Newsletter 08-12
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Newsletter December 2008 Santa Clara Valley Section American Chemical Society Volume 30 No. 12 DECEMBER 2008 NEWSLETTER TOPICS Chair’s Message • Chair’s Message The year is coming to a close, year? Join us at with December fast approaching us. one of the month- • January Dinner Meeting – Results This is my last message as Chair of ly dinner meetings of the Phoenix Mission to Mars the section – Natalie McClure will be or at one of the and Analog Sites on Earth assuming the mantle of leadership in Executive • National Chemistry Week 2008 January, and you will be hearing from Committee meetings at Martin Luther King Jr. Library her in 2009. It has been my pleasure and make your views • National Chemistry Week at to serve as Chair, and I am grateful known. Dates, locations, Cañada College for the support of everyone on the and times for both sets of meetings • Election 2008 Executive Committee. are listed in the newsletter and on the • More Photos of the Teach the Now is the time of year when website www.scvacs.org. Teachers Workshop at Roche organizations and companies look continued on next page • Photos of the National Chemistry back on the preceding 12 months, Week Event at the MLK Library and assess how the things that they • ChemPloyment Abstracts accomplished match up with those January things that were planned. Such reflec- Dinner Meeting tion gives a chance to make plans and Date: Thursday, January 15, 2009 set goals for the next year. Do you Time: 6:00 Social Hour Season have goals that you would like to see 7:00 Dinner your section accomplish over the next Greetings 8:00 Presentation Location: Biltmore Hotel & Suites 2151 Laurelwood Blvd. January Dinner Meeting Reminder Santa Clara, CA 95054 Results of the Phoenix Mission to Mars Speaker: Dr. Christopher McKay NASA Ames Research Ctr., and Analog Sites on Earth Space Science Division Dr. Christopher P. McKay Results of the Phoenix Mission to Mars It may seem in the ice-rich ground on Mars and Cost: $27.00 with a choice of: as if January is a investigated the chemistry and geolo- Teriyaki Steak long way away, gy of a polar site on Mars for the first Shiitake Mushroom Ravioli time. The site is particularly interesting but really it is Reservations: www.scvacs.org just around the for astrobiology because 5 million or Shirley Radding corner. The years ago the tilt of Mars' axis was 45° 408-246-2564 SCVACS does and the amount of sunlight reaching 408-296-8625 Fax the Phoenix site at summer solstice not have a Reservations should be made by December din- was 2 times the present value - Earth- January 12th stating your name, ner meeting so we certainly hope you like levels. Understanding the micro- address, company affiliation, number will join us for this very interesting bial activity in high elevation dry per- of people in party, and menu selec- discussion in January with Dr. mafrost in Antarctica provides a basis tion. If you are unable to honor your Christopher P. McKay from NASA for considering habitability conditions reservation and do not cancel by Ames Research Center. on Mars during these periods of high- Tuesday, January 13th, you will be Abstract er obliquity. invoiced following the dinner meeting. Phoenix landed at 68° N latitude continued on next page Chair’s Message, continued from front page National Chemistry Week 2008 We always welcome new people to the dinner meetings – those that at Martin Luther King Jr. Library are interested in hearing the speaker National Chemistry Week 2008 newsletter for elementary-aged chil- are definitely welcome. Please join us, came and went and we “had a ball dren. To volunteer on the National we will gladly make a space for you with chemistry!” The sports theme Chemistry Week Committee for 2009, to pull up a chair and listen. As is this year was specially chosen by the please contact NCW Coordinator, normal, there will be no dinner meet- ACS to bring awareness to the Abby Kennedy ing in December; we will resume in Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, ([email protected]). January. The speaker will be Dr. China. Another fun event for NCW this Christopher McKay, of NASA For our highlight celebration of year was a chance for members and See everyone next year. NCW 2008, our fun annual public their families to literally “Have a Ball outreach booth converged upon the with Chemistry”…a BOWLING BALL, Jan. Dinner Meeting, continued from front page Martin Luther King Jr. Library in that is! Sadly, I must report that the Biography downtown San Jose on Saturday, bowling tournament was cancelled Dr. Christopher P. McKay is a October 18th from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. due to lack of bowler