2013 ACS Midwest Award to Gordon J Miller, Iowa State University

Gordon Miller, winner of the 2013 ACS Midwests Award, is University Professor of Chemistry at Iowa State University. Niller received his BS summa cum laude in 1982 from the University of Rochester, where he worked under the direction of Richard Eisenberg. In 1986, he received his PhD degree from the University of Chicago, where he worked with Jeremy Burdett. Gordie gained post-doctoral experience with Arndt Simon at the Max-Planck-Institute für Festkörperforschung in Stuttgart, Germany. Gordie began his independent career in 1990 at Iowa State University, where he has distinguished himself as an outstanding teacher, mentor, and departmental chair. He also is a member and project leader at Ames Laboratory.

Professor Miller has established one of the preeminent research groups in the areas of theoretical and experimental solid-state inorganic chemistry, gaining an exceptionally broad understanding of the basis of structure-composition-property relationships among metal-rich compounds. This class of compounds offers tremendous technological potential for energy storage and conversion, catalysis, and magnetoresponsive applications, but even their basic chemistries are known in only a few systems and regions. Miller’s goal is to understand the relationships among chemical composition, atomic structure, physical properties, and chemical bonding so as to establish a set of chemical “rules of thumb” that may predict relative stabilities, structures, and properties over a major part of the periodic table. Overall, Professor Miller has published over 167 peer-reviewed research articles and has given more than 116 invited lectures at various national and international institutions, meetings and symposia since he has been at Iowa State.

In supporting the nomination of Professor Miller, Nobel laureate Roald Hoffman writes,

Gordie Miller is simply the best solid-state chemist we have working on intermetallics. His blend of good theory, chemically motivated, and of meticulous and ingenious synthesis, and of structural and magnetic studies, is unmatched in our profession. He makes interesting substances and thinks about them, deeply so.

Miller has mentored 62 post­doctoral, graduate and undergraduate students. Among his post-doc and PhD students, many have gone on to faculty positions at institutions across North America. He regularly encourages undergraduate students into research activities during their first and second years; many of those he has mentored have gone on to graduate studies in chemistry and careers in the sciences. Miller works consistently and effectively to improve the academic environment and scholarly activities of students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Gordie is also well known for his pedagogical talents in lectures, including annual turns in general chemistry courses; he has received two awards for his teaching from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Balloting this month for 2014 officers

Internet-based polling continues to draw a bigger turnout than the old faithful paper/snailmail methods, even though it doesn’t offer the excitement of hanging chads. So save the stamp and use it to mail your income tax return next year. What’s that? Oh, never mind.

Every eligible member with an email address on file will receive a personalized message no later than October 10th, and likely much sooner. The link in your email gives you access to the voting platform and assures that we receive ballots only from eligible voters, and only one from each.

If you have blacklisted email from surveymonkey.com and you wish to participate in this year’s balloting, please remove the block for a couple of weeks. Then, if you have not received your voter email by October 10, please let us know. Email election@stlacs.org: please provide your full name, email address, and (if not too much trouble), your member number from a recent issue of C&E News.

You will have until October 31 to cast your ballot. Please vote! Even though most positions are uncontested, casting a vote is a great way to tell the members who work so hard on Section business that you care about what they do. You will be able to access these candidate biographies during the voting process as well, so no need to memorize who’s who.

Candidates for elective office:

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Chair-elect

Pegah Jalili, Senior Scientist, Analytical Mass Spectrometry, Sigma-Aldrich Corporation

Service to the Section: Chair, Education Committee (201202013); volunteer at outreach activities such as science fairs and Earth Day at the Science center

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Secretary

Natalie LaFranzo, Project Scientist, Cofactor Genomics

Service to the Section: Chair, Younger Chemists Committee (2011-present); committee member, Leadership Development Forum (2012-present)

Service to national ACS: Associate, Younger Chemists Committee

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Treasurer

Vic Lewchenko, IT consultant, Technisource

Service to the Section: chemistry merit badge clinic presenter (2007-2009, 2011-2013); Treasurer (2011-present)

Other ACS service: president, student chapter, Drexel University

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Councilor (vote for one)

