The eighth year of Women in Chemistry (WiC) has been 
extremely successful, continually increasing the 
involvement of students in the organization, and WiC 
in the community.  The goals of WiC for 2005 included 
expanding and diversifying participation in WiC 
activities, continuing the extensive community 
outreach program, and building and supporting the 
womens network at MSU.  Participation in WiC 
acitivities was at an all time high, due in part to 
the success of the seminar series, "Things every 
scientist should know - outside the laboratory," 
which brought over 13 speakers to campus to disucss 
topics such as investments, healthy eating, and grant 
writing.  Wic continued their outreach program in 
2005 with coordinating the state chemistry laboratory 
event in the Michigan Science Olympiad, hosting and 
planning Chemistry Day at Impression V Science Center 
in Lansing, MI,hosting the second-annual Scout 
Chemistry Merit Badge Day at MSU, providing chemistry 
workshops at the annual Girls Math/Science 
Conference, and participating in the American Cancer 
Societys Making Strides against Breast Cancer for 
the third consecutive year.  Women in Chemistry also 
continued to build a supportive community within the 
women of the department of chemistry through hosting 
social activities including an end-of-the-semester 
potluck dinner, the annual welcome luncheon for 
incoming graduate students, and a holiday cookie 
exchange in December 2005.  WiC is proud of their 
accomplishments in 2005, and looks forward to future 
growth and success.
http://www.chemistry.msu.edu/acswic/index.html

This year, Women in Chemistry developed a seminar 
series entitled "Things Every Scientist Should Know  
Outside the Laboratory."  Throughout the years, WiC 
recognized that there were many situations and 
decisions that are encountered by scientists and all 
young professionals that come with entering the 
professional world after finishing their education.  
These issues are not necessarily covered in the 
traditional classroom education, yet are important 
for the young professional to face.  WiC designed 
this seminar series to provide a forum for these 
topics to be discussed, and created a casual 
educational setting for these "life lessons." 
Women in Chemistry designed the seminar series and 
invited over thirteen speakers to come to MSU to 
share their expertise in topics such as "Protecting 
your Intellectual Properties," "Conflict Resolution," 
and "Tips and Tools to Find Funding."  WiC applied 
for an ACS grant to support the seminar series, and 
gratefully acknowledges that the series would have 
been impossible to hold without their financial 
help.  The seminar series was held on Tuesday nights 
at MSU, and drew crowds of over 100 attendees 
comprised of undergraduate and graduate students from 
the Department of Chemistry, students from other 
scientific and non-scientific departments on campus, 
faculty, staff, and interested community member.
The seminar series was a huge success.  Evaluations 
received after each presentation contained the same 
message  this seminar series filled the gaps that a 
graduate education leaves in areas such as personal 
health, finances, and making your education work for 
you.  The opportunity to discuss topics of concern 
for young professionals allowed new connections to be 
made, and also served to increase the awareness of 
the presence and activities of the ACS WiC group at 
MSU.  This series was an innovative way to compliment 
the standard education of young sciences, and 
benefited scientists and non-scientists.

Women in Chemistry (WiC) sponsored the second-annual 
Chemistry Merit Badge Day in 2005.  This event allows 
boy scouts and girl scouts to come to the chemistry 
building at MSU to participate in a day of 
experiments and activites and earn a boy scout merit 
badge, or girl scout interest project patch (IPP) in 
chemistry.  WiC coordinated graduate and 
undergraduate student volunteers to run the 
experiments and made the event a success.  The day 
included a lecture on pollution and laboratory 
safety, experiments involving analytical, organic, 
inorganic, physical, and biological chemistries, 
poster presentations by the scouts, and a tour of the 
laser laboratory.
http://www.chemistry.msu.edu/acswic/outreach.html

YCC is a committee designed to enable all students 
interested in chemistry to interact within the 
science community and develop the skills needed to 
pursue a successful career in their chosen field. We 
provide opportunities for students to interact with 
each other and the community to promote the 
possibilities of science. In 2005 we had a very 
productive year. We provided an opportunity for 
community outreach with our participation in 
Chemistry Day activities at Impression 5 Science 
Museum and also participated in the US National 
Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO) program qualifying 
examination by proctoring both the written and 
laboratory examination components. YCC also held a 
donut and bagel fundraiser in the lobby of the MSU 
chemistry building to raise money for the victims of 
Hurricane Katrina. A total of $160.00 was donated to 
the American Red Cross on behalf of the MSU Chemistry 
Department. In addition, YCC became involved in the 
process of administering travel grants awarded to 
students in the MSU Chemistry Department to support 
chemical research/educational conferences. These 
grants are awarded by the MSU Local ACS section to 
promote the integration of younger chemists into the 
profession. An overwhelming number of travel grants 
were awarded this year with a total of 16 $100.00 and 
five $250.00 awards. We are looking forward to 
continuing our participation in these activities as 
well as becoming more actively involved in both the 
department and the community during the coming year

The MSU Local Section once again commemorated 
National
Chemistry Week with our 19th annual Chemistry Day
hands-on activity/demonstration event held from 10 am
to 3:30 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2005 at Impression
5 Science Center, a local science museum. This years
theme was The Joys of Toys.  

