Chemistry & Biochemistry Guest Lecture Series

Speakers will present every Thursday from January 10 to April 18

(Photo by Justin Jeffery)

All are welcome to join the students, staff and faculty of the Andrews University Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry as guest speakers are hosted in the 2019 Winter-Spring Dwain L. Ford Lecture Series. The series started on Thursday, Jan. 10, and continues every Thursday at 4:30 p.m. EST until Thursday, April 18, 2019. The Dwain L. Ford Lecture Series is co-sponsored by the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Office of Research & Creative Scholarship and Berrien County RESA Math & Science Center.

The 13 speakers come from across the United States and England. Their topics are broad and include lectures on molecular machines, new advanced 21st-century materials, cancer, the chemistry of the atmosphere, harvesting water from the air, how chemistry began, using microbes to make useful chemicals, food safety and more.

Among the scheduled speakers is Nobel Prize winning chemist, Fraser Stoddart; Pulitzer-Prize-winning American science journalist, columnist and author of six books, including “The Poison Squad” (2018) and “The Poisoner’s Handbook” (2010), Deborah Blum; and bestselling author of “The Genesis of Science,” James Hannam.

The series began with presentations by two PhD students from Virginia Tech’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics on “Nature-Inspired Water Harvesting Techniques.” Then on Thursday, Jan. 17, a lecture on “Analytical Techniques for Investigating Rape” was presented via online livestream by Candice Bridge, professor from the University of Central Florida and the National Center for Forensic Science. She was recently awarded a large grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to develop new forensic science techniques to aid in sexual assault investigations.

On Thursday, Jan. 24, Gege Li, who recently completed a science journalism internship at Chemistry World magazine, will talk about her experience, how she got into science communication and about some of the 23 articles she wrote. Her articles can be found at chemistryworld.com/gege-li/5674.bio.

You are invited to view the entire list of speakers and add this to your schedule for 4:30 p.m. every Thursday. Weekly reminders, with more detailed information about the speaker and their subject, will be posted on the Facebook pages of the Andrews University Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Andrews STEM, Berrien RESA, Building Excellence in Science and Technology, Inspire Early and the Benton Spirit Community Newspaper.

To view the live lectures online, visit andrews.zoom.us/j/796347035 each scheduled Thursday at 4:30 p.m. EST.

For local persons wishing to attend in person, please contact Desmond Murray, associate professor of chemistry, at murrayd@andrews.edu or at 269-757-1641 for detailed directions to the lecture room.

All are welcome to join every scheduled Thursday in person or online to be part of this semester’s exciting lineup of speakers and topics.