Vol. 19, No. 3 Orlando Section Newsletter August 2014

UPCOMING EVENT

General Membership Meeting

Guest Speaker TBA – will be posted on section website

http://orlando.sites.acs.org/

Saturday, 23 August 2014, 1:30 pm 12354 Research Parkway, Rm. 102 Orlando, FL 32826

There is free parking. Screenshots of maps of the area are given below.

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Summer Greetings to all of the Orlando Section! I hope you all had a chance to take a nice summer vacation to your favorite spot. I had the great opportunity to be my daughter’s sidekick on a whirlwind tour of “French Speaking” Europe with my daughter who is doing an honors thesis project for her degree. We spent three weeks (22 days) traveling by train through various cities including Brussels, Brugge, Paris, Luxembourg, Geneva, Aosta, IT, Marseilles, Nice, and Monaco. While most of the trip was focused on art, history, architecture, riding trains and walking miles upon miles, the Museum of the History of Science in Geneva was a great experience for me as a chemist. My daughter, who is a Global Business major, admitted that although she didn’t want to go to the museum initially, it was an unexpectedly fun experience. To top it off, the Museum was free! I recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in Geneva. The other great chemistry experience in Europe was trying a different beer or wine in each city and restaurant. Every day at 4 PM, my daughter knew it was “Mother’s Beer Time and dinnertime was “Mother’s Wine Time”. I learned that in Belgium, you must always drink Belgium beer from the specific glass designed for that beer. I would like to know if there is actually some chemistry that goes on between the beer and the glass or whether it is the amount of carbon dioxide that gets released when the beer is poured into a specific type of shaped glass that might actually change the flavor. Perhaps, there is no composition change at all and the beer in a specific glass routine is just a tradition. One last thing I learned which relates to chemistry…biochemistry to be exact….in Europe, you can eat and drink as much as you want but you will still lose weight because all of the walking has your body using more calories than you can take in (without going

A Message from the Chair

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broke of course). Maybe the section could host a wine and beer experiential tour in Europe next year and we can test these theories!

After a summer hiatus, the Orlando Section Executive Committee met in July to discuss plans for National Chemistry Week, elections, faculty and student awards, and other initiatives. We were also very excited that the UCF student affiliate chapter officers joined us for the July meeting. Hopefully, this can be the start of some great partnerships between our two organizations! Please consider joining us for our next General Membership Meeting on Saturday, August 23rd, 2014 from 1:30-3:00 PM at UCF Orlando Campus Bldg. 8-111. The guest speaker will be posted on the section website in the upcoming weeks. The Executive Committee would enjoy meeting with you or seeing you again. If you have any job postings, please feel free to email them to me and I will place them on the website for all our members to view. I know both Valencia College and Seminole State College are actively recruiting adjunct professors. Please see the website for more details. Also, if you have any great ideas for events that the section can host, please let me know.

Here is a link to the 2014 Biennial Conference on Chemical Education to be held August 3 – 7, at Grand Valley State University: http://www.bcceprogram2014.haydenmcneil.com/

Best regards, Mary

roslonowskim@easternflorida.edu

Mary C. Roslonowski, Ph.D. Associate Provost Palm Bay Campus 250 Community College Parkway Palm Bay, FL 32909 Tel: 321-433-5205 FX: 321-433-5180 www.easternflorida.edu

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ACS Orlando Section Minutes of Executive Committee Meeting

7/19/2014 1:30-3:00 PM The Great Outdoors Restaurant

125 Plantation Drive Titusville, FL 32780

1. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Mary Roslonowski.

2. The following attendees were introduced: Mary Roslonowski, Stephen Frazier, Darlene Slattery,

Luke Roberson, Helein Hitchcock, and UCF Student Affiliate Chapter Officers Krystal LaBelle,

Joane Titus, Morgan Beebe, Shelby Anderson, Jenna White, and Elkin Howard.

