Section News & Happenings

​​1. What is your work and ACS (if applicable) title?

Professor, Pennsylvania Western University – California
Councilor for the Pittsburgh Local Section, Member of the LSAC (Local Section Activities Committee,) and Chair of LSAC Committee on Grants & Awards

2. How many years have you been in the ACS?

26 years

3. What is the biggest benefit of ACS Membership?

Connecting with other chemists locally and around the world

4. What did you want to be when you were a child?

When I was a child, I wanted to be a surgeon, but I found myself too squeamish!

5. What made you fall in love with Chemistry?

I think I fell in love with chemistry, when I realized that all the objects (and people) I interacted with in everyday life were made up of atoms from the elements on the periodic table.

6. What is your favorite part of your career or job?

My favorite part of my job is helping students learn chemistry when they don’t think they can at first.

7. Which chemist, past or present, would you like to meet and why?

If I could meet any chemist, past or present, I would like to meet Dr. Marie Maynard Daly. Dr. Daly was the first African-American woman to earn her Ph.D. in chemistry in 1947. While she passed away in 2003, I would have enjoyed hearing about her experiences, including struggles and successes as she was a pioneer overcoming societal barriers.

Nominations for both awards are solicited from the membership of the Pittsburgh Section. Nomination packets and more information about the awards, including information on past
winners, can be found on the Pittsburgh ACS website: https://pittsburghacs.org/awards/

Please send all nominations (or questions about nomination process) to Pittsburgh Section Chair-Elect, Samuel Leung, [email protected].

The Pittsburgh ACS Section is hosting the ACS Central Regional Meeting in November in Pittsburgh. We will be awarding a number of awards. Please apply! Applications are due by August 1, 2024. For more information, visit acscerm2024.org.

Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences
The purpose of this award is to recognize individuals and/or institutions who have advanced diversity in the chemical sciences and significantly stimulated or fostered activities that promote inclusiveness within the region.

E. Ann Nalley CERM Region Award for Volunteer Service to the American Chemical Society
The purpose of this award is to recognize the volunteer efforts of individuals who have served the American Chemical Society, contributing significantly to the goals and objectives of the Society through their Regional Activities.

DivCHED High School Teaching Award
The purpose of this award is to recognize, encourage, and stimulate outstanding teachers of high school chemistry in the Central Region.

The Pittsburgh WCC is hosting a Global Women’s Breakfast on February 24 at 11 AM at Seton Hill University. 

Download the flyer.

​1. What is your work and ACS (if applicable) title?

Senior Field Sales Engineer, Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, Inc.
ACS Pittsburgh Section Director

2. How many years have you been in the ACS?

24 years

3. What is the biggest benefit of ACS Membership?

The ACS has been a huge blessing to my life. I’ve met remarkable people, made cherished friends, and gotten to hone skillsets I don’t normally get to use in my career.

4. What did you want to be when you were a child?

I was convinced I’d be a teacher. I used to make lesson plans for the summer and make my little sister go to “basement school” every day. Poor girl!

5. What made you fall in love with Chemistry?

My 10th grade Chemistry Teacher, Mrs. Roscoe, made me fall in love with chemistry. She made Chemistry exciting, and when she did her stoichiometry lesson, magic happened for me!

6. How did you get into your current position?

As a Senior at Pitt, I was a student aide working in the Employment Bureau at Pittcon. At that time, everything was paper, and all the HR representatives were telling me to be in sales as I shuffled resumes and scheduling cards around the bureau. I was adamantly against this because sales reps annoy me. But here I am, almost 25 years later, still a sales rep. The difference with me is that I don’t feel like a sales rep at all. I feel like a problem solver, a customer advocate, and a vessel to promote science anywhere I can!

7. What is your favorite book and why?

I love Simon Sinek’s Start with Why (How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action). I love being inspired by people and studying what inspires others to achieve.

Seton Hill’s Future Scholars Program, (FSP) is a mutually beneficial partnership between K-12 schools and Seton Hill University. FSP student leaders have an opportunity for experiential learning and to give back to their local community. With STEM college students actively teaching and influencing research and curriculum design, we are helping to build a stronger pipeline of local students, who are excited by STEM topics. Evidence-based practices have shown that peer teaching is incredibly effective! When college students teach younger students, it facilitates middle and high schoolers to envision themselves as STEM majors in college.

Learn more about the Future Scholars Program.

The local section committee held their last meeting of the year and celebrated with a dinner and lecture by Dr. Malika Jeffries-El at Waynesburg University, as a part of the Pittsburgh ACS On the Road series. The meeting and dinner had a festive mood as the committee looked back on the successful events of the past year and the events of the year to come. Dr. Jeffries-El presented her STEM journey and lab’s work in a well-attended lecture that was open also to the students at Waynesburg University. An award was presented to Dr. Jeffries-El by Waynesburg University for her contributions.

View photos from the event.

The votes are in, and we congratulate the following new officers and wish them all the best!

Chair-Elect: Samuel Leung
Secretary-Elect: Ronghong Lin
Councilor: Haitao Liu
Director: Kevin Noonan
Director: Heather Juzwa

Thank you for participating in our important election process. The election was conducted virtually via Survey Monkey and began on November 9 at 8 AM EST. We had 92 responses from voting members of the Pittsburgh Section of the American Chemical Society.

As the incoming Chair of the Pittsburgh Local Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS), I want to wish you a happy 2024. I am honored to serve as the Pittsburgh ACS Chair this year after serving in different roles since 2019. I am thankful for the support of the greater Local Section and for the special support of Former Chairs Matt Price, Kevin Noonan, Kim Woznack, and Ed Zovinka.

Read the remainder of the letter to the section.

​1. What is your work and ACS (if applicable) title?

ACS: Initially, I served the Pittsburgh section as secretary (2 years), alternate counselor (3 years), and then counselor (6 years). Recently, I helped the ACS polymer division (POLY) as a programming chair (3 years) for National ACS Meetings. Work: Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Penn State University New Kensington.

2. How many years have you been in the ACS?

I learned about becoming a member through local sections and joined in 2002.

3. What is the biggest benefit of ACS Membership?

I have met many wonderful people.

4. What did you want to be when you were a child?

As a child, I liked taking electrical and mechanical devices apart and trying to rebuild them. Often, a few screws were left over. I also liked woodworking. So, many jobs were interesting.

5. What made you fall in love with Chemistry?

Two experiences played a role. First, undergraduate research in the lab of Professor Chris Gorman at NC State University stimulated an interest in materials chemistry. Second, while working as a lifeguard and swim instructor, a scientist from a local company encouraged me to apply for an internship. As an intern, I was fascinated with making adhesive formulations!

6. What is your favorite part of your career or job?

I like learning about science through a combination of teaching, research, collaborations, and conferences.

7. What is your favorite book and why?

Bread Science: The chemistry and craft of making bread. Even though bread making has been around for thousands of years, I’m intrigued by the complexity of this process.