Lawrence (“Lol”) Barton, Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri–St Louis

Service to the Section: Councilor (1990-present); Alternate Councilor (1987-1989, 1979-1981); chair succession (1979-1981); Section Historian (2000-present); High School Career Day Organizer (2000, 1993-1998); Steering Committee (1996-1998, 1980-1981); Midwest Award Jury (1992-2003, 1983-1989); St Louis Award Symposium chair (1980, 1983, 2000, 2005-07), co-chair (2009); Nominations Committee chair (1979); St Louis Award Jury (1975); Continuing Education Committee (1972-1974); High School Chemistry Contest Organizer (1976, 1977); Special Committee to review the Midwest Award (1987); Midwest Regional Meeting (Exposition chair, 2000; Symposium chair, 1979)

Service to national ACS: Council Policy Committee (2012-present); Committee on Meetings and Expositions (2011); Committee on Committees (2005-2010); Committee on Local Section Activities (1998-2004); Committee on Membership Affairs (1992-1997); Committee Associate (1991)

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Alternate Councilor (vote for up to two)

Ted Gast, professionally affiliated with the Carl F Gast Company, Arch Paper LLC and Soulard Artists’ Guild

Service to the St Louis Section: Alternate Councilor (2011-2013); Midwest Regional Meeting (Exposition Co-chair and event sponsor, 2011); Chemistry Ambassador(2010-present); Small Chemical Business Division (SCHB) member; chair succession (2004–06); hosted ACS president Bill Carroll on Whirlwind Tour and Chemical Round Table; Kids & Chemistry (development and promotion since its inception in 1996); Science Fair judge; liaison for TIE (Teachers in Industry and Environment, 1996-2007), Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS), and American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE); audit committee (2005-2007); National Chemistry Week; Chemical Progress Week; presenter (national ACS meeting, 2010, Small Chemical Business Success Stories and at Green Chemistry Pavilion); Earth Day and International Year of Chemistry activities (2011); Friends of Dard Hunter Chemistry of Papermaking Round Table (2013); fundraising activities through the American Chemistry Council (November 2002–present); nominations committee; Treasurer (2007-2010); provides leadership for industrial, sustainability and green chemistry for the section.

Christopher D Spilling, Professor of Chemistry and Department Chair, University of Missouri–St Louis

Service to the St Louis Section: Midwest Regional Steering Committee rep (1994-2007); Alternate Councilor (1999-present); Saint Louis Award Symposium organizer (1994, 2001); Midwest Regional Meeting General Chair (2000); ACS Regional Meeting session chair (1992, 1994, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011).

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Directors (vote for up to two)

Eric Ressner, technical information specialist, Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (retired); Principal, SOS Chemical Information Services LLC

Service to the Section: Editor, Chemical Bond (1995-2003, 2009-present); Director (2003-04, 2006-present); Webmaster (2004-present); Midwest Regional Meeting (webmaster, 2011); Salute to Excellence (2003); Distinguished Service Award (2009); occasional science fair judge

Keith Stine, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Missouri–St Louis

Service to the Section: Director (2001, 2010-2013); Chair succession (2007-2009); Secretary (2002-2006); Alternate councilor (1997-1999); Career Day co-organizer (2001-2013); ACS Midwest Regional Meeting (Program Chair, 2000 and 2011); Project SEED Coordinator at UMSL (2009-2013); Younger Chemists Committee Advisor (2008-2013); Fundraising subcommittee chair (2008-2013); Surface Science Discussion Group Chair (1993-1999); Materials Chemistry Discussion Group Chair (2000); Saint Louis Award Chair (1998-2000); Midwest Award Chair (1993)

Saint Louis Award symposium/banquet comin’ up

There’s still time to decide to attend the Symposium and the Banquet honoring D André D’Avignon, the winner of the 2013 Saint Louis Award, on October 25th. If you’re an NMR groupie or just want to hear about some cool applications of NMR analysis, come on down. Later the same day, and welcoming you whether or not you’ve attended the Symposium, is the Banquet, a very special affair requiring reservations by October 22nd.

