Northeastern Section of the ACS
Monthly Board Meeting
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
May 14th, 2009
Members in Attendance: J. Billo, K. Browne, M. Burgess, M. Filosa, M. Hoffman,
L. Johnson, D. Lewis, K. Lee, R. Lichter, J. McKew, D. Phillips, J. Piper, M.
Schwartz, L. Shao, M. Simon, M. Singer, M. Strem, R. Tanner, and A. Viola.
The meeting was called to order at 4:40 pm with J. Billo as the Chair
The minutes from March 2009 were approved as presented
The minutes from April 2009 were approved as presented
Chair: J. Billo
 There is a call for nominations for the Northeast Region awards.
 Need tellers for June election counting.
 The June Board meeting is typically the long range planning meeting. Please
submit possible topics for discussion.
 Motion by M. Simon:
o Do not have the long range planning meeting due to lack of topics.
o Motion not seconded. Motion withdrawn.
Chair Elect: J. McKew
 Introduced Katherine Lee as the Chair for the NESACS - 2010 National
Committee Meeting.
Secretary: M. Singer
 No Report
Treasurer: J. Piper
 The April 2009 treasurer’s report was presented, discussed and approved as
presented.
Trustees: M. Strem
 The trust assets are up ~6% year to date.
Archivist: M. Simon
 The search is on-going for a permanent home for the section archives.
Councilors:
Councilor
 No Report
Local Arrangements: M. Burgess
 The April 16th, Esselen award meeting was held at the Harvard Faculty Club
to honor Dr. Chad A Merkin from Northwestern University.
o There were 83 guests in attendance.
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Northeastern Section of the ACS
Monthly Board Meeting
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
May 14th, 2009
 The May meeting, Education Awards meeting will be held at Northeastern
University. Recognition and awards will be presented to high school and
college students.
o Dr. John Wozney from Wyeth Research in Cambridge will be the
speaker.
o 80 people are expected for this evening.
Education: R. Tanner
 The James Flack Norris and Theodore William Richards Undergraduate
Summer Research Scholarships, 2009
 The Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society (NESACS)
established the James Flack Norris and Theodore William Richards
Undergraduate Summer Scholarships to honor the memories of Professors
Norris and Richards by promoting research interactions between
undergraduate students and faculty. Research awards of $35000 have been
given for the summer of 2009. The student stipend is $3000 for a minimum
commitment of ten weeks of full-time research work. The remaining $500 of
the award goes to the research advisor to use on supplies, travel, and other
items relevant to the student project. The 2009 scholarships have been
awarded to:
o
o
o
o
Danelle Raad, Brown University, Professor Theordore Betley, Advisor,
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University
Elizabeth Neuhardt, Keene State College, The Synthesis and
Characterization of New N-Heterocyclic Germylene Complexes of the Early
Transition Metals, Dr. Colin Abernethy, Advisor
Rita Ciambra, University of New Hampshire, Redox Reactivity, Ligand
Substitution, and Conformational Changes in a Geobacter Heme Protein
GSU093, Ekaterina Pletneva, at Dartmouth College, Advisor
John Sirois, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Nucleophilic
Displacement Reactions in Hindered Allylic Systems, Dr. Donald Boerth,
Advisor
o Award winners are required to submit a report of their summer projects
by November 2009 for publication in THE NUCLEUS. They are also
required to participate in the Northeast Student Chemistry Research
Conference (NSCRC) in April 2010.
 The Phyllis Brauner Memorial Book Award:
The Book Award is a memorial to an outstanding member of the Northeastern
Section, Dr. Phyllis Brauner. She served in many offices of the Section, in
1974 became the first woman Chair of the Section, and contributed to the
activities of the Section with her bold, innovative ideas and practical ways of
carrying them out. She taught at Simmons College and Framingham State
College and was an inspiring teacher. Her research and education interests
are mirrored in the prize, which is given to a student who excels in the
undergraduate oral presentation at the Northeast Student Chemistry
Research Conference (NSCRC), as judged by a committee of the conference
judges that includes the Education chair. The book is chosen by the student.