reservations. Planetary Scientist with the Space Of course the crowd-favorite, Wheel But don’t despair, you can always see Science Division of NASA Ames. Chris of Chemistry Fortune, was spinning for yourself how even bowling is received his Ph.D. in AstroGeophysics for all kids to win a prize, and there made better through polymer science from the University of Colorado in 1982 were fun hands-on activities for kids, and surface chemistry! (Did you and has been a research scientist with run by our fearless volunteer force— know that the surface of bowling the NASA Ames Research Center since over 40 students deep this year! balls is made up of unique combina- that time. His current research focuses Special thanks to our member volun- tions of isocyanates and polyols with- on the evolution of the solar system teers and Santa Clara University, San in a base of urethane resin?) And to and the origin of life. He is also actively Jose State and De Anza College stu- those members that thought about involved in planning for future Mars dent volunteers—you made this signing up, but ultimately did not, I’d missions including human settlements. year’s booth a huge success by help- love to hear from YOU! This is your Chris has been involved with polar ing over 100 kids to have a ball with ACS, and your National Chemistry research since 1980, traveling to the chemistry! Kids extracted iron from Week, so I’d love to get your feed- Antarctic dry valleys and more recently their breakfast cereal, made color- back on what activities you want to to the Siberian and Canadian Arctic to changing UV-bead necklaces and see for 2009! What great ideas can conduct research in these Mars-like were super sleuths to determine the you come up with to help you, your environments. Dr. McKay is a recipient best sports drink (testing for sugar friends, and your loved ones cele- of the prestigious Kuiper Award from and electrolytes). Kids had a chance brate National Chemistry Week 2009? the Division of Planetary Sciences of to pick up their free copy of Email any and all ideas to NCW the American Astronomical Society. “Celebrating Chemistry”, the NCW Coordinator Abby Kennedy. National Chemistry Week at Cañada College County attended our outreach activity at the Safeway Store in Sequoia National Chemistry Week (NCW) his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Stanford Station to watch Chemistry student is a community-based annual event University, speak on the chemistry volunteers from Cañada demonstrate that unites the American Chemical and history of chocolate. A wide vari- simple chemical experiments. Everyone Society local sections, businesses, ety of chocolate samples was tasted who stopped by our booth was schools, and individuals in communi- by all and a 10-pound block of encouraged to try a few hands-on cating the importance of chemistry to chocolate was given as a door prize. chemistry experiments planned by our quality of life. This year, National On Thursday, October 23, a career Dr. Jeanette Medina, Professor of Chemistry week ran from October 19 panel was hosted by the Chemistry Chemistry at Cañada College. – 25 and the theme was: “Having a Department and MESA. Science pro- Ball with Chemistry”. Here at Cañada fessors and industry professionals College the Chemistry Department from the pharmaceutical and the bio- sponsored a wide variety of activities tech industries spoke to students made possible by funds from the about how their undergraduate National Science Foundation Grant degrees in Chemistry led them to dis- awarded to Cañada College in 2007. covering their life’s work. And finally, On Wednesday, October 22, over 90 on Saturday, October 25, high school, students and faculty assembled to middle school, and elementary school hear Dr. Howard Peters, who received students from all over San Mateo Election 2008 Section activities and attract the notice of the committee. Our 2008 election has ended just If you're interested, you should come as this newsletter goes to press. As to our dinner meetings; most of the The only viable way to be elected one might expect, all candidates were current ExComm members attend is to get your name listed on the bal- elected because we had no contested those and showing up is a good way lot. We are required to allow for write- races. A total of 338 ballots was to meet them and get to know them, in votes, but no one has ever come received; this is considerably more and they you. Any of us will be glad remotely close to being elected via than we have been seeing in recent to describe what being a member of write-in votes. Besides being placed years, even though it represents slight- the Executive Committee ("ExComm") on the ballot by the Nominations and ly less than 10% of our electorate.