Chemical Bond — November 2015

Vol. 66, No. 8, November 2015

Saint Louis Chemical Science & Technology Award – call for nominations

Nominate a member of your team for the Saint Louis Chemical Science & Technology Award. This award is presented to a chemist in the St. Louis area who has demonstrated a high degree of professionalism and scientific contribution. Criteria used to judge the award include technical proficiency, presentations, coaching/teamwork, and additional professional activities. The award will consist of a plaque, a $500 honorarium, and dinner for the awardee and a guest at the annual Recognition Night. The Due date is January 1 2016.

You can find all the details on eligibility, nominating a candidate, and recent winners right here. To submit a nomination, email the Chemical Science and Technology Award Coordinator David Rhee at david.wonjun.rhee@monsanto.com or phone 314.694.4874.

Continuity Dinner 2015

Thursday, December 10, 2015, from 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Where: Almonds Restaurant

8127 Maryland Avenue, Clayton Missouri 63105

Description

This is the somewhat fancier than usual banquet/Board meeting where the new slate of officers take their positions, the Distinguished Service Award winner is disclosed, and the Henry Godt Memorial Lecture is given by a secret speaker.

Social hour @ 6:00 PM

Meeting begins @ 6:30 PM, with hiatus for dinner.

Cost of dinner is $28. Cash Bar.

Please register by Dec 8: contact Pegah.Jalili@sial.com (314 546-9278 or pegahtm@yahoo.com)

Your (or your minor child’s) attendance at and participation in events and activities of the Saint Louis Section–American Chemical Society (STLACS) constitutes your permission for non-commercial use, without compensation and in perpetuity, of photographs, video, and audio recordings of you and/or your minor child in publications of the STLACS, including but not limited to website and newsletter reports of such event or activity.

Report on the 2015 St. Louis Award Symposium and Banquet

The St. Louis Award Symposium was held in Lauderman Hall at Washington University on Friday 16, October, preceding the St. Louis Award Banquet. There were more than 50 in attendance.

Section Chair Dr. Pegah Jalili welcomed those assembled and provided some general introduction. Then Dr. William Buhro, Chemistry Department Chair at Washington University introduced the awardee, Dr. Sophia Hayes of Washington University. She set the stage for the Symposium by pointing out that she had invited one senior colleague/collaborator from Oregon State University and then a number of local researchers. She indicated that she hoped that St Louis Awardees in the future would do this latter since the community get few opportunities to hear about their research work.

Presentations were made by Dr. Douglas A. Keszler, Oregon State University, / Dr. Eric H. Majzoub, University of Missouri–Saint Louis, Dr. Alexander B. Barnes, Washington University, Dr. Paul A. Jelliss, Saint Louis University, and Dr. Klaus Woelk, University of Missouri University-Rolla. The presentations were all very well-received but perhaps the greatest impact was made by the youngest speaker Dr. Barnes.

The 2015 St. Louis Award Banquet was held on October 16 at a very special Location: the Glen Echo Country Club, the only golf course that ever hosted golf at the Olympic Games. That was when the Games were held in 1904 in St. Louis, mostly at Washington University and Forest Park.

We had an excellent turnout of 50 ACS members, guest and friends. Section Chair Pegah Jalili opened the formal proceedings by welcoming everyone to the 45th St. Louis Award Banquet, and went on to describe some of the recent activities and successes of the Section. She then acknowledged the presence of the honoree, Dr. Sophia Hayes, and her family, along with the Symposium Speakers, Section Officers present and former St. Louis Award winners. One of these was Dr. Derek Redmore, who was the recipient in 1982. She also welcomed Dr. Robert Blankenship of Washington University, the winner of the 2015 Midwest Award, which is also funded and administered by the Section. Those present then consumed an excellent meal which included an entrée of tenderloin Oscar: beef tenderloin topped with crabmeat, asparagus and a béarnaise sauce.

