In 2005, the North Jersey
section had an outstanding year, thanks our many dedicated volunteers. Our many
scientific talks, member programs and outreach activities targeted the needs of
students, members, nonmember scientists and the general public. This report comprises
part of the annual report required by each of the American Chemical Society’s
local sections. It describes the top 10 activities of the North Jersey Section,
as well as a summary of our other activities. If you have questions or comments
on this report, please contact the 2005 chair, Jacqueline Erickson ().
For suggestions for future activities or to get involved in the section
activities, please contact the 2006 chair, Stephen Waller ()
The 37th Middle
Atlantic Regional Meeting, entitled “Chemistry at the Crossroads of Science”
was held May 22-25, 2005 at Rutgers University, Busch Campus in Piscataway NJ.
Hosted by the North Jersey section and Rutgers University, this was a record
breaking MARM, with over 829 abstracts including 333 posters, over 125 ACS
volunteers on the MARM 05committee, 47 sponsors, over 30 workshops, 45 Vendors,
12 ACS Divisions involved and 2075 attendees, including the Sunday
program. MARM 05 attracted attendees
and speakers from all over the US as well as countries such as South Africa,
UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, Israel, Malaysia, Switzerland and Egypt. Many other societies sponsored sessions,
symposia and workshops such as AIChE, AAPS, and RSC. MARM 05 started with the Sunday program, entitled “Science
Education and Career Day”, sponsored by the New Jersey Science Teachers
Association (as part of its 100th year anniversary) and by the
Rutgers University Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Faculty
Members from the university and science groups from various disciplines spoke
on a wide range of topics in an effort to draw science teachers, students and
parents to this “Day of Science.”
During the meeting, afternoon and evening programming allowed scientists to take in significant symposia such as “Bench to Pilot Plant” or "Visions in Chemistry". A free buffet dinner was provided on May 23 and May 24, allowing attendees to visit the vendors, between the daylong programming and the evening keynote speakers. A major event was the Historic Landmark Ceremony and Symposia recognizing the advances by Professor Selman Waksman and his research group that lead to the discovery of the actinomycete antibiotics. Another major event was the Cope Scholar Award symposium. This was the first instance of the Organic Division co-sponsoring this award symposium at a regional meeting and will hopefully set a trend for future regional meetings. MARM ‘05 also did very well financially with over $118,000 in funds from vendors and sponsors. Keynote addresses were given by many notable speakers such as Madeleine Jacobs, Magid Abou-Gharbia of Wyeth, Ronald Breslow and Koji Nakanishi of Columbia University, Dieter Seebach of the ETH Zurich and ACS President Bill Carroll. Overall MARM 2005 showcased the best of our region’s advances in science and technology where chemistry plays an important role in new scientific developments
The
North Jersey American Chemical Society Teacher Affiliates Group introduced a
powerful new program in 2005. The New
Generations Chemistry Workshop provided chemistry teachers in the state with
new tools to help make chemistry education dynamic and fun.
In
New Jersey, seasoned chemistry teachers are becoming harder and harder to
find. Many people who became educators
in the 1970’s are reaching retirement age.
Those who studied Chemistry in the 1980’s were lured from the world of
education into the more lucrative world of industrial research and design. Only recently have we been seeing a new
upswing of young professional teachers.
In
order to provide chemistry education to students school districts have been
placing educators whose expertise is in other sciences into the chemistry
classroom. In addition, we have a large
community of retiring industrial chemists who are switching to the world of
academia. While these folks certainly
know their chemistry, the finesse of EXPLAINING that chemistry to sixteen year
old students is a different story.
Hence the need for Professional Development workshops likes New
Generations.
Held
at Fairleigh Dickenson University Madison on August 15-19 2005, the New
Generations workshop was host to 40 chemistry teachers from varying
backgrounds. Some were seasoned
teachers, some in the classroom for a few years. Many were people were second career teachers who had worked in
industrial chemistry. A few were young,
newly trained professional educators with a year or two of experience. One participant would be beginning his
career a few weeks later.
The
presenters of the workshop came from varied backgrounds as well. Dr. George Gross, retired from Union High
School, is a seasoned teacher of over 30 years. He has been training other chemistry teachers for over 20 years
and has a wealth of experience, Mrs. Brenda
Rosenau, Somerville High School has been teaching for 5 years. Prior to teaching she was a polymer chemist
for National Starch. Mrs. Patti Duncan,
High Point Regional High School, has been teaching for 8 years. Prior to teaching she was a Foods Chemist
for CPC/Best Foods. Together, the three
make a team with lots of experience, knowledge and enthusiasm as well as an
understanding of what the new chemistry teacher needs to succeed.
