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
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 hope you are enjoying the beautiful Central Florida fall weather and are getting ready for the official start of the holiday season. In this bulletin we would like to bring to your attention a few important dates.
Annual Election: It’s election time again! Please follow the link (click here) to meet the candidates for the 2023 Orlando Section Executive Committee. Voting is currently open and will close on November 8, 2022. You have received your ballot via email – Please vote!
Nominations for Annual Awards: We would like to remind you that the nominations for Annual Awards for our local section are due on November 9th, 2022. If you know someone (students, colleagues, or companies) who should be recognized publicly for their achievements by our local section, please consider nominating them. More details can be found at our website. If you make a nomination and do not get an acknowledgement of receipt, please resend.
Save the date: You are invited to join us at the Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, December 3rd, 2022, from 11:30AM to 2:00PM, at the Blu on The Avenue (326 S Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789). More information about reservations will become available soon.
The ACS Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society and Orlando Science Center organized a community event for National Chemistry Week to celebrate the importance of chemistry in everyday life!
We are excited to announce the candidates for 2023 Executive Committee of the Orlando Section. Voting is expected to open on October 24th, 2022, when you will receive a separate email with the instructions on how to cast your votes electronically and will close on November 8th, 2022.
Dr. Nicole Lapeyrouse Candidate for Chair
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 focused on the remediation of chlorinated compounds in aqueous environments and chemistry education. Dr. Lapeyrouse’s current research includes investigating student perception of teaching practices and their experience with unique multimedia, diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM instructional materials, and STEM retention.
Dr. Stephen Smith Candidate for Chair-Elect
Dr. Stephen Smith is a native of Central Florida and currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering and Sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology. He completed his PhD in chemistry at the University of Central Florida in 2021. His research interests include synthesis of nanomaterials via industrially viable processes for applications as bactericides.
Dr. Pavithra Pathirathna Candidate for Secretary
Pavithra Pathirathna is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering and Sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology. She performed her undergraduate studies at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, and her Ph.D. with Parastoo Hashemi in the Department of Chemistry at Wayne State University, MI, USA. Her postdoctoral work was at the University of Pittsburgh with Shigeru Amemiya. Pavithra’s interdisciplinary and translational research program centers on developing and optimizing electrochemical sensors for analyzing biologically and environmentally impactful metals and neurotransmitters with applications in point of care diagnostics. Some of her prestigious distinctions include Honor Citation for Teaching Service and Esther and Stanley Kirschner General Chemistry Teaching Award. Besides her scholarly and teaching activities, Pavithra has been serving as the secretary of the ACS Orlando section since 2021 and a reviewer and a co-editor of several journals.
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. Darlene Slattery Candidate for Councilor
Dr. Slattery has been an active member of the Orlando Section since its inception in 1991, serving as Chair in 1992, 2002 and 2008, treasurer in 1996 and has served as Councilor since 2011. She has also served on a number of local section committees, including the Awards Committee, which she has chaired for the majority of her time in the Section.
As Councilor, Dr. Slattery has served on two National Committees, first on the Committee on Chemical Safety and since 2018, she has served on the Membership Affairs Committee (MAC), where she was actively involved in the development of the new membership model that resulted in new categories of membership and more pricing options. As a member of MAC, she is also the lead for the Liaison and Caucus Working Group.
Dr. Slattery is happily retired and looks forward to the opportunity to continue her support of the Orlando Section.
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
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 3rd, 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 4th, 2022 November 9th, 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.
Join the ACS Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society and Orlando Science Center for a community event for National Chemistry Week and celebrate the importance of chemistry in everyday life! Learn about this year’s theme, The Chemistry of Fabrics, from UCF, FIT, Valencia College faculty and students with 10 exciting activities.
We are seeking interested individuals to join the Orlando Section Executive Committee in 2023! We have four positions up for election: Chair, Chair Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Councilor. A description of each position is included below. Please contact Dr. Laura Sessions (lsessions@valenciacollege.edu), Nominating Committee Chair, with any additional questions.
