Category Archives: Chemistry

By Kevin Taylor Times Recordktaylor@swtimes.com Van Buren volleyball coach Brent Reeves has the best of two worlds heading into Tuesday's 2017 opener with Southside: four returning starters and a young roster. The Lady Pointers, who beat Northside last season to reach the second round of the 7A state playoffs, also have good team chemistry. "I've coached a lot of sports, but I think volleyball needs more chemistry than any other sport," Reeves said. "You've got to have everybody pulling for each other. If you can do that, you can win a lot of games." Van Buren finished 14-15 last season and 6-8 in the ultra competitive 7A-West. Reeves, who enjoyed great coaching success at Mansfield prior to taking the reigns at Van Buren last fall, has two good hitters back in the form of Bekah Olienyk and Alex Dupree. Just a junior, Dupree was a big surprise in Reeves' first season. Senior setter Caroline Davis and junior setter Mikelle Porter are also back in the fold. "We're very excited about this year," Reeves said. "At this level, it seems like everybody can play, so you have to be ready every night to play. We've gelled really well. Every time we … Continue reading →

PHILADELPHIA Five years Alshon Jeffery and Jay Cutler played together in Chicago. The receiver and quarterback are no longer teammates, but they will play catch-up this week when the Eagles host the Dolphins for practices on Monday and Tuesday. Its going to be great, Jeffery said after Sundays practice. Im pretty sure well catch up. Im always rooting for him so Im sure itll be great. What would be great is if Jeffery and his new quarterback, Carson Wentz, could find the same page. Receivers coach Mike Groh told reporters on Saturday that he believes Jeffery is behind in his play-study, citing a route that Jeffery turned into an out route that was supposed to go to the corner during Thursdays game against Buffalo. It was where Wentz threw the ball, but Jeffery was nowhere in the vicinity. Alshon is not behind on anything, receiver Torrey Smith said. Weve been here all offseason. Its the same offense. Obviously youd like to get more reps on the field, but hes a pro, hes been there. Theyll be on the same page right before you know it. Head coach Doug Pederson also jumped to Jefferys defense. Alshon is doing fine, he said. … Continue reading →

MANILA, Philippines - Coach Jong Uichico, whos calling the shots for the Philippine mens basketball team at the SEA Games, yesterday said chemistry is crucial in whipping the squad into championship form but while he hesitated to guarantee a gold medal under a new tournament format, an air of confidence was evident in assessing Gilas chances. Weve been playing nine or 10 players in our tune-ups with UAAP teams, said Uichico, filling in for head coach Chot Reyes. Weve won all the tune-ups against FEU, Ateneo, Adamson and NU. The games with Ateneo and Adamson were close and it was tight with NU at the start. Chemistrys important. Christian (Standhardinger) and Carl (Bryan Cruz) will miss our first game against Thailand but they should be ready for our next game against Myanmar. Its not my call to guarantee a medal but I can assure everyone that well be very competitive and well do our best to bring back the gold. Uichico said hell try to replace Cruz with Mac Belo but only if the SEA Games organizers allow it. Standhardinger and Cruz are still with Reyes and the Gilas team playing at the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon. The nine … Continue reading →

Although Steven Liu is relatively new to the study of chemistry, the Monta Vista High School graduate is now the proud owner of the chemical AU. Steven and his teammates earned gold medals from the 49th International Chemistry Olympiad. The recent Monta Vista High School graduate in Cupertino was one of four members of the U.S. team to compete in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. Stevens teammates hailed from Lexington, Massachusetts; Carmel, Indiana; and Hinsdale, Illinois. The U.S. team tied with Taiwan as the top-performing countries. The team competed July 6-15 against 293 students from 75 countries. The competition consisted of exams and lab work, with time set aside for athletics and sightseeing over those 10 days. The International Chemistry Olympiad was founded in 1968 in Poland, and the first U.S. team competed at the event in 1984, winning a silver and two bronze medals. Steven said he first became interested in chemistry in eighth grade after watching chemistry experiments on Youtube, but didnt start to really become serious about the subject until his junior year at Monta Vista. The year prior, he served as an alternate on the American Olympiad team, but this year his hard work earned him a lead … Continue reading →

Eli Walker and D.J. Reed havent played a single football game together at Kansas State, but they have been teammates for years. The junior defensive backs were members of the same secondary two years ago at Cerritos Junior College in California, and they planned to reunite. Not long into their first game, they realized they had chemistry. Not just any kind of chemistry, either. It felt special, the type of connection that would eventually carry them both to the Big 12. We didnt start off that close, but we came together fast on the field, Walker said. The way we communicated and helped each other in that first game, it felt like we had played together our whole lives. We locked down our side of the field and did everything right. Thats where our bond comes from. Reed impressed immediately at corner that season and transferred to K-State, where he is now a captain after making 75 tackles and three interceptions on his way to Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year honors a year ago. Walker stayed at Cerritos as a sophomore, but played well enough to become a sought-after recruit. He was one of the top-rated junior college … Continue reading →

