Clayton Houck

Houck’s innovative teaching idea, “Chemistry of Water Pollution,” is a hands-on project focused on water pollution and purification for approximately 150 students enrolled in this year’s Chemistry and Advanced Chemistry courses. The project will allow students to learn the chemistry behind testing water pollution; the process for determining sources of water pollution; the chemistry behind water purification methods; and the use of the scientific method to test solutions for water purification. Student groups will test different water samples and will propose and try their innovative solutions to purify the water samples utilizing different chemistry techniques to address the specific pollutants in each water sample. The Voya grant will also be used to help students build larger versions of their solutions and to travel to setup and monitor their testing devices and water purification levels.