Committee Reports, March 2005 - ACS Publications - American

Chemical Education Today

Association Report: ACS Division of Chemical Education

Committee Reports, March 2005 San Diego Executive Committee Report Donald Wink, Secretary

Initiatives of the ACS President Division chairman Morton Hoffman reported on the excellent atmosphere for chemical education that had been created by the work and the ideas of ACS president Bill Carroll. This includes Carroll’s support of a new initiative that is a joint effort by the Division and the Journal to provide high school teachers with full access to relevant material from the Journal, known as the Chemistry Teacher Connection (CTC) program. (See below for more information about CTC.) Proposed Changes to Division Bylaws The Executive Committee voted to approve changes to the Division bylaws pertinent to the possible implementation of other voting methods (such as electronic balloting) in the future. This follows upon the work of the Online Elections Task Force. Note that this decision will not affect the elections this year, which will use the regular paper-and-mail method. 2008 Biennial Conference on Chemical Education The Committee approved the recommendation of the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) committee to accept Indiana University’s application to host the 2008 BCCE. (See p 980 for more about BCCE conferences.) Endowment Solicitation Committee Glenn Crosby reported on the effort to create an endowment to sponsor ACS Regional High School Teacher Awards. The key is obtaining donations from a large number of people, distributed geographically and across different levels of teaching. Virtually all chemists, Glenn pointed out, have good reason to credit their high school teacher for motivating them to study chemistry. The endowment is a way for chemists to acknowledge publicly the ongoing importance of excellent high

school teaching. In 2005 the Executive Committee agreed to match the first $100,000 contributed to the endowment. Information about the Endowment is on p 993; a downloadable donation form is available at http://www.divched.org/awards/ endowment/donationForm.pdf (accessed May 2005).

ACS DiviCHED 2005 Election of Officers Candidates for the 2005 annual election of Division officers appear on p 982. Ballots will be mailed in August 2005; completed ballots must be received by October 1, 2005. Both Members and Affiliate Members of the Division may vote for the offices of Chair-Elect and Treasurer; only Members (who are also members of ACS) may vote for Secretary and Councilor/Alternate Councilor since these are ACS as well as DivCHED offices. In this election there are two Councilor/ Alternate Councilor positions available, to be filled in this order: Councilor 2006–2008; Alternate Councilor 2006–2008. Journal of Chemical Education News Chemistry Teacher Connection In collaboration with DivCHED and the Journal of Chemical Education, ACS President Bill Carroll has developed an exciting initiative to involve more high school teachers in ACS activities. Called Chemistry Teacher Connection (CTC), this new opportunity provides teachers with affiliate membership in the Division of Chemical Education (and also the ACS) as well as a subscription to CLIC—Chemical Learning Information Center—JCE’s online publication for high school teachers. All of this is available for the low annual price of $40. Affiliate membership in DivCHED affords the right to vote for Chair-Elect, Treasurer, and Member-at-Large and the right to run for these offices—as well as a subscription to the DivCHED Newsletter. JCE Online HS CLIC provides an online version of the CLIC section of JCE—all articles marked in the table of contents as being of interest to high school teachers—from 1996 to the present.

Saluting 2005 ACS Awardees!

photo by J. W. Moore

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Jim Spencer (at left, Franklin & Marshall College), recipient of the George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education sponsored by The Dow Chemical Co., with his colleague Rick Moog (Franklin & Marshall College).

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photo by M. Z. Hoffman

Geraldine Richmond (right, University of Oregon), recipient of the ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences, being congratulated by Sally Chapman (Barnard College).

Morton Hoffman, DivCHED chair, poses with his poster describing the Division and its activities at Sci-Mix in San Diego.

Highlights of other recent happenings from JCE include the successful launch of the JCE Online store; donations to the Tsunami Relief Project (organized by ACS Project Bookshare) and to the DivCHED Teaching Excellence Endowment (see p 993); tremendous growth in usage of JCE Online; plans to publish a CD-ROM of approximately 100 of the published CLIPs (Chemical Laboratory Information Profiles); the availability on JCE Online of the full text of scanned back issues of JCE from 1976 through 1996—with the expectation that an additional installment will be uploaded in the very near future; the inception of three new collections as part of the NSDL program: JCE ChemInfo: Organic, JCE Learning Communities Online, and JCE Featured Molecules. Another important item is the first step in the process of selection the eighth editor of JCE, as described below. The present (seventh) editor, John W. Moore, took up the editorial red pen in 1996.

