American Chemical Society 

Program
Session 1 "Pushing the Rainbow: Frontiers in Color Chemistry"

The organizers gratefully acknowledge the generous financial support provided by:

• Research Corporation
• General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation
• Eastman Kodak Company
• American Chemical Society
• University of Wisconsin-Madison

Materials Research Science and Engineering Center
for Nanostructured Materials and Interfaces

Arthur B. Ellis, University of Wisconsin-Madison

John W. Moore, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Lawrence D. Woolf, General Atomics

Lee Y. Park, Williams College

Michael J. Sailor, University of California at San Diego

10:50am - 5. "Exploring Color and Periodic Properties with Light-Emitting Diodes and Diode Lasers"

George C. Lisensky, Beloit College and Karen J. Nordell, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Arthur B. Ellis, University of Wisconsin-Madison and S. Michael Condren, Christian Brothers University, co-authors)

Mary Jane Shultz, Tufts University

K. R. C. Gisser, Eastman Kodak Co.

A number of products, including the new, blue LEDs, will be given away throughout the symposium - so be sure to attend!!!

Session 2 Light and Color in Chemistry

• The Royal Purple and the Biblical Blue
  Roald Hoffmann, Cornell University
• The Quest for Color in Photographic Images
  John Schaefer, President, Research Corporation
• The Color of Chemistry: A Photographer's Perspective
  Felice Frankel, MIT

Abstracts:

Introductory Remarks

Ed Wasserman, President of ACS (left), giving welcoming remarks. Arthur Ellis, symposium organizer (right), giving opening remarks.

1.    COLORING THE CURRICULUM-FROM KINDERGARTEN THROUGH COLLEGE.
                John W. Moore, Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University
                Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706.

Color is fascinating as well as an essential feature of chemistry. It is not surprising that teachers use it in a variety of ways to capture students' attention and help students learn. Based on my work with the Institute for Chemical Education, the Journal of Chemical Education, and multimedia instructional materials, I will describe and demonstrate a variety of colorful tools for learning.  These range from experiments with grocery-store food coloring for kindergarten students, demonstrations and experiments involving chemilluminescent light sticks and TV screens for middle and high school students, to expanding waves of color from chemical chaos and sophisticated, virtual-reality simulations of colorimeters for college students.

Acrobat .pdf file of John Moore's presentation .

2.    AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR.
                Lawrence D. Woolf, General Atomics, P. O. Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186

The production of color is a fascinating subject, with applications to much of present day science and technology, including color printing, computer monitors, and TVs.  Using color materials to be handed out at this talk, we will jointly explore additive and subtractive color mixing. In addition, we will investigate the primary additive colors of red, green and blue, as well as the subtractive primary colors of cyan, magenta, and yellow. Color models, such as the color wheel, color cube, and color math will be shown to both explain our results and to have predictive power. One difficulty in teaching color theory is overcoming the incorrect notions that are present in most elementary schools and art classes: namely, that the primary colors are red, yellow, and blue and the secondary colors are orange, purple and green.

Acrobat .pdf file of Larry Woolf's presentation .

3.    LIGHT AND COLOR IN LIQUID CRYSTALLINE MATERIALS.
                Lee. Y. Park, Department of Chemistry, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267.

Liquid crystalline (mesogenic) materials have been; widely used in a variety of different display applications. Their optical properties derive from short-range molecular ordering that results from a combination of molecular shape and intermolecular attractive forces. This ordering gives rise to a rich variety of colors and patterns (optical textrues) which are visible through polarized microscopy, and may be used in identification of the specific type of intermolecular order in a given sample.  The size and orientation of the ordered domains can be influenced by a number of external forces, including electric field, temperature, pressure. The response of domains to such external forces provides the basis for the familiar applications of liquid crystalline materials in flat panel displays and temperature sensors. An understanding of the molecular basis of liquid crystalline behavior can lead to the design of new materials with improved responses to applied external forces, and therefore to improvements in display technology.

Web page showing images from Lee Park's presentation .

