Vicki Grassian, U of Iowa, is Midwest Awardee

Professor Vicki Grassian, F Wendell Miller Professor of Chemistry, is the 70th recipient of the ACS Midwest Award. This award is given by the St Louis Section–ACS to recognize outstanding achievements in chemistry in the midwest region.

Professor Grassian received her BS degree from the State University of New York in Albany, the MS degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and her PhD from the University of California–Berkeley. Professor Grassian joined the faculty at the University of Iowa in 1990, and is the Co-director of the Center for Aerosol Impacts on Climate and the Environment (an NSF Center), the Director of the Nanotoxicology Research Core in the Environmental Health Science Research Center, and a Founder and Co-director of the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute at the University of Iowa.

Professor Grassian has received numerous awards and honors, among them, the John Jeyes Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry (2014) and the Award for Creative Advanced in Environmental Science and Technology from the ACS (2012). She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Fellow of the American Vacuum Society. She received the 2014 University of Iowa Scholar of the Year Award, the 2006 Regents Award for Faculty Excellence, and the 1999–2001 Faculty Scholar Award.

Professor Grassian is the Editor-in-chief of Environmental Science: Nano (RSC Publishing), and Editor of Surface Science Reports (Elsevier). She is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Physical Chemistry A, B, C and Letters (ACS Publishing). She served as the 2012 Chair of the Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry of the ACS, and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Physical Chemistry Division ACS (2008-2011). Professor Grassian has authored over 250 peer-reviewed publications and 16 book chapters, and has edited four books or journal issues. She has mentored 22 graduate students to the PhD, 26 postdoctoral associates, and over 50 undergraduate researchers.

Professor Grassian receives the Midwest award for her exemplary contributions to chemistry, that span the areas of heterogeneous atmospheric chemistry and health and environmental implications of nanoscience and nanotechnology, for her outstanding teaching accomplishments and innovations, and for her exemplary mentoring, particularly of women. The 2014 Midwest Award will be presented to Professor Grassian at the 49th Midwest Regional ACS Meeting to be held at the University of Missouri–Columbia from November 12-15, 2014. She will deliver her award address at the meeting on Thursday, November 14.

Pencil in the Continuity Dinner for December 11: it’s pyrotechnic

The December Board of Directors meeting is also our Continuity Dinner, a fancier than usual affair to celebrate the year’s achievements, recognize certain members, announce the Distinguished Service Award (conferred in March), and pass the gavel to the incoming section officers. And then there is the Henry Godt Memorial Lecture, given by a surprise speaker, which lightly and briefly (we promise: briefly) recaps the year-in-chemistry-in-St-Louis.

There will be a General Meeting of the Section to vote on ... well, come and find out. And there are almost always some new and old members whom we see only at this event. So come!

Please join us: December 11
Océano Bistro, 44 N Brentwood Blvd, Clayton, MO 63105 (free parking at meters after 5 pm)

5:30 Social hour, cash bar
6:30 Meeting and Dinner

Cost of dinner is $25. Please register by Dec 8: contact Leah O’Brien (618.650.3562 or lobrien@siue.edu)

Jack Bornmann, dead at 84

by Eric Ressner

John A “Jack” Bornmann, longtime member and former chair of the St Louis Section–ACS, died on October 20, 2014. He was 84 years old.

I first met Jack at a conference on SGML. We were both trying to learn something new and challenging to help in our individual endeavors. We struck up a conversation based on mutual chemistry, but I did not discern then that Jack was involved in the local ACS section. At the time, I wasn’t involved myself, other than reading the Chemical Bond every month.

Perhaps six months later, around the time my last kid went off to college and I suddenly seemed to have more time to spare, I contacted the Editor—that same Jack Bornmann—to offer my help. Anyway, long story short, Jack accepted my modest help and then gradually receded, very smoothly I must say, leaving it completely to me. In hindsight, I think Jack was looking for someone to take over the Bond because of his progressive loss of sight.

