Recognition Night 2010

Recognition Night is our traditional event for thanking and honoring members of long standing and members who have made extraordinary contributions to the section.

The event this year was held on March 13th at Glen Echo Country Club. About 30 members and guests attended. We recognized twelve 50-year members, six of whom attended, and six 60-year members.

The Distinguished Service Award went to Keith Stine for his many years of service as Secretary, as well as his service to the 2000 Midwest Regional Meeting, the Chair rotation, and his service on many other award- and education-related committees.

Adrienne Mazdra, chemistry lab coordinator at SLCC–Florissant Valley, was named the Chemical Science & Technology Award winner for 2010. (See the next article for details.)

Bill Doub gave an exciting presentation on using analytical chemistry to compare violins and other instruments. Bill was among the seven past chairs who made it to this year’s Recognition Night event.

Keith Stine receives his Distinguished Service Award plaque from Chair Shelley Minteer.	Bill Doub deep into his past chair’s lecture on the analytical chemistry of violins.
Six new 50-year members attended: from left, William Joern, Joyce Corey, Jim Hill, Jane Miller, John Zuzack, and Wayne Black.	The past chairs who came: Lol Barton, Alexa Serfis, Lisa Balbes, Hal Harris, Bill Doub, Steve Kinsley, and Keith Stine.

Adrienne Mazdra wins Chemical Science & Technology Award

Congratulations to Adrienne Mazdra, this year’s winner of the Chemical Science and Technology Award.

Adrienne graduated from St Louis Community College in 1992 with an AAS in Chemical Technology. She worked for Petrolite Corporation as a Chemical Laboratory Technician from 1992 to 1998. In 1998, she was hired by St Louis Community College to coordinate laboratories in the Chemistry Department at the Florissant Valley campus.

As Chemistry Laboratory Coordinator, Adrienne has a multitude of responsibilities. In a typical semester, the Department offers seven sections of Fundamentals of Chemistry, five sections of General Chemistry I, two sections of General Chemistry II, Organic Laboratory, as well as Chemical Technology classes. Each of these courses has a lab that Adrienne reviews with for feasibility, accuracy of write-up, equipment and chemicals required, and instrumentation. Adrienne is responsible for prepping each of these labs and for operating, maintaining, troubleshooting, and repairing the chemical instrumentation.

Adrienne handles many other duties, from stocking labs to managing the budget. She has been active in local ACS activities, including the Battle of the Burets and other educational events such as the Career Awareness Fair. She is technically proficient, a team player, a mentor, and has made many contributions to the scientific community at large. In all regards, a fantastic choice.

Well done, Adrienne!

Chemists celebrate Earth Day on April 24

... at the Saint Louis Science Center, 10 am to 4 pm. Don’t pay any attention to the date in the graphic; we celebrate Earth Day on a Saturday.

This year’s theme is Plants–The Green Machine. Your participation will help make it the best Earth Day ever. Contact Greg Wall ASAP if you’re willing to help with this very popular public outreach event. Email gwall37@msn.com or phone 314.435.6487.

Also at this event, Kids and Chemistry will sponsor three tables of hands-on activities:

• Starch Scavenger Hunt
• Enzyme Activity
• Making a Polymer
• Testing pH in liquids

If you would like to help on a Kids and Chemistry activity, contact Sheryl Loux, sjloux@gmail.com.

 Last chance to judge at a science fair

The last science fairs of the season are the elementary and secondary Greater St Louis Science Fairs on Wednesday, May 5, at Greensfelder Recreation Complex, Queeny Park, Weidman Rd, Ballwin, MO. Can you ... will you ... be a judge? Volunteer by contacting Sheryl J Loux at 636-237-5149 or email sjloux@gmail.com.

Elementary (grades K-5): Participation Awards distributed to chemistry-related projects. Three people needed for about one hour each between 3 and 8 pm. No judging involved.

Secondary (grades 6-12): Judging of chemistry-related projects 3–8:30 pm. Please volunteer for at least 2½ hours. Free dinner for judges (5–6 pm). Judges must be present at 8:30 to pick winners.

Your participation as a judge would be greatly appreciated!

Awards Night Banquet—still time to reserve

Join us on April 19 in honoring the winners of:

• High School Chemistry Contest
• Outstanding Students at area colleges and universities
• Leopold Marcus Award
• Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher Award
• and guest speaker Robert Blankenship, Washington University, How Does Solar Energy Conversion Efficiency of Natural Photosynthesis Compare to Photovoltaic Cells?

