A publication of
The Illinois-Iowa Section of
The American Chemical Society
 

If you have items to be included in the next newsletter, submit the items by the 20^th to the Secretary.
For the latest information about upcoming events, visit our website at http://membership.acs.org/I/ILIA/

Dr. Patrick Megonigal, Exhibition Curator, Dig It! The Secrets of Soil

Soil Ecologist, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)

Pat Megonigal is the lead scientist for Dig It! He is a senior research scientist at SERC, a large field lab on shores of Chesapeake Bay. Megonigal was President of the international Society of Wetland Scientists and Chair of the Wetland Soils Division of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). Before joining the Smithsonian, he was an Assistant Professor of Biology at George Mason University.

Megonigal’s research interests focus on ecosystem ecology and soil chemistry. He is an expert on wetland soils and soil responses to global climate change. Many of his research grants concern plant-microbe relationships and how they control soil carbon cycling. Among his more than 50 publications is a recent comprehensive review of microbial life in oxygen-free environments. Megonigal holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biology from Old Dominion University, and a PhD in soils and biogeochemistry from Duke University.

CALL FOR OFFICERS

It is time to elect the 2009 officers for the Illinois-Iowa Section of the ACS. If you are interested in serving, please contact Dr. Brian Mundell (brian@bio-researchprod.com) or Dr. Mel Peterson (MelPeterson@augustana.edu).

NOMINATIONS FOR AWARDS

Salutes to Excellence

Salutes to Excellence is an award program that gives ACS members an opportunity to recognize the positive impact on everyday life made by a practitioner of chemistry, a product of chemistry, or a place of importance in chemistry within their community. A central part of the event is the presentation of a commemorative plaque, furnished by the Office of Community Activities (OCA), for the honoree(s) for the chemistry achievement being honored. The local section is now searching for nominees for this prestigious award for 2008.

Please submit the following information by mail to Dr. Mary Ellen Biggin, Augustana College, 639 38th Street, Rock Island, IL 61201 or by email to maryellenbiggin@augustana.edu by November 1, 2008.

• Your name, address, phone number, and email address
• The nominee's name/company name/product name/location
• A brief description (approximately 100 words) of the positive impact over several years that this product, practitioner, or place of importance in/of chemistry has had on the local section and the cause of chemistry

The nominee should be a current section member in good standing, a product invented by a person/company in the section, or a location within the section.

DONALD KISER MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

The 2008 winner of the scholarship is Kelly Holt, who graduated from Alwood High School in Woodhull, IL. She will attend Harvard University and plans to study chemical engineering.

The scholarship review committee for 2008 (George Bailey, Art Serianz, Rich Craddick, and Mary Ellen Biggin) reviewed 24 applications.

JOB POSTINGS LINK

We now have a job postings link on our homepage (http://membership.acs.org/I/ILIA/). If you have job openings that you would like to post, please send them to Dr. Mary Ellen Biggin (maryellenbiggin@augustana.edu).