March Dinner Meeting

Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Café Roma Restaurant,
1020 Railroad Avenue, San Luis Obispo

with ACS Tour Speaker

Dr. Robert P. Bates

Presenting

“What You Always Wanted to Know About Chemicals in Food but Were Afraid to Eat”

Abstract can be found here

Biography for Dr. Bates

The cost for the event will be $25 per person, $15 for students.

6:00-6:30 pm will be check-in and cocktail hour (drinks will be available at a cash bar.)

Dinner includes choice of entrée Arista di Maiale (roasted pork loin), Salmone in crosta (salmon in puff pastry),Vegetarian Lasagna with artichokes insalata mista, asparagus with parmesan cheese, and canoli Siciliani.

Please return the form found at the link with your check by Friday ,February 29,2008.

Directions to Cafè Roma Restaurant
1020 Railroad Avenue
San Luis Obispo

Flyer for Event as pdf

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.

Flyer can be found here (pdf)

Your are Invited to – A Family Picnic

11 AM – 4 PM , Sunday, June 22, Goleta Beach

Beach activities:Fun in the sun and Liquid nitrogen ice cream for the kids!

Lunch will include:Cheese enchiladas Pork chili verde Rice, beans, and tortillas Chips and salsa and soft drinks.

$10 per individual
$25 per family (2 adults per family maximum please)

 Please return the form with your payment by Friday, June 13^th, 2008.

The Fall Luncheon and Recognition of 50-Year Members

Saturday, October 4, 2008
Elephant Bar Restaurant
521 Firestone Road, Goleta

(directions)

The Featured Speaker will be

Prof. Steven K. Buratto
Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of California,Santa Barbara

Speaking on

Reduction of Pt Loading in PEM Fuel Cells with Electrochemical Pulse Deposition through Nafion

Abstract

Proton exchange membranes such as Nafion are used as electrolytes in methanol and hydrogen fuel cells. Proton transport from the anode to the cathode takes place through the hydrophilic channels. To participate in electricity production, these channels must satisfy two conditions: they must provide a continuous pathway from the anode to the cathode, and they must have a catalyst at both ends. Since the cost of Pt and Pt/Ru catalysts is high,it would be beneficial to place the catalyst only near channels that traverse the membrane. We have shown that this can be done by depositing Pt particles electrochemically through the Nafion membrane. Our fuel cells produced via electrodeposition through the Nafion membrane achieve nearly 67% of the performance of the commercial cell with only 1.58 m g/cm² Pt; a reduction in Pt loading of more than a 100-fold. I will discuss our work to improve the performance of devices fabricated using electrochemical pulse deposition.

Full Abstract can be found here.

Dr. Buratto obtained his B.S. from the University of Puget Sound and his Ph.D. in 1992 from CalTech. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the AT&T bell Laboratories for two years before joining the UCSB faculty in 1994. Since coming to UCSB, Dr. Buratto has received a Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award as well as a NSF Early Career Development Award.

The cost for the event will be $25 per person, $15 for students.

Members of more than 50 years in ACS are invited to attend at a discounted rate of $15 per person.

A lunch buffet will be served including Tri-Tip, BBQ Chicken, and Mediterranean Pasta (Vegetarian).

Please return the form with your payment by Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Flyer can be seen by following this link

National Chemistry Week

Paseo Nuevo Mall
October 18, 2008

Link to more pictures

Students and faculty from UCSB and Westmont College came again to the mall to tell people, especially little children about chemistry, at the beginning of National Chemistry Week. Here is the group:

November Dinner Meeting RESCHEDULED

6 pm. Wednesday, November 19, 2008

UCSB Chemsitry Dept.
Physical Sciences North Rm 4606
Due to the Tea Fire, this will be a free lecture.

