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Next Meeting

Daytime Undergraduate Research Symposium,
Live Reenactment, Holiday Party, Iota Sigma Pi Raffle, Door Prizes,
Food and Toy Drive, Three Remote Streaming Sites

Nobel Laureate Marie Curie

University of Paris

Portrayed by Dr. Maria Bakalis
Independent Performer, Playwright, and Seminar/Workshop Presenter

"Discovering Marie Curie"

Joint meeting with the Iota Sigma Pi
(Honors society of women chemists)

ABSTRACT

"Hardships are but part of the life experience. They are there to test our mettle, our resolve" Marie Curie. 

Follow the journey of a woman who was tested time and time again to reflect this, her life perspective.  Marie Curie faced each obstacle with a courageous spirit and a ceaseless determination to live her passion for scientific discovery. “Each of us has a dream and a power to make that dream a reality."  Madame Curie, scientist, discoverer of radium, first woman to win the Nobel Prize and thrice winner of the Prize is the evidence which proves her life hypothesis- A dream in the hands of mettle, resolve, determination and, above all, hard work yields a dream realized.

Prof. Bakalis will perform in the character of Laureate Marie Curie, giving a presentation then soliciting discussion in character for the entirety of the evening. A/V technology will ensure interactivity at all four sites.

BIOGRAPHY

Professor Bakalis holds a BA from DePaul University, MA from Northeastern Illinois University and Doctorate from Northern Illinois University with a Certificate in Acting from London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. As an educator, actor, director, and playwright, Dr. Bakalis believes in the power of the arts to reflect the human condition and humanity that unites us all.

PROGRAM

• 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM  Undergraduate Research Symposium (separate registration)
• 5:30 - 6:30  Registration and Networking
• 6:30 - 7:30  Dinner 
• 7:30 - 7:35  Introductory remarks by Fran Kravitz, Chicago Section Chair
• 7:35 - 7:50  Iota Sigma Pi raffle results and distribution of Chicago ACS door prizes
• 7:50 - 7:55  Transfer of the Gavel to incoming 2018 Chicago ACS Chair Anthony Toussaint
• 7:55 - 9:00  Program by Maria Bakalis

FOUR LOCATIONS

• MAIN SITE (With live speaker): North Central College
  
• STREAMING LOCATION #1: Loyola University
  
• STREAMING LOCATiON #2: Purdue University Northwest
  
• STREAMING LOCATION #3: Libertyville High School

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM (8:30 AM - 4:00 PM):

"Chemistry Careers and the Future of Chemistry"

• Poster session
• Keynote Talk 1: "The Lab of the Future - New Technologies for Organic Synthesis", Dr. Andrew Bogdan (Abbvie)
• Keynote Talk 2: "Fun With Chemical Puzzles of Life and Disease", Dr. Gaurav Chopra (Purdue U.)
• Career Fair with Roundtable Discussions

REGISTER YOUR POSTER HERE:
http://chicagoacs.org/form.php?form_id=30

FULL SYMPOSIUM INFO HERE: http://chicagoacs.org/College_Education_Committee

IOTA SIGMA PI RAFFLE - ORNAMENTS!

The honors society for women chemists, per tradition, is raffling chemistry-themed creations. This year, they have made wonderful stained-glass holiday ornaments! Buy your $5 tickets* along with your registration, at the LIVE meeting, or by contacting Janet Ferroni ([email protected]). *REMOTE SITE PARTICIPANTS SHOULD PURCHASE TICKETS ALONG WITH THEIR REGISTRATION.

DOOR PRIZES

Per tradition, Chicago ACS Hospitality Chair Richard Cornell has assembled a vast panoply of door prizes for everyone in attendance. Come find out what curiosities are in store! ** All sites will have door prizes. BUT, to be eligible, you must register by noon, Tuesday Dec. 12.

FOOD AND TOY DRIVE - COLLECTED AT ALL SITES!