The total attendance for the event was over 1200
persons.  Admission to the museum was free, thanks to 
a
generous donation from MBI International, a Lansing
biotechnology firm. The event was publicized to the
general public through the local newspapers,
entertainment weeklies, and radio.  It was publicized
to the MSU community via a posting on the www.msu.edu
homepage and in the weekly printed news bulletin. A 
new
promotion this year was the display of a
high-resolution full color Chemistry Day Powerpoint
slide before science-themed movies at our local IMAX
Theatre. 

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.  As in the previous five
Chemistry Day events, any Boy or Girl Scout
participant received an embroidered Joy of Toys
patch.  Over 500 scouts received their patches for
visiting 10 demonstration stations.  The Scout patches
were purchased from the ACS through a generous 
donation
to the Local Section from the Two Men and a Truck
moving company. Each participant also received a NCW
activity newspaper, a Hooray for Chemistry bag, NCW
theme stickers, and a NCW helium balloon.
  
Thirty tables of hands-on activities, most consistent
with the Joy of Toys theme, were presented by
graduate and undergraduate students from the Michigan
State University Department of Chemistry, graduate
students from the MSU Forensic Science Department,
freshman honors chemistry students from the MSU Lyman
Briggs School of Science, undergraduates from the MSU
Chemical Engineering Department, representatives from
the MSU Chapter of NOBCChE (National Organization of
Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers), the MSU
student-led science outreach troupe Science Theater,
and several members of the Alpha Chi Sigma 
professional
chemistry fraternity. Two local high schools also sent
teams of student demonstrators. Demonstrator 
volunteers
received ACS pencils and a page-size Periodic Table of
the Elephants as tokens of appreciation.


Hands-on theme related activities included Cartesian
divers, Memory Metal, Slime polymer, Bubbles, Flarp
gas-releasing polymer putty, Drinking Birds, Magnetic
Molecular Models, Superconductivity, Invisible Ink,
Fingerprinting, Exploding Gummi Bears, Elephant
Toothpaste, Leaky Faucet, Indicator Chemistry, among
many others. 

The MSU Local Section Chemistry Day website is
located at:
http://www.chemistry.msu.edu/chemday/

In 2005, Women in Chemistry had the opportunity to 
write and proctor the Chemistry Lab portion of 
Science Olympiad at the State level.  The event was 
held on the campus of Michigan State University.  
This years topic consisted of "Oxidaiton and 
Reduction", and "Chemical Bonding."  WiC members 
designed the experiment, coordinated graduate and 
undergraduate student volunteers to run through the 
experiment, and proctored and graded the experiment.  
Participants included high school students from the 
State of Michigan who excelled in the regional 
Science Olympiad events.

Team: Professors Babak Borhan, Robert E. Maleczka, 
James E. Jackson, Milton R. Smith III, James H. 
Geiger, William D. Wulff and Greg Baker, and graduate 
assistant Marina Tanasova

