This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

Bulk alum

Alum ( /ˈæləm/) is both a specific chemical compound and a class of chemical compounds. The specific compound is the hydrated potassium aluminium sulfate (potassium alum) with the formula KAl(SO₄)₂·12H₂O. The wider class of compounds known as alums have the related empirical formula, AB(SO₄)₂·12H₂O.

Chemical properties[link]

Alums are useful for a range of industrial processes. They are soluble in water; have an astringent, acid, and sweetish taste; react acid to litmus; and crystallize in regular octahedra. When heated they liquefy; and if the heating is continued, the water of crystallization is driven off, the salt froths and swells, and at last an amorphous powder remains.

Industrial uses[link]

Potassium alum is the common alum of commerce, although soda alum, ferric alum, and ammonium alum are manufactured.

Alum is also used in purification of drinking water in industries. In a holding tank, some alum (phitkari) is added to the water so that the negatively charged light colloidal parts stick together, lighten, and float above (flocculate) when alum makes the colloidal particles neutralized by loading its aluminum ions with the colloidal parts. The heavy colloidal parts are then easily separated from the tank prior to further filtration and disinfection of the water.

Cosmetic[link]

• Alum in block form (usually potassium alum) is used as a blood coagulant.^{[citation needed]}
• Styptic pencils containing aluminium sulfate or potassium aluminium sulfate are used as astringents to prevent bleeding from small shaving cuts.
• Alum was used as a base in skin whiteners and treatments during the late 16th century. A recipe for one such compound was given thus:

  "For the Freckles which one getteth by the heat of the Sun: Take a little Allom beaten small, temper amonst it a well brayed white of an egg, put it on a milde fire, stirring it always about that it wax not hard, and when it casteth up the scum, then it is enough, wherewith anoint the Freckles the space of three dayes: if you will defend your self that you get no Freckles on the face, then anoint your face with the whites of eggs." —Christopher Wirzung, General Practise of Physicke, 1654.

• Alum may be used in depilatory waxes used for the removal of body hair, or applied to freshly waxed skin as a soothing agent.
• In the 1950s, men sporting crewcut or flattop hairstyles sometimes applied alum to their front short hairs as an alternative to pomade^{[citation needed]}. When the hair dried, it would stay up all day.
• Alum's antibacterial properties contribute to its traditional use as an underarm deodorant.^{[citation needed]} It has been used for this purpose in Europe; Mexico; Thailand, where it is called Sarn-Som; throughout Asia; and in the Philippines, where it is called Tawas. Today, potassium alum is sold commercially for this purpose as a "deodorant crystal," often in a protective plastic case.

Medicinal[link]

• Alum is used in many subunit vaccines as an adjuvant to enhance the body's response to immunogens. Such vaccines include hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and DTaP.
• Alum in powder or crystal form, or in styptic pencils, is sometimes applied to cuts to prevent or treat infection.
• Powdered alum is commonly cited as a home remedy for canker sores.
• Preparations containing alum are used by pet owners to stem bleeding associated with animal injuries caused by improper nail clipping.
• Alum is listed as an ingredient of some brands of toothpaste or toothpowder.
• Alum powder dissolved in five parts water has been used to shrink hemorrhoids and stop them from bleeding.

Culinary[link]

• Alum powder, found in the spice section of many grocery stores, may be used in pickling recipes as a preservative to maintain fruit and vegetable crispness.
• Alum is used as the acidic component of some commercial baking powders.
• Alum was used by bakers in England during the 1800s to make bread whiter.^[1] The Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1875 prevented this and other adulterations.^[2]

Flame retardant[link]

• Solutions containing alum may be used to treat cloth, wood, and paper materials to increase their resistance to fire.
• Alum is also a component of foamite.
• Alum is also used in fire extinguishers to smother chemical and oil fires.

Chemical flocculant[link]

• Alum is used to clarify water by neutralizing the electrical double layer surrounding very fine suspended particles, allowing them to flocculate (stick together). After flocculation, the particles will be large enough to settle and can be removed.
• Alum may be used to increase the viscosity of a ceramic glaze suspension; this makes the glaze more readily adherent and slows its rate of sedimentation.
• Alum is an ingredient in some recipes for homemade modeling compounds intended for use by children. (These are often called "play clay" or "play dough" for their similarity to "Play-Doh", a trademarked product marketed by American toy manufacturer Hasbro).

