2023 Summer Social Invitation

Posted on May 26, 2023May 26, 2023

The Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society is pleased to honor our 50-, 60-, and 70-year ACS members and present the Salutes to Excellence award to our partner, the Orlando Science Center. Additionally, Patrick Walsh and Chris Spence from Covanta will give a short talk on a Sustainable Systems Solution for Solid Waste.

Saturday July 8th, 2023
11:30AM to 2:00PM
Macaroni Grill (12148 S Apopka Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32836)

MENU
Appetizers
Bruschetta Calamari, Caesar Salad
Entrée choice of
Fettuccine Alfredo w/Chicken, Spaghetti w/Meatballs, Chicken Parmesan, Pasta Milano, or Truffle Mac & Cheese
Dessert
Vanilla Ice Cream
Beverages
Soda, Iced Tea, Lemonade
Cash bar is available

The cost will be $25/person. Since the Orlando Section covers part of the meal, tax, and gratuity, the Section will pay the bill with a single check. Please be prepared to pay at the door by check or cash—unfortunately, we cannot accept credit cards. Reservation can be made by July 6, 2023 – online at https://forms.gle/THwRVyRT9gTaBnV7A.

Sustainable Systems Solution for Solid Waste
Patrick Walsh, Area Asset Manager, and Chris Spence, Facility Manager
Covanta
Waste-to-energy (WTE) is the conversion of non-recyclable waste to electricity. It has been touted as both good and bad for the environment – good for decreasing waste levels and bad for the creation of pollutants in the incineration process. According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, WTE has grown from one plant in 1982 to 11 facilities in 2022, giving Florida one of the highest levels of WTE processing nationwide. Last year, Florida Senate Bill 1764 was passed to encourage more.

Come learn more about WTE from the experts at Covanta and enjoy a luncheon with fellow chemists.
We look forward to seeing you all there!

Download this flyer

2023 CCEW Illustrated Poem Contest: The Results

Posted on May 23, 2023May 23, 2023

Among many other activities for the 2023 Chemists Celebrate Earth Week (CCEW), the Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) hosted the 2023 CCEW Illustrated Poem Contest for K-12 students in Central Florida. This year, the theme of the contest is “The Curious Chemistry of Amazing Algae”.

Winner of Grade 3-5 category, by M. P. from Harmony Community School (Osceola County)

Thanks to members of counties’ school boards and the teachers who brought the contest to students’ attention, the contest received many entries from multiple schools.

Results of the local contest

K-2 Category
No Winner

Grade 3-5 Category
Winner: M. P.
Harmony Community School (Osceola County)

Grade 6-8 Category
Winner: E. D.
Sanford Middle School (Seminole County)

Winner of Grade 6-8 Category, by E. D. from Sanford Middle School (Seminole County)

Grade 9-12 Category
No Winner

The winner of each category will receive a certificate and a monetary award of $50. The teacher who guided the winner of each category will receive a school supply funding of $100.

The winner of each category also advances to the national 2023 CCEW Illustrated Poem Contest. The full results of the national contest can be found at ACS website. If you have any comments or questions regarding the local contest, please contact the local section’s coordinator of the contest (Dr. Duy Le, submission@orlandoacs.org).

Orlando Students Present at Spring ACS National Meeting

Posted on April 15, 2023April 15, 2023

Travel awards from the Orlando Section of the ACS assisted two Ph.D. candidates at University of Central Florida to attend the spring 2023 ACS Meeting held in Indianapolis from March 26-30. Lorianne Shultz and Jacob T Bryant received $500 each.

Lorianne Shultz gave an oral presentation on her research in Professor Titel Jurca’s laboratory on “Probing the mechanism and structure-activity relationships in the CuOx catalysed reduction of 4-nitrophenol”. She received some helpful feedback on her work and was grateful for the funding to get there. Lorianne told us “I am excited to continue growing my network at the ACS National Conference to hopefully establish future collaborations.”