Editor, Journal of Chemical Education The Board of Publication of the Journal of Chemical Education (JCE) announces the search for the eighth editor of the JCE. Ability to oversee day-to-day operation of a monthly academic journal, creativity in envisioning the future of the JCE, and the skills and tenacity necessary to bring creative plans to fruition are essential characteristics of the editor of the Journal. The editor of the JCE is responsible for all aspects of its publication, including: peer review and evaluation of manuscripts; selection of submissions to be published; preparing, printing, distributing, and archiving Journal issues; maintaining JCE


photo by S. B. Hoffman


Bill Carroll, ACS President, at the CTC poster during Sci-Mix in San Diego. CTC is one of his initiatives to reach out to high school teachers.

Online; hiring and supervising JCE staff; and selecting and collaborating with the Secondary School Section editor and more than 30 editors of feature columns. The editor is expected to: have a broad knowledge of both chemistry and chemistry education content; exhibit diplomacy, good interpersonal skills and decisiveness; exercise good writing/editing ability; and meet monthly publication deadlines. The editor typically spends 30– 40 hours per week on Journal work throughout the calendar year. Multi-tasking and time management skills are essential, as is the ability to work with a broad range of people that includes subscribers, authors, reviewers, advertising representatives, computer specialists, column editors, and editorial staff, as well as the Publications Coordinator and members of the Board of Publication. The editor must manage a large budget that, at present, is administered through the editor’s home institution. The editor is appointed to a 5-year renewable term by the Board of Publication. To help with the transition, the new editor will serve in conjunction with the current editor, John Moore, for up to a year. It is expected that the new editor will assume full responsibility for operating the JCE on September 1, 2009. Preliminary applications or nominations should include a CV and a letter describing the applicant’s qualifications for the position. Preliminary applications will be accepted beginning immediately and continuing through February 28, 2006. Please forward applications or requests for further information to John I. Gelder, Chair, JCE Board of Publication, Department of Chemistry, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078; phone: 405/744-7005; email: [email protected].

Phoebe Dea (at left, Occidental College), recipient of the ACS Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution sponsored by Research Corp., with Kerry Karukstis (Harvey Mudd College) at the award symposium.

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Congratulations to the Winners! Annis Hapkiewicz (at right, from Okemos High School, Okemos, MI) is the recipient of the James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry Teaching. She is shown with Koni Stone (California State University, Stanislaus).

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Association Report: ACS Division of Chemical Education Report of the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) Committee George S. Kriz, Committee Chair The BCCE Committee recommends the sites for the Biennial Conferences on Chemical Education and provides support and communication between those who have conducted previous BCCE conferences and those developing future conferences. The committee continues to develop ways to improve overall support and guidance for the currently identified BCCE locations as well as for those who might consider hosting a BCCE conference in the future. The duties of the committee involve discussions, not only of possible host sites, but also of the overall structure and nature of the conferences themselves. The committee strives to maintain the high quality of past BCCE conferences and their service to the entire chemical education community, while making certain that the conferences are responsive to the many changes that are occurring in technology, the economy, and travel patterns.

19th BCCE, 2006 The 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) in 2006 will be held at Purdue University, from July 30 through August 3, 2006. The General Chair for the conference is Bill Robinson (Purdue University), and the Program Co-Chairs are Mickey Sarquis (Miami University of Ohio) and Arlene Russell (UCLA). The BCCE 2006 planning group is actively developing plans for an interesting conference. Please put these dates into your planner! 20th BCCE, 2008 At the Spring 2005 American Chemical Society National Meeting in San Diego, the BCCE Committee unanimously recommended and the DivCHED Executive Committee ap-

proved a motion to award the site for the 20th BCCE to Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. The Committee and the Division are convinced that Indiana University is very well prepared to host a successful conference in 2008. The planned dates for the 20th BCCE are July 26 through July 31, 2008.

