In this Issue:
The Baltimore-Washington section of the SAS has been in a period of transition for some time. A number of members of the section, have been working for some time to bring the section back to a more active status. I think that we, the section members should acknowledge the efforts of Jeb Taylor, Kristine Patterson, Mazen Hamad, Mike Epstein, and David Heaps, among others, who I am sure that I have missed. Some ten years ago when I moved to the Baltimore-Washington area, the B-W section had monthly meetings with numbers of attendees on the order of ten to thirty at each monthly meeting. From that time the attendance started to wane. The attacks of September 11th then made it much more difficult to obtain dinner speakers and people to attend the meetings. It is my hope as chair, that we are able to revive the section to at least the level of activity that we had back in 1998. You note that I said "We", not I. Neither I nor the officers of the section can make the section active, we all have to do it together. If you have suggestions to improve the attendance, to improve the program, to improve the section, the officers want to hear them. If you have a burning desire to be an officer, let me know. If you would like to make a presentation on a topic to the section, let us know. We would be happy to schedule a meeting for you to do so. If you have another activity that you think would be of interest to the section, let us know. Your local SAS section is your section. We want to see you active and interested in the section. We have many opportunities to increase the activity of the section. Among these is holding meetings in conjunction with other groups. I have had some communications with members of the local section of the Optical Society of America, there is some interest in cooperation with that group, which shares some similar optical and spectroscopic interests. If you have an interest in presenting a talk to the local section, perhaps a poster session, or a social (networking) event please let us know. I hope to see you at the Tour Speaker Presentation and/or hear from you at another time.
Respectfully,
John S. Canham, Ph.D.
Acting Chair 2008
Meeting Announcements
Wednesday, May 21, 2008- National SAS Tour Speaker
Dr.
Aaron Massari
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Vibrational Echo Spectroscopy of Polymeric Systems: In Search of the Wiggles
Abstract
Infrared spectroscopy is one of the most common methods of analyzing the chemical components of condensed phase systems. The technique is based on the absorption of IR light at unique frequencies by specific chemical functional groups. The lineshapes of absorption bands in linear IR spectroscopy (FTIR) are always inhomogeneously broadened for condensed phase samples, obscuring all information about to the fast structural motions that occur in these materials. Vibrational Echo Spectroscopy (VES) has the unique ability to recover this fast dynamical information from beneath the inhomogeneous lineshape to report on the true homogeneous lineshapes. In this talk, I will report the application of VES to the study of structural dynamics is conducting polymer systems in my laboratory at the U. of Minnesota. In this work we seek to understand the fast (picoseconds to femtoseconds) dynamics that are present in polymeric materials and to correlate molecular motions (wiggles) with charge mobilities. Dr. Massari is working in the area of measuring ultra fast dynamics of molecules using short pulsed lasers. The topic was chosen primarily because it is an area that most people would not have a lot of background in, and provide the opportunity for most people to learn something about this developing field.
Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Place: Eggspectation Restaurant,
923 Ellsworth Dr., Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Time: 6 pm Social Hour, 7 pm Dinner, 8 pm Seminar
Cost: $20 (Students $10)
Menu Options:
Reservations: Please make your reservations by NOON, Friday, April 21, 2007 by calling Mazen Hamad (301-796-0023) or Kris Patterson (301-504-0640). IF YOU RESPOND VIA E-MAIL, FOR THIS MEETING PLEASE SEND ELECTRONIC RSVP's TO: Mazen.Hamad@fda.hhs.gov or to Kris.patterson@ars.usda.gov
Directions:
Driving: From the Washington Beltway Exit 31B S. (Georgia Ave.)
go toward downtown Silver Spring (South), about 1.9 miles. When you past Colesville
Rd (Rt29), Ellsworth Drive will be the next Left. To park, go past Ellsworth
Drive and take the next left on Wayne Ave. (This is the second left and the
second light past Colesville Rd.). Park in the Wayne Avenue Garage. The garage
is in the first block and on the left. Eggspectation is in the shopping center
on Ellsworth Drive directly behind the Wayne Avenue garage. If you leave the
garage after 8pm you do not have to pay for parking at the pay machine when
you park. The garage exit gate is always opened after 8 PM.
Metro: When leaving the Silver Spring Metro Train Station at Colesville Rd and East West Highway go north on Colesville Rd for 3 blocks. Turn right on Georgia Ave. Turn left on to Ellsworth Drive (the first left). Eggspectation is in the shopping center on your right.
Your Baltimore-Washington Section Officers for 2007-2008:
Links to other local scientific organizations and conferences of interest:
Chemical
Society of Washington, CSW, Local Section of the American Chemical Society
Past Issues of the Baltimore-Washington Section Newsletter (including Historical Events in Chemistry for those months)
April/May Historical Events in Chemistry and Spectroscopy by Leopold May, Department of Chemistry, Catholic University
Go to
the National SAS Home Page