ACS NEWS ▸ ACS launches ACS Energy Letters
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C&EN | CEN.ACS.ORG | MARCH 7, 2016
Allan (right) and biology teacher Matt Miller (left) accompany Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy students at a science quiz bowl.
▸ ACS-Hach scholarships help prepare high school chemistry teachers David Allan had always thought about becoming a high school chemistry teacher, so when his position as a research chemist at Dow Chemical was eliminated in 2008, he took the opportunity to pursue a career in teaching. With the help of a scholarship from the American Chemical Society’s ACS-Hach Programs, Allan enrolled in a teacher certification program at Central Michigan University. Today, Allan is a physics and chemistry teacher at Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy, in Michigan, where he brings his real-world experiences into the classroom. “The most important thing is being able to nurture the natural curiosity and desire of students to understand the world around them, and to give them the tools they need to be able to figure things out on their own,” he says. Allan, who has a Ph.D. in macromolecular science and engineering, has been a member of ACS since 1979, when he joined as a student affiliate. He says it means a lot that ACS can provide him with resources both as a chemist and now as a high school chemistry teacher. Anita Preininger, who is finishing up a teacher certification program and is working as an apprentice teacher at Spring Hill High School, in Columbia, Tenn., also credits the scholarship she received from ACSHach Programs, with helping her transition from being a research assistant professor at Vanderbilt University to becoming a high school chemistry teacher. “We were seeing that, in some cases, it seemed like students didn’t have quite the background they needed to be successful at the college level,” she says. “My mission
is to increase the number of chemists throughout the U.S., and I think we have to reach down to the high school level in order to get those students excited about chemistry and wanting to take it in college. “The ACS-Hach scholarship has done so much to help equip me,” Preininger continues. “Having this opportunity to take classes has really given me a framework, and it’s accelerated my process of becoming a teacher.” Like Allan, Preininger has been a longtime ACS member. “It’s funny how at each turn of my career, there was something ACS offered that I needed,” she says. “It’s great how many different ways ACS can support someone no matter what stage in their career they’re at.” To learn more about ACS-Hach Programs or to apply for a scholarship, visit www.acs. org/hach. The deadline for the ACS-Hach Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Scholarship and the ACS-Hach Second Career Teacher Scholarship is April 1.—LINDA WANG
▸ ACS challenges students to recruit ACS is challenging its student chapters to recruit as many new undergraduate paid members as they can, through the 2016 Member-Get-a-Member Challenge. Prizes include blankets featuring the periodic table of elements, lunch for the top three recruiting student chapters, and national meeting registration for six undergraduate students. The grand prize is a trip for one student chapter member to an ACS national meeting. The contest ends on April 15. For more information, visit www.acs.org/ MGMChallenge.—LAUREN LAMOUREUX,
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BARBARA JOHNSTON/UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME (KAMAT); COURTESY OF DAVID ALLAN (TEAM PHOTO)
The American Chemical Society is launching a new peer-reviewed journal, ACS Energy Letters, that will focus on rapid communication of research from across the energy field, including energy capture, conversion, and storage. “There is a clear need for innovators worldwide who are engaged in energy R&D to publish rapidly their novel research discoveries,” says Penelope Lewis, director of editorial development for ACS Publications. “As part of the American Chemical Society’s mission to address important global challenges, we hope this new journal energizes young researchers to direct their efforts toward bold experimentation in clean energy research and development.” ACS, which publishes C&EN, has about 50 peer-reviewed journals at the interface of chemistry and allied sciences. Prashant Kamat, Rev. John A. Zahm Professor of Science in the department of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame, is serving as the inaugural editor-in-chief. Kamat Kamat stepped down as deputy editor of the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters and is being succeeded by Gregory Scholes, William S. Tod Professor of Chemistry at Princeton University and a senior fellow at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. “It’s an exciting time to lead a journal devoted to energy research,” Kamat says. “Energy research is a global necessity.” This journal “fills a distinct void” and “will become the go-to place for authors and readers from the global chemistry enterprise to get the latest developments in the energy field,” Kamat adds. In addition to original research letters, the interdisciplinary journal will include perspectives from prominent researchers, reviews on emerging areas of interest, and viewpoints from the scientific community. Topics will include advances in energy conversion processes, solar cells and solar fuels, and energy storage. Kamat points out that other ACS journals will continue to publish more in-depth studies on energy research related to their specific fields. ACS Energy Letters is accepting submissions for consideration and will publish its first issue this summer.—LINDA WANG
