• Come Learn How Color Changed the World
• Bell’s Recycle-a-Poster Date Change
• The Return of Our Speed Networking Event
• Animal Scientist, Autism Self-Advocate to Speak in Sturgis
• Chemistry Day at the Museum: Save the Date, Call for Volunteers
• 2024 Project SEED Poster Presentations
• An Invitation to the Great Lakes Regional Meeting
• Highlights from the August 2024 ACS Council Meeting
• Comments on KACS Bylaws’ Update Process
• WMU to Host Seminar on Molecule Movement
• KACS Calendar

Come Learn How Color Changed the World

A lecture by Dr. Mary Virginia Orna, “How Color Changed the World,” will be held Tuesday, September 17 at 6 p.m., in the WMU Chemistry Building, Rm. 1220. This lecture is free and open to the public!

Mary Virginia Orna, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita of Chemistry, College of New Rochelle, New York. Her academic specialties are in the areas of color chemistry and archaeological chemistry. She has twenty-one authored, co-authored or edited books on chemical education and history of chemistry to her credit. Her latest book, March of the Pigments, was published by the Royal Society of Chemistry on May 23, 2022, a direct product of the COVID lockdown. She is the recipient of numerous chemical education and service awards, the latest being the American Chemical Society 2021 Joseph B. Lambert HIST Award “for her original research in the area of color and pigment chemistry.” In 1989, she was designated the New York State Professor of the Year, and in 1994 she served as a Fulbright Fellow in Israel. Her hobby is constructing crossword puzzles; she has contributed many of these to the New York Times. She is a religious novitiate of the Ursulines of the Roman Union, and a Fellow of the American Chemical Society.

This talk is based on her popular book, “The Chemical History of Color” (Springer, 2013). Color has been an exciting and enjoyable part of human life over the years. However, the junction between color and chemistry, and color and history, is of more recent origin. The first recorded use of chemistry to manufacture a color is the stunning set of cave paintings found in the Grotte Chauvet in Southern France. This talk traces the history of color usage as a chemical endeavor from the earliest records to the present day, focusing on four major areas: fashion, pharmaceuticals, food, and fun. It is a trajectory peppered with stories to help us understand the mystery of color as a universal experience and phenomenon; its chemical history, as you shall see, even changed the course of history in the 20th century.

Bell’s Recycle-a-Poster Date Change

The Return of Our Speed Networking Event

By Blakely Tresca

We are happy to announce that our award-winning Speed Networking event is returning for the 8th year on Monday, October 7, co-sponsored by Kalamazoo ACS and Kalamazoo College. Join us at 6 p.m. on Zoom for five rounds of short discussions on careers and navigating life as a chemist. Registration is open now at https://bit.ly/KACSSpeedNet. The virtual format opens this event to professionals and students beyond the Kalamazoo area. Sign up early, as space may be limited, and priority will be given to early registrants. Mentors include professional chemists from industry and academia—this event can’t happen without you! Undergraduate students—this is your chance to meet with professionals from across the chemical enterprise and learn about starting a successful career in chemistry.

Animal Scientist, Autism Self-Advocate to Speak in Sturgis

Dr. Grandin is a renowned professor of animal science at Colorado State University, overcoming the challenges of autism to make significant contributions to improving the handling and welfare of farm animals. She has designed handling facilities impacting half the cattle in the U.S. and Canada and has published numerous industry publications and books.

She is a popular inspirational speaker and has received numerous awards and honors for her outstanding contributions to the livestock industry and autism advocacy.

Chemistry Day at the Museum: Save the Date, Call for Volunteers

2024 Project SEED Poster Presentations

By Doug Williams

On August 23, five of our six 2024 Project SEED fellows presented posters of their summer research at a gathering hosted by Kalamazoo College (see photos). We give special thanks to Prof. Dwight Williams (Chemistry, Kalamazoo College) for organizing the event again this year. Three of our fellows are starting college this month: Ben Knight (Kalamazoo College), Reem Rasool (WMU), and Jocelyn Suranyi (Kalamazoo College), each with interests in science and health professions. They join two of last year’s fellows, Eddie Anderson and Sadaya Hamby, who are starting at Howard University and Albion College, respectively, this fall. Dorian, Mahdi, and Rowan are returning to their high schools and hope to join us again next summer to continue their research work. We congratulate all of these promising young scholars on their accomplishments and wish them well in their future work. Our ability to offer this program has become increasingly dependent on local fund raising as we continue to spend down excess reserves. Thank you to our members who have donated to this effort. 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.

