Awards Announced

Visiting Scientist Award

The Western Connecticut Section of the American Chemical Society has announced that Conrad Stanitski has received the Visiting Scientist Award for 2002. Stanitski is chairman and professor of chemistry at the University of Central Arkansas.

The Visiting Scientist Award is the highest award of the Section that is bestowed on an outstanding chemical educator. Stantiski received the award, which includes a plaque, an honorarium of $1500, and expenses, at the Section's awards meeting in May, at which he presented a lecture on scientific literacy. He also visited three high schools where he worked with students and teachers. The high schools and teachers are Stamford High School (Mathieu Freeman); Stratford High School (Barbara Hilli); and Fairfield High School (Gregory Horton).

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards

The American Chemical Society has announced the recipients of the 2002 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge awards, whose names and achievements appear below.

Chemical Specialities, Inc., Charlotte, NC: developed an arsenic-free preservative for wood

Cargill Dow LLC, Minnetonka, MN: developed a process to use renewable sources (corn) to manufacture an array of products traditionally made from petroleum

Pfizer, Inc., New York: improved the manufacturing process for Sertraline, the active ingredient in Zoloft, the most prescribed anti-depression medication of its class

SC Fluids, Inc., Nashua, NH: developed a technology to improve the chemically intensive and environmentally wasteful process for making semiconductor chips

Eric Beckman, Professor, University of Pittsburgh, PA: developed new materials that can be used with CO₂ to create an inexpensive, sustainable solvent

National Medal of Technology

John A. Ewen, president of Catalyst Research Corporation, Houston, TX, recently received the National Medal of Technology from President George W. Bush. The award was presented to Ewen “for his basic discoveries and inventions in the field of metallocene catalysis which have revolutionized the production of polyethylene and polypropylene plastics.”

ACS Announces High School Teacher Awards

The American Chemical Society announces the winners of the ACS Regional Award in High School Chemistry Teaching for 2002. They will be honored at their respective annual regional meetings during fall 2002. Each teacher now becomes eligible for the national James B. Conant Award.

Ruth Rand

Rocky Mountain Region. Ruth Rand, who teaches at the Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque, NM, will receive her award during the 17th Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting, which will be held in Albuquerque, October 12–15. Rand embraces technology as a teaching tool, and has developed a supplementary computer program, “images of the unimaginable” for use in her classroom. She has participated in and coordinated numerous workshops including an NIH/NM distance learning workshop. She has developed teaching packets that include theoretical material, demonstrations and student experiments, and references to help a teacher introduce a “possibly neglected topic into the curriculum.” Her work has earned her a number of accolades, including a year at NIH as an Einstein Fellow, a regional Catalyst Award, Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher Award from the ACS Central New Mexico Section, and state and national Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching. Ruth Rand is a teacher whose search for knowledge has not abated, nor has her desire to share this knowledge with her students.

Janice Crowley

Midwest Region. Janice P. Crowley, Science Department Chair at Wichita Collegiate Upper School in Wichita, KS, will receive her award at the awards banquet at the 37th ACS Midwest Regional Meeting, hosted by the University of Kansas Local Section, October 23–25, 2002. Crowley was awarded her B.A. from The University of Texas at Arlington. In addition to her teaching duties, she has coached many Science Olympiad teams, taking a number of them to the national contest. She has taught many workshops for both teachers and students including SEPUP (Science Education for Public Understanding Program). Crowley has received numerous awards from such varied institutions as Kansas State University, Southwestern Bell, the John Garvey Family Foundation, and the Wichita Board of Education. One of her nominators describes her teaching as “knowledgeable, approachable, friendly, and organized. Janice Crowley ranks with the best.”

