International Year of Chemistry

Winners of the ChemQuest 2011

admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:51:44 +0000

ChemQuest is an annual chemistry quiz hosted by Waikato University’s Department of Chemisty, which gives Year 12 chemistry students the chance to put their chemistry knowledge to the test in a pop quiz-style challenge. The quiz included demonstrations featuring liquid nitrogen, exploding hydrogen balloons, chemical reactions that produce light and many more crowd pleasing experiments.

Find out more about the event and checkout this year’s winners at The University of Waikato’s website.

Knit the Periodic Table

melissa — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 21:14:07 +0000

This fun New Zealand project to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry is nearing completion with the first stitch-up held last weekend in Lower Hutt. See the photos on the project’s Facebook page. When completed the table will span nearly three and a half metres in width. It will first be displayed at the 2011 New Zealand Institute of Chemistry conference, at Victoria University of Wellington, 27 November – 1 December.

‘Atmospheric Chemistry’ – Professor Martin Manning – Wellington

melissa — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:13:00 +0000

How far should we push growing demands on atmospheric chemistry?

Climate change science has to understand how the CO2 produced by fossil fuels gets removed from the atmosphere and, because much of it does not, what an increasing greenhouse effect can mean for our climate system. This has already struck some surprises such as finding that CO2 does not just get dissolved into the oceans, and that warming is now causing a much faster loss of ice sheets than we expected ten years ago. But our climate, and many other aspects of our global environment, are also critically dependent on atmospheric chemistry, and that has already shown a major surprise called the Antarctic Ozone Hole. Furthermore, atmospheric oxidation is doing more to compensate for the increasing greenhouse effect than any other process and it is now in a state completely different to anything that has happened in the past. Ironically, by stopping the production of CFCs which damage the ozone layer, we have shifted to using gases that increase the need for oxidation in the lower atmosphere, even though there are still limits to our understanding of that. This talk aims to show why we need to know much more about the stability of atmospheric oxidation processes, and whether or not there are some constraints on how far we should push it.

About the Speaker: Martin Manning has been involved with climate change science for the past thirty years, after gaining his PhD degree from McMaster University in Canada in theoretical nuclear physics. At DSIR and then NIWA he led research programs covering atmospheric chemistry and the carbon cycle and represented NZ on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This led to his spending five years in Colorado managing the fourth IPCC assessment of the physical science of climate change prior to that organization being awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He returned to NZ to become Director of Victoria University’s Climate Change Research Institute in early 2008 with responsibility for the development of interdisciplinary climate change research. He gained national honours in 2008 being made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Date: Wednesday 12 October 2011

Time: 5:30 for 6:00 pm AGM and lecture

Venue: GBLT2, Government Buildings, Stout Street, Victoria University of Wellington, Pipitea Campus

ChemQuest – Waikato

melissa — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:50:59 +0000

University of Waikato, Hamilton Every year since 1997 the Department of Chemistry has given the opportunity for students studying chemistry at NCEA level 2 to compete for the ChemQuest™ trophy and other prizes. Secondary Schools in the University of Waikato catchment area (Waikato, Bay of Plenty, King Country) are invited to send teams of three to the University for an entertaining evening. This competition requires familiarity with Year 12 Chemistry as well as good general knowledge.

The Competition

Each year the categories vary. There are usually four question rounds, which are broken up by the Teachers’ Turn (questions for teachers) and sometimes spot prize questions.

To add a little chaos into the situation, teams are given a jeopardy card which they may use at the beginning of one round. For that round only the jeopardy card doubles their points.

More information can be found at the University of Waikato website

Nobel Laureate Professor Robert H. Grubbs – Christchurch

melissa — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:45:56 +0000

Science/chemistry teachers, NZIC members and others interested in chemistry are invited to attend a series of four extended lectures to be given by Bob Grubbs (at the University of Canterbury as a visiting Erskine Fellow). Bob has been a key figure in the development of metathesis chemistry, for which he shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2005. Metathesis catalysis allow alkenes to be isomerised and inter-converted. The process can be applied in a huge range of settings, from industry through to total synthesis of complex natural products.

