Greater Houston Section

  • 10 Dec 2019 8:53 PM | Dawn Friesen (Administrator)

    Report from ACS-GHS Community Affairs Committee Chair Kerry Spilker:

    The ACS-GHS had the opportunity to participate in the STEM Expo hosted by San Jacinto College on October 24th at the Central Campus. Ann Cartwright and Cheryl Sellers were on hand to make sure the evening, events and hands-on experiments went off without a hitch. Ruben Ramirez, the Lab Supervisor, came up with the crazy ideas for projects to deliver an exciting evening for all that attended.


    Cheryl Seller, Director of Community Relations with Ann Cartwright, STEM Council Co-Chair

    The evening was a collaborative effort with over 150 student/teacher volunteers with additional help from the Police Department, Safety, Health, Environment and Risk Management Department, Market, PR and Government Affairs Department and Maintenance Department. The STEM Expo featured Mathematics, Engineering, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Behavioral Sciences, Ocearch, Aerospace, the SJC Foundation and the American Chemical Society-Greater Houston Section. R2D2 was on hand to meet and greet all that passed through the halls.


    Set up began at 3:00 pm followed by safety training to be ready for the crowds at 5 pm. The chemistry stations included Shrinky Dinks, Slime, Wave Machine, Acid-Base Demo, Chemistry in a bag, Skewer A Balloon and Divers. The classic chemistry demos were a collection of experimental procedures donated by Mamie Moy. Kerry Spilker, ACS-GHS Community Affairs Committee Chair, hosted two tables titled, Unicorn Milk to demonstrate the concept of interfacial tension.


    Of course, the stars of the evening were the 500 plus special guests ranging in age from 7 – 70 years of age. The guests are part of the Communities in Schools Outreach whose mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and succeed in life. Students participating in the program stay in school longer with improved academics and behavior.

    Visit ACS.org to experience firsthand Adventures in Chemistry.

  • 09 Nov 2019 5:44 PM | ACS GHS (Administrator)


    Lisa Houston has been an active ACS volunteer for more than 25 years at all levels, including local section, technical division, regional meetings, and ACS national governance, and was recently elected to the ACS Board of Directors as District IV Director. With the Greater Houston Section, she has continued to focus on expanding our outreach and education efforts through the introduction of new activities such as our senior chemist outreach program. She has also been instrumental in recruiting a significant number of new volunteers to the local section board, and her organization skills are often called on when planning section events.

    In 2019, Lisa took on the role of GHS Awards Committee Chair and built a small team to solicit nominations for local and regional awards as well as plan the annual Awards Banquet. All of this has been accomplished while advancing her professional career to her current position as Business Segment leader for two portfolios at Petroleum Analyzer Company (PAC). We congratulate Lisa on her election to the ACS Board of Directors and thank her for her continued contributions to the Greater Houston section!


  • 01 Nov 2019 7:16 PM | Dawn Friesen (Administrator)

    This Halloween instead of passing out candy to my co-workers, I passed out hands-on chemistry kits for the parents to do at home. I wanted to raise STEM awareness in the community with hopes those participating will develop a passion for chemistry and other sciences. I selected the experiments from the ACS website. ACS has a great website with Classroom Science Activities for teachers, but you knew that, right? They also have an excellent webpage to help teachers and parents facilitate hands-on experiments for kids to explain complex chemistry. 

     

    Pictured: Wei Wang, Do Hoon Kim, Sujeewa Palayangoda, Hyuntae Yang, Gayani Pinnawala

    The kits contained food dye, cotton swabs, plastic pipettes and instructions to demonstrate interfacial tension. 

    For more information to delight and amaze your friends and family, visit: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/adventures-in-chemistry/experiments/colors-move.html

    Kerry Spilker

    ACS-GHS Community Affairs Committee Chair

  • 30 Oct 2019 11:41 PM | Dawn Friesen (Administrator)

    Report from Kids & Chemistry organizer Bob Botto:


    We had a wonderful time with the kids at the Children's Museum of Houston on Saturday, October 26th. Volunteers from University of Houston, Texas Southern University and Rice University arrived at 9 am to help me set up. I counted at least 25 so when it was time to welcome the kids at 10 am we were ready! Catherine Faler brought a small banner and a quilt. We had 5 tables set up: Color Changes with Juices, Radish Writing, Candy Experiments, Play Doh (because kids!) and a Theme table for Marvelous Metals. Each table was staffed with at least 4 volunteers. Extra volunteers who came to our event were used by the Children's Museum to staff the Slime Stations. Emily MacWilliams was my contact and facilitated everything.


