The Chicago Local Section of The Electrochemical Society, Inc.

THE ELECTROCHEMICALSOCIETY,INC.

Chicago Section

This section serves the needs of the ECS members interested in electrochemical science and technology in Chicago area and nearby vicinity. Geographically the members are from Northern Illinois, Northern Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri. The northern part borders with Wisconsin, home of the Southern Wisconsin Section. The Chicago and Southern Wisconsin Sections maintain ties in alternate hosting of the annual Student Symposium.

The Chicago Section typically holds one evening technical meeting per month, usually in a local area restaurant, following a dinner and casual social.
For the spring 1996 we have organized a full-day symposium on the Electrochemistry of Surfaces and Interfaces.
The Chicago Section was the Host Committee for the October 1995 Meeting in Chicago. You may also review a recent report of the 1996 activities of the Chicago Local Section.
You may overview a list of past and future meetings.

Section Officers for 1998-1999

Peter J. Hesketh, Chairman
The University of Illinois at Chicago
Department of Electrical Engineering and Materials Science
851 South Morgan St.
Chicago, IL 60607-7053
Tel: 312-413-7574
FAX: 312-413-0024
E-mail: peter@uicbert.eecs.uic.edu

William R. Penrose, Vice-Chairman
Custom Sensor Solutions, Inc.
526 West Franklin Avenue
Naperville IL 60540, USA
Tel: 630-548-3548
FAX: 630-369-9618
E-mail: wpenrose@customsensorsolutions.com

Keryn Lian, Secretary
Motorola
4088 Commercial Ave. #19
Northbrook, IL 60062-1829
Tel: 847-205-3813
FAX: (847)-480-3064
E-mail: Keryn_Lian-G11492@email.mot.com

Davorin Babic, Treasurer
The University of Illinois at Chicago
Dept. Of Electrical Engineering and Materials Science
851 South Morgan St. M/C 154
Chicago, IL 60607-7053
Tel: 312-996-6007
FAX: 312-413-0024
E-mail: babic@eecs.uic.edu

Liun Bai, Councillor
Motorola
4088 Commercial Ave. #19
Northbrook, IL 60062-1829
Tel: 630-714-7405
FAX: 630-714-7419
E-mail: c16172@email.mot.com

Petr Vanysek, Incumbent Councillor
Northern Illinois University
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
DeKalb, IL 60115
Tel.: 815-753-6876
FAX: 815-753-4802
E-mail: pvanysek¤niu.edu

Representative to the Individual Membership Committee: Peter Hesketh

Chicago Section Bylaws

"Click" here to review the Bylaws of the Chicago Section.

Items of interest from the November 1998 Boston National Meeting

1. Dennis Turner is writing a book on 100 years of history of the ECS, which will be published in 2002. He needs our help in acquiring materials regarding the history of our section. in particular, he would like to have a list of past chairmen and major activities. Please, sent any material that you have to me, Petr Vanysek.

2. A proposal has been made to change the Society Constitution (and all documents subsequently influenced) in the following way: the change "local section(s)" to "section(s)." Since we have sections that span large geographical areas, even continents, the adjective "local" was deemed inappropriate. Our section would then be simply the Chicago Section.

Upcoming Program of Meetings in 1998/99

November 19, 1998, Thursday
"Role of Electrochemistry in the Studies of Biological Electron Transfer"
Professor Katsumi Niki, Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University

The first report on direct electron transfer (ET) reactions in proteins is on a tetra-heme protein cytochrome C3. The direct electrode reaction of cytochrome C was first reported by both Hill's and Kuwana's groups in 1977. The former group used 4,4'-bipyridyl modified gold electrode. The latter group used a clean indium oxide electrode. How does the electrode facilitate a reversible electrode reaction of electron transfer proteins? It is very important to know the interfacial structure of the ET protein because most proteins adsorb strongly on electrode surfaces and change their physicochemical properties. It is well known that the electrode reaction of ET proteins in the bulk is influenced markedly by the adsorbed layer. It was shown that well-ordered alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAM) on gold electrode are excellent models of biological ET systems to investigate long range ET and interfacial reactions. Various spectro-electrochemical techniques (SERS and UV-vis electro-reflectance, and NMR) have been used to elucidate the interfacial ET reactions of C-type cytochromes.