The Symposium

Expanding the Frontiers of Solution-State NMR:
Novel Applications, Unusual Systems

in honor of Dr D André d’Avignon
2013 Saint Louis Award winner

The Saint Louis Award Symposium on Friday, October 25th, will be hosted at Washington University on the Danforth Campus in Room 300 of the Laboratory Sciences Building [#57, grid location H-4, on the campus map (pdf, 3 MB)]. Symposium attendees without regular parking privileges on Washington University’s Danforth Campus should download and print the parking placard (valid in Yellow locations only), and place it on their dashboard. Convenient parking will be found at the Millbrook Parking Facility (#85, grid H-3) directly north of the Laboratory Sciences Building across Throop Drive.

2:30pm Ziad Ramadan, Nestlé Research Centre
Chair, Saint Louis Section, American Chemical Society
Welcome and general introductions

2:35pm Joseph J H Ackerman, Washington University Department of Chemistry
Symposium Chair
Introduction and Salute to Dr d’Avignon

2:40pm Peter Crawford, Washington University Department of Internal Medicine
NMR Spectroscopy Profiling of Complex Metabolic Systems in Mammals

3:15pm Lucinda (Cindy) Buhse, Division of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, United States Food and Drug Administration
Modern Analytics for Legacy Drugs: The Heparin Crisis

3:50pm Refreshment break

4:10pm Allan Doctor, Washington University Department of Pediatrics
Wetware: Protein Encoded Control of Metabolism in Erythrocytes

4:45pm R Douglas Sammons, Monsanto Company
An Old Herbicide and New Resistance Mechanisms

5:20pm Joseph J H Ackerman
Concluding Remarks

6:30pm Saint Louis Award Banquet, Glen Echo Country Club, 3401 Lucas and Hunt Rd, Normandy, MO
Advance reservations required (below)

The Banquet

Please note that the Saint Louis Award Banquet is on the same day as the Award Symposium this year. Don’t come a day late, or there won’t be much food left! Friday, October 25th, at Glen Echo Country Club, 3401 Lucas & Hunt Road, Saint Louis, MO 63121. You can find driving directions and a map of the venue here.

6:30 pm cocktails (open bar), 7:00 pm banquet, 8:00 pm program

Please send reservations by October 22nd to:

Lawrence Barton, Professor Emeritus
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
315 Benton Hall (MC 27)
University of Missouri–St Louis
Saint Louis, MO 63121
email lbarton@umsl.edu
phone 314.516.5334; cell 314-698-9748
fax 314.516.5342

Make checks payable to Saint Louis Section–ACS, and provide the following information:

Name(s) _______________________________________________________
Number attending _____ × $57.50 each = amount remitted $____________
Special dietary limitations, if any ___________________________________

Two special awards seek nominees

Nominations are open for two awards that recognize excellence outside the mainstream of PhD-level industrial/academic/institutional chemistry: the Chemical Science & Technology award for non-terminal degree holders and the High School Chemistry Teacher of the Year award for ... well ... high school chemistry teachers. Read about ’em below, think about people you know who might be deserving, and then act.

The Chemical Science & Technology Award

The Saint Louis Chemical Science & Technology 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. To be eligible, the nominee should have an Associate, Bachelor’s, or Master’s degree in chemistry or a chemistry-related curriculum. The nominee need not be a member of the Saint Louis Section–ACS to be eligible.

Letters of nomination must be received by December 20, 2013. The nominating letter should address the criteria above. A current work address, phone number and email address must be provided for each nominee. To submit a nomination, contact the Chemical Science and Technology Award coordinator:

Adrienne Mazdra
phone: 314-513-4035
email: amazdra@stlcc.edu

The High School Science Teacher-of-the-Year Award

The St Louis Section–ACS is seeking nominations for the 2014 High School Chemistry Teaching Award. This award is to recognize, encourage, and stimulate outstanding teachers of high school chemistry within the St Louis Section. The award winner will receive a $500 check and a plaque, presented at an awards dinner and program next April.

