The American Chemical Society is the world's largest scientific society and its Akron Section is one of the society's 188 local sections. The ACS Akron Section serves Summit, Stark, and Portage counties, including the cities of Akron, Canton, and Kent, in the state of Ohio.
Winter/Spring 2003
Committee Meeting
The September Executive Committee meeting of the ACS Akron Section will be held on Tuesday September 2, 2003 at 5:00 pm in the University of Akron Science and Technology Library conference room 104. Members of the committee who cannot attend are urged to submit reports to Chris Wood. Other issues can be addressed to Sid Patel.
TPE Conference
The SPE Akron Section, along with the TPE Topical Group of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), invites ACS Akron Section members to TopCon, a Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE) Topical Conference, to be held at the Hilton-Akron/Fairlawn on September 22-24. The Conference will include thirty papers and table top displays by supporting companies. For information, please see the SPE Akron Section website at www.akronspe.org or register at www.4spe.org. For additional contacts please forward questions to either of the Co-Chairs: Viv Malpass at tekmark@worldnet.att.net or 330-342-1120, or Larry Johnson at lwj85946@attbi.com or phone 413-625-6231.
General Meeting
The May general meeting of the ACS Akron Section will be held on Thursday evening May 15, 2003 at Tangier in Akron. Ted Williams of the College of Wooster speaks on Chemistry With a Passion. The schedule is networking at 5:15, dinner at 6:00, and presentation at 7:00. This is Education Night. The program is free and open to the public. Dinner costs $14 for members and guests and $7 for students. Dinner reservations are required by noon on Monday May 12; please send e-mail to Ann Bolek or call 330-972-6264.
Abstract: The subjects that Ted William will include in his presentation are how to excite young students about science in general and chemistry in particular, the fun and excitement of research and discovery, and the opportunities that exist in the field at all educational levels. He is a most inspirational speaker.
Biography: Theodore R Williams obtained his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Connecticut in 1960, M.S. in Physical Organic Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University in 1954, and his B.A. in Chemistry from Howard University in 1952. He has been teaching at the College of Wooster since 1959, currently holding the title of Professor. He has been active in the American Chemical Society, currently serving as Councilor for Undergraduate Research, member of the ACS Committee for Granting Awards for the Teaching of Analytical Chemistry, member of the Kaleidoscope Project Advisory Board, and member of the ChemLinks Advisory Board. In the past he has served in such positions as Chair of the Analytical Division, member of the Chemical and Engineering News Advisory Board, and member of the Advisory Committee of the National Science Foundation Undergraduate Science Education.
Fifty-Year Members
Congratulations to the Akron Section's newest fifty-year ACS members; Peter A Zizes, John S Mosser, David E Erickson, Richard H Backderf, and Vincent A Altier. These individuals will be honored at the May general meeting.
Career Program
You and a guest are cordially invited to our free presentation: Managing an Effective Job Search. Join us to learn how to: 1. Prepare resumes that employers want to read, 2. Avoid the pitfalls in the interview process, 3. Use the Internet to conduct a job search, and 4. Place a free ad that is read by over 1000 employers of chemists.
Your speaker is Richard Bretz, a National Career Consultant for the American Chemical Society. Richard has given numerous presentations to Ohio chemists on all aspects of managing an effective job search. He is also an expert at resume review. If you are considering or in the process of looking for a new position you need to hear this presenation. Resume review will be available to all attendees.
Note: You do not need to be a member of the American Chemical Society to attend this meeting. To reserve seats please contact Ann Bolek by email at bolek@uakron.edu or by phone at 330-972-6264. The location is Tangier; the date is May 15, 2003; the time is 1-5 pm. Soft drinks, coffee, tea, and cookies will be served. The regular monthly general meeting of the ACS Akron Section, announced previously, will follow this presentation.
Committee Meeting
The May Executive Committee meeting of the ACS Akron Section will be held on Tuesday May 6, 2003 at 5:00 pm in the University of Akron Science and Technology Library conference room 104. Members of the committee who cannot attend are urged to submit reports to Chris Wood. Other issues can be addressed to Sid Patel.
