Section News & Happenings

Early this year, the Pittsburgh Local Section of the American Chemical Society established two new local honors: the STEM Teacher of the Year Award and the Volunteer of the Year Award.

These awards were created to recognize individuals whose dedication, leadership, and service have made a meaningful impact on STEM education and on the strength of our local chemistry community.

The 2025 STEM Teacher of the Year Award will be presented to Mr. Daniel Williams of Marshall Middle School for his exceptional dedication to STEM education within the North Allegheny School District.

The 2025 Volunteer of the Year Award will be presented to Ms. Sunipa Goswami of Carnegie Mellon University for her leadership of the Women Chemists Committee.

Please join us in congratulating these individuals. They will receive their awards at the upcoming SSP/SACP/ACS Awards DInner.

Please join the Pittsburgh ACS Local Section in celebrating our 50, 60, and 70 year ACS members. This individuals have dedicated their lives to the service of the chemistry community. They will be honored with a special lunch and celebration in May.

Please join for our Environmental Lecture Series on May 13! Our speaker is Dr. H.N. Cheng, who will speak on sustainable polymer chemistry.

Please join the Pittsburgh Section for our annual “On the Road” meeting! This year, we have guest speaker, Jay Herman, who will share the Chemistry of a Pint (from Barley to Bubbles). Click here to register for the event. The meeting is open to all ACS members!

The Pittsburgh Award and Distinguished Service Award are two of the Pittsburgh Local Section’s highest honors. If you have someone you feel is deserving of these awards, please consider nominating them! Visit our Pittsburgh Award and Distinguished Service Award pages for more details.

Participate in the annual CCEW Illustrated Poetry Contest! Please send your entries by April 26!

Join us for the ACS Pittsburgh Student Communities Panel, Lunch, and Poster Session at the Hilton Garden Inn – Pittsburgh University Place.

Join us for the 2025 for the Fall 2025 ACS Annual Award Banquet featuring all of the amazing award winners! Click here for registration.

Check out the upcoming environmental lecture given by Dr. Rainer Lohmann on the “The STEEP challenge of PFAS”. Click Here to register and keep reading for more information!

Several per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substance (PFAS) have become of global concern due to their persistence, long-range transport, bioaccumulation and adverse effects. Recent regulatory decisions have resulted in maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in drinking water in the lower ppt range. While federal actions are difficult to predict, many states have taken their own actions with extensive testing, product bans and rule making on PFAS in different media. As part of the URI-based Superfund Research Center on PFAS (Sources, Transport, Exposure and Effects of PFAS), we have conducted research into the health effects of legacy and emerging PFAS, and ways to measure and possibly predict the biological uptake of PFAS by wildlife, such as fishes and marine birds. While legacy PFAS are declining, impacts on environmental and human health are ongoing, and newer PFAS continue to be detected.

Dr. Rainer Lohmann is a Professor at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography. He obtained a degree in Chemical Engineering and a Doctorate in Environmental Science. He is Director of the URI-led Superfund Research Program Center on the Sources, Transport, Exposure and Effects of PFAS (STEEP). His research focuses on the detection, bioaccumulation, transport and fate of anthropogenic pollutants in the environment, often relying on passive samplers in the process. Since 2000, he has published > 200 publications and book chapters. Dr. Lohmann was a member of the U.S. EPA’s Board of Scientific Counselors (2017-2023), and serves as Editor of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship as part of the Fulbright Arctic Initiative III in 2020, and an Alexander-von-Humboldt Fellowship in 2011.

Join us for National Chemistry Week at the Kamin Science Center! The theme of The Hidden Life of Spices will celebrate how spices change our lives. If interested fill out the National Chemistry Week Participation Interest Form.