History[link]

In antiquity[link]

The word "alumen" occurs in Pliny's Natural History. In the 52nd chapter of his 35th book, he gives a detailed description.^[3] By comparing this with the account of stupteria given by Dioscorides in the 123rd chapter of his 5th book, it is obvious that the two are identical. Pliny informs us that alumen was found naturally in the earth. He calls it salsugoterrae. Different substances were distinguished by the name of "alumen"; but they were all characterized by a certain degree of astringency, and were all employed in dyeing and medicine, the light-colored alumen being useful in brilliant dyes, the dark-colored only in dyeing black or very dark colors.^{[citation needed]} One species was a liquid, which was apt to be adulterated; but when pure it had the property of blackening when added to pomegranate juice. This property seems to characterize a solution of iron sulfate in water; a solution of ordinary (potassium) alum would possess no such property. Pliny says that there is another kind of alum that the Greeks call schistos. It forms in white threads upon the surface of certain stones.^{[citation needed]} From the name schistos, and the mode of formation, it appears that this species was the salt which forms spontaneously on certain salty minerals, as alum slate and bituminous shale, and which consists chiefly of sulfates of iron and aluminium.^{[citation needed]} Possibly^[vague] in certain places the iron sulfate may have been nearly^[vague] wanting, and then the salt would be white, and would answer, as Pliny says it did, for dyeing bright colors. Several other species of alumen are described by Pliny, but we^[who?] are unable to make out to what minerals he alludes.^{[citation needed]}

The alumen of the ancients, then, was not always the same as the alum of the moderns. They certainly knew how to produce alum from alunite, as this process is archaeologically attested on the island Lesbos.^[4] This site was abandoned in the seventh century but dates back at least to the second century CE. Native alumen from Melos appears to have been a mixture mainly of alunogen (Al₂(SO₄)₃·17H₂O) with alum and other minor sulfates.^[5] The western desert of Egypt was a major source of alum substitutes in antiquity. These evaporites were mainly FeAl₂(SO₄)₄·22H₂O, MgAl₂(SO₄)₄·22H₂O, NaAl(SO₄)₂·6H₂O, MgSO₄·7H₂O and Al₂(SO₄)₃·17H₂O.^[6] Any contamination with iron sulfate was greatly disliked as this darkened and dulled dye colours. They were acquainted with a variety of substances of varying degrees of purity by the names of misy, sory, and chalcanthum. As alum and green vitriol were applied to a variety of substances in common, and as both are distinguished by a sweetish and astringent taste, writers, even after the discovery of alum, do not seem to have discriminated the two salts accurately from each other. In the writings of the alchemists we find the words misy, sory, chalcanthum applied to alum as well as to iron sulfate; and the name atramentum sutorium, which ought to belong, one would suppose, exclusively to green vitriol, applied indifferently to both. Various minerals are employed in the manufacture of alum, the most important being alunite, alum schist, bauxite and cryolite.

Alchemical and later discoveries and uses[link]

In the 18th century, J. H. Pott and Andreas Sigismund Marggraf demonstrated that alumina was a constituent. Pott in his Lithogeognosia showed that the precipitate obtained when an alkali is poured into a solution of alum is quite different from lime and chalk, with which it had been confounded by G.E. Stahl. Marggraf showed that alumina is one of the constituents of alum, but that this earth possesses peculiar properties, and is one of the ingredients in common clay. He also showed that crystals of alum can be obtained by dissolving alumina in sulfuric acid and evaporating the solutions, and when a solution of potash or ammonia is dropped into this liquid, it immediately deposits perfect crystals of alum.

Torbern Bergman also observed that the addition of potash or ammonia made the solution of alumina in sulfuric acid crystallize, but that the same effect was not produced by the addition of soda or of lime, and that potassium sulfate is frequently found in alum.

After M.H. Klaproth had discovered the presence of potassium in leucite and lepidolite, it occurred to L.N. Vauquelin that it was probably an ingredient likewise in many other minerals. Knowing that alum cannot be obtained in crystals without the addition of potash, he began to suspect that this alkali constituted an essential ingredient in the salt, and in 1797 he published a dissertation demonstrating that alum is a double salt, composed of sulfuric acid, alumina, and potash. Soon after, J.A. Chaptal published the analysis of four different kinds of alum, namely, Roman alum, Levant alum, British alum and alum manufactured by himself. This analysis led to the same result as Vauquelin.