5:30 social hour; 6:30 dinner; 7:30 program at Maggiano’s, 2 Boulevard Saint Louis, Richmond Heights (across Brentwood Blvd from the Galleria), map. Free parking in the garage.
Cost is $20. RSVP by April 12 to Pat Burrell-Standley, standley@mvp.net. Send check payable to St Louis Section–ACS to:

Pat Burrell-Standley
1716 Eldon Ridge Court
Chesterfield, MO 63017

ACS tour speaker on chemistry and birds

ACS tour speaker, research scientist, and field ornithologist Dwight Chasar will be in Saint Louis on Monday, April 12, to tell us that Chemistry is for the Birds, a public science seminar cosponsored by the St Louis Section–ACS, St Louis Academy of Science, and Sigma-Aldrich Corporation.

At 6:20 pm, there will be an opportunity only for students to participate in hands-on activities related to the birds topic. Guests are welcome to observe.

At 7:15 pm, Dr Chasar will deliver the public lecture, Chemistry is for the Birds.

The event is hosted at Sigma-Aldrich headquarters, 3050 Spruce Street, St Louis, MO(map). Parking is free in the Sigma-Aldrich parking lot.

Preregistration required by April 7, and space is limited. To register for hands-on chemistry and/or public lecture, call 314.533.8586 or email events@academyofsciencestl.org. Please provide first and last names of each guest. Hands-on chemistry is limited to the first 25 students to reply.

Speaker’s notes: To better understand bird life and behavior, and using the tools chemists have used for years, avian biologists and chemists have recently begun to examine more closely the chemistry associated with birds. In this fascinating look at the chemistry of birds, chemist and birder Dr Dwight Chasar talks about the chemical pigments that give birds color, the chemicals birds use for survival in the wild, chemicals that nearly extirpated raptors, and the use of stable isotopes to understand bird migration. From the simplicity of bird poop to the complexity of bird DNA analysis, chemistry is playing a big role in our understanding of bird dynamics.

Chemistry is for the Birds covers enough chemistry to satisfy chemists and is accessible to non-chemists to help them appreciate the beauty and complexity of the chemistry of birds.

SIU–E hosts Undergraduate Research Symposium

April 16, 2–4 pm, in the Morris University Center at SIU–Edwardsville. All undergraduate researchers within the St Louis Section–ACS territory are eligible to present posters on their research. Please submit abstracts to Cristina De Meo, Associate Professor of Chemistry at SIU–E, cdemeo@siue.edu. Awards to all participants. If you are reading this, you are invited to attend, to view the poster sessions and share in the refreshments.

Sixth Annual Section Picnic: still a few spaces left

Save the date: June 19th, 12 noon to 5 pm in the Windegger Shelter at Tilles Park, McKnight and Litzsinger in Ladue.

Bring the family! Just $5 per person. Kids under 12 free. Please reserve by June 14th so we can plan for food and drink, and crowd control. Or do it now so you won’t forget. Questions and reservations to:

Bill Doub
1430 Neffwold Ln
Kirkwood, MO 63122-7004
phone: (314) 651-7514
ucr1975@SigmaXi.net

Reminder: Marcus Award invitation

The 2010 Leopold Marcus Award competition will be held Monday, April 12 at 4:00 p.m. in Baer-Fuller Hall (Lecture Hall 2) on the campus of Saint Louis University. Baer-Fuller Hall is one of the underground lecture halls behind Busch Center at the intersection of Grand and Lindell Boulevards. The Marcus Award is administered by the Department of Chemistry at Saint Louis University and the St Louis Section–ACS. Selected senior SLU chemistry majors present their research. The winner of the award is determined by vote of the professional chemists in the audience. All ACS members are invited to attend and are eligible to vote. Refreshments will be available after the competition. For further information, contact Bruce Kowert at 314.977.2837 or kowertba@slu.edu.

Special seminars this month

April brings a host of special seminars. Most are suitable for general audiences, and all are free, so pile the family in the car and come.

• Sigma-Aldrich–Saint Louis University Lecture Series (two scientist-level talks on molecular biology)
• Chemistry is for the Birds, a lecture for all and a hands-on science opportunity for students
• UM–SL Distinguished Alumni Lecture from the College of Optometry
• Society for Applied Spectroscopy tour speaker on Novel LC/MS Characterization of Nutraceuticals and Dietary Supplements – What’s Really in the Bottle and Does It Matter?

All the details are in the Meetings and Seminars listing below.

General Topics

A public lecture on chemistry and birds, including pigments, effects of pollution on raptors, and methods of studying migration, cosponsored by the ACS, the Academy of Science of St Louis, and Sigma-Aldrich Corporation. With an opportunity for students to participate in some bird-related hands-on activities. Preregistration required by April 7 for the hands-on session, the public lecture, or both.

April 12 at Sigma-Aldrich headquarters, 3050 Spruce Street, St Louis, MO
Dwight Chasar, ACS tour speaker, research scientist, and ornithologist
6:20–7 pm: hands-on activities for students only, limited to the first 25 registrants (other guests are welcome to observe)
7:15 pm: public lecture, Chemistry is for the Birds
Preregistration required by April 7, and space is limited. To RSVP for hands-on chemistry and/or public lecture, call 314.533.8586 or email events@academyofsciencestl.org. Please provide full name of each guest.

