Awards ... conferred and received

St Louis, the Award-Winning Section

Recognition Night

Awards Night Banquet

Midwest Award

St Louis Award

High School Chemistry Contest

Outstanding College Chemistry Students

YCC Young Researcher Travel Awards

Regional Science Fairs

Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher

Distinguished Service Award

Chemical Science and Technology Award

Salutes to Excellence

St Louis Chemical Technician Award (ret.)

St Louis, the Award-Winning Section

In current events, the St Louis Section has added to its trove in 2009. Arindam Roy’s energy, organizing skills, and recruitment of other officers created a continual series of meetings and special events that benefited younger—and not-so-younger—chemists throughout the year. The YCC brought home the 2009 ChemLuminary Award for Best New Local Section Younger Chemists Committee.

Keith Stine, advisor, and Arindam Roy, Chair, represented the YCC chapter at the Washington, DC, national meeting where they accepted the “Best new local section YCC” ChemLuminary Award on behalf of the St Louis Section.

Section members in attendance at ChemLuminary Awards (seated or kneeling, l to r): Alexa Serfis, Keith Stine, Lisa Balbes, Bill Doub, Donna Friedman; (standing): Eric Bruton, Arindam Roy

And here’s a list of the awards our Section has won since we seriously started keeping track in 1980.

St Louis, the Award-Giving Section

Recognition Night

Highlights from the most recent Recognition night are here.

Awards Night Banquet

A report from the most recent Awards Night Banquet and details on the next one, when available are here.

Midwest Award

For complete details on the Midwest Award, including qualifications, current and past winners, and the nomination process, go here.

Saint Louis Award

For complete details on the St Louis Award, including qualifications, current and past winners, and the nomination process, go here.

High School Chemistry Contest

Outstanding College Student Awards

YCC Young Researcher Travel Awards

Students should begin the application by filling out the form found at tinyurl.com/YCCaward2012. All other application materials should be sent to ycc@stlacs.org.

In 2012, the Midwest Regional Meeting will be held in Omaha, Nebraska, October 24–27. Please encourage your students to continue or start doing research and to present their work this Fall.

Marcus Award

The Leopold Marcus Award was established by Mr Jack Marcus of Missouri Analytical Company and his wife, Gertrude, in memory of his father, Leopold Marcus. It is administered by the Saint Louis University Department of Chemistry and the St Louis Section–ACS. The Leopold Marcus Award competition is held on the campus of Saint Louis University.

The competition consists of presentations based on the undergraduate research projects of senior chemistry majors at the university. The candidates, chosen by the faculty, each make a 15-minute presentation. The winner of the Marcus Award is determined by vote of the professional chemists in the audience. All ACS members are invited to attend, as are all teachers of chemistry from high schools and other universities as well as chemists from the industrial sector and government laboratories. The winner receives a cash prize of $200 and a letter of citation. The other finalists receive $100 and a letter of citation. The winner, finalists, and other participants receive their awards and citations at the Awards Night Banquet of Chemical Progress Week.

Refreshments are available after the competition.

... and the 2009 winner is ...

Xiaoming Shi was named the winner of the Thirty-Ninth Annual Leopold Marcus Award competition held at Saint Louis University on April 1, 2009. Shi was chosen on the basis of his presentation, Crossing the Blood-Brain Barrier. Nitrosyl Bipyridyl Rhenacarborane Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, and Use as Drug Delivery Vehicles, carried out under the direction of Dr Paul Jelliss.

In addition to Shi, the other finalists in the competition were:

• Vanichpat Prathuangsuk’s talk, A Host to Study Anion-Pi Bonding, was prepared in collaboration with Dr Mike Lewis.
• Jay Breeden, working with Dr Shelley Minteer, discussed Characterization of Azine Polymer Dyes and the Possibility of Drug Delivery.
• Michael Hankins, who collaborated with Dr Istvan Kiss, presented The Design of an Efficient Pacemaker: Optimal Entrainment of a Chemical Oscillator.
• Justin Sheehy described Thermodynamic Parameters of Naturally Occurring RNA Tetraloops, which he studied with Dr Brent Znosko.

For further information, contact Bruce Kowert at 314-977-2837 or kowertba@slu.edu.

Regional Science Fairs

Judging a science fair is a great, low-impact way to get involved with the community and the section. If you are available and wish to judge any of this year’s fairs, please contact the science fair coordinator.

