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The One Hundred and Fifth Presentation of the Willard Gibbs Medal (Founded by William A

The One Hundred and Fifth Presentation of the Willard Gibbs Medal (Founded by William A

Chicago Section

http://chicagoacs.org MAY • 2016

THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH PRESENTATION OF THE WILLARD GIBBS MEDAL (FOUNDED BY WILLIAM A. CONVERSE) TO PROFESSOR LAURA KIESSLING SPONSORED BY THE CHICAGO SECTION OF THE AMERICAN FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2016

Meridian Banquets 1701 Algonquin Road Rolling Meadows, IL 60008 847-952-8181

DIRECTIONS TO THE MEETING

From Chicago: Take I-90 west to Arlington Heights Road. Exit north to the first , Algonquin Rd., Route 62, turn left/west and travel to Meridian Banquets on the left.

From I-294 North/South Take I-294 north or south to the I-90 junction near O’Hare. Travel west on I-90 and follow the directions above.

From I-290/I-355/Route 53: Travel north past I-90 as 355 turns into 53. Exit Algonquin Rd., Rt. 62 east and go to Meridian Banquets on the right.

ON-SITE PARKING: Free

Dr. Laura Kiessling, Steenbock IN THIS ISSUE Professor of , Laurens Anderson Professor of Biochemistry, 2 Kiessling Biography 5 A Company You Should Know Director of the Keck Center for Chemical 2 Menu 6 ChemShorts Genomics, University of Wisconsin - 2 Calendar 6 Fran Kravitz Wins Boy Scout of Madison 3 America Silver Beaver Award 3 Micron Analytical Services 6 Report of the ACS Council Chemical Probes of Immunity and 4 Someone You Should Know 7 -Vac Products Tolerance 4 Volunteers Needed For State Fair (continued on page 2) (continued from page 1) DINNER MENU The Chicago Section’s The Citation – For pioneering research • Cream of Tomato Basil with Bleu in chemical biology, including insights e-mail address Cheese into intercellular communication in is • Meridian Salad bacteria and eukaryotes and elucidation [email protected] • Wine of carbohydrate-mediated cell-surface • Choice of entree: interactions. o Roast Top Sirloin of Beef with rosemary merlot sauce o Fresh Broiled Norwegian Salmon Abstract: with dill sauce o Portobello Mushroom with zucchini Design principles for compounds that selectively augment immune responses (vac- • Green Beans Almondine cines) or mitigate them (treatments for autoimmune diseases) would be transforma- • Duchess Potato tive. Such principles have been elusive because many immune system receptors • Hot Fudge Brownie with Vanilla Ice (e.g., the B cell receptor) can transmit signals that lead to either immunity or tolerance. Cream and Hot Fudge Sauce A molecular understanding of how to control B cell signaling could enhance our ability to design carbohydrate-based vaccines. New synthetic methods have emerged that Cash Bar can be applied to exert extraordinary control over antigen structure, and these meth- ods provide the opportunity to elucidate how this structure influences signal output. The cost is $50 to Section members Specifically, features of an antigen’s structure (e.g., valency, size, affinity, co-receptor who have paid their local section dues, binding) can be altered to optimize its function. We are using living polymerization members’ families, and visiting ACS strategies to generate polymers and nanoparticles that function as antigens. This pre- members. The cost to members who sentation will focus on our recent results in synthesizing and elucidating the features have NOT paid their local section dues of antigens that activate targeted immune signaling pathways. and to non-members is $52. Dinner reservations are required and should be received in the Section Office via phone (847-391-9091), email (chi- THE MEDALIST: [email protected]) or website (http://chicagoacs.org/meetinginfo. Dr. Kiessling received her undergraduate training in Chemistry at the Massachu- php?id=109&ts=1460244101) by noon setts Institute of Technology. There she conducted undergraduate research in organic on Monday, May 16. PLEASE HONOR synthesis with Professor Bill Roush. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Yale YOUR RESERVATIONS. The Section University where she worked with Stuart L. Schreiber on the synthesis of anti-tumor must pay for all dinner orders. No-shows natural products. Her postdoctoral training at the Institute of Technology will be billed. in the research group of Peter B. Dervan led her to explore the recognition of duplex DNA through triple helix formation. She began her independent career in the Depart- ment of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1991. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Acad- May 7: The Marie S. Curie Girl Scout emy of Microbiology, and National Academy of Sciences. Laura’s honors and awards Chemistry Day program at College of include a Guggenheim Fellowship, an ACS Frances P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal, a Lake County, Grayslake. See details in Harrison-Howe Award, an Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, the Hudson Award in Car- this issue. bohydrate Chemistry, the Alfred Bader Award in Bioorganic or Bioinorganic Chemistry, and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. She is also the founding editor-in-chief of May 14: STEAM Conference, North- ACS Chemical Biology. eastern Illinois University. http://www. Her interdisciplinary research interests focus on elucidating and exploiting the mech- steamconf.org/ anisms of cell surface recognition processes, especially those involving protein-glycan interactions. Another major research interest is multivalency and its role in recognition, May 20: Chicago Section ACS Wil- signal transduction, and direction of cell fate. lard Gibbs Award Banquet. Dr. Laura Kiessling, University of Wisconsin, Madi- son, is the recipient of the 2016 Willard Gibbs Medal. See details in this issue.