Early uses in industry[link]

Egyptians reportedly used the coagulant alum as early as 1500 BC to reduce the visible cloudiness (turbidity) in the water. Alum was imported into England mainly from the Middle East, and, from the late 15th century onwards, the Papal States for hundreds of years. Its use there was as a dye-fixer (mordant) for wool (which was one of England's primary industries, the value of which increased significantly if dyed). These sources were unreliable, however, and there was a push to develop a source in England especially as imports from the Papal States were ceased following the excommunication of Henry VIII. With state financing, attempts were made throughout the 16th century, but without success until early on in the 17th century. An industry was founded in Yorkshire to process the shale which contained the key ingredient, aluminium sulfate, and made an important contribution to the Industrial Revolution. One of the oldest historic sites for the production of alum from shale and human urine are the Peak alum works in Ravenscar, North Yorkshire.

Alum (known as turti/sphatika in local Indian languages) was also used for water treatment by Indians for thousands of years.^{[citation needed]} Ayurveda describes sphatika as an astringent, haemostatic, antiseptic. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic and antibiotic properties. Sphatika’s use in treating tonsillitis has been referred in ancient Ayurvedic texts. Sphatika is used internally as well as externally.

Production[link]

From alunite[link]

In order to obtain alum from alunite, it is calcined and then exposed to the action of air for a considerable time. During this exposure it is kept continually moistened with water, so that it ultimately falls to a very fine powder. This powder is then lixiviated with hot water and sulfuric acid, the liquor decanted, and the alum allowed to crystallize. The alum schists employed in the manufacture of alum are mixtures of iron pyrite, aluminium silicate and various bituminous substances, and are found in upper Bavaria, Bohemia, Belgium, and Scotland. These are either roasted or exposed to the weathering action of the air. In the roasting process, sulfuric acid is formed and acts on the clay to form aluminium sulfate, a similar condition of affairs being produced during weathering. The mass is now systematically extracted with water, and a solution of aluminium sulfate of specific gravity 1.16 is prepared. This solution is allowed to stand for some time (in order that any calcium sulfate and basic ferric sulfate may separate), and is then evaporated until ferrous sulfate crystallizes on cooling; it is then drawn off and evaporated until it attains a specific gravity of 1.40. It is now allowed to stand for some time, decanted from any sediment, and finally mixed with the calculated quantity of potassium sulfate, well agitated, and the alum is thrown down as a finely divided precipitate of alum meal. If much iron should be present in the shale then it is preferable to use potassium chloride in place of potassium sulfate.

From clays or bauxite[link]

In the preparation of alum from clays or from bauxite, the material is gently calcined, then mixed with sulfuric acid and heated gradually to boiling; it is allowed to stand for some time, the clear solution drawn off and mixed with acid potassium sulfate and allowed to crystallize. When cryolite is used for the preparation of alum, it is mixed with calcium carbonate and heated. By this means, sodium aluminate is formed; it is then extracted with water and precipitated either by sodium bicarbonate or by passing a current of carbon dioxide through the solution. The precipitate is then dissolved in sulfuric acid, the requisite amount of potassium sulfate added and the solution allowed to crystallize. this is wrong information

Types[link]

Many trivalent metals are capable of forming alums. The general form of an alum is AM^III(SO₄)₂·nH₂O, where A is an alkali metal or ammonium, M^III is a trivalent metal, and n often is 12. In general, alums are easier formed when the alkali metal atom is larger. This rule was first stated by Locke in 1902:^[7] The failure of the sulphate of a given trivalent metal to unite with caesium sulphate to a compound of the type CsM^III(SO₄)₂·12H₂O may therefore betaken as an almost positive indication that such element has no alum-forming power whatsoever.

Double sulfates with the general formula A₂SO₄·B₂(SO₄)₃·24H₂O, are known where A is a monovalent cation such as sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium, or thallium(I), or a compound cation such as ammonium (NH+
4), methylammonium (CH₃NH+
3), hydroxylammonium (HONH+
3) or hydrazinium (N₂H+
5), B is a trivalent metal ion, such as aluminium, chromium, titanium, manganese, vanadium, iron(III), cobalt(III), gallium, molybdenum, indium, ruthenium, rhodium, or iridium.^[8] Analogous selenates also occur. The specific combinations of univalent cation, trivalent cation, and anion depends on the sizes of the ions. For example, unlike the other alkali metals the smallest one, lithium, does not form alums, and there is only one known sodium alum. In some cases, solid solutions of alums occur.