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Northeastern Section of the ACS
Monthly Board Meeting
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
May 14th, 2009
A presentation bookplate inside the cover honors both Dr. Brauner and the
awardee. The book is presented to the awardee at the May meeting of the
Section.
o This year’s awardee is Samuel Beal from Wheaton College for his
poster presentation at the 2009 Northeast Student Chemistry
Research Conference (NSCRC) entitled Chemical Weathering in the
Along the Greenland Ice Sheet Margin. His research advisor is
Professor Matthew Evans. The book he has chosen is “Earth: Portrait of
a Planet” by Stephen Marshak.
Education: S. Lantos
 On April 4 we had the largest turnout in years for the annual Avery Ashdown
High School Examination contest (141 students). There were 26 schools
participating form across the section, with some new schools including
several from New Hampshire.
o The Ashdown Exam is a qualifier for the nationally administered United
States Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO). Offered this year to 908
students from across all sections of the ACS, 20 of these top students
will compete in an intensive two-week summer study camp at the
United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO.
o I’m pleased to report that one of our own, Danny Chiao from ActonBoxborough Regional High School (whose teacher is ABRHS
chemistry teacher Mr. Baumritter) will be amongst those top twenty
students nationwide. Danny will have a chance to be one of four who
will ultimately represent the US at the International Chemistry
Olympiad (IChO), held this July in Cambridge, UK. Go Danny!
Board of Publications: M. Filosa
 The new Nucleus volunteers are making big contributions to the Nucleus and
the Website.
 Tracking well actual vs. budget for 2009.
 Loading podcasts onto the website is an ongoing project.
Webmaster: D. Cunningham
 No Report
Nucleus Editor: M. Filosa
 Good content in place for the Summer issue.
 Summerthing will be listed in the May issue and the summer issue.
Membership: M. Chen
 A new member list was received this month on May 3rd. There were 111 new
members (60 new members, 51 transfers from other sections to NESACS).
Welcome letters will be sent toward the end of August to invite them for the
September meeting.
 2 new members will attend the May Education Night Dinner Meeting
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Northeastern Section of the ACS
Monthly Board Meeting
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
May 14th, 2009
Nominations: J. Billo
 Mort Hoffman and Michaeline Chan have agreed to be the 2010 Board
representatives to the Nominating Committee.
 Nominees were approved by voice vote of the Board.
Continuing
 No Report
Fundraising:
 No Report
Esselen Award:
 No Report
Professional Relations:
 No Report
Government Relations: D. Lewis
 ACS is encouraging all National Meeting attendees in Washington DC to visit
their congressional representatives.
 A visit to the local office of Barney Frank is being planned. Contact D. Lewis
for more information.
Med Chem. Group:
 No Report
NCW: C. Jaworek-Lopes
 Plans are still being worked on for NCW activities at the Museum of Science.
Summerthing: D. Lewis
 Two Summerthing activities are being planned
o Futures at Fenway Saturday August 8th.
 First 10 education night awardees to request tickets will receive
2 free tickets.
o Tanglewood Performance Sunday August 2nd.
 Performance at 2:30 pm, group picnic at noon.
NERM: M. Hoffman
 NERM 2011 will be hosted by the Worcester / Central MA section.
 NERM 2010 will be in Potsdam NY
 NERM 2009 will be in Hartford CT. Details will soon be available on the
NERM website.
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Northeastern Section of the ACS
Monthly Board Meeting
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
May 14th, 2009
YCC: L. Johnson
 The NSCCF (Chemistry Career Fair) and the NSCRC (Chemistry Research
Conference) were held on back-to-back days on May 1st and 2nd. With joint
registration for both events, 100+ people registered for the Two-Day
Symposium. Sixty plus people registered for the NSCCF and eighty people
registered for the NSCRC, which includes 30 people registered for both
events (17 of these 30 were NSCRC presenters).
o Attendance for each event was 60-75% of those registered.
o Gregory C. Fu (MIT) gave the keynote address, Asymmetric Catalysis
with "Planar-Chiral" Heterocycles. He also attended dinner with two
award winners and four representatives from the NSYCC (one award
winner was also an NSYCC representative).
