Chemical Bond – May 2016

Vol. 67, No. 5, May 2016

Awards Night 2016 – a great evening of recognition

Awards Night was held on April 18, 2016 at Maggiano’s in Brentwood. The evening was well attended. Winners of the high school chemistry contest, the high school chemistry teacher-of-the-year, and the outstanding junior chemistry students at area colleges and universities are all recognized. By all accounts, the evening was a nice celebration and here are a few photos capturing the event.

Teacher of the Year

Meet Rob Lamb, Saint Louis High School Chemistry Teacher-of-the-Year. Rob is in his 13th year teaching science and has spent the past 11 teaching chemistry at Pattonville High School. Kathleen Dwyer, coordinator of the award for the St Louis Section ACS, announced the selection earlier this month.

Rob is a big proponent of authentic assessment strategies and technology in the classroom. Ideas he developed led to his involvement in an exploratory grant from the National Science Foundation under the Cyberlearning designation. This grant focuses on the creation and use of Infographics in the classroom to increase science data literacy. Rob has spoken to teachers on this subject at four National Science Teacher conferences and at EdcampKC and EdcampSTL. He has been asked to speak regionally on the “flipped” classroom model.

In district-wide professional development, he has been a technology leader and has led sessions on social justice. Rob participated in the highly selective Discovery Siemens STEM Institute, and received a Peabody Energy Leader-in-Education Award and the Young Educator of the Year Award from the Educational Technology Association of St Louis. Rob received his M.Ed. in Secondary Education from the University of Missouri-St Louis and his BS in Biology from Bradley University. Rob teaches for the Gifted Resource Council Summer Camp and is a volunteer referee for the FIRST Robotics Competition.

STLACS Annual Picnic

Signs of spring forbode signs of summer, one of which is our Section Picnic, this year’s being the 12th! The date and venue are set.

Date: June 25, 1–5 pm
Place: the Webster Groves home of our excellent hosts, Joe and Brenda Ackerman. That would be 355 Rosedale Place, Webster Groves, MO 63119. (map)

All members and their families are invited. We usually get a good mix of old-timers and new faces, spouses, kids.

Please let us know by June 10th if you are coming (and how many “you” are). Email your RSVP or questions to pegahtm@yahoo.com.

Highlights:
— lunch at 1:30 PM
— games
— networking
— of course great people!

2016 Missouri Tri-County Regional Science and Engineering Fair

The 2016 Missouri Tri-County Regional Science and Engineering Fair was held on April 23. We report the results of all divisions except Honors 9-12 (previously reported)

GRADES 9-12 DIVISION
There were no place awards given this year.

GRADES 5-8 DIVISION
First Place: Erin Venegoni, “Which has More Calories: Treats, Nuts, or Grains?” Grade 5, Sts. Joachim and Ann School, St. Charles, MO.
Second Place: Samantha Beattie and Jayden Poston, “Oxidation Zone” Grade 5, Lakeview Elementary School, O’Fallon, MO.
Third Place: Cecelia Vadvig, “Affects of Temperature on Freezing” Grade 7, Westhoff Elementary School, O’Fallon,MO.

GRADES KINDERGARTEN – 4TH DIVISION
A congratulatory letter + a purple participation ribbon were each given to 90 chemistry-related entrants this year.

Results from 2016 Illinois Junior Academy of Science Region 12 Science Fair

Reported by Sheryl Loux

GRADES 9-12 DIVISION
First Place: Luke Muilenburg, “The Effect of Heat on Antacid Viability”, Grade 9, Maryville Christian School, Maryville,IL.
Second Place: David Baker, “The Effect of Acids and Bases on Yeast Growth”, Grade 9, Maryville Christian School, Maryville,IL.
Third Place: Not Given.

GRADES 5-8 DIVISION
First Place: Gabe Lewis, “How is the Bromelain Enzymes Affected by Temperature”, Grade 7, Waterloo Junior High, Waterloo, IL.
Second Place: Alexander Tillock, “Which Orange Juice has the Most Vitamin C?”, Grade 7, Shiloh Middle School, Shiloh, IL.
Third Place: Gaylen Dimick, “Protein Denaturation: The Effects of Citric Acid and Orthoboric Acid on Albumin”, Grade 8, Lincoln Middle School, Edwardsville, IL.

2016 Science Fair Chemistry Award Winners

2016 Academy of Science – St. Louis Science Fair

by Sheryl Loux and GSM Sundaram, Co-Coordinators

HONORS GRADES 9-12 DIVISION:
First Place: Brandeline R. Jungels, “Inhibition of Enzyme Alkaline Phosphatase,” Grade 12, Cor Jesu Academy, Saint Louis, MO.
Second Place: Aditya Gokhale, “Biophysical Characterization of Binding Residue (K78) of MIF,” Grade 12, Parkway North High School, St. Louis, MO.
Third Place: Claire Munsell, “Contamination of Heavy Metals in Selected Soil Samples,” Grade 12, Cor Jesu Academy, Saint Louis, MO.

