With prop in hand, UMSL Chancellor Tom George presents his lecture "The Sage of the Molecular Soccer Ball" on June 24 for high school students participating in the university's Students and Teachers As Research Scientists program.

Aspiring scientists spent the morning of June 24 mentally kicking around topics like the molecular soccer ball and ethics in science. More than 70 high school students participating in the Students and Teachers as Research Scientists program at the University of Missouri-St. Louis listened to presentations given by UMSL Chancellor Tom George and Andrew Black, teaching professor of philosophy at UMSL. George, who also is a professor of chemistry and physics, discussed “The Saga of the Molecular Soccer Ball” and “Scientists as Administrators.”

The first part of his presentation focused on a molecule that is a truncated icosahedron, which has 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons (with carbon atoms at each of the 60 vertices) and geometry identical to a soccer ball. Students participating in the six-week summer STARS program divide their time between conducting research and attending presentations.

“The STARS program is delighted to have some of the finest research scientists in greater St. Louis serving as lecturers to this year’s science seminar series,” said Ken Mares, director of STARS. Presenters represented UMSL, The Solae Company, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Pfizer,Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University.