RECEPTION WITH HORS D’OEUVRES 6:00 - 7:00 P.M. May 28: Chicago Section Scholarship Cash Bar Exam at North Central College. See de- tails in this issue. DINNER 7:00 - 8:30 P.M. August 11-21: The Illinois State Fair in ACS AWARD CEREMONY 8:30 - 8:45 P.M. Springfield. Come volunteer at the ACS booth. http://chicagoacs.org/Illinois_ • A History of the Willard Gibbs Award by State_Fair Mary Jo Boldingh, Chicago Section Chair • Introduction of Professor Kiessling by August 21-25: The 252nd National ACS Thomas O’Halloran, Northwestern University Meeting in . The theme will • Presentation of the Gibbs Medal be “Chemistry Of The People, By The People, For The People.” See details GIBBS AWARD LECTURE BY PROFESSOR KIESSLING 8:45 – 9:45 P.M. at http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/ meetings/fall-2016.html?cid=home_ NETWORKING 9:45 P.M. – meetings WILLARD GIBBS AWARD MEDALISTS 1963 Paul D. Bartlett 1964 Izaak M. Kolthoff The Willard Gibbs Award, has been 1911 Svante Arrhenius 1965 Robert S. Mulliken presented by the Chicago Section of 1912 Theodore William Richards 1966 Glenn T. Seaborg the American Chemical Society since 1913 Leo H. Baekeland 1967 Robert Burns Woodward 1910. It was founded by William A. 1914 1968 Converse (1862-1940), a former 1915 Arthur Amos Noyes 1969 Gerhard Herzberg Chairman and Secretary of the 1916 Willis R. Whitney 1970 Frank H. Westheimer Chicago Section and named for Professor 1917 Edward W. Morley 1971 Henry Taube Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839-1903) of Yale 1918 William M. Burton 1972 John T. Edsall University. Gibbs, whose with 1919 William A. Noyes 1973 Paul John Flory Maxwell and Boltzmann developed 1920 F. G. Cottrell 1974 the field of Statistical and 1921 Mme. Marie Curie 1975 Herman F. Mark is known to millions of undergraduates 1922 no award 1976 Kenneth S. Pitzer for Gibbs Free (developed in 1923 1977 1933), as he solved the question of the 1924 Gilbert N. Lewis 1978 W. O. Baker maximum amount of work that can 1925 1979 E. Bright Wilson be done by a system on the universe 1926 Sir James Colquhoun Irvine 1980 Frank Albert Cotton during a change in state of the system 1927 John Jacob Abel 1981 Bert Lester Vallee (ΔGsys=-TΔSunv) and ultimately the 1928 William Draper Harkins 1982 more familiar ΔG=ΔH-TΔS. 1929 Claude Silbert Hudson 1983 John D. Roberts The purpose of the award is “To pub- 1930 1984 Elias J. Corey licly recognize eminent who, 1931 Phoebus A. Levene 1985 Donald J. Cram through years of application and devo- 1932 Edward Curtis Franklin 1986 Jack Halpern tion, have