Career Tip
Did you know that members of the ACS have access to the National Employment Clearinghouse, as well as regional employment clearinghouses? This member-only service is also available online. Over 1200 candidates signed up for this service at the recent ACS national meeting, and hundreds of companies were represented. The number of jobs posted keeps increasing. For more information, visit the new Chemjobs web site or contact our local Career Development Committee Chair via e-mail to Liam Guiney or call 330-643-9533. The next Employment Clearinghouse will be at the Great Lakes Regional Meeting in Chicago on June 2.
ACESS Meeting
The annual joint meeting of the ACS Akron Section and the Akron Council of Engineering and Scientific Societies will be held on Thursday evening April 24, 2003 at Tangier in Akron. Tom Sawyer of Hiram College and former Congressman speaks on Preparing for the 21st Century on the Fly or Changing a Flat Tire While Rolling Down the Highway - Thoughts on Science Education. The schedule is cash bar at 5:30, buffet dinner at 6:00, and presentation at 7:00. The program costs $15. Dinner reservations are required by noon on Monday April 21; please send e-mail to Jan Ruthenburg or call 330-535-8835.
Career Management
Four popular and free ACS Department of Career Services publications have been updated recently and are now available. They include: Employment Guide for Foreign-Born Chemists in the United States, 2nd edition - The new version of this guide includes a section covering changes in U.S. immigration laws following the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Interview Handbook - This publication discusses the various techniques and skills needed for a successful interview. This updated edition discusses how cultural fit is an important criterion in how chemists are hired by U.S employers. Tips on Resume Preparation - Readers of this text will find a discussion of the most successful types of resumes with samples of each. The new edition includes tips on marketing your resume in the electronic market. Targeting the Job Market - This publication focuses on several components of targeting the job market: personal assessment, identifying market trends, credentials, conducting research, and networking.
All four publications can be downloaded from the ACS website or by requesting them from ACS Office of Society Services at help@acs.org.
Career Assistance
Because so many Akron area chemists are currently looking for employment, in part as a result of Goodyear's workforce reduction last winter, the ACS Akron Section will be providing some special career assistance. So far, the following services are planned. There will be an official ACS Career Councilor available at every Akron Section general meeting to help with resume preparation and to suggest job seeking techniques. A periodic career tip will be included in the Akron Section News and on the Akron Section web site. And a workshop for Akron area chemists will be conducted next month. Please send e-mail to Liam Guiney or call 330-643-9533 with comments. Liam is spearheading these efforts.
The ACS Akron Section will bring career experts from the American Chemical Society's national office to Akron on Thursday May 15 to conduct a half-day workshop on Managing an Effective Job Search. One-on-one career assistance will also be provided. Please mark your calendars now and stay tuned for further details.
General Meeting
The April general meeting of the ACS Akron Section will be held on Thursday evening April 17, 2003 at Tangier in Akron. Peter Wipf of the University of Pittsburgh speaks on Combinatorial Chemistry, From Tools to Technologies. The schedule is networking at 5:15, dinner at 6:00, and presentation at 7:00. This is the evening portion of the annual Crano Memorial Lecture. The program is free and open to the public. Dinner costs $14 for members and guests and $7 for students. Dinner reservations are required by noon on Monday April 14; please send e-mail to Ann Bolek or call 330-972-6264.
Abstract: The emergence of combinatorial chemistry paired with genomics and new efficient biological screening strategies represents a paradigm shift in the way that new small molecule drug candidates are discovered. Traditionally, natural products extracts or industrial collections of small molecules were screened to discover lead compounds, which were then optimized in an iterative process by the synthesis of derivatives. Combinatorial synthesis is now supplementing traditional strategies at both the lead discovery and the lead optimization stages. In 1997, the University of Pittsburgh created one of the first academic centers for studies in combinatorial chemistry. The Combinatorial Chemistry Center (CCC) reflected our notion that there is an important role for basic scientific research in support of this new technology. Furthermore, in October 2002, our Department received a five-year grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to build one of the nation's first Centers of Excellence in Chemical Methods and Library Development. This talk will illustrate the 6-year evolution of combinatorial chemistry methods, synthetic strategies, and key technologies that accompanied the development of the CCC.
