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Editor's Phone:
585-722-2361
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To read this newsletter on the web, type or
copy the following address into your browser:
http://www.rochesteracs.org/chemunicator/2007/11.htm |
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Message from the Chair Hello everyone! The end of 2007 is coming towards us at a great pace. At the end of December, there will be a "quiet" transition as Richard Hartmann takes over the position of Chair for the Rochester Section effective January 1st.
In this November report, I thought it would be fitting for Richard to write an article outlining his vision for the Rochester Section in 2008. This is timely as the Executive Committee is slated to finalize the 2008 budget at our meeting this month. This will give you an opportunity to see the path forward and realize that this new spirit, this new excitement within the Rochester Section does not end with one Chair's term. I was happy to follow a great leader such as Ben Miller (2006) and feel confident that we will continue our new vision into 2008. It is with that confidence that I am proud to present Rich's article at this time.
 Hello! Some of you know that I teach chemistry at Nazareth College, which is recognized for its excellent fine arts programs. Over the course of the past seven years here, I have found myself increasingly interested in the work of my colleagues, especially those in the art department. In fact, I have recently started teaching my general chemistry course from the perspective of its relationship to art. I believe making these connections has energized my teaching as well as the interest of my students in a topic that many of them find difficult to grasp.
It is in that same spirit that I have decided to put the theme of Chemistry and Art on my year as chair. High-caliber scientific events such as the Harrison Howe Award and symposia that highlight the research area of the winner as well as emerging technologies in upstate New York will continue. However, I hope to capitalize on the momentum that we have gained recently by reaching out to our members in areas that are not strictly chemical. The joint events with the Corning and Buffalo sections, the monthly mixers at MacGregors, the Science Cafe events like the lecture by Nick Zumbulyadis on the "History of Meissen Blue Porcelain" given at the Memorial Art Gallery, all represent the breadth of who we are as chemists and allow us to interact with one another on a level that is rewarding as well as outgoing. For instance, many of the attendees at Nick's talk were not chemists (or even scientists), and I believe that part of what we do has to include reaching out to the community around us (including friends and family) who may not view chemistry or science in the best of lights.
In order to kick off 2008 with a bang, the speaker at the annual dinner on February 15, 2008, will be Nobel Prize winning chemist Roald Hoffmann. His talk, "Indigo, a Story of Science, Religion, and Culture, of the Natural and the Unnatural" promises to be an exciting entrance into the connections that we all make between chemistry and other areas of interest. As a change in venue from the customary restaurant location, the evening will take place on the campus of Nazareth College where you can come and enjoy dinner, his talk, and a dessert reception all in the relaxed atmosphere of one of the prettiest settings in town.
We are also planning to continue the Science Cafe events on an alternate month schedule on a variety of topics that are sure to pique your interests. I have also enjoyed Dick Cobb's monthly reports and will do my best to carry on in this fine precedent.
I am happy to hear from any of you about your thought, ideas, or concerns in relation to anything pertaining to the local section. I am excited about the year of events that are in store for you, and I look forward to meeting you personally at one of these events and hope that you will join me in making 2008 a productive and rewarding year for the section.
Rich Hartmann
2008 Chair
Rochester Section, ACS
rhartma0@naz.edu
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Careers in Transition Roundtable
On Tuesday, November 13, The Rochester ACS Section is sponsoring a "Careers in
Transition" roundtable as part of the "Science Café"
series. Several Rochester Section members who have successfully navigated a mid-career change have volunteered to share their experience, insights, strategies, and stories with others. This event also promises to be an excellent networking opportunity. Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Place: Penfield MacGregor's Grill & Tap Room (not the Henrietta location) 1129 Empire Blvd, Penfield. Upstairs function room. Click here for a map.
Hors d'oeuvres will be provided. Food and drink will be available for purchase.
For further information, please contact Jim Reynolds (james.reynolds@kodak.com, 585-722-2361).
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Time to Vote!
The Rochester Section's Election of 2008 officers is now underway. If you are an ACS Member and registered with the Rochester Section, you may vote online through November 21 at https://vod.votenet.com/rocacs. For further information and to assess your eligibility to vote in, please see the instructions on the Rochester ACS website.
The following members have agreed to stand for office in 2008. Their biographies and statements can viewed by following the links provided. Alternatively, all of the candidates' statements may be viewed together here.
