In this issue: Chemistry Major Alum to Speak Need a New Perspective on Your Summer Break?

Science Quotes by Kids Most books now say our sun is a star. But it still knows how to change back into a sun in the daytime. H20 is hot water, and CO2 is cold water. Humidity is the experience of looking for air and finding water. We keep track of the humidity in the air so we won't drown when we breathe. The body consists of three parts - the brainium, the borax and the abominable cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abominable cavity contains the bowels, of which there are five - a, e, i, o and u.

Internship Identification Workshop Wednesday, November 14 7:00 p.m. in SC 336

Guest Speaker: Keith Hare "SQ Standards Status and Direction" Wednesday, November 14, 11:00 a.m.

Chemistry Major Alum to Speak

Nicole Dickson, 2004 Chemistry Major alum, and a graduate student at OSU, will give a presentation on Monday, November 19 at 3:00 p.m. in SC 336 on "Solvation Dynamics Probed by Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy." Nicole will be discussing two projects on which she is currently working:

A.   Enhanced fluidity liquid chromatography (EFLC) has been used in the pharmaceutical industry to separate enantiomers for quite some time.  EFLC utilizes a chiral stationary phase and an achiral mobile phase.  Changing the achiral mobile phase reverses the retention times of the R and S enantiomers.  We have employed femtosecond time resolved transient absorption anisotropy to explore the interactions that occur between a chiral solute and an achiral solvent in order to provide insight into the processes involved in enantiomeric separations.

B.   Linear polyenes are often studied as models of biological molecules such as retinal.  Diphenylbutadiene (DPB) and diphenylcyclopentadiene (DPCP) are molecules often studied for their interesting excited state ordering and cis-trans isomerization.  We are interested in the differences the single phenyl to polyene versus double phenyl to polyene bonds have on the vibrational spectra of these molecules.  This talk will explore the ground work needed for obtaining such information.

Need a New Perspective on Your Summer Break?
Become a Summer Intern at the Lunar and Planetary Institute!

The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) invites undegraduates with at least 50 semester hours of credit to experience research in the planetary sciences. As a summer intern, you will work one-on-one with a scientist either at the LPI or NASA Johnson Space Center on a research project of current interest in planetary science. The Summer Intern Program allows participants to experience a real research environment, to learn from top-notch planetary scientists, and to preview careers in science.

The ten-week program runs from June 2, 2008 to August 8, 2008. You will receive a $3500.00 stipend plus housing and a $1000.00 travel expense reimbursement.

www.lpi.ursa.edu/lpiintern

Application Deadline is January 25, 2008. Application are only accepted using the electronic application form found at the LPI's Summer Intern Program website.

For more information contact:
Conniee Edwards
Phone: 281-486-2180
Email: internprogram@lpi.usra.edu