brought to the world devel- 1933 Richard Willstätter 1987 Allen J. Bard opments that enable everyone to live 1934 Harold Clayton Urey 1988 Rudolph A. Marcus more comfortably and to understand this 1935 Charles August Kraus 1989 Richard B. Bernstein world better.” Gibbs was chosen to be 1936 1990 Richard N. Zare the model for the award as an outstand- 1937 Herbert Newby McCoy 1991 Günther Wilke ing example of creativity in scientific in- 1938 Robert R. Williams 1992 Harry B. Gray vestigation. Medalists are selected by a 1939 Donald Dexter Van Slyke 1993 Peter B. Dervan national jury of twelve eminent chemists 1940 Vladimir Ipatieff 1994 M. Frederick Hawthorne from different disciplines elected by the 1941 Edward A. Doisy 1995 Sir John Meurig Thomas Chicago Section ACS Board. The nomi- 1942 Thomas Midgley, Jr. 1996 nee must be a who, because 1943 Conrad A. Elvehjem 1997 Carl Djerassi of the preeminence of their work in and 1944 George O. Curme, Jr. 1998 Mario J. Molina contribution to pure or applied chemistry, 1945 Frank C. Whitmore 1999 Lawrence F. Dahl is deemed worthy of special recognition. 1946 2000 Nicholas Turro Mr. Converse supported the award per- 1947 Wendell M. Stanley 2001 Tobin J. Marks sonally for a number of years, and then 1948 Carl F. Cori 2002 Ralph Hirschmann established a fund for it in 1934 that had 1949 Peter J. W. Debye 2003 John I. Brauman subsequently been supported by the 1950 Carl S. Marvel 2004 Dearborn Division of W.R. Grace & Co. 1951 William Francis Giauque 2005 David A. Evans Considerable contributions to the award 1952 William C. Rose 2006 Jacqueline K. Barton have also been made by J. Fred Wilkes 1953 Joel H. Hildebrand 2007 Sylvia T. Ceyer and his wife. The award consists of an 1954 Elmer K. Bolton 2008 Carolyn R. Bertozzi eighteen-carat gold medal having, on 1955 2009 Louis Brus one side, the bust of J. Willard Gibbs, 1956 Vincent du Vigneaud 2010 Maurice Brookhart for whom the medal was named. On the 1957 W. Albert Noyes, Jr. 2011 Robert G. Bergman reverse is a laurel wreath and an inscrip- 1958 Willard F. Libby 2012 Mark A. Ratner tion containing the recipient’s name. 1959 Hermann I. Schlesinger 2013 Charles M. Lieber Most of the awardees that you see be- 1960 George B. Kistiakowsky 2014 John E. Bercaw low are familiar to chemists regardless of 1961 Louis Plack Hammett 2015 John F. Hartwig specialty. This fame may result from later 1962 recognition, including, in many cases, the Nobel Prize, or the reason may be that textbooks have permanently associ- ated many of these names with classic reactions or theories.