Chair-Elect:
Dr. Kenneth Schlecht, SUNY Brockport
statement/bio
Treasurer:
Dr. Mark P. Heitz, SUNY Brockport
statement/bio
Councilor:
Mr. D. Richard Cobb, Eastman Kodak Company
statement/bio
Alternate Councilor:
Dr. Henry Gysling, Airflow Catalyst Systems
statement/bio
Dr. Robert Murray, pharmaceutical consultant
statement/bio
Member-at-Large:
Dr. Lew Allen, retired
statement/bio
Valerie Grason, University of Rochester
statement/bio
Deborah L. Janes, Eastman Kodak Co.
statement/bio
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Roald Hoffmann to Speak at 2008 Annual Dinner
Friday, February 15, 2008
Medaille Hall at Nazareth College
4245 East Avenue - Rochester, NY
The Rochester ACS Section invites you to join us for an informal and pleasant evening with your fellow Section members and spouses/guests. The evening will begin with a mixer at 5:30 p.m. in the Fireplace Lounge in Medaille Hall at Nazareth College, followed by a buffet dinner. After dinner we will hear a talk by Cornell University Chemistry Professor and Nobel Prize winner, Roald Hoffmann. Prof. Hoffman, in addition to his well known achievements as a chemist, is a highly regarded and entertaining poet and playwright.
5:30 p.m.: Mixer / Cash Bar - Medaille Fireplace Lounge
6:30 p.m.: Dinner - Medaille Dining Room (buffet dinner)
7:30 p.m.: Talk - Medaille Formal Lounge
Prof. Roald Hoffmann
The Frank H. T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters
at Cornell University
Indigo, a Story of Science, Religion, and Culture of the Natural and the Unnatural 8:30 p.m.: Coffee/Dessert Reception - Fireplace Lounge
Dinner reservations, with payment of $25 per person, ($30 non-members) must be received by February 10. Dinner attendance is not required to attend Prof. Hoffmann's lecture
Reservation/Payment options:
1) Send checks, payable to Rochester ACS Section, to
Mary Anne Mendel
158 Lake Lea Road
Rochester, NY 14617
(585) 544-6679 - evenings
2) Make payment with a credit card by PayPal on the Rochester Section website. A PDF announcement is also available for posting. Buffet Dinner to include: Table served mixed garden salad with warm rolls and butter, Roast beef carving station with horseradish sauce or Cabernet demi glaze, Bowtie pasta with wild mushroom Alfredo sauce, Boneless chicken breast in Marsala wine sauce, Seasonal fresh vegetables, Garlic oven roasted potatoes, Coffee and tea service
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National Chemistry Week Highlights
National Chemistry Week was held October 20-27 in conjunction with the Rochester Museum and Science Center, with Calvin Uzelmeier, Timothy Wilson, and Deborah Janes as event coordinators. The NCW theme for 2007 was "The Many Faces of Chemistry", and we would like to thank all of the volunteers for their generous support of this year's event.
Student volunteers from SUNY Brockport, SUNY Geneseo, RIT, Monroe Community College, Houghton College, Hilton High School, and home schools assisted museum visitors with hands-on experiments in polymer chemistry, food chemistry, and chromatography. SUNY Brockport students helped visitors make liquid nitrogen ice cream, and each person had a delicious treat. Volunteers from The Society of Women Engineers demonstrated some unique principles of chemistry through a lip balm making demonstration. Each person was able to walk away with a small container of lip balm that they made from simple household ingredients. Dr. Dave Teegarden, Eastman Kodak Company, presented his acclaimed polymer demonstrations while allowing participants to make a polymeric "milk jug" bubble. The RMSC players presented demonstrations on energy, pressure, and electricity during the course of each day.
Ms. Jodi Reynolds of Harter Secrest and Emery LLP presented talks on patent law using silly putty as an example. Dr. Benjamin Miller, University of Rochester, presented a talk on New Optical Sensors for Genomics, Proteomics, and Medical Diagnostics or "What in the world is a chemist doing in a dermatology department?" Both Ms. Reynolds and Dr. Miller talked with college students about potential career choices. Dr. Patrick Ravines and Dr. Ulrich Ruedel, chemists on the curatorial staff at George Eastman House, spoke about "Gum Arabic and Photography" and "From Turconi to Technicolor: The Value of Historical Research and Film Clipping Collections for Color Film Preservation".
A National Chemistry Week poster contest, focused on chemistry and careers, was also conducted, and featured entries from several area high schools. The winning poster was submitted to the National ACS contest.
