MITRE Shows Students the Sweet Side of Science

Bearing knowledge, experience, and liquid nitrogen, Troy Rockwood and Tony Kubat demonstrated to a rapt audience the effects of extreme temperatures on materials at an atomic level. 

Their medium? Ice cream.

The path from parfait to physics is more direct than you’d think. Inquiry follows curiosity, which follows exposure. With the sweet sample of science they offered at Peyton Elementary School in Colorado Springs, Rockwood and Kubat might help spark an interest in STEM to pupils in three fifth-grade classes.

A Taste of Tech

It’s safe to say that dessert probably doesn’t come up often in the Future Space Capabilities work Rockwood and Kubat perform at MITRE’s Colorado Springs site. But in addition to their careers in aerospace, they feel compelled to introduce today’s young thinkers to the role STEM plays in the world around them.

Rockwood, by day a MITRE principal space defense physicist, credits a college professor with introducing him to the art of using nitrogen to make ice cream. He owns a couple of dewars—stainless steel vacuum containers—and obtains his liquid nitrogen from a local welding supply. His scientifically based production has become a family tradition.

“Once, my daughter went to a friend’s house for homemade ice cream, and she complained making it there was so slow,” Rockwood says. “She thought everyone made liquid nitrogen ice cream.”

The opportunity to take Rockwood’s party trick on the road came after a teacher friend attended a birthday celebration for one of his kids. For the last dozen years, he’s made appearances in local classrooms; Kubat recently served as sous chef at the demonstration at his daughter’s school.

Nuclear Expressions

Rockwood’s science lessons aren’t all cream and chemicals, but they’re no less participatory. He says he usually starts his demonstrations by assigning each child a taped square on the ground, then asking them to move around on their spot. 

“I tell them, `This is what atoms do when they’re cold—they kind of shiver in place and move as they get warmer,” he says. “And when they get out of their squares, I explain the concept of evaporation.”

When the dewar appears, students learn that in addition to making ice cream, nitrogen can freeze roses and coins until they’re smashable, plus shrink a balloon to 1/300th of its original size. 

Engaging Young Minds

Kubat, a MITRE space warfighting analysis center project leader, says he enjoyed seeing his colleague demonstrating his passion for science outside the office.

“Troy’s like our very own Bill Nye the Science Guy,” Kubat says. “No matter the challenge, he’s just someone who truly loves science.”

Rockwood’s nitrogen concoctions have led at least one young person into the sciences, he says. “One child consistently asked me to explain more about how it worked,” he reports. “Now he’s in graduate school for low-temperature physics—and apparently having a great time.”

Kubat recognizes in Rockwood’s lessons a link to MITRE’s mission as an organization that advances the public good. And Steven “Sparky” Parker, leader of the Colorado Springs site, agrees, saying “the spirit of community thrives in every corner” of the building, and “there’s a genuine sense of connection that defines the MITRE culture.”

“By engaging with the community and sharing his passion for science, Troy demonstrates how MITRE employees can make a meaningful impact beyond the workplace,” Kubat says. “A little curiosity—and a lot of liquid nitrogen—can go a long way in inspiring the next generation of innovators.”