Alums crystallize in one of three different crystal structures. These classes are called α-, β- and γ-alums.

Alum crystal with small amount of chrome alum to give a slight violet color

Potash alum[link]

Aluminum potassium sulfate, potash alum, KAl(SO₄)₂·12H₂O is used as an astringent and antisepsis in various food preparation processes such as pickling and fermentation and as a flocculant for water purification among other things. A common method of producing potash alum is leaching of alumina from bauxite which is then reacted with potassium sulfate. As a naturally occurring mineral, potash alum is known as kalunite. Other potassium aluminium sulfate minerals are alunite (KAl(SO₄)₂·2Al(OH)₃) and kalinite (KAl(SO₄)₂·11H₂O).

The molecular weight of potash alum is 474 g/mole.

Soda alum[link]

Soda alum, NaAl(SO₄)₂·12H₂O, mainly occurs in nature as the mineral mendozite. It is very soluble in water, and is extremely difficult to purify. In the preparation of this salt, it is preferable to mix the component solutions in the cold, and to evaporate them at a temperature not exceeding 60 °C. 100 parts of water dissolve 110 parts of sodium alum at 0 °C, and 51 parts at 16 °C. Soda alum is used in the acidulent of food as well as in the manufacture of baking powder.

Ammonium alum[link]

Ammonium alum, NH₄Al(SO₄)₂·12H₂O, a white crystalline double sulfate of aluminium, is used in water purification, in vegetable glues, in porcelain cements, in deodorants (though potassium alum is more commonly used), in tanning, dyeing and in fireproofing textiles.

Chrome alum[link]

Chrome alum, KCr(SO₄)₂·12H₂O, a dark violet crystalline double sulfate of chromium and potassium, was used in tanning.

Selenate-containing alums[link]

Alums are also known that contain selenium in place of sulfur in the sulfate anion, making selenate (SeO2−
4) instead. They are called selenium- or selenate-alums. They are strong oxidizing agents.

Aluminium sulfate[link]

Aluminium sulfate is referred to as papermaker's alum. Although reference to this compound as alum is quite common in industrial communication, it is not regarded as technically correct. Its properties are quite different from those of the set of alums described above. Most industrial flocculation done with alum is actually aluminum sulfate.

Solubility[link]

The solubility of the various alums in water varies greatly, sodium alum being readily soluble in water, while caesium and rubidium alums are only sparingly soluble. The various solubilities are shown in the following table.

At temperature T, 100 parts water dissolve:

Related compounds[link]

In addition to the alums, which are dodecahydrates, double sulfates and selenates of univalent and trivalent cations occur with other degrees of hydration. These materials may also be referred to as alums, including the undecahydrates such as mendozite and kalinite, hexahydrates such as guanidinium (CH₆N+
3) and dimethylammonium ((CH₃)₂NH+
2) "alums", tetrahydrates such as goldichite, monohydrates such as thallium plutonium sulfate and anhydrous alums (yavapaiites). These classes include differing, but overlapping, combinations of ions.

A pseudo alum is a double sulfate of the typical formula ASO₄·B₂(SO₄)₃·22H₂O, where A is a divalent metal ion, such as cobalt (wupatkiite), manganese (apjohnite), magnesium (pickingerite) or iron (halotrichite or feather alum), and B is a trivalent metal ion.

A Tutton salt is a double sulfate of the typical formula A₂SO₄·BSO₄·6H₂O, where A is a univalent cation, and B a divalent metal ion.

Double sulfates of the composition A₂SO₄·2BSO₄, where A is a univalent cation and B is a divalent metal ion are referred to as langbeinites, after the prototypical potassium magnesium sulfate.

In popular culture[link]

Much use was made of the supposed properties of alum as a comedy gag in films, primarily in the 1920s and 1930s. In a typical situation it would be introduced by accident or intent into foodstuffs, with ingestion causing the victim's mouth to assume a tight pucker. Speech was usually difficult or impossible. Because alum was used to shrink cucumbers into pickles, this provided inspiration for the gag. In animation, cartoon physics could magnify the effect — a man or woman who ingested alum would learn that it caused his or head to shrink and/or his or her voice to become several octaves higher.^[9]

See also[link]

• List of minerals
• Potash alum
• Soda alum
• Aluminium sulfate (Papermaker's alum)
• Gum bichromate photo prints and other similar processes use alums, sometimes as colloid (gelatin, albumen) hardeners