 NSYCC Executive Committee Election Results:
o 2009-2010 Chair, Raeanne Napoleon, Boston University
o Vice-Chair, Josh McNally, Boston University
o Career Chair, Mariam Ismail, Northeastern University
o Publicity Chair, Amandeep Sangha, Boston University
o Treasurer, Erin Iski, Tufts University
o Raeanne Napoleon and the executive committee (above) will serve
through the 2010 ACS National Meeting in Boston, including the
coincident German Exchange.
o All award information is available on the website, and 6-10 abstract
booklets are available for those on the NESACS Board who would like
a copy.
 As my last YCC monthly report, I would like to thank the NESACS board and
trustees, as well as each of the board members, past and present, who have
provided support, advice and wisdom during my tenure as Chair. Thank you!
 The Board expressed it’s appreciation to Lee Johnson for his leadership of
the YCC.
YCC / GDCh 2009 exchange: M. Strem
 No Report
Public Relations: L. Johnson
 Working on fine-tuning the e-mail list
 Boston Globe is expressing an interest in ACS and Teaching Trends.
Old Business:
International Year of Chemistry (IYC) Committee
Members: Morton Hoffman (Chair), Ruth Tanner, Christine Jaworek-Lopes,
John McKew, Lee Johnson, Mike Filosa
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Northeastern Section of the ACS
Monthly Board Meeting
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
May 14th, 2009
The following response was submitted on behalf of NESACS to the request of
February 9, 2009, from Dr. Judith Benham for potential local section IYC
contributions in support of the national efforts of ACS:
1) Exchange Program Between NESACS and the German Chemical Society Since 2001, an exchange of graduate and some undergraduate students has
taken place annually between NESACS and the German Chemical Society
(GDCh). In 2001, 2004, and 2007, approximately 12 German students came to
Boston for a week to attend research symposia or, as was the case in 2007, the
ACS National Meeting; a delegation of German students will come to Boston
again in August 2010 for the National Meeting. In 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008,
and 2009, approximately 12 students from colleges and universities within
NESACS traveled to Germany for a week to partake in student research
symposia of the Jungchemikerforum (the YCC-equivalent within GDCh), visits to
academic, industrial, and governmental laboratories, and cultural events. Plans
have already been formulated with Dr. Kurt Begitt, Deputy Director of GDCh, for
a visit to Germany in 2011 by a NESACS delegation.
2) National Chemistry Week - For at least a decade, NCW has been celebrated
annually by NESACS with special events for the public (especially children) at
the Boston Museum of Science that includes the Phyllis Brauner Memorial
Lecture by Prof. Bassam Shakhashiri (University of Wisconsin-Madison). The
theme of the hands-on workshops and lecture-demonstrations has always
followed that of NCW, which is anticipated to have an international focus
("Chemistry Around the World") in 2011. One approach of the NESACS
celebration could be to have some of the international students within the Section
be present in their national costumes with some workshops and materials in
other languages than English to emphasize the fact that molecules know no
boundaries.
3) Connections to Chemistry - This afternoon/evening workshop meeting for high
school chemistry teachers, which has taken place annually since 2000 as an
activity of NCW, could have one of the workshops explore educational materials
available from international chemical societies beyond the ACS (e.g., IUPAC,
RSC, GDCh, etc.), which is always highlighted as one of the purposes of the
event. The keynote speaker could be a representative of an international society
and/or a spokesperson for IYC.
4) Monthly NESACS Meetings - NESACS holds nine monthly meetings
(September-May); many of the meetings are devoted to awards, specialized
topics, and education themes. If the calendar permits, one of the meetings
during 2011 could be devoted to a specific celebration of IYC with an appropriate
speaker.
