5:30 p.m.      Executive Committee Meeting

6:30 p.m.     Buffet Dinner:

7:30 p.m.     Lecture:

Reservations: Reply to Brenda Henderson (bhenderson@unca.edu, phone: 828/251-6443) no later than 12 Noon on February 18th.

Students are often amazed to find out how much chemistry is related to the construction of an automobile and its operation. Fuels from power and lubricants to reduce friction are connected to organic chemistry. Catalytic converters do chemistry. Braking systems and shock absorbers function by fluid or pneumatic pressure. Rubber and nylon in tires are synthesized through chemistry. Steel, chrome, aluminum, and plastics are used as structural and decorative parts. Metals require paints and waxes for protection against corrosion. These facets are enumerated and discussed using stories and live and videotaped demonstrations.

John Fortman is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Wright State University where he retired in 2001 after 36 years of teaching freshman and inorganic chemistry. In 1998 he was appointed the Robert J. Kegerreis Distinguished Professor of Teaching and won seven different teaching awards over the years at Wright State. In 1998 he received the CMA Catalyst Award for Outstanding Teaching of College Chemistry. Dr. Fortman received his B.S. from the University of Dayton in 1961 and his Ph.D. in physical inorganic chemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 1965. He has published over 50 papers in chemical education in addition to his research publications. With Rubin Battino he has produced three sets of videotapes which contain over ten hours of chemical demonstrations for use at middle school through college levels. For over 25 years he has done chem demo outreach shows for middle and high school students in the Dayton area and continues to inspire and fascinate over 7500 students each year with at least 15 shows. He has done workshops on teaching and demonstrations around the country. He has designed alternative courses for general chemistry, elementary chemistry, and chemistry for elementary education majors. His course for non-science students was cited as a model in the 1990 AAAS report on "The Liberal Art of Science: Agenda for Action". The alternative general chemistry course was developed while he was a member of the General Chemistry Task Force of the ACS Division of Chemical Education and starts with organic and biochemistry moving through materials and finishing with energy while emphasizing applications and bringing in only those principles that are needed as they are necessary. The course has been characterized as being taught inside-out, upside-down, and backwards. His interests, in addition to demonstrations and course content and organization, include the use of analogies and videotaped material. John has been an ACS member since 1962 and is currently Councilor for the Dayton section and member of the Committee on Constitution & Bylaws after serving for five years on the Local Section Activities Committee. As an ACS Tour Speaker he has given over 200 talks over the past ten years, visiting 150 of the 189 different local sections and doing each of the 28 speaking tours at least once. He has presented in 49 of the 50 states.

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After four years of negotiating with the ACS Committee on Constitution and Bylaws, our Local Section has finally won their tentative approval for new bylaws. On February 19, 2004, during our regular meeting, the revisions as proposed were approved by the members present. The revised bylaws are available through the links below for your review. The changes, which incorporate both the comments of the WCACS Section's Executive Committee and the comments of the ACS Committee on Constitution and Bylaws, are in red. There also has been reformatting suggested by the Committee.

The original document is the WCACS official bylaws on file with ACS and can be found at http://membership.acs.org/w/wca/Business/Bylaws.html on this site. Current ByLaws are approved as amended effective July 7, 1978; Committee on Constitution and Bylaws final approval on 12/29/1978.

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The highly popular ACS Video Course, Starting with Safety, has been adapted for delivery via the Internet. The Internet version includes all of the materials from the original Video Course including the video scenes and the Teacher's Guide. As an added bonus, the complete ACS Video Course, Seeing the Light, Eye and Face Protection, is also included in this ACS Internet Course.

Now you and your students can access this valuable training program from any computer connected to the Internet at any time, day or night. (We do recommend a relatively high-speed connection, such as a DSL, cable modem or higher. And you will need to install the Flash 6 player to view the videos).

This program is designed to be used as part of a standard high school or introductory college chemistry curriculum that is taught by an experienced chemistry teacher. The program is NOT meant to be a stand-alone training course. Students should only use this program under the supervision of a qualified teacher.

For complete details about this program, visit the American Chemical Society website at http://chemistry.org/elearning and click on the link to Starting with Safety.

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In October, the Technology, Tools and Operations Subcommittee of the Local Section Activities Committee and the Office of Local Section Activities launched a new HTML newsletter for local section leaders! The quarterly newsletter is sent via email to all current local section officers. The goal of the newsletter is to provide officers with timely information, tools and tips for success, and innovative ideas and activities that local sections may find of interest. The newsletter is available online at http://membership.acs.org/l/localsections/leading_together. If you wish to subscribe to future issues of this newsletter please send an email to olsa@acs.org and indicate your subscription request.

Editor's Note:All requests for address changes should be sent directly to National ACS headquarters in Washington, DC and not to the Editors of The Periodic News. Address labels are supplied to the Editors on a monthly basis by the American Chemical Society and are determined by the current active membership. The Editors cannot be held responsible for incorrect mailing labels.