After dinner Dr. Jalili introduced William Buhro, Washington University Chemistry Department chair, who in turn introduced Dr. Hayes, the winner of the 2015 St. Louis Award of the St. Louis Section. Dr. Hayes was presented with a plaque and a check for $1,500, and she made a presentation titled “What I learned in Girl Scouts”. Actually we did not learn much about her Girl Scout career but we did learn lots of solid state chemistry, nuclear magnetic resonance and how much she valued the contributions of her students, postdocs and collaborators.

Advance your Career with ACS

contributed by Lisa M. Balbes, Section Career Services Coordinator

I’m sure you know that joining ACS is good for your career, but did you know just how good it can be? The resources available from ACS to help you manage and promote your career are extraordinary and envied by many other professional societies. Below are the most popular.

Career Consultants
Volunteers who will share their experience and provide advice on resume preparation, job searching, interviewing, salary negotiation, transitions….Sessions are conducted in person at national and regional meetings, or by phone or email at any time during the year.
See http://cen.acs.org/articles/93/i39/ACS-Career-Consultants-Valuable-Resource.html for more details about the program, or
http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/careers/career-services/ccp.html to check it out.

Webinars
Every Thursday afternoon, ACS offers a free webinar on a topic of interest to chemists. Check out http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/acs-webinars.html for a list of upcoming topics, as well as archived recordings of past events (members only).

Market Intelligence
ACS conducts two salary surveys annually – one for the chemical profession in general, and one targeted to recent graduates. This data not only provides a good picture of the current job market (as seen in the Employment Dashboard), but can be used to help negotiate your own salary. A member recently used this data, as seen in the Salary Calculator (https://webapplications.acs.org/Applications/SalaryCalculator/page01.cfm), to get his starting salary offer increased by over $20,000/year, just by pointing out that the company’s offer was below market rates.
http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/careers/salaries.html

Unemployed Benefits
Did you know that your ACS dues can be waived for up to 2 years if you are unemployed? During this time, you retain access to all member benefits, including the ACS Online Job Club, SciFinder, and free or discounted professional development courses. See http://www.acs.org/unemployed for details.

Career Pathways Workshops
For those looking to learn more about the job opportunities for chemical professionals, ACS offers a series of workshops at national, regional and local meetings on the various market sectors, as well as a web site with supplemental information at http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/careers/career-services/career-pathways.html.

St Louis Resources
The St Louis Local section has supplemental resources as well. The LinkedIn group “Chemistry Careers in St Louis” is the place to find local job openings, as well as other interesting local events. The Leadership Development Forum (https://www.stlacs.org/leadership-development-forum-series/) is a great place to sharpen your leadership skills, and the Younger Chemists Committee often hosts both social and career events (open to chemists of all ages), where you can meet other professionals.

These are just a few of the many resources ACS offers to help you advance your career. Check them all out at http://www.acs.org/careers and https://www.stlacs.org/career-services/.

Boy Scout Chemistry Merit Badge Clinic

contributed by Lisa M Balbes

The 11th Chemistry Merit Badge Clinic was held at Jost Chemical Company on Saturday, October 24th, 2015. Over 50 scouts registered to attend. Sessions were led by professional chemists from Jost Chemical Company, and SLU Chemistry Club students. Pegah Jalili, St Louis Section ACS Chair, kicked off the session, followed by a very interactive safety demonstration by Justin Kuehnel, Safety Manager at Jost Chemical. Scouts then rotated through three separate hour-long stations, where they conducted a simulated Senate hearing, learned about emulsions, made a Cartesian diver, explored activity series, and took a tour of a working chemical manufacturing plant. During lunch, each scout met with an approved merit badge counselor to verify completion of all requirements. Also during lunch the scouts interacted with demos on hydrophobicity, Sharklets, How Big is a Mole?, Diet Coke/Mentos, and more. Each scout took home a mug from Sigma-Aldrich, and other prizes donated by ACS on Campus, Oxford University Press, and the St Louis section of the ACS.

The following day, one parent emailed….“The mugs with the periodic table on them, located in their goodie bag, went over really well ….This morning they were quizzing each other on the symbols using the mugs.…”

This just in: Kids and Chemistry “Science Spooktacular”

“Kids and Chemistry” haunted the Saint Louis Science Center with Science Spooktacular on Thursday, October 29, 2015, just in time to usher in Halloween (and beat the Chemical Bond deadline).

