Kosterman focuses on making things better

Published or Revised November 13, 2009

Paris Junior College chemistry instructor Don Kosterman is again receiving international professional attention for improving chemistry experiments, this time by rebuilding a calorimeter – a tool used to measure temperature resulting from chemical reactions – to be more stable and accurate. The invention was recently featured in the article, "A Better 'Drink Cup' Calorimeter" published in [i]Chem 13 News[/i], an international publication produced by the University of Waterloo's Department of Chemistry in Ontario, Canada. Kosterman was published last year in the journal for inventing a method to reduce the scale of chemicals used in experiments, thus reducing the costs. Most calorimeters have been built using nested coffee cups that are shorter, which are prone to tip over and are not as well insulated. "By using three Styrofoam cups," Kosterman explains, "you can use a shorter digital thermometer and the better insulation produces better measuring results." Kosterman has been teaching at PJC since 1972. [i]Chem 13 News[/i], in its 41st year, is produced for high schools, junior colleges and small universities. Designed to get usable information out to laboratories and lectures, it is well known throughout the world and regularly receives international submissions.