Future Conferences The BCCE Committee welcomes proposals to host future BCCE conferences. Groups who may be interested in learning more about hosting a BCCE should contact the Committee chair, George Kriz ([email protected]) and see the information in the box below. The Committee seeks enthusiastic members to represent all aspects of chemistry education to provide their perspective in the running of successful conferences. Their qualifications might include first-hand experience with the running of a BCCE or other conferences and/or active participation in a BCCE. Anyone with valuable experience in how a conference should be run is welcome. Most of the Committee’s business is conducted via electronic mail, but we do have about two meetings each year, generally during the ACS national meetings. If you are interested in being part of the Committee’s activities, contact George Kriz ([email protected]). Examinations Institute Report Tom Holme, Director

Lawsuit The most important announcement from the Exams Institute concerned its legal actions to protect the security of ACS Exams. Our case against Yeshiva University was resolved by a Consent Judgment that was registered in New York circuit court. By way of background, the 1994 and 1998 Organic Chemistry exams were posted on the Yeshiva Uni-

Host the 2010 Biennial Conference on Chemical Education! The ACS Division of Chemical Education requests bids to host the 21st Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) in 2010. BCCE Objectives The overall conference goals are to facilitate the exchange of ideas and to create and maintain contacts among all those interested in chemical education. Since each site has unique attractions, the conferences also seek to create an informal setting where families may enjoy the various peripheral amenities. We encourage you to think about the possibility of hosting the 21st BCCE in 2010. Benefits of Hosting the BCCE Each BCCE offers its organizers an extraordinary opportunity for personal and professional growth. The host institution is able to bring its chemistry program, in both chemical

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education and traditional research, to the focused attention of more than 1400 high school and undergraduate chemistry teachers nationwide and beyond. Thus, hosting the BCCE may enhance your ability to recruit undergraduate and graduate students as well as new faculty. The BCCE has been shown to have a positive influence on local K–12 teachers, and this can be a factor in establishing or strengthening cooperative local programs. Although hosting the BCCE provides its organizers with significant administrative experience, it is the organizers who provide us all with the most precious commodity… an invaluable service to the profession. For More Information Contact George Kriz, BCCE Committee Chair, Western Washington University, Department of Chemistry MS 9150, Bellingham, WA 98225; email: [email protected]; phone: 360/650-3126; fax: 360/650-2826.

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versity Web site in 2004 for a period exceeding six months. This meant that the Institute needed to engage in a replacement program for those who had purchased these exams. Thus, the posting of the exams effectively forced a product recall of these two assessment tools, and the Institute pursued its rights under copyright law for damages associated with the incident. In addition to asserting that the posting of these exams constituted an apparent violation of copyright, the Consent Judgment awarded substantial financial damages to the Institute. Perhaps the key effect of this court case is that it demonstrates that the Exams Institute will take the necessary steps to protect the value of the exams it produces and that its customers presume to be secure.

Institute Director Appointment The Board of Trustees of the Exams Institute conducted its 3-year review of Thomas Holme, the Director. The Board voted to endorse him for a second 5-year term upon receiving and discussing his 3-year report. New Products While these operational activities were taking place, new products for the Institute were also being developed by committees. The preparation of a new exam for the first term of the full-year Organic Chemistry course is well under way; it will be ready for trial testing in Fall 2005. A new pair of General Chemistry exams that blend conceptual and algorithmic items also continues to be written. The first-semester exam is now ready to be put into final form, and work on the second-semester exam has begun. Finally, a committee has been established to write ACS Exam items that use nanoscience contexts for content commonly found on standardized exams. These supplemental items will ultimately be provided to purchasers of Exams Institute materials once they have been developed. They will allow professors to include nanoscience content in their course and still be able to utilize standardized testing. The meeting of this committee in San Diego began to clarify the topics and methodology this project will utilize for item development. This latter project is funded by the National Science Foundation, (CHE0407378). Report, ACS Council Meeting Carol White, Councilor The ACS Council met at the 229th ACS National Meeting in San Diego at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, March 15. The many issues that the Council addressed are summarized below.