3. The minutes of the April 26 meeting were approved.

4. Congratulations were extended to Darlene Slattery for being named a 2014 ACS Fellow.

5. Treasurer’s Report: Stephen Frazier reported that IRS now officially recognizes the Orlando

Section of the American Chemical Society as our name for tax purposes. He reported that the

treasury balance is $31,140.70.

6. Darlene Slattery, ACS Councilor, asked for an advance for expenses to attend the Fall ACS

Meeting in San Francisco, CA, August 8-14.

7. A motion made by Darlene and seconded by Mary to pay for the lunches of the UCF students

was passed.

8. Outreach Update:

a: Richard Blair made a presentation on May 12 about careers to Boy Scouts at the Orlando

Science Center.

b: Mary made a presentation at the FAME (Florida ACS Meeting and Expo, May 8-10) in Palm

Harbor, FL.

9. Discussion of Orlando Section-UCF Student Affiliate Collaboration: Krystal LaBelle reported that

the Student Affiliate chapter is relatively inactive in the summer and that any collaboration will

be OK. Suggestions included having a dinner event, possibly in the Orlando area; something in

conjunction with FAME; and possibly changing the dates for FAME to March during spring break

and the site to somewhere in Orlando.

a: Luke Roberson suggested that he could possibly make a presentation about careers in

chemistry to the UCF Student Affiliates.

b: Several of the UCF students described activities and demonstrations done each day during

National Chemistry Week. They also talked about service learning opportunities in “green

chemistry,” possibly in Bithlo or the Indian River Lagoon.

10. Chemistry Employer Database: Steve suggested sending an e-mail request for interest to our

member list.

11. Old Business:

a: Chemistry Grant Application Mobile Science Lab: Harry Price reported that our request didn’t

make it to the second round.

July 2014 Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

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b: Election Timeline and Plan: Richard Blair will chair the nominating committee. Brief

discussion of dates for committee report, mailing of ballots, and closing time for ballot returns.

12. Announcements:

a: The next General Membership Meeting will be Saturday, August23, 2014, 1:30-3:00 PM at

UCF, 12354 Research Parkway, BLDG 8111, room 102, Orlando, FL 32826.

b: The next Executive Board Meeting will be Saturday, September 13,2014, 1:30-3:00 PM,

Location TBA (probably in the Titusville area).

c: Saturday, December 6, 2014 Annual Awards Banquet, 11 AM - 2 PM, location TBA.

13. The meeting was adjourned at 3:05 PM.

Helein Hitchcock, Secretary

Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ), North Campus, is pleased to host the 207th 2YC3 Conference in October, 2014. North Campus is one of the five full service campuses of FSCJ. It is conveniently located within easy driving distance from Jacksonville International Airport (5 miles) and commuting distance from twenty-two (22) hotels and a major shopping mall.

Several years ago Jacksonville and its encompassing county, Duval County, consolidated, making Jacksonville one of the largest cities in land area in Florida. Known as the “First Coast”, Jacksonville is the first coastal city of Florida reached by visitors driving south on I-95. It was one of the first places Spanish and French explorers landed as early as 1565. Jacksonville has beautiful beaches, the wonderful St. Johns River (the only major river in the U.S. that flows north), and historical significance demonstrated by its art, history and science museums.

207th 2YC3 Conference -from Mary Roslonowski

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2YC3 faculty and friends are invited to join the celebration of the 57th anniversary of the event that rocked the world in 1957: Sputnik (October 4th, 1957). The selected theme will take attendees from 1957 to 2057 through the eyes of the chemical world and faculty who teach chemistry.

The 207th Planning Committee is seeking colleagues to contribute to the program by giving a presentation, leading a workshop, or participating in panel discussions.

Topics related to the conference theme are encouraged:

Since Sputnik Exploring e5th: Entropy, Energy, the Environment, the Extraordinary,

and Exodus Earth through Chemistry.

What will we be teaching in 2057?

Will we own the water, the food, and the energy to continue as a world power?