Results for 2012 are in:

Savannah Est, 1st place winner in MO Tri-county Fair, 9–12 Honors Division

• Missouri Tri-county Regional Science and Engineering Fair

  
  Saturday, February 25, 9 am–12 noon, College Student Center at St Charles Community College
  • Honors Division
    • 1st place: Savannah Est, Grade 11, Holt High School, Wentzville, MO, Optimizing a Dye-sensitized Solar Cell
    • No other awards given.
  • Grades 9–12
    • No place awards were given this year.
    • Honorable Mention: Ann Chen, Grade 10, Orchard Farm High School, St Charles, MO, Break the Ice
  • Grades 5–8
    • 1st place: Casey Mareschal, Grade 6, North Middle School, O’Fallon, MO, Go Bananas
    • 2nd place: Sam Steinmetz-Crouse, Grade 5, Orchard Farm Elementary, St Charles, MO, Plop Plop Fizz Fizz: The Effect of Temperature on the Rate of a Reaction
    • 3rd place: Katie Weber, Grade 5, Peine Ridge Elementary School, Wentzville, MO, A Rainbow in Black
  • Grades K–4
    • A congratulatory letter and a purple participation ribbon were given to each of the 58 chemistry-related entrants this year.


Cody Hughes snagged top honors in the 9–12 division at the Illinois Jr Academy of Science fair

• Illinois Junior Academy of Science Region 12 Science Fair

  
  Saturday, March 17, 9:30 am–1 pm, Morris University Center at SIU–Edwardsville
  • Grades 9–12
    • 1st place: Cody Hughes, Grade 11, Governor French Academy, O’Fallon, IL, Passive Solar Heating Tubes
    • 2nd place: Madi Maharaj, Grade 11, Governor French Academy, O’Fallon, IL, Don’t Forget Your Coat, It’s Raining Stomach Acid
    • 3rd place: Hope Cash and Madison Bemis, Grade 9, Alton High School, Alton, IL, The Effect of Temperature on Glow Sticks
  • Grades 5–8
    • 1st place: Stephen DeMartini, Grade 8, Gillespie Middle School, Gillespie, IL, Temperature Effect on Solar Cell Electrical Output
    • 2nd place: Mickinney Zhang, Grade 8, Waterloo Junior High School, Waterloo, IL, Does the Type of Nut Affect the Amount of Calories Inside the Nut?
    • 3rd place: Tyler Holt, Grade 5, Albert Cassens Elementary School, Glen Carbon, IL, Making Cents of the Battery
    • Honorable Mention:
      — Morgan Swanner and Lindsey Hohlt, Grade 6, Lincoln Middle School, Edwardsville, IL, Does Bromelain Prevent Gelatin from Solidifying?
      — Hannah Ervie, Grade 7, Saint Libory School, Saint Libory, IL, Which Additives Make the Strongest Gelatin?


Mrigank Gupta’s project took a 1st in the 9–12 Honors Division at the Greater St Louis Fair

• Greater St Louis Science Fair

  
  Wednesday, May 2, 3–8:30 pm, Greensfelder Recreation Complex at Queeny Park
  • Honors Division, Grades 9–12
    • 1st place: Mrigank Gupta, Grade 12, Parkway West High School, Ballwin, MO, The Effect of Different Types of Separators on Power Produced in a Microbial Fuel Cell with Brewery Wastewater Substrate
    • 2nd place: Isha Pathak, Grade 11, Parkway South High School, Manchester, MO, The Effect of Monovalent and Divalent Ions on the Tetrameric Stability of KirBac1.1 Protein
    • 3rd place: Jasmine Raskas, Grade 12, Clayton High School, Clayton, MO, Analysis of Gas Phase Diatomic Molecules by Intracavity Laser Spectroscopy
  • Grades 9–12
    • 1st place: Jerrin Bowen, Grade 11, Pattonville Senior High, Pattonville, MO, Comparing the Accuracy of Half-life of Polonium-210
    • 2nd place: Raymond Lay, Grade 11, Parkway South High School, Manchester, MO, Is Organic Really Worth It?
    • 3rd place: Cate Allen, Grade 9, Ursuline Academy, Oakland, MO, The Effect of Heat on Vitamin C Content
  • Grades 5–8
    • 1st place: Jourdyn Tamaray, Grade 6, North Kirkwood Middle School, Kirkwood, MO, Does the type of solution affect a chemical reaction’s formation of a precipitate?
    • 2nd place: Alex Panchot, Grade 8, Crossroads College Prep School, St Louis, MO, Vegetable Oil Energy
    • 3rd place: Raven Schad, Grade 6, Rockwood Valley Middle School, Glencoe, MO, Base, pH, and Acid…Rain
    • Honorable Mentions:
      — John Palmer and Jackson Kesting, Grade 6, St John Lutheran School, Ellisville, MO, Water Temperature and Rust
      — Zoe Alper, Grade 6, Solomon Schechter Day School, St Louis, MO, Climbing Colors
      — Michaela Morhaus, Grade 8, St Bridget of Kildare School, Pacific, MO, Are You Gelling?
  • Grades K–4
    • A congratulatory letter and a purple participation ribbon were each given to 354 chemistry-related entrants this year.

Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher Award

Please submit the nomination packet by December 1, either electronically or by snail mail, to the High School Chemistry Teaching Award chair.

... and the winner is ...

Kathleen Dwyer, 2011 Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher

The winner of the 2011 Award for High School Chemistry Teaching is Kathleen Dwyer of the Maplewood–Richmond Heights School District.

Ms Dwyer has taught chemistry in the Maplewood–Richmond Heights school district since 2001. She received awards in 2007 as Educator of the Year from the Missouri Consortium for Science Research and The Maplewood Richmond Heights School District. In 2008, she received the Pfizer Award as Science Teacher of the Year. She has also worked on scientific programs and projects in Belize and Colombia. In addition to numerous extracurricular activities in science, Kathleen has been involved in community volunteer activities such as Speakers for Science, Girl Scouts, and children’s art events and theatrical productions.

Past Winners include:

St Louis Section–ACS Distinguished Service Award

St Louis Chemical Science and Technology Award

To submit a nomination, contact the Chemical Science and Technology Award coordinator.

The Chemical Science and Technology award winner is ...

Meet John Hemminghaus, 2011 Chemical Science & Technology Award winner

Congratulations to John Hemminghaus, the winner of the 2011 Chemical Science and Technology Award.

John Hemminghaus is a 2001 graduate of Truman State University with a biology major and a chemistry minor. He is a Research Chemist at Monsanto Company, responsible for development of new formulations to support the global Roundup^® herbicide business. His career at Monsanto began with a series of summer internships between 1998 and 2000. During this period, John developed an understanding of the role field and greenhouse bioefficacy testing play in herbicide development as well as stability and performance requirements necessary for a product as widely distributed as Roundup.

After a brief stint at Tyco Healthcare in St Louis, where he synthesized radiolabeled drug intermediates, John returned to Monsanto in support of the US launch of Roundup WeatherMAX. His formulations work led to his first patent application on a highly concentrated Roundup formulation having improved tank-mix compatibility with co-herbicides. In the next role, John overcame the challenge of stringent eye toxicity requirements in South America by developing several formulations meeting the commercial requirements in the region. This project led to the filing of his second patent application covering Roundup formulations containing alkoxylated quaternary amine surfactant systems. Also in this role, John commercialized his first product, Fosato, in Argentina. He demonstrated a high level of professionalism with his team members and stakeholders, interfacing with other chemists, regulatory scientists, manufacturing and process engineers, and commercial teams in St Louis and in South America.

John’s current role supports Roundup formulation development for Monsanto’s global business. He supervises and mentors two contract technicians and is responsible for developing new technologies and supporting the manufacture and commercialization of new formulations. This role requires him to apply his experience in surfactant chemistry and process chemistry to respond to varied regulatory, business, and technical drivers to ensure Roundup continuous success in the market place. Over the past five years, John has made several key presentations to product development teams and commercial teams internally.

John currently lives in the Crestwood, MO area with his wife and two children.

Previous St Louis Chemical Science and Technology Award Winners

Salutes to Excellence

The Salute to Excellence Award is used to recognize an individual, process or company that has made a positive impact on the place of importance of chemistry on everyday life. The St Louis Section has presented several of these awards over the years.