The
week long workshop provided participants with over 40 Demonstration ideas, 29
Labs, and a dozen “Make and Takes”. The days were long, but no one wanted to
stop. Integral parts of the workshop
were the “Participant Demos”. Each of
the 40 participants was asked to contribute something to the rest of the group. This allowed for even more material sharing,
as well as an opportunity for teachers to practice presenting and get feedback
from others.
The
workshop was a huge success. Many
expressed that they were tired, but completely charged to start the new school
year off. In the time since the
workshop we have received many testimonials from those who participated. A community was formed that week. A community of teachers who reach out to
each other with questions, ideas and support.
These chemistry teachers will never feel alone in the classroom thanks
to this experience.
In 2005, we had a special occasion as a National Historic Chemical
Landmark Award was given to Rutgers as the site of: The discovery of the
Actinomycete Antibiotics: Soil Microbiology's Gift to Medicine. This prestigious award ceremony was held
during the Chemistry at the Crossroads of Science - 37th Middle
Atlantic Regional Meeting (MARM 05) held at Rutgers University, May 24th
- 25th, 2005
The Historic Landmark recognition was given for the advances by
Professor Selman Waksman and his research group that led to the discovery of
the actinomycete antibiotics. These wonder drugs from soil microbes changed the
world. Indeed their discovery shaped society today, for example the dramatic
effects of extension of the life span of the world’s population - from the
elder generations living longer and enjoying watching their grand-children (and
even great grand-children) growing up, and even the younger generation’s
perspectives regarding the status of their future. The discovery of
streptomycin and neomycin from this first ever rational antibiotic screening
program, gave a solid foundation and predictive success to the fledgling
antibiotic screening program. These antibiotics from the threadlike
Actinomycete bacteria revolutionized world health care. A broad spectrum of
diseases was realized to be susceptible to magic chemical bullets, including
cholera, typhoid and tuberculosis, against which first practical antibiotic,
penicillin, showed no effect. The Rutgers actinomycete antibiotics stimulated
the search for further microbial products that would vanquish microbial
pathogens, and in doing so also unearthed a treasure trove of further
antibiotics (chloramphenicol, erythromycin, tetracycline, vancomycin) , and
additionally immunosuppresants (FK506),
antiparasitics (avermectin) and both growth promoting (tylosin) and antitumor
agents (bleomycin, daunomycin), all of which dramatically revolutionized world
medicine.
The Landmark Ceremony was a two-day event, made possible by
funding from various pharmaceutical companies as well as Rutgers University. In
addition to the actual event, Rutgers coordinated with the US Postal Service
for a special postal cancellation to commemorate the event. Envelopes with the
MARM logo, as well as Rutgers-Cook College logo were made available for this
event, along with stamps featuring American Scientists. Other mementoes
included a super size “fridge magnet” inscribed with all of the Rutgers
antibiotics, and also a commemorative coffee mug with the Actinomycete and MARM
Logos.
The first day centered on the Plaque presentation and we were most
pleased that President Bill Carroll could be present to award the plaque. On
the first day the ceremony, the viewing of the Waksman Museum and the dinner
attracted about 60 guests. The second day’s program focused on a symposium –
“The Actinomycete Antibiotics: Soil
Bacteria’s Gift to Medicine”, organized by Douglas Eveleigh (Rutgers) and
Arnold Demain (Drew University). It began with Joachim Messing accepting a
second ACS plaque on behalf of the Waksman Institute from Bill Carroll. The
Symposium attracted 90 participants, addressed the status of the Actinomycete
antibiotics, ranging from assessment of current antibiotic research, novel
screening approaches which included studies at Rutgers using soil as a source
of genes for production of novel anti-microbials through to design of
inhibitors of bacterial RNA polymerase,
a timely assessment of the potentially rampant tuberculosis, and a paint brush
illustration of the diversity of pharmaceutical products from the
Actinomycetes.
This event was also special in that coverage was given by the local press and also one local TV station
This
was the first instance of the Organic Division co-sponsoring this award
symposium at a regional meeting and will hopefully set a trend for future
regional meetings. Prior to this
success North Jersey ACS and MARM 2005 leaders made several presentation to the
Division to explain both the goals of regional meetings and the ways that they
could participate. The COPE Scholar
Award is a National ACS award and the Division of Organic Chemistry has
recently added a recommendation that the recipient of the Cope Scholar Award
may also be invited to make a presentation at a Regional ACS Meeting during the
year after the Cope Award and Cope Scholar Award Symposium. The Division also
provides travel funding. The idea is to
recognize a Cope Scholar Awardee within each region at the regional meetings.