GRADES 9-12 DIVISION:
First Place: Eda Sagnak, “Clay and Asphalt,” Grade 10, Gateway Science Academy Middle and High School, St. Louis, MO.
Second Place: Isabelle Chickanosky, “The Effect of the Acidity of Saliva on the Decomposition of Stainless Steel and the Release of Metals” Grade 11, Saint Joseph’s Academy, Saint Louis, MO
Third Place: Peter Martin and Matyas Csiki-Fejer, “The Effect of the Type of Ultramafic Rock Used as a Carbon Binding Agent on the pH of Simulated Ocean Water Over Time,” Grade 10, Parkway West High School, Balwin, MO.

GRADES 6-8 DIVISION:
First Place: Arjun Ray, “Is Fresh Always Better? Temperature Impact on Anthocyanin in Blueberries,” Grade 7, Crestview Middle School, Ellisville, MO.
Second Place: Samiya Sajid, “Vitamin C in Orange Juice,” Grade 7, Al- Salam Day School, Balwin, MO.
Third Place: Sophia Lawrence “Electrolytes in Energy Drinks,” Grade 8, St. Roch School, St. Louis,MO.

GRADES KINDERGARTEN–5TH DIVISION: a congratulatory letter + a purple participation ribbon were each given to 341 chemistry-related entrants this year.

Report on earth day celebration 2016

by Reni Joseph, coordinator of Kids and Chemistry

ACS kids division celebrated Earth Day at the Science Center, St Louis on Saturday, April 23. The event was a success. The hands-on ‘Erupting Volcano’ was one of the biggest attraction and it drew a large audience of kids and parents. About 200 kids got to perform the experiment. We used baking soda and vinegar to mimic the eruption of the volcano. Food coloring and soap was added to produce the lava effect. We had four stations of home-made volcanoes.

The baking soda and vinegar volcano was used to simulate a real volcanic eruption, as an example of an acid-base reaction. The kids were excited to see the eruption from the carbon dioxide gas produced during the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar that forms bubbles in the dishwashing detergent. The household chemicals made this project a good choice for earth day celebration.

We had 4 volunteers, Martha Rose Rhine, Trang Truong, and two students, Iva Cepele and Susan Nguyen from Lindberg high school who each volunteered their time from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Special thanks to the volunteers who made this event a success.

Welcome New Science Fair Chemistry Awards Coordinator

Welcome to GSM Sundaram who will be the New Science Fair Chemistry Awards Coordinator for 2017.

Welcome New Coordinator for Kids and Chemistry Program

My name is Reni Joseph. I am very excited to be the coordinator for Kids and Chemistry.

I am an Organic Chemist by training. I realize that Chemistry is an universal language because my training in chemistry and research spans four different countries in two different continents, beginning in India (National Chemical Laboratory), Germany (Rheinisch Westfälische Technische Hochschule), United States (Harvard University) and Canada (National Research Council). I worked in the pharmaceutical industry before beginning my teaching career. I currently work as an Associate Professor at St Louis Community College. I thoroughly enjoy teaching. It enables me to instill a love of STEM and encourage my students to pursue a career in the STEM field. At the same time, it gives me the flexibility of taking care of my three little kids.

I am a strong proponent of STEM education. I believe every child needs to be exposed to the simple joys of doing a science experiment. As a mother of three kids, I believe I am well suited for being a coordinator for kids and chemistry.

I am actively involved in the ACS on a national level. I am a member of the minority affairs committee and am organizing the organometallic symposium for the Fall 2016 Philadelphia ACS meeting.

New Coordinator for the Chemistry is pHun Program

Welcome to William Ridley, the new Coordinator for the Chemistry is pHun Program.

William P. Ridley received his BS in Chemistry from Washington and Lee University in Virginia and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, Minnesota. He joined Monsanto Company following post-doctoral positions at the Gray Freshwater Biological Institute of the University of Minnesota and the Swedish Water and Air Pollution Laboratory in Stockholm, Sweden studying the biotransformation of heavy metals. During his thirty-two year career at Monsanto, Will was involved in biochemical toxicology, environmental science and biotechnology regulatory science. He studied the metabolic fate of agricultural chemicals in animals, plants and the environment and served as a Team Leader with responsibility for the compositional analysis testing of all of Monsanto’s biotechnology crops worldwide. Will was active in the AGRO Division of ACS serving two terms on the AGRO Executive Committee. He taught biochemistry as an adjunct instructor in the School of Optometry and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UM-St. Louis. Since retiring in 2010, Will has volunteered in the Life Science Gallery of the Saint Louis Science Center and taught a tutorial in biochemistry in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Saint Louis University.