Place: Engineering Research Facility, University of Illinois at Chicago, 842 West Taylor St., Room 1047. This is at the corner of Taylor and Halstead; the entrance is on Taylor St. Adequate parking is available at the parking structure immediately east across Halstead. Call Davorin Babic (312-996-6007) for directions if you need them.
Time: Social at 6:00 PM, dinner at 7:00 PM, talk at 8:00PM.
Reservations: For dinner/talk, reply to Keryn Lian at (847)-205-3813 (G11492@email.mot.com) or to Bill Penrose at 630-548-3548, or email wpenrose@customsensorsolutions.com by Nov. 16 (Monday). No reservations needed for attending talk without dinner.
Cost: $20 ($8 to students, post-doc's, and unemployed members). Be sure to honor your reservations; the Chapter has to pay for all dinners ordered.

Report on technical meeting of the Chicago Section, November 19, 1998, Thursday.

In the preceding business meeting, the upcoming program was discussed and although there was a concern that the December 8 date for the next technical meeting might interfere with finals at some schools, we will likely go ahead with the scheduled talk by Dave Goad. In preliminary discussion of the Graduate Student Symposium for spring an idea was considered that a panel discussion by several people from industry about the expectations of the employers from the new graduates should be a part of the symposium. T. Henning and D. Cunningham from Abbott Laboratories offered help. The request of the society historian Dennis Turner, to submit a text about the history of the Chicago section was announced. P. Vanýsek retrieved old financial statements from the secretary D. Babic and will them use to reconstruct some of the past activity.

The after-dinner talk entitled "Role of Electrochemistry in the Studies of Biological Electron Transfer" was presented by Professor Katsumi Niki, Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, the president of the Japanese Society of Electrochemistry and a recently inducted fellow of the Society. The presentation centered on discussion of electrochemical properties of a tetra-heme protein cytochrome C3. A lively discussion ensued when we learned about the unusual and intriguing change in conductivity of this particular cytochrome. The meeting took place at the Engineering Research Facility, University of Illinois at Chicago. Nine people were in attendance.

Submitted by Petr Vanýsek

December 8, 1998 - David Goad, Boundary Technologies, Aluminum corrosion and capacitor manufacturing

January 24 or 25 - ECS national speaker
February - Milan Mrksich, University of Chicago
March - open
April - Graduate Student Symposium, jointly with the Southern Wisconsin Local Section (probably at Marquette University, arr. by Mary Wong)
May - Chad Mirkin (tentative)

1998 ECS Chicago Local Section Activity Report

Presented at the Council of Local Sections in Boston, 1 November 1998 by Petr Vanýsek

The Chicago Local section has had three meetings in the spring, listed in the attachment to this report. During the summer months when there are no technical meetings planned, the executive committee has met, elected a new committee and drafted a list of possible technical meeting speakers for the fall. One of the fall meetings already took place. The next one will be November 19 and four more are planned or already scheduled. The activity includes a Graduate Student Symposium, a traditional activity organized together with the Southern Wisconsin Section and alternating between venues in Illinois and Wisconsin. We have made an early commitment to recruit students to participate and we already have about eight participants.
The executive committee noted the high monthly fees to maintain an operating checking account with a local bank. A decision has been made to transfer the money to the custody of ECS. The section is also discussing the possibility of organizing (next year) a daylong workshop on a topic of general interest. Although such even takes great deal of preparation, the two previous workshops that we had brought large audience and were well received.

Summary of the past and future meetings was attached to the report. This is not included here as the material can be found elsewhere in the page.

