The Spring Luncheon Meeting
12 Noon Sunday, May 18, 2008
Harry’s Plaza Café
3313-B State Street Loreto Plaza)
Santa Barbara CA 93105
directions can be found here)
The Featured Speaker was
Prof. Mattanjah S. de Vries
Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of California, Santa Barbara
Speaking on
Isolated Molecules and the Origin of Life
Dr. de Vries received his Ph.D. in chemical Physics at the University of Amsterdam in 1980. After spending four years in our department at UCSB as a Research Associate, he became a Research Staff member at the IBM Almaden Research Laboratory. In 1997 Dr. de Vries became an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In September 2000, Dr. de Vries joined The UCSB Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry as a Professor of Physical Chemistry. While at IBM he won three awards for outstanding innovation and technical achievement. He has 118 publications and several patents.
The de Vries’ lab research combines a number of advanced techniques for a novel approach to the study of individual molecules. Short laser pulses are used to lift molecules from surfaces (laser desorption). Those molecules are subsequently photoionized by several more lasers. A major thrust is the laser spectroscopy of isolated biomolecular building blocks.
These include single DNA bases and amino acids, as well as their clusters with each other and with water molecules.
The cost for the event will be $25 per person, $15 for students.
Lunch will include Caesar Salad, Choice of Entrée (Beef Stroganoff, Roasted Chicken, Vegetarian Pasta Primavera) Soft Drinks and Chocolate Cheesecake.
Please return the form with your payment by Friday, May 9, 2008.