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