Applied Spectroscopy Online

Welcome! Wow, what a fantastic program the section put on last year! All of the meetings were very well attended and ranged in scope from a tour of the advanced photon source at Argon National Lab to a fascinating talk on the history of chemistry as told through stamps. If you missed the workshop on vibrational microspectroscopy, you missed one of the best training bargains in the area. For only $100, the workshop featured 8 speakers and attracted attendees from as far away as Cleveland, Ohio.

The board has lined up some excellent speakers for the 2009-2010 program season. We kick off the program with the internationally renowned forensic microscopist Skip Palenik on September 15. You won’t want to miss this speaker, and having heard Skip speak several times before, I assure you that even non-scientists will enjoy his talk.

We are already in the planning stages for our annual workshop in May 2010. This year the topic will be polymer characterization and will feature talks on both spectroscopic and non-spectroscopic techniques.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge all the hard work done by the board. We are an all-volunteer organization and I want to personally thank all of the board members for their dedication, hard work and professionalism in putting together our programs and supporting the scientific and spectroscopic community.

Finally, a few words on the benefits of attending the local section meetings: In these crazy economic ties, the definition of job security is the ability to find a new job when you need to. What better way is there to connect with the spectroscopic community, build your network and increase your knowledge base then by attending the local section meetings? You don’t need to attend the dinner portion of the meeting to attend the talk. If you are afraid you won’t know anyone, just ask for me when you get there, I’ll introduce you around.

I am honored to have the privilege to welcome you to the 2008-2009 Society for Applied Spectroscopy-Chicago Section, program year. The board has been busy this past summer planning a very interesting events line up. For those of you who regularly attend the meetings I am sure you will find the new schedule on par with the outstanding events of this past year. The ICP Seminar held last spring at the McCrone Institute was very well attended and the feedback we have received was all excellent. Many thanks go to Doug Shrader and Jerry Skolnik for planning that event and to McCrone for allowing us to host it at their beautiful campus in Westmont Illinois. The poster session at Northwestern University was another fine contribution. Thanks to our student liaison (Paula Allotta) for her help in planning that successful event. This year’s full day seminar will focus on microscopy which will surely be another interesting and successful event. The seminars we produce bring together recognized experts who provide an excellent and stimulating learning experience at a premier local venue and at a great value. We are also planning another student poster session and several outstanding presentations. In large part this continued service to the spectroscopic community depends on the efforts of our board volunteers, and importantly, the member’s attendance at the seminar and at our regular monthly meetings. Don’t miss out on these great local opportunities.

The SAS-Chicago Section is made up of industrial and academic scientists and engineers who share a common interest in using spectroscopic tools of investigation. Our members span student to professor and entry level to senior management. We strive to assemble programs which interest all our members. I encourage you to visit our website regularly to keep abreast of upcoming seminars and events.

Although most members are focused in certain technical specialties nearly all the topics we discuss have overlapping interests and relevance. The changes we all see in our careers require us to keep our professional skills relevant. Our monthly meetings are an uncomplicated and fun way of meeting that need. Our attendees are comprised of professionals representing a diverse profile of employers in the area along with representatives of instrument manufacturers and academia. This great networking potential comes as an afterthought since what really brings us together is our shared interest in spectroscopic science.

If you are new to our society, or to the idea of attending professional meetings, I strongly encourage you to attend one or more of our upcoming events. Personally, I was invited to a local SAS meeting by a colleague about twenty years ago and am very thankful to him for that introduction to this fine group of people. This society has greatly benefited my career and keeps rekindling that interest that drew me into science, not that long (a hum) ago. If you have not attended meetings for a while I invite you to visit us and reacquaint yourselves with our program. If you have been regularly attending I hope you find this upcoming year to be on par with the excellent years this great local section has regularly produced. Our meeting dues have been held to $25 for members for as long as I can remember. I must announce that we will be increasing the dinner charge to $30 to help us cover the costs of the meal and speaker expenses. It continues to be a great value and among the lowest of any professional association. Our expenses are kept low partly because of the great efforts from our board members and the partly from the support we receive when you declare your local affiliation when you pay your national SAS dues. If you wish to skip the dinner portions of our meetings there is no cost to attend.