Many staff and research students will also attend and there will be an opportunity for all to mingle during the mid-lecture break.

Dates: Wednesdays, 21 and 28 September and 5 and 12 October

Time:4.00pm

Venue:C3 for lectures held on 21 and 28 October

C1 for lecture held on 12 October

More information about the lectures can be found at the University of Canterbury Chemistry website.

‘The Wonderful World of Enzymes’ Emily Parker – Auckland

melissa — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:29:19 +0000

Marie Curie Lecture Series

Enzymes are nature’s catalysts – they are responsible for making the reactions that support life. Enzymes are proteins, which are complex, large macromolecules, and it has taken recent developments in technology and techniques to begin to unlock the secrets of how they operate.

This lecture will examine how these remarkable biological molecules work. This knowledge can be used to design new enzymes and to find new strategies to selectively target pathogenic micro-organisms.

Auckland

“The Wonderful World of Enzymes – insights into drug design, catalysis and molecular evolution”, by Associate Professor Emily Parker

Wed 9 Nov, 6.30pm

The Auditorium, Auckland Museum, The Domain, Parnell

Auckland

About Emily Parker

Emily Parker is an Associate Professor in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Canterbury where she leads a research team that uses chemical and biochemical techniques to explore the evolution and molecular details of enzymic catalysis.

Emily completed her undergraduate training in chemistry at the University of Canterbury, and her PhD at the University of Cambridge, UK. She returned to New Zealand in 1998 to take up a lectureship at Massey University. In 2005 she was awarded the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry Easterfield medal. In 2006 Emily moved to the University of Canterbury to take up a position in the Chemistry Department. She was awarded the Applied Biosystems Award by the New Zealand Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2008, and in 2010 Emily received a National Teaching Award for Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching. Emily is a principal investigator of the Biomolecular Interaction Centre, and serves on the board of directors of Landcare Research.

‘The Light Fantastic’ Cather Simpson – Christchurch

melissa — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:24:25 +0000

Marie Curie Lecture Series

Light is essentially a wave that carries energy. Though scientists have known this for hundreds of years, we are still striving to meet the challenge of converting that energy into a form that we can readily use – electrical energy, mechanical motion, heat and even to treat cancer.

This lecture, given one year after the 50th anniversary of the invention of the laser, will explore the use of light to better our lives. In particular, it will focus upon the ‘holy grail’ of harnessing the sun to generate electricity. Research by Dr. Simpson and her collaborators in the Photon Factory at the University of Auckland is making advances at both the very basic and very high-tech applied ends of this effort. Ultrashort pulsed lasers probe the chemical physics of how substances ‘decide’ what to do with the light energy they absorb. The same laser pulses also enable the high value manufacturing advances needed to make solar energy harvesting a technological (and economical) reality.

Christchurch

“The Light Fantastic” by Dr Cather Simpson

7.30pm, Tues 8 November

Room 108, Law Building, University of Canterbury

Christchurch

About Cather Simpson

In 2007, Cather Simpson joined The University of Auckland to establish and direct a new multi-user ultrafast laser spectroscopy and microfabrication facility, the Photon Factory. Her appointment is held jointly in Chemistry and Physics. In addition to her research in chemical physics, she lectures in the departments of Chemistry, Physics, and English.

Cather earned a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Virginia, then a Ph.D. in Medical Sciences at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine as a Howard Hughes Predoctoral Fellow. During her Ph.D. studies, she became increasingly interested in physics, chemistry and maths, and by the time she graduated, she had switched from studying receptor recycling in immune responses to exploring the fundamental interactions of light with molecules. After a Department of Energy Postdoctoral Fellowship at Sandia National Labs, she joined the academic staff in the Chemistry Department at Case Western Reserve University to pursue research in ultrafast (femtosecond) phenomena in the condensed phase. There, she earned tenure and promotion to Associate Professor and became dedicated to promoting innovation in undergraduate teaching, women in science, ethics in education and research, and in growing postgraduate numbers in her multi-disciplinary field.

