CHEMISTRY DAY AT IMPRESSION 5 – Kathy Severin

Though the event was open to the public, Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops were specifically invited to pre-register and attend by publicizing the event through the local councils.Any scout attending received a specially-designed Participation Patch illustrating the theme “Earth’s Atmosphere and Beyond!” This is the fourth year we’ve done this.The total scout attendance was 660, including 316 Boy Scouts and 344 Girl Scouts.In addition, 220 other children participated, each earning a patch.

Thirty tables of hands-on activities, most consistent with the theme, were presented by students from the Michigan State University Department of Chemistry including members of NOBCChE, ACS Women in Chemistry, the Younger Chemists Committee, Alpha Sigma Chi, and Science Theatre; by employees of the Board of Water and Light and MBI International; and by students from Okemos, Perry, and Eaton Rapids High Schools.Theme related activities included the CO₂ leaky faucet, H₂ pipette rockets, observation of line spectra (each participant received a diffraction grating card to take home), collapsing pop can, Cartesian divers, Bernoulli principle demonstrations, hero’s fountain in a bottle, and the tornado tube.

In addition to the participation patch, each participant received a “Periodic Table of the Elements”, an NCW activity newspaper, a “Hooray for Chemistry” bag, and an NCW helium balloon.

The event was publicized through the local scout councils, by articles appeared in the Lansing State Journal, the Towne Courier community newspaper, The State News, and the MSU News Bulletin.Radio and television public service announcements were made and the week before the event it was listed on the Michigan State University homepage.The event was covered on local television by CBS affiliate WLNS-TV.

To see pictures of the event visit the local section website: http://www.cem.msu.edu/~msuacs.

LOCAL SECTION ANNUAL REPORTS

The MSU Local Section is required by ACS bylaws to submit an annual report. The report details the activities of the local section, as well as goals for the coming year. The MSU Local Section annual reports, dating back to 2000, are now posted on the local section website: http://www.cem.msu.edu/~msuacs/annrept.html.

ACS WOMEN IN CHEMISTRY (WiC) – Anne Fischer and Prerna Sonthalia

The ACS Women in Chemistry (ACSWiC) program at Michigan State University, now in its seventh year, has had an eventful and activity-packed year including workshops, “Meet the Speaker” events, and outreach activities. The focus of our organization this past year was the promotion of science in the community. In October, we held an analytical instrumentation workshop for Okemos high school students to expose them to state of the art instrumentation in analytical chemistry laboratories at MSU. Our presentations at Chemistry Day at Impression 5 Science Center during National Chemistry Week (NCW), also in October, were a success.Activities included a hands-on experiment with “hydrogen – oxygen pipet rockets” as part of the NCW theme, “The Earth’s Atmosphere and Beyond”. At the Girls’ Math and Science Conference held in February, sixth-grade girls determined “How Hard is Water” with the help of WiC volunteers. Also in February, in collaboration with Alpha Chi Sigma, we organized and hosted the first annual Scout Chemistry Merit Badge Day.Fifty girl and boy scouts were able to complete the requirements for Interest Project Patches and chemistry merit badges, respectively, through a variety of hands-on experiments, career discussions, and a poster session.As always, we plan to end the semester with our annual potluck party.

Anne Fischer and Prerna Sonthalia are the 2003-2004 WCC co-chairs.Other members of the steering committee are Leslie Passeno, Soheila Vaezeslami, Elizabeth Croal, and Melissa Meaney.Our advisor is Dr. Kathy Severin.

For more information about ACSWiC or to find out about upcoming events, visit us on the web at http://www.cem.msu.edu/~acswic/acswic.html.

YOUNGER CHEMISTS COMMITTEE (YCC) – Emily McKimmy

Those interested in attending the free workshop should email Emily McKimmy mckimmye@msu.edu.The registration deadline is March 26.

CHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD QUALIFYING EXAM – Greg Baker

On March 11, 82 high school students from Fowlerville, Haslett, Holt, Okemos, Perry, St. Johns, Stockbridge, and Waverly participated in the first round of the selection process for the US National Chemistry Olympiad team.Based on the first round results, 8 students will be nominated for the second round of competition, to be held at MSU on Friday April 16.Upon completion of the second round, twenty students from across the US will be invited to attend a study camp at the US Air Force Academy.There they will prepare for the International competition to be held in Kiel, Germany this summer.For more information about the Chemistry Olympiad, see:

http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/acsdisplay.html?DOC=education\student\olympiad.html

BYLAWS UPDATE – Greg Baker

The current bylaws of the MSU local section date back to 1977, and were in great need for modernization.A subcommittee reviewed the current bylaws last summer, suggested modifications, and presented an updated version to the Executive committee during the Fall 2003 semester.The updated bylaws have been submitted to the ACS to ensure that the updates are in line with current ACS bylaws.Once reviewed by the ACS, the new bylaws will be presented to the local section membership for approval.

AWARDS ACTIVITY

The local section has nominated Sheldon Knoespel for the Helen C. Free Award for Public Outreach.The local section has also resubmitted our nomination of Annis Hapkiewicz for the James Bryant Conant High School Chemistry Teaching Award.As noted earlier in the newsletter, the recipients of undergraduate awards sponsored by the local section will be recognized before the lecture by Michael Doyle to be held during the spring local section meeting on April 29, 2004.Further information on local section awards can be obtained by contacting Dr. Jetze Tepe, Awards Committee Chair tepe@cem.msu.edu.

MIDWEST THEORY CONFERENCE

The 36^th annual Midwest Theory Conference will be held at Michigan State University June 17-19, 2004.The conference brings together faculty and students working in the broadly defined area of theoretical and computational chemistry.Over 150 scientists are expected to attend the conference, which will be held at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center on the MSU campus.The MSU Local Section is a proud sponsor of this event, and will provide some travel support funds for graduate students making presentations at the meeting.More information is available by contacting Prof. Piotr Piecuch, Conference Organizer, piecuch@cem.msu.edu.

LOCAL SECTION NEWSLETTER CHANGES

To help defray printing and distributing costs, we are now distributing the local section newsletter via electronic means to all local section members with e-mail addresses.If you are receiving a paper copy and would like to receive your newsletter in electronic format, please send your email to Kris Chan, MSU Local Section Secretary, (krischan@egr.msu.edu) who will update the newsletter distribution list.

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.The application form for travel support is available at http://www.cem.msu.edu/~msuacs/tgrants.html.

NOBEL CONNECTIONS

Emeritus Professor Hans Lillevik (88) was a special guest of the 3M company at a reception held in honor of 2003 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.The reception was held February 24, at 3M corporate headquarters in Maplewood, MN.Peter Agre, MD (54) is professor of biological chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.The Royal Academy of Sciences recognized Agre for his work in molecular and cellular analysis of the aquaporin water channels.

In Sweden, Agre thanked all the science teachers who encourage young scientists.His father, the late Dr. Courtland Agree was a biochemistry professor at Augsburg College.Dr. Courtland Agree and Dr. Lillevik were colleagues at 3M and fellow Chemistry graduate students at the University of Minnesota in the 1940's, who remained lifelong friends.Dr. Lillevik joined the MSC Chemistry Dept. in 1946, from which formed the

Biochemistry Department. He retired from MSU in 1981.

VIRTUAL TEXTBOOK OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

The virtual textbook of organic chemistry, written by MSU Emeritus Professor William Reusch, recently received favorable press in Science (Vol 303, p 1115). For those interested in learning more about the project, the textbook website can be found at: 

http://www.cem.msu.edu/~reusch/VirtualText/intro1.htm.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

The MSU Local Section is always looking for people to share a little time. Additional information regarding Local Section activities may be accessed through our website: http://www.cem.msu.edu/~msuacs. We encourage you to take part in the variety of educational and outreach activities sponsored by the MSU Local Section. 

 MSU ACS LOCAL SECTION OFFICERS 2003-2004.