Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society
Board of Directors Meeting
Holiday Inn
Brookline MA
November 17th, 2005
Members in attendance: M. Burgess, M. Chen, M. Chorgadhe, C. Costello, T. Frigo, T.
Gilbert, M. Hearn, M. Hoffman, E.A. Hopkins, D. Lewis, H. Mayne, J. Neumeyer, D.
Phillips, J. Piper, D. Rickter, L. Shao, M. Singer, J. D. Smith, R. Tanner, A. Tapper, V.
Walworth.
Visitor in attendance: Glenn Crosby
Amy Tapper, Chair, called the meeting to order at 4:35 pm
The NESACS Board meeting minutes for October 2005 were accepted as presented by
voice vote.
Chair Report – Amy Tapper (written report)
 The social event on November 10th had 30 people in attendance.
 The section hosted 50 cadets from West Point
 The NESACS LSAC report statistics are being reviewed by the LSAC office and will
be corrected.
Chair-Elect – P. Mabrouk
 Monday Nov. 14th 2006, the White House announced the Medal of Science
awardees. Our own Professor Stephen J. Lippard from the faculty at MIT is an
awardee and is being recognized for his work related to cancer chemotherapy. I
would propose that we recognize and celebrate Steve's accomplishments in the
January Nucleus - with a nice photo of Steve on the cover :) I think it would also be
appropriate to put a nice announcement on the NESACS website
Secretary:
 No Report
Treasurer – J. Piper
 The October 2005 treasurer’s report was presented and accepted by voice vote.
Budget Committee – J. Piper
 Committee budgets are due by the next Board meeting.
Archivist
 No Report
Councilors: M. Hoffman
 Attended a meeting with ACS members in the Central Massachusetts local section
in attempts to resurrect and reorganize the Central MA section. Members of the
LSAC and national ACS were also present at the meeting.
o Central MA members all currently get a copy of the Nucleus.
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o The Board of Publication will be contacted about offering the Central MA
section some space for posting their activities.
Councilors: M. Hoffman and Glenn Crosby (Wash. St. University)
 The Board listened to a presentation by Dr. Glenn Crosby about the Division of
Chemical Education Endowment fund for regional awards in Teaching Excellence in
Chemistry.
o This is an award targeted towards High School teachers.
o The endowment will be fully funded with a $300K endowment.
 So far $68K has been raised.
 The endowment is to be fully funded by the end of 2006.
o The Division of Chemical Education will match the first $100K.
o Goal
 To bring the Division of Chemical Education closer to the local regional
meetings.
 To increase the exposure of chemistry to students at the High School
level.
 Improve regional meeting participation and programming for High
School teachers.
 Every regional meeting will have an award. There is to be at least three
nominees per region per award.
 The regional award winner will be automatically nominated for
the National ACS Conant award.
o Funds are being solicited from ACS units and individuals. Not from the same
corporations already fund ACS awards.
o NESACS is being directly asked to make a contribution and individual
NESACS members are being encouraged to also donate to the endowment.
o The funds will be deposited within the ACS pool of funds and managed as a
part of the ACS endowments.
o There is a need to send a clear message that professional chemists care
about High School teachers.
 Dr Crosby was thanked by the Board for his efforts and his presentation.
 The NESACS Board requested that the Treasurer and Trustees review the end of
the year budget to see if there are funds available for 2005 or 2006 budget year.
Trustees – K. Piper (written)
 See written summary appended to end of the minutes.
Local Arrangements – A. Tapper for M. Burgess
 115 people are registered for tonight’s dinner.
Membership Committee: M. Chen (written)
 A total of 311 “Welcome New Member” letters were sent on November 12, 2005.
(173 new members and 138 were members transferred to our local section).
 There will be 4 new members attending Norris Award Dinner.
Board of Publications: V. Walworth)
 Sheila Rodman will be taking over calendar editor responsibilities.
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 Thanks to Don Rickter for over 5 years of service as the Calendar editor.
 The NESACS Webmaster was at the last meeting.
 Discussion of the future of the NESACS website was held.
 More web content volunteers are needed.
 Notices for a new web committee will be in the Nucleus and on the website.
 The 1st Arno Heyn book prize will be given out tonight.
 Awardees are Sam Kounaves and Mark Spitler.
 The sons of Arno Heyn will be in attendance at tonight’s dinner and meeting.
Nucleus Editor: V. Walworth for M. Filosa
 The December issue is in progress.
