February 2021, Vol. 11(2)

Highlights

• National ACS President to address KACS
• Virtual Speed-Networking Event
• Project SEED 2021
• Message from the Chair 
• Comments from the Past Chair
• Greetings from the Chair-Elect
• KACS Calendar 2021

National ACS President to address KACS

We will have a very special guest for our February 22 meeting, starting at 6:30 p.m.

H.N. Cheng, Ph.D., 2021 President of the American Chemical Society presenting: Sustainability and Green Chemistry

Biography 

KACS Holds Virtual Speed-Networking Event on January 26, 2021

By Lucas Chadwick and Blakely Tresca 

Kalamazoo College and the Kalamazoo ACS hosted the 4th annual Speed Networking Night over Zoom this year. After Dr. Blakely Tresca welcomed everyone, Dr. Jeff Bartz gave a brief history of the award-winning speed-networking event. For the virtual event, mentors and students were paired up in breakout rooms for 10-minute discussions. After the first breakout session, Dr. Ed Thomas presented the many benefits of ACS membership for students, the need to revitalize the Education Committee, and welcomed all to participate in the KACS local section.

The night continued with five alternating networking breakouts and presentations by invited speakers. Other presentations included an overview of career-building resources by Dr. Tricia Zelaya Leon from the K-college Career Development Center, an impassioned plea from Dr. Ed Thomas for personnel in academia to get more involved in the KACS Education Committee. The highlight of the night was Mr. Benjamin Maxey’s presentation on the story of Covid-19 vaccine production at Pfizer here in Kalamazoo. The night concluded with one last breakout session. After the event, a list of contacts was circulated for mentors and students to continue their conversations. We are hopeful the connections that were made will benefit students and mentors alike for many years to come. Overall, our first-ever virtual chemistry speed networking event was a resounding success, and we look forward to working with this format more in the future.

As a Section we extend our appreciation those who contributed time and expertise for our Virtual Speed Networking Event: 

Project SEED 2021—Heading Back to Camp 

By Doug Williams, KACS Project SEED Coordinator

ACS is seeking chemists and other specialists to volunteer to support the Summer Camp program. 

• Camp Managers will oversee a group of 10-30 students and 2-6 Cabin Leaders (see below) and host weekly meetings. 
• Mentors will share their work with a “cabin” (8-10 students) by introducing the students to their science and developing projects or activities for the students to work on over the course of six weeks. 
• Webinar facilitators will give presentations relevant to high school student development in pursuing STEM education. Presentations with high-engagement approaches are desirable. 

ACS plans to hire even more Cabin Leaders this year. These are typically graduate students or undergraduate students in chemistry who will be online with their cabin each day to facilitate participation and serve as go to leaders and role models for the participants. Flyers for Cabin Leaders will be available by early March and the applications will open soon after. 

To get in touch or stay informed directly with Project SEED, please visit this page to sign up for email updates. As always, I am available to help you with questions or challenges related to Project SEED. You may reach me at dwilliams@kalsec.com.

Message from the Chair

by Edward Thomas, KACS Chair

Kalamazoo American Chemical Society Members, I look forward to serving as your chair during 2021. I will work closely with Ben Maxey, Chair-elect, Hershel Jude, Past-chair, Doug Williams, Treasurer, James Redwine, Secretary, Lydia Hines, Councilor, all the chairs of our committees and you the members to make this a scientifically and socially beneficial year. 

My goals for our section this year are three:

1. to increase member participation,
2. to continue providing interesting scientific activities for members and our community, and
3. to continue having our Section serving as a platform for our chemists to reach out to teachers and students. 

I recognize many of the activities during 2020 were postponed or cancelled for our section and in our own lives. As much as possible, activities were conducted virtually: our monthly executive committee meetings, award ceremonies, Project SEED, and Chemistry Week. It looks as though this will continue, as our first executive committee meeting was held virtually. 

Our challenges for this year are several. For at least the first six months, we will conduct all meetings and activities virtually. Already the Borgess Marathon in May has been cancelled, and our section previously provided a water stop on the race. It is a challenge to have networking and socializing in this time of isolation and mask usage. I look for your suggestions to facilitate our activities. In addition, important committee chairs remain unfilled. The chair of the Education Committee, who oversees awards to teachers and students, administers a high school chemistry exam and conducts outreach to schools in Kalamazoo, Van Buren, and Allegan Counties, has been vacant for two years. Individuals have stepped up to keep most educational activities moving forward, but we need a greater commitment from our local section. We also have an opening for the chair of the Women Chemists’ Committee. Please contact me if these two positions might be of interest to you. 

