Highlights

• getting tickets to see Alton Brown with the KACS
• the KACS's involvement in local education
• the recent Sci-Mix poster event
• how to win a copy of Mauve by Simon Garfield

Comments from the Chair

By Brian Eklov

While I am sure we still have some cold weather ahead of us this year, the lengthening daylight is already making me look forward to spring.

The KACS Executive Committee has been hard at work lining up our event schedule for the year; I, for one, am looking forward to them! Perennial favorites will return – Chemists Celebrate Earth Day will happen on April 23. Volunteers still needed! Send me an email if you are interested. followed by our Annual Awards gathering which will take place on May 9, after we have completed giving the competitive high school exam and evaluating this year’s nominees for Outstanding High School Teacher. We will be hosting our 30 th Annual Chemistry Day at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum on October 8, and we will be meeting again in November at Bell’s for our annual Recycle-A-Poster event. We are also working on a series of new events to add to this year’s schedule – see the Alton Brown announcement below, and watch future newsletters for announcements!

Brian Eklov, Ph.D. (KACS Chair)

Alton Brown Live: Eat Your Science at Miller

Alton Brown Live: Eat Your Science Miller Auditorium Thursday May 5, 2016 7:30 pm AltonBrownTour.com

KACS has reserved a block of tickets for members who are interested in attending the Alton Brown Live show on Thursday, May 5th at 7:30 PM. The well-known television personality and author has a knack for explaining kitchen science in an engaging and entertaining manner. Don’t worry, though, our tickets are out of the “splash zone”. The KACS seating will be near the back of the orchestra level, and tickets are $35 each (after our KACS subsidy).

Please contact Brian Eklov at chair@kalamazooacs.org to reserve your seats.

Report on ACS Leadership Institute

By Brian Eklov

Each January, ACS hosts the ACS Leadership Institute in Dallas, TX. This event provides vital training on how to lead with great success. Participants gain an understanding of the essential elements of effective leadership and an opportunity to interact with other local section and technical division officers and ACS governance. Leadership development courses help participants develop core skills important in ACS leadership roles as well as in the workplace.

This year was my second opportunity to attend the ACS Leadership Institute. As always, the weekend was packed to the gills with sessions covering a wide array of topics related to the ACS’s local sections, and I was able to attend sessions that complemented my previous experience at the conference. Due to the networking prompted by this event, we are currently working on joint events with the St. Joseph Valley and Milwaukee Local Sections, so watch our newsletter and Facebook page for announcements!

If you would like to hear more about the ACS Leadership Event and learn how you can attend or otherwise participate, please contact me at chair@kalamazooacs.org .

KACS Supports High School Chemical Education

Student Competition

For the thirty-fifth consecutive year, the KACS is sponsoring a chemistry examination competition for all high school students in Allegan, Kalamazoo, and Van Buren counties. The competition consists of a preliminary and final examination. This year the preliminary examination will take place on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at all high schools that register. High scorers will be invited to the final examination on April 23, 2016 at Western Michigan University where they will compete for twenty scholarships. If you would like more information, contact a high school chemistry teacher or email the KACS test coordinator: James Kiddle ( james.kiddle@wmich.edu)

Wanted: Outstanding High School Chemistry Teachers!

At its annual spring award reception the Kalamazoo Section of the American Chemical Society honors an Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher from one of the three counties (Allegan, Kalamazoo, Van Buren) in our Local Section. This year we are asking for your cooperation in identifying qualified candidates. The applicant for Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher should be able to impart to students a strong understanding of basic chemical principles while inspiring students to choose a career in chemistry. The ideal applicant would use innovative teaching methods and be active in keeping current with the field of chemistry.

To nominate a candidate contact Andre Venter: andre.venter@wmich.edu

Sci-Mix Poster Session at Bell's Eccentric Café

With Keynote Speaker Karson S. Putt

Purdue University – Center for Drug Discovery

By Elke Schoffers with Photos by Denis Billen

Kristina Kesely from Purdue had to leave for a malaria field trip to Vietnam.

KACS hosted its annual poster session titled "Sustainable Science - Recycle a Poster" at Bell's Eccentric Café in downtown Kalamazoo on Nov. 10, 2015. This event is now in its fifth year and was made possible through a generous grant from Zoetis. It not only features research posters but typically also hosts a keynote speaker during this very social gathering. Poster setup, registration and mingling began at 5 PM. Over 70 people enjoyed the atmosphere of this public event; 51% of the attendees were ACS members.

The audience was excited to learn about the latest efforts to control and cure malaria from the keynote speaker. At 7 pm Dr. Karson S. Putt began his seminar, which was titled "Inhibition of an erythrocyte tyrosine. kinase prevents Plasmodium falciparum egress and terminates parasitemia". In his role as Managing Director, Putt oversees over 110 faculty members and over 600 students at the Purdue University Center for Drug Discovery. During the presentation he explained how inhibition of a specific enzyme can arrest malaria. This is a breakthrough finding. According to the World Health Organization, one child dies from malaria every minute, and half of the world’s population remains at risk of infection. Because this threat is expected to rise as drug resistance continues to eliminate established treatment options, the search for novel anti-malarial therapies has intensified. There are over 200 million infections of malaria every year, which is endemic in Africa, South and Central America, and South East Asia.

Karson S. Putt (left) from Purdue U. gave the keynote speech. Here shown with two WMU graduate students Harry Chanzu and Javan Kisaka.

The original speaker for this event was Kristina Kesely. However, just 9 days before her visit to Kalamazoo she received word that human trial studies in Vietnam were approved by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and Purdue IRB. Within less than a week's notice Kesely and her team had to prepare for a month-long visit to South East Asia to gather data for their novel therapy. This was an exciting development but it also meant that someone else needed to fill in for her. Organizers were happy to learn that Putt could step in on short notice.

Event visitors had a chance to enjoy hot appetizers and beer from 5 to 9 pm while listening to the keynote speech and reviewing the posters that were given by scientists from Kalamazoo College, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, and Zoetis. There were 21 new or "recycled" (from a previous conference) posters, including a total of 15 student presenters. This year, there were also three cash prizes drawn from poster presenters who submitted their abstracts by November 4. The winners were Basil Ahmed, Wisam A. Alisawi and Harry Chanzu.

Like KACS on Facebook and Win!

Have you liked us on Facebook?

If so, then you already know that our Facebook page is where you are first made aware of local section events, interesting science-related current events, and national ACS news!

If you have not yet liked our page, then here is your chance to remedy that deficiency and be entered in a drawing to win a copy of "Mauve" by Simon Garfield. The subtitle of this book, “how one man invented a color that changed the world” is not an exaggeration. This fascinating read explains how William Perkin’s 1856 experimental mishap revolutionized organic chemistry, while also forever changing the fashion, perfume, flavorings, and bleaching industries.

To be eligible to win the book you must be a KACS member living in the continental United States. Prior to the drawing on Tuesday, March 1 st , you must do the following:

1. Like the KACS Facebook page (if you already have, then skip to step 2!)
2. Comment on the “Mauve” post
3. Share a Chemistry-related KACS post (not the “Mauve” post, as the competition is only available to KACS members)

Thank you for liking our Facebook page, and Good Luck!