Chad Huckabee

Southwest Region. Chad Huckabee, a teacher at W. B. Ray High School, Corpus Christi, TX, will receive his award during the 58th ACS Southwest Regional Meeting, hosted by the Central Texas Local Section in Austin, TX, November 3–6. Huckabee received his B.S. degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from Texas A&I University. During his 30-year career, he has taught a diverse curriculum and has coached the Ray Academic Decathlon and the Odyssey of Mind. He founded and initiated the Ray UIL Science team in 1978 and still serves as its coach and campus coordinator. He has a life-long leadership involvement with the Texas State Teachers Association and the NEA. He has an impressive list of publications and in-service/workshop presentations, has been the recipient of numerous professional honors and awards, as well as consistently leading his students to regional and national successes. He is the creator and owner of the South Texas Science Institute, the only private science field teaching company in south Texas. Huckabee is also conducting ongoing research at five sites with the goal of publishing a student/teacher handbook on the common flora and fauna of south Texas.

Joey Hatcher

Southeast Region. Joey Annice Hatcher, who teaches at the Tyner Academy of Math, Science, and Technology in Chattanooga, TN, will be honored with the award at the 54th Southeast Regional Meeting that will be held November 13–16 in Charleston, SC. Hatcher's approach to teaching is based on her belief that students learn best from real-life experiences. She has developed a problem-based learning activity that culminates with student-led demonstrations at Chattanooga's Creative Discovery Museum. The joint venture led to the development of Science Troupe, a new course. In addition to her chemistry and AP chemistry courses, the versatile award winner teaches aquatic biology, ecology, and physical science. She encourages her students to participate in science competitions to provide challenges not always present in the classroom setting. Several of her students have won scholarships at the regional science fair. A dedicated professional, she keeps up with the latest science innovations by attending conferences and workshops. Chemistry camp, a summer enrichment program for Tyner freshmen, was a direct result of her participation in a recent NSTA conference.

Gareth Wong

Western Region. The award for the Western Region will be presented to Gareth Wong of Homestead High School, Cupertino, CA. He has spent 35 years sharing his enthusiasm for chemistry with students who have taken honors in the National Chemistry Olympiad, National Science Bowl, and the ACS Santa Clara Valley Section Bay Area Chemistry Competition. He has incorporated more than fifty demonstrations into his chemistry courses as a means of provoking thought. Wong developed the Bay Area Math & Science Alliance to support student preparation for the National Science Bowl and spent a summer organizing industry volunteers, training them to create performance assessments using industry models for problem solving. He led the California Association of Chemistry Teachers in 1985 and within one year tripled membership, quintupled the budget, and secured industry funding for two scholarships. He has earned a number of awards including Teacher of the Year in his community and school district and the Education Award from the Tech Museum of Innovation.

Courses, Seminars, Meetings, Opportunities

Chemistry Is in the News Conference

The Chemistry Is in the News (CIITN) Conference 2002 will be held October 18 (2 p.m.) to October 20 (noon), 2002, at the University of Missouri–Columbia, with support by the University of Missouri and the New York Times. The aim of the project is to teach organic chemistry to science majors in the context of real-world issues. The CIITN activities consist of the study, creation, and peer review of online projects based on actual news articles from the popular press and aimed at connecting real-world social, economic, and political issues to the teaching of organic chemistry. The activities are conducted in small collaborative groups and with guidance by peer-learning assistants. CIITN 2002 provides instruction for faculty about the philosophy, pedagogy, implementation, and assessment of the Chemistry Is in the News project. The conference organizers are Rainer Glaser and James Groccia. Interested persons should contact Rainer Glaser, University of Missouri, Department of Chemistry, Columbia, MO 65211; phone: 573/882-0331; fax: 573/882-2754; or go to the conference Web site (accessed July 2002).

ACS Regional Meetings, Fall 2002

Upcoming regional meetings of the American Chemical Society appear below. For programming information, visit the Web sites for each meeting (accessed July 2002).

• October 12–15, 2002: 17th Rocky Mountain Meeting: Hyatt Regency Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM
• October 23–25, 2002: 37th Midwest Meeting: University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
• November 3–6, 2002: 58th Southwest Meeting: Austin Hilton, Austin, TX
• November 13–16, 2002: 54th Southeast Meeting: Westin Francis Marion, Charleston, SC