September 2023, Vol. 13(8)

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In Memoriam – Mohammed Yahia and Ned Heindel

The frailty of life came to the fore at the recent San Francisco ACS meeting with the announcement of the unexpected and untimely passing of the newly-hired editor of C&EN, Mohammed Yahia, age 41, as he was en route to his first National ACS meeting; he leaves behind a wife and 2 young children. His first and only editorial in C&EN appeared in the first August issue (August 7&14) p. 2.

Another loss announced at the council meeting was of Ned Heindel, long-time educator and ACS speaker who presented in Kalamazoo in 2011. Doug Williams and Lydia Hines describe him as “a distinguished teacher, scholar and all-around mentor who valued his relationship with each one he encountered. A remarkable chemist.”

Chemistry Day at the Museum—15-20 Volunteers Needed

By Hershel Jude

October 14, 2023, from noon to 4 p.m., the date and time of our Chemistry Day at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, is less than 6 weeks away! The topic of this year’s National Chemistry Week is Health and Medicine: The Healing Power of Chemistry.

If you are willing to lead a demonstration for Chemistry Day 2023, or to join with others who have offered to lead a demonstration, please email Hershel Jude and/or Carol Guerrero Kercher ASAP. We still need 15-20 volunteers to lead demos on October 14.

Speed Networking Scheduled

By Blakely Tresca

Speed Networking is scheduled via ZOOM for Monday, October 2, 2023, 6-7:30 p.m. You need to register for this event to be a mentor or to be a student participant. This outreach by our section members to our post-HS students in Allegan, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties has been evaluated very highly over the years; mentors are as important for this event as are students, so please let us know of your availability SOON!

Sustainable Science – Recycle a Poster at Bell’s Eccentric CafĂ©

By Tomasz Respondek

On Tuesday, October 24, 2023, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. the Kalamazoo section of the American Chemical Society (KACS) will host its 11th annual poster session titled “Sustainable Science – Recycle a Poster” at Bell’s Eccentric CafĂ© in downtown Kalamazoo.

The KACS is pleased to continue this popular event thanks to a generous grant from Zoetis; this year the keynote speaker will be Kyle Schneider, Ph.D., Director of R&D at Vestaron, located in Kalamazoo, MI. Vestaron is a Peptide Company dedicated to improving the safety, efficacy and sustainability of crop protection.

The title of the keynote talk will be “Transforming Crop Protection with Cysteine-Rich Natural Peptides – A Pipeline of Possibilities.”

This event is open to the public, so we hope to see both ACS members and the general public.

Newly-prepared or “recycled” posters are welcome from any attendee who wants to present his/her research. Undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to participate. [Up to three posters by student presenters who submit their abstract (100-200 words) by Sunday, October 22, will be eligible to enter a drawing for a $50 cash prize each.]

To reserve an easel for a poster, send an email with the following information to symposium@kalamazooacs.org by Sunday, October 22, 2023.

-the poster title

-author list, with the presenter underlined and an asterisk (*) identifying the lead PI

-institution information -(an abstract to enter the prize drawing if you are a student

A Greeting From Our 2024 Chair, Dr. Dibyendu Mondal

My name is Dr. Dibyendu Mondal and currently I am working as a Lead Scientist in the biotransformation group of Kalsec. In my role, I am focused on providing innovative and sustainable bio-manufacturing solutions to realize Kalsec’s goal of nourishing the world.

Academically, I hold a Master’s degree in organic chemistry and a Ph.D. in mechanistic enzymology. My post-doc training was in protein engineering through directed evolution.

I was honored to be elected as the 2023 Chair-Elect (and 2024 Chair) of the Kalamazoo Section of the American Chemical Society (KACS). My journey as a chair-elect began by attending the 2023 ACS Leadership Institute in Atlanta, GA. I look forward to helping the section achieve its vision of creating awareness of chemistry by organizing local events and activities.

It’s a privilege now to serve as chair of the section. The section has a strong history of commitment to increase awareness of chemistry among young people of our community. As a chair I am committed towards continuing its ongoing activities. Along with other members of the Executive Committee I will work on increasing the number of fellowships that includes Project SEED and travel. Coming from academia I am focused on reviving the High School Competitive exam. We will also try to make arrangements to start an industry visit program for our students.

Best,
Dibyendu

2023 Project SEED Presentations

By Doug Williams

On August 25 four of our six 2023 Project SEED fellows presented posters of their summer research on the Kalamazoo College campus. We thank Prof. Dwight Williams (Chemistry, Kalamazoo College) for organizing the event. One of our SEED fellows, Alejandro Alvarez, is heading to Northwestern University to pursue a degree in electrical or chemical engineering. The remaining five students have returned to high school as seniors, as they put finishing touches on their college applications for next year. We had a wonderful time becoming better acquainted with our three returning fellows, Alejandro, Sadaya Hamby, and Eddie Anderson, and getting to know our first-time fellows, Benjamin Knight, Jocelyn Suranyi, and Reem Rasool. Congratulations to all of them for a productive summer.

Thank you to those of our KACS members who have supported this work. This was our largest class of fellows since 1999 when we last sponsored six students at WMU. Watch for additional growth in 2024 as we look for additional mentors and funds to increase our impact. This year, we could accept only half of the qualified applicants. We know that there is more interest and opportunity. Please visit our Project SEED webpage or contact me directly at treasurer@kalamazooacs.org to learn more about how to help. We cannot do this without you.