We will be collecting nonperishable food items on behalf of the local Loaves and Fishes Community Pantry (a non-profit organization established to provide food and personal care essentials to residents in need.) CHECKS ARE WELCOME TOO! Please do not donate food in glass containers.

We will also continue our drive to collect toys for toddlers to 12 year olds. The toys will be donated to the Adoption Center of Illinois at Family Resource Center in Chicago, which provides services for couples seeking to adopt children in the US or overseas, birth parents, and foster children. Please do not donate clothing.

DINNER - ALL SITES/Depends on location:

MAIN SITE:	North Central College	Buffet style of Caesar Salad, Chicken Florentine,Bakedpenne Alfredo with roasted peppers and sun-dried tomatoes, Roasted vegetables, Parmesan garlic bread,Tiramisu and a beverage.
REMOTE SITE #1:	Loyola University	Dinner will be served cafeteria style atnearbydeNobili Cafeteria across Sheridan Road.
REMOTE SITE #2	Purdue University Northwest	Choice of: Italian Roast Beef with French Fries OR Mostaccioli with Marinara Sauce OR Vegetable Panini
REMOTE SITE #3	Libertyville High School	Panera Turkey Sandwich Box Lunch (Oven roasted turkey, lettuce, vine-ripened tomatoes, red onions, Basil Pesto, mayo, spicy mustard, salt and pepper on Asiago Cheese Focaccia. Served with potato chips, pickle, a cookie and beverage.) OR Panera Mediterranean Veggie Boxed Lunch (Zesty sweet Peppadew piquant peppers, feta cheese, cucumbers, lettuce, vine-ripened tomatoes, red onions and cilantro-jalapeno hummus with salt and pepper on thin sliced Tomato Basil. Served with potato chips, pickle, a cookie and beverage.)

RESERVATIONS:

Dinner Registration Deadline: 12:00 Noon on Tuesday, December 12
Lecture-only Registration Deadline: 12:00 noon Thursday, December 14

PLEASE HONOR YOUR RESERVATIONS. Please contact the Section Office via phone (847-391-9091) or email ([email protected]) if you have any questions

MAIN LOCATION - DIRECTIONS and PARKING:

LIVE LECTURE:

North Central College
Wentz Science Center, Ratio Hall (2nd floor)
131 S. Loomis St.
Naperville, IL  60540

Map: http://chicagoacs.org/images/downloads/Maps_of_venues/ncc_sciencecenter.pdf

PARKING: Free

STREAMING LOCATIONS - DIRECTIONS and PARKING:

STREAMING LOCATION #1:

Loyola University
Institute for Envronmental Sustainability, Room 123
Chicago, IL 60607

Map: http://chicagoacs.org/images/downloads/Maps_of_venues/loyola_map_ies.pdf

PARKING: Enter the campus at the intersection of Kenmore and Sheridan Road and bear to the left. Parking (P1) is available at the parking deck next to Flanner Hall for about $7.00. Enter the garage at the entrance marked “Faculty, Students, Guests, and Visitors.” 

STREAMING LOCATION #2:

Purdue University Northwest
Gyte Building, Room 240
2200 169th St.
Hammond, IN  46323
Street address (entrance location)
Chicago, IL 60607

Map: http://chicagoacs.org/images/downloads/Maps_of_venues/purduenw_map.pdf

PARKING: Free

 

STREAMING LOCATION #3:

Libertyville High School
Library
708 W. Park Ave.
Libertyville, IL  60048

Map: http://chicagoacs.org/images/downloads/Maps_of_venues/libertyvillehs_map.pdf

