In this Issue:
Local Section News Greetings,It is again time for our annual Society for Applied Spectroscopy Tour Speaker Dinner. This year’s speaker is Dr. Gary Small of the University of Iowa’s Department of Chemistry and Optical Science and Technology. Dr. Small’s topic is Environmental Remote Sensing by Passive Infrared Spectroscopy. Details are listed below. Reservations with menu selections are requested to assure that there is adequate supply of your dinner selection. If you have questions or comments about the local section or would like to become more active in the local section please let me know. You can email me with your questions or comments at john.canham@atk.com
John S. Canham, Ph.D.
Acting Chair 2011
Baltimore-Washington SAS section
Meeting Announcements
Monday, May 23, 2011 - National SAS Tour SpeakerGary W. Small
Department of Chemistry & Optical Science and Technology Center
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242
Environmental Remote Sensing by Passive Infrared SpectroscopyAbstract
The detection of airborne chemicals is a key capability in a variety of environmental monitoring scenarios. For these applications, passive infrared remote sensors collect infrared emissions from natural and manmade sources such as the radiant emission from the earth or emissions from the stacks of a chemical plant. Chemical compounds absorb or emit infrared energy at characteristic wavelengths, and the profile of these absorption or emission signatures can be used to identify a chemical and to estimate the amount present. Passive infrared remote sensors can be implemented in either imaging or non-imaging configurations and can be constructed to acquire infrared emission data in either multispectral or hyperspectral modes. Implementing these measurements successfully requires the construction of rugged and portable instruments capable of being mounted on platforms such as moving aircraft or ground vehicles. In addition, sophisticated computer processing techniques must be designed to allow the automated analysis of the large quantities of data acquired by these sensors. The research presented describes the development of novel signal processing and pattern recognition methodology for application to multispectral imaging data and to non-imaging data acquired with a hyperspectral instrument. Remote sensing data were collected with these instruments mounted on an aircraft platform as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ASPECT emergency response program. Remote measurements collected during several field responses will be used to evaluate the data analysis methodology and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the imaging and non-imaging remote sensing approaches.Gary W. Small received a B.S. degree in Chemistry in 1979 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a PhD. in Chemistry in 1984 from the Pennsylvania State University. He began his academic career at the University of Iowa, subsequently moved to Ohio University, and returned to the University of Iowa in 2004 where he is currently Professor of Chemistry. He also holds the title of Collegiate Fellow in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. His research area focuses on the application of infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics to problems in clinical and environmental analysis. Specific areas of interest include the development of infrared-based measurements for glucose, lactate, and urea in clinical settings and the use of passive infrared spectroscopy for environmental remote sensing. Other interests include infrared imaging and terahertz spectroscopy.
Date: Monday May 23, 2011
Place: Eggspectation Restaurant,
923 Ellsworth Dr,
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Time: 6 PM Social Hour,7 PM Dinner, 8 PM Seminar.
Cost: $20 (Students $10)
Photos from the meeting:
Your Baltimore-Washington Section Officers for 2011:
Links to other local scientific organizations and conferences of interest:
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)
April/May Historical Events in Chemistry and Spectroscopy by Leopold May, Department of Chemistry, Catholic University
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