‘From the Bottom Up’ Alison Downard – Napier

melissa — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:18:19 +0000

Marie Curie Lecture Series

Take electrochemistry, materials chemistry and surface chemistry, and mix in some nanotechnology and biology and the possibilities are endless. In electrochemistry, electrical energy is used to force oxidation and reduction (redox) reactions to occur at electrodes. The materials and surfaces of electrodes are the starting point and with the techniques of nanotechnology, we can get right down to the surface to see what is happening and maybe even take control.

The lecture will showcase some of the ways we make electrodes, enzymes and bugs work together for us, how we can use carbon nanotubes to give us new electrical devices and how electrochemistry may play a role in a future world of nanoscale devices.

Napier

“From the Bottom Up” by Professor Alison Downard

7.30pm, Wed 26 October

Exhibition Hall, Napier War Memorial Conference Centre

48 Marine Parade, Napier

About Alison Downard

Professor Downard obtained her BSc(Hons) and PhD degrees at the University of Otago, beginning her research career in electrochemistry and surface chemistry. Following her PhD, Alison did a year’s postdoctoral research on conducting polymers at the University of Southampton and then took up a two-year postdoctoral position at UNC-Chapel Hill, examining the construction and function of artificial photosynthetic systems. Since joining the staff at the University of Canterbury, Alison has worked in several areas of electrochemistry, surface chemistry and most recently, nanotechnology. She has a particular interest in surface films which can be only a few nanometers thick (extremely thin!) but have dramatic effects on surface properties. Alison is a Principal Investigator with the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology and leader of the Institute’s Molecular Materials theme. She is currently the chair-elect of the Analytical Electrochemistry Division of the International Society of Electrochemistry.

Cafe Scientifique – Lower Hutt

admin — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 20:53:29 +0000

As 2011 is the International Year of Chemistry the topic is a must have in this year’s Café Scientifique series. Dr Rob Keyzers, chemistry lecturer at the Victoria University School of Chemical and Physical Sciences will be here to discuss the amazing world of chemistry.

Rob’s current research is in new medicinal lead discovery, trying to find new potential pharmaceuticals from marine invertebrates. He likens this to finding the active principle in Chinese Herbal Medicines but from marine sources.

His other area of interest is grape and wine chemistry, and in particular trying to link the chemicals found in grapes and the final flavour of wine post-fermentation.

The world of chemistry is enormous, and being the international year of chemistry, the questions directed to Rob will no doubt be flowing thick and fast.

Rob grew up in Upper Hutt and retains strong ties with the valley. Rob undertook all his under-grad and post-grad studies at VUW before heading overseas to take up several research positions. The first were in South Africa and Canada, each for two years, in the area of marine invertebrate-based drug discovery. This was followed by 18 months at CSIRO in Adelaide, Australia, where he was introduced to grape and wine chemistry. He returned to VUW to take up his current role as lecturer in mid-2009.

Venue: Wholly Bagels, Myrtle Street, Lower Hutt

Supported by: GNS Science, Royal Society of New Zealand Wellington Branch, Wholly Bagels and Hutt City Council

Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Date: Thursday, August 25, 2011

http://www.huttvalleynz.com/Events/Cafe-Scientifique/

A Soupçon of Science: Creativity at the Interface of Chemistry and Cuisine- Christchurch

melissa — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:04:02 +0000

This is a free public lecture which explores the of the world of cooking from a molecular perspective. Associate Professor Kent Kirshenbaum (New York University) combines science, food and showmanship to both educate and entertain. A master in the art of doing things with food (such as stretching ice cream and using industrial processes to turn cheese into airy delights, Kent is a co-founder of the Experimental Cuisine Collective and is associated with the website Cooking for Geeks.

5.30pm, Thursday,18 August

D lecture theatre, Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology

Madras St

Christchurch

Click here to book for tickets