Grace Connatser

Photo by Jordan Johnson

CheMU hosts the liquid nitrogen ice cream event annually.

CheMU, the chemistry club on campus, served liquid nitrogen ice cream to students for free Sept. 28.

CheMU annually hosts the ice cream social during the fall semester as its first big event of the year to teach students about the chemistry club. 

“I know it’s a little too cold maybe for ice cream, but it’s a nice way to get people on a Friday to come together and show them what our club is, answer questions about our club, get our name out there and to just have fun,” Jennifer John, a senior in the College of Health Sciences and president of CheMU, said.

John said the ice cream  looks curdled at the start, but she promised it tastes great.

Rachel Knorr, a junior in the College of Health Sciences and an executive board member of CheMU, said making liquid nitrogen ice cream is fairly simple.

Knorr said the process involves putting half and half, milk, sugar and vanilla in the bowl, and then pouring the liquid nitrogen.   “It’s super cold so it flash-freezes it, and when you mix it, it’s ice cream.”

Evelyn Mitchell, a freshman in the College of Health Sciences, said she found out about the event from her dad, who was visiting for Family Weekend. 

“He was looking at the wall in Cobeen and he was like ‘We gotta go,'” Mitchell said. She said the ice cream was very cold but she liked it.

Patrick Vosters, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences and an executive board member of CheMU, said the club does diverse activities.

“Sometimes we do more career-oriented stuff (like) panels with professors or with representatives in the industry. Also, in the spring we do a trip to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry,” Vosters said. Additionally, the club will talk with professors at a panel and host a visit from a pharmaceutical company on that trip.

“It’s a great way to explore your major, explore that interest, meet people with similar interests and figure out how you could apply it to a career someday,” Vosters said. 

John said one of CheMU’s major themes is research. She said the club wants to make sure students interested in research are able to get research opportunities. If students want, the club will pair them with professors in chemistry labs for research.

“This is really helpful for students who are pre-med, pre-pharmacy or pre-dental, so whatever pre-professional school you want to go into, we have a lot of different professors that are able to help with that,” John said. 

The club is open to all students, not just chemistry majors, which is a stigma they try to avoid, John said.

John said if a student is interested in a lot of different fields like biology, medicine or chemistry, CheMU incorporates everything.