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September 5, 2003

Dr. James BeMiller to Present Lecture September 20

SIOUX FALLS - Augustana College's Chemistry Department and the Sioux Valley Section of the American Chemical Society are sponsoring a lecture by Dr. James BeMiller, Purdue University, on Saturday, September 20.

“Applications of Biopolymers” is the topic of BeMiller's presentation, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in Gilbert Science Center room 241. The lecture is free and open to the public.

More than 90 percent of all carbohydrates are in the form of polymers called polysaccharides. The commercial water-soluble or ­dispersible polysaccharides, commonly called gums, are used in a variety of industries from petroleum production to foods.

Preparation from plants, seaweeds, and bacteria; structures and properties that make them useful in diverse applications, and uses of a representative sample will be presented in a way that is understandable and interesting to both scientists and nonscientists.

BeMiller is the former director of the Whistler Center for Carbohydrates Research at Purdue University. The Whistler Center is an academic research center with international recognition devoted to fundamental research on the chemical and physical properties of carbohydrates that are related to their practical applications.

He has been editor of the important series “Methods in Carbohydrate Chemistry.” He has been on the U.S. Advisory Committee for International Carbohydrate Symposia Inc. since 1975 and its president since 1978. He has been the national representative of the United States to the International Carbohydrate Organization (ICO) since 1978, and twice its president.

BeMiller has co-directed and taught short courses on gum chemistry and technology for the food industry. He is the recipient of the Harold Macy Food Science and Technology award, and the Alsberg-Schoch Award of the American Association of Cereal Chemists.