Education Committee: R. Tanner
 Connections to Chemistry 2005
The sixth Connections to Chemistry program was held at Burlington (MA) High School
on Wednesday, October 19th. This program is designed to connect high school
chemistry teachers with the numerous education resources that are available from the
American Chemical Society. We again had an exceptionally good response to the
program and closed the registration at 150 registrants. The 2005 President of the ACS,
Dr. William Carroll, was at the opening session to welcome the participants to the
program, and to encourage them to utilize the ACS resources and to consider affiliate
membership in the Division of Chemical Education via the new Chemistry Teacher
Connection (CTC) program.
In addition to the welcome, Dr. Carroll also presented one of the workshops for the
program Why Don’t You Just Make All the Plastic Alike? In addition to this workshop,
four other workshops were given: Toying with Chemistry, the National Chemistry Week
workshop (John Mauch, Chemistry teacher, Belmont High School), It’s a small, small
World, a nanotechnology workshop (Arthur Watterson, UMASS Lowell), Seeing the
Unseeable, a technology workshop for enhancing demonstrations (Walter Rohr,
Eastchester High School, NY), and Power from the Nucleus, a workshop on nuclear
power and radioactive sources, (Gilbert Brown, UMASS Lowell; and David Barr,
Seabrook Power Station).
The keynote address Do We Have a Future, or What? Wild Guesses What Chemical
Education Will Be Like in 2015 was also given by Dr. Carroll. Following his address,
door prizes were given which included subscriptions to J Chem. Educ., affiliate
memberships in CHED, educational materials, ACS software, and ACS logo
merchandise as well as certificates for professional development credits and a year’s
subscription to ChemMatters.
An abstract has been submitted to the session on Professional Development of High
School Chemistry Teachers to be presented at the ACS National Meeting in Atlanta,
March 2006. The title of the presentation is: Six Years of Connections to Chemistry for
High School Chemistry Teachers.
 Grants-in-Aid Awarded to Undergraduates
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The Education Committee has awarded Grants-in-Aid of $250 each to four
undergraduates at colleges and universities within the Northeastern Section to enable
them to attend the ACS National Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia to present a paper at the
Undergraduate Research Poster Session in the Division of Chemical Education on
Monday, March 27, 2006. Matching funds have been committed by the institutions to
support the students’ travel. The recipients are also required to participate in the
Northeast Student Chemistry Research Conference (NSCRC) in April 2006.
The awardees, their research supervisors, and the titles of the papers are as follows:
o Jessica DeMott, Brandeis University, (Prof. Oleg Ozerov) Hypercoordinate
Main Group PNP Pincer Complexes
o Jessica Falco, Stonehill College (Prof. Louis Liotta) The Synthesis of Vinyl
Pyrrolidine and Subsequent Synthesis of Polyhydroxylated Pyrrolidines from
Commercially Available Sugars
o Tania Cabrera, Simmons College (Prof. Richard Gurney) Controlling the Size,
Orientation, Density, and Nucleation of Calcium Oxalate Monohydrate
Crystals Using Self-Assembled Monolayers
o James Hummel, Stonehill College, (Prof. Louis Liotta) The Synthesis of Vinyl
and Polyhydroxylated Pyrrolidines and Subsequent Purification Using High
Performance Liquid Chromatography
Applications for the travel stipend are accepted from students majoring in chemistry,
biochemistry, chemical engineering, or molecular biology majors who are in good
standing with at least junior status, and are currently engaged in undergraduate
research.
 Student Affiliate Chapter Awards
From C&EN:
The ACS Society Committee on Education (SOCED) selects student affiliate
chapters to receive special recognition on the basis of their programs and activities
as described in their annual reports. Awards are classified as outstanding,
commendable, and honorable mention. Chapters that do not qualify for these
awards receive a certificate of achievement for meritorious service. For the 2004–05
academic year, SOCED confers 32 outstanding, 62 commendable, and 82
honorable mention awards. Plaques will be presented to these chapters during the
231st ACS national meeting in Atlanta on March 26, 2006.
Four student affiliate chapters within NESACS were cited. Among those designated
as Commendable are Simmons College (student leaders: Marcy Keddy and Azra
Idrizovic; faculty advisor: Richard Gurney) and Suffolk University STUDENT
AFFILIATE CHAPTER AWARDS (student leader: Raksmey Im; faculty advisor:
Doris Lewis). Bridgewater State College (student leader: Bethany Masten; faculty
advisors: Edward Brush and Cielito DeRamos King) and Northeastern University
(student leaders: Courtney Hrank and Amy Kallmerten; faculty advisor: Thomas
Gilbert) received Honorable Mention.