PARKING: Free, but competitive due to simultaneous sports events

Tickets

$5.00 Opt'l Donation to 2017 Undergraduate Symposium
$15.00 MAIN SITE - Member
$15.00 MAIN SITE - AIChE Member
$17.00 MAIN SITE - Non-member
$15.00 REMOTE SITE #1 - Member ticket
$15.00 REMOTE SITE #1 - AIChE Member
$17.00 REMOTE SITE #1 - Non-member ticket
$10.00 REMOTE SITE #2 - Member ticket
$10.00 REMOTE SITE #2 - AIChE Member
$12.00 REMOTE SITE #2 - Non-member ticket
$15.00 REMOTE SITE #3 - Member ticket
$15.00 REMOTE SITE #3 - AIChE member
$17.00 REMOTE SITE #3 - Non-member Ticket
$0.00 MAIN SITE - Lecture only
$0.00 REMOTE SITE #1 - Lecture-only
$0.00 REMOTE SITE #2 - Lecture-only
$0.00 REMOTE SITE #3 - Lecture only
$5.00 2017 Holiday Raffle - Iota Sigma Pi Ornament
$10.00 Tote bag: CHICAgO elements - blue
$15.00 T-shirt: CHICAgO Elements
$0.00 Donation to Project SEED
$0.00 Company Sponsorship
$0.00 Individual Donation

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Holiday Party, Food and Toy Drive

RAFFLE GIFTS

We will be distributing raffle gifts at all sites of the December Holiday Party this year. Raffle gifts are only available if you pre-register by Tuesday, December 12 no later than noon. There will be no exceptions since we will be sending the gifts through the post office priority mail to satellite sites. Raffle gifts will be numbered randomly and placed on side tables in the dining room. Each attendee will draw a number when they register that evening for the meeting. Gifts will be handed out throughout the evening by calling up groups of individuals having a series of numbers. Meeting attendees are asked to claim their gift only during the time their numbers have been announced. Those individuals who do not claim their gift will have another opportunity to claim them at the end of the evening. Individuals must present their number in order to pick up their gift.

2017 FOOD AND TOY DRIVE

We will be collecting nonperishable food items (no glass containers) for charity at the December Holiday Party again. The food will be donated to the local Loaves and Fishes Community Pantry for distribution. Loaves & Fishes Community Pantry is a community based, non-profit organization established to provide food and personal care essentials to residents in need. CHECKS ARE WELCOME TOO! We will also continue our toy drive to collect children’s toys in the age range of toddlers to 12 years old. The toys will be donated to the Adoption Center of Illinois at Family Resource Center in Chicago, an adoption agency providing services for couples seeking to adopt children in the US or overseas. They also provide services for birth parents and foster children. The toys were used for birth mothers who have placed children for adoption or for women who are considering a placement and are often raising other children. These toys provide joy to children whose birth parents are struggling and do not have extra money for the holidays.

Please open your heart to these two programs and bring a nonperishable food item and a new toy to the holiday party. Please, do NOT donate any clothing – Thanks.

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College Education

Chemistry Careers and the Future of Chemistry

Friday, December 15, 2017 — 8:30 am to 4:00 pm

North Central College
Wentz Science Center, Ratio Hall
131 S. Loomis St., Naperville, IL 60540

$5 Registration, sign up at
http://chicagoacs.org/meetinginfo.php?id=126

If you have questions, feel free to contact the College Education Committee Co-Chairs:

Gary Roby ([email protected]) 630-942-2420
Robert Chapman ([email protected]) 630-515-6113

The December Dinner Meeting “Discovering Marie Curie” follows the symposium.

http://chicagoacs.org/meetinginfo.php?id=124

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Letter from the Chair

TIME TO CHANGE

Where has the year gone? I started out with so many ideas and plans for the Chicago Section. Many have been accomplished but time went too quickly and a few goals were not reached. I am proud to say we have implemented streaming our meeting to satellite sites which I believe helped our members attend Monthly Program Meetings more easily. This could not have been done without the help of Milt Levenberg, Richard Cornell and Russ Johnson. This was a major accomplishment which increased attendance and the number of students at monthly meetings.

