The ACS-GHS Senior Chemists Committee was pleased to host a coffee tasting and social get-together on April 20th at Java Pura Coffee Roasters. Attendees had an enjoyable morning tasting regional coffees from Costa Rica, Ethiopia, and Sumatra, followed by conversation and lunch at Auntie Pesto's. The event was a great success!  Everyone at the event made new friends and shared the fun and interesting activities that keep them busy as retirees. The ACS-GHS Senior Chemists Committee looks forward to hosting future events and we already have a new volunteer host for the next event!  See you then and if you have any ideas for a senior activity, please let us know...we are open to old and new fun.

A well-caffeinated bunch!

Time to taste!

The coffee process from bean to cup

After a long wait, Houston area Chemistry teachers gathered to celebrate the Buzz about Bugs on April 2nd!

They ate cookies made with cricket flour and shared ideas for a fun Chemists Celebrate Earth Week and a great finish to the school year.

March Invention and Innovation Fun Facts

Here are some valuable inventions from the Irish to celebrate on St. Patrick's Day, March 17:

• Bacon curing was reinvented by Henry Denny in 1820 to produce bacon rashers.
  
• The hypodermic needle was invented by Francis Rynd in 1844.
  
• The first practical method of color photography was invented by John Joly in 1894.
• The binaural stethoscope was invented by Arthur Leared and introduced at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London.
  

If you want to keep up with innovation in Houston, consider following the Innovation Map, which is a service of Gow Media and the CultureMap team.

The Division of the History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (HIST) is 100 years old in 2022, and we have a present for you!

HIST is the home within ACS for chemists interested in the history of their discipline. Among our activities are publication of a peer-reviewed journal in history of chemistry, the Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. In this anniversary year, we have prepared a special commemorative issue of the Bulletin, available electronically to anyone (open access). Prominent chemist historians and historians of chemistry were invited to contribute essays on the theme “Novel Insights in the History of Chemistry: Looking Back Yet Mostly Looking Forward.”

We invite you to peruse this commemorative issue at: http://acshist.scs.illinois.edu/bulletin_open_access/bull22-vol47-1.php

While you are there, check out 30 years of open-access issues of the Bulletin, which are free to all after a three-year window of access exclusively by HIST members and subscribers:

http://acshist.scs.illinois.edu/bulletin_open_access/bull-index.php

Find out more about HIST

Cotton Starr has been editing the Greater Houston Section e-newsletter since 2018 and as such has been instrumental in sharing information about section activities and volunteer opportunities with over 2000 recipients monthly, including outreach activities available to members and the general public. Under her guidance the newsletter has been moved to a regular monthly release schedule so that recipients are routinely updated about upcoming events and news.  In 2021, Cotton expanded her Guess the Molecule feature and created a “Guess the Molecule Challenge” for the monthly newsletter to promote reader engagement. This year she is handing over the newsletter to a new editor and we want to thank Cotton for her hard work and congratulate her for being the GHS Outreach Volunteer of the Year for 2021!

This time of year, many people smell me around their houses as they like to bring trees indoors. I'm found in both alpha and beta. What compound am I?

Answer: It's pinene!

                        

(+/-)-α-Pinene                        (+/-)-β-Pinene

I'm an inorganic compound that is insoluble in water, but soluble in dilute acids/bases. I have many uses in industries such as rubber, ceramics, medicine, food, pigments, and coatings. If you put on sunscreen, chances are I protect you! What compound am I?

Answer: Zinc Oxide

ZnO

Experiences in Chemistry and Science Advocacy

Our November seminar with Dr. Allison Campbell is now available on our YouTube channel, or watch below! Learn about Dr. Campbell's research work on biomineralization and how you can be a better advocate for science with officials at all levels of government.

November 10th Virtual Tour Recording:

Did you miss our tour of Argonne National Lab with Tour Guides Dave and Denise Hooper?

Click here to access the recording!

Public tour information – www.anl.gov/tour-the-lab

Request a tour – tours@anl.gov

Education Division Contacts:

www.anl.gov/education

Jessica Burgess (jburgess@anl.gov) Education Outreach

Kelly Sturner (kmoran@anl.gov) Learning Lab Instructor

Enjoy a Podcast:

Have you ever wanted to meet a scientist?  What would you ask them? Want to know more? You can submit a question to askascientistpod@gmail.com.  Alternately, you can visit the podcast website and click on links to listen to scientists on subjects like hydrogeology, soil, microbiology, neurobiology, and the Mars Rover.

Explore with your kids:

In 2019, Professor Robert Winston published a book with questions from children around the world.  Professor Winston provides answers to their question in an illustrated book, Ask A Scientist.