ACS Nominations and Elections The Committee on Nominations and Elections presented to the Council the four nominees for selection as candidates for President-Elect, 2006: Pat N. Confalone (Dupont, Wilmington, DE), Catherine T. Hunt (Rohm and Haas Co., Spring House, PA), John W. Kozarich (ActivX Biosciences, La Jolla, CA), and Cynthia A. Maryanoff (Cordis Corp., Spring House, PA). By written ballot the Council selected Catherine T. Hunt and John W. Kozarich as candidates for 2006 Presiwww.JCE.DivCHED.org

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dent-Elect. George E. … the Exams Institute Heinze (retired, Robert Wood Johnson Pharmawill take the necessary ceutical Research Institute) was certified as a petition candidate for 2006 Presi- steps to protect the value dent-Elect. The Committee on of the exams it produces Nominations and Elecand that its customers tions announced the results of the election of presume to be secure. nominees for candidates to represent District III and District VI on the Board of Directors for the term 2006–2008. By written ballot the Council selected Catherine C. Fenselau and Madeleine M. Joullié as District III candidates; and as District VI candidates, Bonnie A. Charpentier and Stanley H. Pine. Ballots will be mailed on or before October 10 to all members in District III and District IV for election of a Director for each District. The Committee on Nominations and Elections announced the selection of the following candidates for Directors-at-Large for a 2006–2008 term: James D. Burke (retired, Rohm & Haas Co., Spring House, PA), Edwin A. Chandross (Materials Chemistry LLC, Murray Hill, NJ), C. Gordon McCarty (retired, Bayer Corp., Dataw Island, SC), and Frankie Wood-Black (Conoco Phillips Inc., Ponca City, OK). The election of two Directors-at-Large will be conducted in the fall, with ballots mailed to the Council by October 10.

Committee Review As part of a regular review, the Council voted to continue the Committee on Project SEED, the committee that oversees the Society’s summer educational experience program for disadvantaged youth. Proposed Committee on Ethics The Committee on Committees presented to Council a proposal for establishing a Committee on Ethics as an Other Committee of the Council. The charge of this committee would be to: coordinate the ethics-related activities of the Society, serving as an educational resource and clearinghouse but not as an adjudication body, for ACS members seeking guidance on ethics issues; raise awareness of ethics issues through meeting programming and columns/editorials; review recognition opportunities for acknowledging ethical behavior; develop and oversee such other ethics-related activities as will serve ACS members and promote the Society’s standards of ethical conduct within the profession of chemistry and its related disciplines. After defeating a motion to assign the proposed duties of the committee to the Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs, the Council voted to establish a Committee on Ethics as an Other Committee of the Council. 2006 Member Dues The Council voted to set the member dues for 2006 at the fully escalated rate of $127.

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Association Report: ACS Division of Chemical Education Special Discussion Item: Future of Graduate Education A special discussion item was put on the Council agenda for this meeting. ACS President William F. Carroll presented an overview of Chemistry Enterprise 2015, posing the question, “Where will our students come from in the next ten years, and where will they go?” The issue was framed as follows: At present the U.S. has a strong university system, and U.S. graduate education in science is widely recognized as the best in the world, but problems loom on the horizon. In addition, a variety of factors in the nation’s academic infrastructure are likely to produce change in the training and careers of new chemists. Councilors then participated in a lively discussion that intensified among Council members their awareness of this issue and brought out some possibilities for solutions.

ACS Division of Chemical Education 2005 Election of Officers Candidates for the 2005 annual election of Division officers appear below. Ballots will be mailed in August 2005; completed ballots must be received by October 1, 2005. Both ACS and Affiliate members of the Division may vote for the offices of Chair-Elect and Treasurer; only ACS members may vote for Secretary/Councilor and Councilor/Alternate Councilor since these are ACS as well as DivCHED offices.

Chair-Elect (Chair in 2007) • Melanie Cooper, Clemson University, Clemson, SC; [email protected] • George Kriz, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA; [email protected]

Treasurer (2006–2008) • Tom Greenbowe, Iowa State University, Ames, IA; [email protected] • Anna Wilson, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN; [email protected]

Councilor/Alternate Councilor (2006–2008) • Jennifer Lewis, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL; [email protected] • Laura Pence, University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT; [email protected]

