Tuesday, May 10, 2005 Muskego Lakes Country Club S100 W14020 Loomis Road Muskego, WI

DIRECTIONS

Did you ever wonder about the role of chemistry and chemical engineering in the development of nuclear weapons? How did the discovery of nuclear fission by two German chemists in 1939 lead to Hiroshima, the resulting arms race, and current proliferation of nuclear weapons?

For 28 years Frank Settle was professor of chemistry at Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA. During this time he received several awards for teaching and undergraduate research in analytical chemistry. Since that time he has been a consultant to the Department of Energy and a program officer at the National Science Foundation. He currently directs the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues (http://alsos.wlu.edu) and directs interdisciplinary courses on the nuclear age and weapons of mass destruction at Washington and Lee University. He is the recipient of the 2005 ACS Analytical Division's Calvin Giddings Award for excellence in education.

Frank Settle will provide a fascinating glimpse into the chemistry and history of the exciting period that encompassed the development of the first nuclear weapons. His presentation, designed for a general audience, illustrates the interactions among chemists, physicists, engineers, the military, and government officials required to produce the first atomic bombs.