The
symposium was also supported by a LSAC Innovation Grant (to the North Jersey
section) and a DAC Innovation Grant (to the Organic Chemistry Division).
The
Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award Symposium took place on May 25th at the 2005
Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting. This symposium honored a recent Cope Scholar
Awardee from within the Middle Atlantic Region, Professor Gary Posner of Johns
Hopkins University. Along with Professor Posner, five of his former students,
representing industry and academia, talked at the symposium.
The
planning team for this meeting involved participants from the Organic Division
as well as Local Section members. Total attendance at the symposium
exceeded 200. This event greatly strengthened the interactions between
the Organic Division and Local Sections as well as strengthening the technical
program. The fact that this was done in a collaborative mode with the Organic
Division will hopefully encourage future joint programming between the Organic
Division and participating Local Sections. The Wednesday afternoon program at
MARM was a celebration of chemists and chemistry and the Cope symposium was an
excellent addition to the program. The MARM organizers worked with other
session chairs to ensure that Prof. Posner had minimal direct competition when
he gave his award address. After the
symposium the speakers and attendees joined other MARM attendees at a reception
followed by the Award Banquet.
Additionally
the Section held a Cope Award Winners Symposium on March 14th
2005. This half-day symposium arose as
a result of the discussions about the Cope Scholar Award symposium and the
general discussions with the Division of Organic Chemistry about further ways
to enhance the quality of technical programming and the visibility of the
awards and awardees. 4 Past winners of
the Cope award {Professors Robert Bergman (University of California Berkeley)
David Evans (Harvard), Robert Grubbs (California Institute of Technology) and
Gilbert Stork (Columbia)} give presentations and the over 200 attendees came
from all over the Middle Atlantic area.
The symposium was again organized by a team of section and Division of
Organic Chemistry members from industry and academia in the North Jersey area.
The
purpose of the Cope Scholar Award is to recognize and encourage excellence in
organic chemistry. The Arthur C. Cope Scholar Awards were established in
1984 by the ACS Board of Directors, on recommendation of the ACS Division of
Organic Chemistry, under the terms of the will of Arthur C. Cope.
The Leo Hendrik Baekeland
Award was established in 1944 by the North Jersey Section and is sponsored by
Union Carbide, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical. This award was established to
commemorate the technical and industrial achievements of Baekeland and to
encourage younger chemists to emulate his example. The award is given
biennially to an American chemist under 40years old, in recognition of
accomplishments in pure or industrial chemistry.
This year’s Baekeland Award
was given to Younan Xia of the University of Washington at a symposium and
dinner ceremony at Lucent Technologies on November 11, 2005. Younan Xia was
recognized for his diverse accomplishments in the field of nanotechnology. His
research has resulted in significant discoveries and innovation related to
nanostructured materials, self-assembly, photonic crystals, colloidal
chemistry, microfabrication, surface modification, electrospinning, conducting
polymers, microfluidic and microanalytical systems, and novel devices for
photonics, optoelectronics and displays.
Approximately 75 industrial scientists, academic professors and
students attended the interdisciplinary symposium, “Shape Controlled Synthesis
of Nanostructures: Simple Chemistry Meets Complex Physics”. Speakers included
Dr. Joanna Aizenberg of Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies; Dr. John Rogers,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Dr. Tom Mallouk, Pennsylvania State
University, and Dr. George Whitesides of Harvard University.
After the 4 speakers, there
was a reception, dinner and award ceremony, followed by Dr. Younan Xia’s award
address. Approximately 75 people also attended the dinner.
Two new features made this
year’s Baekeland particularly successful. The North Jersey section made the
symposium and dinner available to students at a very low cost ($10). Also new
was a poster session for students.
Approximately 15 posters were displayed during the reception, which
allowed the students to network with the other scientists present, as well as
the speakers and award winner.
This year, the North Jersey section
conducted community outreach events during MARM and National Chemistry Week.
These events are highlighted here.
