Photo and story by Monty Siekerman
Yttrium and ruthenium are two words this writer has never used...until now. Both words are elements in the periodic table.

Memorizing the table used to be a boring chore for science students, but longtime science Ada teacher Dave Lusk found a way to make learning about the elements both educational and interesting.

In this picture, he discusses the element yttrium with Olivia Alexander and the element ruthenium with Seth Conley, both sophomores.

Students in his first year chemistry class were asked to research an element - who discovered it and when, where it is found in nature, what it is used for, and a picture of it, and, of course, its symbol.

Not long ago, students had fewer elements to memorize. Today there are 118 with several discovered in the past year.

Dave has been in the teaching business a long time, 36 years, all in Ada. He graduated from ONU then went on to receive his master's degree from the University of Findlay.

He teaches chemistry, advanced chemistry, physics, and physical science.

We asked, "What major changes have you seen in teaching science over the years?"
He replied, "The speed with which you can obtain information by using computers, calculators, and smart phones. Information can be accessed instantly."

After school, you'll likely find him helping out at the First United Methodist Church where he is a lay speaker and lay servant.

By the way, for the curious, the symbol for yttrium is Y. Combined with oxygen, it makes the red in TVs.

Ruthenium is Ru 44, discovered by a Russian chemist in 1844.

You'll need to know that for the test tomorrow, if you sit in Mr. Lusk's class.