List of Past Meetings

September 7th, 1995
"Results of a hydrocarbon chemical sensor"
Dr. James Vetrone, Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory
Technical Chairman: Peter Hesketh

October 10th, 1995
Chicago Local Section Reception at the Sheraton Hotel during the National ECS Meeting 8-13th Oct.
Location: 8-10pm Chicago Ballroom 9. Sheraton Hotel
Chairman: Yong Zhen

November 16th, 1995
"Quantum and Dielectric Confinement Effects in Porous Silicon"
Dr. Davorin Babic, EECS Dept., University of Illinois at Chicago
Location: University of Illinois at Chicago
6:30 PM - Laboratory tour and social
7:00 PM - Dinner ($20, $8 for students, postdoctorals and unemployed members)
8:00 PM - Talk
Chairman: Peter Hesketh

February
"Rechargeable Zn/Mn Oxide Batteries"
Dr. Lijun Bai, Motorola Energy Systems, Motorola Inc.
Technical Chairman: Yong Zhen

March 14th, 1996
Symposium on the Electrochemistry of Surfaces and Interfaces
Technical Chairmen: Peter Hesketh, Zoltan Nagy, and Gerry Zajac
Location: Argonne National Laboratory
Six invited speakers: Andrzej Wieckowski, Richard Van Duyne, Hoydoo You, Brian Niece, Robert M. Corn, and Michael Bedzyk presented papers on techniques for the study of electrochemical interfaces by X-ray, surface-enhanced spectroscopy, surface diffraction, scanning probe, and second harmonic generation. A tour of the Advanced Photon Source 7GeV Synchrotron accelerator ring was given. There were 71 people in attendance at the Symposium, of which 42 were students. A poster session with cocktail hour and dinner followed the invited talks. Twelve posters were presented on various aspects of electrochemical science. This meeting format was very successful and enjoyable for all those who attended and the local section is planning to hold annual topical symposia.

April 11th, 1996
National Speaker - Barry Miller
"New Electrochemistry for Carbon-Diamond and Fullerenes"
The electrochemistry of fullerenes on graphite electrodes are particularly rich, showing an optical sensitivity and multiple levels of reduction at cathodic bias. He described the unique properties of thin p-type diamond films deposited on silicon wafers. These electrodes are very stable over a wide range of potential, even at high anodic bias. The high over potentials are thought to be due to the limited number of available states in the diamond and a collection of localized acceptor surface states. Professor Miller also presented an overview of the healthy status of the Society.

August 8th, 1996
"New Materials and Transducers for Chemical Sensors" by Wolfgang Göpel, University of Tubingen, Germany
Dr. Göpel will survey "top-down" (microstructure) and "bottom-up" (chemical synthesis) approaches to designing chemical and biochemical sensors. Emphasis is on new materials and transducers for molecular recognition with current and future devices. "Lock- and-key" structures convert chemical information into electrical signals. This requires control of atomic structures of chemically sensitive materials under equilibrium or kinetic control. Recognition and transduction mechanisms are deduced from microscopic, spectroscopic, and sensor-response studies on prototype devices. Selected examples illustrate this approach for different materials, including electron conductors, mixed conductors, molecular cages, polymers, and biomolecular functional units. He will also discuss the ultimate limits of miniaturization of sensors, and the development of "electronic noses" for chemical sensing.

October 24th, 1996
"Temperature-Dependent Studies in Electrochemical Surface Science" by Gregory Jerkiewicz, University of Sherbrooke, Department of Chemistry.
Temperature variation can affect numerous electrochemical surface processes such as the under-potential deposition of hydrogen and metals (UPD-H and UPD-M, respectively), surface oxide formation and reduction, or anion adsorption. In the case of surface oxide formation on noble metals, the temperature increase augments the rate of surface oxidation, thus the oxide thickness. In the case of UPD-H and UPD-M, temperature dependence studies followed by theoretical treatment lead to determination of thermodynamic state functions such as Gibbs energy change of adsorption, entropy change of adsorption and change in adsorption enthalpy. Knowledge of the enthalpy change of adsorption is essential in subsequent elucidation of the bond energy between the metal substrate and the UPD species, thus in evaluation of the surface cohesive forces that are responsible for the adhesion of the adsorbate to the substrate. Dr. Jerkiewicz presented experimental data which lead to determination of the bond energy between UPD evolved hydrogen and noble metal substrates. Subsequently, he demonstrated how coadsorbed S adatoms influence this bond energy through local electronic effects. Finally, he showed data on H and sulfate adsorption on Pt(100) and Pt(111) electrodes.
There were 12 dinner guests and 3 more joined for the after-dinner talk.