 The Fourteenth Annual ACS Northeast Regional Undergraduate Day
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The Northeast Regional Undergraduate Day was held at Boston University on Saturday,
November 5, 2005. The keynote address Electrically Releasing Adhesives Using
Nanostructured Epoxies was given by Prof. Michael Gilbert of EIC Laboratories.
Additional presentations were name by Prof. Nolan Flynn of Wellesley College, Prof.
Adam Yeager of Boston University, and Prof. John Porco of Boston University. Among
other activities were the Graduate School and Industry Fair, and workshops on
choosing a graduate school and on increasing the activities of the student affiliates.
 Report on the 4th Annual Environmental Research Symposium
On Saturday, November 12, 2005, the 4th Annual Environmental Research Symposium
was held in the John Joseph Moakley Center at Bridgewater State College. The
Symposium featured 28 poster presentations from 57 student co-presenters. Over 75
students, faculty and mentors were in attendance. Welcoming remarks were given by
Dr. Dana Mohler-Faria, President, Bridgewater State College. President Mohler-Faria
spoke of the critical importance that environmental and sustainability issues play in our
world today, and how important the work that the students are doing is to our society.
He also thanked the mentors for their time, effort and dedication for collaborating with
and training student researchers. The formal program began with a talk by the guest
speaker, Dr. John Titus, Department of Biological Sciences, Binghamton University,
State University of New York. The title of Dr. Titus’ presentation was, "Environmental
Change & Freshwater Ecology: From Organisms to Watersheds". The complete
program with all presenters, titles and abstracts can be accessed at the symposium web
page: http://www.bridgew.edu/Environmental/
An abstract has been submitted to the session on Undergraduate Research Symposia,
to be presented at the ACS National Meeting in Atlanta, March 2006. The title of the
presentation is: “Hosting a multidisciplinary undergraduate environmental symposium at
Bridgewater State College: Administration, impact, and funding.” Funding by NESACS
will be acknowledged.
The 5th Annual Environmental Research Symposium is scheduled for Saturday,
November 11, 2006.
National Chemistry Week: Christine Jaworek-Lopes
 Novartis has contacted us regarding participation in NCW 2006. Members of the
NCW committee would like to schedule a meeting with interested individuals at
Novartis.
 K-12 poster competition participation is extremely low even with increased publicity
on science teacher websites.
Committee on Continuing Education – A. Viola
 The two-day ACS Short Course Synthetic Organic Chemistry: Modern Methods and
Strategies is currently in session. Consequently I shall be unable to attend today's
Section Meeting.
Of the 15 total registrations, 12 are paying participants. Several of these are non-ACS
Members and several were subject to the late fee. The resulting surcharges, which
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the Section retains, should help to place this operation in the black albeit by a small
margin.
YCC – I. Korendovych
 NSYCC Bowling social is scheduled for December 13th (Tuesday) 6-9pm. The event
is going to be held in Sacco’s Bowling Haven in Somerville (Davis sq. area).
 YCC meeting is tentatively scheduled for 11am on Sunday Dec. 12 th. We’ll discuss
plans for the next year- planning for Career Fair and 8th NSCRC are underway,
hopefully we’ll be also able to get more new officers.
Richards Medal Committee: C. Kolb
 The nomination period for the 2006 Richards Medal closed on November 1. We
received 12 valid and complete nominations (one 2004 renomination and eleven
new nominations). The nomination package pdf files were distributed to the
committee on November 3, with a response due date for initial committee rankings
of November 21. Several committee members have already returned their first ballot
selections.
Brauner Committee: D. Lewis
Proposed by-law change.
Bylaw III Section 1. Add to list of standing committees: The Phyllis A. Brauner Memorial
Committee.
Section13. It shall be the duty of the Phyllis A. Brauner Memorial Committee to honor
appropriately the memory of Phyllis A. Brauner with scientific presentations and other
activities designed to reach the public of all ages with positive messages about
chemistry.
Constitution Article:
Section 1. The Northeastern Section shall maintain a trust fund called the Phyllis A.
Brauner Memorial Fund to which additions may be made by contributions, bequest, or
otherwise. The principal of this fund, with all additions, may be merged with securities of
other trust funds and invested in a single fund, in which event divisions into, between, or
among the several Funds may be made by appropriating and setting aside specific
securities or property at a fair valuation determined by the Board of Directors, which
shall be final and conclusive.