Dr Lincoln Diuguid
presented November 11, 2000

Dr Lincoln Diuguid, shown in an advertising brochure for DuGood Chemicals

The St. Louis Section of the American Chemical Society is proud to recognize the positive impact on the everyday life of a practitioner of chemistry by awarding the Salute to Excellence award to Dr. Lincoln I. Diuguid. After receiving his BS from West Virginia State College in 1938, he went to Cornell University and received his MS in organic chemistry in 1938, and a PhD in organic chemistry in 1945.

His research interests have taken him from the chemical process of reacting aviation fuel with formaldehyde to yield unsaturated C-9 alcohols that are later used to make dinonyl phthalates, to making a unique form of glass from the reprocessing of materials used in the manufacturing of beer, to identifying the chemical compound in antifreeze (benzothiazole) that causes corrosion of copper pipes in baseboard heaters. In the early 1970’s, Dr Diuguid’s research interest centered on his developing a method to determine the level of the thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T₃) in serum. He continues to pursue his research interests at his company, DuGood Chemicals, Inc, at 1215 South Jefferson Ave.

In 1997, he presented a talk on Potential Anticancer Derivatives of Benzothiazole, Pyridine, Piperdine and Satonic Acid at the Midwest Regional Meeting, Tantara, Osage Beach, MO.

St Louis Science Center
presented March 10, 2001

The St Louis Science Center was created by the merger of the Museum of Science and Natural History with the McDonnell Planetarium in 1983. The roots of the St Louis Science Center can be traced back to 1856, when the Academy of Science of St Louis was founded by a group of physicians, a lawyer, an engineer and a businessman. Its purpose was to maintain a museum collection and library, publish a journal, and interact with other scientists.

The museum moved from Lindell Blvd to Oak Knoll Park in 1958 and became known as the Museum of Science and Natural History. In 1971, voters in St Louis City and County approved the formation of the St Louis Metropolitan Zoo–Museum District. The ownership of the museum was then transferred from the Academy of Science to the new subdistrict.

The St Louis Science Center serves as a bridge between scientist and layperson, encouraging an understanding of ecology and the environment, humanity, technology, and the space sciences, and how they interrelate. By fostering an active interest in science and mathematics, the Science Center prepares people to make decisions that may shape the future and meet society’s need for scientific literacy. By enhancing the scientific literacy of those who visit, the Science Center has given non-scientists a better appreciation of chemistry, the chemistry around us and that everything is made of chemicals.

Dr William Knowles, 2001 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
presented March 2002

William S Knowles was born on June 1, 1917 in Massachusetts. He did his undergraduate work at Harvard, his graduate work at Columbia University, followed by a research position at Monsanto.

After a brief stint in Dayton, OH, he was transferred to St Louis in 1944, where he has been ever since. While here, he showed that it was possible to use transition metals to make chiral catalysts for hydrogenation, thereby obtaining the desired mirror image form of the final product. His research quickly led to an industrial process for the production of L-DOPA, a drug that is still used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. In 2001, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this work.

Marie Sherman
presented December 2002

Marie has a BS in Chemistry from Iowa State University and a MS in Chemistry from St Louis University. She worked at Eastman Kodak before moving to St Louis and Monsanto. She has been teaching chemistry at Ursuline Academy since 1967.

Marie has been a member of the ACS St Louis Section for 18 years, and has presented “Chemistry Is Fun“ programs for the past 15 years, giving about 25 programs per year at area elementary/middle schools. Marie serves on the Board of Publications for the Journal of Chemical Education, and has been a reviewer for this journal for many years. In 1989, she helped to found the Polymer Ambassadors, a group of pre–high-school teachers who promote the use of plastics and polymers in classroom activities.

She has given many presentations for teachers at National Science Teacher conventions, at Science Teachers of Missouri conferences, TIE conferences and the annual Interface conferences. She has received numerous awards, including the Regional Catalyst Award (1986), the National Catalyst Award (1996), and Outstanding Missouri Science Educator (2002).

Eric Ressner, Editor Chemical Bond
presented December 2003

Eric Ressner was smitten by chemistry in high school in spite of Mr B, who was a much better soccer coach than chemistry teacher. He received his BS in Chemistry from Clarkson College in Potsdam, NY, and his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Kansas. An elective in molecular biology led him to a postdoc in Virology at SUNY Stony Brook.

