Chemical Bond, March 2025

Vol. 76, No. 2, March, 2025

• Call for Nominations for the 2025 ACS Midwest Award 31 January 2025

  Your assistance in identifying candidates for the 2025 American Chemical Society (ACS) Midwest Award is solicited. In 1944, the St. Louis Section of the ACS established, and since then sponsors and funds the ACS Midwest Award to recognize “those who have made meritorious contributions to the advancement of pure or applied chemistry, or chemical education” in the Midwest Region. The award is conferred annually on a scientist who has made such meritorious contributions in the profession of chemistry. The contributions must have been made during a period of residence in the geographic area defined by the territories of the Local Sections of the ACS that participate in the Midwest Regional Meeting (MWRM) of the ACS. These 17 Local Sections have been listed in programs for Midwest Regional Meetings and they are: Ames, Iowa, Kansas City, Kansas State University, Mark Twain, Mo-Kan-Ok (The Tri-State), Nebraska, Omaha, Ozark, St. Louis, Sioux Valley, South Central Missouri, Southern Illinois, University of Arkansas, University of Missouri, Wakarusa Valley and Wichita. Nominees need not be members of the ACS and can work in industry, academia, government, or in private practice. Those ineligible for the Midwest Award include prior recipients of either the Midwest Award or any National Award administered by the ACS; see a listing of ACS National Awards. Ineligible also are members of the Midwest Award Jury. For the St. Louis Section of the ACS, also ineligible are the Past Chair, the Chair, the Chair-Elect, the Secretary and members of the Awards Committee. More details concerning the main features of the Midwest Award can be found here.

  The 2025 ACS Midwest Award will be presented at the 2025 Midwest Regional Meeting of the ACS to be held in Columbia, Missouri from Tuesday October 14 to Thursday October 16, 2025, hosted by the University of Missouri. Ceremonies associated with the award feature a Midwest Award Symposium, a Midwest Award Lecture and the Midwest Awards Banquet scheduled on the Awards Night of the meeting. The Award consists of a medallion and a cash honorarium; it is presented by the St. Louis Section Chair at the Midwest Awards Banquet. A condition of acceptance of this Award is that the recipient gives the Midwest Award Lecture at the time of presentation of the Award.

  Nominations should consist of a nominating letter for the nominee and two or more seconding letters; a CV for the nominee; a brief biography for the nominee; and documented and objective information regarding the outstanding achievements of the nominee. Other recent practices include the following. If the nominee is an academic, a list of people who received advanced degrees under her or his direction should be provided. Activities by the nominee that support the ACS in the Midwest Region constitute additional criteria of merit. Please submit nominations electronically via a single pdf file to the e-mail address given below. They must be received on or before the deadline of Monday, March 31, 2025 (by 11:59 pm CST). Nominations are retained and reconsidered (if unsuccessful) over a period of 3 consecutive years.

  If you have questions, please contact Jim O’Brien at obrienjja@umsl.edu or call (314) 757-5717 (cell).

  Nominations should be directed to:

  Dr. Jim O’Brien
  E-Mail address: obrienjja@umsl.edu

  2025 ACS Midwest Award Coordinator,
  Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
  University of Missouri-St. Louis
  One University Blvd.
  St. Louis, MO 63121

• David L. Garin Science Policy Lecture 2025 22 February 2025
  

  Jamie Vernon

  David L. Garin Science Policy Lecture

  Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025
  Missouri History Museum, Forest Park
  5:15 PM
  Pre-registration is required;
  Sign-in between 5:00 and 5:15 PM

  Dr. Jamie Vernon, Executive Director and CEO, Sigma Xi

  “Cultivating a Generation of Civic Scientists Through Science Policy”

  The role of scientists is expanding beyond the bench. Many within the scientific community and beyond are calling for scientists to use their research knowledge and skills to benefit society in a multitude of ways, including through science policy. Opportunities to participate in science policy-related activities include providing science and policy education and training in and outside the classroom; writing science policy articles, books, and reports to guide knowledge in the field; engaging the public through science and civic actions; and contributing to legislative, executive, and judicial processes through advocacy, advice, and analysis. During this interactive presentation, various ways of repurposing scientific expertise towards translational skills that serve the public good will be discussed. In addition, best practices for scientists to engage in policy-making will be shared. This information is designed to enable the next generation of researchers to broaden their impact outside the laboratory. In doing so, research culture and society will be positively transformed through the two-way process of civic science.

  For pre-registration, please contact: Joy Manore, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Missouri – Saint Louis, e-mail: jdmg5p@umsl.edu

  Jamie Vernon is executive director and CEO at Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society and publisher of American Scientist. From 2014 to 2017, he served as Sigma Xi’s director of science communications and publications and editor-in-chief of American Scientist. A molecular biologist by training, he spent more than a decade developing genetic engineering tools, analyzing HIV-neutralizing antibodies for vaccine production, and studying the effects of gene duplication on evolution and development. He pivoted toward science policy and communication after serving as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow and subsequently as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Currently, he is dedicated to promoting excellence in science and engineering and building public trust in the research enterprise.

