AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

MICHIGAN  STATE  UNIVERSITY

LOCAL  SECTION

N e w s l e t t e r

Volume X, number 1                                                                                                         February 25, 2001

 

The American Chemical Society is the premier membership organization for chemists, chemical engineers, and allied professionals worldwide, number one chemical information provider, and leader in advancing the scientific literacy of students and the public's appreciation of chemistry.

 

 

 

 

New date to be announced

Saturday

“GLCCC Research Day”

 

April 1-5, 2001

221st ACS National Meeting

San Diego, CA

 

June 11-13, 2001

Joint Great Lakes/Central Region

ACS Meeting

Grand Rapids, MI

 

August 26-31, 2001

222nd ACS National Meeting

Chicago, IL

 

October 20, 2001 

Saturday 11:00 am-3:00 pm

"Chemistry Day at Lansing Mall"

 

November 4 – 10, 2001

NATIONAL CHEMISTRY WEEK

Theme: Chemistry and Art

 

November 8, 2001

Thursday 7:30 pm, Kresge Aud.

Public Lecture by

Karen Trentelman, Detroit Institute of Arts

 

Dr. PETER MOORE

2001 Max T. Rogers Lecturer

 

Dr. Peter Moore, Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemistry at Yale University, received his B.S. in Chemistry at Yale University (1961) and Ph.D. in Chemistry at Harvard University (1966).  After a post-doctoral fellowship at the Institute de Biologie Moleculaire, Geneva, Switzerland, he took a position at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, U.K.  He joined the faculty at Yale University in 1969.  Dr. Moore was a Guggenheim Fellow at the University of Oxford, UK 1979-80 and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences 1997.  His research is devoted to elucidating the role of ribonucleic acid (RNA) in gene expression using the techniques of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and X-ray crystallography to match RNA structure with function.   

       

LECTURE TOPICS

 

Monday, March 12, 2001

"Ribonucleoprotein Architecture: The Crystal Structure of the Large Ribosomal Subunit."

4:00 p.m., Room 138

Chemistry Building

Michigan State University

                                                   

Tuesday, March 13, 2001

"The Structural Basis of the Peptide Bond Forming of the Ribosome."

4:00 p.m., Room 138

Chemistry Building

Michigan State University

 

 

 

NATIONAL CHEMISTRY WEEK 2000

 

The ACS MSU Local Section once again ushered in National Chemistry Week (NCW) with our 14th annual “Chemistry Day in the Mall.”  It was held from 11 am – 3 pm on Saturday, October 21, 2000 at the Lansing Mall and the theme was Kitchen Chemistry.  For the first time, Chemistry Day was an event in the Capital Area Girl Scout activity brochure.  Leaders pre-registered and brought troops to the mall where the girls earned a specially designed commemorative patch by participating in the activities.  Over 300 Girl Scouts in 48 troops from 15 different communities in the greater Lansing area attended in Chemistry Day and earned patches (over 100 non-Scouts did, too!).   Hands-on activities and chemical demonstrations were presented at 40 tables by over 120 demonstrators including MSU students in Science Theatre, Chemistry Club, National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), Food Science Club, Lyman Briggs College, and ACS Women in Chemistry and by students from St. Johns High School, Perry High School, and Mount Hope Elementary School.  New this year, a free raffle was held.  Cool chemistry items including periodic table mugs, NCW tee shirts, element pins, Milli Moles, and ACS Moles were raffled off each hour.   Over 700 helium balloons and hundreds of “Be a Michigan State Chemist” buttons, copies of “Get Cooking With Chemistry”, NCW lapel stickers, periodic tables, and Nan O Moles were given away.  To emphasize the need for safety, all demonstrators received goggles with the MSU Spartan logo to use during the event and to take home as a “thank you” for their participation.  By all accounts a great time was had by all!   

