About the author: Mary Virginia Orna is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at College of New Rochelle. She holds a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Fordham University. Dr. Orna has lectured and published in the areas of color chemistry and archaeological chemistry. Her 2013 book, The Chemical History of Color, was praised in J.ChemEd and was subsequently rated as the most popular book in the Springer series of that year. Her latest book, the March of the Pigments,s is scheduled for release by the Royal Society of Chemistry in May of this year.

About the talk: Color has been an exciting and enjoyable part of our lives since the color-sensitive eye evolved since time immemorial. However, the relationship between color, chemistry, and the development of society is far more recent. In this talk, Dr. Orna will trace the history of color usage as a chemical endeavor to help us understand it as a universal part of the human experience. From the cave paintings in the Grotte Chauvet in Southern France to the present day, she will focus on four major areas: fashion, pharmaceuticals, food, and fun.