Dr. Conrad Stanitski, chair of the UCA Chemistry Department, is so fascinated with the publishing process that he has spent the last 28 years writing books.
His most recent published project is the second edition of the award-winning book he co-wrote in 2001 titled ?Chemistry: The Molecular Science.? Since 1976 he has written 13 books.
?I was just shocked when we wrote the first book,? Stanitski said. ?The editors told us over 60 percent of all books contracted never get written.?
Stanitski along with John Moore from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Peter Jurs from Pennsylvania State University wrote the new edition to renew ideas and concepts by providing additional diagrams and illustrations to help students understand information discussed in each chapter.
They also incorporated changes in the field of chemistry to include subjects such as the two new elements that were synthesized since the publication of the first book.
The preface of the first edition asked readers to e-mail their feedback to the authors. Stanitski said he received about 10 e-mails.
?You get comments and suggestions, and you have to sift and sort out to see which ones you want to use and which ones aren?t valid,? Stanitski said.
He said they improved the book for the second edition by listening to reviewers and peers who reviewed the first one. They also tried to think about ways students learn and grasp concepts.
With students in mind, he said the authors gave special consideration to proofreading review questions and answers in the back of the book. They tried to minimize the number of mistakes in the answer section to help students working the questions at home.
?You don?t want a student doing problems at 2 o?clock in the morning getting one answer and the back has another answer,? Stanitski said.
Developing technology also helped Stanitski tailor the book to provide more options for the teachers as well as the students. This edition has a Web site designed solely for students. Professors also have the capability to customize assignment for their classes.
?The whole idea of a text has become broader, it?s not just printed,? Stanitski said. ?There are a lot of Web-based features. Each chapter has at least one figure with an animation tutorial.?
The first edition received the Talbot award for design in pedagogical style. The award was peer-voted, not just among chemistry teachers, but by teachers from all subjects. The figures and illustrations are drawn at the macro- and nano- levels to help students better understand concepts as seen with the naked eye but also at the molecular level.
The pictures that accompany the text came from a company who uses photo researchers to search database to find pictures the authors requested. Stanitski even found some photos on his own.
He was not pleased with the selection of snowboarding pictures he was given to put on the front page of one of his chapters so he searched the Internet and found a suitable one that made its way into the new book. The figures came from an artist in Philadelphia who is a biologist by trade and was able to meet with each author to design specific illustrations that met their standards.
Stanitski said he likes to write but is also excited about enjoying the next few months. It will be the first time he has taken a break from writing in nine years.
?This is the first time in nine years I haven?t been writing two books at once,? Stanitski said. ?I have a couple of months of down time. I?m enjoying having my Saturdays, and my wife enjoys it, too. I?m not up until midnight writing or awake at 4 a.m. writing.?
-Rachel Roberts
