April Event: Central Florida Earth Day at Lake Eola
The Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) will be participating in the 20th annual Central Florida Earth Day event at Lake Eola Park (east side), 512 E. Washington Street Orlando, FL on Saturday April 19th, 2025 from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. All members and affiliates are welcome to stop by and say hi to our wonderful volunteers and meet some local section members. The ACS-Orlando booth will be located at the Tent Vendor 6 site on the International Bridge.
The Orlando Section announces a series of casual gatherings for members to connect at locations with a little scientific flair. We plan to meet at a different venue each month now through the summer. Most will be free, drop-in, and family friendly.
Embark on an unforgettable luncheon with your fellow Orlando Section members aboard the rivership, the Barbara Lee, departing from Historic Sanford, FL. Choose from seven different entrees, showcasing culinary excellence with options to suit every taste. Tickets include food, entertainment, and cruise. Coffee, tea, and water are provided. Soda and alcoholic beverages as well as gratuities are not included.
As you savor your meal, live entertainment will serenade you with music, creating a festive atmosphere as you cruise along the scenic waters of the St. Johns River. Nature enthusiasts will enjoy watching the local wildlife, which includes birds, manatees and alligators at various times throughout the year. During the lunch tours, our cruise guide will point out wildlife, areas of interest and share the history of steamships that sailed the St. Johns River.
The Orlando Section announces a series of casual gatherings for members to connect at locations with a little scientific flair. We plan to meet at a different venue each month now through the summer. Most will be free, drop-in, and family friendly.
Pictures from the last ACS event at the Orlando Wetlands in 2018. From Jen Archer and Emily Heider.
Drop by and chat with some of your fellow Orlando Section members, take a self-guided walking tour, or drop in for the 10am or 11am tram tour. Stay as long as you wish. Look for us in the pavilion to the right of the welcome trailer.
The Orlando Wetlands offers public tram tours to highlight the creation, operation, management, and wildlife of the facility. The volunteer program runs tram cart tours for groups of less than 10 people on Saturdays, lasting 45 – 60 minutes. Since reservations are not taken, we recommend getting there 15 minutes before the hour to reserve a seat. Bring your picnic lunch too. In Christmas, FL.
Tentative next event will be March 16 on St. Johns Rivership Co. for a Lunch Cruise. More information and a full spring schedule coming soon!
Helein Hitchcock was recently recognized as a 60-year ACS member at a luncheon with Darlene Slattery and Michael Hampton. Helein has been involved in the Section as an awards reviewer and a science fair judge.
Helein received her B.S. in chemistry from the University of Maryland in 1964 and went to work for Bendix Field Engineering at Kennedy Space Center doing routine analysis of spacecraft and ground systems gaseous samples to meet specifications. Eventually, Helein transferred from working as a contract employee to being a NASA employee. She continued working at KSC supporting the space program until her retirement. During that time, her exemplary service was acknowledged with a number of awards, including the prestigious Silver Snoopy award and the Manned Flight Awareness Award.
The Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society held it’s annual awards banquet on Saturday, December 7th, 2024 at the At the blu on the avenue restaurant in Winter Park, FL.
The 2024 winners are:
Award
Recipient
Organization
Outstanding Student at a primarily teaching institution
Julia Dasque
Seminole State College
Outstanding Student at a primarily research institution (undergraduate)
Disha Iyengar
University of Central Florida
Outstanding Graduate Student
Edwin Davidson
University of Central Florida
Outstanding Educator at a Primarily Research Institution
We are excited to announce the results of 2025 Executive Committee of the Orlando Local Section of the American Chemical Society and By-Laws Vote. Voting opened on November 11th, 2024 and closed on November 22nd, 2024.
Chair-Elect: Dr. Toufiq Reza Secretary: Dr. Meghan McGreal Treasurer: Dr. Van Quach Alternate Councilor: Dr. Nicole Lapeyrouse By-Laws Amendments: Passed Electronic record of the results can be found on third party website.
The Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society will recognize 2024 award winners in a traditional annual awards banquet on December 7th, 2024. You are cordially invited to attend the banquet:
Saturday, December 7th, 2024 11:30AM to 2:00PM Location: blu on the avenue 326 Park Avenue South Winter Park, FL 32789
The event will commence with a social including hors d’oeuvres of tomato bruschetta, shrimp cocktail, and crab bruschetta. A cash bar will be available.
Lunch Menu Beverages: Iced Tea, Soft Beverages, and Illy Coffee Entrée choice of Pasta Primavera – seasonal vegetables, grana padano cheese Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken – grana padano cheese, house made caesar dressing, croutons Chicken Piccata – white wine, butter, capers, lemon sauce, garlic mash, seasonal vegetable Salmon – tomato bruschetta, balsamic glaze, garlic mash, seasonal vegetable Dessert choice of Tiramisu or Apple Caramel Crisp
We will recognize individuals for their outstanding achievements in chemistry and across the broader chemical enterprise following lunch. The cost will be $25/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.
All reservations must be made by December 1st, 2024 and can be submitted:
Celebrating Chemistry magazines displayed at a local library.
The Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society is on a mission to spark a love for chemistry among children in Central Florida. For the past few years, we have distributed Celebrating Chemistry magazines to local library systems, providing resources that make chemistry accessible and exciting for young learners.
In 2024, the initiative reached a new milestone, with 5,100 copies of the magazines distributed to library systems across five counties in Central Florida. These magazines are now available at local library branches, reaching children in countless communities throughout Central Florida.
The Celebrating Chemistry magazines are more than just reading material—they’re a gateway to hands-on learning. Local libraries have incorporated the magazines into various activities, from science workshops to family-friendly events, helping kids explore chemistry through experiments, puzzles, and real-world applications.
By making chemistry engaging and relatable, the Orlando ACS is nurturing the next generation of scientists and innovators, one magazine at a time.
For future distribution or if you have any question about the distribution, please contact Duy Le (duy.le@ucf.edu).
The Orlando Section ACS needs to update our by-laws to align with recent changes to the American Chemical Society By-Laws. As a voting member, you will be able to vote on the updated by-laws. Following our current by-laws, at least 2/3 of votes cast shall be required to approve the new by-laws.
Key changes include alignment to the new membership types and removal of paper ballot for voting processes (that are now completed digitally). The new by-laws are provided below for your perusal. You may compare to the current by-laws that are found on our website here along with a marked-up version that shows all the changes here. If you have any questions, please contact Laura Sessions lsessions@valenciacollege.edu.
We are excited to announce the candidates for 2025 Executive Committee of the Orlando Local Section of the American Chemical Society. Voting is expected to open on November 11th, 2024 and will close on November 22nd, 2024. You will receive an email with instructions on how to cast your votes electronically.
Dr. Toufiq Reza Candidate for Chair-Elect
Dr. Toufiq Rezais an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of Florida Institute of Technology. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Nevada, Reno in 2013 and 2011, respectively. He has published one hundred and twelve peer-reviewed journal articles, five patents, two book chapters, and more than one hundred oral and poster presentations. Dr. Reza was named to the I&EC Research 2021 Class of Influential Researchers. He is also listed in the “World Ranking of Top 2% Scientists” in 2021-2023 database published by Stanford University. Dr. Reza leads the Biofuels Research Lab at Florida Tech with primary research interest on thermochemical conversions of biomass and biowastes. His research has been funded by NSF, DOE, USDA, EPA, Florida Sea Grant, and USAID. Dr. Reza is a member of multiple scientific societies including AIChE, ACS, and ASABE and their local sections. He is an officer of AIChE Environmental Division and co-chair of technical section – Water. He is also the Chair of PRS-707 Food & Organic Waste Management & Utilization at the ASABE and Vice-Chair of ASE-12 Forest Engineering. Dr. Reza wants to bring his experience with other scientific society and to serve at the ACS Orlando Section as Chair-Elect.
