Scientist tours MHS addition, offers advice to students

Submitted by Mundelein High School District 120

"All along the way, different people encouraged me … find those people who will help and support you in life."

Those were the words of Dr. Mark Stoyer, an accomplished scientist who was involved in discovering and/or naming several elements of the Periodic Table.

Stoyer spent a large part of Aug. 16, touring the new facilities at Mundelein High School which include 25 new classrooms, a free-standing STEM Lab, Project Lead the Way instruction and a Business Incubator Lab. A nationally-known research scientist, Stoyer is a senior staff member at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, and has a broad range of research interests. He is also a co-discoverer of six chemical elements (113-118) and co-namer of Element 114 (flerovium) and Element 116 (livermorium).

"There is a tradition about naming the elements," Stoyer explained. "They are usually named after geographical locations where research was conducted, a scientist that is influential, Latin names or political reasons," he said. One of the MHS student journalists asked if he would consider naming the next element "Mundeleinium," which the scientist briefly considered with a smile.

Following a tour of the new facilities with Dr. Anthony Kroll and Dr. David Greenwood, MHS principal and science department chair respectively, Stoyer met with students in four different STEM classes. He spoke of his experience from high school through the present and how he was influenced along the way.

"A lot of people helped me to reach my ultimate career path," Stoyer said. From a fantastic science teacher in high school, to the teachers and counselors at Purdue University and ultimately at the University of California - Berkley, there was always someone there to point me in the right direction and to influence the directions I took."

Stoyer said that the long road to his current position lead him from general science areas in the initial phases of his education to the focus on chemistry and then eventually nuclear chemistry. He advised students considering science careers to look at colleges that are strong in their chosen fields and larger schools because they usually offer more courses. Regarding graduate schools, he said to look for those that are strong in the area of specialty that a student might want to pursue.

Stoyer was impressed with the new STEM and other facilities now available to MHS students.

"I wish I had these types of materials and facilities when I was in school. The STEM education is a great start on the science path. Career Cells and the Business Incubator Lab offer things we never imagined when I was high school age," he said. "The only thing anywhere close to what you have was 'Career Fairs' for us." He went on to explain that those were only helpful for "future decisions," while the career education opportunities at MHS are ways for students to experience different careers and decide if they'd like to continue or look at other areas.

Stoyer closed his visit with some advice for teachers: "Be enthusiastic. Excite your students about science. Give them real experiences, labs, experiments and teach them to absolutely love science."

"I'm pretty sure our teachers are doing just that, especially now with the latest forms of science education to back them up," Kroll said.

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