PAUL BRANDT

Register ONLINE for Chicago Section monthly meetings https://chicagoacs.starchapter.com/ meet-reg1.php?id=107 second position was with Joliet Junior SOMEONE YOU SHOULD May, 2016 Vol. 103, No. 5. Pub- College as an instructor for two years. KNOW lished by the Chicago Section of Susan took a break from teaching and The American Chemical Society, returned eight years later as an adjunct Editorial Staff: Paul Brandt, Editor; at the College of DuPage. She worked Ken Fivizzani, Proofreader. Address: her way up to become a full professor 1400 Renaissance Dr., Suite 312, and coordinator of the chemistry pro- Park Ridge, Illinois 60068; 847/391- gram and retired 27 years later in 2008. 9091. Subscription rates: $15 per Susan’s passion is being in the class- year. Frequency: monthly-Septem- room and the lab. She finds interactions ber through June. with students challenging but rewarding. She modernized the laboratory experi- VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR ence in general chemistry and eliminat- ed “cookbook” labs. THE ILLINOIS STATE FAIR Ms. Shih has been a member of the SCIENCE TENT ACS for 52 years. She joined as a stu- dent affiliate while earning her The 2016 Illinois State Fair is just around degree. Susan has served on many the corner and WE NEED YOU! Illinois Chicago Section committees and vol- Local Sections of the ACS will have a unteered for Chemistry Week, the Boy Chemistry Tent in Conservation World Scout Chemistry Merit Badge program, at the Illinois State Fair. This will be our the Marie Curie Girl Scout Chemistry 13th year for this community outreach Day program including authoring a chap- project. The Illinois State Fair is sched- ter in the chemistry booklet given out uled from Friday, August 12 through Susan Shih is someone we all know. during that program and served on the Sunday, August 21. She is a regular at most Chicago IL State Fair Committee during its early Our tent provides information to the Section Monthly Dinner meetings and years. She serves regionally as a mem- public on chemistry by way of demos, an integral part of the board and the ber of the Great Lakes Regional Board hands-on activities, literature and give- Section office. I first met Susan when we and chaired it for two years. Nationally, aways. Last year, we had over 17,000 co-chaired the 2001 National ACS meet- she serves on SOCED and served on people come through our tent. WE ing host committee. She is a warm and the Two Year College Advisory Board. CAN’T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU! friendly individual who is always on the She has also been a long member We are looking for volunteers to help us go. Susan chaired the Section in 2002- of DIVCHED and currently serves on at this year’s fair. This is a very reward- 2003 and is currently one of the ten two of its committees. ing activity and a chance to meet new Chicago Section’s Councilors, chair of Susan married a few years after gradu- colleagues from other Sections while the Office Affairs Committee and chair of ate school and has two grown children. reaching out to the public. We need dem- the Great Lakes Regional Meeting Com- Her daughter has a degree in Math with onstrators, individuals willing to help with mittee. Computer Science as well as an MBA in hands-on activities and individuals who Susan was born in Melrose, International Business and works as a are a “jack of all trades”. Come for a shift Massachusetts which is a suburb of consultant on financial IT issues. Her son or for the day or participate for several Boston. Her father was a sales execu- has a degree in English and does PR days. Parking and admission to the fair tive with an A.B. in the classics and for a health related non-profit. Besides is FREE for volunteers who participate. her mother was a stay-at-home mom. chemistry, her passions include reading, There are nearby reasonably priced ho- Susan has three sisters and a brother. travel and gardening. I can attest to the tels, motels & campgrounds for accom- The science bug was genetic with fact that she has a beautiful yard. Most modations during the fair. her mother’s father and sister being a of us don’t know that Susan has rafted Please contact either Fran Kravitz at physician and her mother earning an down the Grand Canyon twice. She also [email protected] or Milt Leven- A.B. in chemistry. Susan’s uncle is also volunteers at a local food pantry and a berg at [email protected] if you a chemist. non-profit foundation raising funds for a are interested in more information on Ms. Shih was inspired by a female high congregation in Tanzania. this fun, rewarding and challenging op- school chemistry teacher to become a I asked Susan who she might want to portunity. You may also register soon, di- chemist. She earned an A.B. in chemistry, have lunch with, dead or alive. She chose rectly on line at http://chicagoacs.net/ cum laude, from Rosemont College just Hiram Bingham. He revealed Machu statefair/volunteers.html. Registration outside of Philadelphia. Susan went on to Picchu to the world in the early 1900s. opens May 1 for volunteers. earn a M.S. in Inorganic Chemistry from She confessed that she would love to talk Thank you in advance for helping us Ohio State University. Her thesis was on to him about his discovery. It is interesting make this program a continued suc- tin complexes with acetlyacetonate. She that this relates to her passion of travel. cess!!! also completed an additional 150 credit She also noted that she would have be- hours beyond her master’s degree. come an archeologist if her undergraduate Fran Kravitz ([email protected]) Susan’s first position was as an in- school had a major in archeology. That is a Milt Levenberg (milt22a@chicagoacs. structor at Roosevelt University where loss to the world of archeology but a gain net) Co-Chairs of the Illinois Sections of her responsibilities included teaching for us that she chose chemistry. the ACS State Fair Project as well as lab supervision of students. Susan’s final words of wisdom to all of She developed a course for non-science us are to find a position where you really majors while at Roosevelt University. Her enjoy the chemistry that you do. Fran Kravitz

