Attending Dr. Everett Shocks Advance Course in Thermodynamics - Essay Example

I had the privilege of attending Dr Everett Shock’s advance in Thermodynamics in the Spring of and perhaps his is the most academically stimulating class I have ever attended for I learned more about the nature of chemical thermodynamics than I did in my previous chemistry course. I was first intimidated to attend his class because I felt that I may not have a strong foundation to take such course early in my undergraduate career. But I stuck it out and my experience proved to be rewarding because I was able to get more out of the time I spend in his class.

Dr Everett Shock is also such an engaging teacher that he/she is able to present challenging problems that made us look forward to solving the same and how it is applied in the real-world setting. Dr Everett Shock is an authority on the subject evident with his many publications in scientific journals. But despite his academic stature, he/she is very generous to accommodate students in his/her research that allows us to grow in ways that classroom experiences cannot afford. This was evident with my interaction with Dr Shock’s Geo-Pig lab group in these past two years which was my first undergraduate lab research experience.

The experience took me to an adventure in Yellowstone National Park for two summers with Dr Shock and his research group and work side by side in the field learning about natural systems. The experience was priceless because it did only help me build a resume, but also enable me to have a lasting friendship with very interesting people in the labs. This experience was not just exclusive to me, but also with many budding students who wanted to have the first-hand experience in the labs which Dr Shocks also enthusiastically accommodate to satisfy our eagerness to learn more.

Such is the kind of teacher that Dr Everett Shock is. Dr Shock does not only encourage us to learn about theoretical concepts but also the experimental aspects of science and its application to the real world. For example, I have always used thermodynamic parameters printed in the back of chemistry textbooks for calculating the free energy changes or the combustion energies of chemical reactions without giving much thought as to how these parameters are obtained. Dr Shock taught me the importance of getting our hands dirty to obtain the data we need even if it meant running calorimetric experiments.