March
Historical Events in Chemistry by Leopold
May, Department of Chemistry,
Catholic University
Invitation
to the Maryland Section ACS Picnic
Let me cut right to the chase-----
Instead of having a typical weeknight dinner and technical presentation, it's time to hold a "Special Event" for our local SAS chapter - an event that might even be enjoyed by the entire family!
I have coupled the March meeting with a speaker who will present an evening lecture on SATURDAY, March 25th.at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. His talk, part of the Marjorie Lynn Bank Lecture Series sponsored by the aquarium, will discuss medicines from the rainforest. It should be entertaining and educational - I like to call it "Lite Science" for the general public. Since I am a volunteer at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, I am able to secure a block of seats at a special rate. Due to logistics, a limitation is the total number of people that can be accommodated. Also, due to the afternoon Behind the Scenes opportunity, the minimum age for this event is 13 (should you wish to have family members participate). Sorry for all of the rules…
Our tour speaker, Dr. Ed Yeung from Ames Lab, will be addressing the local chapter on Wednesday, April 26th. Final details are being confirmed, and the specifics will be posted to the chapter web-site in the near future. Student Night should occur in May. And we've been invited to participate in the ACS Chemical Society of Washington's annual picnic on Sunday, July 9th in Maryland. So a busy schedule ahead. Also, start thinking ELECTIONS for the local chapter officers!!
See you at the aquarium - no, I will not get into my wet suit during this event (or will I??)
Sincerely,
Larry Pollack
Chairman, Baltimore-Washington Section, SAS
Meeting Announcement - Saturday, March 25, 2000
NEW MEDICINES FROM THE RAIN FOREST
Speaker: Dr. Mark Plotkin
Biographical Sketch: Dr. Plotkin is the founder of the Amazon Conservation Association and the director of its ethnobotany Program. He has received the San Diego Zoo Gold Metal for Conservation and was hailed by Time magazine as an environmental "Hero for the Planet" in 1998. To learn more about Dr. Plotkin and his work go to http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/NM/plotkin1.html. He is also one of the central characters in the new IMAX movie AMAZON showing at the Maryland Science Center from February 5 to May 20.
Abstract: In 1982, Mark Plotkin boarded a small plane in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, and flew deep into the country's rainforest interior, to live in a village of Tirio Indians. In the weeks that followed, Plotkin accompanied Tirio shamans, or medicine men, on their excursions into the forest to gather plants for medicinal use. He discovered that the shamans have a wide and intimate knowledge of these plants and are able to treat tribal members for fevers, headaches, ear aches, labor pains, bed wetting, cuts, burns, malaria, rashes, impotence, and gonorrhea, among other problems. Since then, Dr. Plotkin has returned repeatedly to the rain forest to study the plant lore of indigenous peoples. His book, Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice, now in its 16th printing, has opened the eyes of its readers to the prodigious curative powers in rainforest plants and animals. The book has also shown how economic development, contact with modern society, and deforestation threaten the cultural history of rainforest tribes.
Date: Saturday, March 25, 2000
Place: (3 p.m.) National Aquarium in Baltimore, Pier 3, 301 East Pratt Street (at Gay Street) Baltimore, Maryland - (410) 576-3800
Dinner: (5 p.m.) McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant (OR "ON YOUR OWN"), located on the "waterside" of the Harborplace Hotel on Pier 5, Pratt Street & Pier 5 (adjacent to the National Aquarium in Baltimore), Baltimore, Maryland - (410) 234-1300. Join the SAS group at McCORMICK & SCHMICK'S at 5pm for a "pay as you go dinner", or head out to the Inner Harbor for dinner on your own. Please let us know your dining preference when you make your reservation so we can get an approximate head-count for a dinner reservation at McCormick & Schmick's.
Important note: Must limit total number of attendees to the aquarium to no more than 25. Also must be 13 years old or greater to participate.
Schedule:
3:00 pm - MEET AT AQUARIUM MAIN ENTRANCE/PIER 3. Meet at the OUTDOOR SEAL POOL.
Larry Pollack will have your tickets! Please make payment (cash or check payable
to "SAS" for each $12 aquarium ticket) upon checking in with Larry.
3:15 pm: Escorted by Larry Pollack to Dolphin Show
3:30 pm-3:50pm: Dolphin Show
3:50 pm-4:50pm: TBD-Behind the Scenes tour OR new Amazon River Forest exhibit
4:50pm-5:00pm: Walk to McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant or "Your Restaurant
Choice"
5:00pm-6:30pm: Dinner
6:30pm-6:45pm: Return to Aquarium - Pier 3/Members Entrance
6:45pm To Auditorium for Presentation
7:00pm-8:00pm: SPEAKER: Dr. Mark Plotkin, "New Medicines from the Rainforest"
Cost: $12 ADMISSION for both an afternoon at the aquarium & the evening presentation (dinner is additional-see below). WHAT A DEAL!! (Regular admission to the aquarium is $14 and the evening presentation for "non-members" is $20. A $34 value for only $12)
Reservations: Please make your reservations by NOON, Wednesday March 22, 2000 by calling Larry Pollack at work (703) 810-4351 or at home (703) 256-6769. IF YOU RESPOND VIA e-MAIL, FOR THIS MEETING PLEASE SEND ELECTRONIC RSVP's TO: larry.pollack@dtra.mil
Directions to the National Aquarium in Baltimore (from points South of Baltimore): -Travel on I-95 (MARYLAND), North, towards Baltimore -Exit onto I-395 ["Downtown/Inner Harbor"] ("Exit Only" lane from I-95) -Once on I-395, stay towards left side of road (e.g., do NOT exit onto Martin Luther King Blvd) -Make right onto Pratt Street at third traffic light (Pratt Street is one way); GET IN 2ND FROM LEFT LANE -Travel along Pratt Street for seven or eight traffic lights -- more or less…. -Make left onto Gay Street -- a one way street -Indoor parking garage entrance is first left on Gay (almost immediately after the turn from Pratt) (there is a fee for parking (~$10), but you can get validation that provides a small discount, available at the Information Desk in the Pier III aquarium building) Note - there is less expensive parking at the corner of Pratt & President Streets (three blocks PAST Pratt & Gay Streets) - There are two outdoor lots on both sides of Pratt Street at President Street. Exact dollar bill pre-payment is required. The National Aquarium in Baltimore is located at Pratt & Gay Streets. Pier 3 is the main entrance to the aquarium. Meet at the Seal Pool at 3pm sharp. Larry Pollack will have your tickets! The aquarium's telephone number is (410) 576-3800. Should you need to contact Larry on the day of the event, please leave a numeric page for Larry at 888-620-3208.
Directions to leave Baltimore (to return to I-95): From the Gay Street parking garage, turn left onto Gay Street (one way street) after exiting the garage Turn left onto Lombard Street (also one way street) at first traffic light Stay in lane second from the most right hand lane After passing Charles Street, move over to the left lane, or next to left lane Turn left at Howard Street Howard Street merges directly into I-95 after the third traffic light.
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