Category Archives: Opportunities

Orlando Sections Travel Awards – Summer 2023

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Travel awards from the Orlando Section of the ACS assisted two students in Dr. Denisia Popolan-Vaida’s research group at University of Central Florida to attend the 99th Florida Annual Meeting and Exposition (FAME) conference from June 1 – 3, 2023. Arden Floyd and Alec DeCecco received $150 each.

Arden Floyd gave a poster presentation on her research titled “Cloud Condensation Nuclei Activity of Fresh and Aged Maleic Acid Aerosol Particles”. She gained new perspective on her work thanks to the insightful questions of the FAME attendees. She was introduced to exciting fields of chemistry by the excellent and diverse presentations she attended and was able to forge new friendships and professional connections with like-minded chemists from across the state of Florida. She is a chemistry major at the University of Central Florida who will be graduating in Spring 2024. She looks forward to next year’s 100th anniversary of FAME.

Alec DeCecco, a Ph.D. student at the University of Central Florida, has just completed his first year of study on combustion research. He writes that his experience at ACS FAME was fantastic. He shared his research with others and received really interesting questions that lead to great conversations. Attending presentations gave him insight into some of the cutting-edge research going on in the field of chemistry and he was able to learn a lot. He found the conference attendees to be very friendly and had a lot of fun meeting people and hearing about their research. He gives his thanks to the section for granting him the travel award that made this whole experience possible.

Congratulations and good work, Arden and Alec!

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.

2023 Summer Social Invitation

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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

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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

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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.

2023 CCEW Illustrated Poem Contest: The Curious Chemistry of Amazing Algae

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The Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) is hosting an illustrated poem contest for students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. Entries must be sponsored by a local school or community group for verification purposes.

Contest_Deadline:Sunday, April 30, 2023 at 11:59 PM Eastern
Local Prizes: One winner will be awarded ($50) for each of the flowing categories:
Grades K-2     Grades 3-5     Grades 6-8     Grades 9-12
The teacher who guided the winner will receive a small funding ($100) for classroom supplies.
Local Contact:Duy Le (submission@orlandoacs.org)
Submission:Illustrated poem and submission form must be submitted to https://forms.gle/XVLtvkiqLtbGHfB79
or emailed to submission@orlandoacs.org

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 to win prizes!

How to participate:

Write and illustrate a poem using the CCEW theme, “The Curious Chemistry of Amazing Algae.” Your poem must be no more than 40 words and in the following styles to be considered:

HAIKU  –  LIMERICK  –  ODE  –  ABC POEM  –  FREE VERSE  –  END RHYME  –  BLANK VERSE

Possible topics related to the theme include:

  • Seaweed
  • Micro- or macro-algae
  • Photosynthesis
  • Bioluminescent algae
  • Algae as food & habitat for animals
  • Consumer products from algae
  • Oxygen from algae
  • Biofuels from algae

Entries will be judged based upon:

  • Artistic Merit – use of color, quality of drawing, design & layout
  • Poem Message – fun, motivational, inspiring about yearly theme
  • Originality Creativity – unique, clever and/or creative design
  • Neatness – free of spelling and grammatical errors

Contest rules:

·   All poems must be no more than 40 words, and in one of the following styles to be considered: Haiku, Limerick, Ode, ABC poem, Free verse, End rhyme, and Blank verse.
·   Entries are judged based upon relevance to and incorporation of the NCW theme, word choice and imagery, colorful artwork, adherence to poem style, originality and creativity, and overall presentation.
·   All entries must be original works without aid from others. Poems may be submitted by hand on an unlined sheet of paper not larger than 11” by 14” or scanned and sent via email. Illustrations may be created using crayons, watercolors, other types of paint, colored pencils, or markers. The illustration may also be electronically created by using a digital painting and drawing app on a computer, tablet, or mobile device.
·   The text of the poem should be easy to read and may be typed before the hand-drawn or digital illustration is added, or the poem may be written on lined paper, which is cut out and pasted onto the unlined paper with the illustration.
·   No clipart or unoriginal images can be used.
·   Only one entry per student will be accepted; all entries must include an entry form. If the illustration is created using a digital painting or drawing app, the name of the program must be included on the entry form.
·   Acceptance of prizes constitutes consent to use winners’ first name, and entry for editorial, advertising, and publicity purposes.

Download submission form and this flyer.

Examples (2022 National winners)

2023 Student Travel Awards

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The 2023 Travel Awards have been given out for the year. The Orlando Section ACS was able to support 5 students with travel to ACS national meetings and FAME. Please check back at the beginning of 2024 for the next application cycle.

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.

Younger Chemist Committee (YCC): Exploring Entrepreneurship in STEM

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The Younger Chemists Committee of Central Florida is proud to host “Exploring Entrepreneurship in STEM” (virtual/in person event) on February 16th at 6:30 pm, with speaker Dr. Jim Brenner from the Florida Institute of Technology. Dr. Brenner will be sharing valuable insights gained from his many years of experience as an entrepreneur in the nanotechnology industry.

For more event information, our RSVP link is shown below that includes the zoom link and the in-person location: https://exploringentrepreneurship.rsvpify.com

Please don’t forget to reach out to us on social media at https://linktr.ee/yccacsorlando for updates, news, and activities about our committee.

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

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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).

Younger Chemist Committee (YCC): Chemical Industry Interactive Panel (CIIP)

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YCC Orlando is excited to bring you the opportunity to connect with professional in industry via a structured Q&A with Chemical Industry Interactive Panel (CIIP). This virtual event aims to make connections with professionals from Florida so that budding scientists and engineers can get a chance to access the opportunities available locally. RSVP to attend our virtual event using this link: https://lnkd.in/ectX66Cc

Download this Flyer

Please don’t forget to reach out to us on social media at https://linktr.ee/yccacsorlando for updates, news, and activities about our committee.

Annual Awards Banquet Invitation

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

Saturday, December 3rd, 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!