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up alum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Media related to Alum at Wikimedia Commons

DeAnne Smith is an award-winning Canadian-American comedian, writer and columnist. Smith first gained notice as a comedian in 2008 touring her debut full-length solo stand-up show to popular and critical acclaim, culminating in her winning the Sydney Comedy Festival's Time Out Best Newcomer Award^[1] and earning a nomination for Best Newcomer in the 2008 Canadian Comedy Awards.^[2] Smith has since continued to tour internationally, with her shows proving to be both commercial and critical successes. Her shows have seen Smith nominated for numerous awards, including the Melbourne Comedy Festival's prestigious Barry Award in 2011^[3] and being consistently rated amongst Montreal's Top 10 comedians. In addition to her live solo shows, Smith is also known for her appearances on television and radio, most notably on Australia's Good News Week on the Channel 10 network and HBO series Funny As Hell.^[4]

DeAnne Smith began performing stand-up in 2005 at the age of 25, and has produced four solo shows which have toured internationally. She also created and hosts four live comedy show series in Montreal, and co-wrote a show with Sarah Quinn and Samuel Booth which made its festival debut in 2011.^[5]

Career[link]

Festival Appearances[link]

• 2012^[6] - Perth International Comedy Festival; Perth
• 2011^[7] - Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Edinburgh
• 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011^[8] - Just for Laughs; Montreal
• 2010,^[9] 2011, 2012 - Melbourne International Comedy Festival
• 2009, 2010, 2011 - Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow
• 2008, 2009,^[10] 2010,^[11] 2011^[12], 2012 - Sydney Comedy Festival
• 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 - Adelaide Fringe Festival
• 2010 - Hobart Comedy Festival^[13]

Media Appearances[link]

DeAnne Smith has been rated amongst Montreal's Top 10 Comedians over the past five years, ranking #3 in 2010 ^[14] and 2011,^[15] and #4 from 2007-2009.^{[16][17] [18]} as reported in the The Montreal Mirror, which also named her a Noisemaker in 2009.^[19] Smith regularly appears on television and radio in Canada and Australia. Her radio appearances, include Australia's ABC, Triple J, and Canada's CBC Radio One, where she has appeared as a regular on Definitely Not the Opera, and The Debaters. In 2012 she appeared on British TV for the first time, on Morgan Spurlock's Sky Atlantic programme 'New Britannia'

• 2012 - Melbourne International Comedy Festival Opening Night Gala for Oxfam; Channel Ten, Australia
• 2011 - Funny As Hell; HBO, Canada
• 2009, 2010, 2011 - Good News Week; Channel Ten, Australia
• 2009 - The Comedy Network, Canada
• 2007 - Last Comic Standing; NBC, USA

Solo Shows[link]

• 2012 - Deanne Smith: Livin' the Sweet Life
• 2011 - Deanne Smith: The Best DeAnne Smith Deanne Smith Can Be
• 2011 - About Freakin' Time
• 2010 - DeAnne Smith: BALLSY
• 2009 - DeAnne Smith Lacks Focus
• 2008 - Shouting Over Drunks

Other Work[link]

Creator and Host[link]

• 2010–present - Happenglad's New Hat
• 2008–present - Stand Up / Strip Down
• 2008–present - Tale Spin!
• 2005 - 2009 - Comedy OFF the Main

Co-Writer[link]

• 2011 - Sarah Quinn in Other People's Problems; with Sarah Quinn and Samuel Booth^[20]

Awards[link]

• 2011 - Canadian Comedy Awards - Best Female Stand-Up; nominated^[21]
• 2011 - Melbourne International Comedy Festival - Barry Award for Most Outstanding Comedy Show; nominated
• 2009 - Adelaide Fringe Festival - Best Established Comedian; nominated^[22]
• 2008 - Canadian Comedy Awards - Best Newcomer; nominated
• 2008 - Sydney Comedy Festival - Time Out Best Newcomer; won

References[link]

Biography portal

Late Night Alumni is a US house group composed of Ryan Raddon (Kaskade), Finn Bjarnson, John Hancock, and vocalist Becky Jean Williams. They are primarily known for mixing dance music with strings and soft trance-like vocals from lead singer Becky Jean Williams.^[1]

Biography[link]

Finn Bjarnson stumbled upon Becky Jean Williams (sister to R. John Williams, the lead singer of Faded Paper Figures) in the summer of 2003. “I had just been given a local Christmas CD that I had produced a couple tracks for,” Finn recalls, “and as I was listening through the tracks, there she was! Her beautiful voice and style immediately struck me.” A couple of phone calls later and they were in the studio together for the first time. “I had worked up this song called ‘Empty Streets’ and wanted to try her voice out on it...” Finn continues, “and it took off from there!”