All nominations (including name of nominee, contact information, and nominated position) must be notified to Dr. Laura Sessions (via email at lsessions@valenciacollege.edu) by October 14th, 2022. Voting is expected to open on October 24th, when you will receive a separate email with the instructions on how to cast your votes electronically and will close on November 8th . Please let us know (via email at contact@orlandoacs.org) before October 14th 2022 if you would like to be mailed a paper copy ballot.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Chair (one-year term). The main responsibilities are:
Two year commitment (one year as chair, one year as immediate Past-Chair)
Serve as Chair of the Executive Committee
Appoint members and/or affiliates to all committees
Oversee the activity of the section
To vote/participate in exec decisions
Chair Elect (one year term). The main responsibilities are:
Three year commitment (one year as chair-elect, one year as chair, one year as immediate Past-Chair)
To vote/participate in exec decisions
Succeed to office of Chair for the next year
Serve as chair for meetings which the Chair cannot attend
Treasurer (one-year term). The main responsibilities are:
Prepare the annual budget/expenditures report for Nationals
Maintain the Section bank account
Maintain a budget, disbursements, expenditures, and accounting for the Section activities
To vote/participate in exec decisions
Secretary (one-year term). The main responsibilities are:
To take notes at exec meetings
To set-up and distribute ballots for elections (mostly electronic now)
Oversee website and social media communications
To vote/participate in exec decisions
Councilor (three-year term). The main responsibilities are:
To attend national meeting annually, represent the Section, and report back activities
Assist in preparing and submitting the annual report to the national office
WASHINGTON, May 31, 2022 — The American Chemical Society (ACS) today announced that Thomas Connelly, Ph.D., will retire from his position as ACS chief executive officer at the end of the year after more than seven years of serving in this role. In addition to effectively navigating the organization through the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic, he has led the organization as it strengthened its core values, transformed its membership and launched new initiatives.
Thomas Connelly Credit: Peter Cutts Photography
“Tom has provided strong leadership for ACS throughout his tenure, especially over the past two years as we experienced a once in a lifetime challenge due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With his guidance, ACS has weathered the pandemic and is now stronger than it’s ever been,” says Paul W. Jagodzinski, Ph.D., chair of the ACS Board of Directors. “We look forward to Tom’s continued leadership through the rest of 2022 and wish him all the best as he enters the next chapter of his life in 2023.”
Connelly joined ACS in 2015. He has overseen the refinement and expansion of ACS core values, which define the principles that guide the organization. During his tenure, the core value of professionalism was expanded to include safety and ethics. Additionally, the core value of diversity, inclusion and respect added equity as a key principle. He also guided a transformation of membership by increasing the focus on growing ACS’ international efforts as well as supporting the development of a new membership model, which launched this year. Most recently, Connelly led the effort to establish four strategic initiatives designed to have a transformational impact on the chemistry enterprise. The more than $50 million, multiyear effort embodies ACS’ commitment to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people.
“It has been an honor to serve as ACS CEO for more than seven years,” Connelly says. “ACS continues to advance its Vision and Mission through the efforts of our dedicated staff and wonderful volunteers. I look forward to continuing my service to ACS from within its membership ranks.”
Prior to joining ACS, Connelly had a 37-year distinguished career at DuPont Company, where he held the roles of chief science and technology officer and chief innovation officer during his tenure. Connelly holds chemical engineering and economics degrees from Princeton University. As a Winston Churchill Scholar, he received his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Cambridge. In 2016, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. He has served in advisory roles to the U.S. Government and the Republic of Singapore.
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive press releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.
We hope you have had a healthy and productive year so far and are ready for the official start of summer. In this bulletin we would like to bring to your attention an exciting summer social events that our section is organizing. To honor our 50th, 60th and 70th year ACS members and celebrate the 95th anniversary of The ACS Women Chemists Committee, the ACS Orlando Local Section is organizing a Summer Social Event
on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 (stating at 11:30 AM) at the Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant 529 N Alafaya Trail, Orlando, FL 32828
Apart from socializing, the award ceremony to recognize our senior members, we are very pleased to announce that Dr. Christina Drake of Kismet Technologies will give a short talk about the bacterial and viral transmissions in hospitals, a topic that is so important in the current COVID era.
Also, this time the ACS Orlando section will subsidize part of the meal cost, so our members will have to pay only $25 out-of-pocket for a three-course meal. The location can accommodate only 42 people, so early registration is highly encouraged. Please follow the link below to register for the event. The registration deadline is June 15th.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to our community page, follow our facebook page, and check out our website for updated news, and activities of our local section.
We look forward to seeing you all there!
Best wishes,| Dr. Denisia Popolan-Vaida Chair of ACS Orlando Section On behalf of the ACS Orlando Local Section executive committee
