April 2024, Vol. 14(4)

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Soils Seminar Set

Dr. Inna Popova will present a seminar entitled “Chemicals of Emerging Concern Found in Soils” in Dewing 103 (on Academy Street) at K College on Tuesday, April 9, at 6 p.m.

Dr. Popova is an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her primary research interests are in Environmental Soil Chemistry. The goal of her research program is to assess the impact of organic chemicals’ influx on natural and agricultural ecosystems.

After graduating from Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia) with a degree in Chemistry, Dr. Popova pursued her interests in Analytical and Experimental Physical Chemistry at the University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND, USA) working in the area of plant-derived biologically active compounds and bioremediation technologies. Following Postdoctoral fellowships, she joined the University of Idaho (Moscow, ID), and held the position of Assistant Professor of Soil and Environmental Organic Chemistry.

She is a co-author of 45 peer-reviewed publications in a variety of areas: examples are transdermal drug delivery; the fate and biological effects of natural and synthetic organic compounds in soil ecosystems; and biopesticides used for improving agricultural systems.

Project SEED Donations—Thank You!

By Doug Williams

KACS Project SEED Coordinator

We thank our KACS members for their generous contributions to our Project SEED fund in 2023, which included $2000 from Zoetis, $1000 from Pfizer’s employee-directed charitable giving fund, and $500 from two individual members.

As explained in our December newsletter, these funds are important to ensure the long-term health of Project SEED in the Kalamazoo Section. To learn how you can donate, see our Project SEED webpage.

Patent Seminar Well-Attended

By Ed Thomas

Martha Gammill, J.D., a retired patent attorney from Upjohn, Pfizer and Zoetis and a graduate from the University of Virginia Law School, presented a seminar entitled Patents 101 at Western Michigan University on March 11 to KACS’ members and college students. In her talk we learned the legal basis for U.S. patents can be traced back to our Constitution article 1, section 8, that states, “Congress shall have power….. to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive rights to their respective writings and discoveries.” Patents protect intellectual property, and this can be defined as useful processes, machines, manufacturing, composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. The laws of nature, physical phenomena and abstract ideas are not patentable. A patent also requires that the invention be useful, novel, non-obvious or unpredictable and sufficiently described to be repeatable.

After background comments about patent law, Martha gave us real-world examples of patents from the pharmaceutical industry including antibiotics, lipid-lowering compounds and HIV products. She also engaged the audience by asking scientists present to share their experience with patents. Martha further emphasized that for people with a chemistry degree there are a number of career opportunities in the patent area, such as attorneys, agents, searchers, IP liaisons and patent examiners. Some of these positions do not require a law degree. During the lively question and answer period after her presentation the audience learned they could file an individual patent application on their own for a nominal fee.

A hearty round of applause expressed our appreciation for her engaging and enlightening presentation at this first post-COVID in-person joint KACS/WMU seminar event.

Crossing Campuses with Chemistry Bingo

By Seth Byrne and Maxwell Rhames

What better way to break up school studies than bingo, pizza, and prizes? That’s exactly what the chemistry clubs of Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University did in late February. Meeting on WMU’s campus, the two groups spent the evening socializing, enjoying food, and winning some prizes using chemistry-themed bingo boards. Spaces included molecular weights, amino acid structures, pH indicator colors, and chemical nomenclature. The only complaint was a bias toward biochemistry-related answers – oh, well, Seth Byrne, the president of WMU’s chemistry club, showed his bias toward his major…

For each bingo, winners received a prize bag labeled with one of the first twelve elements on the periodic table. Goodies ranged from delicious candy to the “more practical” Dawn laundry detergent (we are college students, after all). Some folks were more lucky than others, but everyone enjoyed the fun break from their studies. Max Rhames, the president of K College’s chemistry club, helped organize the event and is excited to continue collaboration between the two clubs. We look forward to future connections between the chemists on the K College and WMU campuses through social and professional activities.

K College Chemistry Club Report from New Orleans ACS Meeting

By Maxwell Rhames

Happy spring, Kalamazoo area chemists! 10 members of our Kalamazoo College Chemistry Club recently had the opportunity to travel to New Orleans, Louisiana, to attend the Spring 2024 Meeting of the American Chemical Society; all of us were either presenting a poster or delivering a talk. By presenting at various symposia and SciMix, our members were able to communicate their work and engage with chemists from diverse backgrounds. Our members also had the opportunity to network over dinner with several graduate students and post-doctoral researchers. We were joined by Atanu Ghosh, a Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State University working with Dr. Jim McCusker, and Allison Wong, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Minnesota. We were also fortunate enough to be joined by Dr. Michelle Brann, a post-doctoral researcher serving a joint appointment with Harvard and the Smithsonian Institute. These mentors were quick to engage with our students over dinner, sharing their personal experiences within the field of chemistry and offering us guidance. Thanks to funding by the local Kalamazoo section, our club was able to treat them (and our members) to a complimentary dinner filled with lovely conversation about the wonders of a professional future within the field of chemistry.

