Science Fairs, coming and going

Science fair season approaches its grand finale, the Greater Saint Louis Science Fair on May 2. The indomitable science fair coordinator would love to hear from you if you’d like to help with the judging. No experience necessary! Call or email Sheryl J Loux at 636.237.5149 or sjloux@gmail.com.

• Greater St Louis Elementary and Secondary Science Fairs, Wednesday, May 2
  Greensfelder Recreation Complex, Queeny Park, Weidman Rd, Ballwin, MO (map)
  — Elementary (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 (6-12): Judging of chemistry-related projects 3–8:30 pm. Please volunteer for at least 2½ hours. Judges must be present at 8:30 to pick winners.
  Free dinner for judges (5–6 pm).

Your participation as a judge would be greatly appreciated!

The results are in for the Illinois Junior Academy of Science Region 12 Science Fair held March 17, 2012:

• Grades 9–12
  First Place: Cody Hughes, Grade 11, Governor French Academy, O’Fallon, IL, Passive Solar Heating Tubes
  Second Place: Madi Maharaj, Grade 11, Governor French Academy, O’Fallon, IL, Don’t Forget Your Coat, It’s Raining Stomach Acid
  Third Place: Hope Cash and Madison Bemis, Grade 9, Alton High SchoolAlton, IL, The Effect of Temperature on Glow Sticks
• Grades 5–8
  First Place: Stephen DeMartini, Grade 8, Gillespie Middle School, Gillespie, IL, Temperature Effect on Solar Cell Electrical Output
  Second Place: Mickinney Zhang, Grade 8, Waterloo Junior High School, Waterloo, IL, Does the Type of Nut Affect the Amount of Calories Inside the Nut?
  Third 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?

Nominations still open ...

...for the St Louis Award

Nominations are solicited for the St Louis Award, which is sponsored by the Monsanto Company and administered by the St Louis Section–ACS. Nominees should be individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the profession of chemistry and demonstrated potential to further the advancement of the chemical profession. The awardee is selected by a review committee constituted by the St Louis Section–ACS. The award, consisting of a $1,500 honorarium and a plaque, is presented at the St Louis Award Banquet held in October during National Chemical Week.

At the time of the nomination, nominees must not have previously received the Midwest Award or any national ACS-sponsored award. Nominees must be members or affiliates of the St Louis Section of the ACS. Nomination packets received by April 30 are considered for award presentation in October.

Nominations can be sent at any time to:

Joseph J H Ackerman
Department of Chemistry
Campus Box 1134
Washington University
One Brookings Drive
Saint Louis, Missouri 63130

Nominations should include a nominating letter, two or more seconding letters from individuals who have had a close professional affiliation with the nominee, a brief biography, a description of the nominee’s accomplishments, and a list of publications and patents. Additional details can be found on the St Louis Award web page.

Awards Night—be there!

Join us on April 16 to honor the winners of:

• High School Chemistry Contest
• Outstanding students at area colleges and universities

Maggiano’s, 2 Boulevard Saint Louis, Richmond Heights (across Brentwood Blvd from the Galleria), map. Free parking in the garage.
5:30 social hour, 6:30 dinner, 7:30 program
Cost is $20. RSVP by April 9, and send check payable to St Louis Section–ACS to:

Leah O’Brien
Department of Chemistry
Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL 62026

Meet the winner: Chemical Science and Technology Award

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.

 Battle of Burets win to MICDS

On Wednesday, February 29th, 21 teams from 12 local high schools participated in the Battle of the Burets competition at St Louis Community College–Florissant Valley. Teams were judged on their ability to accurately determine the normality of an unknown acid solution in six minutes. The top team from each of three preliminary rounds—Kirkwood, MICDS and Clayton—advanced to the winner-take-all championship round. Daniel Kaganov and Adrienne Brauch from MICDS took top honors.

