Sept. 18: Heavy Metal Contamination is Topic of 33rd Leonard A. Ford Lectures

Monday, September 18, 2023
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Technical talk at 11 a.m.; General talk at 7:30 p.m.

Mankato, Minn. – Adeyemi Adeleye, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, will deliver two lectures on heavy metal contamination Monday, Sept. 18 in Minnesota State University, Mankato’s 33^rd Leonard A. Ford Lectureship.

Both lectures are free to the public and will be held in Centennial Student Union’s Ostrander Auditorium.

Adeleye will give a technical talk at 11 a.m. on Sept. 18 titled “Using basic chemistry concepts to address the global problem of heavy metals in food.”

According to a provided abstract, Adeleye in his technical talk will discuss how “the occurrence of heavy metals in foods is a serious concern, as it is a direct, prolonged route of human exposure to substances that can adversely affect the health and development of children.”

Adeleye will present a general talk at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 18 titled “Translating classroom science education to real world solutions: The heavy metal example.”

According to a provided abstract, Adeleye in his evening general talk will describe “how we ended up with heavy metals in our food in the U.S. despite our high level of development and regulations. More importantly, I will share ideas on how our research group is actively conducting research and training students to help address the problem of heavy metals occurrence in food.”

According to a provided biography, Adeleye earned a doctorate from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2015. In 2016, Adeleye was awarded a National Research Council Research Associateship by the National Academies, with which he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s research laboratory in Narragansett, Rhode Island. He is a member of the C&EN’s Talented 12 Class of 2022, and was awarded the 2022 Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization (SNO)’s Emerging Investigator Award. Adeleye is interested in using engineered nanoparticles to address environmental challenges.

The Leonard A. Ford Lectureship is sponsored by the Department of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Geology in Minnesota State Mankato’s College of Science, Engineering & Technology.

For more information, contact Christine Cords, office manager in the Department of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Geology, at 507-389-1963, or christine.cords@mnsu.edu.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,482 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.