MARM
For MARM, a special program
was created for the first day of the meeting. Titled “Science Education and
Career Day”, events were planned for high school students, parents and
teachers. A regional meeting grant of $3000 was used to cover some of the
expenses which allowed free admission for the day to students and their
parents. This was a very successful
outreach program, where those attending got excited about future careers in
chemistry and science. The event was
organized and sponsored by the New Jersey Science Teachers Association (as part
of its 100th year anniversary) and by the Rutgers University
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Faculty Members from the
university and science groups from various disciplines spoke on a wide range of
topics An IMAX film presentation "Volcanoes of the Deep Sea" and a
hands-on robotics show were very popular.
Numerous high school teachers attended this day of the meeting, and they
had the opportunity to go to several chemistry and science teaching workshops
and hear more about chemistry from Joseph Priestly "in person".
National Chemistry Week
The North Jersey Section of
the American Chemical Society held a special daylong celebration for National
Chemistry Week on Saturday, October 22, 2005.
This event was a collaborative effort embracing the collegiate,
industrial, and high school sectors.
The site was Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey, and
the coordinators were Steven Waller (FDU professor), Valerie Kuck (retired
industrial chemist), and Bobbi Gorman (high school teacher).
Over 100 volunteers helped
prior to and during the event which drew an audience of approximately 400
parents, students, and Boy and Girl Scout troops. Twenty-seven tables of experiments were set up for hands-on
science fun. The activities at the
tables included: monitoring the “bounce factor” in balls of varying
construction, learned about magic sand, having fun watching the repulsion and
attraction of magnets, doing experiments with hydrophobic acetate film
(“Fortune Teller Fish”), observing the diffusion of the dyes used in M&Ms,
using color changing markers in several experiments, making “polysnow”, observing ghost crystals disappear, watching a
number of experiments on chemiluminescence, learning about proteins, paper
chromatography using color markers, making marker dyes change color, measuring the magnetic properties of
materials, conducting spinning chromatography experiments to generate colorful
designs, showing how to make a simple battery, watching ultraviolet beads
change color on exposure to UV light,
watching a demonstration on nanotechnology, and, of course making slime
and silly putty that were colored with various dyes.
To underscore the theme of NCW 2005, “The Joy of Toys”, a special
room was set aside to play with toys and fliers were distributed explaining the
science behind the toys. The operation of the toys and explanation of displays
was conducted by David Lee, a retired high school teacher. Examples of toys included thermochromic
plastics, bubble tanks to form various geometric shapes, air blasters, drinking
(dunking) birds, potential/kinetic energy “poppers”, Etch a SketchÔ, polarization of light using sugar solutions and
Cartesian Divers. The attendees seemed to really enjoy the activities. Also,
Jeannette Brown collected toys and money for the purchase of toys during
ChemExpo. She also ran a “Build A Bear”
raffle during the event to raise money.
In
addition to the chemistry expo, several other NCW activities were conducted. A
poster contest was conducted for students in grades K-12, using the theme of
“The Joy of Toys”. A library exhibit based on Meg the future chemist was
created in Hillsborough, NJ. The exhibit
contained toys and a copy of a book, “Fizz,
Bubble & Flash!: Element Explorations & Atom Adventures for Hands-On
Science Fun!” that been authored
by a North Jersey ACS member, Anita Brandolini. Three copies of the book were donated to the
library. This display also has contained handouts about the NCW Poster Contest
and ChemExpo, and a handout about all the activities that the section does for
children. This display was seen by >
500 children and their parents during the month of October. Jeannette Brown
also conducted a workshop for a kindergarten class, where she talked about
color changing markers and the chemistry of those markers. Allene Johnson
distributed posters on the NCW activities at Heritage Day in Maplewood Park
(Maplewood, NJ) and at the Native American Festival in Irvington, NJ. Flyers
and a preview of the NCW activities were also given to students at the North
Jersey Delta Sigma Theta Delta Academy.
Allene also did a workshop on “The Chemistry of Toys” at the Maplewood
Library, in Maplewood, NJ.
Outreach to Pre-College Students
The North Jersey section has
several programs geared towards Pre-college students. Two of our largest
programs are Project SEED and the National Chemistry Olympiad, both of which
are briefly described here.
In 2005, the North Jersey
section was responsible for coordinating 126 Project SEED students. The
majority of the students were minorities, primarily African –American, Hispanic
and Asian American. These students were
selected with the help of science supervisors, teachers and guidance
councilors. Those who were recommended applied via a resume and interview
process, thus giving them skills for the future. If necessary, coaching on
interview skills and resume writing was provided prior to the interview.
