The Texas A&M University Chapter of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, will present “Old Biology Inspires New Chemistry” by Dr. Marcetta Y. Darensbourg—the 2011 Sigma Xi Distinguished Scientist on Dec. 2. The 2011 Distinguished Scientist Lecture will be held at 3 p.m., in the Stephen W. Hawking Auditorium of the George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Physics Building.
This lecture will explore lessons that nature provides in the form of hydrogenase enzymes, the biological catalysts found in microorganisms that control hydrogen in biology. Hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant of all elements, the simplest of molecules. These amazing catalytic sites use earth abundant elements–iron, nickel and sulfur–to perform such reactions as are found in fuel cells that require platinum as catalysts.
Darensbourg, a distinguished professor in the Department of Chemistry, College of Science, at Texas A&M, will address synthetic approaches to building these molecular catalysts in the chemist’s laboratory.
Darensbourg joined the faculty of Texas A&M in 1982, following academic positions at Vassar College and Tulane University. She is a native of Kentucky, with a doctorate from the University of Illinois. She was trained as an organometallic chemist with earlier research programs in transition metals. Her recent research in the synthesis, characterization and understanding of molecules that mimic hydrogenase metalloenzymes lured her into the new field of bioorganometallic chemistry.
For additional information, contact Michelle Sullens at (979) 458-4066. Sigma Xi is an international, chapter-based organization dedicated to nurturing the research enterprise in all fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Unique among scientific honor societies, Sigma Xi has a broad outlook that scans the spectrum of science and technology and is committed to the core values that unite across disciplinary boundaries. For more information about Sigma Xi, visit here.