CALL THE SECTION OFFICE AT 847-391-9091TO RECEIVE GREAT CHEMICAL BULLETIN ADVERTISING VALUES A COMPANY YOU point where water is consumed, at the mance characteristics should be verified tap, and is considered a Final Barrier of by tests conducted under established SHOULD KNOW protection. POU technology includes test procedures and water analysis. activated carbon, ion exchange resins, Thereafter, the resulting water should be The Water Quality Association membranes (reverse osmosis, nano-, monitored periodically to verify contin- (WQA) is a not-for-profit association for ultra-, and micro-filtration), UV light de- ued performance. the residential commercial, and indus- vices, ozone, distillation, and other spe- Product certification helps ensure pub- trial water treatment industry. WQA rep- cialty or selective media. The WQA ad- lic safety of products being used and resents more than 2,700 member com- vocates the Final Barrier as a proactive sold in households and community wa- panies around the globe, including large risk management tool for the protection ter systems across the United States. firms such as Dow Water and Process of public health from the unpredictability WQA has been testing drinking water Solutions, Culligan International, and of drinking water contamination events. treatment products since 1959 and cer- The Brita Products Co. Our membership The Water Quality Research Foundation tifying products since 1960. Gold Seal is comprised of equipment manufactur- (WQRF) was formed in 1949 to serve on certifies drinking water treatment units ers, suppliers, dealers and distributors behalf of the WQA as a universally rec- for contaminant reduction claims, ma- of water quality improvement products ognized, independent research organi- terial safety, compliance with lead-free and services. WQA proudly serves as an zation. Last year, WQRF concluded its laws, and drinking water additives to ac- educator of water treatment profession- largest fundraising campaign ever, rais- credited industry standards. The WQA als, certifier of water treatment products, ing over $2.8 million for research. One lab is fully accredited through Interna- public information resource and voice of of the WQRF’s most recent projects tional Accreditation Service (IAS) ac- the water quality improvement industry. includes a qualitative analysis of data cording to ISO 17025, and is equipped WQA was created in 1974 from the trends relative to reported frequency, with analytical instrumentation including merger of two trade associations. WQA’s causes/sources and spatial/temporal a Perkin Elmer Elan 9000 ICP-MS, Di- mission is to be the recognized resource characteristics of boil water notices onex IC, Thermo Fisher GC-MS, and an and advocate for the betterment of water (BWN) in the United States from 2012- LC-MS-MS will be another addition later quality, with a vision of improving water 2014. A BWN, also referred to as a boil this year. quality to enhance quality of life through water advisory, is issued by a public After reports of lead contamination in sustainable technologies and services. water system when there is a known or the Flint drinking water started being re- The industries devoted to treating and suspected microbial contaminant in the leased in 2015, WQA offered assistance delivering water are complex and varied. drinking water distribution system. BWN to government and public health officials WQA primarily represents the sector of situations specifically involving microbio- as well as the public to provide infor- the water treatment industry devoted logical contamination can be adequately mation on POU/POE water treatment to treating water on the homeowner’s handled by home water treatment devic- applications. WQA helps professionals or business-owner’s property. We often es, such as the POU devices mentioned in the field provide education on water refer to this aspect of treatment as the above, certified as capable of producing treatment products and the importance Final Barrier that prevents waterborne microbiologically-safe water. An increase of proper maintenance to residents in ar- contaminants from entering a home or in water main breaks and, therefore, eas, like Flint, who are faced with water business. BWN’s were warning signs of the corro- contamination issues. Earlier this month, WQA unveiled its sion issues occurring in Flint, Michigan In February 2016, WQA staff and mem- newest service, a career center specifi- that ultimately caused lead poisoning of bers visited Flint to provide education on cally for the drinking water treatment in- residents. common concerns and misconceptions dustry. The WQA Career Center will offer Lead can exist in water in a broad ar- with water purification. WQA members employers access to the brightest and ray of forms, therefore, more than one also provided the community with free best talent within and outside of the wa- type of technology may be needed for water treatment products certified