What role will chemistry play if we again try to leave earth for the moon, Mars, or the stars?

If you would like to present on a different topic, please do not hesitate to submit an abstract, as a diverse program is encouraged.

The standard breakout presentation will be in a classroom which holds between 32-40 persons with tables. All classrooms are Multimedia rooms equipped with presentation systems that include a desktop computer, laptop connectivity, opaque projector, projection system, video screen, and sound system. Individuals may bring laptops and may connect to the multimedia station. The length of a standard breakout session is 45 minutes.

The workshops will be either placed in a large classroom with tables and a multimedia system (Capacity 40) or a 30 station computer lab for a hands-on experience. Workshops may be either 45 minutes or 90 minutes in length.

FSCJ and the 207th conference will be able to accommodate all abstracts submitted before August 1st , but after August 1st presentations will fill-in the missing blanks in the program.

Abstracts should contain the following: TITLE OF PRESENTATION (10 words or less) Presenter's Name and Title Co-Presenter's Name and Title Institution or Affiliation; and city:

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ABSTRACT (to be published in Conference Program--max 150-200 words) Please describe the purpose of the presentation, its application to the Conference theme and focus or to a different theme/topic. FULL DESCRIPTION (Optional): Please expand on the abstract with additional details about the presentation. (To be published on the conference web site-Max 350-400 words.) If not expanded, the Conference Abstract above will be posted on the web site. Presentation Type: Standard Break-out session - 45 minutes Workshop-Multimedia Classroom - 45 minutes Workshop-Hands-on Computer Lab -45 minutes Workshop-Multimedia Classroom - 90 minutes Workshop-Hands-on Computer Lab - 90 minutes

Please submit via email your abstract with any attachments* to John Taylor with cc's to Kathleen Laurenzo, Joe Langat, and Dana Thomas : John Taylor John.Taylor@fscj.edu Kathleen Laurenzo Kathleen.Laurenzo@fscj.edu Joseph Langat Joe.Langat@fscj.edu Dana Thomas Dana.Thomas@fscj.edu *attachment file format should be either a Word or PDF document. Images should be JPG.

LOCAL STUDENTS WIN CHANCE TO QUALIFY FOR INTERNATIONAL CHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD

The Orlando section of the American Chemical Society is proud to announce the names of eight outstanding high school students who were selected to participate in 2014 National Chemistry Olympiad. These students were selected after either participating in a local exam or by direct teacher nomination. The National Chemistry Olympiad exam may qualify these students to become members of the U.S. National Olympiad (IChO) team in Hanoi, Vietnam, July 20-29, 2014. The IChO involves a series of theoretical exams, laboratory exercises, and other activities aimed at identifying the best chemistry students from participating nations from around the world. The U.S. has participated in this event since 1984. In 2013, the U.S. team won two gold and two silver medals. A total of 291 students represented 73 countries at the 45th IChO, in Moscow, Russia. The eight local nominees are among over 1,200 nationwide who took a national qualifying exam April 26, 2014 to select finalists. Twenty students will be identified and will undergo intensive

National Chemistry Olympiad -from Nahid Mohajeri

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training June 3-18 at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. The top four will be chosen to represent the U.S. in the 46th IChO competition. Founded in 1876 and chartered by congress, the American Chemical Society is a nonprofit scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of chemistry in the public interest. The Orlando section is one of 185 across the nation serving more than 160,000 members. The students are:

Student’s Name High School

Hunter Schwartz West Shore

Benjamin Velie

Albert Halbing

Cocoa Beach Anna Demoret

Alex Chen

Seminole Saurabh Sudesh

Amber Yang

Trinity Preparatory School

Don Vo

Eustis

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In June, a preliminary proposal was submitted to the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation in an effort to secure funding for a STEM van that would be used to increase outreach to the seven counties served by the Local Section. Unfortunately, the preliminary proposal was not selected to continue to the next round of evaluation. Although this initial attempt was unsuccessful, the groundwork has been laid and work will continue to create a proposal that merits funding. The willingness of the local section to contribute is gratefully acknowledged and it is vital that this support continues. During the coming months the local section will be kept up to date regarding this outreach initiative.

