Messenger - Vol. 2, No. 1, Page 26 Fall 1992 Captivating chemistry Oohs and aahs fill the lecture hall as the amazed chemistry students watch the molten iron overflow the flower pot. They are among the hundreds of undergraduates who have witnessed Wayne King's "thermite" reaction, which results from iron oxide (rust) reacting with aluminum. King, Delaware '88, says, "I like to show people that chemistry can be fun and interesting, not something that's dry, boring and stuck in books." King, a Ph.D. candidate in inorganic chemistry at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., is one of several chemical demonstrators there. But according to The Daily Northwestern, the school newspaper, "to the students in A01 General Chemistry, King is an icon." He "brings enthusiasm and life to the performing of experiments," says one of King's professors. King says he was influenced by Delaware's Arnold L. Rheingold, professor of chemistry and biochemistry. -Cassandra Lassiter, Delaware '92