By Jenny Boylan

A quantum leap from elementary science fair experiments, two UK chemistry professors ended the College of Arts and Sciences’ Geek Week 2009 with a bang.

“Chemical Reaction Attraction,” in its 15th year, took place Friday evening in the Chemistry-Physics building. There, UK chemistry professors Jim Holler and Jack Selegue,performed chemical reaction experiments to an audience of about 100 people.

Although they received help from members of the crowd, Holler and Selegue warned, “Don’t try this at home.” Many of the reactions, some of which included fire and explosions, were dangerous.

“I do love the explosions, and I think they are the most exciting part for the kids as well,” Holler said. “My absolute favorite, though, is the thermite reaction in which we react iron oxide (rust) with aluminum to make molten iron. It is truly spectacular.”

Holler has been doing similar demonstrations for nearly 30 years. He started out doing shows for his children’s elementary school classes in the 1980s and has continued putting on similar presentations every year since. Holler, along with former dean’s assistant Dana Cox, came up with the name

“Reaction Attraction” after Holler volunteered to do a demo show for Arts and Science Week in the mid-1990s.

Since then, Selegue has joined Holler, making it a two-man show. They have also added PowerPoint slides, music and other technology to generate a more interesting show.

Phil Harling, the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, brought his 8-year-old son, Nick, to the event and was very pleased, he said.

“Nick and I loved everything about the show, but our favorite part was when they popped several balloons using torches,” Harling said. “We had to guess ahead of time whether the balloons were filled with helium or with hydrogen, and of course the hydrogen-filled balloons went up in spectacular balls of flame.”

Student ambassadors for the College of Arts and Sciences were able to help out and take part in Geek Week. Susan Scherzer, one ambassador, helped out with “Chemical Reaction Attraction.”

“I learned about chemical reactions at the presentation, and I think it really encourages scientific inquires in young kids as well as adults,” Scherzer said. “This presentation brings the thrill of learning to people of all ages. It’s very informative and fun at the same time.”