Please consider nominating a teacher in the Greater St Louis Area who exemplifies excellence in the teaching of high school chemistry. The nomination packet must include the following items:

From the Nominee:

1. the Nominee Information Form
2. your current teaching assignment including course titles and grade levels. What is your involvement in extracurricular activities?
3. on a separate sheet, a statement of not more than 500 words in which you present your teaching philosophy or otherwise describe your commitment to the profession.
4. a curriculum vitae or résumé that includes a list of honors, professional activities, and additional evidence of service to the profession; limited to no more than two pages of activities within the last five years.

From the Nominator:

5. the Nominator Information Form
6. nominator recommendation of not more than 1,000 words. This statement should clearly demonstrate as many of the following attributes as possible:
   · the quality of the nominee’s teaching: unusually effective methods of presentation should be emphasized
   · the nominee’s ability to challenge and inspire students
   · extracurricular work in chemistry or a chemical science by the nominee, including science fairs, science clubs, and activities that stimulate the interest of young people in chemistry and related sciences
   · a willingness to keep up-to-date in the field, as evidenced by the pursuit of a higher degree in chemistry or a chemical science, enrollment in refresher courses and summer institutes, regular attendance at scientific meetings, membership in professional organizations, and other means of self-improvement
   · evidence of leadership or active involvement within the profession
7. at least one, but not more than three, letters of support; one must be from the teacher’s current principal or supervisor. Additional letters of support may be sent by colleagues, members of the American Chemical Society who are familiar with the nominee’s achievements, or former students and parents of former students.

Please submit the nomination packet by December 10, 2013. The nomination packet may be submitted electronically or by snail mail to Sandra Mueller, ACS High School Teaching Award Chair:

Sandra Mueller
John Burroughs School
755 S Price Road
St Louis, Missouri 63124
314.993.4040 x362
smueller@jburroughs.org

Career doings with the YCC, coming and going

The Younger Chemists Committee is busy once again this fall organizing, promoting, and running career-oriented programs for area chemists.

On September 17, the YCC hosted the 6th Annual Chemistry Career Night, featuring speakers from academic, industrial, and government career paths. Students and professionals were offered industry-specific advice, along with the opportunity for Q&A and networking. Panelists included:

• Bill Buhro, Department Chair and Professor of Chemistry, Washington University in St Louis
• Connie Gryniewicz-Ruzicka, Chemist, Division of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Food and Drug Administration
• Josephine Garcia-Ferrer, Medical Science Liaison, Actelion
• Anthony Mannino, Adjunct Professor and Senior Scientist, University of Missouri–St Louis and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals

Now that that’s over, you can clear your calendar for the YCC’s first-of-fall Career Management Seminar. This edition will help you compose effective, compelling technical writing. It’s happening October 8, 6:30-8 pm, in McMillen 311 on Washington University’s Danforth Campus. The speaker, Staci Thomas, is Assistant Director of the Washington University English Language Programs. For maps, parking, and registration information, visit bit.ly/Oct2013CMS. Please register by October 7.

Great news for STLACS on the ChemLuminary front

After making the shortlist for four ChemLuminary Awards (as reported in the September Chemical Bond), we can now reveal that we came out at the apex, the very pinnacle, the absolute apogee of the competition for two of them. Our Section is the proud winner of Outstanding Local Section YCC and Outstanding Performance by a Local Section. Congratulations to Natalie LaFranzo, chair of the local section YCC, and to Eric Bruton, section chair during the winning run, and of course to all others who helped, participated, and pitched in in any way.

NCW heads into town this month

October is the calendar page for National Chemistry Week. Along with all the local events at schools and labs, the Section will again be celebrating at the Saint Louis Science Center Dinosaur Overlook, this year from 10 am to 4 pm on October 26. The theme is “Energy Now and Forever.” You can help build awareness of chemistry in the St Louis community by participating in this event. Set-up begins at 9 am. If you are able to volunteer a few hours to staff a booth, let Greg Wall know when you’ll be there. Through our grassroots efforts, we can bring together those who want to share their passion for chemistry to the young and old.

Kids and Chemistry will be there, too, sponsoring three tables needing volunteers: Enzymes are Workers, Starch Scavenger Hunt, and Crushing Cans. No experience is necessary; a leader at each table will provide all the training you need, and activities will already be set up and ready to share with children. If you can help out for at least two hours between 10 am and 4 pm, please email the Kids and Chemistry coordinator Sheryl J Loux to volunteer.

