Chocolate will be the focus of an address at Hope College on Wednesday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. in room 1000 of the A. Paul Schaap Science Center.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Visiting speaker Dr. Howard Peters will present the illustrated lecture "Death by Chocolate (Food of the Gods)." His talk will present an overview of the history of chocolate, from its role in the ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures to the present; the chemistry and biochemistry of chocolate; and additional chocolate facts including trivia and reported health benefits.
Peters is a Ph.D. chemist and is also an attorney whose practice has been focused on patent law. He is a co-inventor of seven U.S. patents and is author or co-author of more than 30 scientific and legal publications and presentations. He is a director-at-large with the American Chemical Society (ACS), and his visit is being sponsored by the Western Michigan Section of the ACS.
He graduated from Geneva College of Beaver Falls, Pa., with a major in chemistry in 1962 and went on to complete his doctorate in chemistry at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., in 1967. He spent several years as a research chemist, first with Dow Chemical Company in Midland and then with SRI International in Menlo Park, Calif.
Peters completed his J.D. degree at Santa Clara University in California in 1978 and became a corporate patent attorney with Syntex Corporation and a partner with Phillips, Moore, Lempio & Finley. He is a founding partner of Peters, Verny, Jones & Biksa LLP and Peters, Verny, Jones & Schmitt LLP.
The A. Paul Schaap Science Center is located at 35 E. 12th St., at the corner of College Avenue and 12th Street. Room 1000 is located on the ground level next to the building's main atrium.