AU Alumnus Returns to Discuss Green Chemistry

On Thursday, April 14 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 112 of the Kettering Science Center, alumnus Dr. Marc Klingshirn will give a brief introduction to green chemistry with selected examples to illustrate how this mode of thinking has shaped his teaching, research and career. He explains that green chemistry can most easily be thought of as "sustainable chemistry." It is a tool box that allows one to think about chemical processes from an environmental perspective.

After completing his B.S. degree in chemistry and environmental science at Ashland, Dr. Klingshirn received an M.S. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Tennessee, a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from The University of Alabama and completed his Postdoctoral at Saint Olaf College. From studying metal contaminants in Lake Erie soil sediment as an undergraduate with current AU faculty members Michael Hudson and Jeffrey Weidenhamer, to studying and developing ion-exchange resins for ground water remediation for his Master’s, and focusing on the rapidly emerging field of green chemistry in his doctoral work -- environmental issues and problems have always been his interest. While he has started to expand into the area of greener inorganic synthesis, sustainability, environmental, and efficient use (and reuse) of resources continue to be a foundation of his research. He is Associate Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Honors Program at the University of Illinois Springfield.

Human Health and Common Wealth

On Wednesday, April 13 at 7 p.m. in the Hawkins-Conard Student Center Auditorium, Dr. Scott Russell Sanders' will address how our culture is obsessed with private financial wealth while less attention and less protection is offered to the forms of wealth that we share especially the goods of nature such as the atmosphere and oceans, and the goods of culture such as the arts, public parks and legal institutions. He will present a slide lecture identifying elements of our common wealth, explain why they are vital to human well-being and explore ways in which they might be reclaimed and restored.

Dr. Sanders is the author of twenty books of fiction and nonfiction, including Hunting for Hope and A Conservationist Manifesto. His most recent books are Earth Works: Selected Essays, Divine Animal: A Novel. A collection of stories titled Dancing in Dreamtime will be published in 2016, along with a new edition of his documentary narrative, Stone Country. Among his honors are the Lannan Literary Award, the John Burroughs Essay Award, the Mark Twain Award, the Cecil Woods Award for Nonfiction, the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2012 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Indiana University.

Clinician Scientist to Address Biomedical Technology

Clinician scientist Dr. Bruce Lanphear will present a lecture titled “Victories in Public Health: Progress or Adaptation?” on Tuesday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Trustees' Room of the Myers Convocation Center. The event, which is free and open to the public, is co-sponsored by the Ashland University Dwight Schar College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

Americans have an unwavering belief that biomedical technology will solve our health problems. This belief is fueled by successful technologies, like vaccines, as well as the profit motive. Paradoxically, many innovative technologies of the past, such as smoking, motor vehicles, and guns are killing us today. Using common diseases like heart disease, childhood leukemia, ADHD and autism as case studies, Lanphear will set up a forum to dialogue about:

• whether our ultimate goal should be to search for the cause or the cure

• whether we should be more strategic about the types of technologies we embrace

Bruce Lanphear, MD, MPH, is a Senior Scientist at the Child & Family Research Institute, British Columbia Children’s Hospital and Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. His primary research has been on quantifying and preventing the adverse consequences of low-level lead toxicity. The long-term goal of his research is to prevent common diseases and disabilities in children, such as asthma and ADHD. To quantify the contribution of risk factors, he tests various ways to measure children’s exposures to environmental toxicants using novel biomarkers measured during pregnancy and early childhood. Dr. Lanphear also designs experimental trials to test the efficacy of reducing children’s exposures to environmental hazards on asthma symptoms and behavioral problems.