Project SEED was started by the American Chemical 
Society in 1968 to provide a summer research 
experience in chemistry or a related field to 
economically disadvantaged high school students.  
Students are placed in academic, industrial, and 
government laboratories for eight to ten weeks during 
the summer to participate in hands-on research.  From 
past summer, Michigan State Universitys Department 
of Chemistry has joined the many other entities that 
have hosted Project SEED students.  Professor Babak 
Borhan, assisted by graduate student Marina Tanasova, 
supervised the recruiting and mentoring of students.  
Fliers and brochures were sent out to local high 
school science teachers with significant populations 
of economically disadvantaged students since the ACS 
requires the family income of each participating 
student to be no more than 200% of the Federal 
Poverty Guidelines for his/her family size.  Teachers 
with interested students responded and were sent an 
application designed by the MSU team.  Each 
application required a resume, a statement of 
interest, and a letter of recommendation from a 
science teacher.  This encouraged the students to 
highlight their talents as well as taught them 
important business skills for requesting 
recommendation letters and submitting applications.  
	Dr. Borhan enlisted the help of Robert E. 
Maleczka, James E. Jackson, Milton R. Smith III, 
James H. Geiger, William D. Wulff and Greg Baker to 
host Project SEED students.  Each professor was 
responsible for designing a research experiment 
suitable for a short-term project.  The projects from 
the past summer included engineering CRABP II into a 
Rhodopsin protein mimic, investigation of new metal-
catalyzed methods for organic synthesis, 
characterization of a new catalysts for the Heck C-C 
coupling, catalytic synthesis of Boronic esters via C-
H activation, structural studies of transcription 
complexes, aziridine synthesis and oxygen sensing via 
inorganic clusters in sol-gel matrices.
Seven students from East Lansing High School, Perry 
High School, St. Johns High School and Okemos High 
School were chosen to participate in the summer 2005 
program.  Four students were accepted as Summer I 
students and received $2275 each for the eight-week 
session.  Three Summer II students received $2600 
each for the session.  Funding was generously 
provided by the MSU Office of the Provost, the 
College of Natural Science, and the American Chemical 
Society.  All of the students were excited about the 
opportunity to participate in this program which 
began with a meeting to introduce them to each other 
and to their respective professors.  Meetings were 
held each week to allow the students to present their 
research as well as ask questions about various 
scientific issues, including working with graduate 
students and using laboratory equipment.  At each 
meeting, Professor Borhan and Mrs. Tanasova covered 
different topics in organic chemistry to help the 
students better understand their research and how it 
related to larger projects or industrial research.  
Project SEED students were responsible for 
maintaining a lab notebook and following appropriate 
laboratory safety procedures, as well as 
understanding their project and the chemistry it 
involved.  Each student had taken at least one 
chemistry class, but high school students generally 
have very little knowledge of organic chemistry, so 
it became the responsibility of the professors and 
their research assistants to ensure that the students 
had the necessary skills and knowledge to undertake 
their individual research projects.
At the end of the summer, all of the Project SEED 
students were required to present their research in 
the form of a formal paper of their research 
accomplishments from the summer.  This helped develop 
their scientific writing skills and ensured they 
understood the research they had performed.
Project SEED mentors are also encouraged to support 
their students with college and career counseling.  
In addition to discussions of the wide variety of 
jobs available to people with degrees in science, the 
Project SEED students attended a tour of Dow Chemical 
in Midland, Michigan (on most years, based on 
availability).  This tour allowed them to experience 
a large-scale industrial setting compared to their 
small-scale research laboratory, and also showed them 
the many different areas people with a chemistry 
degree may work.  They spoke with a Dow recruiter and 
were able to ask questions about interviewing, 
salaries, and differences in bachelor, masters, and 
Ph.D. degrees.  The Project SEED students also toured 
the MSU Cyclotron Facility, giving them the 
opportunity to witness another field of chemistry and 
see the different types of equipment that can be used 
for experiments.
All student participants from last summer enjoyed 
their Project SEED experience.  Some are now planning 
on attending college, and all Summer I students are 
interested in participating in Project SEED 2006 as 
Summer II students.  All of the students expressed 
interest in pursuing further studies in science. 
Plans are in progress to expand this program in the 
summer of 2006 to include other areas of the 
Chemistry Department and to increase the number of 
student participants.  An attempt is being made to 
target more local high schools and develop a network 
of teachers to promote this program to the students 
they feel would benefit most from this experience.

Women in Chemistry participated in the 16th Annual 
Girls Math/Science Conference held at Haslett High 
School.  WiC members presented two hands-on 
demonstrations entitled "Solving Murder with Makeup" 
and "How Hard is Water?" In "Solving Murder with 
Makeup", girls were able to compare different 
lipsticks from three lady suspects using thin layer 
chromatography.  From  the difference in the 
components of the lipsticks, the girls were able to 
solve the murder mystery.  In the hardness of water 
experiment, girls were able to determine the 
concentration of dissolved ions, such as calcium and 
magnesium, in water from several different sources to 
determine the quality of nearby bodies of water.  
Participants in both groups included young girls who 
had expressed an early interest in math or science. .

The MSU Local Section has been a participant in the 
US National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO) program for 
many years. In 2005, we hosted 35 students from East 
Lansing, Holt, Lansing Sexton, Okemos, Leslie, Perry, 
Fowlerville, and Stockbridge High Schools in the 
local section Chemistry Olympiad qualifying 
examination held in the MSU chemistry Building. The 
students took a multiple choice examination.
Several MSU faculty members served as proctors for the
written and laboratory examinations. Eight students
qualified to write the USNCO test, which was held at 
Michigan State University.

