September 2021, Vol. 11(8)

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Highlights

Letter From the Chair

Dear Members,

I can’t believe summer is over and the children are back in school.

I am still working to continue our seminar series in the fall. Any suggestions?

As I reported last month, a group of local ACS members will conduct a strategic planning meeting to help guide our local section of over 250 members on our mission and top priorities for the next 3 to 5 years. I will keep you informed as we move through the process this fall. You should be receiving a link to a questionnaire by September 17; by completing it you will help us with our planning effort.

I look forward to your comments and suggestions at any time.

Sincerely,

Ed Thomas
KACS Chair

Celebrating Chemistry

Copies of the printed version of Celebrating Chemistry (a publication with activities appropriate for Grades 4-6) for this year’s NCW (Theme: Fast or Slow, Chemistry Makes it Go) are available by contacting Hershel Jude. The publication may be viewed online here.

National Chemistry Week – Thank You KACS Volunteers!

We want to thank the following volunteers who participated in the videotaping of activities for our 2021 National Chemistry Week outreach event; this will be available for viewing at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum website beginning on October 16 at noon.

Annette Hoppenworth (organizer extraordinaire)—KVM
Matthew Barringer, Juliane Bauer, John Beck, Marah Bell, Renee Bull, Deb Coats, Brian Eklov, Tajay Haywood, Lydia Hines, Hershel Jude, Jacob Kirkendall, Carl Stachew, Blakely Tresca, Doug Williams.

Kalamazoo’s 2021 Project SEED Fellow

(Note: In-person Project SEED research activities were canceled in 2021 for COVID and students were invited to participate in a virtual “summer camp” of academic and professional development activities that were organized by the ACS national office. Our local student, Dryw, had the additional opportunity to do research virtually through a pilot program that ACS launched this year for a subset of SEED Fellows. We congratulate her on completing the program and on presenting her work at the online ACS Undergraduate Poster Session on August 23.)

Hello, my name is Dryw Starkey-Williams. I am currently a senior at Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

I was informed about the possibility of being a part of the Project SEED Program for the summer of 2021 by my wonderful chemistry teacher, Dr. Chartanay Bonner.

I have been playing cello for seven years. I am an ambassador for the Helen L. Fox Gospel Music Program that is located at the Douglas Community Center here in Kalamazoo. I was accepted on the high school improv team as a freshman and performed in my first high school theatrical production this past year.

I enjoy creating original designs and have a teespring page called phoenixrisesbydryw, which I started working on this past year. One of my drawings was included in a novel my mother Meana Starkey-Williams wrote called “Rebecca,” that came out in Spring 2020. I am a member of a relatively new musical group called Orchestra Jammbo’laya that performs locally, and I enjoy knitting, crocheting, and sewing.

I do not have a strong background in science in general, but I do have a huge interest in learning about a variety of different subjects. I was thrilled when I found out that I had been accepted to the Project SEED program.

Dryw Starkey-Williams
2021 Project SEED Fellow

I was a little nervous at first about my capabilities since I had a lack of background knowledge of the field in general, aside from classes in chemistry, but with a little encouragement from my mother, I decided that I would move past my original fears and concerns. As the project unfolded, I learned that I needed to do more background reading to participate more effectively in the research work.

Professor John Hull (MSU – St. Andrews) was amazing! Our Project SEED project was finding the most efficient way to make 5-chloromethylfurfural from carbohydrates, such as fructose.

What I appreciated most about Project SEED was the kindness, respect, and patience that was shown to me by all of the staff connected with the program. Professor Hull made the experience not only an educational one, but also made me feel like I was a valuable participant, which really encouraged me to want to study and learn as much as possible during my free time.

Nick Henton was also very helpful. Anytime I had a question or concern, he was always willing to go the extra mile to find a solution if he did not already know the answer.

Project SEED Fellow Walker Shumann (John Glenn HS, Bay City) was my partner for the project. He had more science background than I did going into the program and he was great to work with.

At this time, I am not sure what degree I will pursue after high school, but I do feel that Project SEED has expanded my mind as to what possibilities there are out there, and I am forever grateful that I was given the opportunity to be a part of the program this summer.

Nominations Sought for Officer Positions

We are seeking nominations for KACS officer positions:

  • Chair-elect for 2022 (a one-year term with a 3-year commitment: one year as chair-elect, followed by one year as chair, followed by a third year as past-chair)
  • Secretary for the 2-year term, 2022-2023, and
  • Alternate councilor for the 3-year term of 2022-2024.

Send nominations — yourself or others (check with them to ascertain their willingness) to Ed Thomas.

KACS 2020 Annual Report and Reviewer’s Evaluation

Please take a look at our KACS 2020 Annual Report, along with our reviewer’s evaluation, which is available here.

Our reviewer’s evaluation of our KACS 2020 activities is included here:

*Congratulations to your Leadership for maintaining such a high level of engagement for the local section during a very difficult year. Your pre-pandemic in-person meeting was very well attended. Likewise, adapting to the all-virtual meetings for the remainder of the year, while “not the same” kept the Local Section together as much as possible during the pandemic.

The local section’s ability to adapt and improvise during the year is remarkable. Moving the high-school awards from tests to nomination by teachers when schools were closed was an excellent idea, as well as the videotaped demonstrations for the local museum during NCW, is noteworthy.

With respect to concerns regarding member involvement in Local Sections Activities, the leadership team may want to consider polling the membership to get an idea of what the membership needs are and then to begin to address those needs via various programming as pandemic restrictions are lifted. The Local Sections’ Leadership concerns regarding COVID-19 meeting restrictions will, hopefully, be eliminated in the near future as the State (and country) moves to normalcy.

Does National ACS Have Your Current Information?

Please make sure that the National ACS has your current e-mail/mailing address available to them (service@acs.org; 800-333-9511). National ACS Election information will be distributed to members in late September; be on the lookout in your e-mail for information about a Town Hall on September 21 at 1 pm with the Director-at-Large candidates, and another with the President-Elect candidates sometime between September 20 and 24.

Comments Regarding 2021 Fall ACS Meeting

Three brief comments regarding the 2021 Fall ACS Meeting held in Atlanta, Georgia

  • There were ~8,200 total registrants for the hybrid (virtual and in-person) meeting.
  • Future national meetings will likely have a virtual component to them as well.
  • The Board approved the following member registration fees for ACS 2022 Spring and Fall Meetings: in-person/hybrid member registration $399; virtual member registration fee $199.

A summary of Council and Board Actions taken at the meeting will be available here.

ACS Fall 2021 On Demand Presentations Available Now!

Did you miss one of the live oral presentations*, the Opening Session, or Kavli Lecture Series? Or would you like to take some extra time to explore the poster presentations? Visit the virtual event platform now to access on-demand presentations from ACS Fall 2021.

Registration for ACS Fall 2021 is open until September 30. If you register now, you can take advantage of exploring all the available on-demand presentations! To access the ACS Fall 2021 content, log in to the virtual event platform using the ACS ID you used to register. On-Demand access will be available now until September 30.

*At the discretion of the presenter.

Dr. Gellert Mezei is a professor of Chemistry at WMU and member of our KACS who presented his group’s “Nanojar” research work at the Fall ACS Meeting; it was highlighted and may be reviewed at the links here and here.