The pyromaniac professor

Like all little boys, Colorado College chemistry professor Ted Lindeman liked to blow things up. Fireworks fascinated little Ted; he spent hours concocting homemade gunpowder and combining explosives for his own firecrackers. Apparently, like all little boys, Lindeman was something of a pyromaniac. 

However, unlike many of those little boys, Lindeman chose his career because of that fervor for flames.

“Since about fourth or fifth grade, chemistry has interested me,” said Lindeman. “You might ask, based on what, little Teddy? Partly because of the space age, the rocket age. It was mostly fireworks.”

Lindeman, who grew up in Colorado Springs, remembers the early days of exploding firecrackers with his cousins in rural Wisconsin. 

“We bought and exploded lots of fireworks, and tried to make new ones. I was behaving like a little scientist,” he said. “Or at least like a little pyromaniac.”

Lindeman continued his chemical crusade throughout his teenage years. Throughout high school, chemistry continued to fascinate Lindeman. 

“I would make my own gunpowder at home growing up,” he said. “The 1957 Encyclopedia Britannica has a lot of gunpowder recipes, by gosh! I tried every imaginable fuel, different ways of grinding things up. I put a goodly hole into my carpet too. Oh Mom, I’m sorry, I was naughty!”
When it came to college, Lindeman decided to stay nearby; Colorado College was an easy choice.

“My mom and dad went here, for Pete’s sake!” he said. “I’ve never had any qualms about attending CC.”

During his college years, Lindeman continued to pursue chemistry while undertaking a variety of side projects, including a foray into the textile industry.

“I was at a great school, with interesting kids, but I kept my nose to the grindstone. I didn’t go out much. I didn’t get involved in the whole partying and drinking scene,” he said with a sheepish grin. “So for probably 25 to 35 Friday nights my junior and senior year I’d stay in my room in Bemis building and designing backpacks with my sewing machine. It’s pretty satisfying, laying down a good quarter mile of great seams!”

Lindeman graduated from CC in 1973 with a degree in Chemistry and proceeded to get his master’s degree and Ph.D from Cornell University. He returned to his alma mater to teach and has been a professor here for 26 years. Outside of teaching, Lindeman still keeps in touch with his inner pyromaniac from time to time.

“Every New Year’s Eve, a group of about 30 people and I set off fireworks from the top of Pike’s Peak,” he said with child-like excitement. “It’s a very social trek up the mountain. I started doing it when I was 16, and it’s been about 40 years now. It’s a 13-mile hike to the top, and it gets pretty crazy. This year the winds were gusting to 95 miles an hour. It was great!”

However, just one firework show a year isn’t good enough for Lindeman. Each year, he hires a team of 6 or 7 people and orchestrates a large show in downtown Colorado Springs.

“The Pike’s Peak show isn’t quite enough pyro for me, so I always shoot another show at the Broadmoor on the Fourth of July,” he said.
Lindeman said he has a deeper appreciation for fireworks because of his background in chemistry.

“A chemist can marvel at how well the colors show up – I can hardly believe how good they are these days. I’ve seen convincing blues, reds, and even an intense purple sometimes!” he exclaimed, eyes wide. 

For Lindeman, however, the more visceral side of the pyrotechnics appeals just as much.
“I like the rhythm and the music of it. You’ve got the percussive thwoomp of launching, and the tzz-tzz of the explosion. The acoustic experience is all around; it’s 3-d,” he said, gesturing with his hands. 

Years later, Lindeman still retains his childhood love of fireworks and pyrotechnics. He has carried his passion into the classroom; now, he said, he shows students how cool chemistry can be.

“Now, I get to show students great demos,” he said. “They don’t all have to explode, they don’t have to all be fireworks, but pretty lights and fire never hurt anyone, right?”