Ex Libris: News from the Library

13 May 2014 Comments Off on Ex Libris: News from the Library

This week, the Library will host two events. On Tuesday, we will hold another Librarianship Seminar, on “Kütüphane Kullanıcılarının Değişen Bilgi Arama Davranışları” (Changing Information-Seeking Behavior of Library Patrons). Speakers will include Prof. Fazlı Can (CS), Prof. Nazan Özenç Uçak (Hacettepe) and Gamze Albayrak and Pınar Yadigar, both from the National Library. The seminar will be in Turkish, and will start at 1:30 p.m. in the Main Campus Library Art Gallery.

On Wednesday, May 14, we will hold the third and final Lunchtime Lecture for this academic year, with Assoc. Prof. Ulrike Salzner (CHEM) delivering a talk entitled “Well-Done: On Chemistry and Cooking.” In her lecture, Dr. Salzner will examine the chemist’s perspective on everyday cooking, which forms the basis for her course CHEM 430 – Food Chemistry. Knowledge about food and procedures for cooking have a long tradition based on empiricism. Cookbooks were written and recipes were optimized long before details about the chemical composition of food were known. Until about a hundred years ago, chemistry also was an empirical science. Like food items in the kitchen, chemicals were processed in the lab and outcomes were recorded and organized. In this way the composition of many chemicals was determined, but their internal structure remained unknown. With the discovery of the electron at the end of the 19th century, a rapid sequence of experimental and theoretical insights elucidated first the structure of the atom, then the nature of the chemical bond, and finally the orientation of atoms in molecules. With modern instrumentation it is now possible to analyze the composition of food items and to monitor changes during processing.

These new insights help us to understand and improve recipes and enable modern societies to provide nutrition for a growing population and avoid food-borne diseases. Along with these developments, widespread industrialization of food has occurred. The food industry has a vital interest in understanding food stability, taste perception, mouth-feel and, in particular, the changes that occur during storage of food. Governing bodies have the task of developing safety standards for food processing and ensuring that food additives do not harm consumers. In her presentation, Dr. Salzner will focus on three topics: chemical insights regarding the cooking of meat; artificial sweeteners; and the safety of modern food additives. If you would like to hear this “tasty talk,” come to the Main Campus Library Art Gallery at 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday. Lunchtime refreshments will be provided and chemically analyzed! The lecture will be in English.

One final note: Currently on display at the Main Library are books written and illustrated by five- and six-year-old kindergarten students at BLIS.