2008 ABSTRACTS of TALKS
The Virginia Blue Ridge Section uses tour speakers for some of its meetings and local experts for others. Abstracts of the talks for some of the meetings follow.
January | February | March | April | May |September |October | November
January 14, 2008 Meeting
Roanoke Valley Governor's School
Roanoke, VA
It has been more than thirty years since Stephen Brush published "Should the History of Science be Rated X?" Published in the March 1974 issue of Science, the paper has become an almost obligatory reference in any discussion of the role of history in chemical education. For the chemical profession, there is at least one issue related to Stephen Brush's question that has driven the profession to answer the question with a resounding, "No!" Central to the collective chemistry curriculum is the message of the economic and social importance of our profession. Perhaps the proper teaching of physics can be hung solely on the framework of the beauty of a celestial machine, but chemistry is not sundered so. Having grown tired of the academic debate over this issue, Otis and Jim turned to a more light hearted approach. Using chemical demonstrations and a selected list of six historical scenarios, they explore the issue of using history as part of the modern chemistry curriculum. What are the six points? Don't be surprised if one or two traditional favorites are missing from the list, having been substituted by seemingly trivial points. The presentation framework is really a vehicle to stimulate discussion about the chemistry curriculum. This presentation is designed for chemical educators and other chemists with an interest in chemical history and chemical education.
February 12, 2008 Meeting
Roanoke College
Salem, VA
We eat food for basic nourishment but also for the enjoyment that it gives us. One big part of that enjoyment is the flavor of the food. Many people will try a product once, but if it doesn't taste good, they will not try it again. Flavor chemisty is a fascinating area of research covering the analysis of what contributes to the flavor of the products that we eat to development of flavors that will work in a wide variety of products to the quest for new and unique flavors. As an example of what contributes to the flavor of a product, analytical chemists have identified over 800 volatile compounds in roasted coffee. The question is which of these are most improtant to creating a good coffee flavor. In terms of development, consumers want convenience and quality. Flavors tend to be unstable so there is a constant challenge to find ways to protect flavors as they go through heating, cooling, packaging and storage. Finally, there is always the search for that new or unique flavor that will be the next big blockbuster flavor--the next blue raspberry. An overview of flavor chemistry and current areas of researh will be presented.
March 25, 2008 Meeting
VMI
Lexington, VA
The presumed national goals of increasing energy independence and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions have stimulated the production of corn for fermentation to ethanol for use as a motor fuel, as well as the production of biologically derived fuels by processes including fermentation. (It will be suggested that these processes are mainly converting coal to a liquid auto fuel by an agricultural route instead of the conventional coal conversion processes such as those used by the Germans during World War II.)
These goals have also justified a national campaign (Crusade?) for fuel cell vehicles, operating on hydrogen 'which do not need gas or oil' and which is the 'most available element in the world', emitting nothing but 'pure' water vapor, fueled by the (non-existent) 'Hydrogen Superhighway of fuel cell filling stations' envisioned by California Governor Schwartzenegger.
These mythologies will be considered and perhaps even debunked somewhat. It will be suggested that the increasing (scarcity?) price of oil over the next decades will lead to fuels produced from coal and also cause an increase in the percentage of gasoline and diesel hybrids. Eventually the price will reach the levels where electricity from solar, wind (indirect solar), and clean-and-safe nuclear, delivered to battery powered autos by conventional transmission lines, will be the major source of our mobility.
Accelerator Driven Transmutation Technology for the profitable conversion of long-lived nuclear waste products, for electric power generation from thorium, and for production of tritium by a fail-safe process is now in development here and across the world. This technology has the potential to be a significant source of our energy in the coming decades, well before fusion processes become important.
April 17, 2008 Meeting
Radford University
Biopolymers are plentiful materials found in nature. The rising cost of petroleum has renewed interest in biopolymers as a potential alternative to petroleum-derived polymers. Here we show how existing biopolymers can be obtained cheaply and converted into useful polymeric materials. By distilling protein structure into a series of simple "building blocks" we will show how these building blocks can be arranged into structural materials. "Green" and "bio-inspired" chemistries will be shown to alter the building blocks to affect properties.
May 19, 2008 Meeting
Claytor Nature Center
Claytor Nature Study Center is an outdoor classroom and laboratory in Central Virginia dedicated to the study and appreciation of our natural environment. The Belk Observatory represents the next step in the educational development of the Center, which currently offers a wealth of educational and research programs and outreach opportunities in the areas of hydrology, forest ecology and management, physical geology, environmental chemistry, meteorology, and earth science to college and university students, secondary school students and educators, and community groups. More information can be found at
http://www.lynchburg.edu/claytor.xml.
September 18, 2008 Meeting
Hollins University
While folk medicines and natural product derivatives have, in many cases, proven a fruitful source of modern, medically accepted
therapeutics, they have also proven an abundant source for quackery. From Dr. Bateman's Pectoral Drops, recommended for "rheumatism, afflictions of the stone, gravel agues, the hysterics", to Munyon's Miracle Kidney Cure, which was claimed to "cure Bright's disease, all urinary problems, and pain in the back and groins from kidney diseases", the 19th century witnessed nearly unbelievable excesses in pharmaceutical advertising. Beginning in colonial America and extending to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act, a plethora of quack pharmaceutical manufacturers produced and aggressively
marketed home remedies of dubious origin and questionable chemical purity. Whether the ingredients were opium and ethanol or
simple milk sugar, no regulations governed their manufacture or sale. Dr. Heindel will trace the birth of America's patent medicine industry in the late 18th century and its heyday of unregulated commercial success in the 19th century. The role of chemistry in the production, analysis, and eventual legal regulation of patent medicines will also be treated.
October 15, 2008 Meeting
Ferrum College
Ferrum, VA
"TBA"
November 18, 2008 MeetingLynchburg College
Lynchburg, VA