Society for Applied Spectroscopy

The St Louis Section of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy will hold its annual tour speaker meeting on April 15, 2010. Dr R Kenneth Marcus, Professor of Chemistry at Clemson University will be the guest speaker. The title of his talk will be Novel LC/MS Characterization of Nutraceuticals and Dietary Supplements – What’s Really in the Bottle and Does It Matter? His presentation will address the use of liquid chromatography-particle beam mass spectrometry (LC-PBMS) to characterize botanical products in dietary supplements.

April 15 at the Airport Marriott, 10700 Peartree Lane, St Louis, MO 63134.
6 pm: dinner
7 pm: presentation
The meal is free for students, $10 for SAS members, and $15 for others. Parking vouchers will be provided.
Please register by April 8 with Eileen McClendon, 314.654.1608 or Eileen.L.McClendon@covidien.com.

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). 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 Shelley Minteer, phone 314-977-3624 or email minteers@slu.edu at least a week in advance. Usual cost of the dinner is $20 ($10 for post-docs and unemployed members). Members wishing to become active in section activities are welcomed for their first dinner as guests of the section.

Date: Apr 8
Social hour: 5:30 pm
Dinner: 6:30 pm
Business meeting: 7:15 pm
Future meetings: May 13, Sep 16 (note unconventional day: third Thursday)

Saint Louis University

Seminars start at 12 noon in Lecture Hall 3 (Kelly), except as noted. For more information, contact the Chemistry Department, 314-977-2850.

April 9
Glen Frerichs
Westminster College
TBA

Ronald Breaker of Yale University will be presenting two lectures this April for the Sigma-Aldrich–Saint Louis University Seminar Series. Members of the St Louis scientific community are welcome to attend. Professor Breaker is the Henry Ford II Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology as well as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry. For more information, contact Dana Baum at Saint Louis University (dbaum1@slu.edu, 314.977.2842) or Ernie Mueller at Sigma-Aldrich (emueller@sial.com, 314.289.8496 x4382).

Wednesday, April 14 at 4:00 pm in Lee Lecture Hall, Saint Louis University
Metabolite-sensing Riboswitches: Molecular Relics from the RNA World?

Thursday, April 15 at 10 am in the Sigma-Aldrich Life Sciences Auditorium, room 1610, 2909 Laclede Avenue
Discovery and Analysis of Extraordinary Noncoding RNAs

University of Missouri–St Louis

Mondays at 4 pm in 451 Benton Hall, unless otherwise specified. Refreshments 15 minutes prior to seminar time. For more information, contact the Chemistry Department, 314.516.5311.

April 5
Nathan Oyler, University of Missouri–Kansas City
Solid-State NMR Applications to Amyloid fibrils of β₂-Microglobulin Fragments and Alzheimer’s Aβ_1-42 Oligomer-drug Complexes

April 12
Mike Dubois, Legislative Assistant, Office of Senator Kit Bond
co-sponsored by the Center for Nanoscience and the Department of Physics & Astronomy
TBA

April 19 at 3 pm
Liviu Mirica, Washington University
Renewable Energy Catalysis: The Study of Water Oxidation by Binuclear Metal Complexes

April 26
W David Wilson, Georgia State University
Design and Analysis of Compounds That Can Recognize the DNA Minor Groove by Unique Modes: From Fundamentals to Therapeutics

May 3
23nd Distinguished Alumni Lecture
Barbara Willis Brown, Manager, Student & Special Services, College of Optometry, University of Missouri–St Louis
Unintended Outcomes

Washington University

Seminars are in McMillen 311 at 4 pm unless otherwise noted. For information, contact Lev Gelb, gelb@wustl.edu.

April 1
Mark Smith, University of Arizona
Complex Organic Carbon on Abiotic Solar Systems Bodies; Titan as a (Cold) Model

April 8
Patrick Coffey, University of California–Berkeley
The Third Law of Thermodynamics: Why it Matters, and How G.N. Lewis Missed It

April 15
Steve Martin, University of Texas–Austin
Correlating Structure and Energetics in Protein-Ligand Interactions: Paradigms and Paradoxes

April 29
Jim Janetka, Washington University
Small-molecule Modulators of Protein-protein and Carbohydrate-protein Interactions

About the Chemical Bond

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 the bond.remind listserv. You can also follow the link to “Manage bond.remind options” from the home page at www.stlacs.org.

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Editor	Eric Ressner	314.962.6415 editor@stlacs.org
Assistant Editor & Advertising Manager	Sue Saum	314.513.4808 ssaum@stlcc.edu
Business Manager	Donna Friedman	314.513.4388 dfriedman@stlcc.edu