December 5th, 1996
"Using EC-SPM To Induce and Monitor Processes at the Liquid-Solid Interface" by Daphna Yaniv, Molecular Imaging, 1200 East Broadway, Tempe AZ 85282.
Combining electrochemistry with scanning probe microscopy (SPM) enables inducing surface processes at the liquid-solid interface and simultaneously imaging them. By using in-situ electrochemical SPM (both Scanning Tunneling and Atomic Force Microscopy), surface images with resolution ranging from atomic/molecular to tens of square micrometers can be obtained. Numerous examples were shown to demonstrate variety of EC-PSM experiments, such as surface reconstruction, potential induced surface dissolution, order-disorder transitions, molecular recognition, corrosion processes, tip-induced deposition, and tip-induced etching. She also presented the consideration behind the design of an SPM for electrochemical imaging, focusing on environmental and temperature control imaging.
After the talk we were able to take a close look at the actual probe, its attachments, Peltier cooling stage and insulated tips.
There were 14 dinner guests at this meeting in spite of snow and sleet on the roads earlier that day.

January 16th, 1997
"Si-based tactile sensors, electrostatic tactile displays and novel approaches to embryo labeling" by Dave Beebe, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign.
Peter Hesketh, technical chairman
Meeting held at the University of Illinois at Chicago

March 3rd, 1997
"Silicon Processing and Thin Film Integrated Electronics" by Robert H. Reuss, Motorola Automotive, Energy and Components Sector
Abstract: The talk will focus on the evolution of silicon processing with emphasis on application to display technology, particularly active matrix LCDs. Trends in substrate sizes, devices/cm2 etc. will be reviewed and discussed in the context of the growth of microelectronics (for memory and logic) and "giant electronics" (for displays and related products). These trends will be compared and contrasted and projections of where these related, but different technologies will be applied for emerging markets such as integrated electronics will be suggested. Areas of active research in this dynamic field as well as requirements for realization of thin film integrated electronics will be highlighted.
Dr. Reuss received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Drexel University in 1971. He has been a member of the Research Faculty of the University of Colorado, worked for the government as a research and development manager for seven years, and joined the Motorola Semiconductor Product Sector in 1981. He led development teams in the area of evaluation and application of new device fabrication process technologies. In 1993, he became the Director of Technical Support for the Automotive, Energy and Controls Group, emphasizing battery and display technologies. He recently became the Director of Advanced Technology for Motorola Energy Systems, where he is responsible for a team which is evaluating capacitor technology for applications in advanced Motorola products.

March 27th, 1997
Social (family) meeting:
Hongchao Zhang, a Chinese Martial Arts Master: Tai Ji Quan (or Tai Chi): - A Martial Art That Prolongs Life

Abstract: Taiji Quan is one of the traditional Chinese sports and has been welcomed by the people of the world. It has a long history and great variety of forms and routines. Practicing Taiji Quan has an all-around effect on all the organs and systems of the human body. It has been proven that Taiji Quan is an important means for strengthening one's fitness, preventing disease, and prolonging life. This lecture will introduce Taiji Quan and demonstrate different styles of Taiji Quan and Taiji Sword. The audience will then have an opportunity to learn and practice basic Taiji movements, relaxation, and coordination of breathing.

Hongchao Zhang, a Chinese Martial Arts Master, received his B.A. in Martial Arts from Wuhan Institute of Physical Education in 1978. He taught Chinese Martial Arts at Wuhan Institute of P.E. from 1978 to 1989. In 1980, he was one of the founders of the Qigong Research Group there. In 1988, he received his Masters degree in Martial Arts from the Shanghai Institute of Physical Education. Master Zhang has won 8 black-belt Championships in American Competition. He is now the advisor to American Martial Arts Association and an instructor at Illinois University and Truman College. He has his own school at 3729 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago (Tel: 773-883-1016).