This year the MSU local section presented 
Oustanding College Student Awards and Travel Awards.

The college student awards are designed to recognize
excellence in preformance from undergraduate 
chemistry students
within our local ACS section. The following awards 
were given to MSU students in 2005:
Freshman Chemistry
Freshman Honors Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Physical Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry
Inorganic Chemistry
Robert Clark Kedzie Award for BS Chemistry Graduate
Robert Clark Kedzie Award for BA Chemistry Graduate

Awards were also given to students from other 
colleges in the local section.

Travel grants were also provided to assist 21
undergraduate and graduate students presenting 
research at technical meetings.

Organic Chemistry Club:
The ACS local section sponsors the organic chemistry
club held every Wednesday at Michigan State 
University.
The meeting is open to all members/students and is
generally represented by ~20 graduate students which
present papers and mechanistic problems to the group.
The ACS sponsors snack and beverages during this 
weekly event.

1. To enhance the professional development of our
section members.
2. To encourage and inspire young students to pursue
careers in the natural sciences, especially chemistry.
3. To provide a mechanism for informing/educating the
general public on chemical issues.
4. To initiate a mentoring program to expand our
outreach activities and support of minority students.
5. To organize our outreach activities at local 
schools
to match the goals of Kids and Chemistry program.

Assessment:
Through programs like Program SEED, the Organic 
Chemistry Clubs, Younger Chemists Committee, and 
Women in Chemistry, we have provided valuable
development services for our members. These 
organizations have provided information both on
technical expertise and contact development.

Goals 2 and 3 above have been addressed through 
several different programs for the general public and 
young students in particular. For example, "Chemistry 
Day at Impression 5" brought ~2600 people to hear 
about the contributions of chemistry to society and 
to see chemical demonstrations.  In addition, we have
initiated award programs to encourage excellence in
teaching and support science activities at local
highschools.

For minority students, the MSU local section is in 
its second year of participation in the ACS SEED 
program, which is designed for disadvantaged students 
to come to MSU over the summer to do research in 
faculty laboratories. Hopefully, through this program 
more minority and disadvantaged students will gain 
the interest and confidence to begin careers in the 
sciences.

Although improvement in our outreach activities at
local schools still needs improvement, we did have
significant programs involving area schools. For
example, several high schools participated in our
Chemistry Day activities, members gave demonstrations 
at area schools, WiC conducted hands-on workshops at 
the Girls Math Science Conference for 6th Grade 
Girls, and we continued participation in Chemistry 
Olympiad.

1. Continue to provide financial support for the 
broadrange of outstanding activities currently 
promoted
by the section.
2. Build on the continuing effort to involve the
broader membership who are not on the MSU campus in
local section activities.
3. Increase involvement of schools and the local
section membership with National Chemistry Week, Award
Programs and other activities which inform/educate the
general public on chemistry-related issues.

Assessment:
In the past year, we aided four students financially
in attending a National ACS Meeting. In addition, we
supported the WiC, Organic Chemistry Club, Science 
Theatre, and Younger
Chemists Committee in their activities. 

We continued to have contact with people outside of 
the Michigan State campus regarding activities 
through the newsletter. Several of our activities 
were attended by members off the MSU campus.

National Chemistry Week activities were very well
attended this year with ~2600 people coming to
"Chemistry Day at Impression 5" and 137 students doing
demonstrations. Many of the demonstrators were from
area high schools.

In addition highschool teach awards were initiated to
support exceptional teaching programs in our local
section. It should be noted that one of our previous
High school awardee was Ms Annis Hapkiewicz, who
recenlty received the prestigious ACS, James Byrant
Conant Award which was presented to her at the San
Diego National ACS meeting this year.

1. To enhance the professional development of our
section members.
2. To encourage and inspire young students to pursue
careers in the natural sciences, especially chemistry.
3. To provide a mechanism for informing/educating the
general public on chemical issues.
4. To initiate a mentoring program to expand our
outreach activities and support of minority students.
5. To increase the amount of career counseling 
available through the local section.

1. Continue to provide financial support for the 
broad
range of outstanding activities currently promoted by
the section.
2. Increase involvement of schools and the local
section membership with National Chemistry Week and
other activities which inform/educate the general
public on chemistry-related issues.
3. Encourage increased activity by K-12 teachers by
making them affiliate members of the local section.
4. Collaborate with other local sections.
5. Involve members of other professional societies 
such as AIChE.