Newsletter of the Northeast Georgia Section of the American Chemical Society. Volume 42, Number 2 February 2019 MONTHLY MEETING NOTICE

Transcription

1 N E G S NEWS Newsletter of the Northeast Georgia Section of the American Chemical Society Volume 42, Number 2 February 2019 MONTHLY MEETING NOTICE Tuesday, February 26, 2019 Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC) 315 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA Michael Willett Visionary Owner ATLANTA SPECIAL FX Chemistry Positively Affects Atlanta Special Effects Demonstration: 6:30 pm in Parking Lot CCRC Talk: 7:00 PM (Note: if you see the loading dock you are at the rear parking lot go to the other one).

2 Talk Synopsis Atlanta Special FX started when I realized there was an opportunity in the marketplace. Special effects were costly which limited it to the upper 2% of the marketplace. I saw an opportunity to build mechanical products and introduce them to the market at a much lower price targeting 98% of the world that s throwing small events. I quickly realized after building my first snow and foam machines that the fluids required to make these devices operate were also expensive. This is where chemistry plays a role. I needed to develop foaming agents that would create different types of foam for different machines. In the beginning, I went about it the only way I knew how, which was trial and error, and quickly realized that with chemicals that can be very dangerous. With the help of the Chemistry Department at the University of Georgia, I was able to formulate multiple foam fluids that work for fake snow, party foam, and even our custom cloud foam. Once we started down this track, we also developed a fog formula, Haze formula, and later would go on to build CO2 fog equipment, which required a unique blend of chemistry and mechanical fixtures to create dense white clouds of fog. So in closing, chemistry played a significant part in the continued success of Atlanta Special FX because it gave us the freedom to build the equipment and then provide the necessary fluids for additional revenue. Speaker's Biographical Sketch Michael Willett was born and raised in rural Salem Arkansas where he attended the University of Central Arkansas and Arkansas State University in pursuit of a bachelor s degree in nursing. After seven years of college, he was removed from the program. He eventually moved to Atlanta to pursue a career in real estate. As a would-be entrepreneur, real estate seemed a good fit. The real estate downturn in 2007 and 2008, led Mike to ponder a career change. He read an article about a machine that made custom shaped foam Marketing clouds. The following day at 4 AM, he left for Alabama to meet the owner of this company. Despite zero knowledge of the special effects world, he started Atlanta Special FX in his garage the day after the meeting in Alabama. Ten years later, Atlanta Special FX has grown into a multimillion dollar manufacturer who supplied equipment in over 90 countries. Mike still owns and operates Atlanta Special FX, which continues to grow and expand. The company now offers specialized technicians for turnkey services as well as continue to manufacture and innovate new special-effects equipment. Chair s Corner It is a new year, and the NE GA ACS has a new chair, who will continue to learn on the job. I am looking forward to an exciting year of meetings, and have tried to arrange a diverse set of speakers who will provide talks that are of interest to people of all chemistry backgrounds. I want to thank those who attend the banquet in January. The meeting was well attended, and I am particularly happy that there were a large number of UGA graduate students in attendance. It is nice to see the next generation of scientists getting involved with the ACS. In case you missed the meeting, Prof. Mike Adang from UGA, who gave an excellent talk entitled Science and Ethics of Genetically Modified Crops. Our next meeting should be equally interesting to people of all chemistry levels. The speaker is Michael Willett, the Visionary Owner Atlanta special FX. If you have watched the SEC championship game, you may have seen some of the special effects created by Mike s company. I met mike approximately 10 years ago, he had sent an to the chemistry department asking if someone would be interested in analyzing some material used to create Marketing clouds. Turns out the material was soap, but we were able to come up with