ACS Tour Speaker

Sr. Mary Virginia Orna
Professor of Chemistry College of New Rochelle

Speaking on

 Analytical Chemistry Contributions to Art and Art History

 Abstract

The methods of modern chemistry can be used as probes to examine the provenance and to aid in the conservation of art objects and artifacts. In addition, these methods can help enormously in clarifying the techniques by which these objects were made, in determining their content, and in dating their origins. A variety of methods will be illustrated in the examination of such materials as medieval stained glass, Middle Eastern obsidian and pottery, and 20th century art forgeries. Although such methods can give great insight into the objects in question, there are limits to such technology; these limitations will also be discussed.

Biography

Sister Mary Virginia Orna, O.S.U. (Order of Saint Ursula) is professor of chemistry at the College of New Rochelle and Editor-at-Large, Chemical Heritage magazine. She has lectured and published widely in the areasof color chemistry and archaeological chemistry. She is active in several divisions of the American Chemical Society, having served as chair of the Historyand Chemical Education Divisions. She is a recipient of the following major awards: the 1984 CMA Catalyst Award for excellence in college chemistry teaching, the 1989 New York State Professor of the Year and National Gold Medalist, the 1989 Merck Innovation Award, the 1996 ACS Visiting Scientist Award, the 1996 James Flack Norris Award, the 1999 ACS George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education, and the 2001 New England Association of Chemistry Teachers J. A. Timm Award for excellence in chemistry teaching. She is presently president of ChemSource,Inc., a major effort in chemistry teacher preparation and enhancement funded by the National Science Foundation.
She was a Fulbright Fellow in Israel (1994-95), where she lectured at The Hebrew University, The Weizmann Institute of Science, and Shenkar College of Textile Technology.

The cost for the event will be $20 per person, $10 for students.

Payments recieved for this dinner will be returned, due to the cancellation.

Please return the form with your payment by Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Flyer can be seen by following this link

The Fall Luncheon and Recognition of 50-Year Members

The Featured Speaker was

Professor Herbert Waite

Dept. of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology

Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry and The Marine Science Institute
University of California, Santa Barbara

Speaking on

Insights from Marine Organisms for Emerging Technologies

12 Noon Saturday, November 3, 2007
Firestone-Walker’s Taproom Restaurant
620 McMurray Road, Buellton, CA

Flyer pdf file

The Sandra Lamb award for service to the section was given to Peter and Raylene Coad the first Chairs of our section

Peter and Raylene with Sandra Lamb Sanford

Vase

The Fall Luncheon and Recognition of

50-Year Members

The Featured Speaker will be

Dr. Kevin W. Plaxco

Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

and the Program in Bio-Molecular Science and Engineering,

UniversityofCalifornia,Santa Barbara

Speaking on

Better Living Through Biosensors

12 Noon

Saturday, October 1, 2005

Firestone-Walker’s Taproom Restaurant

620 McMurray Road, Buellton, CA

The cost for the event will be $20 per person, $10 for students.

Members of more than 50 years in ACS are invited to attend at a discounted rate of $10 per person

See Flier in pdf format here

SLO Childrens Day 2007

A group of eight Cuesta College students, all enrolled in General Chemistry courses and members of a new Science and Math Club, helped over 150 children make polymers with household ingredients at Children’s Day in the Plaza in San Luis Obispo on April 14. This community event was sponsored by the San Luis Obispo Child Abuse Prevention Council and aims to provide a host of interactive exhibits and activities for children.

Before the event, the Cuesta students met for a barbeque dinner and tried several variations of glue-based polymers, finally deciding on a cornstarch slime, gluep with glue and borax, and a third mixture that could be formed into a bouncy ball. The children that came to our booth had a great time getting sticky and feeling the various textures, and even the adults were intrigued by the dilatant properties of the cornstarch and water mixture. The visitors were allowed to take samples of all three polymers home.

This event was also a great experience for the students, as designing, preparing and explaining a science activity for non-scientists was challenging and rewarding. The students were having as much fun playing with the polymers as the kids they were helping! The Science and Math Clubat Cuesta College and Greg Baxley thank CALPSACS for their sponsorship of this activity.