for ter treatment industry across all catego- adequate removal at the tap. Soluble (or lead reduction. This on-the-ground effort ries of employment. The Career Center dissolved) lead may be removed by ion is another example of WQA’s mission for also provides job seekers with profes- exchange, reverse osmosis, adsorption, the betterment of water quality, ensuring sional development tools, networking or distillation. Insoluble (or particulate) that our industry continues to be a part opportunities and access to high-quality lead may be removed by fine filtration of the solution and provide best prac- jobs with the most respected employers and adsorption as well as by reverse tices and technologies to keep people’s in our industry. osmosis and distillation. System perfor- water as safe as ever. Many professionals in point-of-use/ point-of-entry (POU/POE) water treat- ment reinforce their expertise through a voluntary professional certification program provided by the WQA. This pro- gram, recognized in 1977, helps consum- ers and employers identify individuals in the industry who have demonstrated a certified level of professional expertise and are dedicated to high professional standards. WQA’s online education and training program for professional certifi- cation includes: installation, design, ser- vice, and sales. Master levels are also available for service and design that in- corporate a higher level of knowledge of water chemistry and hydraulics. POU is water treatment installed at the is created and the fine wire up and REPORT OF ACS COUNCIL the iron is able to react with the oxygen MEETING IN SAN DIEGO ON in the atmosphere. Blowing on it keeps oxygen coming to the wire for the reaction MARCH 16, 2016 Hot Steel Wool – Part II to continue. The wool may also have a bit of an oil residue on it and that oil will The 251st National Meeting of the ACS was held in San Diego, CA, from March Kids, back in 2010, we looked at the re- also combust. The reaction that is occur- 13 – 17, 2016. The theme of this meet- action of iron in steel wool with oxygen ring is: ing was “Computers in Chemistry.” The by combining the wool with vinegar to 4 Fe + 3 O2 g 2 Fe2O3 Chicago section was represented by remove the protective coating on it and Although it may not seem like it, the mass Charles Cannon (Local Section Activi- saw the rise as the wool was of the combusted wool should be signifi- ties), Dave Crumrine (Constitution and wrapped around a thermometer - http:// cantly more than the mass of the initial Bylaws), Russ Johnson (Chemistry and chicagoacs.org/articles/212. The tem- wool because it has added to it the mass Public Affairs), Fran Kraviz (Local Section perature went up because of the reaction of the oxygen from the atmosphere. Activities), Michael Koehler (Chemical of the steel wool with the atmospheric Safety), Margaret Levenberg (Meetings oxygen. To view all past “ChemShorts for Kids”, and Exposition), Milt Levenberg (Public Now that camping season is upon us, go to: http://chicagoacs.org/articles. Relations and Communication), Inessa we can take advantage of this very hot re- php?article_category=1 Miller, Barbara Moriarty (Science) and action to help us make our campfire. You Susan Shih (Education). The national know that when starting a campfire, it is Paul Brandt activities committees for each, as I know often best to have some very small twigs them, are in parentheses. or dried leaves to get the fire started be- cause logs don’t catch fire easily. We’ll Governance: The Council elected two take advantage of the very fine steel wool candidates for the fall 2016 ACS na- for the same reason – the small twigs and FRAN KRAVITZ WINS BOY tional election for President-Elect 2017. the steel wool both have a lot of surface SCOUT OF AMERICA The candidates are Peter K. Dorhout area for the reaction to take place. SILVER BEAVER AWARD and Thomas R. Gilbert. Ballots will be distributed on September 29, 2016. Materials: Fran Kravitz has been active for many • Very fine steel wool (grade 000 or Finances: The Society’s 2015 year-end years in the Three Fires Council of the financial position was reviewed. The 0000) Boy Scouts of America which services • A 9V battery Society ended 2015 with a Net Contri- 14,000 youth in Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, bution from operations of $16.6 million • An aluminum pan Kendall, and Will Counties, IL. She is on revenues of $511.7 million and $495.1 one of the winners of 2016 Silver Beaver million in expenses. This was favorable to Make sure that an adult is present Award! anytime fire is involved. the 2015 Approved Budget. The Society’s The Silver Beaver Award is the council- financial position strengthened in 2015, level distinguished service award of the with Unrestricted Net Assets, or reserves, Try this: Boy Scouts of America. Recipients of • Pull a piece of steel wool off from the increasing from $144.7 million at December this award are registered adult leaders 31, 