Section 2. The income only of the Phyllis A. Brauner Memorial Committee Fund may be
expended as authorized by the Board of Directors and only for such purposes as will
appropriately help to perpetuate the memory of Phyllis A. Brauner.
This will be brought up for action at the December meeting.
Old Business
None
New Business
None
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Meeting was adjourned at 5:15 pm
Respectfully Submitted
Michael Singer
NESACS Secretary
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THE PHYLLIS A. BRAUNER MEMORIAL LECTURE COMMITTEE
The Phyllis A. Brauner Memorial Lecture Committee was formed in response to a Board
resolution of December 2000 that the Phyllis A. Brauner Memorial Lecture be established in
honor of Dr. Brauner.
As agreed by the Northeastern Section and the ACS, the Phyllis A. Brauner Lecture will be held
in the Northeastern Section’s territory in conjunction with National Chemistry Week and named
in memory of Dr. Brauner. As envisioned and established by Phyllis, and presented by the
Northeastern Section since 1986, the Lecture will be for the general public of all ages. In
addition to assisting with the annual presentation of the Lecture, the Committee was charged
with establishing a trust with the purpose of support of the Lecture; this trust was formed in April
2003 by the Section in the form of the Phyllis A. Brauner Memorial Trust Fund and the Phyllis A.
Brauner Memorial Income Fund. Since the Lecture is a participant in National Chemistry Week,
contributions may be matched through the ACS Matching Gift Fund Program, subject to the
conditions of this program and to continuing support of this program by the ACS. The
endowment goal is a $140,000 endowment fund with income supporting the lectures.
Founding members of the Phyllis A. Brauner Memorial Lecture Committee are:
Inka Allen Michaelene Chen Sarah Iacobucci Katherine O’Sullivan Steven Allen Dudley
Hershbach Ann Jenkins Bassam Shakhashiri Catherine Brauner Arno Heyn Doris I. Lewis
Carolyn Spodick Susan Brauner Esther A. H. Hopkins Julianna Lovell Valerie Wilcox
Hence, the Committee is composed of Board members including the Chair of National
Chemistry Week, family and friends of Phyllis A. Brauner.
The committee meets regularly; the minutes of these meetings are distributed to the Board of
Directors. Activities of the Committee include: organizing the Phyllis A. Brauner Lecture and
associated activities; publishing a brochure, poster, and solicitation literature as required;
soliciting funds from corporations, foundations, and individuals; maintaining contact with the
ACS Treasurer’s office regarding NCW-related donations and foundation requests.
A summary of the 2002 lecture activities is given here to illustrate the content of the Phyllis A.
Brauner Lecture and associated activities during National Chemistry Week. On Sunday,
October 20th, the Northeastern Section and the Boston Museum of Science sponsored and
hosted a 2002 National Chemistry Week celebration. Since the Museum was preparing for an
upcoming Ancient Egypt exhibit and the NCW theme was Chemistry and Cleaning, the
Northeastern Section of the ACS combined the two themes and celebrated Chemistry and
Ancient Egypt. For weeks before the celebration, volunteers from Emmanuel College and Tufts
University worked out the details of numerous demonstrations depicting personal hygiene and
cosmetics in Ancient Egypt. Hands-on activities included: simulating Ancient Egyptian
toothpaste and a comparison with modern toothpastes; the extraction of oils from natural
products and their use in perfumes; the chemistry of mummification and a demonstration with
the mummification of an apple; a demonstration with cosmetics in which ancient Egyptian lip
and face paints were prepared and then applied to plastic models; a demonstration on the
preparation of soap and cleansers which were then used to wash the cosmetics from the face of
the plastic models.
Among the highlights of the day, Prof. Bassam Shakhashiri of U.Wisconsin-Madison gave two
presentations of the Phyllis A. Brauner Memorial lecture entitled Quest for Chemistry: Moles,
Molecules, and Mummies. These captivating lectures were enjoyed by children and adults alike.
On Monday, October 21st, Prof. Shakhashiri also gave a presentation of the Brauner Lecture to
300 high school students. Throughout the two days of activities, volunteers from local schools
and industries assisted hundreds of visitors in the commencement for the weeklong celebration
in appreciation of chemistry in the world around us.
Prepared by Doris I. Lewis, June 2003
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