APSU chemistry camp gives middle, high school students hands-on research experience
By: Maddie Simpson August 13, 2026
Tharushi Manathunga and Lilith Loera present their research on cinnamon during a five-day camp hosted by APSU’s Department of Chemistry. The program was open to eighth-12th graders and gave students firsthand experience with lab equipment. | Photo by Sean McCully
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Austin Peay State University's Department of Chemistry conducted its first research-focused camp for middle and high school students from July 27-31, giving eighth-12th graders in the community hands-on experience in a university lab setting.
Students worked on their own research projects throughout the week, extracting compounds from natural products, such as spices, and using laboratory instruments to identify and analyze the compounds and explore their potential medicinal properties.
Led by Drs. Anuradha Pathiranage and Laura Chamness, with support from student workers
Neel Patel and Wendy Cardenas, the project allowed the students to learn new techniques
spanning multiple areas of chemistry. The experience immersed them in the field in
ways many K-12 classrooms cannot offer.
"I think they build confidence,” Pathiranage said. “They also learn a lot of laboratory
techniques — things they never learned before. It's a very great opportunity for them
to see this at that age, and to know what's going on in all these steps of extracting
and analyzing medicinal compounds."
Oliver McKelvey and TC Coals present their research on cumin seeds during a camp hosted by APSU’s Department of Chemistry. Each project involved extracting natural compounds from plant materials and exploring their potential uses in medicine. | Photo by Sean McCully
For many participants, the experience offered a firsthand look at what studying chemistry at the university could look like.
"I liked seeing all the scientific equipment that I had never seen before and learning how to use it,” said Lilith Loera, one of the students who attended the camp. “If I had to pursue a career in science, I would want to work with bacteria."
Other students highlighted the excitement of seeing their experiments come together.
"The equipment and experiments were among the most memorable parts of the camp," said student Tharushi Manathunga. "I loved everything; the most exciting part was seeing the Soxhlet extractor work and seeing the solvent move up and down."
The camp also gave students a chance to experience APSU from a different perspective.
"The things they've been doing and the labs they've worked in are all things they might encounter if they enroll here as chemistry majors,” Chamness said. “The labs aren't part of the normal campus tour that prospective students get, so they're really peeking behind the curtain about what it would be like to go to school here."