Dwight Chasar, ACS tour speaker, “Chemistry is for the Birds”

ACS tour speaker, research scientist and field ornithologist Dr Dwight Chasar delivers a public lecture, «Chemistry is for the Birds», cosponsored by St Louis Academy of Science and Sigma-Aldrich Corporation.
6:20–7 pm: hands-on chemistry for students only (parents, family members, and guests welcome to observe)
7:15 pm: public lecture
at Sigma-Aldrich headquarters, 3050 Spruce Street, St Louis, MO. Parking is free.
Preregistration required by April 7, and space is limited. To RSVP for hands-on chemistry and/or public lecture, call 314.533.8586 or email events@academyofsciencestl.org. Please provide first and last names of each guest. Hands-on chemistry is limited to the first 25 students to RSVP.

Speaker’s notes: To better understand bird life and behavior, and using the tools chemists have used for years, avian biologists and chemists have recently begun to examine more closely the chemistry associated with birds. In this fascinating look at the chemistry of birds, chemist and birder Dr. Dwight Chasar talks about the chemical pigments that give birds color, the chemicals birds use for survival in the wild, chemicals that nearly extirpated raptors, and the use of stable isotopes to understand bird migration. From the simplicity of bird poop to the complexity of bird DNA analysis, chemistry is playing a big role in our understanding of bird dynamics. Chemistry is for the Birds covers enough chemistry to satisfy general interest chemists and is simple enough to help non-chemists and students appreciate the beauty and complexity of the chemistry of birds.