    The Theme table featured the properties of metals which make up 80 percent of the Periodic Table. Properties such as thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, ferromagnetism, malleability and ductility were featured with objects the kids and parents could touch and feel.


    The hands on experiments were as fun as ever and we added candy experiments this year. At noon we fed all the volunteers pizza and drinks. We had 58 volunteers signed up and they were distributed between morning and afternoon shifts. 

    At 11 am Houston City Councilwoman Karla Cisneros came by to present a proclamation from the Mayor's office declaring National Chemistry Week in Houston. The proclamation was read by Karla Cisneros and received by me and Crystal Young, ACS-GHS Chair-Elect.


    Visitors continued to come and enjoy the exhibits until 3 pm when we shut it down. I would estimate in the range of 300-400 kids and adults visited the displays.

  • 24 Oct 2019 6:58 PM | Dawn Friesen (Administrator)

    Our October seminar speaker was Sebastian Frommhold, a Forensic Analyst with the Texas Department of Public Safety. Mr. Frommhold spoke on the challenges of forensic drug analysis in a rapidly changing chemical and regulatory field, and the importance of understanding the advantages and limitations of your available analytical techniques.

    This seminar was educational and entertaining but if you missed it, don't despair - the recording is available now on our YouTube channel!

  • 23 Oct 2019 9:23 PM | ACS GHS (Administrator)

    Dr. Javoris Hollingsworth, Chair of the GHS Minority Affairs Committee, shared this update on a new MAC program:


    Today (October 23rd) I really enjoyed speaking to the students at North Houston Early College High School as part of our Chemistry Career Roadshow, which is sponsored by the ACS-GHS Minority Affairs Committee. Through this event, talented students from under-served groups in STEM received the opportunity to learn about various careers they could pursue in chemistry and related fields.

    Special thanks to Usha Devathosh, Ed.D. and school administrators for allowing me and our amazing team of professionals to visit and share career insight. Also, thanks to the ACS Senior Chemists Committee for providing us a grant to support this great cause.

  • 21 Oct 2019 12:45 AM | ACS GHS (Administrator)


    We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2019 Greater Houston Local Section Awards:

    Joe W. Hightower Award – Kenton Whitmire, Rice University
    Two Year College Award – Christopher Wild, San Jacinto College
    Younger Chemist Award – Crystal Young, University of St. Thomas
    Excellence in High School Chemistry Teaching – Jamie Flint, Spring Woods High School

    The awards were presented at our Awards Banquet on Saturday, October 19th where we also honored the 2019 High School Scholarship Award winners and their teachers; our 50- and 60-year members; our National and Regional Award winners as well as our volunteers.

  • 20 Oct 2019 6:55 PM | Dawn Friesen (Administrator)


    The 2019 ACS-GHS Awards Banquet was held at St. John's School on Saturday, October 19th. Approximately 85 people attended the event, which is held annually to celebrate Greater Houston Local Section Award winners, national and regional award winners, the 2019 High School Scholarship Award winners and their teachers, our 50- and 60-year members, and our volunteers. Attendees were greeted by a display of periodic table quilts celebrating the International Year of the Periodic Table with dinner served in the Chao Assembly Hall. Awards presentations followed the dinner and guests were treated to a keynote presentation by Joe W. Hightower Award winner, Kenton Whitmire from Rice University. Congratulations to all the award winners on their achievements and thanks to all in attendance for sharing this special evening!


    The Awards Committee is grateful for sponsorships from PAC LP, DCG Partnership, Shell, and Educational Innovations Inc.

  • 07 Oct 2019 8:00 AM | ACS GHS (Administrator)


    The ACS ChemClub is a high school chemistry club that provides students with a unique opportunity to experience chemistry beyond the classroom.  Students participate in after-school activities, get involved in community building, learn about chemistry careers, enjoy social events, and better understand how chemistry plays a role in our everyday lives.

    The O’Connell College Preparatory School Chemistry Club, with Advisor Nina Corley, has created a ReCycling Program within the school and goes into the community to share the science behind recycling. As part of their science outreach, the O'Connell College students conducted public demonstrations at Galveston’s Own Farmer’s Market (pictured). We're thrilled to have such dedicated and enthusiastic chemistry ambassadors in our area!

  • 05 Oct 2019 6:54 PM | Dawn Friesen (Administrator)

    A small group of GHS members participated in the 2019 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in support of breast cancer research on Saturday, October 5th. Under GHS Past Chair and team captain Catherine Faler, the team faced a warm autumn morning for the run and raised almost $200 for breast cancer research.

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