WALNUT HILLS HIGH SCHOOL TO USE
NOVEL CHEMISTRY NETWORK DEVELOPED AT UC

Cincinnati -- A novel electronic network designed by staff and faculty in the UC department of chemistry will debut this fall at Walnut Hills High School.

The system, known as MeasureNet, allows students to collect and share data through a computer network. MeasureNet was developed by reseaerch associate Bob Voorhees and instrumentation specialist Paul McKenzie under the direction of faculty members Estel Sprague and John Alexander. Development was funded by the National Science Foundation and Procter & Gamble.

Debbie Heldman, executive director of the Walnut Hills Alumni Foundation, discovered MeasureNet when the school begin planning its new science wing.

"We wanted to find out what was new, and UC was a natural," said Heldman, "UC is our educational partner, and Walnut Hills is a unique public school. We have to go a higher level of education, so we turned to UC."

Physicist and Distinguished Teaching Professor Howard Jackson helped to arrange a tour of UC science classrooms and labs. When Heldman saw Estel Sprague's demonstration of MeasureNet's capabilities, she knew it was perfect for the students at Walnut Hills.

"I was so excited, and I'm not a scientist," said Heldman. "Then we got the chemistry faculty to a workshop on MeasureNet. They were supposed to stay two hours and stayed there all day."

MeasureNet will be used on a limited basis in Walnut Hills chemistry classes this year, then installed on an expanded basis when the new science building opens in the winter of 1999.