Jacob T. Bryant is in Professor Fernando Uribe-Romo’s laboratory. His oral presentation was on “Designing titania metal-organic framework photocatalysts using the principles of reticular chemistry”. Jacob was able to interact with several of his collaborators, initiate potential new collaborations, and help recruit candidates for the graduate program at UCF. He states that he is very appreciative of the funding provided.

Congratulations and good work, Lori and Jacob!

About Student Travel Awards: The Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society offers travel awards to students who are in need of financial supplement for their conference participations. Click here for more information about the awards and how to apply.

First bulletin of the year

Posted on February 15, 2023February 15, 2023

Hello Orlando Section!

In the first bulletin of the year, we would like to bring to your attention a few pieces of important information:

Executive committee members: The members of the 2023 Executive Committee of the Orlando Section are:

Chair: Nicole Lapeyrouse
Chair elect: Stephen Smith
Intermediate Past Chair: Denisia Popolan-Vaida
Councilor: Darlene Slattery
Alternate Councilor: Laura Sessions
Treasurer: Van Quach
Secretary: Pavithra Pathirathna

Executive meeting – Our local section executive meeting is scheduled on the second Saturday of each month from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM via Zoom. We would like to renew our invitation to all our members to attend the meeting. If you are interested in joining our meeting, please do not hesitate to contact us for zoom link and meeting agenda.

Travel awards – We would liketo remind you thatour local sectionoffers annual travel awards (up to 2 awards/meeting) for ACS student members to attend ACS local, regional, and national meetings (FAME, SERMAC, ACS National Meeting) to present their work. More details about the application procedure can be found on our website.

Chemists Celebrate Earth Week (CCEW): To promote the positive role that chemistry plays in the world, ACS established the Chemists Celebrate Earth Week public awareness campaign. This year, CCEW occurs on April 16–22 with the theme “The Curious Chemistry of Amazing Algae”. The Orlando Section participates in the following activities:
- Distributing CCEW 2023 Celebrating Chemistry: Celebrating Chemistry is designed to engage and educate children ages 9–12 (Grades 4–6) in the basic principles of chemistry. The publication is available in English and Spanish and can be found on our website. We encourage you to share the publication to anyone who may be interested.
- 2023 Illustrated Poem Contest: The Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) is hosting an illustrated poem contest for K-12 students. Entries must be sponsored by a local school or community group for verification purposes. The contest deadline is Sunday, April 30, 2023 at 11:59 PM Eastern. The theme of this year’s contest is “The Curious Chemistry of Amazing Algae.” One winner for each category will be recognized. Winners of the Orlando Section’s Illustrated Poem Contest will advance to the National Illustrated Poem Contest for a chance to be featured on the ACS website and win prizes!We encourage you to share the Flyer with K12’s students and teachers that you may know and to spread the message via social media. Please visit our website for detailed contest rules and submission information.
- Participating in Central Florida Earth day: We have secured our presence in Central Florida Earth day at Lake Eola (on April 22nd, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM). At this event, we will distribute merchandises, materials about the Earth Day and perform chemistry demonstrations. Dr. Titel Jurca (UCF, titel.jurca@ucf.edu) will lead this event. Please contact him if you are interested in volunteering for this event.

Younger Chemist Committee – The Younger Chemist Committee (YCC) of the American Chemical (ACS) Society Orlando Section is established with a mission to advocate for, develop, and support rising chemists to positively impact their careers, the ACS, and the future of chemistry. If you are interested in joining YCC ACS Orlando or learning more about our events fill out this google form: https://forms.gle/bHLRDYKunCDqsFCb7. We are also looking to integrate future board members into the organization. Currently the board member positions that we are looking to refresh in the near future are Chair and Co-Chair. The responsibilities of the chair include guiding the vision of the club, ensuring previous ideas are implemented properly, taking finial decisions and leading the board. The responsibilities of co-chair include bringing in new ideas for events, supporting the chair, helping in decision making process.

We are seeking volunteers: We are actively seeking volunteers to participate/lead our local section’s activities and be appointed to several committees: Earth Day outreach, National Chemistry Week, Senior Chemists, Younger Chemists, Webmaster… Contact us if you are or know someone who is interested.

