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!

The ACS Greater Houston and Brazosport local sections held their annual Summer Social on Saturday, August 3rd at The Printing Museum. Attendees were able to explore the museum and were treated to a brief tour of the museum's reproduction Gutenberg printing press, as well as a press from Benjamin Franklin's era and a Linotype machine that was used by the Houston Chronicle until the 1970s. In addition to friendly discussion and light refreshments, hands-on printing of Mendeleev's original periodic table was set up in the print shop to commemorate the International Year of the Periodic Table. Thanks to everyone who attended, and special thanks to Artist-in-Residence Charles Criner for conducting the printing press tour.

Check out our adventures on YouTube!

The GHS celebrated another successful summer of Project SEED with a research forum on August 2nd at the University of St. Thomas. Student fellows spent the summer conducting research in laboratories around Houston and gathered to share their results with peers, family, and ACS members as posters and oral presentations.  Marchelle Roberson, 2010 & 2011 ACS-GHS Project SEED fellow and 2019 graduate of the University of St. Thomas, spoke to this year's fellows and attendees on the topic of perseverance and  how the choices we make today influence our future. Congratulations to all our 2019 Project SEED fellows and special thanks to the students' families and mentors for their encouragement and support.

If you are interested in becoming a 2020 Project SEED mentor or applying for a Summer Fellowship, please see here for more information.

The Chemistry Department at the University of St Thomas is a proud sponsor of the UST ACS Student Chapter. Students are encouraged to experience and showcase chemistry beyond the classroom by making science accessible and fun, while promoting sustainability, community, and service. They were honored at the ACS 2019 spring national meeting in Orlando with the Outstanding Student Chapter award. Last year, UST ACS showcased slime demonstrations for youths at the Texas Childrens Hospital and the Belville Junior High School Science Night and hosted several ACS-GHS seminars and a Women in Chemistry and Industry event. On campus, they hosted a campus-wide lab coat tie-dye event and a Valentine’s day fundraiser, promoting both ACS and sustainability. UST ACS hopes to inspire students from all walks of life!

On Thursday June 26th, the Women Chemist Committee organized a speed networking event at the University of Saint Thomas. A total of 10 participants enjoyed an informal yet speedy way to meeting new people. People were able to converse another participant for 8 min and then move to a new table. Light refreshments were offered to complement the event.

We look forward to hosting a second successful round of speed networking in the fall.