The Outreach Committee has lost a valuable member in Marianne Rodgers. As coordinator of National Chemistry Week events, Marianne did a great job bringing things together. During the coming months a call for a volunteer to take over for Marianne and join the Outreach Committee should be made.

This year’s NCW is going to be held from October 19th – 25th. The theme: The Sweet Side of Chemistry – (Showcasing the chemistry involved in candy and confections). The plan will be to seek continued collaboration with the Orlando Science Center (OSC) via JJ Leissing. The goal will be to organize a Sunday (10/19) or Saturday (10/25) afternoon outreach activity at the OSC located in the Dr. Dare Science Lab during NCW. As in the past, the participation of student volunteers will be vital for the success of this event. I will be in contact with JJ Leissing, and the UCF and Stetson student affiliates to plan for this event. An ACS Webinar scheduled for August 6th about NCW has recently been posted on the local section website.

The science café series held at the Stetson University Gillespie Museum will be continued for a third year during the 2014-15 academic year. Dr. Karen Cole, the museum director, is excited to have two chemistry talks scheduled. These talks will coincide with NCW and Earth Day. Last year a Science Café mini-grant was awarded to the local section and used to sponsor the two chemistry talks given. A final report was submitted as required. Dr. Cole was very appreciative of the contribution the local section made to the success of the science café series. The partnership between the local section and the Gillespie Museum is a good one and serves to highlight the importance of the ACS as pertains to community outreach.

During the 2014-2015 school year the local section should make the membership aware of the ACS Science Coach Outreach opportunity sponsored by the ACS national office. The link is provided below. The ACS will donate $500 to participating schools. This is a wonderful

July 2014 Outreach Committee Report -from Harry Price

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opportunity that has the potential to allow us to make a significant impact. I am going to attempt to establish a partnership with a 5th grade science teacher in an elementary school in Volusia County that serves a primarily lower-income community. This school has been hit hard by recent budget shortfalls and teacher turnover.

http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/outreach/science-coaches.html

What is an ACS Science Coach? ACS Science Coaches are chemistry professionals who share their expertise and enthusiasm for science with an elementary, middle, or high school teacher over the course of one school year. Available to chemistry grad students, professionals and retirees, science coaches volunteer to assist one teacher at least six times during one school year. Some coaches work behind the scenes, while others prefer to interact with students. They may help the teacher plan, assist during labs, present lessons, or mentor small groups of students. Each partnership is a little different with each chemist and teacher deciding together how they will combine their expertise and interests to improve the science education experiences of students.

The month of April turned out to be a very busy month. The following outreach activities were conducted:

Participation in the 9th Annual Earth Day festival held at Lake Eola in Orlando, FL. (4/19/14)

Science Café presentation hosted by the Stetson University Gillespie Musuem and sponsored in part by an ACS mini-grant awarded to the section (4/22/14)

Outreach activity held at the Orlando Science Center as part of the OSC’s Nanotechnology exhibit (4/26/14)

1. The Earth Day event was a smashing success! The student volunteers from UCF and Stetson did a great job. A big thanks goes out to them! Thanks also goes out to Stephen Kuebler, Karin Chumbimuni-Torres and everyone at the University of Central Florida who made it possible for the use of the Van, and other essential materials. Thank you to Steve Frazier for coming and joining us. It’s always great to have him around. Lastly, thanks to Mary Roslonowski for driving over from the coast to join us and contribute to the overall success of the day. The public interest was very favorable. After a modest start in the morning, the afternoon picked up and was consistently busy until 5PM when the word was given to pack it up for the day. Visitors were able to learn about chemistry from the following demonstrations:

Earth Day;

Science Café;

Zoom into Nano -from Harry Price

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Electrolysis to generate hydrogen and oxygen which was converted to electricity by a hydrogen/oxygen fuel cell

The effect of CO2 on the acidity of water as visualized using pH sensitive dyes

The oscillating clock reaction

The power of 3D printing technology to visualize carbon nanotubes, and the effect of size on surface area

Visitors were also able to take copies of the ACS “Celebrating Chemistry” magazine and other learning activities for kids. Pictures of the event have been downloaded to a Dropbox that Steve Kuebler put together and every effort will be made to get these pictures posted to the site in a timely manner. A few pictures from the Day’s event are given below.

