5:30 p.m. Meet and Greet

6:00 p.m.     Dinner

7:00 p.m.   - Celebration of our 50 and 60 Year Members 

7:15 p.m.     Lecture -Dr. Suzanne Quillen Lomax, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. "The Application of Chemistry to the Examination of Works of Art"

ExCom Meeting immediately after the presentation

Reservations: RSVP to Chris Bender by email (cbender@uscupstate.edu) or phone (864-503-5755) with your reservations NO LATER THAN Tuesday September 13 at 5:00 pm.. We always welcome attendance (without charge) at the presentations even if you are unable to come for the dinner!

Chemists, physicists and material scientists have been associated with museum conservation laboratories for many years. Scientists can make valuable contributions in the preservation and restoration of art objects. At present, about a dozen museums in the United States have conservation science departments.

Art conservators frequently require specific information about the component materials of a painting or object prior to treatment. Additionally, curators may have art historical questions about a work of art. Due to their complex stratification, most questions that arise concern the nature of the components of paintings. Microscopic cross sections of a painting are frequently taken and viewed with a polarizing light microscope to understand the different layers that make up the object. These cross sections can also be examined by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM/EDS). Pigment identification is frequently employed to determine if the pigments are in keeping with the time period of the object, as well as to understand the artists? materials and methods. They are performed using polarized light microscopy and x-ray diffraction (XRD) of powdered samples, or x-ray fluorescence (XRF), which is well suited to this task due to its non-invasive nature.

To study the identity of binding media and other organic components of works of art, the conservation scientist uses gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and infrared spectroscopy. GC-MS is used to identify oil- and protein-containing binders, as well as for the identification of waxes and various low molecular weight resins. HPLC can be used to identify organic dyes. Identification of higher molecular weight binders such as alkyds and acrylics is normally done with pyrolysis gas chromatography.

The talk will focus on the application of these various techniques to the examination of paintings and sculpture. Examples will be presented from the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

Suzanne Quillen Lomax received her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 1984 from the University of Maryland, working with Patrick Mariano exploring the photochemistry of iminium salts. She then studied intramolecular photoaddition reactions with Frederick Lewis at Northwestern University. Dr. Lomax has been in the Scientific Research Department of the National Gallery of Art since 1986, investigating the identification and aging behavior of artists? materials. Lately, her areas of research interest include the identification of modern synthetic organic pigments and binders. Dr. Lomax has been a popular speaker for the American Chemical Society Speaker Service since 1991, traveling to over 30 states. She is also on the board of directors and a spectral reviewer for the infrared and Raman users group (IRUG).

• The meeting will feature an outstanding technical program featuring symposia from many divisions of the ACS and programming that shows connections with Chemistry. Information on symposia can be found on the program tab at http://sermacs2011.org/
  
  ONLINE ABSTRACTS CAN BE SUBMITTED THROUGH SEPTEMBER 20TH at http://abstracts.acs.org
  
  We are also seeking nominations for the E. Ann Nalley Regional Award and the ACS CHED Regional Award for Excellence in Teaching. Nominations for these awards are due August 20th. More information can be found at http://sermacs2011.org/awards/
  
  In addition to the outstanding and diverse technical program, our meeting will include an exposition, and graduate fair. We have also planned various workshops, career programming, educational programming and social events.
  
  We will have an opening reception with a Sci-Mix poster session on Wednesday night and an Awards Banquet on Thursday at the Science Museum of Virginia. All information on these and other events can be found on the event tab at our website.
  
  Hotel reservations may be made by October 3, 2011 at discounted rates. The Omni Richmond Hotel (http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/Richmond.aspx) is located in the historic Shockoe Bottom overlooking the scenic James River in the heart of Richmond's financial and historical districts.
  
  Early registration for the conference continues through September 20th, online registration and list of fees can be found on the registration tab at http://sermacs2011.org/registration/
  
  Rich in History, Rich in Science, Rich in Chemistry, Richmond, Virginia
  

Dr. David Butcher - Chair 2011, david.butcher@analytchem.org.
Blaine Childress - Chair-Elect 2012
Sid Parrish - Past Chair 2010
Alice Claggett - Secretary 2011 - 2013
Julia Brumaghim – Treasurer 2009 - 2011
Lucy Pryde Eubanks - Councilor 2009 - 2011.
Dr. George Heard – Councilor 2011 - 2013
Dr. John Kaup - Alternate Councilor 2011 - 2013.
Dr. Laura Wright - Alternate Councilor 2011, Awards Chair.

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The Western Carolinas ACS Section is pleased to announce that the proposed revisions to its Section Bylaws, that were approved by its membership, have been certified by the National ACS Committee on Constitution and Bylaws. The new Bylaws are available at LINK. Thanks to the members of the Bylaws Committee, Royce Woosley, Dwaine Eubanks, and Sid Parrish (Chair) for their dedication and considerable efforts in producing bylaws that are consistent with the Society's governing documents.

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Our Webmaster, Dwayne Grassie, would welcome your "press releases" about activities that you believe would be of interest to our section. As he says so eloquently on our web site, "without active members reporting the activities of the section to me there would be no web site because there would be nothing to report." Dwayne can be reached at: MAG-IT@charter.net