Announcing The Winner...

Of The PIKE Technologies 2011       Most Unusual Spectroscopy Application Contest!

Congratulations to our 2011 Most Unusual Spectroscopy Application winner, Sanjai J. Parikh, Assistant Professor of Soil Chemistry at the University of California-Davis.  PIKE Technologies recognizes the need for creativity in the teaching of science, so we salute the efforts Sanjai who incorporated PIKE’s Barbie hair analysis into a slide presentation that he uses regularly to capture the attention and imagination of his students.

The “hair-raising analysis”, as Sanjai calls it, employs the use of the µMAXIR microscope to analyze hair samples from two Barbie dolls with very different textured/quality hair (one Barbie: poly-vinylidene-chloride/poly-vinyl-chloride copolymer; other Barbie: polypropylene with small amount of an additive or copolymer).

According to Sanjai, “it is a fun example that catches their attention – and as many of us know – catching their attention is more than half the battle!”  Congratulations, Sanjai, for your enthusiasm and your creative efforts in bringing science alive for your students.