This year, more of our Section committees had several active working members on them than in the past. I am proud of all of our committees and no chair’s year is successful without the help of outstanding committees and their chairs, the Section officers, directors and Gail Wilkening, our office manager. Kudos to them all!!! There are five committees that I would like to highlight. First is College Education co-chaired by Gary Roby and Bob Chapman who resurrected a committee which has been inactive for years. They have active committee meetings and this year will host an undergraduate symposium prior to our December 15 Program Meeting. Second, our Younger Chemists have gone beyond what has been done in the past. They have hosted events each month after our program meetings, hosted employment seminars at UIC and hosted a tour in conjunction with the Senior Chemists. My thanks go to Linghong Zhang, her committee members and Lou DeFilippi and Charles Cannon co-chairs of the Senior Chemists Committee. Lou, with help from Charles, continued activities for the Senior Chemists. This year, Kari Stone took the reins of the Women Chemists Committee and presented an outstanding Women Chemists Start Smart seminar with a panel discussion. Our Public Relations Committee developed and implemented new procedures for publicity. My thanks to Russ Johnson and the members of his committee.

I recently was asked if I am glad that my year as chair is ending. I have to say I am tired but I am sad. I enjoyed meeting members, working with the Board and committees. It is a challenging position but far more rewarding. I wish Tony Toussaint success as he takes the reins on January 1. I know he will thrive as Chair as I have watched him during the year grow into this role. So, I must say goodbye as I step down. I thank you all for a fantastic year and I look forward to seeing many of you at events and meetings. Remember that this year was only possible with the help of all of our Chicago Section members.

Fran Kravitz
2017 Chicago Section ACS Chair
[email protected]

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Someone You Should Know

Anthony Toussaint

In preparation for 2018, I chose our chair-elect, Anthony Toussaint as my subject for this article. Tony has been active in the Section for a couple of years now. Not many of us became familiar with him until he became a director and now chair-elect of the Section. I have gotten to know Tony better as he is preparing to assume the role of Chair in less than a month. I found him to be very friendly, a mediator and willing to be a mentor of those that he appoints as chairs to committees. This is not an easy position he is taking and his managerial experience in industry will help him succeed in this new role.

Tony was born in London, England. He is the third son in a family of four boys. His father worked on the London Underground and his mother was a home help assistant. He is the first in his family to go into science. Two of his high school teachers, Mr. Szydlo and Mr. Symes influenced him to go into chemistry. He went on to earn his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Leicester University in the UK. This was followed by earning a M.Sc. in Surface Chemistry and Colloids from Bristol University and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University College London, both in the UK. The title of his thesis was “The Flocculation of Calcium Carbonate and its Deposition onto Cellulose Fibers.” I asked Tony what his second choice was if he had not chosen chemistry; his response was medicine.

Dr. Toussaint did a Post-doc at the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry in New York with Dr. Philip Luner. It was Dr. Luner in 1987, who encouraged Tony to join the ACS. In the few short years that Tony has been active in the Chicago Section, he has been Employment chair, a director, a member and chair of the Nominating Committee and, of course, now Chair-Elect. Tony also earned an MBA from Kellogg School of Management from Northwestern University.

Tony chose to work in industry. He has worked for The Sherwin Williams Company in both Chicago and Cleveland, Sandoz Agro Inc. in Des Plaines, DSM Desotech/DSM Functional Materials in Elgin, St. Sabina Employment Resource Center in Chicago and East West University in Chicago. He is currently employed at ICL Performance Products in Hammond, Indiana. Dr. Toussaint has been in R & D management for the last 15 years developing new products. A typical day involves answering emails, responding to customer technical issues, holding meetings with scientists discussing their projects, and brainstorming about new developments. His favorite position was during a transition period where he was co-director of a summer jobs program at the St. Sabina Employment Resource Center. Tony hired mentors, worked with employers and placed five hundred 15-24 year olds in summer jobs in the community. He found placing young people in jobs that are challenged by the lack of opportunities and often a result of the lack of educational qualifications very rewarding. His only regret was that these placements were only for the summer.

