Dr. Daniel Rabinovich of the department of chemistry at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte will give a talk on “The World of Chemistry on Postage Stamps” Friday at 4 p.m. at the Tubman Theatre of Livingstone College. 701 W. Monroe St.
Postage stamps constitute a simple yet effective means of communication, often used by governments or postal authorities to inform or engage the general public on a variety of topics, including history, geography, literature and the arts. A surprisingly large number of stamps have also been issued to commemorate scientific discoveries or to honor well-known scientists. This presentation will feature postage stamps and other philatelic materials pertaining to the history of chemistry, the discovery and sources of the elements, chemical structures and formulas, laboratory equipment, biochemistry and various aspects of the chemical industry.
Rabinovich was born and raised in Lima, Peru. After graduating from the Catholic University in Lima with a B.S. in chemistry, he moved to New York City for graduate school at Columbia University. He is a professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His research interests are in synthetic and structural inorganic, bioinorganic and organometallic chemistry. He collects used stamps from France, Great Britain, Peru, Sweden and Switzerland and any philatelic materials (e.g., stamps, First Day Covers, special cancellations and slogan meters, maximum cards) related to chemistry and allied fields. He is also the editor of Philatelia Chimica et Physica, a quarterly publication dedicated to the study of postage stamps related to chemistry and physics, and a regular contributor to Chemistry International, the IUPAC bimonthly newsmagazine.