Posted on Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Dr. Peter Smith, Westminster College associate professor of chemistry, will speak on "The Coming Rare Earth Crisis" at Faires Faculty Forum Wednesday, March 9, at 11:40 a.m. in the Sebastian Mueller Theater of the McKelvey Campus Center.
"The rare earths are a collection of 17 elements that are considered a group because they have similar chemical and physical properties and occur together in the same minerals," Smith said.
China has become the world's leading exporter of rare earth materials, a monopoly that is exacerbated by the United States' de facto moratorium on the mining and processing of the rare earths. This situation puts the U.S. at a significant competitive disadvantage in the manufacture of high-tech products that contain rare earth materials.
Smith will share his current research with students as they strive to develop new production and recovery methods that could greatly benefit the rare earth industry as it faces impending crisis.
Faculty Forum was established in 1990 by Dr. Barbara Faires, Westminster professor of mathematics emerita, during her term as Dean of the College and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Faculty members from all disciplines volunteer to present lectures on their current research, artistic productions, and/or scholarship of teaching and learning. Each forum presents new ideas with innovative lecture techniques.
Contact Smith at (724) 946-7299 or e-mail smithpm@westminster.edu for additional information.