April 18th, 1997
Graduate Student Symposium, jointly with the Southern Wisconsin Local Section
For inquiries, contact Prof. Peter Hesketh peter@uicbert.eecs.uic.edu

May 12th, 1997
National Speaker
Murray Bullis, "Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International: 300 mm Silicon for ULSI Circuits"

Abstract: The transition from 200 mm to 300 mm silicon wafers is expected to be extremely costly, but inevitable. Costs will be minimized if wafers, equipment interfaces, etc., are standardized worldwide. Technologists in the US, Europe, Japan, and the Pacific Rim have been developing specifications for 300 mm wafers for over a year. The larger wafers will differ in several significant ways. We will review the dimensional and crystallographic attributes of 300 mm wafers compared to smaller ones. We will consider physical properties appropriate to 0.25 and 0.18 micrometer design rules, based on the National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors. Finally, we will consider briefly the state of metrology needed to support these requirements.

W. Murray Bullis joined Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International as Director of Standards in January 1996. He had previously been with Siltec Silicon, the Fairchild Research Center, the National Bureau of Standards, Texas Instruments, Farnsworth Electronics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Lincoln Laboratory. He earned his Ph.D. at MIT in 1956 and his A.B. at Miami University (Ohio) in 1951. He has published over 50 papers and five book chapters in silicon technology.

The meeting had 12 attendees for the social, dinner and the talk. During the social a lively discussion ensued with our guest regarding various issues concerning the state of the Society. Prior to the technical talk we have received a thorough report about the health of the Society. We are duly noting the need of timely filing of financial statements, due in early January. It was also pointed out that the Society is able to take care of the section funds, as opposed to keeping them in a local bank. The advantage would be earning interest and saving on the bank maintenance fee; the downside might be inability to write checks. The issue should be further discussed during the planning meeting, which will be held in July.

September 18th, 1997
Rhonda Franklin Drayton, University of Illinois at Chicago: High Frequency Circuits based on MEMS Techniques

Abstract: Planar circuits and antennas in high frequency applications are prime candidates for improved performance and miniaturization using Silicon micromachining. Many circuits and antennas designs of this type suffer from parasitic effects that ultimately alter the desired performance as a result of inherent mechanisms found in planar technology. This presentation will highlight the issues affecting performance in high frequency circuits and antenna and will present examples that illustrate the role that Silicon micromachining has served in providing significant performance improvements. Additionally, important fabrication challenges will be described for planar circuit designs with discussion on the role that micromachining has played in resolving some of these issues. Finally, new concepts in circuit design will also be presented that offer enhanced design flexibility to traditional design techniques. These structures are produced using micromachining to realize three-dimensional structures that perform important circuit functions, such as filtering.

Rhonda Franklin Drayton joined the faculty in the EECS Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago in January 1996. She has also worked as a research engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Her interests are in high frequency circuits and antennas, advanced packaging, optoelectronic circuits, and MEMS processing techniques. She earned both M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of Michigan in 1990 and 1995, respectively, and the B.S.E.E. at Texas A&M University in 1988. She has published over fifteen papers in referred journals and conference proceedings, co-authored a book chapter in advanced packaging using micromachining techniques, and received a US. patent on micromachined self-packages.

Wednesday, October 15, 1997
E. S. Smotkin, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology: "Direct Methanol Fuel Cells"

Abstract: An overview of the fuel cell program at IIT will be presented. The program is focused on the development of catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells and reformate/air fuel cells. The rational for the choice of elements in our ternary catalysts and experimental results will be discussed. Fuel cell performance and the in-situ spectroscopy of our catalysts will be presented. In addition, we will present some new data on electro-organic synthesis on fuel cell anodes and cathodes.

The October meeting of the Chicago local Chapter took place on October 15. The speaker was Prof. E. S. Smotkin from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). He presented an overview of the fuel cell program at IIT. The program is focused on the development of catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells and reformate/air fuel cells. Fuel cell performance, the in-situ spectroscopy of the catalysts and data on electro-organic synthesis of fuel cell anodes and cathodes were discussed. The meeting was attended by 15 Society members and 2 nonmembers.

Professor E. S. Smotkin received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas with Allen J. Bard in 1989. His thesis work was focused on photo-electrochemistry. He was a postdoctoral fellow with Professor Garry Rechnitz at the University of Hawaii in the area of biosensors from 1990 to 1991 and then at Argonne National Laboratory from 1991-1992 working in the area of polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Gene is now a faculty member in the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department at IIT. His research is focused on electrocatalysis and spectroscopy of electrode interfaces relevant to fuel cell systems.