During the summer, the SEED
students attended College and Career Information sessions. At these sessions,
they learned about writing reports and preparing scientific posters, which were
presented at the end of summer. In addition, they had the opportunity to learn
about the college application process, and how to find financial aid.
This year, we had a record of
93 students participating in the annual SEED Poster Session at the North Jersey
Section Meeting at Seton Hall University. The posters covered a wide range of
areas including organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, quantitative analysis,
computerized modeling and environmental chemistry. The posters are judged by
local industrial chemists, professors, former SEED students, high school teachers,
and retirees who provide feedback and complements to the students regarding
their knowledge and enthusiasm. Prizes and certificates were awarded at the end
of the evening.
North Jersey has been
participating in the National Chemistry Olympiad for many years, and this was
year was no exception. Local exams were given to 110 students, of which 10
qualified to take the national exam. Out of these 10 students, 4 qualified for
the study camp in Colorado (out of 20 top students), and one student, Jacob
Sanders of Bergen Academy, was chosen as one of the 4 students to represent the
US at the International Chemistry Olympiad in Taiwan, where he won a silver
medal. This is the second year in a row that a North Jersey student from Bergen
Academy was a part of the national team. Last year, Fan Zhang won a medal. His
efforts, along with teacher David Ostfeld, and the other 4 students who
qualified for the study camp were all recognized at our annual awards banquet.
Outreach
to College Students
This year, the North Jersey
section made a special effort to interact with college students and student
affiliate groups. Career preparation
and resume writing programs were offered at several local universities.
Programs were given twice at both Somerset County College and at Rutgers
University for Chemistry (once for the chemistry students and another time
for the biochemistry majors). Talks were also given at Seton Hall University
and at Penn State University. Attendance averaged around 20 attendees; however
at Penn State there were 40 attendees
Students were invited to help
plan MARM, and Rutgers Student Affiliate group appointed Eve Berger as the
Student Affiliate VP and representative to the MARM executive committee. There
was a full day of programming geared towards undergraduate students, including
the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, where the North Jersey section
presented the Jean Durana award to the top student. A number of the Rutgers
Student Affiliates assisted in the registration area at MARM and acted as
guides and aids during the meeting.
National Chemistry Week
provided another opportunity for interaction with student affiliates. Bill Suits
informed the Section's Student Affiliate groups of the grants that were
available from ACS for NCW. The group at Rutgers University applied
for a grant and received $150 which they used for a presentation at Plainfield
Elementary, an Abbott school (an urban school designated by the state of New
Jersey as having the lowest socio-economic status and in need of additional support and programs). .
Several student affiliate
groups participated in our NCW activities, both at the Chemistry Expo at FDU on
October 22, 2005, and with the collection and donation of toys to local groups
and those who were affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Finally, the chair of the section, Jacqueline Erickson was invited to speak to the student affiliate group at the College of St. Elizabeth in November, 2005. Ms. Erickson spoke about her career and careers in the pharmaceutical industry.
Careers in Transitions Meetings
During this year, eleven
monthly meetings were held at Fairleigh Dickenson University. A total of 45
members attended the three and one-half hour workshops. At the meetings Bill Suits and Valerie Kuck
gave presentations on how to write an effective resume, conduct a job search,
and give appropriate answers to commonly asked interview questions. The resumes of the attendees were reviewed and
there was much discussion on ways of presenting the information in a clearer
fashion. Attendees also participated in
critiquing each other as they responded to a variety of interview
questions. Doing the year, attendees
were polled on the effectiveness of the meeting and asked for any suggestions
to improve the meetings. The attendees
expressed much gratitude for the information they received at these sessions.
Between the meetings,
attendees were sent emails announcing recent job openings. Thirty attendees
sent their revised resumes to Suits and Kuck. The resumes were reviewed and
returned via email with comment and suggestions for improvement.
At over 20 Section Topical
Group meetings, Suits presented a Jobs Poster that contained a listing of job
openings. At most of these meetings, he spoke with at least
10 members, 4 of which were looking for improved employment
opportunities. Bill became a director for a ChemPharma Group, a
networking group for professionals at the director level and above who are
looking for new positions. Suits became the liaison between that group and the
Section. He continues to guide the group members in their job searches. Kuck
gave a presentation on Tips for Writing an Effective Resume that was very well
received by the attendees.
On the Section web site, openings
were posted and job seekers had the option of connecting with ACS Career
Services and local sites that could be of assistance.