Best wishes,

Dr. Nicole Lapeyrouse
Chair of the Orlando Section of the ACS
On behalf of the Orlando Section executive committee

2023 Student Travel Awards

Posted on February 11, 2023February 11, 2023

To encourage participation of students in local, regional, and national conferences organized by the American Chemical Society and its affiliates and to create opportunities for students to enhance their scientific experiences and networking, the Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society offers travel awards to students who are in need of financial supplement for their conference participations.

The awards will be given to selected students who participate in the Florida Annual Meeting and Exposition (FAME), the Southeastern Regional Meeting of The American Chemical Society (SERMACS), or the ACS National Meeting & Exposition. For each conference, up to two students will receive awards of up to $150, $250, or $500, respectively.

To apply, student applicant needs to prepare an application package (a single PDF file) that includes the following:

Brief introduction of applicant
Proof of acceptance to conference (acceptance of abstract)
Brief explanation of why travel award from the Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society is necessary (especially those whose research projects are federal/industrially/privately funded)
Contact information of advisor (The award committee will request a statement for advisor indicating appropriate use of the travel award to registration, lodging, and/or travel expenses).

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis up to one month before the conference, so early submission is encouraged. Application package should be sent via email to Awards Committee Chair (Dr. Laura Sessions, lsessions@valenciacollege.edu). The committee will select awardees mainly based on applicant’s financial needs and date of application. Novelty and impact of research project is a bonus criterion.

2022 Annual Award Banquet

Posted on January 3, 2023January 3, 2023

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The Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society held it’s annual awards banquet on Saturday, December 3 at the blu on the avenue restaurant in Winter Park. The event was attended by 60 members and guests and was considered a success by all.

Volunteers, 50-. 60-, and 70-year members were recognized for their dedication to the Society and to the Section. Outstanding individuals in eleven categories were recognized with plaques and checks. The 2022 winners are:

Award	Recipient	Organization
Eileen Tulley Award for Outstanding High School Student	Khadeejah Ahmed	Lake Nona High
Outstanding High School Teacher	Mrs. Emily Hill	Crooms Academy of Information Technology
Outstanding Undergraduates Students	Alivia Taylor Natali Barakat	Seminole States College University of Central Florida
Outstanding Grad Student	Mr. Muzammil Ahmed	Florida Institute of Technology
Outstanding Educator At a Teaching Institution	Dr. Angelina Georgieva	Keiser University
Outstanding Educator at a Primarily Research Institution	Dr. Yu Yuan	University of Central Florida
Outstanding Chemist	Dr. Laurene Tetard	University of Central Florida
Outstanding Chemical Professional	Dr. Martha Williams	NASA
Outstanding Entrepreneurs	Mr. William Easter	X-Batt, X-Mat, Semplastics
Outstanding Volunteer	Mr. Muzammil Ahmed	Florida Institute of Technology

Results of 2022 NCW Illustrated Poem Contest: Fabulous Fibers: The Chemistry of Fabrics

Posted on December 5, 2022December 5, 2022

hosted 2022 NCW Illustrated Poem Contest for K-12 students in Central Florida. The theme of the contest is “Fabulous Fibers: The Chemistry of Fabrics.”

The contest received many entries from multiple schools. Thanks to the teachers who brought the contest to students’ attention.

Results of local contest:

K-2 Category
No winner

Grade 3-5 Category
Winner: Christienne Jette Tenerife from George Marks Elementary

Grade 6-8 Category
Winner: Tyler Segrest from Tuskawilla Middle School

Grade 9-12 Category
No winner

The winner of each category will receive a certificate and a monetary award of $50. The teacher who guided the winner of each category will receive a school supply funding of $100.

The winner of each category also advances to the national 2022 NCW Illustrated Poem Contest. The full results of national contest can be found at ACS Website.

If you have any comments or questions regarding the local contest, please contact the local section’s coordinator of the contest (Dr. Duy Le, contact@orlandoacs.org).

