Recently, Broad Ripple High School physics teacher Kevin Friedly wrote Thomson Internal Communications specialist Andy Anderson a letter asking for help-not for himself-but for his students.

In his letter, he wrote: "Physics is a discipline that requires hands-on work, and it is next to impossible with the equipment we currently possess in our laboratory." He continued by providing an example: "We have close to 50 amp/voltmeters but have no wire, no batteries, no variable power supplies and no light bulbs. This makes it rather difficult to study the basics of electricity and electrical circuits."

Friedly was reaching out to those in the physics profession mainly because until the beginning of the 2006 school year, that's where he was himself. He had a physics degree from Purdue University, but had never taught a day of high school physics.

When he learned that BRHS had been without a trained physics teacher and was surviving on substitutes, he put his business on hold and took on the challenge of teaching physics to 16 and 17-year-olds.

He reached out to Thomson when he began to realize that he was having trouble creating daily lesson plans due to the lack of equipment in the school's physics lab. It was brought to his attention that Thomson had older (but still functioning) equipment that was no longer of practical use.

After Thomson received Friedly's letter, he and his students received the news that they would be getting the help they had hoped for. Thomson made a donation to the BRHS physics and chemistry departments that included two microscopes, some scopes, an audio analyzer, three pulse generators and other various power supplies.

Anderson commented in an email that the equipment will allow students to learn some of the basic tenets of electronics by allowing them to see the voltage and currents.

"The microscopes will allow them to view small forms of electronics to gain an appreciation of (physics)," he said. "They will also be able to study things like the physics of crystalline structures."

Friedly assured Thomson and Anderson that all the provided equipment would be put to very good use to further the education of deserving IPS students.