3 a new formulation with improved properties for the intended use. Although Mike has minimal chemistry training, the special effects he creates are dependent on the chemical properties of the materials he uses. I expect his talk will highlight this interface between chemistry and the world of special effects. A demonstration of Flying Logo cloud generation and potentially other special FX will start at 6:30 PM (weather permitting) in the front parking lot of the CCRC (if you see the loading dock you are at the rear parking lot go to the other one). Future Meetings March Meeting: Thursday, 21 March 2019 (location TBD) Chemists Presentation: Building the First 'Steamship' in History John Laurence Busch The speaker is an independent historian who focuses upon the interaction between humanity and technology, with a particular specialization in the first generation of steam-powered vessels. He has devoted years of research to discovering the true story of Captain Moses Rogers and the steamship Savannah. Outreach Opportunities There are several outreach opportunities available to local section members as described below: Friday, March 29, 2019 Judges need for the Georgia Science & Engineering Fair, The Classic Center, 300 N Thomas Street, downtown Athens, GA. Visit their website at gsef@georgiacenter.uga.edu and click on judges forms. Contact Maurice Snook for these other activities: Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019 Science Night at Malcolm Bridge Elementary; 5:30-7:00 pm. Saturday, Mar. 2, 2019 Young Scientists Day at Alps Rd. Elementary; 8:30 am-noon. Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2019 Whit Davis Science Night; 6:00-7:00 pm Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2019 Oconee Elementary Science Night; 6:00-7:00 pm. Thursday, Mar. 21, 2019 Hilsman Middle School Science Night; 5:00-6:30 pm. Northeast Georgia Section ACS Regional Science & Engineering Fair Awards The Northeast Georgia Regional Science & Engineering Fair was held on Friday, Jan. 25, The Northeast Section presented 3 awards for the best projects in Chemistry and 3 awards for the best projects in Biochemistry which consisted of $50 each. Winners were: Isabella Baker; Biofuels vs Fossil Fuels; Russell Middle School. Logan Bane; Dirty Batteries=Clean Power; Russell Middle School. Siya Kannan; Identifying Unknown Metabolites in C. elegans: Implications to Human Health; North Oconee High School. Princess Gemao; Octane performance in gasoline; Hilsman Middle School. Joshua Vongkunthong; Rutin From Kudzu as a Dietary Supplement; Clarke Middle School. Noah Clay, Caroline Terry, Benjamin Miller; What inflates a balloon most, vinegar or yeast?; Gainesville Middle School. We hope these budding scientists do well at the State Fair on Mar. 29 (see above). Maurice Snook presented his chemistry show for the enjoyment of all and also mentored Joshua Vongkunthong on his project.

4 DaniMer Scientific UGA In The News Our previous Chair, Joe Grubbs, wanted to share a few press releases involving DaniMer that just came out. Big News! Check out the following links to see what s new in biodegradable polymer products. Below is a link to a press release that went out this morning (Jan. 18). This has already been picked up by a couple of major news outlets. Also, Plastics Today published an article written by Phil Van Trump about recent developments with PHA. NORTHEAST GEORGIA LOCAL SECTION OFFICERS SECTION WEBSITE: negeorgia.sites.acs.orgs Executive Committee Chair: Ron Orlando, CCRC, UGA, orlando@ccrc.uga.edu, Chair-elect: Robert J. Woods, CCRC, rwoods@ccrc.uga.edu, Immediate Past Chair: Joe Grubbs, III, DaniMer Scientific, joegrubbs@danimer.com, Secretary: Bruce Johnson, tustinfarm@gmail.com, Treasurer: Maurice Snook USDA-ARS (retired), Maurice_snook@yahoo.com, Councilor: Maurice Snook, USDA-ARS (retired), maurice_snook@yahoo.com, Alternate Councilor: Trevor Mitchell, USDA-ARS, trevor.mitchell@usda.gov, Committee Chairs Awards: David Himmelsbach, Light Solutions, , dshimmels@charter.net Education: Maurice Snook, USDA-ARS (retired), maurice_snook@yahoo.com, Long Range Planning: Maurice Snook, USDA-ARS (retired), maurice_snook@yahoo.com, Nominating: Maurice Snook (retired), maurice_snook@yahoo.com, Program: Ron Orlando, CCRC, orlando@ccrc.uga.edu, Newsletter Editor: Maurice Snook (retired), maurice_snook@yahoo.com,

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