 

Chemistry Club, the MSU Student Affiliate of the ACS, actively promoted NCW and its Kitchen Chemistry theme this year.  In addition to being excellent presenters during “Chemistry Day at the Lansing Mall”, they sponsored two other NCW events.  The first was a panel discussion “Issues in Food Chemistry” co-sponsored with the Informed Student Alliance.  Speakers Professor Gale Strasburg and Professor Zeynep Ustunol of the MSU Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition presented information about the chemical changes that occur during cooking and in the preparation of dairy products such as cheese and yogurt.  Issues such as the use of chemistry to alter foods were also discussed.  Chemistry Club members also participated in the ACS unifying event:  “Chemists Reacting to Hunger” community food drive.  Food collection bins were placed in campus building and the food collected was donated to food pantries in Lansing. 

 

NATIONAL CHEMISTRY WEEK 2001

 

We’re already making plans for NCW 2001! In keeping with 2001 theme: Chemistry and Art, Dr. Karen Trentelman, Associate Research Scientist in the Conservation Laboratory at the Detroit Institute of Arts, will give a presentation on Thursday, November 8 at the MSU Kresge Art Museum.

 

The 15th annual Chemistry Day at the Mall will be held on Saturday, October 20.  MSU faculty, staff, and students, local area schools and businesses will have chemistry-related hands-on activities and chemical demonstrations that are entertaining (and educational!).  Please come and join us for the fun! Contact Kathy Severin (severin@cem.msu.edu), local section coordinator for National Chemistry Week 2001, for more information.  Look for more information about these events in subsequent newsletters.

 

 

 

 

 

MSU LOCAL SECTION 50-YEAR MEMBERS

 

The Local Section is pleased to recognize Dr. Jim Dye, Dr. Harry Eick, Mr. John Morton, Dr. Clarence Suelter, and Mr. Floyd Young as they celebrate their 50th year of membership with the American Chemical Society.

 

GLCCC RESEARCH DAY

 

The Great Lakes College Chemistry Conference Research Day is an opportunity for undergraduate students in chemistry and chemistry-related fields to present their research to their peers and to the chemistry community, and to learn about what other undergraduates are doing in chemistry. Students from twenty-five to thirty Great Lakes area colleges and universities gather for this one-day program to present their research in poster sessions, to attend workshops on modern research techniques, and to hear a plenary lecture.  The upcoming 11th Annual Career Day will be held during this Spring semester.  On-line registration will be available soon on the GLCCC website http://www.cem.msu.edu/~glccc.  For more information, please contact Dr. Evelyn Jackson, GLCCC Career Day, Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI  48824, 517-355-9715 ext. 341, glccc@cem.msu.edu.

 

 

ACS STRATEGIC PLAN

 

As a professional society, the ACS has much to offer its members and customers.   In light of its stewardship role as the leading provider of chemistry-related information and services, the ACS periodically reviews its strategic plan to remain at the forefront of the latest scientific, technological, and business developments.  A new 2001-2003 Strategic Plan for the ACS has been developed, which challenges the Society to assess to what extent individual needs are changing, how innovative used of the internet can accelerate programs, and how international the reach of program services should be.  The new Strategic Plan is posted on the web at:  http://www.acs.org/acsinfo/strategicplan2001.pdf

 

 

Joint Great Lakes/Central Region ACS Meeting

 

The 33rd Central/Great Lakes Joint Regional Meeting, "2001:  A Grand Chemical Odyssey", will be held from Monday, June 11 to Wednesday, June 13, 2001, in Grand Rapids, MI.  The meeting, hosted by the Kalamazoo and Western Michigan Sections, will be held at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel located on the bank of the Grand River in the heart of the business and entertainment district.  The meeting will feature key symposia in Education, Food and Agricultural Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and Polymer Chemistry.

 

Oral and poster papers from all areas of chemistry are welcome; abstracts are due before March 1, 2001. Electronic submission is preferred.  Please contact the program chairs, or visit the website, for additional information:  Dr. Dawn Merritt, (616) 833-2382, dawn.a.merritt@am.pnu.com, or Dr. Mike Silver, (616) 395-7636, silver@hope.edu.

 

Special events planned for the meeting include several short courses, an Opening Evening Reception, an undergraduate poster session, a Women Chemist's luncheon, the High School Chemistry Teacher Awards presentation and banquet, a Student Affiliates and Undergraduates program, an Employment Clearinghouse, and an exhibition of scientific equipment, products and services.

