2012-03-01: WCC Event: Dr. Patricia Beauchamp “Water in the Solar System”

The Women Chemists Committee of the Southern California Section is sponsoring this event, but all are welcome. It promises to be a great meeting!

Abstract: Water plays two fundamental roles in the solar system. As well as being ubiquitous on Earth, it is a building block of comets, the numerous icy moons in the outer solar system, the gas giant planets and most of the dwarf planets. It is also the critical factor for life as we know it and an understanding of the properties of water on solar system bodies guides their characterization as potential abodes of life.

Biography: Dr. Beauchamp joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California in 1992 after a decade in surface science research at Aerojet Electrosystems Co. She is currently working on developing future Outer Planet Missions and was responsible for coordinating the effort to define the scientific rationale for the next flagship mission to Titan, the instruments needed and how the data could be obtained that would satisfy those requirements. She is also a Co-I and theme lead on the NASA Astrobiology Institute “Titan as a Prebiotic Chemical System”. Prior to that she managed the Planetary Instrument Development office and led the Center for In-Situ Exploration and Sample Return (CISSR) in the Engineering and Science Directorate. She was Project Manager for the Miniature Integrated Camera Spectrometer, which flew on the New Millennium DS1 mission in 1998 and has held several technical and management positions in the Observational Instruments Division.

Dr. Beauchamp obtained her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Caltech followed by post-doctoral research in Chemical Engineering at Caltech, where she conducted fundamental investigations of chemical reactions on single crystal surfaces. She received her B.S. in Chemistry and B.A. in Mathematics with honors from California State University, Fullerton in 1976. She has received a number of student and professional awards, most recently JPL’s highest Explorer award, and is the author or co-author of over forty scientific publications, a patent, and numerous government technical reports.

Cost: There is a choice of entrée of Chicken Dijonaise or Kalbi Top Sirloin with spicy Korean sauce. The cost is $33 including salad, dessert, tax, tip and wine (cash or check at the door).

Reservations: Please call Nancy Paradiso in the Section Office at (310) 327 – 1216 or email office-at-scalacs-dot-org by Monday, February 27, 2012. Note: Please honor your reservation. If you make a reservation and do not attend, you will be liable for the cost of the dinner.

Directions: From Downtown Los Angeles, Take the 10 fwy. East to Garfield exit towards Alhambra (North) to Valley Blvd. go right to Almansor go left. Almansor Court is at the end of Almansor Street on the right hand side.

From San Bernardino Take the 10 fwy. west to Garfield exit towards Alhambra (North) to Valley Blvd. go right to Almansor go left. Almansor Court is at the end of Almansor Street on the right hand side.

From the 210 fwy. (East or West) exit on Fair Oaks go south to Huntington go left to Garfield go left to Valley Blvd. Go left to Almansor go left. Almansor Court is at the end of Almansor Street on the right hand side.

From Orange County 605 fwy. (North) to the 10 fwy. (West) to Garfield exit towards Alhambra (North) to Valley Blvd. go right to Almansor go left. Almansor Court is at the end of Almansor Street on the right hand side.