Dr. David Dixon of the Biomolecular Systems Initiative of Pacific Northwest National Labs was the EMSI Visiting Scholar from April 15-18, 2003. He is a computational chemist who uses computational methods to solve environmental problems. While visiting Columbia, Dr. Dixon gave two seminars and met with faculty and students. He was hosted by Professor Nicholas Turro. (more information)

EMSI Director George Flynn participated in the 2003 Mesilla Chemistry Workshop on "Environmental Chemistry at Interfaces" held February 9 - 12, 2003 in Mesilla, New Mexico. The underlying theme of this multi-disciplinary workshop was new advances made possible by molecular-level understanding of processes at surfaces, and the participants were chosen to represent the cutting edge of both experimental and computational research in these areas. (more information)

Columbia Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs will give a Langumuir Scholars Program Seminar entitled "The 'Kinetics' of Economic Development" on Wednesday, April 9 in 209 Havemeyer Hall. Sachs is a Professor of Economics and International and Public Affairs and a Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General. His research interests include the links between health and development, globalization, economic geography, emerging markets, global competitiveness, transitions to market economies, international financial markets and macroeconomic policy coordination, and macroeconomic policies in developing and developed countries. (more information)

EMSI Director George Flynn has won the American Physical Society's Herbert P. Broida Prize for his work in vibrational energy transfer in polyatomic molecules and liquid-solid interfaces using scanning probe techniques. The Broida Prize is awarded to one individual in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the field of atomic and molecular spectroscopy or chemical physics. It was presented in an awards ceremony at the APS Annual Meeting in March.

On October 22, 2002, a new group of high school and middle school teachers were trained on the sandtank models by Prof. Martin Stute and others. The teachers will be receiving the tanks shortly so that they can use them in environmental science units in their classrooms. Sample curricula are available on the EMSI website. (more information)

The NSF-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates kicked off its Summer 2002 program on Monday, June 3. Five students from all over the country will be working in Chemistry Department labs as part of the EMSI REU program. Welcome to Columbia, and good luck with your research! (more information)

Professor George Flynn, director of EMSI, co-chaired a successful symosium on Chemistry and the Environment in the 21st Century: Environmental Chemistry at Interfaces at the 223rd Annual American Chemical Society National Meeting in Orlando, FL, April 7-11, 2002. The speakers represented a diverse range of fields. The full schedule of talks is online. In addition, a number of EMSI postdocs and graduate students presented posters at the ACS meeting. Photos are available here.