Additional items of potential interest from the Council Meeting: • As of March 15, 2005, the ACS spring national meeting in San Diego had attracted 15,385 registrants as follows: Regular attendees 8,372; Students 4,160; Exhibitors 1,624; Exposition only 628; and Guests 601. There were 580 booths in the Exposition. • The Membership Affairs Committee reported that membership in the American Chemical Society was 158,127 as of year-end 2004. Compared to the previous year, this represents less than a 1% decrease. In 2004, more than 13,000 new members were added to the rolls. • The Committee on Nominations and Elections withdrew a petition on election procedures. The committee plans to offer additional changes to the Society’s election procedures and introduce a new petition at the fall national meeting. • ACS President-Elect E. Ann Nally described her plans for her year as ACS President to focus on spotlighting volunteers; communicating the value of basic and applied research to the public; and highlighting the importance of undergraduate research in science education. • Board Chair James Burke reported that the goals of the Board include: contingency planning for ACS finances; establishing a shared vision statement; putting together a portfolio of strategies; and going toward a formal governance review. • ACS Executive Director Madeline Jacobs stated that the ACS Web site is under review. She commented on phasing out ACS matching funds for such programs as National Chemistry Week and Project SEED. She stated that the new Development Office at the ACS will help local sections and divisions find alternative sources of funding for their programs. • The Board voted to approve the appointment of an editor for a new Society journal, ACS Chemical Biology, which is scheduled to debut in 2006. • The Divisional Activities Committee reported that divisions may apply for up to two innovative program grants totaling $12,500 per year. A single grant proposal may apply for up to $7500. • The Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs (CEPA) reported that 1410 interviews for 189 positions were conducted by employers at the ChemJobs Career Center at the San Diego meeting. CEPA is working on improving career services at regional meetings. Membership in the ACS Division of Chemical Education

• Laura Slocum, University High School of Indiana, Carmel, IN; [email protected]

Contact

• Pratibha Varma-Nelson, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL; [email protected]

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Donald J. Wink, CHED Secretary [email protected]

Online Membership Form http://www.divched.org/CHED-membership.html

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Association Report: ACS Division of Chemical Education Undergraduate Research Poster Session photo by J. W. Moore

More than 800 undergraduates presented the results of their research in DivCHED’s Undergraduate Research Poster Session in San Diego. What a success story for this program!

Poster 683, Atomic force microscopy and nanoparticle spectroscopy in the high school classroom, was an undergrad research contribution of Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA.

One of the research advisors, Pasquale Di Raddo from Ferris State University shares his reflections on having seven of his undergrads (shown below) make presentations.

The Moment Overlooking the San Diego bay region in early morning The Star of India and The Monarch are docked in view As a salty breeze blows over clear deep blue waters.


Eating aromatic toasted sourdough bread and sipping a hot coffee chaser Outdoors, as pigeons flit about. Playing on the radio is the ballad from The Midnight Cowboy: Goin’ where the sun keeps shining, through the pourin’ rain, Goin’ where the weather suits my soul ... . Reflecting on my students’ poster presentations:

Poster 684, Baeyer–Villiger oxidation with household sodium percarbonate, a contribution by Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN.

They beam with confidence and laugh with excitement As perhaps a thousand boisterous chemists crowd about. Tomorrow in arctic grey northern Michigan I’ll deliver an organic lecture—chapter 21 pages 770–775


Acyl substitution reactions, nomenclature of esters and amides. Ah, the sun feels good. Pasquale Di Raddo Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI 49307 March, 2005


photos by P. Di Raddo

Poster 689, Development of inquiry centered activities for the secondary chemistry classroom, was contributed by Missouri Western State College and South Harrison High School, Bethany, MO

Poster 685, Bridging the gap between theory and practice: comparing a simulation to the actual death of a Daniel cell, a contribution of undergraduate students at Longwood University, Farmville, VA.

Left: The group of ACS Student Affiliates from Ferris State University in San Diego: from left, Lindsey Dyke, Megan Tunney, Ryan Littich, Erica Touhill, Rachael Peterson, Lindsey Wynkoop (president of the affiliate chapter), Emmanuella Ohaeri, and Pasquale Di Raddo (chapter advisor). Right: Ryan Littich at his poster, Green Chemistry Activities at Ferris State University. He is a bachelor’s student in chemistry after having graduated from an industrial chemistry technology program.

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Committee Reports, March 2005 - ACS Publications - American

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