2008 Woodie Awards
Students Experience Consumer Reports First Hand
Ashrei Bayewitz
Issue date: 4/18/05 Section: Features
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On Friday, March 18th, the Honors Chemistry class visited the headquarters of the publisher of Consumer Reports. During the visit, students met with several researchers who oversee the testing of a variety of familiar consumer items, ranging from multi-vitamins to air filters.
As the students discovered, their prior knowledge of chemistry served as an excellent foundation for grasping the concepts and techniques used in the research. Developed by Professor Raji Viswanathan, the Honors Chemistry course aims to "present chemical concepts in the context of increasingly sophisticated real world applications and not as a series of linear topics."
In fact, the Consumer Reports trip was the second time the Honors class saw chemistry in action this semester. Previously, Professor Viswanathan led her class on a tour of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. At the time, students received a detailed description of the inner workings of the power plant on terms that they, as chemistry students, could appreciate.
In fact, it was at the power plant that Dr. Lance Silverman, a recently appointed professor of chemistry, thought of the idea for the Consumer Reports trip. As a member of the not-for-profit Consumer Reports Foundation, Dr. Silverman had previously been invited to its headquarters, and, after consultation with Professor Viswanathan, offered to accompany the class on a visit.
While Consumer Reports tests a variety of products, the trip's organizers arranged for the students to focus on chemistry-oriented sites. As time was limited and the sites were numerous, the class spent approximately 15 minutes at each lab. The first lab visited, an analytical chemistry lab, was the one most familiar to its guests. Headed by chemist Tunde Akinleye, the lab is responsible for the majority of nutrition evaluations in Consumer Reports. Mr. Akinleye determines, for example, whether a food supplement really contains all the things that the advertisers claim it does. Since his conclusions may dispute those of producers, Mr. Akinleye ensures precision by running multiple tests. In fact, this precision, and the precision of other researcher like Mr. Akinleye, has been validated repeatedly. According to our tour host, Frank Lacopelli, Consumer Reports Foundation has never lost a lawsuit, and has even been compensated for their incurred legal fees in lawsuits.
As the students discovered, their prior knowledge of chemistry served as an excellent foundation for grasping the concepts and techniques used in the research. Developed by Professor Raji Viswanathan, the Honors Chemistry course aims to "present chemical concepts in the context of increasingly sophisticated real world applications and not as a series of linear topics."
In fact, the Consumer Reports trip was the second time the Honors class saw chemistry in action this semester. Previously, Professor Viswanathan led her class on a tour of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. At the time, students received a detailed description of the inner workings of the power plant on terms that they, as chemistry students, could appreciate.
In fact, it was at the power plant that Dr. Lance Silverman, a recently appointed professor of chemistry, thought of the idea for the Consumer Reports trip. As a member of the not-for-profit Consumer Reports Foundation, Dr. Silverman had previously been invited to its headquarters, and, after consultation with Professor Viswanathan, offered to accompany the class on a visit.
While Consumer Reports tests a variety of products, the trip's organizers arranged for the students to focus on chemistry-oriented sites. As time was limited and the sites were numerous, the class spent approximately 15 minutes at each lab. The first lab visited, an analytical chemistry lab, was the one most familiar to its guests. Headed by chemist Tunde Akinleye, the lab is responsible for the majority of nutrition evaluations in Consumer Reports. Mr. Akinleye determines, for example, whether a food supplement really contains all the things that the advertisers claim it does. Since his conclusions may dispute those of producers, Mr. Akinleye ensures precision by running multiple tests. In fact, this precision, and the precision of other researcher like Mr. Akinleye, has been validated repeatedly. According to our tour host, Frank Lacopelli, Consumer Reports Foundation has never lost a lawsuit, and has even been compensated for their incurred legal fees in lawsuits.