Along with teaching chemistry, Burtt also was a passionate bird watcher and wrote a weekly column for The Post-Standard for more than 50 years.
Benjamin P. Burtt Sr., who taught chemistry at Syracuse University for nearly 50 years, had such an influence on his students that they decided to honor his memory in a special way by recreating his famous Water Lecture.
The lecture, which he gave to freshmen every year shortly before finals, was a joke presentation that he did seriously, including demonstrations that go wrong and an explosion. Students say it was funny and a great stress reliever.
Burtt, who died in February at age 91, influenced many students to love chemistry so much that they went on to become chemistry teachers.
One of his former students, Jamie Cucinotta, a Fayetteville-Manlius chemistry teacher since 1997, has taken a lead role in coordinating the special event on Thursday.
She, along with East Syracuse Minoa chemistry teacher Sally Mitchell and SU chemistry professor Michael Sponsler, will re-enact the lesson at 7 p.m. at Syracuse University’s Stolkin Auditorium.
The event, sponsored by the Syracuse Section of the American Chemical Society, is open to the public. It also will include recognition of U.S. and local National Chemistry Olympiad exam takers and others being honored for achievements in chemistry.
Cucinotta said Burtt’s legacy lives on through the scores of chemistry students he taught and influenced.
Cucinotta, who was Mitchell’s mentor and master teacher, said she believes Burtt’s influence inspired many chemistry teachers. At the event, which has been named as the Ben P. Burtt Lecture Series, students and teachers who have made a difference in chemistry also will be honored.
Cucinotta said Burtt was “was a very good, intense teacher,” she said. “and he tested on what he taught.”
Students who listened to his infamous water lecture would think he was serious, when actually the lecture was a huge joke, Cucinotta said.
“After a couple demonstrations, the students would realize he was joking,” she said. “He’d do things like drop a beaker or pick a string out of the water. Then he’d drink some water, say it didn’t taste right and dump in the wastebasket where it would blow up, because of a chemical reaction.”
All the demonstrations would go horribly wrong on purpose, and he’d keep a straight face the whole time.
“It was hilarious,” she said. “It was a huge stress reliever right before his final exam.”
Cucinotta was able to obtain a copy of the lecture in preparation for the reenactment.
Also, Burtt’s son, Academy Award-winning sound designer Benjamin Burtt Jr., has put together tapes of the lecture on DVD to preserve it. This will play on-screen as the lecture is re-enacted.
After the lecture, periodic table cupcakes and ice cream made using liquid nitrogen will be served, she said.
“He was so good at explaining chemistry concepts,” Cucinotta said, “and it’s not an easy subject.”
Mitchell said Burtt’s influence helped inspire enthusiasm in chemistry among his students.
Elizabeth Doran can be reached at email@example.com or 470-3012