Day theme was “Get a Charge Out of Chemistry”, teaching people about the world changing technology that allows us to store energy in chemical bonds.
STEM Day
Spring 2024 STEM Day April 19th, 2024
Once again Dr. Popolan-Vaida and her students Alec, Arden, Minh, Khe, Clare, Emily, and Zach, were overjoyed to engage with local K-12 students at UCF’s biannual STEM day. Students learned about the chemical reactions of combustion through fun demonstrations and got to hear about the fascinating chemistry that propels rockets!
STEM Night
Jackson Heights Middle School November 15th, 2023
Dr. Popolan-Vaida was proud to join her colleagues in UCF Physics Outreach in sharing science demonstrations with students at Jackson Heights Middle School at their STEM night event. Dr. Popolan-Vaida captivated the audience with demonstrations on the conversion of chemical energy into mechanical energy by harnessing the power of combustion to launch a bottle rocket.
National Chemistry Week 2023
Orlando Science Center October 21st, 2023
Once again chemists from across the Orlando area volunteered to share about the power of chemistry through fun demonstrations and activities to celebrate this year’s National Chemistry Week! The theme this year was “The Healing Power of Chemistry” and guests got the opportunity to learn about the chemistry of thermometers, masks, defibrillators, vitamin C, and other important topics in action.
STEM Day
Fall 2023 STEM Day October 20th, 2023
The members of the Popolan-Vaida laboratory were delighted to introduce elementary and middle school students to the chemistry that makes rockets fly at this semester’s STEM Day event. Visiting students learned about the components of a combustion reaction and took part in a friendly competition to see who could build the farthest flying rocket!
Earth Celebration
Lake Eola, Orlando April 22nd, 2023
Popolan-Vaida and her student Arden Floyd were delighted to celebrate Earth Day by talking with people from Orlando area about chemistry of algae and the effect of human activities on algae bloom and red tide.
National Chemistry Week 2022
Orlando Science Center October 22nd, 2022
Dr. Popolan-Vaida was once again delighted to host an outreach event in collaboration with the Orlando Science Center and the Orlando section of the American Chemical Society to celebrate the annual ACS National Chemistry Week. The theme this year was “Fabulous Fibers: The Chemistry of Fabrics”. Volunteers shared exciting demonstrations that introduced guests to the chemistry going on in the clothes they wear every day.
STEM Day
Fall 2022 Stem Day October 21st, 2022
Dr. Popolan-Vaida and her students, Alec, Chloe, Elaina, and Arden once again got the opportunity to showcase the exciting world of chemistry to local students at the Fall 2022 UCF STEM Day. STEM Day is an event held in the Fall and Spring semesters during which K-12 students of the Orlando area are invited to campus where they learn about all sorts of applications of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics from UCF students and faculty. Dr. Popolan-Vaida gave a minilecture on the topic of fuel ignition and rocket propulsion, and students had fun creating their own paper rockets which they then put to the test in a competition on whose rocket could travel the furthest.
Laboratory Tour
UCF Intro to Research October 20th, 2022
Dr. Popolan-Vaida and her students, Elaina and Arden, were happy to invite UCF undergraduate students interested in research for a tour of the laboratory. The visitors got to learn about the tools and techniques used to carry out atmospheric and combustion research as well as its significance to the global community.
Laboratory Tour
New Image Youth Center Visit July 29th, 2022
Dr. Popolan-Vaida’s student’s, Elaina Berger and Arden Floyd, were delighted to welcome students from the New Image Youth Center in Parramore, Orlando to tour the lab and hear about the research that goes on within it. They gave a short presentation and demonstration on the topic of cloud formation and answered questions about UCF, college, and science careers.
National Chemistry Week 2021
Orlando Science Center October 23rd, 2021
In collaboration with ACS Orlando Local Section, Orlando Science Center, faculty and students from UCF and FIT, Popolan-Vaida organized an outreach event to celebrate National Chemistry Week. The theme of the event was “Fast or slow…Chemistry makes it go!” Popolan-Vaida designed 15 hands-on and demonstration experiments to match the theme of the event, trained the student volunteers to execute the experiments, performed demo experiments, and supervised the event. The event was hosted by Orlando Science Center on October 23, 2021 between 10:00 AM and 4:30 PM. Over 300 people visited our stands. Visitors were very excited to learn about the importance of chemistry in everyday life.
