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Lee Marek seems to be an ordinary person if you see him outside of “work.” He appears quiet and…well…kind of shy. One would never guess that he has made an impact for chemistry on millions of people. However, Marek has the ability to transform, almost like Clark Kent, from a mild mannered nice guy to a superhero teacher. With millions of other viewers, you have probably seen him on the Late Show with David Letterman; he and his students, have been guests more than a couple dozen times! The show is not all fun…it is education, and not just for the kids.
As a student, young Lee was very interested in history and was planning to major in history. However, in high school, he took a chemistry class from a very interesting…and eccentric…chemistry teacher. Chemistry was so interesting for Lee that he started reading chemistry books for fun and enjoying them. It turned out that he was good at science and math, and eventually went to college and earned a degree in chemical engineering from University of Illinois at Champaign.
After college, Marek joined UOP and worked in the catalyst evaluation lab. Although well prepared for this, Marek decided that industrial R&D was not his interest; teaching was. College taught him the skills, but didn’t teach about what chemical engineers actually do…it turns out that he was more interested in chemistry and teaching. He started a new career in teaching as he was earning M.S. degrees in both chemistry and physics from Roosevelt University. He had a dedicated career at Naperville North High School, where he developed both chemistry and advanced placement chemistry programs. After 33 years he retired…only to start the next career teaching at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
First conceived by Marek and a few other teachers in his Honda station wagon during a traffic jam, the ChemWest alliance was developed during the early 1980’s. This alliance of High School teachers meets every month or two to share ideas and develop teaching methods – no talking heads allowed! These meetings led to the development of Weird Science, which is a series of short, easy and sometimes "weird" demonstrations and ideas on chemical and physical phenomena. It is designed for teachers of the physical sciences, primarily at middle school and high school levels. The Weird Science program presents novel demonstrations designed to “hook” both kids and adults into thinking about science concepts. It is adapted to the needs of each set of audience participants and lasts between one and six hours. Marek’s brand of science “infotainment” can be recognized by its humor and audience participation, which are always an integral part of Weird Science. His style is, for example, to explain how Boyle’s Law can provide high pressure; he does this between shots of a potato projectile. It is amazing to watch as students actually have fun learning Boyle’s Law!
The Letterman gig had an unusual start. Newsweek interviewed Bob Lewis, from the weird science group. He was doing a teacher workshop in New York and mentioned the Weird Science shows. Letterman was at NBC at that time and picked up on the name Weird Science. He invited first Lewis and then Marek to do their science shtick on the show. After more then a dozen appearances the Letterman crew and Lee came up with the idea of Kid Scientist. The “great chemistry” between Dave and the kids has made the Kid Scientists an ongoing hit for close to 10 years.
Besides to appearing on Letterman, Lee has presented to groups of students, teachers and the public and has appeared on shows that include Bozo, Inside Edition, Craig Kilborn, WTTW Science Shows and in the halls of the US Congress on Capitol Hill.
In talking with Marek it is very clear that his serious, Clark Kent persona is even stronger than the Superman entertainer. Marek asserts that the current educational system, set up to educate generations of factory-based workers, needs to be re-shaped to motivate interest in science and math. He believes that eight of the ten fastest-growing professions this century will be science-based. Although a bit of a futurist, Marek’s love of history is apparent as he talks about H.G. Wells writing in 1920 that “Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe."
Adapted to a world of 15-second sound-bite opportunities, Marek uses a "Phenomenological" approach to teaching science, which introduces a topic with a demonstration or lab to establish something concrete on which students can focus. The key is to use what Marek describes as exocharmic motivators to captivate student interest and to focus on the day's topic. He defines exocharmic as radiating charm, and making students want to watch. Color changes, flames, explosions, and discrepant events, phenomena which occur that seem to run contrary to one's first line of reasoning or current set of ideas, are used to capture attention. These demonstrations set the stage and induce excitement and learning. Rather than a focus on memorization, discrepant events and demonstrations help students to develop reasoning and problem solving skills. This causes a "cognitive conflict" which acts as a switch to turn on the brain.
In addition to being a regular on Letterman and other mass-media appearances, Marek has received substantial additional recognition including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching, Golden Apple Award, Christa McAuliffe Fellow, ACS James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry, ACS Helen Free Award for Public Outreach, ACS Chicago Section Public Affairs Award, CMA's National Catalyst Award for Teaching Chemistry, Chemical Industries Council of Illinois Davidson Award, Sigma Xi Outstanding Teacher Award, Those Who Excel Award Illinois, Tandy Technology Scholar Award for Outstanding Teachers, Governors Master Teacher Award, and The Association of Science & Technology Centers Honor Roll of Teachers Award.
Marek is quick to point out that while he appreciates the awards and enjoys the public appearances it is many times in many ways more gratifying to hear from former students- whether at the local dry cleaners or in an email messages from now professors about the positive impact he has had on their lives.
You can read more about Lee Marek at his website: www.chem.uic.edu/marek.
Lee Marek’s career: Through fulfillment of a dream to teach, Marek has impacted generations of students. He is an outstanding ambassador of science as an entertainer and educator including, among many others, appearances on the David Letterman Show and other mass-media. He has provided powerful motivation through creation and development of “Weird Science” educational demonstrations and is the author of many science education and motivational materials. Lee Marek: the quiet scholar from the Chicago area who became the exocharmic star for science to millions.
Written by RUSS JOHNSON
PUBLIC RELATIONS CHAIR
Updated 2/14/07