• Nominate for the Saint Louis Award, 2025 edition 27 February 2025

  The Saint Louis ACS section is seeking nominations for the 2025 Saint Louis Section ACS Award, originally sponsored by the Monsanto Company and administered by the Saint Louis Section. The award is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the profession of chemistry and demonstrated potential to further the advancement of the chemical profession, especially early in their career. The awardee is selected by a review committee constituted by the Section. The award consists of a $1,500 honorarium and a plaque.

  

  Nominations are accepted at any time, however, those received by April 30 are considered for the award presented in the fall of that year. Non-winning nominees are automatically considered candidates for two additional award cycles unless withdrawn by the nominator or the candidate. The nominator may update the carried-forward nomination with new information before April 30.

  At the time of the nomination, the nominee must not have previously received the Midwest Award or any national ACS-sponsored award and must be a member or affiliate of the Saint Louis Section–ACS.

  The nomination process, as well as a blog thread of past awards and a list of past awardees, can be found here. We urge anyone familiar with an outstanding Saint Louis-area chemist to help us recognize them with this prestigious award. Please send nominations and inquiries to the Saint Louis Award coordinator.

• 54th Annual St. Louis Section ACS Award Symposium and Banquet 1 March 2025

  On November 1, 2024, Dr. Timothy Wencewicz, Professor of Chemistry at Washington University, was selected as the 54th annual St. Louis Section ACS Awardee. The award was given to Wencewicz for his outstanding contributions to the chemistry profession and potential to advance the chemical profession. The symposium, organized by Wencewicz and Dr. Jen Heemstra, focused on “Making and Breaking Antibiotics: Nature’s Way.” Dr. James Bashkin, Chair Elect of the St. Louis Section of the ACS, introduced Wencewicz’s scientific, teaching, departmental, university, and outreach activities. He gave a talk on “Antibiotics and Enchanted Rings,” discussing the role of unique types of rings in antibiotic action. Dr. Gautam Dantas, Conan Professor of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, and Dr. Andrew Gulick discussed “Understanding, Predicting, and Combating Antibiotic Resistance Evolution Across Diverse Habitats.” The symposium concluded with a talk by Dr. Paul Hergenrother on “How to develop new antibiotics for drug-resistant infections.”

  

  Photos from the symposium. Left: Symposium Participants: Andrew Gulick, James Bashkin, Tim Wencewicz, Jen Heemstra, Paul Hergenrother and Gautam Dantas Right: audience members at coffee break. (Photos courtesy of James O’Brien).

  A symposium was held at the Glen Echo Country Club, attended by over fifty guests. The banquet began with an open wine and beer bar hour, featuring appetizers like candied bacon. Dr. James Bashkin, chair of the St. Louis ACS Section, introduced Dr. Wencewicz and his wife Rachel, and their children, Grace and Lucy. Dr. Bashkin thanked the speakers and introduced elected members of the local section and former St. Louis Section ACS award winners.

  Dr. Wencewicz presented his award talk, “Whither Antibiotics,” detailing the battle between antibiotics and antibiotic resistance organisms. He shared the story of how beer may have saved early civilization due to the presence of the powerful antibiotic tetracycline, which must have come from a contaminating organism. Dr. Wencewicz’s career began at Southeast Missouri State University, where he obtained a BS degree in Chemistry and Applied Mathematics. He then obtained a PhD from the University of Notre Dame, inspired by Professor Marvin J. Miller. He was able to convince Professor Chris Walsh at Harvard Medical School to take him on as his last postdoc to study natural product biosynthesis and antibiotic resistance before starting his career at Washington University.

  Dr. Bashkin thanked everyone for attending and the staff and chef of the Glen Echo Country Club for the fine service and dinner. Many stayed on to reminisce long after the event.

  

  Photos from the Banquet. Top. Left. Tim Wencewicz accepting award from St. Louis Section Chair James Bashkin. Right. Former students Dr. Erin Gemmell and Dr. Luting Fang. Middle. Left. Dr. Wencewicz presenting his talk on “Whither Antibiotics?” Right. Attendees attentively listening to Dr. Wencewicz’s presentation, including family members, friends, speakers, students and local section members. Bottom. Left: Dr. Wencewicz with group members and other students from the Washington University Department of Chemistry. From left to right: Steven Le, Prasanth Thota, Weina Cheng, Carlos Bean Chavez, Kavya Rokkam, Eyob Tewelde, Tim Wencewicz, Adam Balutowski, Anika Chand, Ruihao Li, Savannah Scruggs, Evan Schultheis. Photos courtesy of James O’Brien.