STEM Day
Fall 2020 STEM Day October 25th, 2020
Popolan-Vaida’s research group was once again delighted to contribute to the Fall STEM Day event. The 2020 event was different than any other STEM Day events because it was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Popolan-Vaida and her students (Brett Young, Skylar Gootkin, and Nath-Eddy Moody) prepared and recorded a series of experiments to explain the difference between endothermic and exothermic processes. The experiments were design to answer questions like: “How does a hand warmer work?”, “How are clouds formed?”, “How does fuel ignite in engine?”, and “Why must fuel be atomized before it is ignited in the engine?”
STEM Day
Fall 2019 STEM Day
October 25th, 2019
Popolan-Vaida’s research group was delighted to contribute once again to the Fall STEM Day event. STEM Day is hosted by the University of Central Florida each spring and fall semester. During this event, students and teachers are invited to explore exciting fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through hands-on activities, demonstrations, and exhibits led by UCF faculty and students that showcase the incredible world of STEM. Over 1,300 K-12 students from 16 schools across the state of Florida attended the Fall 2019 STEM Day. Popolan-Vaida and her students (Brett Young and Kenny Bholanauth) lead two sessions designed to introduces the students to the fascinating field of atmospheric chemistry. The activity included a 15-minute lecture entitle “How are clouds formed?”, a laboratory tour, and hands-on demonstrations.
STEM Day
Fall 2018 STEM Day
October 26th, 2018
STEM Day is hosted by the University of Central Florida each spring and fall semester. During this event, students and teachers are invited to explore exciting fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through hands-on activities, demonstrations, and exhibits led by UCF faculty and students, that showcase the incredible world of STEM. Over 1,300 K-12 students from 16 Florida schools across the state attended the Fall 2018 STEM Day. Popolan-Vaida and her students (Natasha Thomason, Alan Conrad, Sean Treshock, and Samuel Long) lead a session designed to introduces the students to the fascinating field of atmospheric chemistry. The activity included a 15-minute lecture entitle “Atmospheric aerosols: What are they, and why are they so important?”, a laboratory tour, and hands-on demonstrations.
Energy Conversion, Propulsion, and Combustion
Physics Exploration Career Day
October 13th, 2018
Physics Career Exploration Day is designed to help students learn about the great career opportunities available to them in the field of physics and to engage them in the learning environment and the programs at UCF. Physics Career Exploration Day is geared toward high school students, who are invited to bring the parents along with them to this event. Popolan-Vaida’s research group was invited to contribute to a session entitled “Energy Conversion, Propulsion, and Combustion” with a demonstration on combustion chemistry and its effect on cloud formation and climate change. The pictures below show Popolan-Vaida’s undergraduate students (Natasha Thomason, Laura Hildago-Rodriguez, and Brett Young) performing hands-on demonstrations designed to answer questions like “How does air pollution affect the formation of clouds?” and “How can you convert water to fuel using sunlight?”
Laboratory Tour
Summer Workshop – Industrial Application of Nanotechnology
August 2nd, 2018
We were happy to welcome the students attending the Industrial Application of Nanotechnology- Summer Workshop in our laboratory for a laboratory tour. We discuss about state-of-the-art tools and techniques used in our laboratory to investigate the properties of aerosol nanoparticles and the impact of industrial revolution on the air quality and global climate.
Mechanism of Cloud Formation
Physical Sciences Summer Institute
July 24th, 2018
The Physical Sciences Summer Institute is a summer camp for gifted and high achieving middle school students exploring the subject of water from the perspective of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, mathematics, and other important disciplines. The camp activities were a result of a collaborative effort of the STEM fields at UCF including Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Mathematics, and the College of Engineering. Twenty middle school students attended the 2018 event. In this program, Popolan-Vaida gave a minilecture on the “Mechanism of Cloud Formation”, and performed hands-on experiments, in which the students learned about the ways in which human activities can lead to clouds of various nature which can have negative effects on global climate. The students were mesmerized by a “liquid Nitrogen cloud”, created by Popolan-Vaida, that briefly filled the whole room with wonder.
Mysteries of Cloud Formation
Knight for a Day – Open House
May 21st, 2018
Knight for a Day – UCF Open House are Saturday events designed to introduce students and parents to UCF. They learn about the application process, academic programs, student life, and financial aid in a comprehensive daylong program. The program also includes class experiences, in which students and parents get a taste of what life is really like inside a college classroom. Popolan-Vaida presented a minilecture entitle “Mysteries of Cloud Formation” that concluded with a series of experiments that emphasize the mechanism of cloud formation.
