Even for the purists among us the new millennium has finally begun. As the new chair of the section I would like to apologize in advance for any rough waters we might encounter under my stewardship, but since part of our memory has moved on to bigger and better things (Don, our past chair, has taken a job in industry) we will have to do without his knowledge. Nevertheless, we wish him success and luck in his new endeavors. Our spring events calendar is action-packed - here is a list of upcoming events:

1. Wednesday, February 28: ACS speaker Glenn Roy of Pepsi Cola
2. Thursday, March 8: ACS speaker Lauren Heine of Zero Waste Alliance
3. Friday, March 9: 1st Annual Chemistry Day - Delta Chapter of Alpha Chi Sigma
4. Saturday, March 17: Career Day - Warren Bush
5. Friday, March 30: Deadline John Baumann Travel Award
6. Thursday, April 12: ACS speaker Donald Sawyer
7. Friday, April 20: Thomas lecture by Dr. Bertozzi of UC Berkley
8. You may notice that we have not decided yet on the social meeting, but stay tuned it will show up in the next newsletter.

Cheers,

Ingolf
 
 

The first meeting of the local section will be Wednesday, February 28 at 7:30 in Room 103 Schlundt. The speaker will be Dr. Glenn Roy from Pepsi Cola. The title of the talk is "In Vitro Taste Sensors: The Technology and Applications".

In Vitro Taste Sensors: The Technology and Applications

The flavor, aroma, and texture of foods and beverages drive consumer reference and purchase intent. Generally, in product development stages, products are tested in sensory panels to determine which variant of a chosen set are the preferred and the ideal candidate for further consumer testing leading to commercialization. So sensory panels are the industry's standard in product development and they give the indication of what specific attributes are important to the taste, aroma and texture of a product. Sensory tasting panels are fatiguing and require commitment on the part of panelists to attend and be consistent in their evaluation of blinded samples. In the absence of a willing, precise and trained human taste panel, as well as the need for a high through-put screening tool capable of real time assessment of product quality, the need for in vitro taste sensors correlated to human sensory perception is growing. Consistent product quality in production assures the consumer's receipt and consumption of what was intended to be the product desired. In the industrial and academic limelight, this technology is affectionately called an electronic tongue. This presentation will review the literature on the Technology of Electronic Tongue Sensing Devices (Artificial Membranes: lipid/PVC/DOPP, phospholipid LB films; Natural Sensors: Enzyme LB Films; adzuki bean roots; Light Addressing Potentiometers (LAP); Surface Photovoltage; Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR); QSFET; Water/Oil/Water Liquid Membrane; Agar-Gel Salt Bridge; and Optical Fibers). We will examine the measures and interpretations of device effects on the basic tastes of sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami. Illustrations will help us discuss the Principal Component Analyses for Sensory Applications of Food and Beverage QC in beer, coffee, carbonated soft drinks, tomato juice, sake (amino acids), milk; soy sauce, red wine, apple wine, consome, vinegars, juices, miso, soybean, mineral water, boiled rice, tea, wort and beer, analgesics, drugs, sweeteners, and sesame oil.

Because of the short time frame, the information on the March meeting will also be included. The meeting will be Thursday, March 8 at 7:30 in Room 103 Schlundt Hall. The speaker will be Dr. Lauren Heine from Zero Waste Alliance. Her talk will be "Green Chemistry: Challenges and Opportunities in the Twenty-first Century".

Green Chemistry: Challenges and Opportunities in the Twenty-first Century

Green Chemistry or environmentally benign chemical syntheses and processing will provide chemists in the 21^st Century a unique and golden opportunity to play a central role in making sustainable development a reality. Sustainability, the concept where one generation in society moves forward in a manner that leaves neither the economy nor the environment any worse off - and perhaps even improves both - for succeeding generations, than when it inherited the global commons. A tall and daunting order by any measure or stretch of the imagination. Industrial ecology or the science of sustainability provides the frame-work within which pollution prevention, design for the environment, and green chemistry will operate. For some, green chemistry is central to

implementing this systems approach for development based on the ecological model from the natural world. The recent articulation of the 7 dimensions of eco-efficiency by Livio DeSimone, CEO - 3M and Frank Popoff, Dow Chemical Co., as co-chairs of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, lay out the extent of the challenge to the next generation of chemists and engineers. The 7 dimensions of reducing material and energy intensity of goods and services, reducing toxic dispersion, enhancing material recyclability, maximizing sustainable use of renewable resources, extending product durability, and increasing the service intensity of goods and services, each call for input from chemists and chemical engineers, if they are to be attained at all, much less within the next two generations. This presentation will briefly describe "The Twelve Principals of Green Chemistry" and illustrate them with real-world examples. It will lay out opportunities for chemists to participate in the highly important global dialogue underway on sustainability, including activities of the American Chemical Society's Committee on Environmental Improvement, the organization of Economic and Cooperative Development (OECD), and IUPAC's CHEMical Research Applied to World Needs (CHEMRAWN). It will identify information distribution mechanisms (WWW sites and e-mail list servers), describe collaborative university-industry-government research activities, seek input on a new ACS-EPA Green Chemistry education materials development project, and review the extensive list of conferences, symposia, and workshops scheduled in the USA, Europe, and Asia. All of which provide chemists the venues to participate in this highly charged, energetic, and important area of chemistry.
 
 

The Delta Chapter of Alpha Chi Sigma has taken a wonderful initiative by planning and sponsoring the 1^st Annual Chemistry Day. Our section is co-sponsoring the event and we would like to express our gratitude to Allison Hollenbeck and Kimberly Cook, and all those who are helping to make it a successful event, for their dedication and commitment to further the field of chemistry by preparing an exciting event for high school students in the local community.

The local section will be hosting a workshop on "Managing an Effective Job Search" and individual sessions for resume reviews. This is planned for March 17, 2001. If you are interested, please contact Dr. Robert Williams, the Local Section Careers program Coordinator (573-681-5131; williamr@lincolnu.edu).

The application deadline for the John Bauman Travel Award has been extended to Friday March 30, 2001. Information is available on the local section web page.

http://www.chem.missouri.edu/acslocal/bauman.html