MARM
At the Mid-Atlantic Regional
Meeting (MARM) which was held May 22-25 at Rutgers University, Kuck organized a
very extensive career program which attracted 140 attendees. Two-hour workshops
that were especially developed for MARM by members of the Section were given on
the following topics: Landing Your First Job at a Pharmaceutical Company,
Exploring Routes for Becoming a High School/Middle School Teacher, Becoming a
Teacher at a College/Community College, and on Getting Research Grants. In
addition, the career talks given usually at national meetings were focused for
particular audiences. Those one-hour
talks, which was far greater in number than are usually presented at a regional
meetings, included: The Art of Resume Preparation for Experienced Chemists,
Tips on Effective Interviewing for Experienced Chemists and Chemical Engineers,
The Art of Resume Preparation for Recent Graduates and Undergraduates, Managing
an Effective Job Search, Career Enhancement for Chemical Technicians, Tips on
Effective Interviewing for Recent Graduates and Undergraduates, First Year on
the Job, Preparing a Curriculum Vitae, and Internships-A Tremendous Learning
Experience. A number of the talks were presented on both Monday and Tuesday of
the meeting. A special three-hour symposium, “Nature/Nurture: Women in
Academe”, addressed the problems that women in academe face.
Graduate Students
Bill Suits also worked with
the Graduate Student Association program at Rutgers in securing
and recommending speakers for their programs. He individually counseled
eight of the students in career planning.
The North Jersey section has
8 active topical groups which held over 30 meetings during the year, and
provided state-of-art technical programming to our many members, as well as
non-members within the section and the local region. The range and diversity of
programming by these groups continue to grow each year. Additionally, our
topical groups regularly attract world-class speakers to their events. In
addition to their regular meetings, technical programming was organized by the
topical groups for MARM and Eastern Analytical Symposium, one of the largest
analytical meetings in the country, and one that is held in the North Jersey
section. Some of the highlights of the
2005 technical programs are given here.
Chromatography
The chromatography held seven events in 2005,
attracting approximately 200 attendees throughout the year. Speakers were from
academia and industry, and the topics were geared towards the many
chromatographers working in the local pharmaceutical industry. One highlight
was Robert Classon of Shimadzu who spoke on “Practical Techniques for LC/MS –
Everything you wanted to know about LC/MS but were afraid to ask” as this
meeting attracted over 70 attendees. Other speakers included David Bell, Penn
State; Flavio Bedini, Thermo; John Helfrich, VelQuest; Mike Burke, Argonaut;
Tom Trainer and Rita Steed, Agilent; and Andre Striegel, Florida State
University. Topics included Retention
Mechanisms in Reversed-Phase Chromatography, Two-Dimensional Gas
Chromatography, Fast and Ultra Fast HPLC, Solid Phase Extraction, Size
Exclusion Chromatography and Electronic Laboratory Notebooks.
Drug Metabolism
The Drug Metabolism group
held three events in 2005. Two were day-long symposia, and one was a dinner
meeting. On April 7, 2005 and October 6, 2005, there were day-long symposia on
“Contemporary Topics in Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics. For the April symposium, speakers included
Dr. Richard Hargreaves (Merck), Prof. Jan HM Schellens, MD PhD (Netherlands
Cancer Institute), Prof. Yuichi Sugiyama (University of Tokyo), Dr. Mohammad
Tabrizi (Abgenix, Inc.), Melinda Marian (DNAX Research Institute), Prof. Amin
Rostami-Hodjegan (University of Sheffield, Sheffield UK) and Dr. Heidi Einolf (Novartis). The October symposium had speakers
from local industrial companies, including Pfizer (Odette Fahmi, R. Scott
Obach), Merck (Dr. Tom Rushmore, Dr. Clay Frederick), Hoffman-La Roche (Frank
Nogueira), and Schering Plough (Dr. Jason Simon).
Topics for this symposium included Prediction of Clinical Drug –Drug
Interactions based on CYP3A4, Effect of Polymorphism in P450s, Applied Clinical
Pharmacogenomics, Consideration of Metabolites in Safety testing, and
Regulatory Guidance on Safety Testing of Metabolites – Toxicology
Considerations, and Filing of eINDs. Both symposia were highly successful, with
approximately 200 attendees each, and support from vendor exhibits during lunch
and coffee breaks.