To further encourage networking between our members and professional chemists attending the conference, we held a small competition to see which group could get a “selfie” with the most famous chemist. The competition concluded with the winning photograph of four Kalamazoo College chemists and none other than Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2022. Dr. Bertozzi also chatted with us about the last lecture she gave at K College several years ago! Our chemists were also able to snap a photo with an organic chemist famous on TikTok, Dr. Andre Isaacs of College of the Holy Cross. Though we were unable to take a selfie with her, several of our members also had a chance to chat with Dr. Dorothy Phillips, 2024 President-Elect of the ACS, who shared kind guidance and professional advice with our students.

Overall, our members had a wonderful time interacting with such an established group of chemists and truly enjoyed the opportunity to attend this national meeting. We would like to emphasize how thankful we are to have received an incredible level of support from the KACS to fund our expedition to NOLA. Thank you all for supporting us as we grow as chemists – our members were able to develop professionally through countless interactions with new mentors.

With Dr. Valerie Bertozzi

With Dr. Andre Isaacs

Information from the New Orleans Spring 2024 ACS Meeting

By Lydia E.M. Hines

Councilor

General news

· CPC (Council Policy Committee) announced that the successful Sunday evening post-caucus Councilor networking reception initiated in the Fall of 2023 will be repeated at the Fall meeting in Denver

· CCA (Committee on Community Activities) announced that they are in the process of building an “Activities Library.”

· The 2024 National Chemistry Week (NCW) theme is “Picture – Perfect Chemistry” and the Program-in-a-Box will likely be making a come-back for the 2024 NCW

· The 2025 Chemists Celebrate Earth Week (CCEW) theme is “Hot Topics, Cool Chemistry” (in recognition of the International Year of Glacier Preservation)

· NOTE: The 2025 NCW general topic is “The Chemistry of Spices (not just in foods) – “The hidden life of spices”

· The 2026 CCEW general topic will be either “Flowers” or “Forests”

· LSAC (Local Section Activities Committee) announced that there are now more than 1,000 speakers in the Speakers Directory. LSAC also urged that Local Section Officers read the monthly Officers Insight and participate in the monthly webinars offered on various topics of interest to Local Sections

Plus – news from the Council floor. (See full report on our website at https://kalamazooacs.org/archives/)

Candidates for President-Elect, 2025

The Committee on Nominations and Elections (N&E) presented to the Council the following nominees for President-Elect, 2025: Rigoberto Hernandez, Thomas Holme, Ingrid Montes, and Laura Sremaniak. By electronic ballot, the Council selected Rigoberto Hernandez and Laura Sremaniak as candidates for 2025 President-Elect. These two candidates will join Mukund Chorghade, a petition candidate, and any additional candidates, submitted via petitions, to stand for election in the fall 2024 national election.

Candidates for District V Directors

(Our Kalamazoo Section is in District V)

N&E announced the results of the election held prior to the Council meeting to select candidates from the list of nominees for Directors from District V. By electronic ballot, the Councilors selected Lisa M. Balbes, Mark C. Cesa, and Silvia S. Jurisson as District V candidates; ballots will be distributed to members around October 1, 2024.

The ACS Spring 2024 meeting was held from March 17-21. As of March 19, there were 14,368 registrations (13,122 in-person and 1,246 online).

The ACS Fall 2024 meeting will be held in Denver, CO from August 18-22, 2024.

Opportunity for STEM Outreach to Young People in the Community

KRESA and the MiSTEM Network invite local businesses to be part of the Kalamazoo Growlers and SW MiSTEM Network STEM Education Days, scheduled for Tuesday, May 28 (9-11 a.m.), Wednesday, May 29 (9-11 a.m.), and Monday, June 3 (9-10:30 a.m.) at Homer Stryker Field in Mayors Riverfront Park. The event is designed to offer 3rd to 6th grade students in the MiSTEM Network’s Southwest Region hands-on STEM experiences that will not only capture their interest but also inspire them to consider future careers in STEM fields.

By participating in this event, you will have the opportunity to showcase your workplace and provide interactive, hands-on activities that will engage and educate young students. Last year, the event exposed over 5,020 young people to STEM career awareness activities. Does your company or organization have the potential to make a lasting impact on the lives of our future scientists, engineers, and innovators?

To confirm your participation, kindly fill out the registration form at: https://forms.gle/wBNZXpfyACfuv1cQ6.

Through this form you can select the day(s) that best fit your schedule and provide details about the hands-on activity you plan to offer.

If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Kelsey McKague, KRESA Community Engagement Liaison, kelsey.mckague@kresa.org.