Biography: Peter Wipf is the Director of the Combinatorial Chemistry Center and the Center for Chemical Methodologies and Library Development at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also a Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the School of Pharmacy and a Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry, all at the University of Pittsburgh. His primary research interests are synthetic organic, heterocyclic, organometallic, and combinatorial chemistry. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Swiss National Science Foundation, obtained his Ph.D. and D.Chem. from the University of Zurich. He is a member of editorial and advisory boards and an author of research publications.
Councilors Report
Ann Bolek provides these notes from the recent ACS national meeting. The petition for division and local section funding passed in a voice vote. Councilors approved amendments to the ACS constitution and bylaws to accomodate the petition, as well as the distribution of the funding to divisions and local sections. The dues assessment to fund the petition will be temporary and will be reviewed by the ACS Board of Directors each year; $2 in 2004, $4 in 2005, $6 in 2006, and $8 in 2007. A ballot for the constitution and bylaws amendments will be sent to the entire ACS membership in a special mailing late Spring or early Summer to ensure that dues renewals can be mailed out at their regular time in the Fall. The dues escalator will increase dues to $120 for 2004; this increase is in addition to the increase from the petition and was approved by Council. Council selected two candidates to run for 2004 President Elect: William F Carroll Jr, a Vice-President at Occidental Chemical Corp, and Michael E Strem, President of Strem Chemicals.
Memorial Lecture
The fifth annual Crano Memorial Lecture will be held on Thursday afternoon April 17, 2003 at the University of Akron Goodyear Polymer Auditorium. Peter Wipf of the University of Pittsburgh will lecture on Natural Product-Based Phosphatase and Tubulin-Polymerization Inhibitors. The schedule is presentation at 3:15, preceded by refreshments. The program is free and open to the public. Parking passes may be obtained by sending e-mail to Hank Stevens or calling 330-972-6838.
Abstract: A major goal of our work is to demonstrate the potential of complex natural products to serve as biological probes of cell cycle events and as lead structures for anticancer drug development. Complex natural products-derived targets pose significant challenges for analog synthesis due to their structural diversity and the requirement for multi-step syntheses. In a collaborative effort, we have made significant progress in the application of combined solid phase - solution phase synthetic strategies for the development of biologically relevant Cdc25 dual-specificity phosphatase inhibitors and antimitotic agents. After several stages of iterative optimizations, we have identified submicromolar inhibitors in each series that exceed the potency and selectivity of the natural product lead structures that inspired the combinatorial chemistry library development. This talk will present our interdisciplinary approach in both areas with a focus on synthetic methods and summarize the new perspectives that we have gained in the attempt to condense distinct functionalities of the structurally diverse natural product leads.
Committee Meeting
The April Executive Committee meeting of the ACS Akron Section will be held on Tuesday April 1, 2003 at 5:00 pm in the University of Akron Science and Technology Library conference room 104. Members of the committee who cannot attend are urged to submit reports to Chris Wood. Other issues can be addressed to Sid Patel.
Webcast Courses
The ACS now offers short courses at your desktop. Attend an ACS Webcast Short Course from the convenience of your office or home. These courses meet during scheduled times and are directly guided by expert instructors. The Webcast Short Courses scheduled for 2003 are: Interpretation of Mass Spectra, Infrared Spectral Interpretation, I, and Effective Technical Writing. For more information visit http://chemistry.org/elearning/.
Self-Paced Courses
Start a course anytime. These courses are completely self-paced. Help from an instructor is available by e-mail. ACS self-paced courses include: Basic Statistical Analysis of Laboratory Data, Chemical Laboratory Techniques, and Starting with Safety - An Introduction for the Academic Chemistry Laboratory. To review a complete on-line catalog, visit the ACS Virtual Campus at http://www.vcampus.com/acs/.
Jobs Site
Chemical & Engineering News has launched its new online job site, ChemJobs. The site combines C&EN's online career information and classified ads with content from JobSpectrum.org, an American Chemical Society website that features online-only employment ads, resume posting, and e-mail alerts. The cen-chemjobs.org website capitalizes on C&EN employment advertising's position as the top resource for finding a job within the chemical enterprise. The site also provides links to the ACS Department of Career Services, which offers specialized professional services for society members. Cen-chemjobs.org hosts a wide range of job openings in the chemical sciences - from university professors and government agency scientists to industry researchers, lab technicians, marketing and sales representatives, and managers. Visit http://www.cen-chemjobs.org/.