The last day of NCW at RMSC was held in conjunction with the museum's "Spooky Science" Halloween program. The RMSC staff presented demonstrations included making "fake blood" and eerie phosphorescent slime while they talked about special effects in movies and polymer chemistry. The event concluded with a Pumpkin Puzzle contest, in which visitors had to guess what the symbols Na, Ti, O, N, Al, carved into separate pumpkins represented, and describe one use of the element.
-Deb Janes
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Ken Rankin Receives ACS "Salutes to Excellence" Award
Rochester ACS member Ken Rankin, a Technical Service Writer with Eastman Kodak Company, was presented a "Salutes to Excellence" award from the
American Chemical Society's Division of Chemical Technicians. The award was made in
recognition of Ken's outstanding service to the Division of Chemical
Technicians as editor of the division newsletter ConnecTECH and his positive impact on members
of the division. Nancy Ferris, associate director of KRL, presented the award to Ken at a
reception held in his honor on October 24 in the Kodak research complex.
Members of the Rochester Technician Affiliate Group and many managers
were on hand to celebrate Ken's accomplishment.
The Division of Chemical Technicians also awarded Eastman Kodak Company
a 2007 Recognition Award for continued support of volunteers for the
Division of Chemical Technicians of the American Chemical Society.
Nancy Ferris received the award on behalf of Kodak on August 22, 2007
at the American Chemical Society's Fall meeting in Boston.
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Networking Event
The next Rochester Section networking mixer
will be held at MacGregor's Bar & Grill in
Henrietta Tuesday, November 27, from 5:00 - 8:00 PM.
Further info and Directions...
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Rochester ACS Website Address Change
The web address for the Rochester ACS Section's website has changed recently. The new address is: http://www.RochesterACS.org The old address (http://chem.chem.rochester.edu/~rocacs) is no longer valid and will soon be disabled. Please update your bookmarks.
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A Special Message from the Chair
As we near the end of another year, some people may find themselves looking for a worthwhile organization where they can donate some money so as to acquire a tax deduction for the tax year 2007.
I do want to remind our members that the Rochester Section is a 501C tax-exempt organization and donations to the Section are tax deductible. With such donations, we can support present programs to an even higher degree and create new programs in the future that may not have been able to be supported under our normal budget process.
For those who wish to donate, the opportunity is available to select where they want their funds to go so as to impact the programs that are important to them. We guarantee that the funds will go to the selected area of interest, and will not be used for general funding nor will it take away from any normal funding already in place for such programs.
We even offer the opportunity for you to donate towards a new program that you would like to start with your donation. This could include, for example, a scholarship fund for local students.
And do not forget that you also can donate funds for the "Centennial Celebration" Fund as we prepare to celebrate the Rochester Section's 100th anniversary in 2012.
Examples of where your funding can be directed include:
COMMUNITY OUTREACH - ACAP
- Adopt-A-School
- Harrison Howe Award
- High School Chemistry Awards
- National Chemisty Week
- Project SEED
- Undergraduate Research Symposium
MEMBERSHIP ACTIVITIES - Committee on Technician Affairs (CTA)
- Retired Chemists Committee
- Younger Chemists Committee
THE NTID / RIT FUND
NEW ACTIVITIES
- The Centennial Celebration (2012) Fund
- NERM 2012 (Northeast Regional Meeting)
- Rochester Section Scholarship Fund
Under the Pension Protection Act of 2006, you can now make tax-free outright gifts using IRA assets. This act allowed any person who was 70 ˝ years of age or older to make a direct contribution out of their IRA without a tax penalty. This act expires on December 31st, 2007 - so this would be your last chance to make a contribution in this manner if you qualify. To do this, the check must be directly sent from the IRA to the Rochester Section, and be made out to the "American Chemical Society, Rochester Section". If the funds were sent to the IRA owner first, they would be taxed.
Be sure to contact tax professionals and your IRA custodian if you are considering a gift under this law. You may also contact the American Chemical Society at (202) 872-6210 with any questions about this program.
So maybe you have wanted to help the Section in some way, but have not had the time or ability. Now, you can help financially and receive a tax deduction on your 2007 taxes at the same time! Meanwhile, you will be leaving your "mark" on chemistry and your community.
Please go to our website at http://www.rochesteracs.org to acquire the form needed to donate to the Section and to select where you would like your funds to go. D. Richard Cobb
2007 Chair
Rochester Section, ACS
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