2. The second science café of the year was given on 4/22/14. This event marked the third time the ACS local section has participated in the Gillespie Museum’s Science Café series. Each time the talk coincided with either National Chemistry Week or Earth Day. Approximately 15-20 people attended each talk. The first talk of the 2013-2014 season focused on energy and the second focused on water issues. Images from the very first Science café given in collaboration with Dr. Karen Cole, Director of the Gillespie Museum can be found in this link http://www.stetson.edu/other/gillespie-museum/media/For%20Website.pdf

3. In response to a request for participation, made by JJ Leissing (OSC), steps were taken to organize an outreach activity that focused on the area of nanotechnology. This event coincided with the conclusion of a week of Earth Day related activities. Serving as the liason,

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the OSC was able to plan an outreach event to coincide with the closing of their Zoom into Nano exhibit. Dr. Lei Zhai and others from UCF hosted a public outreach event on Saturday April 26th from 12-3PM.

On Saturday, April 26th, Lei Zhai and Jayan Thomas, faculty from UCF’s Nanoscience Technology Center along with their graduate students were available at the Orlando Science Center (OSC) to close out the “Zoom into Nano” exhibit that has been showing at the science center since January. As part of the local section’s ongoing interaction with the OSC, faculty and students from UCF’s Nanoscience Center participated in outreach, showing people what is being done in the area of nanotechnology at UCF, and even more importantly, showing the kids some really cool nano-based demonstrations. People passing through the exhibit enjoyed talking to Drs. Zhai and Thomas and their students. It was a fun afternoon for everyone. A special thanks to JJ Leissing of the OSC for making it possible for us to participate in meaningful community outreach with the OSC.

Kids get to learn about nanotechnology. UCF graduate (left and middle) and undergraduate (right) students show children and their parents a few things about nanotechnology that they’ll probably never forget!! Thanks to the students for giving their time.

Outreach at the Orlando Science Center (4/26/14)

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Section website: http://orlando.sites.acs.org/ Chair Mary Roslonowski has appointed Helein Hitchcock as Secretary of the Orlando Section for 2014. Sandra Hick will assist Ms. Hitchcock with new initiatives which include Facebook and Twitter postings of Section information as well as mail outreach to older chemists.

Chair Mary C. Roslonowski Tel: 321-243-6198 Email: RoslonowskiM@easternflorida.edu

Treasurer Stephen Frazier Email: stephen.frazier2@att.net

Alternate Councilor Luke B. Roberson Tel: 321-543-2333 Email: luke.b.roberson@nasa.gov

Chair-Elect Nominations & Elections Chair Richard Blair Tel: 407-823-0639 Email: Richard.Blair@ucf.edu

Councilor Section Historian Darlene Slattery Email: dslattery1@cfl.rr.com

Outreach Chair Harry Price Tel: 386-822-8180 Email: hprice@stetson.edu

Immediate Past Chair Lei Zhai Tel: 407‐823‐0115 Email: lzhai@ucf.edu

Chemistry Olympiad Chair Nahid Mohajeri Tel: 321-638-1525 Email: nmohajeri@fsec.ucf.edu

Public Relations Chair Newsletter Editor Ramee Indralingam Tel: 386-822-8186 Email: rindrali@stetson.edu

Secretary Helein Hitchcock

Awards Chair Ralph Nelson Email: erptmged@aol.com

Contact Information for the Leadership Team