Dr. Toussaint is single and has no children. He likes to play golf and mentoring young people in the community. He also enjoys listening to music especially Gospel, Reggae and R & B. One fact that most of us are unaware of is that Tony ran in the Chicago Marathon in 2009 and 2010.

I asked Tony who he might want to have lunch with dead or alive. He chose Dr. Percy Julian. He felt that Dr. Julian was a great innovator and overcame many obstacles and challenges but continued to persevere.

Tony’s final words of wisdom to us are “Never get comfortable with where you are. Always look to grow, learn new things, challenge yourself, this often requires getting out of your comfort zone.”

Fran Kravitz

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Primary Education

MARIE S. CURIE GIRL SCOUT CHEMISTRY DAY PROGRAM

The 2018 Marie S. Curie Girl Scout Chemistry Day program will be held on three Saturdays in 2018: North Central College, April 14; Oakton Community College, April 21, and Valparaiso University, April 28. The purpose of this patch is to give girls ages 10 to 18 the opportunity to learn about chemistry through lecture and laboratory, the careers available in various areas of chemistry and to talk and interact with female role models who are chemists.

We are currently looking for women chemists or women in a related area of science to help as mentors for this program. Mentors will meet with small groups of girls during lunch and describe their career as a woman chemist, educational requirements needed to be a chemist, and opportunities available in chemistry. We need at least 10 mentors at each site. Lunch is scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. and pizza will be provided. Please contact Fran Kravitz by email at [email protected] if you are interested.

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Public Affairs

Anything but Normal in Federal Appropriations for Science

Every year, the Federal Government must approve the 12 spending resolutions which include the funding for research programs both within the government agencies and their research partners in universities, industries, and not-for-profit organizations. While this process is always a contentious debate, the push and pull between those who approve federal spending usually results in minor ups and downs in the year-to-year allocations. While I expect the 2018 budget will produce a similar result, this year’s Federal appropriations process has been anything but normal.

First, a little background. Due to the massive size of Federal government spending, the process is long and drawn out. Although the 2018 Federal Budget is currently proposed at $4.1 trillion, only a fraction of this spending, approximately 1.2 trillion of “Discretionary Spending”, is involved in the appropriations debates between the Legislative and Executive branches of government.  The bulk of the federal budget is on mandatory spending, primarily Social Security and Medicare, and is not part of this debate.

The process begins when the Executive branch presents a budget which outlines the President’s agenda and his spending recommendations for the government. The budget is broken down into 12 appropriation bills which fund the departments (e.g., Dept of Energy (DOE), Dept of Defense (DOD), Health and Human Service (HHS), etc.) and agencies (e.g., EPA).   It should be pointed out that although the President presents a budget, Congress actually allocates the funds through the appropriation bills debated by Congress.

The budgeting process begins in February when the President presents his proposed budget to Congress. This year, the process started with a budget which showed drastic and controversial cuts in the national investment in science and technology. For example, the President’s budget proposed a 17% decrease in the DOE Office of Science, a 17% decrease in DOE Basic Energy Science, a 11% decrease in NSF, a 22% decrease in NIH, a 16% decrease in NOAA, and a 23% decrease in NIST funding. These cuts were met with a strong and confrontational response from the science enterprise.

While this proposed budget showed drastic cuts in science programs, it is Congress which actually allocates the money. Not surprisingly, the Administration’s budget was received with much anxiety, frustration, and anger by many members of Congress. The resulting debates led to drastic changes in the President’s proposal by both the House of Representative and Senate appropriation bills. The Senate approved appropriations bills that had a 3% increase in the DOE Office of Science, a 6% increase in DOE Basic Energy Science, a 2% decrease in NSF, a 6% increase in NIH, a 2% decrease in NOAA, and a 1% decrease in NIST funding. The House approved similar appropriation bills that included a 3% increase in the DOE Office of Science, a 6% increase in DOE Basic Energy Science, a 2% decrease in NSF, a 3% increase in NIH, a 13% decrease in NOAA, and a 9% decrease in NIST funding. Since the House and Senate bills vary considerably, they need to go to a reconciliation conference before being sent to the President for signature. Since the House and Senate bills were not ready by the Oct 1^st fiscal year, the government approved a Continuing Resolution which funds the government into December. Due to the focus on the proposed tax reform bills currently before Congress … and the significant differences in the House and Senate budgets, I am expecting the current appropriation bills to not be approved before the Continuing Resolution expires. If this happens, Congress will likely pass another Continuing Resolution to allow the appropriate debate to reconcile the House and Senate appropriation bills. Once Congress approves a final version, then it goes back to the President for signature. Due to the significant differences between the President’s budget and the Congressional Appropriation Bills, the President’s signature remains uncertain.

