Some great chemistry

Laguna Beach High School science teacher Steve Sogo didn’t look pleased as he came to the door of his classroom May 15, disrupted by the ruckus outside.

He peered out the door, clad in a tie depicting the periodic table.

When he saw Principal Don Austin, Supt. Robert Fraisse, the school board, dozens of students and many other faces outside, his displeasure turned to confusion.

Then, when Sogo was presented with an award and a $10,000 check by Jeanette Palkovic of biotech firm Amgen, confusion turned to something like shock.

Sogo was one of six California recipients of the 2008 Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence.

A little more than two dozen teachers received the award nationwide.

Half the award money goes to the teacher; the other half will go toward the school’s science program.

Sogo hopes to use the money to purchase a new spectrophotometer that will hold eight samples; the two the school has now can only hold one sample at a time, and they’re always a line for them, Sogo said.

Spectrophotometers measure what kind of light a sample will absorb, and help the student scientists determine the chemical composition of a sample.

Sogo had applied months ago for the prize, focusing his application on his Advanced Chemical Research class.

Rather than teach AP chemistry, Sogo is in the second year of teaching a rare course that allows students to conduct true scientific research.

Their work could have implications for the scientific world at large, should their experiments prove successful.

The class is quite rare at the secondary school level; Sogo observed a similar one at a private school in La Jolla that only had four students.

Two dozen upperclassmen are enrolled in Sogo’s class, where they experiment with rockets, chemiluminescence, solar power and enzymology, among other efforts.

In the catalysis project, they attempt to hydrolyze aspirin, using various metal ions like cobalt and copper.

“Team Glow,” which works on chemiluminescence, is creating their own glow stick fluid.

“It’s a busy group, so they keep me hopping,” Sogo said.

“I’m really encouraging them to be independent.”

A minute later, one of his students earned himself a new project when he knocked Sogo’s new award off a desk.

The glass award split from its metal base, leaving the student the opportunity to develop a new harnessing system for it.

Sogo said he didn’t plan on becoming a teacher; he wanted to become a professional chemical researcher, but lost interest in his project while in his Ph.D. program.

He appreciates the freedom given by his employer, which allows him to teach a course similar to that of a university program.

“This school has been very supportive for what I want to do, so it’s a good place for me,” he said, while his students cut into the chocolate cake provided by Palkovic.

A lesson plan Sogo submitted for the award, as well as more information on the class, will be posted on amgen.com for teachers around the world to study — and perhaps emulate.

CANDICE BAKER can be reached at (949) 494-5480 or at candice.baker@latimes.com.