Arsenic is the 20th most abundant element in the earth's crust with average concentrations in rocks of about 2 mg/kg and in soil of about 5 mg/kg. Although arsenic appears to be relatively stable in soils and rocks, we have been able to extract it and make a wide range of compounds with a variety of uses. Arsenic compounds have been, and still are, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. We spray solutions of them on roadsides, orchards, lawns, and we used to impregnate timber for construction purposes with a solution of chromium, copper and arsenic. This kind of "pressure-treated" wood has been phased out of use for domestic purposes, but there is still a considerable legacy with which to deal. It is not known to what extent this material is responsible for environmental contamination. There is also the legacy of chemical manufacturing, as arsenic was often discarded along with other wastes. Arsenic compounds are number 1 in the US in terms of chemicals in the environment that pose the most significant potential threat to human health. Naturally occurring arsenic can get into drinking water, and the contamination of ground water is a serious issue--not just for the US. In major Bangladesh and West Bengal millions of people are drinking highly contaminated water and are showing signs of chronic arsenic poisoning. The relevant issues are (a) how can we remove arsenic from contaminated water and (b) how can we test--in remote, rural communities--that the water is safe. We are starting to see arsenic contamination in food, especially rice. There are other issues: arsenic-containing drugs are fed to chickens, arsenic was a component of some embalming fluids and may now be leaching out of cemeteries, and arsenic may be a contaminant of deicing salts. To study any of these issues, we have to be able to make measurements of the relevant compounds that are reliable. In the laboratory, we can use instrumentation such as high performance liquid chromatography with element specific detection by plasma-source optical or mass spectrometry; however, for field measurements, simple test kits are needed. My group's recent research has been directed at overcoming the shortcomings in both kinds of analytical methods. Graduate students, upper-level undergraduates, summer students, first-year undergraduates, K-12 students and their teachers are all involved in this arsenic-related research.

Julian Tyson is Associate Dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, He received his B.S. in Chemistry from Aberdeen University in Scotland in 1971, his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Imperial College of Science and Technology, London University in England in 1975, and did post-doctoral work in Analytical Chemistry at Aberdeen University in 1975. He was a faculty member at Loughborough University of Technology in the UK from 1976 to 1989, when he relocated to UMass.

During his time at UMass, he has served as Graduate Program Director, Associate Department Head, and Department Head. He is the coordinator of the Chemistry Department's Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program, one of the five programs selected by the American Chemical Society for funding following a national competition in 1999. He is a former member of the Chemistry Department Personnel Committee, and a past chair of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Personnel Committee. He has reviewed the files for personnel actions of many tens of individuals, both at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and at other institutions in the US and for several institutions around the world. He chaired the external review committee for the Chemistry Department at Bates College, and he holds a visiting professor position in the Department of Chemistry at Smith College, where he has taught several classes as well as directed independent studies. He has advised some 45 Ph.D. students (32 of these since starting at UMass), about 10 MS students, and about 8 post-doctoral assistants and a large number (over 40) of undergraduates. He was a participant in the UMass Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP), a member of the National Visiting Committee for the Maine University system NSF-funded CETP, and was lead PI on an NSF GK-12 grant. He is Co-PI of the NSF-funded NE Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate.

Dr. Tyson is a pioneer of the microfluidic sample handling techniques for atomic spectrometry now widely used in the atomic spectrometry research community. He has contributed over 150 papers in the primary literature, 30 reviews in the secondary literature, including 25 Atomic Spectrometry Updates in J. Anal. At. Spectrom. and various chapters in text books. He is currently developing new analytical methods for the determination of trace species in complex matrices, based on the coupling of reaction chemistry in flowing streams with atomic spectrometry detection, in support of problem solving in areas related to nutrition, clinical studies, and the biogeochemical cycling of key elements. Work on the issues of arsenic contamination forms the basis for research experiences for first-year chemistry students who work in small groups with a junior and graduate students. Over 300 students have participated in this "arsenic project," which also forms the basis of outreach to the local K-12 sector.

He has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry, the 14th SAC Silver Medal from the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Lester Strock Award from the Society of Applied Spectroscopy, and a Discovery Corps Senior Fellowship from the NSF Division of Chemistry. He has given nearly 200 invited lectures at conferences in about 15 countries. He is the author of 17 articles on aspects of education, training, and curricular reform in the analytical sciences, a student text, "Analysis: What Analytical Chemists Do", Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 1988, 3rd reprint (1997), and the recent "Short Guide to Writing about Chemistry" (with H. Davis and J. Pechenik) Longman 2010).

HOW TO GET THERE FROM DETROIT

Take exit 183 from I-94
Proceed to Huron Street. (0.3miles).
Turn right on Huron and go to W. Cross Street (1.0 mile)
Turn left on Cross and go to E. Washtenaw Avenue (0.7 miles)
Go right on Washtenaw and go 0..2 miles to Oakwood
Go right on Oakwood and go to W Circle Drive
A pay parking lot is located just north of the drive to the library

You are invited to join the speaker for dinner after the program.