April Meeting
    We hope you enjoyed our carbon copy of SciMix, and we thank our Chair, Natalie McClure for the idea of it, Amgen for the wonderful job they did of hosting it, and last but not least, all of those who brought their posters!
May Meeting
Come and hear
Nick Drobak  and  Captain Jim "Homer" Holm

Nick Drobak was born and raised on the central coast of California in the small beach town of Santa Cruz. He has spent most of his life diving in or sailing across the Monterey and San Francisco Bays, as well as the Adriatic, Mediterranean, and Caribbean seas. As a result, he developed a deep connection with the marine environment which in large part has been the driving force in creating The Clean Oceans Project.
    Growing up in the 60's and 70's in a "progressive" community like Santa Cruz, Nick was exposed to issues of environmental and social justice at an early age. As a child, and long before the "green" movement ushered in the era of curbside pick-ups, Nick's mom taught him about recycling. Each month, when the piles in the garage got too high, he and his brother would help her tie bundles of newspaper and crush aluminum and tin cans, and together they would drive across town to deliver their cargo to the one recycling center in the county.
    Prior to forming The Clean Oceans Project with his partner Jim "Captain Homer" Holm, Nick worked in project management and sales in the construction industry.
    Nick holds a BA in English Literature and a JD from Santa Clara University.

Captain Jim "Homer" Holm has been U.S. Coast Guard licensed since 1979, working for over 30 years in the maritime trades on various configurations of sail and motor craft including private luxury yachts, grand prix racing sailboats, marine research vessels, square-rigged training ships and fast rescue boats.
    Captain Holm has crossed the Atlantic Ocean, sailed into the Mediterranean, North and Caribbean Seas, transited the Panama Canal, crossed the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii and back numerous times, and voyaged among many Pacific islands including Hawaii, French Polynesia, Fiji, Vanuatu, Australia, New Zealand and the Marshall Islands.
    Captain Holm's management experience includes developing and operating acclaimed non-profit marine education programs for clients including O'Neill International and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, serving over 50,000 kids and 5,000 adults over the last fourteen years. He has also been a successful fundraiser for people with Autism.
    As Co-founder and Director of Operations for "The Clean Oceans Project", Captain Holm is tasked with identifying and developing the technologies that will play a key role in removing destructive plastic marine debris from the world's oceans.
    Captain Holm feels extremely fortunate to reside on the beautiful central coast of California where an abundance of marine education resources and an awareness of environmental issues has provided him the perfect platform to share his knowledge and passion for the health of the sea. He is excited to discuss marine environmental and educational issues and invites inquiries through your favorite medium.

The Clean Oceans Project

    A "gyre" is a large-scale circular feature made up of ocean currents that spiral around a central point creating a whirlpool effect that pushes water and marine plastic debris to its center. As plastic enters the marine environment, currents like the Kuroshio off the coast of Japan collect and transport it like a giant ocean conveyor belt laden with garbage bound for the North Pacific Gyre.
    Estimates vary widely as to the size of this gyre -- some research suggests that there are literally millions of tons of marine plastic debris distributed over 5 million square miles of ocean -- but regardless of the exact size and mass of the garbage patch, one thing is clear; plastic garbage does not belong in our oceans.
    The Clean Oceans Project (TCOP) is an environmental non-profit organization formed in 2008 in Santa Cruz, California, by a group of concerned scientists, educators, activists, and business professionals out of a shared sense of urgency that plastic accumulations in the world's oceans are threatening the lives of millions of marine mammals, birds and fish.
Where: 
 

 

 Biltmore Hotel and Suites (click here for a map of the Biltmore's location) 
2151 Laurelwood Road
Santa Clara,  CA  95054
  When:      Thursday, May 17, 2012
 
6:00 p.m.  Social hour
7:00 p.m.  Dinner
8:00 p.m.   Lecture

 Price:       $26.00/person (cash or check only; we can't do credit cards).
    We give discounts to students, job-seekers, and 50-year (or more) members of the ACS. If you qualify, please let us know below, and then claim your discount at the meeting registration table when you pick up your name tag.
 
Menu:

 Greek Chicken 
Cheese Ravioli                                                                                                                      

 Reservations: Needed by Monday, May 14 if you will be there for dinner.  Reservations are not needed if you are coming only for the lecture, but  they are needed for everyone else (the hotel  needs to know in advance how many dinners to prepare).

Name:
Employer or School:
Phone number:
Address (Home or Work):
Dinner entree:
Chicken
Ravioli
Please check all that apply: 
Student
Job seeker
50-year member
If you are bringing guests, please indicate their names and affiliations (if any) below:
(You can also use this box to send in a cancellation or to ask for accommodation for special dietary needs.)

    Once you make a dinner reservation, we are committed to paying for your meal, whether or not you pay us. Please don't be a no-show! You may be invoiced for the meal if you make a reservation and then don't show up without canceling by Wednesday, May 16th!
    To cancel, just send in another reservation, and in the box labeled "If you are bringing guests...", write a brief note saying that you are canceling.
Future Meetings
     Please note that the further into the future we look, the more tentative the arrangements become.  But once we know, you'll see it here first!

    Our Chair Elect, Jeanette Medina, is hard at work lining up speakers for the coming fall.  Information will appear here as soon as we get it.
    Our summer picnic and awards presentation will again be at the Stanford Chemistry department, and will be on Saturday, July 14, 2012.
   Remember that certain dinner meetings are routinely pre-set: C.C. Teaching Award in November, Mosher Award presentation and talk in January, Student Affiliates meeting in April or May, Awards Picnic in late June or early July, no meetings at all in August or December.

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