The Kids and Chemistry troupe hosted two tables: “Gluep: Is it a solid or liquid?” (led by Sheryl Loux) and “Crushing Cans!” (led by Don Sartor). Sheryl reports that “approximately 200 kids participated with us at our tables.”

Kids and Chemistry is a program sponsored by the St Louis Section–ACS and coordinated by Sheryl J Loux (sjloux@gmail.com). Sheryl thanks volunteers Zhiyun (Judy) Cao, Shreya Ahuja, Don Sartor, and Chris Glass for their eerie efforts.

Kids and Chemistry “Fright Fest”

reported by Coordinator Sheryl J Loux

Kids and Chemistry did a little chemistry with the Boy Scouts at their “Fright Fest” event on Saturday, October 10, 2015 from 3:00 to 9:30 PM. About 730 Scouts and siblings participated in doing some chemistry by making “pumpkin slime” (orange ‘gluep’) and “boogers” (green ‘gluep’) and examining its properties. All enjoyed this final event in their “Fright Fest” journey. Scoutmasters and parents thought they looked cute in their safety glasses while participating.
Sheryl Loux, Coordinator for Kids and Chemistry, would like to thank Lisa Balbes, Teresa Colletti , Sophie Craft, Rachael Craft, and Scouts’ event planner Kim Coleman for their help.

This activity was co-sponsored by the St. Louis Section of the American Chemical Society’s Kids and Chemistry program.

Seeking Retirees Eager to Make An Educational Impact

submitted by Sheryl J Loux

One of the most popular outreach programs sponsored by the St Louis ACS section is Chemistry is pHun! Sheryl is seeking a retiree to take over this rewarding program or if you would like to offer some of these programs in a school district close to where you live, please contact Sheryl J Loux by email, sjloux@gmail.com or 636.237.5149 to discuss the programs. Training is available.

The twenty-four Chemistry is pHun programs in calendar year 2014 — all given by Sheryl — have had an educational impact on 822 students in 10 or more schools. Program activity for the 2014-2015 school year has started strongly this fall. The program modules offered by Sheryl are “States of Matter, “Chemistry is pHun”, “What is Matter?”, Using the Scientific Method for a Science Fair Project, and “Polymers are Marvelous Molecules” (includes DNA extraction from strawberries). Sheryl thanks Don Sartor and Amy Kerkemeyer for helping with some programs.

Kids having fun and learning; is there a better way to spend a day—for them or for you?

The “States of Matter” program was designed for elementary students and is popular for the 2nd and 3nd grades. The states of matter are explored with solid, liquid, and gas states of mainly water, demonstrating the addition or release of energy in the form of heat when changing physical states. Examples of plasma are mentioned and “Gluep” is made to show a substance that has properties of both liquids and solids.

The “Chemistry is pHun” program is designed for grades 4-12 and covers pH, a review of states of matter, dissolution, chemical reactions, and various polymers.

Another program for grades K-3 is “What is Matter?” where the periodic table of elements is introduced and water molecules are made with marshmallows for atoms and toothpicks representing electron bonds.

Using the Scientific Method for a Science Fair Project is designed for grades 5-8, and “Polymers are Marvelous Molecules” (includes DNA extraction from strawberries) is for grades 7-12.

Of the 822 students participating this calendar year, 610 students have enjoyed the “States of Matter” program, 160 students have enjoyed the “Chemistry is pHun” program, and 52 students extracted DNA in the “Polymers are Marvelous Molecules”.

LDF Workshop – Leading Different Generations

Please join us for the seminar on the topic of “Leading Different Generations” with leader Tim Dean.

Date: Thursday November 19
Time: 6:00–8:30pm
Location: The Edge of Webster Groves (next to Mallinckrodt in Webster Groves)
359 Marshall Ave, Webster Groves, MO 63119

Please visit the stlacs.org web page calendar for more information on this workshop.

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: Dec 1110
See above for details on the Continuity Dinner for the December meeting.

Future meetings: Jan 14, Feb 11

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 Jim Edwards, jedward5@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
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