National Chemistry Week
NCW-2007 Theme:
"The Many Faces of Chemistry"
Celebrate: October 21-27, 2007

Additional Activities, Puzzles, and Games for Kids!

Chemical Society of Washington
National Chemistry Week Activities

The following events were arranged by CSW members for NCW.

1. Tuesday, October 23, 2007:   Moten Elementary School, Washington, DC
   • The American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Chemical Society of Washington (CSW) co-sponsored an NCW event with elementary school children. Volunteers assisted the students with several activities.
     
     
   • Also on Tuesday, October 23, 2007, several CSW members assisted the ACS Office of Legislative Affairs (OLGA) with an NCW event with legislators and staff at the U.S. Capital. As in the past, CSW volunteers assisted OLGA with distributing NCW information and conducting some simple demonstrations.
     
     
2. October 23, 24 and 26, 2007:   St. Mary Star of the Sea School, 6485 Indian Head Highway, Indian Head, MD 20640
   • Volunteers performed demonstrations for children in K-8^th grades and handed out NCW publications.
     
     
3. October 28, 2007:   Crystal City Street Spectacular, Crystal City, Arlington, VA
   • The Spectacular was held in conjunction with the Marine Corp Marathon. CSW members partnered with the National Children's Museum for this event. Volunteers performed demonstrations and handed out NCW publications.
     
     
4. October 2007:   John Marshall Library, Alexandria, VA
   • During the month of October, a CSW member prepared a display in a showcase for NCW at a local library.
     
     
5. October 22-26, 2007
   • Several CSW members had displays at their place of work and passed out copies of the 'Celebrating Chemistry' publication.

Linda Wang’s eight-page article celebrating the National Chemistry Week events around the country appears on pages 36-43 of C&EN for December 17, 2007. The online version of the article is at: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/acsnews/85/8551acsnews1.html

CSW NCW Coordinator
Kim M. Morehouse

Chemagination!

Chemagination 2006 Report

Dear Colleagues:

The Chemathon competition for high school chemistry students will be held again at the University of Maryland on Saturday, April 28 in the Chemistry & Biochemistry Building. This year's competition will include 48 teams of 6 students from 28 high schools. In addition, the Chemathon program this year will be held on Maryland Day on the UM campus, so there will be activities for the family all day.

The Organizing Committee for Chemathon already has 30 volunteers on hand to assist with the various judging activities, however, we always could use additional volunteers to serve as judges. COME JOIN US! The day is great fun and you will have the opportunity to meet and stimulate the "next generation" of chemists. If you are willing to be a volunteer, please contact Cathy Rosenfelder at 301-405-1791 or send an email to crosen@umd.edu .

Additional information concerning Chemathon including a map of the campus is available at http://www.chem.umd.edu/chemathon . The schedule of events is available at http://www.chem.umd.edu/chemathon/07/schedule.html . For information relating to Maryland Day activities see www.marylandday.umd.edu .

Sincerely yours,

Phil DeShong

Mentors Wanted!
U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad Searching for the HS Mentor Position

Local High School Students Receive Research Grants through Project SEED

CSW is looking for Mentors for high school students during the Summer 2008

If you wish to help the Chemistry profession, submit a proposal for a student research project. Three 2007 mentors will be applying again to Project SEED with new proposals for bright but economically disadvantaged high school students that have one year or more of chemistry. Research projects may be in many forms but must be accomplished in 8-10 weeks. It can be a part of a larger project, but must be suitable for a student with minimal science background. Project SEED is a program administered by the ACS that offers a unique opportunity to spend a summer conducting hands-on research with a scientist in an academic, a government or an industrial laboratory setting. Students are awarded a $2,500.00 fellowship. Working together provides both student and mentor a rewarding partnership, school references, learning of new analytical techniques, opportunities for developing creativity, writing skills, and paid work within the science field. Help start a person on a path to help the world through a profession in Chemistry. For more details contact: Projectseed@acs.org Research project proposals are due in early February 2008.

Interested in being a mentor? Please contact the CSW Project SEED Committee so we can represent you.

• Dr. Walter R. Benson, WBenson270@aol.com
• Dr. Anne Leslie, aleslieipm@aol.com
• Rolf Renner, westriverpoet@yahoo.com

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Through the efforts of CSW's Project SEED volunteers, three local students were recently awarded Project SEED grants to perform chemical research in the DC Metropolitan area. The American Chemical Society's Project SEED Summer I program provides $2,500 fellowship to economically disadvantaged students to participate in summer research at an academic, government, or industrial laboratory. An important feature of the Project SEED program is its emphasis on career development and its motivation of students to pursue higher education in the natural sciences.

• Miss Caroline Jackson, a 2007 graduate of Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, was selected to perform chemical research at George Mason University, Dept of Environmental Sciences and Policy. She will work under the direction of Dr. Changwoo Ahn who is investigating the "Characterization of an ecosystem development in a created wetland in Northern Virginia case of North Fork mitigation bank." Dr.Changwoo Ahn has served as a mentor for many years. Although the ACS provides no monetary compensation for researchers who work with SEED students, Dr.Ahn feels that helping students is worth the effort.
  
  Miss Caroline Jackson was nominated to do research with Project SEED by Ms. V. Colbert, chemistry teacher at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in the Washington, DC. She was encouraged to take technically interesting subjects in a school club by her guidance counselor, Mrs. Vernita Jefferson, among others. She is taking engineering courses at a university in the fall of 2007 based on her success in a school club.
  
  
• Mr. Jun Mo Wang, Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, was selected to perform chemical research at Geogetown University Department of Chemistry. He will work under the direction of Dr. Sarah Stoll who is investigating "Hydrothermal Synthesis of Luminescent Copper Crystals." Dr. Sarah Stoll, a member of the ACS, has served as a mentor for Project SEED students for several years. She has launched several students into a chemistry based career.
  
  Mr. Jun Mo Wang was nominated to do research with Project SEED by Ms. V. Colbert, chemistry teacher at Banneker Academic High School. Mr Wang was also encouraged by the US Dept. of Energy as a 2006 summer web designer employee and by Mrs. Jernita Jefferson, guidance counselor.
  
  
• Mr. Dien Nguyen, a 2007 graduate of High Point High School, has been selected to perform chemical research at Agriculture Research Service's USDA Fruit Laboratory in Beltsville, MD. He will work under the direction of Dr. Shiow Y. Wang who is investigating Antioxidant Capacity in Berry Fruit. Dr. Shiow Y. Wang has served as a mentor for many years but this is her first Project SEED student. Mr. Dien Nguyen was nominated to do research with Project SEED by Mrs. Yuanjun Liu, chemistry teacher at High Point High School in Prince Georges County. She was encouraged by members of the ACS local section (CSW) who attended with her and her team of students the University of Maryland's annual competition for high school students, Chemathon.