4.    PHOSPHORS AND ORGANIC LEDS
                Michael J. Sailor, University of California,  San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-03358

Emissive displays, LEDs, and electroluminescent panels convert electricity into visible light or an image. All have two general features: they posses an excitation mechanism that allows the conversion of electrical current into light, and they have a current transport mechanism that allows efficient delivery of electric current to the active element of the device. Recently a number of new materials have been discovered that are of interest for these applications. Polymeric, molecular, or glassy solids have been prepared that contain luminescent centers, and solids that can efficiently transport and inject charge have been developed. The use of inorganic and organic materials in display and lighting devices will be presented, along with the principles of operation of organic LEDs and other display devices. Challenges in the design of stable and efficient molecules for these applications will be discussed.

Acrobat .pdf file of Mike Sailor's presentation .

5.    EXPLORING COLOR AND PERIODIC PROPERTIES WITH LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES AND DIODE LASERS.
                George C. Lisensky, Beloit College, S. Michael Condren, Christian Brothers University, Karen
                J. Nordell, and Arthur B. Ellis,  University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Families of semiconductors can be incorporated into devices that emit light over much of the visible spectrum upon electrical excitation. These light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and diode lasers are revolutionizing many communication and display technologies. The wavelengths of light emitted can be controlled using design principles based on the periodic table, including isoelectronic element combinations and solid solutions. A recent technological breakthrough is the blue LED, which permits additive color mixing when combined with green and red LEDs. Demonstrations of these devices will be presented along with instructional materials that facilitate their incorporation into the chemistry curriculum.

Acrobat .pdf file of Ellis Group's presentation .

Undergraduates Brian Frick, left, and Nick Stanton, right, assemblying blue LED circuits.

6.     QUANTUM DOTS: CASTING LIGHT ON FUNDAMENTALS WITH CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH.
                Mary Jane Shultz, Department of Chemistry, Pearson Laboratory, Tufts University,
                Medford, MA 02155.

The interaction of light with matter has long been a powerful tool. When that interaction results in a colorful material, students are intrigued. They are really fascinated, however, when the colorful material is the subject of cutting-edge research. This connection casts the study of fundamental topics in a different light. Several examples utilizing quantum dots to teach solubility, miscibility, band gaps, and quantum confinement will be presented including: "Molecular Orbitals: Not Just Paramagnetism of Molecular Oxygen," "The Particle in the Box: Beyond Dye Molecules," and Spherical Waves on Small Clusters." Models for understanding nanosized materials by introductory and physical chemistry students will be presented.

Acrobat .pdf files of Mary Schultz's presentation and handout on Quantum Dots .

7.    COLOR AND LIGHT IN THE MOVIES.
                K. R. C. Gisser, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY 14560

Motion pictures are made by using chemistry to manipulate light. Conventional film systems are based on the photochemistry of silver halide crystals and the redox chemistry of dye precursors.  In order to edit film and add special effects, scanners and recorders based on the solid state devices form the basis for "digital projectors" that might some day be used to project motion pictures.

Acrobat pdf file of Kathy Gisser's bibliography .

THE ROYAL PURPLE AND THE BIBLICAL BLUE.
Roald Hoffmann, Dept. of Chemistry, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. 14853

Before there were chemists, there were protochemistries --- remarkably ingenious transformations of matter done by curious human beings for whom the world was one, who did not separate craft, technology and commerce or, for that matter, art and religion. One story of photochemistry, around the color blue, will be told. A blue from snails played an important role in the Middle East, as Tyrian purple, and the tekhelet of the Israelites. At the same time, the indigo and wood plants provided a source of similar dye. And then came modern chemistry. The cultural setting of the indigo story, from a significant biblical rebellion to Levi's jeans, will be recounted, in the context of chemistry in culture.

The year 1839 marks the invention of photography, a technology whose genesis lay in a skillful blend of chemistry, physics, and art. Through the efforts of Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre and William Henry Fox Talbot and their predecessors, the work was given not only the basis for a major new industry but, more importantly, a new language. Though photography was initally a "black-and-white" medium, the search for methods to produce color images has occupied thousands of chemists, physicists, and artists for the past 160 years. The history of this quest and future trends in photography are the subjects of this discussion.

Often, scientists do not consider the communicative power of colorful image. In a slide presentation, MIT Artist in Residence and Research Scientist, Felice Frankel, will discuss her use of color in photographs and digital images of research. She will also present her views on digital color enhancement.
Further Information Online
• Journal covers featuring Felice Frankel photos