Robert ZoellnerNo arrests were made when 10-year-old Clara Lazen created an explosive in her classroom in Kansas City, Mo. Instead, her creation became the topic of a scientific article written by HSU chemistry professor Robert Zoellner.

 
Lazen’s teacher, Kenneth Boehr, introduced Border Star Montessori School’s 5th grade class to the periodic table, molecules and chemical bonds. Lazen found the topic interesting and Boehr gave her the tools she needed to explore the subject.

Equipped with a molecule-building kit, Lazen experimented with the colored wooden balls by creating existing molecules and some of her own.

Lazen approached Boehr and asked if the molecule she created using the kit was real. Unsure of the answer, Boehr emailed his longtime graduate school friend and chemistry professor at HSU, Robert Zoellner.

“Maybe [the molecule] is real and we’ll find out,” Zoellner responded.
 
Upon further research, Zoellner discovered the particular molecule, tetrakis(nitratoxycarbon) methane, Lazen had created had never been discussed in literature and possibly had never been thought of before.

The significance of the molecule Lazen created is that it has the potential to store energy. The dense structure allows for stable energy storage meaning the molecule can be used to produce energy or as an explosive.  

Lazen was excited to hear her discovery could be used as an explosive. “I thought, ‘Wow, it could go boom!’ I could put [the molecule] in a bomb and it could blow up something,” she said.

Unable to synthesize the elements into a molecule at HSU, Zoellner wrote a scientific article about his research. The article will be published in Computational and Theoretical Chemistry scientific journal with Lazen and Boehr as co-authors.

“[At HSU,] we’re sweeping up around the edges,” Zoellner explained. Lacking the material,
equipment and graduate student assistance, further research and creation of the molecule will be done by other chemists interested in the potential of the molecule.

Zoellner has written around 50 scientific articles, but this is the first time he has co-authored one with a 5th grader. “It’s nice to do little stuff with students and it’s kind of cool to work with a grade school student.”

As a fellow educator, Boehr said he hopes to bridge the gap between learning in a classroom and applying knowledge to the real world. “We try to make everything as real as we can,” he said. “We try to give [students] a practical education.”

Lazen’s mother, Lori Schmidt was excited to hear that not only would her daughter be a co-author to the scientific article, but the discovery would be recognized in a scientific journal. “One only dreams as a parent,” she said. “I was kind of taken by surprise.”

Lazen said if she were to profit from her discovery, she would share her earnings with Zoellner and Boehr.

After all, if it wasn’t for Boehr and Zoellner’s efforts, the molecule Lazen created would have been disassembled and the building kit would have been put away.