Please join us on March 9th at 7:30 PM in the Theater Room in the Glorya Kaufman Community Center located at 10858 Culver Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90230. The community center is right next to the Scout House and our Lapidary Workshop. Park in the parking lot by the Scout House. We will arrange for the door from the parking lot to the Kaufman building to be open.

We are delighted to have member David Balenson present at the meeting. David is also bringing a microscope so you can see the amazing variety in the small “rocks.”

Sand, the second-most-used resource on Earth after water, permeates our lives and culture. From beaches to riverbanks, deserts to mountains, and even beyond Earth, on the Moon and on Mars, sand is ubiquitous. Its versatility is astounding; from arts and crafts to abrasives, and from glass to computer chips, our reliance on sand is extensive. In this presentation, Dave will share his fascination with sand, cultivated through over 200 samples collected around the globe over the past two decades. We will delve into the myriad types, colors, and granularities of sands, unveiling their diverse beauty. Utilizing a digital microscope projected onto the screen, we will scrutinize sand up close, unveiling a largely unseen world. We will also explore the intersection of sand and art, where it serves as both subject and medium. Finally, he will provide insights into resources for further exploration and sand collection, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for this remarkable resource.

David Balenson is the Interim Director of the Networking and Cybersecurity Division and a Senior Supervising Computer Scientist at USC Information Sciences Institute, a world leader in research and development of advanced information processing, computer, and communications technologies, headquartered in Marina del Rey, CA. He has over 35 years of experience managing and conducting research and development of innovative solutions to challenging cybersecurity problems for government and commercial customers.

He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science from the University of Maryland. David enjoys collecting stamps, coins, rocks, sand, bottles, and dried flowers. He collected his first rock (a cut geode) as a child at a gem and mineral show held at the Pikesville Armory in  Maryland, and his first sand sample at Pebble Beach, California, in July 2003. He loves traveling the country and world, adding to his collections. He recently returned from a trip to the Oregon coast, where he collected 20 heavy mineral sands and many beach agates and jaspers.

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The Glorya Kaufman Community Center is part of the Wende Museum and is located at 10858 Culver Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90230 next to the Scout House and our Lapidary Workshop. Park in the parking lot by the Scout House.