Place	Teammates	School	Teacher
1st	Daniel Kaganov and Adrienne Brauch	MICDS	Mark Autry
2nd	Katherine Nachbar and Tyler Ponder	Clayton High School	Nathan Peck
3rd	Michael Rath and Ben Neuhaus	Kirkwood High School	Lisa Autry

Celebrate Earth Day with some fellow chemists

The St Louis Section will be celebrating Earth Day at the Saint Louis Science Center, Dinosaur Overlook, from 10 am to 4 pm on April 21st. This year’s theme, “Rethinking Recycling—It’s Easy to be Green,” brings international focus to environmental causes such as fresh air, clean water, and renewable energy. Volunteer to help us promote the positive role that chemistry plays in preserving the Earth: contact Greg Wall, gwall37@msn.com or 314.435.6487.

...or celebrate Earth Day with some other fellow chemists

Kids and Chemistry will be at the Saint Louis Science Center for Earth Day, from 10 am to 4 pm on April 21st, hosting three tables with activities for children: • Enzymes for Digestion and Cleaning • Starch Scavenger Hunt • Crushing Cans or Gluep. If you would like to volunteer to help with any of these activities, please email Sheryl J Loux sjloux@gmail.com). Volunteers are asked to help for a minimum of two hours; their parking will be free (entrance is always free).

Experience presenting: Undergraduate Research Symposium

Area undergraduate chemistry students, register to enter the Undergraduate Research Symposium, poster and oral presentations of your work, 5–7:30 pm, Sigma-Aldrich, 2909 Laclede Avenue, St Louis, MO 63103

Certificates of participation to all; awards for exceptional presentations. Use the registration form to enter. For additional information, contact Eric Bruton, eric.bruton@jostchemical.com, 314.817.0097 or Pegah Jalili, Pegah.Jalili@sial.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 the section Chair at least a week in advance. Usual cost of the dinner is $24 ($12 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 12
Social hour: 5:30 pm
Dinner: 6:30 pm
Business meeting: 7:15 pm
Future meetings: May 10, Jun 9 (picnic, no BoD), Sep 13

Saint Louis University

Seminars are on Fridays at 12 noon in Carlo Auditorium, Tegeler Hall, unless noted otherwise. Refreshments follow. For more information, contact Ryan McCulla, rmccull2@slu.edu.

Apr 13
Elena A Guliants
University of Dayton
TBA

Apr 19, 4–7 pm
SLU–Sigma-Aldrich Lecture
Josef Michl
University of Colorado
TBA

May 4
Edward Nikonowicz
Rice University
Structural Studies of the T box Riboswitch and its tRNA Ligands

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.

Apr 2
Francesco Peri
University of Milano–Bicocca
Exploring biology with small organic molecules: new sugar-derived compounds targeting the LPS/TLR4 signaling in humans

Apr 9
Colleen Jonsson
University of Louisville
Strategies to discover small molecules as probes for biological systems and drug discovery

Apr 16
Carol Deakyne
University of Missouri–Columbia
TBA

Apr 30
25th Annual Distinguished Alumni Lecture
Stephen A Kolodziej
How a few careful decisions led to my career in chemistry

Washington University

Seminars are in McMillen 311 at 4 pm unless otherwise noted. For information, contact: Liviu Mirica, mirica@wustl.edu.

Apr 5
Dudley Herschbach
Harvard University
TBA

Apr 12
Gail Fanucci
University of Florida
Elucidating the Mechanism of Drug Resistance in HIV-1 Protease via Pulsed EPR Spectroscopy

Apr 19
Sunil Suxena
University of Pittsburgh
ESR Spectroscopy Identifies Inhibitory Cu(II) Sites in a DNA Modifying Enzyme to Reveal Determinants of Catalytic Specificity

Apr 26
Scott McLucky
Purdue University
Gas-phase Bioconjugation: A New Direction in the Tandem Mass Spectrometry of Peptides and Proteins

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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