The evening meeting attracted
80 attendees, and featured Sean Ekins of GeneCo, Inc. whose topic was Systems
ADME/TOX for Drug Discovery: High throughput data, in silico models and gene
networks
Mass Spectrometry
The Mass Spectrometry
Discussion Group had another successful year, with 9 dinner meetings, one
co-sponsored meeting with a symposium on Chemical and Pharmaceutical Analysis,
and 2 symposia at Eastern Analytical Symposium. Each meeting, with the
exception of their September meeting and Vendor show, attracted approximately
125 attendees, while their meeting and vendor show attracted 300 attendees.
Speakers throughout the year were from academia, the pharmaceutical industry,
and instrument manufacturers. One speaker was even from the Department of
Fisheries and Oceans in Newfoundland, Canada. Many diverse topics were
featured, including FT-MS, Sample Preparation for Mass Spectrometry, Turbulent
Flow Chromatography/MS, and new advances in instrumentation. Some of the
applications discussed included Proteomics, Metabonomics, Natural Product
Structure Determination, Removal of Phospholipids from Biological Fluids, and
Biomarker Discovery.
NMR
Ten meetings of the NMR
Topical Group were held in 2005 and each meeting included a social hour, a
buffet dinner, and a technical seminar presented by an invited speaker. A
wide range of topics was covered, encompassing both solution and solid-state
NMR spectroscopy of small organic molecules, biological macromolecules, and
inorganic crystals, as well as recent developments in hybrid techniques (with
HPLC, SPE and/or MS), NMR hardware design, and data processing. These talks provided both basic training and
introductions to emerging technologies. Attendees represented local
pharmaceutical companies, such as Bristol-Myers
Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Schering-Plough, Merck and Wyeth, as well staff
of Princeton University. This year the
topical group was privileged to have speakers from both academics and
industry. Approximately half of the
speakers are members of the group. Our
vendors provide researchers who gave scientific talks. These talks were will attended. In June we were honored to host Prof Robert
Griffin from MIT who described two current research projects in has lab. Prof. Griffin’s travel was underwritten by
Isotec.
Organic
The organic topical group
held two major symposia, which attracted approximately 400 people to their
events
a) The Spring Symposium
focused on honoring past recipients of the A.C. Cope Award, with a keynote
address by Professor Gilbert Stork of Columbia University. Professors Robert Bergman (University of
California, Berkley), David Evans (Harvard University), and Robert Grubbs
(California Institute of Technology) rounded out the lineup. This provided a
diverse cross-section of lecture topics, encompassing total synthesis, polymer
syntheses, catalysis, physical organic chemistry and synthetic methodology.
b) The Fall Symposium was
entitled “Successful Drug Discoveries: Case Studies and Reflections.” Five prominent industrial medicinal
chemists, representing Merck, Schering-Plough, Hoffmann-La Roche, Pfizer, and
Bristol-Myers Squibb presented case studies wherein the discovery research
effort resulted in a drug development candidate.
Thermal Analysis
The primary activity of 2005
was coordinating thermal analysis session at the Eastern Analytical Symposium
in Somerset, NJ held on November 16, 2005. Speakers included:
a) Jean-Marc Sabattie, Ultrasonic Scientific,
“Application of high-resolution ultrasonic spectroscopy for analysis of thermal
transitions in polymer and colloid systems”
b)Michael Thomas, Lyophilization Technology, Inc.
“Thermal Analysis Applications for Lyophilization Development” and
c)Henry Albert, Parr
Instrument Co., “Applications of Bomb Calorimetry and Related Techniques for
the Analysis of Fuels and Allied Materials,”
Small Chemical Business
The NJ group of Small
chemical Businesses held three meetings in 2005, in addition to a MARM
Symposium on Discovery to Commercialization. Speakers and topics are as
follows:
a) Emergency Preparedness at
a Chemical Manufacturing Site: Steps toward Process Safety for the Small
Chemical Company; Mike Yarnell, OSHA Compliance Assistant, Department of Labor
OSHA
b) Are Imports Negatively
Impacting Your Business?
William Bujalos, Director,
MidAtlantic Trade Adjustment Assistance Center
c) November 17 A Mini OSHA
10-Hour Training Course; Mike Yarnell, Compliance Assistant, US Department of
Labor OSHA
The topic of the MARM
Symposium was Discovery to Commercialization, and speakers included Dr. John
d’Antuono (ROW2 Technologies, Inc), Dr. Karen Giroux (Polymerix Corp.), Dr.
John Schroeder (Graver Technologies, HydroGlobe Division) and Dr. Harris
Goldberg (InMat, Inc.). A polymer drug, water purification technology, and
Nanocomposite Barrier Coatings were some of the featured items being
commercialized.