An Invitation to the Great Lakes Regional Meeting

Please continue to keep in mind the 2025 Great Lakes Regional Meeting which will be held June 4-6 in Appleton, Wisconsin. Plan to attend and to participate in some way! The organizers would be happy to hear from you in terms of your willingness to organize a symposium for their program, or to exhibit information regarding your business or school at their exposition, and to plan to present your research (orally or by way of a poster) at the meeting. Their website is https://greatlakesregion-acs.org/event-welcome/glrm-2025 and it will continue to be updated. Regional Meetings offer many opportunities for students and aspiring chemists to network with others—faculty and industrial chemists—in an environment which is usually less intimidating than a large ACS meeting. To ask any questions please send the Local Organizing Committee an email or contact the General Co-chairs, Matt Hammers and Katie McGarry.

Highlights from the August 2024 ACS Council Meeting

By Lydia E. M. Hines

(The full report is on our website https://kalamazooacs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Fall-2024-ACS-meeting-Councilor-Report.pdf)

· The Council approved the updated Academic Professional Guidelines, as amended to reflect the shared responsibility and accountability with the academic institution, faculty, and other mentors in creating a safe environment.

· As of August 22, there were 11,569 registrations (10,245 in‐person and 1,324 online) at the Fall meeting.

· The Board voted to approve the advance member registration fee for 2025 spring and fall meetings as $549 for in-person and $249 for virtual.

· The CEO, Albert Horvath, and his staff, reported on the planning for the 150th anniversary (2026) of ACS.

· As of the end of July 2024, the number of ACS Members stood at 98,902, and the number of Society Affiliates at 2,766. The number of Community Associates (not members) increased to 119,625.

· ACS General Counsel, Tokë Vandervoort, provided an update on the Youth Protection Policy and Volunteer Background Check process**. (more information is found on our KACS website under “Policies” https://kalamazooacs.org/guidelines/)

**Starting on September 1, 2024, the Youth Protection Policy will take effect, and it details the expectations for volunteers at ACS Youth Events. ACS has partnered with Sterling Volunteers to conduct all background checks. This policy applies to all adults volunteering at ACS Youth Events in the U.S.

Comments on KACS Bylaws’ Update Process

By Jake Kirkendall

KACS 2024 Secretary

The ACS Committee on Constitution and Bylaws (C&B) requested that the Kalamazoo local section update our bylaws, as they were no longer consistent with the ACS Governing Document. The current bylaws were approved in 2009, so this will be the first update in 15 years. The majority of these updates were recommended by C&B, with some changes added by the KACS executive committee.

In accordance with current bylaws, a notice was sent out to all current members on July 26 for a 30-day comment period on the updated bylaws. The concerns expressed during this period were addressed, and amends were made to the document based on this feedback.

The next steps are for these bylaws to be voted on at the September 16 executive committee meeting. If you have any further questions or objections, please contact Jake Kirkendall (secretary@kalamazooacs.org) or attend the executive committee meeting on September 16. If issues can’t be resolved at that meeting, or if it is determined that an election is needed to approve the amendments, a special election will be held. If no further objections are raised, the Executive committee will hold a vote to approve the updates and if approved they will be sent to C&B for their approval and date-stamp.

WMU to Host Seminar on Molecule Movement

WMU Chemistry Department has graciously offered to let KACS know of seminars which they will be hosting through the 2024-5 academic year, on Mondays in the Chemistry Building, Rm. 1260 at 3 p.m. Below is the abstract for the September 30 seminar by Dr. James Penner-Hahn. (Others will be featured in subsequent monthly newsletters.)

Watching molecules move: femtosecond dynamics of cobalamins

Dr. James Penner-Hahn, Departments of Chemistry and Biophysics, University of Michigan