Whichever end of the event you volunteer for, parking is free. The Saint Louis Science Center is always free. A bottle of water is recommended as you will do a lot of talking.

Somewhat off topic, but close enough ...

Friends of Dard Hunter is an organization that connects, encourages, and educates people interested in hand papermaking. They are holding their annual meeting in St Louis October 18-20. Ted Gast is leading a Roundtable on the Chemistry of Paper (see? close enough!) on Saturday October 19; this is an ACS Chemical Ambassador event. Three additional members of the local section (Hal Harris, Alexa Serfis, Keith Stine, Greg Wall), and paper artist Megan Singleton will join Ted on the panel. More information is available about Friends of Dard Hunter and the conference itself at the Dard Hunter website. Curious about the intersection of chemistry and paper-making? More info here.

Apropos paper, there is an exhibit at the airport that is worth seeing. Paper Trails is on display in the Meeting Place Gallery (the waiting area in Lambert’s Terminal 1 where Concourse C dumps out of the secure area). The exhibit will be up through October 21, 2013.

On to the next Leadership Development Forum

The next Leadership Development Forum module focuses on stimulating creativity and innovation. If you’d like to know what this is all about, and to hone your skills, join this module. The featured speaker is Jarret Glasscock, CEO and Founder of Cofactor Genomics. The seminar/discussion is on October 24 at 6 pm in Conner Auditorium, Farrell Learning & Teaching Center, on the Washington University Med School campus, 520 S Euclid Ave, St Louis, MO 63110).Event highlights:

• presentation
• discussion
• reception dinner and networking
• Admission, parking, and dinner are all free, but preregistration by October 22 is required; directions and parking info at this link also. Please contact Eric Bruton if you have any questions.

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 $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: Oct 10
Social hour: 5:30 pm
Business meeting: 6:30 pm (suspended for dinner when served)
Future meetings: Nov 14, Dec 12 (Continuity Dinner)

Saint Louis University

Seminars are on Fridays at 12 noon in Carlo Auditorium, Tegeler Hall, unless noted otherwise. Refreshments follow. For more information, contact Jim Edwards, jedward5@slu.edu.

Oct 4
Adam Wooley, Brigham Young University
Microfluidic devices for chemical analysis: from simple point of care quantitation to integrated multiple function systems

Oct 25
Randy Sprague, Saint Louis University Dept of Pharmacology
Prostacyclin and phosphodiesterase inhibitors: A novel rationale for co-administration in vascular disease

Nov 1
Gary Patti, Washington University
Metabolomics: New paradigms for old reactions

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.

Oct 7
Dawn L Shiang, Dow Chemical Company (Director of Sustainable Technologies, retired)
The principles of sustainable chemistry and engineering: An industrial approach for innovation

Oct 14
Robin Hicks, University of Victoria–British Columbia
TBA

Oct 21
Jeff Gildersleeve, National Cancer Institute
Glycan array–based approaches for improving cancer vaccine efficacy

Oct 28
Carl Frieden, Washington University
ApoE3 vs apoE4 and Alzheimer’s Disease: An enigma wrapped in mystery wrapped in a riddle

Washington University

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

Oct 4, 2:30 pm in Lab Sciences Rm 300
Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy, US DoE
The President’s climate action plan

Oct 8
Jonathan Lindsey, North Carolina State University
Advances in the synthetic chemistry of tetrapyrrole macrocycles for applications in artificial photosynthesis and photomedicine

October 10
Jon Spanier, Drexel University
Electronic landscapes near semiconductor nanowire heterostructures

Oct 17
Heino Nitsche, University of California–Berkeley
The ever-expanding periodic table?

Weissman Lectures
James Norris, University of Chicago

• Oct 24, 4:30 pm in Louderman 458
  Dissecting Photosynthesis with Electron Spins
• Oct 25, 11 am in Louderman 458(?)
  Time domain EPR studies of eyes, navigation and photosynthesis

Oct 31
Paul Fischer, Macalester College
Group VI metal carbonyl complexes of bis(diphenylphosphinomethyl)diphenylborate: Trick or treat?