Wednesday, November 12, 1997
National Speaker
Vitali Parkhutik, Technical University of Valencia, Spain: "Porous Semiconductors - What We Know and What Remains Mystery about Them"

Abstract: Porous silicon has attracted much research during last seven years due to expectations of its implementation in light-emitting devices. However, the progress was rather poor and many important issues in the formation of porous silicon films and their properties were left unsolved. The talk will be focused on the problems of physics and chemistry of porous semiconductors which remain unsolved and thus should be addressed by future researchers to ensure the practical applications of porous semiconductor materials. Special emphasis will be made on the results of the author in studying the mechanism of growth of porous semiconductors.

Speaker: Prof. Vitali Parkhutik received his Ph.D. from Bielorussian State University (Minsk, Biela Russia) in 1979. The thesis and much of further work was concentrated on studies of oxidation of metals and semiconductors in a low-temperature oxygen plasma and electrolytes. His post-doctoral research activities were related with the Minsk Radioengineering Institute (Bielorussia) where he occupied positions of senior and then leading researcher of the Microelectronics Department during 1979-1992. Since 1992 he moved to Spain to work on porous silicon growth and characterization, first at the Madrid Autonomous University and further at the Technical University of Valencia where he actually occupies a tenure-track position of full professor. Actual research activities of Vitali are shared between porous semiconductors and conjugated polymers.

Time: Social at 6:00 PM, dinner at 7:00 PM, talk at 8:00 PM.

Wednesday, December 10, 1997
Professor Richard M. Crooks, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University:
New Interfacial Materials for Array-Based Chemical Sensors.

Wednesday, January 14, 1998
Dr. Changming Li, Motorola: "Biosensors"

Abstract: A biosensor may be broadly defined as any measuring device incorporating a biological element either intimately connected to or integrated within a transducer. Generally, a biosensor is to produce an electronic signal which is proportional to the concentration of a specific chemical or set of chemicals. The marriage of two contrasting disciplines combines the high specificity and sensitivity of biological systems with the power of modern electronic technologies including advanced computer applications. This emerging technology crosses many traditional academic delineations and provides powerful tools for analytical science and industry. Various biosensors will be briefly presented. A novel glucose oxidase sensor will be discussed in detail. In the past decade there have been very significant developments in the amperometric glucose sensor. Usually, the glucose sensor is fabricated by immobilizing the enzyme bounded redox mediator to the solid electrode surface. The modification of the inner surfaces of porous carbon microelectrodes was studied and the electrode with such a structure was used to make the amperometric glucose sensor. Due to the unique modified electrode structure, the sensor significantly improves the measurement sensitivity.

Speaker: Dr. Changming Li received his B.S. in polymer chemistry from Chinese University of Science and Technology and Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Wuhan University in PRC in 1986. In 1986, He became the assistant professor in Wuhan University. He has worked in University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and in World Precision Instrument Inc. at Sarasota. He has joined Motorola as the senior staff engineer since 1994. He is the honored Member in NIH Multidisciplinary Study Section. Dr. Li's R&D interests include electrochemistry and material science, particularly in batteries and sensors. He has 44 publications and holds 15 U.S. patents.

Time: Social at 6:00 PM, dinner at 7:00 PM, talk at 8:00 PM.

Wednesday, 11 March 1998
GIBBS-LIPPMANN EQUATION UNDER STM EXAMINATION
J. Janata
In tunneling microscopy the tip, the gap and the conducting substrate form a capacitor. Similarly, in electrochemistry of polarized electrode the metal and the electrolyte form a double layer capacitor. It is shown that the energetics of these two capacitors, namely the surface tension of the STM substrate and of the polarized electrode, respectively, are governed by the same relationship, the Gibbs-Lippmann equation. The implications of this finding for STM imaging are discussed.

The speaker: Jirí (Art) Janata received his PhD in analytical chemistry from the Charles University, Prague, in 1965. After postdoctoral studies at the University of Michigan he spent six years in the Corporate Laboratory of ICI in England and in 1976 joined the faculty of the University of Utah in Bioengineering and Materials Science. Since 1992 he was an Associate Director of Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory. In 1997 he became an Eminent Scholar of the Georgia Research Alliance in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His interests include chemical sensors, electrochemistry, interphasial physical chemistry and microfabrication.