Jack was active in the ACS section for many years. He served as Secretary 1983–85 and in the Chair succession 1986–1988 and was, as mentioned, Editor of the Chemical Bond through 1993. Even after nudging his replacement in behind the Editor’s desk, he contributed a monthly column, “Letters, Words and More,” of his distinctive observations, reminiscences, and commentary.

It’s safe to say that anyone who knew Jack liked and respected him. He was endlessly cheerful despite his disability, and distinctly adaptable, staying active and involved as long as humanly possible.

Most of what follows is from the obituary, published in the St Louis Post-Dispatch.

Jack grew up in Charleston, WV, received his undergraduate education in the College of Engineering at Carnegie-Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA), and received his PhD in Chemistry from Indiana University. He did advance studies at the Technische Hochschule in Stuttgart, Germany.

Jack taught chemistry and physics at universities and colleges in Illinois and Missouri, most recently Lindenwood University, until his blindness made it impossible to continue. This was in the days immediately before the ADA and “reasonable accomodations.” He also taught music and handball on occasion. He conducted summer research at Oak Ridge National Laboratories, the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center, Argonne National Laboratories, and McDonnell-Douglas Research Laboratories.

He was the owner and operator of DAS Company which analyzed street drugs for law enforcement agencies in St Charles County. In later years, he took special interest in singing with the church choir, teaching Bible classes for mentally handicapped adults, and doing genealogical research on the Bornmann family.

Nominate for awards

Repeating from last month ... nominations are still 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 St Louis Section–ACS member to be eligible. Letters of nomination must be received by December 19, 2014. 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 & 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 Kathleen Dwyer, ACS High School Teaching Award Chair:

Kathleen Dwyer
Maplewood Richmond Heights High School
7539 Manchester Road
Maplewood, MO 63143
kathleen.dwyer@mrhschools.net

October: a HUGE month for outreach!

With Halloween and National Chemistry Week sharing the calendar, October has become our biggest month for outreach activities. Reports with pics below, and more pics at links. Enjoy!

Kids and Chemistry and Fright Fest

Kids and Chemistry did a little chemistry with the Boy Scouts at their “Fright Fest” event on Saturday, October 11. About 670 Scouts and siblings participated, making pumpkin slime and boogers (orange and green “gluep” respectively), and examining its properties. This was the last event in their Fright Fest journey, a precursor to Halloween. Scoutmasters and parents thought they looked cute in their safety glasses.

Sheryl Loux, coordinator for Kids and Chemistry, would like to thank Lisa Balbes, Ellen Aufenthie, Don Sartor, Teresa Colletti , Catherine Colletti, and Scouts’ event planner Kim Coleman for their help. The activity was sponsored by the St Louis Section–ACS Kids and Chemistry program.

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Kids and Chemistry and National Chemistry Week

Kids and Chemistry helped celebrate National Chemistry Week at the Saint Louis Science Center, Saturday, October 25. Kids and Chemistry had three tables: • Enzymes for Digestion and Cleaning, led by Sheryl Loux, • Starch Scavenger Hunt! testing which foods and materials contain starch, led by Chris Glass, and • Crushing Cans! exploring states of matter, led by Don Sartor. A DNA structure poster was displayed along with hands-on models of DNA.

Approximately 400 parents and 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). A big “Thank You” from Sheryl to volunteers Susan Wiediger, Michael Ontl, Dallas Wright, Margaret Allen, Don Sartor, and Chris Glass.

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Boy Scout Merit Badge Clinic

The the 10th Chemistry Merit Badge Clinic was hosted by Jost Chemical Company, and attended by a full house of 48 scouts. Eleven professional chemists, seven Jost employees organized by John Gleason, and ten SLU Chemistry Club students helped run the event.

