Politics & Government
Albany Now Boasts Nation's Only Double-Landmark in Chemistry
Distinguished officials and scientists flocked to Albany Thursday to celebrate "National Historic Chemical Landmark" status for the USDA's Western Regional Research Center on Buchanan Street, the only institution ever to win the honor twice.
A panoply of dignitaries flocked to Albany today, Thursday, to celebrate the selection of the U.S. Departure of Agriculture research center on Buchanan Street as the nation's latest National Historic Chemical Landmark.
The distinction – in honor of decades of research on the chemistry of flavor since the 1940s – makes the USDA's 74-year-old Western Regional Research Center the only institution in America to have been named a chemistry landmark twice. In 2002, it was made a landmark for breakthrough work that enabled the production of safe and stable frozen foods.
The landmark status is conferred by the American Chemical Society, the nation's preeminent professional association for chemists and the world's largest scientific society.
Among those offering remarks and congratulations in a ceremony with music and a Coast Guard color guard at the center this morning were:
- USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics Catherine Woteki
- California Secretary of Food and Agriculture Karen Ross
- American Chemical Society President Marinda Li Wu
"Understanding the complex chemistry of flavor allows frozen berries to to taste like fresh, orange juice from concentrate to rival oranges just picked from trees and jellybeans to mimic the flavors of almost anything."
The scientists at the center developed practical gas chromatography techniques for identifying the volatile compounds responsible for flavor essences.
Wu, as well as USDA Under Secretary Wotecki and California Secretary of Agriculture Ross, stressed that the chemical knowledge and techniques developed at the center are important for their real-world applications in addressing the world's most pressing issues, including feeding the world's growing population by optimizing methods of growing and procesing food in a sustainable manner.
Among the dozens who attended the celebration at the center was Albany Mayor Peggy Thomsen and Ron Buttery, 82, one of the center's leading scientists who was involved in the early work on the chemistry of flavor and many other research achievements since then. Buttery told Patch he is officially retired still comes to work on most days.
The ceremony also included a ribbon cutting to mark the completion of the research center's newly renovated Food and Industrial Processing Labs.
The Western Regional Research Center is part of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service.
There are 69 National Historic Chemical Landmarks in the United States, with five in California, including four in the Bay Area.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