Finn had already been working in the studio with Ryan Raddon (aka Kaskade), and soon Finn, Ryan, and Becky formed Late Night Alumni. In 2004, Hed Kandi made an offer to license and release a full length Late Night Alumni album. “At that point,” Finn says, “I knew the band was not ready. We were missing an element.” That missing element turned out to be John Hancock; a talented local producer with whom Finn had been trying to “find an excuse” to work with for years. The band was complete and hard at work at the debut Late Night Alumni album; mixing electronic and organic elements for a unique brand of chill that is easily distinguishable in today’s down tempo house music scene.

Empty Streets was released in September, 2005. Around the same time, Hed Kandi was bought out by Ministry of Sound and the album got shelved. However, despite lack of support from the group's record label, it soon grew into an underground classic.

The single of the same name received massive support in both clubs and on radio, getting Top Ten Radio Play in the UK and U, and reaching #1 in Spain. “Empty Streets” has also been licensed to commercials including a spot for the Toyota IQ. In addition, more than a dozen dance compilations have licensed the track, and it remains the most popular and downloaded song on Tiesto’s “In Search Of Sunrise” compilation.

Also, two of Late Night Alumni's songs, "Uncharted" and "You Can Be the One" have been featured in a new Steve Carell movie Crazy, Stupid, Love. which released on 29th June, 2011.

Of Birds, Bees, Butterflies, Etc. (2009 Album)[link]

Of Birds, Bees, Butterflies, Etc., the follow-up album to Empty Streets, was released as a digital download on November 3, 2009, with the physical CD released on February 2, 2010 on Ultra Records. On September 1, 2009, the group released "You Can Be The One," their first single from the album, which was available on Beatport & iTunes.^[2] This single was followed up with a remix by Sultan & Ned Shepard, which was released on September 23, 2009.

A music video for a live rendition of "You Can Be The One" was recorded at Velour in Utah. It features four violinists along with the four members of Late Night Alumni. Fans are comparing the video to Kaskade's live version of "4AM," which also features Becky Jean Williams on lead vocals and Finn Bjarnson on guitar.^[3]

An acoustic version of a song titled, "Golden," on their upcoming album was posted on their YouTube channel. Another live version of a new track, "What's In A Name," was also posted onto their channel.^[4]

Haunted (2011 Album)[link]

Haunted was released as a digital download on February 8, 2011. During the recording process, the group hoped to create a different dynamic by physically working together through most of the process rather than being isolated and using electronic communication methods to collaborate.^[5] The name of the album was inspired by ideas of being haunted by nostalgia and memories from the past while dealing with change in the present, although the old character of the undisclosed location in Salt Lake City where they recorded may have also influenced the title.^[6]

Two singles have been released so far, It's Not Happening and Main Street.

The song In The Ashes was also well received, and is a fan favorite.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2005 - Empty Streets
• 2009 - Of Birds, Bees, Butterflies, Etc.
• 2011 - Haunted

Singles/EPs[link]

Collaborations[link]

• 2012 - How Long with Kaskade

References[link]

http://www.youtube.com/user/LNAmusic

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Official Myspace
• Artist Page at Ultra Records
• Hed Kandi
• Kaskade
• Official Facebook Page

Marcel Vigneron (born May 3, 1980) is an American chef best known as the runner-up of the second season of Top Chef, placing behind Ilan Hall. In 2011, he received his own program on Syfy titled Marcel's Quantum Kitchen, in which he has opened a molecular gastronomy catering company.

[edit] Background and Top Chef

Vigneron is originally from Bainbridge, Washington, and currently resides in the Los Angeles area. He was promoted to prep cook when he was just sixteen, making him the youngest person in that kitchen.^{[citation needed]} At the time of his appearance on Top Chef, he was a Master Cook at Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of November 2008, he was a Executive Sous Chef at The Bazaar in the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.^[1]

Vigneron attended the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York and achieved his Associate’s degree in Culinary Arts, as well as a Bachelors Degree in Hospitality Management. At the CIA Marcel enrolled in the teaching assistant program where he served as the Sous Chef to Dwayne Lipuma at the school’s Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici.^[2] He appeared in season two of Bravo’s reality series, Top Chef where he made it to the finals finishing “Runner-Up”.

