Vanadium
Contributor: Prof. Debbie C. Crans.
About the Display: This display features:
- Vanadium metal
- Vanadyl sulfate tablets - Vanadyl sulfate is used as a safe, natural therapy for insulin resistance and diabetes. It is also used by bodybuilders to achieve fuller muscles.
- A picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger - Perhaps the most recognizable bodybuilder, Arnold wrote about vanadyl sulfate in his book, The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding: The Bible of Bodybuilding. While the supplement is mentioned, the author does acknowledge that it has been studied for the treatment of diabetes and not bodybuilding and advises caution in using it for the latter.
- A collage of vanadyl sulfate supplements - Several brands of varying concentrations of vanadyl sulfate are available.
About the Contributor: Professor Debbie C. Crans (pictured below, working with a student) is an internationally known chemist from Colorado State University. She is the recipient of the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award for her outstanding research on Vanadium in the biological system. She is also a huge supporter of undergraduate research and was elected for the CSU Best Teacher Award in 2011.
In February 2017, when she presented a Frontiers in Chemistry lecture at UT on her research involving coordination chemistry of vanadium in biological systems, she saw this Periodic Table and spontaneously designed our Vanadium Box.
Back to the Periodic Table
Symbol: V
Atomic Number: 23
Atomic Mass: 50.9415 u
Electron Configuration: [Ar] 3d34s2
Year Discovered: 1801
Discovered By: Andres Manuel del Rio