Welcome to the Central Pennsylvania Torch Club
October's speaker is Roy Hammerstedt
Roy will present a paper titled 'Baby Steps for Microgravity Bioscience: The NASA Funded PSU Center'
Torch Club Program, 2025-2026
Sept. 10 Peter Jurs John Muir and the Camping Trip that Changed
America
Oct. 8 Roy Hammerstedt Baby Steps for Microgravity Bioscience: The NASA
Funded PSU Center for Commercialization of
Research (CCR) in the 1980's and 1990's.
Nov. 12 Bob Carline Is the Spring Creek Watershed Under Siege?
Dec. 10 Bill Arden Gershwin: Classical Meets Jazz
Jan. 14 Terry Engelder How was Mt. Nittany Able to Move from Lewistown
to State College?
Feb. 11 Brian Dempsey Wastewater Management in State College
Mar. 11 John Dillon AI in Journalism: The Good, the Bad, and the 'What
the Hell is That?'
Apr. 8 Wayne Osgood The Banjo: The Most American Instrument
May 13 Ron Smith Sex in Sport and Letters: How a Harvard Coach and
Boston Debutante Played Sport and Wrote
Letters More than a Century Ago.
June 10 Cathi Alloway Managing Personnel and Professional Change:
Research vs Reality.
Click on the name for more information about the speaker and topic.
Torch Club Officers
President Carolyn Wilhelm clwilhelm1 @me.com
Vice President Robert Igo rli2 @psu.edu
Corresponding Secretary Art Goldschmidt axg2 @psu.edu
Recording Secretary Charles Maxin cwmaxin @gmail.com
Treasurer Peter Jurs pcj @psu.edu
Past President Terry Engelder jte2 @psu.edu
Torch Club Meetings
Second Wednesday of every month (except July and August), social hour at 5:00 pm, dinner at 6 pm, Ramada Inn and Conference Center, 1450 South Atherton St. State College, PA. The program begins promptly at 6:45 pm.
Objectives
- To give members of different professions the opportunity to meet together in the spirit of fellowship.
- To prevent the narrowing tendencies of specialization by developing a breadth of thought and culture.
- To foster the highest standards of professional ethics and civic well-being, no club is permitted to sponsor any cause or partisan movement.
International Association of Torch Clubs Incorporated
International Association of Torch Clubs, Inc. was instituted on July 10, 1924. Its web page can be found at www.torch.org.
September's Program: Peter Jurs
John Muir and the Camping Trip that Changed America
Peter Jurs is a retired chemistry professor. He was educated at Stanford University and the University of Washington. He joined the Penn State faculty in 1969 and remained there until retiring in 2006. He authored about 250 publications (scientific papers, research monographs, and a freshman chemistry textbook) and supervised 57 advanced chemistry degrees. He served on the University Faculty Senate for 25 years and was Chair 1995-1996. He was active in the American Chemical Society for decades. Jurs has had a life-long interest in western history, conservation, and the outdoors. He ran daily for decades, and completed four marathons. After retiring, he had time to join several local volunteer organizations, including more than 20 years at Centre Volunteers in Medicine. He and his wife of 43 years, Elaine, enjoy traveling and staying connected with their eight grandchildren.
Abstract
This talk will discuss the beginnings of the wilderness conservation movement that arose from the efforts of John Muir. He was a naturalist, writer, and advocate for conservation, and he was a founding member of the Sierra Club. He met with Theodore Roosevelt in Yosemite in 1903, they went camping alone for a few days, and this interaction led to major advances in conservation in America.
October's Program: Roy Hammerstedt
Baby Steps for Microgravity Bioscience: The NASA Funded PSU Center for Commercialization of Research
Roy Hammerstedt
Abstract
TBA
November's Program: Bob Carline
Is the Spring Creek Watershed Under Siege?
Bob Carline
Abstract
TBA.
December's Program: Bill Arden
Gershwin: Classical Meets Jazz
Bill Arden
Abstract
TBA
January's Program: Terry Engelder
The Role of Zoning in Municipal Development
Terry Engelder
Abstract
TBA
February's Program: Brian Dempsey
Wastewater Management in State College
Brian Dempsey
Abstract
TBA
March's Program: John Dillon
AI in Journalism; The Good, the Bad, and the ‘What the Hell is That?’
John Dillon
Abstract
TBA
April's Program: Wayne Osgood
The Banjo: The Most American Instrument
Wayne Osgood
Abstract
TBA
May's Program: Ron Smith
Sex in Sport and Letters: How a Harvard Coach and Boston Debutante Played Sport and Wrote Letters Mo
Ron Smith
Abstract
TBA
June's Program: Cathi Alloway
Managing Personal and Professional Change: Research vs Reality
Cathi Alloway
Abstract
TBA