Dr. Pavithra Pathirathna Candidate for Secretary
Pavithra Pathirathna is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, and earned her Ph.D. under Parastoo Hashemi in the Department of Chemistry at Wayne State University, MI. She conducted her postdoctoral research at the University of Pittsburgh with Shigeru Amemiya. Pavithra’s interdisciplinary and translational research focuses on developing and optimizing electrochemical sensors for the analysis of biologically and environmentally significant metals and neurotransmitters, with applications in point-of-care diagnostics. Her research has been funded by the Naval Research Laboratory and the National Science Foundation. Among her prestigious distinctions are the Outstanding Educator at a Research Institute award from the ACS and the Educator of the Year award from United Bridge Inc. In addition to her academic and research roles, she has led a STEM club at Palm Bay Middle School and has been serving as the secretary of the ACS Orlando section since 2021. She also serves as a reviewer for several journals.
Dr. Meghan McGreal Candidate for Secretary and Candidate for Alternate Councilor
Dr. Meghan McGreal is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Stetson University in DeLand. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. She is a computational chemist with a research focus on metalloenzyme catalysis and biomimetic modifications to the active sites of these enzymes.
Dr. McGreal is the faculty adviser to the Stetson University ACS Student Chapter and is a founding member of the Stetson Inclusive Pedagogy Faculty Cohort. Dr. McGreal is very passionate about undergraduate chemistry education, as well as providing connections and outreach opportunities for the public to experience chemistry. With the newly formed ACS student chapter, she has performed experiments with children at the NOBBCChE Stem Festival as well as at the Downtown DeLand Monsters on Main Street Halloween Event, which had close to 10,000 people in attendance.
Dr. McGreal has been a member of the ACS since she was an undergraduate student and has appreciated the opportunity to connect with other chemists at conferences and events throughout her career. She is a new addition to the Orlando Section of the ACS and is excited about the opportunity to get more involved.
Dr. Van Quach Candidate for Treasurer
Dr. Van Quach has been the treasurer of the Orlando Section since 2019. In addition, he is a professor of chemistry at Seminole State College. He has been teaching there since Aug 2010. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Florida in 1999. After taking some time off for travel, he made his way up to Tallahassee, FL to start graduate school. At Florida State University, his research focused on better understanding of the theoretical and fundamental processes that occur during chemical separation. Specifically, he investigated the temperature dependence of the phase ration in liquid chromatography systems. He received his Ph.D. in 2009 and taught for two years at FSU before returning to the central Florida area to teach at Seminole State College. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, reading, and drinking good wines.
Dr. Nicole Lapeyrouse Candidate for Alternate Councilor
Dr. Nicole Lapeyrouse is a lecturer at the University of Central Florida (UCF). She performed her undergraduate studies at Florida International University and graduate work at UCF. At UCF, her research focuses on chemistry education. Dr. Lapeyrouse’s current research has three main focuses with the overall goal of increasing student retention in STEM. This includes investigating student perception of teaching practices and their experience with unique multimedia. In addition, she explores representation in STEM instructor materials, including textbooks, PowerPoints, and other resources. Finally, her research group looks at identifying factors that impact students’ STEM identity. Some of her prestigious distinctions include Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Affordable Instructional Materials High Impact Individual Award Recipient for use of Open Education Resources, and Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year.
Dr. Chris Avery Candidate for Alternate Councilor
Dr. Chris Avery is a Managing Director for ICF, an international environmental consulting firm. He works with agencies and governments in achieving their goals on energy and environmental products and informing government choices with science. He received his Bachelors in chemistry from Hope College in 2005, before heading to the University of Michigan for a Masters and Ph.D. in Chemistry. His thesis work focused on understanding how proteins and peptides interact with cellular membranes. After graduate school, he went to Washington DC as a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, working in Congress and the Department of Energy. He has been an advocate for broader awareness of alternative scientific careers for chemists, especially in the policy realm. He has served in various roles within ACS, both nationally and locally, including as the chair of the Committee on Environment and Sustainability, and as a Councilor and Alternate Councilor for the Chemical Society of Washington, the ACS local section in Washington DC. He moved to our local section 5 years ago to be closer to family, and in his spare time enjoys cooking and spending time with friends and loved ones. Since coming to Orlando, he has participated in the development of the upcoming SERMACS meeting taking place in Orlando in 2025.
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