Speaking of opportunities, I see many that lie ahead for us this year. We successfully conducted a Speed Networking event in which over 25 mentors and 25 students participated. We have been in touch with seven Michigan ACS Sections and have the opportunity to trade tips and possible seminars virtually. I attended the Fall 2020 ACS Meeting on-line and was impressed with the ease of participation and the quality of the talks. I expect no less from the Spring National Meeting. I encourage you to attend: The registration fee is $99 for members, $29 for students, and free for retirees and emeritus members. We have the opportunity to host speakers monthly via Zoom. A pilot meeting in the fall, a recognition event for Lydia Hines, proved quite successful in having the section participate virtually. Hopefully with vaccinations, mask wearing and social distancing, we will be able to return to some kind of normal in the fall. This could include Chemistry Week, Recycle a Poster, and other activities. 

I am very excited about serving as your chair, and meeting new people. We will build on our section’s past successes and have many positive moments to reflect on by the end of the year!

Comments from Past-Chair

by Hershel Jude, KACS Past-Chair

Dear Kalamazoo Area Chemists, 

As a community we have been hearing about COVID-19 for a little over a year and it is quickly approaching one year since KACS held the only event in 2020 that was not in front of a screen. On March 10, a few days before COVID-19 resulted in restrictions being imposed on in-person gatherings, about 30 people gathered at Latitude 42 to celebrate the International Year of the Periodic Table and raise funds for Project SEED. Attendees were able to sample 6 different beers and appetizer pairings while Mike Babb discussed the rationale for the selections. I enjoyed the opportunity to share a beer and network with KACS members and could not have imagined what 2020 had in store for my year as KACS chair. 

Things changed so quickly during the early days of the pandemic that one week after the IYPT event, March 17, we held our first virtual KACS executive committee meeting and every meeting since has be held virtually. Due to the pandemic all in-person events scheduled to occur after March 2020 were canceled, including Earth Day activities, the Kalamazoo Marathon water stop, the high school competitive exam and awards gathering, Project SEED, Chemistry Day at the Museum, Bell’s recycle-a-poster and the college speed networking events. 

While it was a very trying year, we adapted and modified activities where possible. We could not give our annual competitive high school chemistry test or invite the many deserving high school students and their families to attend an awards gathering and receive their prizes in 2020 due to the pandemic and school closures, however we were able to provide awards to outstanding high school and college chemistry students that were nominated by their teachers. Due to lack of education committee volunteers we likely would not have continued the 30-year tradition of giving the high school competitive exams in 2020 even if COVID-19 wasn’t a reality. If you are reading this article and have any interest in education and promoting chemistry to students in the Kalamazoo local section please contact our chair, Ed Thomas, and volunteer to help get KACS education program back on a strong foundation. 

Through a “mystery-to-solve” format, which integrated the videotaped activities with museum displays, participants could “solve the mystery” and do hands-on science at home using the virtual demos as a guide. 

Lydia E. M. Hines was awarded ACS’ 2020 Helen M. Free Award for Public Outreach and on October 20, 2020 a virtual event was held in celebration. This event attracted 32 attendees and included six speakers and a keynote address by Lydia. 

And finally, the college speed networking event did not happen in person, or even in 2020; but late is better than never as it was held virtually in January 2021, please see the write up in this newsletter by Luke Chadwick and Blakely Tresca.

It is difficult to summarize 2020 as Chair of the Kalamazoo Local Section of the American Chemical Society. In December 2019, I had aspirations of filling the education committee with dozens of volunteers and revamping the high school exam or at least giving students an option to take it. By March 2020, I remember thinking how do you have an executive council meeting that is not in person. By December, phrases like “zoom meeting,” “teams meeting,” and “meets meetings” are common language even if a lot of us still have problems making sure our cameras are on and our microphones aren’t muted. So, in conclusion, pick up a beer or your favorite beverage and let’s toast to being able to share a drink and memories in person without masks by the end of 2021! 

Any member is invited to attend our Executive Committee Meetings; please contact Ed Thomas for information regarding how you may participate.

Greetings from Chair-Elect

by Benjamin Maxey

I’m excited to be back with the Kalamazoo ACS section as your chair elect! The new year kicked off quickly, with the ACS Leadership Institute starting on January 9. In a jam-packed week of virtual, half day events we learned “What we need to know” about ACS and our new leadership roles, discussed a new ACS document under consideration regarding “Harassment-Free Meetings,” were introduced to the ACS Board, reviewed how to maximize the value of social media platforms, and were teased with the many resources available to support local sections. I also joined a number of focused training sessions, including Engaging Volunteers, Leading without Authority, and Developing Communications Strategies. Phew! As I get reacquainted with the section, I am looking forward to leveraging these ACS resources to support our efforts!

KACS Events Calendar