Place: Engineering Research Facility, University of Illinois at Chicago, 842 West Taylor St., Room 1043. This is at the corner of Taylor and Halstead; the entrance is on Taylor St. Adequate parking is available at the parking structure immediately east across Halstead. Call Davorin Babic (312-996-6007) or Peter Hesketh (312-413-7574) for directions if you need them.
Time: Social at 6:00 PM, talk at 6:45 PM, dinner at 8:00 PM in The Parthenon restaurant in Greektown.

Special Meeting
Tuesday, 31 March 1998

The Electrochemical Society, Present and Future and Materials Measurements Research at NIST. Dr. Dale Hall, NIST (Society Speaker)

Abstract: Dale Hall, the Society speaker, has begun his talk with information and thoughts on the current status and future directions of the Electrochemical Society. He discussed important recent events and actions of the Society, the Society's increasingly international role, and new ideas for increasing the Society's responsiveness to its members.
Dr. Hall then spoke about materials research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He presented selected examples of current or recent work on materials, materials processing, and standard reference materials development.

Dr. Dale Hall is acting director of the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory at NIST. He received his B.S., cum laude, in chemistry and Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has fourteen years of experience in industrial electrochemistry, including seven years at International Nickel as a principal scientist. For the past ten years, he has been at NIST, where he has had several responsibilities, including chief of the Office of Intelligent Processing of Materials and deputy director of the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory. Dr. Hall has over 40 publicaions and 10 patents in various areas of electrochemistry and materials science. He is a former chairman of ECS's Industrial Electrolysis and Electrochemical Engineering Division and is
currently the second vice president of the Society.

Place:           Engineering Research Facility, University of Illinois at Chicago, 842 West Taylor St., Room 1047. This is at the corner of Taylor an Halsted; the entrance is on Taylor St. Adequate parking is available at the parking structure immediately east across Halstead.
Time:            Social at 6:00 PM, dinner at 7:00 PM, talk at 8:00 PM.
Reply to:      Reservations for dinner by March 27 (Friday) to Peter Hesketh 312-413-7574 (peter@eecs.uic.edu) . No reservations needed for attending talk without dinner.
Cost              $20 ($8 to students, post-doc's, and unemployed members).

Graduate student symposium April 24, 1998
Symposium organized once a year, together with the Southern Wisconsin Section.
This year the host is the SOUTHERN WISCONSIN SECTION
(Note - Unfortunately, this symposium did not take place in 1998. We hope to have it in spring 1999).

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Graduate Student Symposium of 1998
Joint sponsored by Southern Wisconsin Section and Chicago Section of the Electrochemical Society Friday afternoon, April 24, 1998, Madison, Wisconsin

About 20 people met at the University of Illinois, Chicago, April 18, 1997, for the Graduate Student Symposium of 1997. Ten papers were presented by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the field of electrochemistry.

The Graduate Student Symposium of 1998 will be held in Madison, Wisconsin--the Number 1 City in the United States, Friday, April 24, 1998. The symposium is designed to survey the advances made in the related fields of electrochemistry and electrochemical engineering. Although the symposium is traditionally for graduate students, senior undergraduate students and postdoctoral fellows are strongly encouraged to participate.

Participants wishing to contribute to the meeting are kindly requested to send a short abstract (email with MS Word file attachment preferred) to Deyang Qu.

The Technical Section will be at the Monona Terrace - a new landmark of Madison on the shore of stunning Lake Monona. A social dinner will be held after the symposium, free of charge to all students and their supervisors. The event is financially supported by Rayovac Corporation, Johnson Wax and Johnson Control.

The confirmation notice will be sent out in early April.

General Information:

Dr. Deyang Qu
Rayovac Corporation
601 Rayovac Drive
Madison, Wisconsin 53711
email: qu@rayovac.com
Tel: 608-275-4745, Fax: 608-275-4992

June 15th, 1998
Executive Committee Planning Meeting
Minutes of the Chicago local section planning meeting

The meeting took place in the Gengis Khan restaurant in Downers Grove on June 15, 1998.

