Section News & Happenings

​Dr. Noa Marom from Carnegie Mellon University has won the Spring 2021 OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award in Computational Chemistry from the American Chemical Society Division of Computers in Chemistry (COMP). The OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award in Computational Chemistry assists new faculty members in gaining visibility in the COMP community.  Congratulations, Noa!

2021 CCEW Illustrated Poem Contest – Results

2021 Earth Week Poem Contest Winners - 
Reducing Our Footprint with Chemistry

As part of the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) 2021 Chemists Celebrate 
Earth Week (CCEW) celebration, the Pittsburgh Section ACS sponsored an 
illustrated poem contest for students in grades K-12.  Students could pick 
topics related to the 2021 CCED theme “Reducing Our Footprint with 
Chemistry.” Poems could be any style (free verse, limerick, haiku, etc.). 
Entries were judged based upon relevance to and incorporation of the theme, 
word choice and imagery, colorful artwork, adherence to poem style, originality 
and  creativity, and overall presentation. 

Each 1st place winning entry will receive a check for $50 and their winning 
poem was entered into the national ACS CCEW poetry contest sponsored 
by the ACS’s Committee on Community Activities. National ACS CCEW 
poetry contest winners will be announced the week of June 1, 2021. 

And the winners of the 2021 Pittsburgh Section ACS’s CCEW poem contest:

K-2nd Grade
Shri A. (2nd Grade),  Bradford Woods Elementary School 

3^rd-5^th Grade
Efua K. (5^th Grade), Peebles Elementary School

6th-8th Grade
Aiden Q. (7^th Grade), Linton Middle School

9^th-12^th Grade
Andrea K. (12^th Grade), Ringgold High School

Congratulations to all our regional contest winners and good luck in the
national ACS CCEW poem contest.

Michael Mautino
CCEW Coordinator

May 2021 Issue of The Crucible

We are pleased to provide the May 2021 issue of The Crucible.  If you have something you would like included in future issues, please email Alysia Mondato at [email protected].  Enjoy your summer and see you in August!

2021 Call for Pittsburgh and Distinguished Service Award Nominations

Click here to download flyer.

The Pittsburgh Award was established in 1932 by the Pittsburgh Section of ACS to recognize outstanding leadership in chemical affairs in the local and larger professional community. This Award symbolizes the honor and appreciation accorded to those who have rendered distinguished service to the field of chemistry. The Award consists of a plaque presented annually at a section dinner. Members of the Pittsburgh Section, or in exceptional cases, nonmembers, who have done work worthy of recognition toward increasing chemical knowledge, promoting the chemical industry, benefiting humanity, or advancing the Pittsburgh Section, are eligible for consideration. Nominate today.  

The Distinguished Service Award was established in 2007 by the Pittsburgh Section of the ACS to expand and replace the predecessor Chairman’s Award of the section. Both recognize outstanding volunteer service to the Section. The Award, consisting of a plaque, is presented annually at a Section dinner, which is open to the public. Members of the Pittsburgh Section, past or present, who have provided outstanding service in advancing the Pittsburgh Section, are eligible for consideration.  Nominate today.    

ACS National Chemistry Olympiad

The local ACS chemistry exam as part of the ACS National Chemistry Olympiad took place virtually on Saturday March 27th. We had over 20 participants who took the examination through the ACS online learning portal. Students from Avella Area High, Central Catholic, Franklin Regional Sr. High, Mars Area High, Mount Lebanon High, North Allegheny High, North Hills High, Seneca Valley, Shaler High, Taylor-Allderdice and Upper St. Clair participated in the local event.  We want to thank all the high school students for their participation and contribution to the Chemistry community and ACS. We also want to recognize the eleven students who participated in Part 1 of the National Exam on April 17th, and our student who participated in Part 2 on April 25th. Thank you on behalf of the Pittsburgh Local Section! All participants will receive certificates of recognition and our top 3 scorers on the local exam: Claire Z. from North Allegheny, Grace W. from North Allegheny and Owen O. from Central Catholic will receive cash prizes for their achievements. Thanks for making the event a successful one, and we hope to see all the students in person for next years’ Chemistry Olympiad!

Congratulations to our 2021 50 Year Members

We are proud to recognize our long-standing ACS members for their service and accomplishments over the years. We offer a humble thank you for being part of the ACS community, and we appreciate your commitment to our society.

Congratulations to our 2021 60 Year Members

Mr. Stephen Piskor
Dr. G. Warren Smith
Dr. Roger Steiger
Dr. Donald Wysocki

We are proud to recognize our long-standing ACS members for their service and accomplishments over the years. We offer a humble thank you for being part of the ACS community, and we appreciate your commitment to our society.

Photo of Charles P. Lazzara Courtesy of Deborah K. Field

We remember long time Pittsburgh ACS Member and Charles Lazzara. Chuck joined the ACS in 1965.

From the March 29, 2021 issue of C and E News by Linda Wang

Charles P. Lazzara, 78, died Jan. 10 in Pittsburgh.

“Charles P. Lazzara was an intelligent and dedicated scientist who made great contributions to the field of mine safety. He was team lead on the Mine Rescue and Response team at the time of his retirement, after 36 years of service. During his time at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, he earned the Distinguished Service Award. He was a devoted husband and loving father, whose main priority in life was his family and friends. He was active in his church and community.”—Deborah K. Field, daughter

Most recent title: Supervisory physical scientist, US Bureau of Mines/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Education: BS, chemistry, Northern Illinois University, 1964; PhD, physical chemistry, Loyola University Chicago, 1969

Survivors: Daughter, Deborah K. Field; son, David; three grandchildren

ACS Pittsburgh Section wins 2020 ChemLuminary Award for Outstanding Ongoing NCW Event

Congratulations to the ACS Pittsburgh Section NCW Volunteers!

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/funding-and-awards/awards/community/chemluminary/2020-chemluminary-award-winners.html

National Chemistry Week 2020 Goes Virtual and Celebrates 100K Participant Milestone!

COVID forced us to improvise – but it did not impede our vision to offer our annual NCW chemical outreach program to students in the Pittsburgh region!

In 2020, the ACS Pittsburgh Local Section continued its 22-year partnership with the Carnegie Science Center to host a virtual ChemFest celebration!  Through a ‘telethon’ delivery approach, classrooms from across the region were invited to participate in the two-day event on October 22 & 23, 2020 following the theme “Sticking with Chemistry.”  Chemistry enthusiasts from the Pittsburgh area joined in to remotely offer demonstrations, at-home activities, lab tours & videos, and career discussions.

A total of 126 educators participated in the 2-day telethon, reaching an estimated 4800 students with our content.  During a given 15-minute interval of programming, an estimated 400-675 students were watching.  In many ways this surpasses the impact of our traditional face-to-face program!  Responses we received from educators indicated that this experience was a much-needed supplement to both virtual and in-person teaching this year.  We are thrilled to have reached and impacted so many students.

This year also marks a milestone achievement:  Since its inaugural run in 1999, the ChemFest/NCW program has reached over 100,000 students in the Pittsburgh region!  We were on target to hit this number in 2020 and we are delighted that we were still able to achieve this goal despite the restrictions caused by the pandemic.

For more information on ChemFest, visit the Carnegie Science Center website:  https://carnegiesciencecenter.org/educators/themed-field-trips-chemfest/