Jim O’Brien, Chair of the St Louis Section–ACS, presented the Jost Chemical Company, Jerry Jost accepting, a Salute to Excellence Award, on behalf of ACS and the Greater St Louis Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. With this installment of the clinic, almost 500 Boy Scouts have earned their chemistry merit badges through the program. The New Horizons clinics at Jost Chemical have served as the model for an annual clinic in the Lewis and Clark Council, as well as a Girl Scout Science Night, bringing the total to over 750 scouts exploring sciences through their efforts.

The day kicked off with the scouts learning of the four classical fields of chemistry (Jim O’Brien, UMSL) and a safety demonstration (Max Fehl, Jost Chemical). Scouts then rotated through three hour-long stations, each run by two professional chemists and assisted by SLU chemistry club students. In their rotations, scouts conducted a simulated Senate hearing into contamination at a scout camp and used an FT-IR to identify the substance (Eric Bruton and Teresa Colletti), learned about emulsions and solved a crime using separation science (Ron Colletti and Dave Morganstern), and made a Cartesian diver and explored activity series (Vic Lewchenko and Brent Znosko). Then everyone took a tour of a working chemical manufacturing plant (Chris Ploesser and Steve Ederle). Scouts also examined MSDSs, and compared toothpaste with an abrasive household cleanser (Tom Owen and Paul Winter).

During lunch, each scout met with an approved merit badge counselor to verify completion of all requirements. Since this was National Chemistry Week, celebrating the chemistry of candy, they also conducted colorful experiments with M&Ms, Gobstoppers, and Sprees; did some chromatography with Skittles; and mixed Diet Coke and Mentos.

Developing Leadership Savvy

The fifth module of the popular Leadership Development Forum series kicked off on October 23 with a seminar and discussion on Emotional Intelligence and the Power to Lead. Washington University in St Louis provided the venue, and dinner from Mai Lee was compliments of Monsanto.

After dinner, Eric Bruton, Chair of the LDF committee, started by speaking briefly on Local Section activities and goals and then about the reason for organizing these events. Then he introduced our speaker, Ashley Gold, Associate Consultant at CMA Business Consultants. She defined emotional intelligence by breaking it down into different aspects, and showing how each affects leadership and performance.

After Ashley’s talk, Gregory Hartmann, Director of Production Technology at Monsanto spoke on how to use emotional intelligence to lead in the workplace. The floor was then opened for a dynamic discussion, with attendees contributing anecdotes and expectations. After the discussion a raffle was held to give away two $10 gift cards. Many stayed to network and to fill out a survey about the event. There were 38 people in attendance for the seminar.

Workshop to follow

On November 18, Ashley Gold will return to lead the follow-up workshop, with dinner, further discussion, and skill-building activities. The event is free, but registration is required. You can register until November 16. Location and agenda information are also at the registration link.

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: Nov 13
Social hour: 5:30 pm
Business meeting: 6:30 pm (suspended for dinner when served)
Future meetings: Dec 11 (Continuity Dinner, special location, see above), Jan 8

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.

At publication time, there were no seminars scheduled for November.

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.

Nov 3
Nicholas Kanaan, Michigan State University
Bad news comes in threes: Pathogenic tau conformations, signaling dysregulation and cell toxicity

Nov 10
Cathy Cutler, University of Missouri–Columbia Research Reactor
TBA

Nov 17
Eric C Long, Indiana University/Purdue University–Indianapolis
Studies of DNA-Ligand Recognition & Structure: Groove Binders to Bleomycins

Dec 1
George W Gokel, University of Missouri–St Louis
TBA

Washington University

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

Nov 6
Alexander Statsyuk, Northwestern University
Chemical Tools to Study the Ubiquitin System

Nov 13
Chad Rienstra, University of Illinois
New Frontiers in Solid-State NMR of High Molecular Weight Complexes: α-Synuclein Fibrils and the Amphotericin-Sterol Sponge

Nov 20
Gary Patti, Washington University
TBA