1. The meeting started at 7:10 pm. Present: William Penrose, Keryn Lian, Peter Hesketh and Davorin Babic

2. The following new officers of the local section were elected:
        Chairman: Peter Hesketh
        1st Vice-Chairman: William Penrose
        Secretary: Keryn Lian
        Treasurer: Davorin Babic
        Councilor: Lijun Bai
        Incumbent Councilor: Petr Vanysek
        Representative to the Individual Membership Committee: Peter Hesketh

3. William Penrose reported on the financial status of the Section.

The section has a checking account at Citibank with the current balance of $442.41. The section is charged $20.00 per month by Citibank to keep the account open. This checking account is necessary to deposit interest from a CD also kept at Citibank whose current balance is $9454.05. The CD matures on October, 7. The Section also has a custodial account at the ECS headquarters whose current balance is $506.12.

The participants discussed the report. On Bill Penrose's suggestion it was agreed that the money, currently in Citibank CD, should be partially deposited to another bank, under better conditions for the Section. The leftover CD money is to be transferred into the custodial account and used to finance a workshop organized by the Section during the upcoming year.

4. It was agreed to organize a workshop in the upcoming year to attract more people to participate in the Section activities. After a brief discussion it was concluded that the tentative title of the workshop will follow example of a successful workshop of a few years back: Electrochemistry of Interfaces". The workshop will include tutorial talks by invited speakers on different areas of electrochemistry, a student poster session with an award for the best poster and a discussion on job prospects for chemists. The workshop is intended to occur as a one day workshop in the beginning of April, 1999.

5. The following speakers were suggested for the upcoming year: Schriver (NWU), Zajac (Amoco), Chad Mirkin (NWU), Katsumi Niki (Iowa State), Milan Mrksich (Chicago), Rob Selman (IIT). Bill Penrose has the list of prospective speakers and he will determine if they are willing to speak and arrange the talks. The talks are mostly planned for Fall and Winter since the workshop will take place in the Spring.

6. A suggestion was made to try to organize a joint meeting with the local section of ACS.

7. A suggestion was made to contact the Society headquarters and arrange with them so that they set up an HTML page accessible to the local members. The members will use the HTML page to confirm their attendance of the local meetings either with or without dinner reservation. The meeting organizer will use the data to see how many people are coming and to send the last minute reminders of the meeting. The phase-in of the HTML meeting confirmations should be gradual.

8. The planning meeting ended around 9 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Davorin Babic
Secretary

Monday, September 21st, 1998
1998 - The Year Of The Sensor

Petr Vanysek, Chemistry Dept., Northern Illinois University, and
Joseph Stetter, CPS Dept., Illinois Institute of Technology

Well, it's not officially the year of the sensor, but 1998 probably set a record in the number of meetings and symposia on the subject of chemical sensors. Also, there were many meetings that included major symposia on sensors. There have been several startling new developments in the area of chemical sensors and biosensors. Petr Vanysek and Joe Stetter attended several of these meetings. They will report on some of the highlights of the Gordon Conference on Chemical Sensors and Interfacial Design, the NIST Conferences, and the Beijing Conference on Chemical Sensors.

Meeting Place: Grand Mandarin Restaurant, 3099 Ogden Avenue, Lisle, Tel: (630)-357-0888.
Location: About 0.3 miles east of Naper Blvd and Ogden Avenue on the south side of the road. If arriving by the I-88 Tollway from either direction, exit at Naperville Road. At the end of the ramp, there is a traffic light. Turn right and follow the main road until you reach Ogden Avenue (Route 34). Turn left onto Ogden at the light. Proceed 0.3 miles on Ogden until you see an elaborately decorated Chinese restaurant on the right.
Time: 6:00 pm drinks, 7:00 pm dinner, 8:00 talk
Cost: $20 for member; $8 for student, postdoc, and unemployed member. Please make sure to honor your reservation; The chapter will have to pay for all the dinner ordered.
Reservation: Please call Keryn Lian at (847)-205-3813 or G11492@email.mot.com, OR Bill Penrose at 630-548-3548 or email wpenrose@customsensorsolutions.com. No reservation is needed if you want to attend talk only.

Prepared by Petr Vanýsek

Last updated: 6 November 1998