Talk Videos from Concentration 2019

John A. MacKay earned his B.A. in Chemistry at the St. Lawrence University. He also earned his Ph.D. At the University of Vermont, where he focused on Inorganic Chemistry and on the synthesis of cancer fighting compounds. After working in teaching positions at the University of Vermont, Lyndon State College, and Davidson College, John went on to join Waters Corporation in 1983.

From the late 70s, travel was my passion, and my love of hashish dictated the places I visited. I was blessed to meet people in producing countries who generously shared their traditions with me and laid the foundation for the teacher I have become. My focus today and for the near future, is on discovering the science behind traditional and modern techniques in an effort to pass on factual knowledge and information to the next generation of Hashishin.

I am Aficionado Seed’s official Hashishin. This working relationship mirrors the relationship between a winemaker and a vigneron, the person who grows the grapes for winemaking - their common goal conveying not only the full essence of the plant but of the land it was grown in as well.

Dr. King’s research and teaching focus is in the area of chemical separations, particularly in the use of sub- and supercritical fluids for chemical processing. Research is conducted to develop environmentally-benign methodology using compressed carbon dioxide and/or water as media for conducting extractions and reactions of natural/agricultural products, CO2 – based cleaning technology, as well as application to materials modification. These efforts have resulted in approximately 250 publications and 3 patents to date and many national/international presentations. A current research focus is to optimize the use of hot compressed water as a selective extraction agent or medium in which to process biomass. Using the above approach, coupled unit processes are developed with respect to yielding a sustainable “green” process, which has been optimized with respect to thermodynamics and mass transfer principles. Experimental approaches involve the measurement of high pressure phase equilibrium, solute solubility measurements in compressed fluids, and the use of chromatographic methods for physicochemical properties determination.