In this Issue:
A note from John S. Canham, the Chairman of the Baltimore-Washington section of the Society for Applied Spectrroscopy.
Reflecting back to the few meetings that I went to of the Dayton Section of
the Society for Applied Spectroscopy, this small section would field 50 to 100
members at its monthly meetings. As I stop and look back at the attendance at
the Baltimore-Washington Section of the SAS over the past three years that I
have been in the area, I wonder why the attendance is so low. It could be that
it was a weeknight in Dayton and there wasn't anything better to do. It could
be an effect of the various downsizing operations in the public and private
sector.
One might expect that with the national office located here, several major federal
laboratories, several major instrument manufacturers, many other high technology
industries, and probably the highest concentration of universities and colleges
in the country, we would field more people at the meetings. To my memory, we
haven't had more than about 25 people at a meeting. What's the problem? Is it
the locations? Is it the programs?
It takes little more effort to find someone to speak on a specific topic than
it takes to find someone to speak on a random topic. If you could/would make
the suggestion of some topic that you would like to hear or speak about, please
let me know. My contact information is spread about.
I have been contacted by a few people from as far as Delaware who are now members
of the Baltimore-Washington section. In deference to the Baltimore members,
I have located the February meeting outside of the Washington Beltway. I hope
to see some people from the Baltimore area or perhaps even Delaware. This location
has very good barbecue, a good microbrewery. Please come out for the meeting.
It is easy to get there from anywhere in the country.
The destiny of the section is in your hands. At this time we are in need of
a chairman elect, delegates to national meetings, and a variety of other positions
filled. If you have any interest in holding any of these positions, please contact
me.
John S. Canham, Ph.D.
Date: Thursday February 22, 2001
Place: Bare Bones Grill & Brewery Ellicott City, MD 410-461-0770 (http://www.barebonesgrill.com)
Time: 6 pm Social Hour, 7 pm Dinner, 8 pm Seminar.
Cost: $20: BBQ Baby Back Ribs, BBQ Chicken, or Teriyaki Chicken accompanied with Bread, Baked Potato, House Salad, Cole Slaw
Reservations: Please make your reservations by NOON, Monday, February 19, 2001 by calling John Canhan at work 301-286-8970 . IF YOU RESPOND VIA E-MAIL, FOR THIS MEETING PLEASE SEND ELECTRONIC RSVP's TO: john.s.canham.1@gsfc.nasa.gov
Directions: Go north on US 29 exit to US 40 West. Stay to the right,
and just past the first light, get into the right-most lane and turn right into
the shopping center. Bare Bones is the second establishment from the west end.
(There is a map on the
web page.)
Presentation
Field-Portable Time-of Flight Mass Spectrometry
John Morgan, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
Extremely high-resolution mass spectrometry is a powerful tool to detect and
identify chemical and biological substances. Johns Hopkins APL is developing
a tiny, 
powerful
time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins
Medical Institutions and the University of Maryland Baltimore County. This miniature
mass spectrometer, which will fit in a package about the size of a shoebox,
will be a portable "universal sensor" for analyzing solids, liquids,
or gases in the field. The TOF mass spectrometer uses new techniques for ion
formation and energy-focusing, such as novel ion reflectron designs; new sampling
and ionization schemes; and new analysis techniques, especially in the area
of microorganism detection and identification. The field-portable instrument
can be applied to clinical medicine and medical research, environmental monitoring,
law enforcement, and detection of biological- and chemical-warfare agents.
John S. Morgan, has had a varied career in both politics and science. He has a B.S. in Physics from Loyola and a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from The Johns Hopkins Univ. Since 1985 he has been a Senior Scientist/Counterproliferation Program Manager at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel developing small, fieldable mass spectrometer systems for chemical and biological analysis (including microbiological identification), and Immunoassy-Polymerase Chain Reaction (I/PCR) for biological agent monitoring in extreme conditions. From 1991-1998 he served in the Maryland House of Delegates, District 13B (Howard & Prince George's Counties) focusing on blind literacy, legislative ethics, public safety, and technology transfer. He has been a Congressional Science Fellow, American Physical Society in the Office of Hon. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA).
Your Baltimore-Washington Section Officers for 1999-2000:
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Links to other local scientific organizations:
Chemical
Society of Washington, CSW, Local Section of the American Chemical Society
Past Issues of the Baltimore-Washington Section Newsletter (including Historical Events in Chemistry for those months)
January/February and March Historical Events in Chemistry and Spectroscopy by Leopold May, Department of Chemistry, Catholic University
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the National SAS Home Page