Date:  Friday, March 17, 2000

Location:	Como Inn 546 N. Milwaukee Avenue Chicago, Illinois

Social Hour: 6:00 PM
Dinner: 7:00 PM
Meeting: 8:00 PM

Cost:  $26.00 for members of ACS/ $28.00 for non-members

Reservations:   (847) 647-8405
                    by noon, Tuesday, March 14.

or,   REGISTER ON LINE !

Topical Group Meeting

Dr. Russell W. Johnson
Honeywell Center for Catalysis and Separations

Chemistry of Chemical Weapons Demilitarization

Click here for more information.

For many years my research was concerned with the mechanisms of chemical reactions, mainly those related to biological processes using kinetics and stable isotopes, particularly those of oxygen. This led me, some thirty years ago, to investigate those reactions which occur in the living brain which are related to: (a) depression and (b) the recording and retrieval of information, i.e., learning and memory.

As we get older there is mounting interest and concern with depression (which affects some ten percent of the population) and even more on the loss of memory, i.e., forgetting, which affects nearly everybody. The chemistry involved is highly complex. However, in the past few years great strides have been made in unraveling the enigma of Alzheimer’s which, in fact, affects only a small percentage of the population but increases rapidly with age and is sadly, so far, almost impossible to cure.

However, most people suffer from a benign form of forgetfulness now known as AAMI (age-associated memory impairment), which is gradually being dealt with by both behavioral and pharmacological methods. The biochemical mechanisms involved are slowly being unraveled and the reasons for forgetting numbers, names, faces, and even events gradually understood. Some of this has been described in my recent book “Memory: How We Use It, Lose It, and Can Improve It,” published by NYU Press. I shall discuss briefly, the most relevant, interesting, and recent aspects of the subject.

Biography:

Dr. David Samuel is an international research chemist and neurobiologist, educator, author, editor, and member of several academic and public boards and commissions. Professor Emeritus Samuel's professional career spans many years at Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel. He also served as Dean for the Faculty of Chemistry at the Weizmann and has been a visiting professor at many noted American and European universities. Dr. Samuel has been active for forty years in research on physical aspects of chemistry, problems of memory in animals and humans, psychosomatic disorders and the immune system, and the teaching of chemistry in schools and universities. He has produced over 300 scientific reviews and articles on chemistry, neuroscience, psychopharmacology, human and animal behavior, science teaching, textile education, history and philosophy of science. He is also the author of: Memory: How We Use It, Lose It, and Can Improve It (1999), Aging of the Brain (1983), and Bibliography of Oxygen Isotopes (1965).

From the South:
Take I-90/94 to Lake Street exit. Turn left on Lake Street to Halsted Street and turn right. Turn right on Halsted to Milwaukee Avenue. Turn left on Milwaukee to the restaurant. The restaurant is at the intersection of Halsted, Milwaukee, and Grand.

From the North:
Take I-90/94 to Ogden Avenue exit. Turn left on Ogden and go to Milwaukee Avenue. Go south on Milwaukee. The restaurant is located just over the expressway.

From Downtown Chicago:
Take the Dan Ryan or Eisenhower and exit at Lake Street. Take Lake Street to Halsted Street. Turn right on Halsted to Milwaukee Avenue. Turn left on Milwaukee to the restaurant. The restaurant is at the intersection of Halsted, Milwaukee, and Grand.

Parking:   Free or valet parking

minestrone Soup
mixed green salad with house dressing
roast turkey
candied yams
dressing and cranberry sauce
vegetable and potato
Italian bread and butter
spumoni
beverage
white fish if ordered at registration