2014 to $163.3 million at year-end pad and pull it apart so that it is not a who have made an impact on the lives compact ball. 2015. Even with the positive financial of youth through service given to the picture of 2015 the Society only met four • put the leads of the 9V battery to the council. steel wool of the five Board-established Financial Fran was instrumental in making the Guidelines, but did not meet the reserve BSA Chemistry Merit Badge Program Did you see the sparks in the wool? If adequacy guideline again in 2015. available in the Chicagoland area in con- Additional information can be found at you’re looking to start a campfire you will junction with the Chicago Section of the want some tinder nearby to get the fire www.acs.org, at bottom, click ‘About American Chemical Society. 2015 was ACS’, then ‘ACS Financial Information’. started. Blowing on the sparks will al- Fran’s 11th year running the program. low them to travel through the wool more There you will find several years of the Each year 128 scouts register to attend Society’s audited financial statements completely. the merit badge clinics. The program By touching the leads of the battery and IRS 990 filings. is held at different locations in Chicago The Council voted to set the member and NW Indiana on three Saturdays dues for 2016 at the fully escalated rate in the fall. She designs experiments in of $166. This rate is established pursu- congruence with the Merit Badge book- ant to an inflation-adjustment formula in let, gets volunteers and venues for the the ACS Constitution and Bylaws. events. During the clinic there is time for the students to interact with chemists Meetings and Expositions: The atten- in a casual setting. It’s a very popular dance at the San Diego meeting was program, as evidenced by the feedback reported to be 16,327 with 8,398 attend- from scouts and parents alike. ees and 5,979 students. The Exposi- This is the highest honor a Boy Scout tion has 415 booths with 270 exhibiting council can bestow on adult volunteers. companies. This is a slight decrease These individuals will officially be recog- in the number of exhibitors compared nized, June 16 at the Three Fires Coun- to the Boston Meeting. The early meet- to the wool, you complete the circuit of cil’s Annual Dinner. ing registration fee for 2017 was recom- the battery. Electricity will begin to flow The Chicago Section congratulates mended to be $440. through the wire (just like in an incandes- Fran Kravitz for her achievements and Committee on Economic and Profes- cent light bulb). As electrons flow, this award! (continued on page 7) (continued from page 6) sional Affairs (CEPA): The Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs (CEPA) reported that the unemploy- ment rate for member chemists was 3.1%, compared to the overall US un- employment rate of 5.5%. However, the new graduate unemployment rate was 13.0%. The on-site career fair at the meeting had 739 job seekers and 30 employers with 106 positions. Résumé reviews (360) and mock interviews (217) were held at this meeting. The revised Academic Professional Guidelines were approved by Council, subject to approval by the Board of Directors. The guidelines apply to those members of the academic community whose job function impacts directly or indirectly on scientists practicing the profession of chemistry. A revised Chemical Professional’s Code of Conduct was presented to Council. Membership: As of December 31, the ACS membership was nearly 157,000, which is 0.96% less than at the end of 2014. The number of new members who joined in 2015 is 25,000. The Society’s overall retention rate is 84%. The com- mittee also reported that the number of international members has increased to 26,022 and that the number of student members increased. The international growth rate is 3.85%. Local Sections: The theme for National Chemistry Week in 2016, is “Solving Mysteries Through Chemis- try.” The theme for Chemist Celebrate Earth Day, to be celebrated in April 2016, is “The Great Indoors – The Home Ecosystem.” Special Discussion: The Council dis- cussed the topic of the US Employment of Chemists. This discussion topic is of special interest to President Donna J. Nelson who has assembled a task on employment in the chemical sciences. Councilors discussed the factors which determine supply and demand, employment options for chemical technicians, possible certifica- tion of chemical professionals, prepa- ration of graduates for industrial em- ployment and global employment. In addition, a presidential symposium was held at this meeting and a symposium entitled “Standing Up for Science: Difficult discussions about jobs” is planned for the next ACS national meet- ing in Philadelphia. If you have any questions and/or com- ments about the above actions, please contact me or one of your other repre- sentatives. You may contact me by email ([email protected]).

BARBARA MORIARTY

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