Ingrid Ulbrich

formerly Colorado State University, Department of Chemistry; now Independent Educational Consultant

What engaged or excited you most about learning when YOU were a student?

My most engaging learning experiences were about solving puzzles. Organic chemistry problem sets were “Start with this stuff. How do you make this molecule?” A fluid mechanics project required our team to view and analyze aerial footage of a backhoe dredging a channel between a pond and the ocean, to estimate the salinity level in the pond after the channel was closed by the incoming tide. In the subsequent fluid dynamics course, we were sent to the Museum of Science to find an exhibit that demonstrated the Bernoulli principle, and had to describe it in words, pictures, and equations.