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/

Biographical Information

Dr. Victoria L. Finkenstadt earned her doctorate in Carbohydrate Chemistry from the Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research at Purdue University in 1997. Her doctoral dissertation involved structure-function properties of polysaccharides. She received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from McPherson College (Kansas) in 1989. After college, but before attending graduate school, she worked in the pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences in both quality control (Sterling Drug, Inc.) and R&D (Becton-Dickinson Polymer Research). Dr. Finkenstadt has been at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (United States Department of Agriculture) in Peoria, IL since 1998. Her research projects involve polymer chemistry, advanced material engineering, value-added product development from agricultural commodities and theoretical investigations into polymer systems. Dr. Finkenstadt is very active in the American Chemical Society at the local, regional, and national levels. She was elected Councilor for the Peoria Local Section in 2003 and is a member of the ACS Local Section Activities Committee. Under her leadership, the Illinois Heartland (Peoria) American Chemical Society has received eight consecutive Outstanding Performance Awards (1999-2006).

Graduate School: Paradise, Purgatory, or Perdition?

Your college undergraduate days are almost over. What's next? If you have chosen to go directly to graduate school or are considering that decision, then be sure you know what you are getting yourself into. Choosing the right graduate program and advisor can make graduate school a paradise, an indeterminate time in purgatory, or an eternity in hell. This short talk will take a humorous, interactive look at graduate school.

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).