Howard Hu

Howard is a CPS product, graduating from Robert Healy elementary (‘04) and Lincoln Park high school (‘08). He earned his BA in Chemistry at Case Western Reserve University (‘12) with minors in Sports Medicine and Biology in Cleveland, Ohio before deciding to become a high school teacher. He completed his MEd in Secondary Education at DePaul University (‘14) and his student teaching at Jones College Prep high school in the South Loop. He was hired upon completing his student teaching and is going into his fourth year teaching Chemistry and coaching boys and girls volleyball at JCP. He loves learning about science and medicine as well as helping his students do the same. Prior to the BEST program, Howard’s lab experience was limited to required Chemistry and Biology courses at CWRU so it was a fun and exciting to apply his lab skills in this current and innovative lab research program. In the program, he performed corrosion experiments in Dr. Mathew’s Restorative Dentistry lab at the UIC College of Dentistry. This lab studied titanium and titanium alloys with surface modifications for dental implants to determine the material that best protects against corrosion. Artificial saliva was made at different pH values to simulate the varying environments in the mouth. Nanotubes were formed on the surface of some of the metals because they have been found to help with osseointegration between the metal in dental implants and the bone in the mouth. This research is important in finding ways to increase biocompatibility and decrease dental implant failures within the harsh oral environments that the metals have to endure. Howard is excited to bring this experience back to his students and his classroom at JCP.

Unit Overview
This is the last unit in the JCP honors chemistry curriculum. Students will complete a portfolio of not just what they learned about electron chemistry, but also a reflection of the science and engineering practices as it relates to Mr. Hu’s experience in Dr. Mathew’s restorative dentistry lab. The whole unit is tied to understanding and relating corrosion of dental implants to understanding what is chemically happening at the particle level in oxidation reduction reactions. Students should be able to come away with this unit feeling confident about being able to perform the science and engineering practices. They may not know them inside and out, but if they were to ever perform one of the skills they should feel like that can do it and that they have ownership of their learning. In terms of content, they should be able to explain mass change, metal ion exchange, electron flow and transfer, oxidation vs reduction, anode vs cathode, and draw and label a simple battery. The secondary goal of this unit is to get students to understand the value of scientific research, if not to enter the field of science and engineering.

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