General Meeting
The March general meeting of the ACS Akron Section will be held on Thursday evening March 20, 2003 at Tangier in Akron. R Thomas Myers of Kent State University (retired) speaks on Global Warming. The schedule is networking at 5:15, dinner at 6:00, and presentation at 7:00. The program is free and open to the public. Dinner costs $14 for members and guests and $7 for students. Dinner reservations are required by noon on Monday March 17; please send e-mail to Ann Bolek or call 330-972-6264.
Committee Meeting
The March Executive Committee meeting of the ACS Akron Section will be held on Tuesday March 4, 2003 at 5:00 pm in the University of Akron Science and Technology Library conference room 104. Members of the committee who cannot attend are urged to submit reports to Chris Wood. Other issues can be addressed to Sid Patel.
General Meeting
The February general meeting of the ACS Akron Section will be held on Thursday evening February 20, 2003 at Tangier in Akron. David L Smith of Fryer Company speaks on Imaging. The schedule is networking at 5:15, dinner at 6:00, and presentation at 7:00. The program is free and open to the public. Dinner costs $14 for members and guests and $7 for students. Dinner reservations are required by noon on Monday February 17; please send e-mail to Ann Bolek or call 330-972-6264.
Abstract: There will be a brief intoduction to imaging, with discussions of confocals microscopes, fluorescence, cameras, high speed imaging and other new technologies.
Biography: David Smith received his BS in Chemistry from Washington State University, his PhD in Synthetic Organometallic Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin Madison with Paul Trickle, did a Postdoc in Organo-Beryllium Chemistry at the University of Wyoming with Jeffery Coates, and is now Director and Product Manager, Imaging, at Fryer Company.
Address Changes
If you know of someone whose e-mail address changed recently, perhaps due to the massive workforce reduction by Goodyear, please remind them to notify the American Chemical Society of their new address. The Akron Section doesn't want to lose track of its members.
Committee Meeting
The February Executive Committee meeting of the ACS Akron Section will be held on Tuesday February 4, 2003 at 5:00 pm in the University of Akron Science and Technology Library conference room 104. Members of the committee who cannot attend are urged to submit reports to Chris Wood. Other issues can be addressed to Sid Patel.
Engineers Banquet
The Akron Area celebration of National Engineers Week will take place on Thursday evening February 20, 2003 at Emidio's Banquet Center in Cuyahoga Falls. Tom Benson of NASA Glenn Research Center and Roger Storm of Fairview Park High School will play Wilbur and Orville and speak on Celebration of 100 Years of Powered Flight - An Evening with the Wright Brothers. The schedule is social at 5:30 and dinner and program at 6:30. Tickets cost $25 for adults and $20 for students. Dinner reservations and payments are required in advance; please call Jan Ruthenburg at 330-836-5397.
Executive Committee
A quorum of the year 2003 ACS Akron Section elected Officers and Councilors began the year by appointing Sid Patel to the open position of Chair Elect. Sid had previously accepted the section's invitation to handle the responsibilities of the position, so the appointment makes the previous arrangement official. Sid also retains his position as Chair of the section. Please be active in your section by volunteering a few hours of time to serve on a committee, by attending a general meeting or two, or by simply expressing your opinions about the section to a member of the Executive Committee.
General Meeting
The January general meeting of the ACS Akron Section will be held on Thursday evening January 16, 2003 at Tangier in Akron. Robert M Shemenski of RMS Consulting and the University of Akron speaks on Introduction to Corrosion. The schedule is networking at 5:15, dinner at 6:00, and presentation at 7:00. The program is free and open to the public. Dinner costs $14 for members and guests and $7 for students. Dinner reservations are required by noon on Monday January 13; please send e-mail to Ann Bolek or call 330-972-6264.
Abstract: Unless materials are chemically stable in the environments to which they are exposed while in storage or service, their otherwise useful properties, i.e. tensile strength, ductility, toughness, electrical and thermal conductivity, and optical characteristics, will be lost. Such environmental degradation of all types of materials is a critical and limiting factor in the development of advanced technologies and allocation of resources. Introduction to Corrosion provides an overview of the mechanism of corrosion, eight distinct forms of corrosion, and the economic challenges faced by a corrosion engineer. Several case studies will be presented.