 

 

LOCAL SECTION TRAVEL GRANTS

 

The MSU Local Section has limited funds available to provide travel support to chemical research/educational conferences.  Travel grants up to $250.00 may be awarded to individuals who are members of the MSU Local Section or the local K-12 science education community and have a paper accepted at a conference sanctioned by the American Chemical Society.  An application form for travel support is available at http://www.cem.msu.edu/~msuacs/tgrants.html.  Applications will be reviewed by MSU Local Section board members in May and December each year.  Please contact Paul Mantica, 517-333-6456 or e-mail mantica@msu.edu for more information.

 

 

ACS WOMEN IN CHEMISTRY

 

It has been a busy semester thus far for ACS-WiC.  We held a spring kick-off meeting in January, and collected many new ideas for future programs.  On February 21, Rhonda Bokram, a nutritionist from Olin Health Center, met with WiC and gave an informal talk about nutrition.  She talked with us about general nutrition and the truth about fad diets.  On Wednesday, March 21 Dr. Jim Wiggins from the Department of Finance will present a seminar on the basics of investing.  Also in March, WiC will attend the St. Thomas Aquinas Science Fair to perform chemical demonstrations for the students and their families.  Early in the month of February, WiC members conducted hands-on activities for community children during the Science Day at the Meridian Mall.  As for future activities, we plan to host an event focused on alternative careers in chemistry.  For more information about our organization or about upcoming events, please check out our website at: http://www.cem.msu.edu/~acswic.

 

 

YOUNGER CHEMIST COMMITEE (YCC)

 

On Tuesday, March 13, The Younger Chemist Committee of the MSU Local Section will present a panel discussion entitled "Preparing for a Career in Academia."  If you are interested in a career in academia, you will want to attend!  Faculty from a large research university, a small liberal arts university, and a community college will be on hand to discuss what it's like to work in academia, as well as how to prepare for a career in academia.  This panel discussion will be held in Room 329 of the Chemistry Building, Michigan State University at 6:00 p.m.  If you are interested in a career in academia, be sure to attend! For more information contact Jim Ciszewski YCC Chair, Chemistry Department, MSU, ciszewsk@cem.msu.edu,  355-9715 x-172.

 

 

WOMEN CHEMIST COMMITTEE TRAVEL AWARDS

 

The Women Chemist Committee of the ACS is calling for applications for Travel Awards for post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate women to make their first research presentation at a national meeting.  Eli Lilly & Company sponsor these awards.  More information and an application form can be found at http://membership.acs.org/W/WCC/ or contact Cheryl Brown at 800-227-5558 ext. 6022.  Deadlines for receipt of applications for 2001 meetings:  September 15, 2001 – Meetings between January 1, 2001 & June 30, 2002

 

 

MSU ACS LOCAL SECTION OFFICERS 2000-2001

 

 

Chairperson:

Dr. Paul F. Mantica

517-355-9672  ext. 456, fax:   517-353-5967

e-mail:  mantica@nscl.msu.edu 

Chair-Elect:

Dr. Aaron Odom

517-355-9715  ext. 171, fax:  517-353-1793

e-mail: odoma@msu.edu

Secretary:                   

Dr. Holly Bevsek

517-353-4763  ext. 372, fax:

e-mail:  bevsek@msu.edu

Treasurer:                  

Dr. Robert Maleczka

517-355-9715  ext. 124, fax:   517-353-1793

e-mail:  maleczka@cem.msu.edu

Councilor:                  

Dr. Kathryn Severin

517-355-9715  ext. 372, fax:   517-353-1793

e-mail:  severin@cem.msu.edu

Alternate Councilor:

Dr. Susan J. Masten

517-353-8539, fax:   517-432-1827

e-mail:  masten@cee.msu.edu

Past-Chairperson:                 

Dr. John L. McCracken

517-355-9715  ext. 229, fax:   517-353-1793

e-mail:  mccracke@msu.edu

 

 

Inside:

Local Section National Chemistry Week Celebration

GLCCC Research Day

33Rd Central/Great Lakes Regional Meeting

Local Section Travel Grants

WCC Travel Awards

ACS Women in Chemistry (WiC)

Younger Chemist Committee (YCC)

 

Dr. Dalila Kovacs, Newsletter Editor

MSU ACS Local Section

Department of Chemistry

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI  48824-1322