Annual Awards Banquet Invitation

Posted on November 9, 2022December 17, 2022

The Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society will recognize 2022 awards winners in a traditional annual awards banquet on December 3^rd, 2022. You are invited to attend the banquet:

Saturday, December 3^rd, 2022
11:30AM to 2:00PM
At the blu on the avenue
326 Park Avenue South, Winter Park, FL 32789

MENU
Appetizers
Shrimp Cocktail
Stuffed Mushroom – sausage, spinach, parmesan
Fried Green Tomato – pimento spread, bacon jam, chives
Tomato and Mozzarella Skewer – fresh basil, olive oil, balsamic glaze
Entrée choice of
Pasta Primavera seasonal vegetables, grana padano cheese
Chicken Piccata, white wine, butter, capers, lemon sauce garlic mash, seasonal vegetable
Salmon, tomato bruschetta, balsamic glaze, garlic mash, seasonal vegetable
Dessert
Key Lime Trifle, Apple Caramel Crisp Trifle
Beverages
Iced tea, soft beverages, and Illy coffee
Cash bar is available

The cost will be $30/person (after subsidy, tax and gratuity included). The Section will pay the bill with a single check. Please be prepared to pay at the door by check or cash—unfortunately we cannot accept credit cards.

Reservation can be made online at https://forms.gle/VjGJrT4GpJnsnLtw6, or by email to contact@orlandoacs.org, or calling Darlene Slattery at 321-632-2535. Reservations must be made by November 26, 2022. Please include names so that we can provide nametags.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Call for Annual Awards

Posted on September 24, 2022November 9, 2022

Since 1991, the Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society has recognized individuals who live, work, or study in the seven-county region of the Orlando Section and excel in chemistry. Continuing this tradition, this year, the Orlando Section will give the following awards:

Eileen Tulley Award for Outstanding High School Student
Outstanding High School Teacher
Outstanding Undergraduate at a Primarily Teaching Institution
Outstanding Undergraduate at a Primarily Research Institution
Outstanding Graduate at a Primarily Research Institution
Outstanding Educator at a Primarily Teaching Institution
Outstanding Educator at a Primarily Research Institution
Outstanding Chemist
Outstanding Chemistry Professional
Outstanding Entrepreneur/Employer Award
Outstanding Volunteer

Descriptions and criteria for each award can be found in our website at https://orlandoacs.org/annual-awards

If you know someone or companies who should be recognized publicly, please nominate them for an ACS Orlando Section award. Each Award consists of a plaque and a monetary award. Awardees will be honored at the local Section’s annual banquet held on December 3^rd, 2022. Student nominees need not be currently enrolled in chemistry but can be nominated for achievements for the spring 2022 term.

Nomination package includes:
(1) A letter of nomination stating why this person/company* deserves the award.
(2) A letter of support from someone else who knows the nominee.

Each letter should include the name of the award, and the writer’s email address and daytime phone number. Electronic submissions are required. Email PDF letters to Dr. Darlene Slattery, Chair of the Orlando Section Awards Committee at dslattery1@cfl.rr.com. To be considered, nominations must be received by ~~Friday~~ ~~November 4^th, 2022~~ November 9^th, 2022.

Nominators of awardees are expected to participate in the local Section’s annual banquet to introduce the awardees.

* Point of contact for nominated company must be included in the letter.

24th Annual ChemLuminary Awards: Outstanding Ongoing CCEW Event

Posted on September 13, 2022April 3, 2023

Orlando Section accepting 24^th ChemLuminary Award for Outstanding Ongoing CCEW Event.

At the 24^th ChemLuminary Award ceremony on August 23, 2022, at the ACS National Meeting in Chicago, the Orlando Local Section received the Outstanding Ongoing CCEW Event award sponsored by Committee on Community Activities (CCA). This award recognizes a local section for an outstanding CCEW event that has been conducted for at least three years.

For more than a decade, except for 2020 thanks to the pandemic, each year, our local section participates in Central Florida Earth day to promote the positive role that chemistry plays in the world. Our events often attract hundreds of attendees to our tent for chemistry demonstrations and hands-on activities as well as discussion with volunteers.

This is the first ever ChemLuminary Award received by the Orlando Section.

In addition, our National Chemistry Week event at the Orlando Science Center is in the finalist of the Outstanding Community Involvement in NCW award.