Faculty Research Lecture Series - Alison Butler and David L. Valentine
Established in 1954, the Faculty Research Lecturer is the highest honor the UC Santa Barbara faculty can bestow on one of its members. Each year the Academic Senate recognizes one individual for their outstanding academic and creative achievements and invites them to present their work to the campus community. These lectures, which were disrupted during Covid, commemorate the accomplishments and professionalism of our distinguished colleagues.
Lectures: 4 pm - 6 pm | Light refreshments to follow
Alison Butler, Chemistry and Biochemistry | 2019-2020 Recipient
Metals, Microbes and Mussels: Bioinorganic Chemistry in the Marine Environment
Without transition metal ions, life would not exist, as we know it. Iron is the most abundant transition metal in humans, followed by zinc and copper. These metal ions are required for essential life processes in humans. Yet in the world’s oceans, which cover about 70% of the earth’s surface, the transition metal composition is extreme and unique. The most abundant metal ion in surface seawater is molybdenum followed by vanadium, and by contrast, the concentration of iron is surprisingly low. Alison Butler’s talk will cover her research on marine bioinorganic chemistry, reflecting the chemical environment in which organisms have evolved.
BIO | Alison Butler is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at UC Santa Barbara. She received her BA in Chemistry from Reed College and PhD from UC San Diego. After NIH postdoctoral fellowship appointments at UCLA and Caltech, she joined the faculty in Chemistry at UCSB in 1986. Alison Butler is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, among others. She is the recipient of numerous awards from the ACS* and the RSC**, and the 1992 Harold J. Plous Award for Assistant Professors at UCSB.
CCS Marine Science Faculty David L. Valentine, Earth Science | 2022-2023 Recipient
Discoveries From Disasters
In this lecture Professor Valentine will discuss his atypical approach to science, of using environmental disasters as a leverage point to make basic science relevant. He will discuss his interests in fundamental questions about microbes, chemicals and the environment, and then expand to consider a series of disasters/catastrophes that have informed his scholarship. He will include some discussion on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and on his role in uncovering the history of ocean DDT/waste disposal, among other disasters he has studied.
BIO | David L. Valentine (Dave) is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth Science at UC Santa Barbara, and is closely affiliated with the Marine Science Graduate Program, The CCS Marine Science Program, The Marine Science Institute, and The NSF Biofoundry for Exceptional and Extreme Fungi, Archaea and Bacteria (Ex-FAB). He received his B.S. and M.S. in Biochemistry/Chemistry from UC San Diego, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Earth System Science from UC Irvine. Awarded an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship, he then trained at Scripps Institution of Oceanography before joining the UCSB faculty. Professor Valentine presently holds The Norris Presidential Chair in Earth Science.
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Questions? Office of Event Management & Protocol: (805) 893-2117 or ia-event.mgmt@ucsb.edu