Finally I would like to thank the board for taking time from their busy summer schedules to assemble another fine program year. We welcome Alyison Leigh to the local section board. She will be serving as our new Recording Secretary. I invite you all to take advantage of our efforts and participate in the stimulating and fun year of events the Society for Applied Spectroscopy-Chicago Section has put together for the Chicagoland scientific community.

Dear SAS Chicago Members, Section Patrons and Visiting Guests Of The Web Site,

The 2006-2007 year for the Chicago Section of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy was a very successful year as many of you can attest to that. The Workshop, the Monthly Meetings and the Student Night were very well attended. I hope that the upcoming year will be as successful. As always, we always need your participation and support to make the Society work.

As I assume over the chairmanship of the Chicago local section, I want to express my thanks to Fred Swiecinski, the Immediate Past Chair, and the rest of the Chicago Section Board members for their loyalty and work. Their efforts have resulted in the successes of the past year, and they are also responsible for getting the Section off to a strong start this year. Prior to the September monthly meeting, the first meeting for the upcoming year, a significant amount of work was required to get this year’s events of the ground. These individuals have donated their free time to attain the main goals of the Society which are to disseminate latest/newest in spectroscopy developments of interest to the spectroscopists in the greater Chicago area and also to provide a convenient venue where the spectroscopists can meet, exchange ideas, and create contacts to better their understanding and knowledge of the field of Spectroscopy. The Chicago Section of Society for Applied Spectroscopy holds monthly meetings from September through May. Most of the meetings are accompanied by a speaker discussing the most current topics in the field of spectroscopy. The speakers are selected and approved by the Governing Board of the Chicago Section. We as a Board are also open to suggestions from the members for any recommendations that would enhance the proliferation and effectiveness of the Society. Please e-mail your suggestions to any of the Board members of the Chicago Section. The Newsletter, sponsors, abstract, topic, dates and times of the monthly meetings and the Boar members e-mails can be found on the SAS Chicago section website. I would encourage you to visit the SAS-Chicago section web site on regular bases to obtain the latest information on the Society’s activities and news (also don’t forget to visit the sponsors websites). The Chicago Section web address is http://www.sas-chicago.org/default.htm (please copy and past the link your web browser). The website can also be reached through the SAS national web site link.

I cannot stress enough the need of the Society for new members and volunteers. I’m encouraging anyone that has some free time to volunteer and help with day to day activities of the Society. We are also always looking for new members and everyone is encouraged to bring or recommend new members to the Society. If anyone has any information on companies with Spectroscopy/Analytical chemistry departments or personnel to e-mail the information to either me or any board member so that we can directly contact them.

As I mentioned earlier the Society has started this year very favorable. We have the speaker list for all the meetings lined up for this year. Our monthly meeting schedule is now complete and can be viewed on the Chicago Section SAS website. We are also fortunate to have Kate Martin back on the Board. Our student liaison for this year is Paula Allotta from Northwester University. She will be instrumental in organizing the Student Poster Night scheduled for the March, 2008 meeting. The topic for this years workshop is “AA/ICP/Atomic spectroscopy”. Doug Shrader and Jerry Shkolnik will be the main organizers for the workshop which will be held in May of 2008.

The Chicago section bylaws have been revised and approved. They can be viewed on the Chicago section web site.

This year the Chicago Section of SAS is institute a forum called “Ask a Spectroscopist” which will be conducted during the social hour prior to each monthly meeting. Anyone with a spectroscopy related question should submit the question by e-mail to any board member of the Chicago Section. The questions will be reviewed by the appropriate experts in the field and will be addressed accordingly. The question can be any pressing spectroscopy related question, including a work related spectroscopy question, provided the wording of the question does not reveal proprietary company information. Once an answer is arrived at, the person who has submitted the question will be notified. This question and the corresponding answer (Q/A) will be displayed via PowerPoint software on the projection screen during the social hour prior to the meeting and be available for further discussion by anyone present. Up to five questions will be considered per meeting. The social hour PowerPoint presentation will also include the Section sponsors, current job postings of interest, and breaking news in spectroscopy of interest to the meeting attendees.