At this time, there is not an approved 2018 Federal budget. While the debate continues, it is important for the science enterprise to promote our Federal investment in Science and Technology among our members of Congress. We are a long way from resolving the final 2018 science budget, and even a longer way from resolving the current administration’s attitude and approach when it comes to our national investment in science.

Michael G. Koehler, Ph.D.
Chair, Chicago Section Public Affairs

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Obituary

The Loss of Two Gibbs Medalists

Gilbert Stork, Willard Gibbs Medalist in 1982, died on October 21 at the age of 95. Stork obtained his BS degree from the University of Florida in 1942 and received his PhD from UW Madison in 1945. He went directly into teaching at Harvard but moved to Columbia University in 1953, retiring in 1993. He was a synthetic organic chemist, best known for enamine alkylations and total synthesis of natural products, publishing the first stereoselective total synthesis of quinine.

Ron Breslow, medalist in 2004, died on October 25, at the age of 86. Harvard was the school of choice for the BA, MA, and PhD in 1952, 1954, and 1955 respectively. After a brief post-doc at Cambridge he began his teaching position at Columbia University in 1956. Early on, Breslow was known for his synthesis of the aromatic cyclopropenyl cation but had since expanded into many realms such as mechanisms of thiamine in vitamin B1, C-H activation, and artificial enzymes.

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Sponsors of this issue

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Help the Chicago Section

Help the Chicago ACS by Using This Amazon Link

Bookmark this today! When you make purchases from Amazon.com, you can now give a free donation to the Chicago Section every time you shop on Amazon.com. Simply shop at Amazon using the following link:

http://smile.amazon.com/ch/36-2287522

Whenever you start there to make a purchase, the Chicago Section will get a percentage of your purchase, with no additional cost to you. It's easy, free, and supports one of your favorite organizations, so why not use it?

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Calendar of Events

Upcoming Events

December 15: Chemistry Careers and the Future of Chemistry Symposium, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm at North Central College. See details in this issue.

December 15: Chicago Section Dinner Meeting; Dr. Maria Bakalis’ Discovering Marie Curie at North Central College

January 23: The Annual IIT Bridge Competition at IIT’s Main Campus (Herman Hall). You can find information on the Bridge Competition at http://bridgecontest.phys.iit.edu/public/chicago/index

February 11: Family Open House at the Lederman Science Center from 1-5 pm. Children must be accompanied by an adult (There’s plenty for the grown-ups too). Most appropriate for children in grades 3 and up. http://ed.fnal.gov/events/openhouse/

February 24: 34^th Annual Engineers Week Expo at the Illinois Institute of Technology - Rice Campus at 201 East Loop Drive, Wheaton (10:30 – 3:30) “Engineering New Horizons”. http://appliedtech.iit.edu/engineersweek

February 26 – March 1: Pittcon 2018 will be in Orlando, FL. http://pittcon.org/

March 15 – 18: NSTA’s National Conference “Science on My Mind”, Atlanta, GA. http://www.nsta.org/conferences/national.aspx

March 18 – 22: 255^th American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition “Nexus of Food, Energy & Water”, New Orleans, LA. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/meetings/national-meeting.html?sc=meetings_170818_mtg_NO18_od

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