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Northeastern Section of the ACS
Monthly Board Meeting
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
May 14th, 2009
5) Bringing Chemistry to the Community - As part of the volunteer efforts of
NESACS to the community, it could be possible for the Section to partner with
the state parks within its territory during 2011 to provide chemistry
demonstrations on high traffic days in order to present science experiments to a
different segment of the community than we normally do. It would be possible to
have the demonstrations presented by multilingual people in order to provide an
international impact.
o
New Business:
 Discussion was held to refocus the Awards Committee to cover the Hill
Award, keep the Levin’s Award active.
o Could the Awards Committee also develop a Community College
Teacher Award that could be coordinated with the education
committee?
 The Chair needs to appoint two Board members to the Arno Heyn Award
Committee.
 A request was received from P. Gordon requesting that NESACS support a
medicinal chemistry course being offered thru Simmons and being held in
Jamaica.
o Discussion was held about this program being made available to entire
NESACS section members, as well as would this set a precedent for
funding.
o A reply requesting more information and details will be made to the
program sponsors.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:45pm
Respectfully Submitted
Michael Singer
Secretary - NESACS
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Northeastern Section of the ACS
Monthly Board Meeting
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
May 14th, 2009
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Northeastern Section of the ACS
Monthly Board Meeting
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
May 14th, 2009
9 of 12
Northeastern Section of the ACS
Monthly Board Meeting
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
May 14th, 2009
10 of 12
Northeastern Section of the ACS
Monthly Board Meeting
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
May 14th, 2009
ChemClub Community Activities Grants
ACS President Thomas Lane and the Office of High School Chemistry are pleased to
offer ACS ChemClub grants to support community service projects and community
interactions aimed at improving science learning experiences. The first round of ACS
ChemClub Community Activities Grants will be awarded in the fall of 2009. The
deadline to apply is October 15, 2009. Award winners will be announced on November
16, 2009.
Chartered ChemClubs are eligible to receive grants valued up to $300. A special award
with a maximum value of $500 will be granted to community activities done in
collaboration with ACS student chapters (college chapters).
Grant Eligibility
To apply for a grant:
▪ Your club must be chartered through ACS, with the 2008-2009 final report on file in
the ACS ChemClub office.
▪ The activity must involve the community and be chemistry-related. Examples include:
science demonstrations at a local elementary or middle school; promoting chemistry in
your community; and tutoring programs for chemistry students.
▪ If collaborating on a project with an ACS student chapter, the chapter must have an
“active” status. You can request contact information for neighboring colleges with
student chapters, verification of status, and assistance with facilitating communication.
How to Apply
The deadline to apply for a grant is October 15, 2009. Submit a proposal for the activity
and an itemized budget to the ACS ChemClub Office <hschemclubs@acs.org>.
▪ Review proposal criteria and considerations (available May 15)
▪ Proposal template (available May 15)
Reporting Requirements
Once the project is completed, your club must submit the following to the ACS Office of
High School Chemistry:
▪ Receipts showing use of funds
▪ A short explanation of the activity
▪ Pictures of the activity (accompanied by photo release forms)
Contact Us
If you have questions or for more information, email <hschemclubs@acs.org> or call
ACS at 202-872-6383 or 800-227-5558 ext. 6383.
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Northeastern Section of the ACS
Monthly Board Meeting
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
May 14th, 2009
NeRACS
Northeast Region of the American Chemical Society, Inc.
NORTHEAST REGION AWARDS FOR 2009
Awards offered through the Northeast Region
THE ACS DIVISION OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION NORTHEAST REGION AWARD
FOR EXCELLENCE IN HIGH SCHOOL TEACHING
THE ACS REGIONAL INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION AWARDS
THE E. ANN NALLEY ACS NORTHEAST REGION AWARD FOR VOLUNTEER
SERVICE TO THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
THE NORTHEAST REGION AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE
CHEMICAL SCIENCES
The deadline for these awards is August 1st
Award offered through the National ACS
STANLEY C. ISRAEL REGIONAL AWARD FOR ADVANCING DIVERSITY
IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
The deadline for this award is July 1st
Presentation of awards:
The awards will be presented at the Northeast Regional Meeting of the
ACS (NERM), which will be held at the Hartford Hilton Hotel in
Hartford, Connecticut, October 7–10, 2009.
For further information and nomination forms, go to
http://membership.acs.org/n/nerm/>.
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