Once again, I thank you all for the past support and encourage you to participate in the Society’s future activities. For information, news and current development in spectroscopy, the Society is the next best source to none.

SAS Chicago Members and Section Patrons:

As we begin the 2006-2007 year of the Chicago Section of the Society of Applied Spectroscopy, I want to thank Mary Kaplar, the Past Chair, and the rest of the Board members. Their efforts have resulted in the successes of last year and are responsible for getting the Section off to a strong start this year. Over the summer, much has been accomplished. The following are some of the highlights.

* There are three new Board members: John Bondarowicz of S&C Electric, Paul Haschke of Smurfit-Stone and Phil McKittrick of Nalco.

* The 2007 Workshop will be on “Current Topics in Spectroscopy”. An internet survey has been created to get your input to select the topics of greatest interest. (www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=673062426588)

* The Section has almost 50 years of documentation. Members of the Board will review these documents and hope to create an archive of the History of the Chicago SAS Section.

* Revised Section Bylaws will be presented to the Section membership January 2007.

* The 2006-2007 program is nearly finalized, however, there is still much the Board wishes to accomplish. Contact me to learn more.

Phil McKittrick, a past Board member, recently returned to the Chicago area and was elected Section Secretary at the April meeting. Paul Haschke and John Bondarowicz, both regular attendees of the Section meetings joined the Board over the summer. As Chair of the Board for this year, I appreciate their efforts and the contributions they have already made to the Section. At the April meeting, Slav Stepanovich was elected Chair-Elect and our Student Liaison for the year will be Nilam Shah from Northwestern University. Nilam presented the winning poster at the February “Student’s Night” meeting. The rest of the hardworking Section Board are listed on our website (www.sas-chicago.org).

The 2006-2007 year program is nearly complete and is listed below. Your Board has identified and scheduled some very talented researchers to present some diverse subjects at our meetings. For Student Night, we are planning to put out a call for spectroscopy papers from students of local universities. The Board will select the three papers that we feel will be of greatest interest to the membership. The authors of these papers will be invited to present their papers at the February meeting and will be given a membership to the SAS as well as an award their presentation.

Your assistance is needed to select the subjects for the “Current Topics in Spectroscopy” workshop planned for May. The Board has come up with thirteen subjects that they feel will interest the membership. The number is too large for a one-day workshop, so it is up to you to let us know which topics interest you the most. The two-questions survey can be taken by clicking on the following link. Feel free to forward the link to anyone that may be interested in the workshop. As always, the workshop and our monthly meetings are not restricted to SAS members, but open to all.

www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=673062426588

2006-2007 SAS Chicago Program Schedule

Date	Speaker	Topic
Tues., Sept. 12, 2006	Mark SubbaRao, Adler Planetarium	Spectroscopy to Map the Universe
Tues., Oct. 10, 2006	Rich Bormett, Renishaw	Raman/AFM
Tues., Nov. 14, 2006	Anthony Serianni, Notre Dame Univ.	NMR - Carbohydrates
Tues., Dec 12, 2006	Allan LaPointe, Shedd Aquarium	Water Chemistry for Aquatic Life
Tues. Jan. 9, 2007	Rina Dukor, BioTools	CD/FT-IR Protein Secondary Structure
Tues. Feb 13, 2007		Student Night
Mon. Mar. 12, 2007	J. Gardea-Torresdey, U. Texas - El Paso	Heavy Metal Remediation
April 2007		SAS National Tour Speaker
May 2007	Workshop	Currents Topics in Spectroscopy

It has been a few years since the Section Bylaws have been revised. Last year, lead by David Lankin, the bylaws were revised by the Board. A few additional changes are being considered. The Board plans to present the revised bylaws to the membership in January.

The Section has boxes full of documents from the near fifty years of the Section’s existence. The Board is planning to organize these documents, scan ones of historical interest and prepare a history of the Chicago Section. For anyone interested in taking a more active role in Chicago Section of the Society of Applied Spectroscopy and providing assistance and input, for not only this project, but Student Night, the Workshop or other activities, please contact me.

I look forward to seeing you at a SAS meeting soon.

Fred Swiecinski
SAS Chicago Section Chair
fswiecinski@nalco.com