Will Smith MIDDLETOWN The new chemistry laboratory at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant isn't just more efficient. It's also quite a bit smaller than the old lab, packed with state-of-the-art equipment that will make ammunition production run more smoothly. "It's just what we need, and not a bit more," said IAAP senior scientist Geoff Giarmo, who helped oversee the construction of the lab. The chemistry laboratory opened about three weeks ago. American Ordnance employees held a ribbon cutting for the new facility Wednesday, with the help of a ribbon and giant pair of scissors provided by the Greater Burlington Partnership. Its a great day for all of us here in Iowa. The new chemistry lab is extremely important in what we do. What we do is get munitions to the warfighter," said Lt. Col. Stephen Koehler, who commands the plant for the Army. The previous lab building was built in the early 1940s, around the same time the plant opened. The old building was deteriorating, and needed to be replaced. "Many items in the (old) lab no longer meet current codes," said Jessi Mynatt, facilities engineering supervisor at IAAP. The old lab was suffering from loose flooring, holes, poor insulation … Continue reading →

When the Canadian icebreaker CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent pushes off from the Nunavut coast in September, it will have two Missoula educators on board. University of Montana professor Michael DeGrandpre and Big Sky High School chemistry teacher Dave Jones will be working in tandem on the complex issues of climate change and ocean acidification. Jones was awarded a research fellowship from PolarTREC, a teacher research and exploration program that, according to its website, is designed to invigorate polar science education and understanding by bringing educators and polar researchers together. PolarTREC links high school teachers to active researchers and, as Jones notes, brings real world research back to the classroom, and shows them why pH and solution chemistry matters. DeGrandpres work revolves around ocean acidification. When carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean, it makes seawater more acidic, which can dissolve the shells of oysters, crabs and other creatures and can kill coral reefs. Working on the Louis S. St. Laurent is important to gather data points about the rapidly changing ocean chemistry. Scientists are really motivated, and its a crucial place to be, DeGrandpre said. Changes in the Arctic can drastically shift the weather dynamics in the … Continue reading →

MANKATO Jarius Wrights two best NFL seasons came with Teddy Bridgewater throwing him the ball. After Sam Bradford joined the team last year, the Vikings wide receiver barely played. That wasnt necessarily because of the change in quarterbacks. Stefon Diggs played more in the slot last season, taking time from Wright. And the emergence of Adam Thielen as a high-usage receiver played a role. Wright and Bradford, though, seem to be making up for lost time. Bradford hit Wright on some nice balls in training camp at Minnesota State Mankato, including a long one down the right side and one down the left side in Saturdays night practice. I think me and Sam are starting to become, I dont want to say one, but were starting to think alike, Wright said this week. Were starting to be on the same page. Were starting to talk about more routes together and things like that. With Bridgewater as the starting quarterback, Wright had seasons of catching 42 passes in 2014 and 34 in 2015. He likes feeding me on third down, Wright, a six-year veteran, said Friday. Thats my guy. Bridgewater, though, was lost for the year with a knee injury suffered … Continue reading →

AUBURN, Ala. Even as the competition rages between Jarrett Stidham and Sean White, Auburns wide receivers are having no problem connecting with a potential starter this preseason. Its not tough at all, Ryan Davis said. We get the same amount of reps with all of the quarterbacks so its not tough. Weve been with those guys since the spring so we know those guys well. They know us well. We all have chemistry with the quarterbacks. Mixed reports followed the first scrimmage on Monday morning. Linebacker Darrell Williams said Stidham threw at least one touchdown, giving the impression that White may have had the better start to the week. RELATED: Auburn quarterbacks have numerous things to work on following first fall scrimmage Regardless of the plays made in Jordan-Hare Stadium, however, the quarterbacks abilities to develop a bond with a largely unproven group of receivers has been a concern this summer at least to those outside the confines of the Auburn Athletic Complex. For those inside the practice facility the process, even under a new offensive coordinator, has been simple. In the days leading up to the first fall scrimmage, Chip Lindsey had been impressed with both White and Stidham. … Continue reading →

In Katie Wilber's first year as De Soto's head cross country coach, one of her primary goals was to build the chemistry of the young Wildcats team. Wilber enjoyed watching the Wildcats drop time throughout last season while continuing to become closer on and off the course. While the Wildcats are eager to kick off their season, they already have a much stronger bond than at this time last year. Along with logging a multitude of miles this summer, the Wildcats took their first ever team trip to Onekama, Mich. "We did have a couple of twisted ankles, but overall it was a real good eye-opening experience for the kiddos. The had different terrains to run on and whatnot that they had never seen with being on very flat land here in Kansas," Wilber said. "It was a good team-building time for the kids to just spend some quality time together. We have a very good group of kiddos." Between the runners on De Soto's boys and girls regional teams last year, the Wildcats only had one senior in Taylor Ramseyer. The Wildcats will have a balance of veterans and underclassmen on both teams this fall. On the girls side, … Continue reading →