Biography: Robert M Shemenski graduated with a MetE degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a PhD in metallurgical engineering from Ohio State University. After serving as a Captain in the U.S. Army with the 1st TC Battalion, he worked at Bell Telephone Laboratories, Battelle Columbus Laboratories, and the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, where he spent twenty-four years as Manager of Wire Science and Technology. He has nineteen patents. After retiring from Goodyear, he was Vice President of Technology and Quality at Amercord, and in 1999, he started RMS Consulting. He is also adjunct professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Akron. He is a member of NACE International, ASM International, and the Wire Association International, where he served as President in 1999 and 2000. He is a registered professional engineer in Ohio.
Looking Way Ahead
The ACS Akron Section will be the host section of an ACS Central Regional Meeting to be held in Akron in the year 2005. This meeting will provide some outstanding technical programming for the region, networking opportunities to industrial and academic chemists, an affordable venue for younger chemists and students to share their research, and a celebration of achievements in area chemical research and chemical education. Like other regional meetings, this meeting will also provide excellent opportunities to explore career options. Jim Duddey, a long-time leader in the Akron Section, is already working hard to make this special event possible.
Chemunity News
The newsletter of the ACS Education and International Activities Division has returned —online. Educators and those interested in chemical education issues can now stay up-to-date with division activities through bimonthly editions of Chemunity News delivered via email. Learn about upcoming workshops, new publications, and the various education programs that are available for students, teachers, and institutions. The articles featured in the most recent issue of Chemunity News, sent just before the ACS national meeting in Boston, demonstrate the division's broad range of activities. These include: 1) Wonder and Explore, a new multifaceted resource designed to help elementary teachers better understand physical science concepts and develop an inquiry-based teaching approach.; 2) 34th International Chemistry Olympiad competition took place this summer in Groningen, The Netherlands, and once again the U.S. team placed well, bringing home two gold medals, a silver and a bronze.; 3) Online Registry of Chemistry-Based Master’s Programs, a searchable online resource for students seeking information about master’s programs in the chemical sciences; and 4) Starting with Safety, the popular ACS video course that has been adapted for delivery via the Internet. If you would like to receive Chemunity News, contact education@acs.org.
Committee Meeting
The January Executive Committee meeting of the ACS Akron Section will be held on Tuesday January 7, 2003 at 5:00 pm in the University of Akron Science and Technology Library conference room 104. Don't use parking meters or parking passes, as school is not in session. Members of the committee who cannot attend are urged to submit reports to Chris Wood. Other issues can be addressed to Sid Patel.
Jobs Site
Chemical and Engineering News Classifieds and Careers Online (Chemjobs) will launch on February 10, 2003. This new "one-stop career shop" combines the features of Jobspectrum.org - for example, resume posting - with the C&EN online classified ads to provide career resources for both job-seekers and employers. ACS members will be able to view the most recent C&EN classified ads that appeared in the print version of the magazine; non-members will be able to view them after two weeks. Chemjobs will be the prime site for "quality jobs and quality chemists" to find each other. Chemjobs will also have an archive of useful career resource information and articles from C&EN and a direct link to ACS Department of Career Services. Stay tuned and log on February 10: http://www.chemjobs.org/.
Career Management
Four of the ACS Department of Career Services' most popular career-development publications are being updated and due to be reissued early in 2003. These publications can provide to job seekers or mature chemists vital resources on preparing for an interview, resume-writing skills, finding the hidden job market, or making adjustments to cultural differences in the United States. Current versions of each of these four free publications can be downloaded from the ACS website http://chemistry.org/careers/.
They are: The Interview Handbook - Discusses the various techniques and skills needed for a successful interview. Tips on Resume Preparation - Discusses the most successful types of resumes and offers samples of each. Employment Guide for Foreign-Born Chemists in the United States - Provides information on immigration requirements, job searching, evaluating foreign credentials, skills and experience, culture of the workplace, and how to adapt to a new domicile. Targeting the Job Market - This publication focuses on the components of targeting the job market: personal assessment, identifying market trends, credentials, conducting research, and networking.
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