The ACS-GHS Awards Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 Local Section Awards. The awards will be presented at our annual awards banquet on Saturday, October 12, 2024.
L to R: Naomi Halas, Joe W. Hightower Award; Christine Miller, Two Year College Award; Safia Mohamed, Younger Chemist Award; Heather Burgess, Excellence in High School Teaching Award; Carolyn Burnley, Mamie W. Moy Service Award
Congratulations to Amiee L. Modic for being named the recipient of the 2025 James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry Teaching by the American Chemical Society! The purpose of this award is to recognize, encourage, and stimulate outstanding teachers of high school chemistry in the United States, its possessions or territories, at the national level.
Amiee is a chemistry teacher at Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart and an active member of the Greater Houston ACS section, serving on Education and Outreach committees (including NCW and CCEW), and promoting chemical education opportunities in the Greater Houston area and beyond.
The 2024 ACS-GHS pre-college awards ceremony took place on Friday, August 2, 2024. It went very well and there was a good turn out for the event. Congratulations to all of our award winners, including GHS High School Scholarship Exam recipients and local Chemistry Olympiad participants. The GHS Local Section Award for Excellence in High School Chemistry Teaching was presented to Heather Burgess of James E. Taylor High School by Aimee Modic. In addition, this year Ms. Roxie Allen who has been the chair of the ACS-GHS Education Committee at the local section for over 10 years passed the leadership of the Education to Mrs. Obiageli Nwosu.
Many thanks to Lisa Houston, Carolyn Burnley, and Eme Abu (Project SEED) for their presence at the ceremony. Special thanks to Roxie Allen for her guidance in planning, set up, and provision of the venue specific to this event, and to Aimee Modic for her co-ordination as well as the organization, and set up, despite the fact that both of them returned from a trip less than 24 hours before the ceremony.
I would like to say a big thank you to Dr. Tai-Yen Chen (scholarship exam) of The University of Houston for making the scholarship exam and results possible, as well as to Dr. Jerry Yang of The University of Houston (Chemistry Olympiad) for his immense contribution towards the mentorship and preparation of our Houston area students who have consistently represented ACS GHS Houston on the national stage. I would also like to thank Falonne Moumbogno for all her support and assistance especially for her help in ensuring that the certificates were readily available at the event.
This year's Project SEED had 9 students over 8 weeks this summer working in different labs and on a variety of projects. Our students were Donovan Miller-Brown, Brooke Daniels, Jeremiah Frasier, Tyler Kirby, Mackey Maddox, Aerial Miller, Raquel Nwosu, J’Lon Owens and Bralon Wilson.
Our mentors this year were Dr. Jakoah Brgoch (UH), Dr. Pieremanuele Canepa (UH), Dr. Melissa Zastrow (UH), Dr. Naihao Chiang (UH), Dr. Jeffrey Rimer (UH), Dr. David Thompson (Sam Houston State Univ.) and Dr. Shawn Liu from Houston Electron Microscopy.
Other coaches working under our mentors were Nakyung Lee, Arslan Akbar, Dr. Wayne Fei, Lihan Fitz, Aashni Khurana, Aris Newton, Harshan Reddy Gopidi, Dr. Uyen Huynh, Oluwaferanmi (Loveth) Isinkaye, Amir Abutali, Sambita Choudhury and Edgar Turizo.
This year Mrs. Carolyn Burnley who has coordinated the program at the local section for over 10 years passed the baton of leadership to Dr. Eme Abu. The transition was smooth and we hope to continue the good work in the coming years! We cannot run a successful program without the help and support of our mentors and coaches, the parents/families of these students, the local section and Project SEED at the National level, and for that we are grateful. We definitely had a blast!
Congratulations to Team USA for winning 3 gold & 1 silver medals at the 56th International Chemistry Olympiad hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Gold medalists
Silver medalist
See here for the complete announcement.
Pictured left to right: Yufei Chen, CA (gold medal and third place overall), Alice Liu, MO (gold medal), Anant Asthana, TX (silver medal), Yunyi Ling MD, (gold medal). Credit: Steve Lantos
Despite the uncertain weather, everything went smoothly at the ACS-GHS Ice Cream Social at Creamistry on July 6, and those who attended enjoyed the event. Those who braved the rain had a great time and loved the ice cream. We also had prizes after the bingo game and other activities for the kids. It was a fantastic event!
Thank you to all the guests who attended. Without you, the event wouldn’t have been possible. If anyone who won a prize hasn’t received it yet, please contact the ACS-GHS.
Special thanks to Obiageli Nwosu, who volunteered, helped with the cashier duties, took pictures, and coordinated with guests inside the store.
We are incredibly saddened to share the news of Mamie Moy's passing. Mamie passed away early on June 27, 2024 with her son and daughter-in-law by her side. Her absence will be keenly felt in the Greater Houston chemistry community, and her memory will forever be cherished by us all.
“Mamie has done so much for so many people for so long that she is considered an institution in both Houston and in the ACS. For her, all the multitude of honors and recognitions she received over the years are no match for seeing twinkles of aha moments in the eyes of children and young women. Those twinkles are the true rewards of her life’s work.” - Sunny C. Tang
Learn more about Mamie's life and legacy, leave a memory on her Tribute Wall, or view her memorial service here.
The Senior Chemists Committee hosted a yoga and meditation event at the University of St. Thomas on Saturday, June 29, 2024. The session was conducted by Heartfulness.org. Ms. Roopa Naras who is a full time software professional and also a certified yoga & meditation trainer lead the chair yoga & meditation. Dr. Venkat Madabusi who is a fellow ACS Emeritus member and also a meditation trainer helped with questions the participants had. The program started with a few stretches followed by chair yoga & Heartfulness meditation. Participants discussed about how just a few minutes of meditation could help everyone perform better & help keep you grounded. The SCC hopes to offer more such sessions to ACS-GHS members in the future.
L to R: Reggie, Venkat, Roopa, Corrin, Catherine, Carolyn, Peter & Simha.
"Materials...is the story of our civilization." - Dr. Ravindra Aglave, June 26, 2024
"Materials...is the story of our civilization."
- Dr. Ravindra Aglave, June 26, 2024
Dr. Ravindra Aglave of Siemens Digital Industries Software joined us to share how Siemens uses the concept of a digital twin in simulations to help develop new materials and address complex engineering challenges. If you missed the live webinar, you can still catch the recording on our YouTube channel!
We are excited to share that the Greater Houston Section has been named a finalist for this year's ChemLuminary Awards for the following categories:
The winners will be announced during the ACS Fall 2024 in Denver. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, August 20, at 9-10 pm.
Thanks to all our volunteers for their hard work and dedication to the ACS and our section!
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