[edit] Post Top Chef

In March 2010 it was announced that Vigneron would star in Marcel's Quantum Kitchen, a reality television show that aired on the Syfy cable network.^[3] In each episode, Marcel and his new catering and event company is hired by a demanding client to produce an extraordinary celebration or event. Based on the client’s requests, Marcel dreams up a theme and cuisine for the event, which range from a fairytale graduation party and a Goth-rock fashion show to a birthday dinner held on a platform suspended in mid-air. Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen is a production of Mission Control Media with Executive Producers Michael Agbabian and Dwight Smith.^[4]

He returned to the Top Chef series in Top Chef: All-Stars.^[5] On the episode that aired on January 19, 2011, Marcel was eliminated from the competition after the Restaurant Wars challenge.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Marcel on Myspace
• 'Top Chef 2' runner-up Marcel Vigneron talks about his experience
• Marcel's Quantum Kitchen

This biographical article related to television in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This biographical article about a foodie, restaurateur or gourmand is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Nadine Sierra (born May 14, 1988) is an American operatic soprano. On February 21, 2009, she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Finals in New York.^[1] A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, she trained at The Mannes College of Music and Marilyn Horne's Music Academy of the West, where she was the youngest person ever to receive the Marilyn Horne Foundation Award.^[2][3] She became a Young Artist with the Palm Beach Opera when she was 14 and made her operatic debut there two years later as the Sandman in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel.^[4] She also appeared on the National Public Radio program From the Top when she was 15 performing "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi.^[5]

She was invited back to From the Top in 2010, a show taped in Burlington, Vermont, with commentary by Marilyn Horne. She appeared at the United States Supreme Court Building in May 2009 where she sang solo and with Thomas Hampson in the Justices Chambers. In 2009 she competed in Helsinki, Finland, in the Mirjam Helin International Competition where she was awarded second place. She had her debut concert in Helsinki, Finland in 2009. In October 2009 she performed in the Marilyn Horne Mediterranean Cruise to Italy, Croatia, Turkey and Greece. In March 2010 she performed at the Musashino Hall, Tokyo, Japan.

She appeared as the Princess with Gotham Opera's production of El gato con botas at the Victory Theatre. In January 2011 she returned to Palm Beach Opera's Orfeo ed Euridice in the title role. In May 2011 she appeared as Tytania in Boston Lyric Opera's A Midsummer Night's Dream. In January 2011 she became a San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow and the following May appeared in the company's premiere of Christopher Theofanidis' opera Heart of a Soldier with Thomas Hampson in the main role. In January 2012 she appeared as Gilda in Florida Grand Opera's Rigoletto.

Sierra is featured in the book Driven: Six Incredible Musical Journeys where author Nick Romeo dedicated one of the chapters ("Journeys") to her.^[6]

Awards[link]

Sierra has been awarded the following awards and scholarships:

• National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, Miami, Florida – Vocal Silver Award 2006
• Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, West Palm Beach, Florida – First Place Junior Division 2007
• The Marilyn Horne Foundation Awards Competition, Santa Barbara, California – First Place Award 2007
• National Society For Arts and Letters Vocal Competition, Bloomington, Indiana – Second Place Award 2008^[7]
• The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, New York City – Grand Finalist Winner 2009
• Florida Grand Opera Competition, Miami, Florida – Junior Division First Place Award 2009^[8]
• Licia Albanese–Puccini International Competition, New York, NY – Third Place Award 2009^[9]
• Gerda Lissner Foundation Competition, New York City – First Place 2010^[10]
• Richard Tucker Foundation, New York City – 2010 Sara Tucker Study Award Winner^[11]
• George London Foundation Competition, New York City First Place 2010^[12]
• Loren Zachary Foundation International Competition, Los Angeles, California – First Place 2010^[13]
• The Leonore Annenberg Award Fellowship in the Performing Arts, 2011
• Stella Maris International Music Competition 2011, Audience Prize

References[link]

External links[link]

External images
	Sierra at the National Society For Arts and Letters Vocal Competition

• Marilyn Horne Foundation, Biography: Nadine Sierra
• Mallozzi, Vincent M., "Young Singers Await Their Big Moment at the Met", The New York Times, February 21, 2009