Section News & Happenings

The Distinguished Service Award was established in 2007 by the Pittsburgh Section of 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 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. Nominations for the Pittsburgh Award are solicited from the membership of the Pittsburgh Section.

Ms. Tabitha Riggio is a sincere, dedicated volunteer. Riggio graduated from Duquesne University with a B.S. in Chemistry, a German minor, and an MBA. She is a long-standing member of the American Chemical Society, former Treasurer, and current chair of Project SEED.

Riggio spent her career at Bayer MaterialScience split between Applications/Development and Sales/Marketing. While there, she helped establish a program to bring hands-on science into classrooms (Bayer Association for Science in Community). After a hiatus to raise her children and care for her parents with dignity, she returned to the workforce at LB Foster. During her career break, Riggio worked as a Special Education Aide and volunteered extensively in her school district, for example, on the science curriculum cyclical review committee.

Since 2004, Riggio has been the Chair of Project SEED of the Pittsburgh Section of the ACS. Project SEED was founded by the ACS to provide educational opportunities to high-achieving, economically-disadvantaged high school students. Through this work, Riggio and colleagues created a flourishing program and provided laboratory experiences to 62 students of which 65% were female and 55% were minorities. Students were hosted at laboratories around the Pittsburgh region, including Duquesne University, Washington and Jefferson College, and Covestro. The program received two ChemLuminary Awards for Outstanding Project SEED Program in 2008 and 2010. Riggio has also been involved in the Pittsburgh ACS as the Treasurer in 2003 and as part of the National Chemistry Week coordinating team for many years.

Biography provided by Alysia Mandato

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, consisting of a plaque, is presented annually at a Section dinner open to the public. 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.

Dr. Alexander Deiters was born in Germany and studied Chemistry at the University of Münster from 1993-1998. He received his diploma degree in 1998 and his doctoral degree in 2000 for work in Professor Hoppe’s group on new cyclization reactions with enantiomerically enriched allyllithium species. In 2001 he joined Professor Martin’s lab at the University of Texas at Austin where he worked as a postdoctoral fellow on the total synthesis of indole alkaloids. In 2002 he began another postdoctorate in Professor Schultz’s lab at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla where he developed genetic code expansion methodologies for unnatural amino acids.

In 2004, Alex joined the Department of Chemistry at North Carolina State University as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2009 and to Full Professor in 2012. He moved his lab to the University of Pittsburgh in September 2013, where he currently is a Professor of Chemistry. His group’s research interests are in the areas of Synthetic Biology and Chemical Biology and range from the discovery of small molecule modifiers of biological pathways, medicinal chemistry, peptides and aptamers to cell, protein, and nucleic acid engineering. He has published >190 peer-reviewed papers, written six book chapters and 14 review articles, has presented over one hundred eighty research seminars, and has consulted for several pharmaceutical companies. He has several granted patents and technologies that he co-developed have been licensed by the biotech industry.

Alex also has an exceptional track record of service to the Department and to the local community. He and members of his group have organized and conducted a wide range of outreach activities over the years. They have designed tailored informational materials and hands-on experiments. They often perform demonstrations that they developed to relate chemistry and biology to everyday activities in order to engage the general public and to inspire interest in STEM disciplines. Additionally, Alex cofounded Pitt’s iGEM undergrad team together with Drs. Jason Lohmueller and Sanjeev Shroff. The iGEM Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of synthetic biology, education and competition, and the development of an open, collaborative, and cooperative community. Pitt’s award-winning iGEM teams have raised awareness of synthetic biology by experimental presentations, such as a newly developed cloning game and a children’s book.

Biography provided in parts by Dr. Dennis Curran and http://www.deiterslab.org/

Honoring the recipients of the Pittsburgh Award, Distinguished Service Award, and Award for Volunteer Service

Click here to download event flyer. Register for the dinner below by October 21.

September 2023 Issue of The Crucible

We are pleased to provide the September 2023 Issue of The Crucible. If you have something you would like included in future issues, please email Alysia Mandato at [email protected].

August 2023 Issue of The Crucible

We are pleased to provide the August 2023 Issue of The Crucible. If you have something you would like included in future issues, please email Alysia Mandato at [email protected].

PITTSBURGH SECTION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY CELEBRATES

50, 60, and 70 Year Members

JUNE 29, 2023 | 11:30 AM

LUCCA RISTORANTE

Please RSVP by Thursday, June 22

Lunch is complimentary for each honoree and one guest.

The cost of the luncheon for other ACS members is $25.

Please pay online at the following link: https://pittsburghacs.org/event/506070/ or checks can be made payable to the Pittsburgh Section of the ACS.

To RSVP:

1. Fill out the Google Form
   (https://forms.gle/gKbkZ8RxKg7VBaT49)
2. Email Alysia Mandato at atm75@pitt. edu, or
3. Mail the attached form to Alysia at 219
   Parkman Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Click here to download event flyer.

May 2023 Issue of The Crucible

We are pleased to provide the May 2023 Issue of The Crucible. If you have something you would like included in future issues, please email Alysia Mandato or Niharika Botcha at [email protected].

April 2023 Issue of The Crucible

We are pleased to provide the April 2023 Issue of The Crucible. If you have something you would like included in future issues, please email Alysia Mandato or Niharika Botcha at [email protected].

Get to Know a Member – Niharika Krishna Botcha Ph.D.

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

ACS Pittsburgh section 2023 Treasurer-elect, Webmaster and soon to be Newsletter Editor. Special Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University

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

6 years

3. What is the biggest benefit of ACS Membership?

Getting to meet people from all walks of chemistry and life. ACS also played an instrumental role when I was a graduate student providing me with much needed help and resources.

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

A Teacher!

5. What made you fall in love with Chemistry?

The periodic table in eighth grade! When my after school chemistry teacher introduced the periodic table and asked us to memorize it, I was at once surprised and fascinated. That was the start of my love affair with chemistry and I hope it never ends.

6. How did you get into your current position?

I came to Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon as a postdoc in 2021 and when they had an opening for a teaching position I took the chance to transition. Teaching chemistry to curious students is my dream job so I’m totally in love with my current job and position.

7. What is your favorite book and why?

Tough question! Too many to choose from but I’ll go with my all time favorite and top choice, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.