2026 Fall Luncheon: Creating and Defending a Successful Company

Deployment of Plant-based Crop-preserving Polymers: Being science-based in a culture of disinformation

CALPACS members and the general community are cordially invited to our Fall Luncheon. This year, we will host James Rogers of Apeel for a lecture on a plant-based, edible, produce-protecting polymers. James will detail the discovery, development, and commercialization into the agricultural business. The event will include appetizers and a three course lunch. Attendees can also choose to stay for the annual open session of the CALPACS Executive Committee.

Date & Time: Saturday, October 3, 2024 at 11:30 – 2:00 PM
Place: Firestone Walker Barrelworks, 620 McMurray Rd, Buellton, CA 93427 (Google Maps).
Cost: $25/$10 for students 

Please click here to make your reservation.

Note: Seating is limited. Please scan the QR code to RSVP, or do so through our web site, https://lospadresacs.org

James Rogers is preoccupied with tipping civilization into an era that will allow us to regard the ‘plastic age’ the same way we regard the ‘stone age’. After receiving his PhD from UCSB in Materials, James founded Apeel with two graduate school friends. Apeel uses materials found in nature to create an invisible ‘peel’ on the outside of fruits  and vegetables that allows them to live 2-3x longer in storage. James’ time building Apeel led him to think of technology as a catalyst for system change. He is obsessed with expanding the concept of community beyond the number of people that one can maintain in one’s mental ledger.

James Rogers, Ph.D, Founder of Apeel Sciences 

Richard C. Tolman Award Luncheon

We are pleased to celebrate Professor Alison Butler from the University of California, Santa Barbara as the recipient of the 2022 Richard C. Tolman Award. The luncheon will be Saturday, August 5 from 11:00-2:30 PM at the UCSB Faculty Club. The event is sponsored with the California Los Padres Section of the American Chemical Society. 

A buffet lunch will be served, followed by a lecture from Dr. Butler. 

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How Liquid Ammonia Transitions to Metal

In June of this year, Professor Stephen Bradforth of USC and his collaborators made the cover of Science magazine with their stunning results on how liquid ammonia transforms into a liquid metal as more alkali metals are dissolved into it. We are thrilled to have Professor Bradforth speak to our section about these exciting results this coming Sunday, November 8, 2020. Due to the pandemic, this lecture will be conducted over Zoom, and the details are below. Please join us for an exceptional talk on truly outstanding results. The abstract of the talk appears below.

SpeakerProfessor Stephen Bradforth
Title: Probing the transition from solution electrolyte to liquid metal
Date: Sunday November 6, 2020 
Time: 3:00 PM
Zoom Location: Please us the “Contact” link above to request the Zoom link for this lecture.
Cost: Free

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