Information on Nominations for STLACS Leadership Positions

In the near future, you will be receiving an invitation from STL-ACS via Survey Monkey to nominate members of the St. Louis Section to positions of leadership in our local section of the American Chemical Society. This is an opportunity for passionate chemists to work together to contribute to the success of the local section. Below, you will find a list of the elective positions in the local section along with a general recommendation for experience, and a brief description of the duties of each position. Please consider nominating a friend, a colleague, or yourself for any or all of the positions!

Chair-Elect

Recommended Experience/Qualifications: At least two years of experience with the local section: attending events, doing outreach activities, or committee work.
Duties: Organizes and chairs Steering Committee meetings. Serves as backup for Chair when Chair is unable to attend. Attends as many events as possible, becoming familiar with all section activities and personnel, in preparation for serving as chair the next year.

Secretary

Recommended Experience/Qualifications: At least one year of experience with the local section: attending events, doing outreach activities, or committee work.
Duties: Attends all Board of Directors and Steering Committee meetings, and records minutes. Prepares and mails annual flyer.

Treasurer

Recommended Experience/Qualifications: At least one year of experience with the local section: attending events, doing outreach activities, or committee work. Knowledge of accounting and Quicken a plus!
Duties: Manages all funds of the section, including operating and special accounts. Receives payments for meetings and other activities, and disburses funds for expenses, after proper approvals are received. Tracks income and expenses for each individual activity and event. Provides monthly written report to the Board of Directors, and supports annual audit of all section accounts.

Councilor (1 seat up for election)

Recommended Experience/Qualifications: At least four years of experience with the local section: attending events, doing outreach activities, or committee work. Individual should be very familiar with the history and current operations of the St Louis Section, and ACS in general. Able to travel to both national meetings every year.
Duties: Join and actively participate in the work of a national ACS committee, which may involve additional travel, teleconferences, and significant amounts of work between national meetings.

Alternate Councilor (1 seat up for election)

Recommended Experience/Qualifications: At least two years of experience with the local section: attending events, doing outreach activities, or committee work.
Duties: Individual should be able to fill in and attend national meeting and represent the St Louis section at the Council Meeting if a regular councilor is unable to travel, sometimes on very short notice.

Director (3 seats up for election)

Recommended Experience/Qualifications: At least one year of experience with the local section: attending events, doing outreach activities, or committee work. General familiarity with the working of the St Louis section, and ACS in general.
Duties: Able to attend Board of Directors meetings.

Board of Directors

St Louis Section–ACS Board of Directors meets the second Thursday of each month, usually at the Glen Echo Country Club (map and driving directions). Meetings are open to all members, and all are encouraged to attend. Elected officers and chairs of major committees vote on questions put to the Board; others in attendance have voice but no vote.

If you want to attend for dinner, please contact the section Chair at least a week in advance. Usual cost of the dinner is $21 ($12 for post-docs and unemployed members). Bar service and dessert are optional extras. Members wishing to become active in section activities are welcomed for their first dinner as guests of the section.

Date: May 12
Social hour, cash bar: 5:30 pm
Business meeting: 6:30 pm (suspended for dinner when served)
Future meetings: Sept 8, Oct 13

Saint Louis University

Seminars are generally on Fridays at 12 noon in Carlo Auditorium, Tegeler Hall, unless noted otherwise. Refreshments follow. For the most up-to-date information, refer to the department’s seminar page or contact Brent Znosko, znoskob@slu.edu.

University of Missouri–St Louis

Mondays at 4 pm in 451 Benton Hall, unless otherwise specified. Refreshments 15 minutes prior to seminar time. For timely information on visiting seminar speakers, contact the Chemistry Department, 314.516.5311, or visit the seminar schedule. The department has additional seminar series which are also accessible from this page.

Washington University

Seminars are in McMillen 311 at 4 pm unless otherwise noted. For information, consult the departmental events page. Related seminars, including endowed seminar series and the WU med school biochemistry series, are linked here as well.

The Chemical Bond is published at www.stlacs.org January through May and September through December by the St Louis Section–American Chemical Society. If you would like to receive email notification when each issue is posted, you can subscribe to our email list and join the “Chemical Bond reminders” group.

Correspondence, letters to the editor, etc., should be emailed to editor@stlacs.org or mailed ℅ St Louis Section–ACS, PO Box 410192, Saint Louis, MO 63141-0192 Copyright © 2015 American Chemical Society and the St Louis Section–ACS
Editor	Margaret Allen	editor@stlacs.org
Associate Editor	Eric Ressner	314.962.6415 editor@stlacs.org
Assistant Editor & Advertising Manager	Keith Stine	314.516.5346 advmgr@stlacs.org
Business Manager	Donna Friedman	314.513.4388 bizmgr@stlacs.org