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.

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!

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.

The ACS-GHS Fall Career Fair was held at the University of St. Thomas on the morning of October 5th. We kicked off the morning with a keynote talk by Paige Morse from Aspen Technologies, followed by a panel discussion on Women in Industry with panelists Lisa Houston (PAC LP), Valerie Lafitte (Schlumberger), and Shreya Shah (Syzygy Plasmonics). A second panel on Professional Development featured panelists Martin Van Sickels and Larry Kremer (Global Energy Mentors), J.C. Kuo (Chevron, retired), and Patricia McHenry (Covestro). Panel moderators Nikki Nguyen and Alison Tran kept the audience engaged and asked insightful questions of our panelists, and student attendees were encouraged to network with other participants, panelists, and our participating employers (Syzygy Plasmonics, Covestro, and PAC LP) about career paths and opportunities after the formal program.

Some words of wisdom from our Professional Development panelists:

The Greater Houston and Brazosport sections were honored to host ACS President Dr. Bonnie Charpentier for a dinner and seminar at the University of St. Thomas on September 9th. The evening kicked off with a celebration of long-serving GHS board member Mamie Moy's 90th birthday, followed by dinner (and birthday cake!) and an interactive presentation by Dr. Charpentier.

Dr. Charpentier discussed the sustainable development goals set out by the United Nations and engaged with attendees on identifying key goals that the ACS could help address. She also included information on how the ACS is working to promote science outreach and advocacy in chemistry. The evening closed with an open conversation around the priorities of the chemistry community and ways to address challenges and roadblocks encountered in public science literacy.

Thanks to Dr. Bonnie Charpentier and ACS Director-at-Large Dr. Lee Latimer for making the time to visit with us!

We're happy to share that the Greater Houston Section won three ChemLuminary Awards at the 2019 Fall National Meeting and Exposition in San Diego on August 27th. The awards include:

• Outstanding Career Program
• Kids & Chemistry
• Outstanding Performance by a Local Section- Large Category

Congratulations to everyone for their hard work and dedication to our section!

Carolyn Burnley has been an active American Chemical Society (ACS) volunteer for more than 15 years at all levels of the society including local section, division, regional, and national. Carolyn served in the GHS Chair succession from 2007-2009 and has served as Councilor since 2009. She continued to create and publish the monthly newsletter until 2016. She has chaired or served on virtually every GHS subcommittee including Awards, Senior Chemists, Technician Affairs, and Community Affairs, and has served as National Chemistry Week Coordinator numerous times. Carolyn has organized many GHS and Southwest Regional events including award banquets, summer socials, science cafes, and our GHS 100^th Anniversary Gala.

GHS Chair-Elect Crystal Young and her husband Will Hutcheson provided food for thought as well as a delicious meal while hosting a cooking class at A 2nd Cup on Saturday, August 24. Their Culinary Chemistry class is part of the Expand Your Palate cooking series. Participants prepared rosemary chicken with garlic mushroom sauce and roasted Parmesan asparagus, along with an appetizer and dinner rolls, while learning about the chemistry behind some of their favorite foods. Desert was a simple vanilla ice cream, prepared in a flash with liquid nitrogen - an exciting way to cap off the evening!

Will and Crystal are lifelong supporters of A 2nd Cup and their mission to end human trafficking. Proceeds from the Expand your Palate classes go to support Brazen Table, a program that provides culinary and work skills training to survivors of human trafficking.

Our August seminar speaker was Curtis Swisher, President of SpirePointe Consulting, who spoke on the topic of career management, and some of the most common mistakes people make when managing their careers. He also discussed the most effective actions you can take to enhance your career and achieve professional growth.

This seminar was definitely worth attending for the wealth of information Curtis provided, but if you missed it, don't despair! The recording is available now on our YouTube channel! Special thanks to those who tried to join our YouTube Live stream, we were sadly thwarted by an unreliable internet connection. We hope to see you again the next time we stream!

Amiee Modic has been an active participant in district, local, state, and national Chemical Education for her entire teaching career. She was recognized as a Fellow for the American Chemical Society in San Diego this year. Amiee continues to demonstrate her creative,enthusiastic ardor for top-notch chemical education; and during her presentations, she has always been cognizant of potential student misconceptions and has provided experienced and new teachers alike, with the tools to approach a new topic or technique with confidence. She assisted with the pre-college program planning for the 2006 Southwest Regional Meeting, coordinated all the Illustrated Poem contests, both NCW and CCED, and has been dedicated to Science Olympiad. During our section’s centennial year, she served as a committee member for the gala. She is currently focused on serving as a member of the Awards committee. Her continued dedication to students and ACS makes her our spotlight volunteer this month!