Two teaching positions, at Colgate University and at Seton Hill College, helped him learn chemistry a lot better than he ever did as a student. He’s been plying his trade as a technical writer at Sigma since 1985. A stint as editor of the Chemical Bond seemed like a natural fit ... and he stayed for eight wonderful years!

Lisa Balbes, Founding Webmaven
presented November 2004

Dr Lisa Balbes received BAs in chemistry and psychology from Washington University in St Louis, and her PhD in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She then spent several years at Research Triangle Institute conducting protein and small molecule modelling studies. In 1992, she founded Balbes Consultants (formerly Osiris Consultants), offering a range of services including technical writing, information architecture, web site design and maintenance. Her work has been published in Drug Discovery and Development, Scientific Computing and Instrumentation, The Alchemist, Genetic Engineering News, Chemistry, and Reviews in Computational Chemistry, among other places.

For the past decade Dr Balbes has been involved in ACS activities in a variety of capacities. She was chair of the St Louis Section of the American Chemical Society in 2002, was Webmaven from 1996 to 2004, and is currently Career Services coordinator and a presenter for the Division of Career Services. Starting January 2005, she will also assume the duties of the St Louis Section Treasurer.

In addition to her ACS responsibilities, Dr Balbes has been on the Executive Board of the St Louis Web Developers’ Organization since 1997, is Chair of Washington University’s APAP-St Louis South Committee, and Chair of the Corporate Sponsor Committee for the St Louis Chapter, Society for Technical Communications.

Lisa lives in Kirkwood with her husband Mark, and their two boys, Jack (13) and Alex (11). In her spare time, she does all types of needlework, and in 2000 won second place in the American Needlepoint Guild national competition.

Lisa is being honored for her service as local section Webmaven from 1996 to 2004.

Greg Wall
presented December 2011

The curiosity of chemistry and the world around him has been a part of Greg’s life from an early age. These early experiences evolved into a career in chemistry and sharing it with the community. At the University of Missouri–St Louis, he earned a BA in biology and chemistry in 1974 and his Missouri State Teaching Certificate in biology, chemistry, and general science in 1976. After teaching advanced chemistry at El Dorado High School in El Dorado, AR, in 1976 and developmental biology and chemistry at Holman Junior High and Pattonville High School, 1977-1980, he returned to the University of Missouri–St Louis, earning an MS in chemistry in 1981, and followed up with his PhD in 1985 from the State University of New York–Albany.

Upon returning to St Louis, he joined Technical Service at Sigma, now Sigma-Aldrich, sharing his love and knowledge of chemistry for 22 years before retiring in 2007. During that time, he became Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at St Louis Community College–Florissant Valley (2005), University of Missouri–St Louis (2008), and Maryville University (2009), where he has taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses in chemistry. Greg has been teaching biology and chemistry at McKinley CLA, a gifted high school in the St Louis Public School District since 2009.

Greg is a 31-year member of the American Chemical Society, active in the St Louis Section since 1986. He has served on a variety of local and national committees including General Topics, Kids & Chemistry, Section Chair (1996), Committee on Community Activities, Community and Public Relations Committee, and Counselor for the Section. Greg has coordinated, developed, and presented over 50 public outreach presentations at public schools, museums, businesses, industries, and institutions. His Salute to Excellence is due to his extraordinary dedication to outreach; he has been the Section’s liaison to the St Louis Science Center, organizing National Chemistry Week activities and other events since 19xx.

Greg says, “We live in a chemical world, it’s all that matters, so to speak. Scientific literacy is the responsibility of chemists worldwide: to bring an appreciation, understanding, and knowledge of the effects that chemistry has on all of our lives.”

The St Louis Section Chemical Technician Award has been retired as of 2005. The illustrious previous winners are still illustrious, however, so it seems a shame to retire their honors along with the ongoing award.

A chemical technician is a person whose training includes successful completion of an Associate or Bachelors Degree in chemistry or a chemistry-related curriculum, or equivalent knowledge gained by experience. The primary work of a chemical technician is conducting experimentation and/or correlating information to assist in the solving of chemical problems.

The award was presented to a chemical technician in the St Louis area who had demonstrated a high degree of professionalism as a chemical technician. Criteria included technical skills, safety and housekeeping, relationship with co-workers, presentations, reliability, communication skills, contribution to team efforts, and additional professional activities.

St Louis Chemical Technician Award Winners