Sadaya Hamby (Kalamazoo Central HS, senior)

Mentor: Prof. Dwight Williams (Chemistry, Kalamazoo College)
Project: Development of isatin-maleimide hybrids against E.S.K.A.P.E. pathogens
Pictured with: Prof. Williams

Reem Rasool (Kalamazoo Central HS, senior)

Mentor: Prof. Dwight Williams (Chemistry, Kalamazoo College)
Project: Synthesis of 5-methoxy-2-oxotryptamine-maleimide hybrids
Pictured with: Prof. Williams

Benjamin Knight (Portage Northern HS, senior)

Mentor: Dr. Drew Elder (Kalsec, Inc.)
Project: Development of Rosemary Extraction and Purification Techniques
Pictured with: grandparents Steve and Joann Knight

Jocelyn Suranyi (Bloomingdale HS, senior)

Mentor: Prof. Blakely Tresca (Chemistry, Kalamazoo College)
Project: Molecular models of peptoid aggregation in virtual reality
Pictured with: Prof. Tresca

Cast Your Ballot for ACS President-Elect

By Lydia E. M. Hines

In National ACS elections for President-elect the Committee on Nominations and Elections (N&E) has made an effort to select academic candidates in one year and non-academic candidates the next year. Our President-Elect for 2023 (President for 2024) is Mary Carroll, who is an academic; so the 2 President-elect candidates for 2024, who will appear on the Fall Ballot for election this year, Dr. Dorothy Phillips and Dr. Florian Schattenmann, are non-academics. Included are pictures of the Posters which the two candidates set up for attendees at the San Francisco meeting in August; view a short (3-min) video from each candidate at the following links:

Dr. Dorothy Phillips   â–Ş   Dr. Florian Schattenmann

Election participation each year is very low; my hope is that if you are a member you will consider the information presented and VOTE when you receive your ballot (electronic or paper) as you requested.

Councilor Report from the San Francisco Fall ACS Meeting

By Lydia E. M. Hines

[The full report will be posted on the KACS website under “Archives”]

-Elections to the three Elected Committees of the Council – the Committee on Nominations and Elections (N&E), the Committee on Committees (ConC) and the Council Policy Committee (CPC) were held. Our KACS Councilor Lydia E. M. Hines was re-elected to a three-year term on CPC.

-Despite National ACS meetings being held in hybrid format, the size of the in-person registration is trending upward; the number of attendees registered in-person in San Francisco was 13,363; those attending online numbered 1,656. Another positive trend is the increasing participation from international sites; participants logged in from 80 such sites.

-There was discussion on possible term limits for councilors, as there are many who choose not to contribute their input to any of the 30+ committees which are available to them for participation. All Committees, except the three Elected Committees, are available to any member for his/her participation. https://www.acs.org/about/governance/committees/preferences-and-appointment-process.html

-The ACS Membership now stands at approximately 100,000. There are an additional ~85,000 non-dues paying “interested individuals” who are NOT ACS members; they are identified as “Community Associates” and receive minimal complimentary benefits from ACS. “Society Affiliates” are yet another category of individuals who do pay dues but are not eligible for membership. [See https://www.acs.org/membership.html for more specifics about each category] PLEASE NOTE: Members who do not pay their dues within 60 days of receipt of their renewal reminder notices are removed from the membership rolls and are re-categorized as “Community Associates,” so they are no longer members and therefore are ineligible to vote or to hold office.

-Membership dues are remaining the same in 2024.

Election Season is Near for KACS Officer

Election season is near for our KACS officers. The offices open for election are Secretary (2-year term 2024-5); Chair-elect (1-year term 2025 in a 3-year succession (chair-elect > chair> past-chair)); and Councilor (3-year term 2024-2026).

Jacob Kirkendall has agreed to be nominated for secretary (continuation) and Nicole Burke has agreed to be nominated for chair-elect. Lydia E. M. Hines has agreed to be nominated for councilor (continuation); if elected, this would be her last term as councilor. Descriptions of responsibilities may be found on our website at https://kalamazooacs.org/operations-manual/ If you desire to be considered for any of the positions mentioned above, please let our secretary know of your interest by contacting secretary@kalamazooacs.org

MiSTEM Chemistry Network Update

By Doug Williams

Last year’s MiSTEM network meetings were a useful new way to engage with our regional high school chemistry teachers. Meetings typically included about 10-12 participants with roughly equal numbers of teachers and chemists. Our four AACT “Science Coach” teachers gave enthusiastic summaries of their work with their coaches, and we capped the year with an outdoor social on June 6 at Thunderbird River Ranch. Survey and in-person responses have encouraged us to continue in 2023-24 with online meetings scheduled from 3-4 p.m. on Sept. 26, Nov. 14, Jan. 23, Mar. 12, and May 14.

We are starting the year by purchasing pH, conductivity, gas pressure, and photometric sensors that can be used directly for computer data acquisition in high school labs. These sensors will be available to teachers in our section and other SW Michigan counties by reservation from the KRESA Regional Educational Media Center (REMC). KACS thanks Pfizer for matching funds to purchase these tools.

If you are interested in helping motivated high school teachers to challenge and motivate high school chemistry students, please contact one of us below. We would love to add you to the team.

Doug Williams (treasurer@kalamazooacs.org)
Carl Stachew (carl.f.stachew@pfizer.com)
Blakely Tresca (blakely.tresca@kzoo.edu)