The North Jersey section and
executive committee has a very broad based membership, with high school
teachers, industrial professionals, and academic professors active as
volunteers. In 2005, we had several activities that identified new leaders and
integrated them into the section. We also worked to improve the section
infrastructure so that we can continue to attract volunteers and leaders to the
section. One of our activities was to
approve our revised Bylaws. These new Bylaws improve our procedures for
elections, while allowing for electronic voting in the future. We also
redesigned our website so that it will be easier to use and easier for members
to find information, in particular information on the section organization and
volunteering.
Our leaders come from active
members who join a Topical Group or the Teacher Affiliates. From these groups,
we continue to identify and encourage members to take a more active role in the
section administration, and run for an elected office. This year, with MARM, we
had over 125 volunteers participate in the planning and organization of this
regional meeting. Many of these volunteers were new to active participation in
ACS events, and several of these have gone on to other leadership roles within
the section.
Twice a year, we hold
meetings that provide our new leaders with information that is helpful to their
topical group or committee. In the winter, we hold a Leadership Breakfast
Meeting. This meeting provides an introduction to the ACS and the North Jersey
structure. Generally, the chair shares the local section and chair goals. We
also include sections on budgets and finance, publicity (newsletter, website)
and technical programming. This year, we included a portion of the agenda to
discussing ACS membership and recruitment of new members. Also new this year was a portion of the
agenda devoted to sharing “Best Practices” as each representative was given an
opportunity to share a successful idea or event from their group or committee.
In the fall, we also hold our annual planning meeting. This meeting also
allotted some time to other topics including the preparation of annual reports,
budgets and finance and publicity. Also at this meeting, a PowerPoint slideshow
on the “Value of the ACS”, as created by chair-elect S. Waller was shown to the
attendees. This slideshow is available on our website, and the topical group
chairs were encouraged to use this to recruit new ACS members, as many
non-member scientists may attend the technical programs in the section.
By holding two of these meetings during the year, there are opportunities for new officers to attend a section leadership/planning meeting during the fall, before they start their position as chair of a topical group. This meeting also allows for various groups to coordinate and jointly plan larger, more successful events . These meetings have proven to be successful, and we plan to continue them in the future, as well as look for new opportunities to develop our leaders
Summary of Additional 2005 Activities
Awards
Winning an ACS
National Award is a major achievement, and we were fortunate to have winners of
2 awards this year. Jeannette Brown won the ACS Award for Encouraging
Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences and Ed
Chandross won the ACS Award in Industrial Chemistry.
The section
nominated and is honored to have Susan Fahrenholtz as the winner of the
regional Stanley C. Israel Award for Advancing Diversity
in the Chemical Sciences.
Susan has been chosen the 2006 winner of the ACS Award for Encouraging
Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences.
Locally, our 50 year members
were recognized on May 25, 2005 at our Awards Banquet, attended by 150 people.
Ulf Dolling of Merck received our Lifetime Achievement Award. The Education
Committee awarded Brenda Rosenau the Edward J Merrill Award for High School
Teaching, and the NJ Teacher Affiliates Group recognized Ray Baylouny with the
Harvey J. Russell Award. Also recognized were our top Chemistry Olympiad
students and winners of our Pro-Bono awards for service to the section.
In addition to our section
awards, our Mass Spectrometry Topical Group gave out 7 awards this year, worth
$8000, including new awards to 2 students for travel to the ASMS meeting.
In order to bring national recognition
to our section’s many scientists and excellent science, we formed a new
committee for National Awards Nominations. One of the first actions of the
committee was to send out a letter to senior researchers at local corporations
highlighting specific awards targeted to industry. We are also targeting women
and underrepresented minorities for various awards, and we are confident that
our efforts will bring more national recognition to our scientists.
Government Relations
Throughout the year, various
members of the section met with Congressional representatives and state
legislators during the year. One member had the opportunity to speak with Dick
Codey and John Corzine during the NJ Gubernatorial race.
Publicity and communication
Publicity and communication
of our programs and events is important, especially when it comes to attracting
the general public. Numerous press releases were sent out for both MARM and
National Chemistry Week. Each MARM mailing reached over 30,000 ACS members and
far more when our contacts passed the information on to all the chemists in
their organizations. For MARM, we were fortunate enough to attract TV
coverage.
For our members, we took
several steps to enhance communication of the section activities as well as
councilor activities. Our enhanced webpage is the most visible way of
communication with members and we redesigned our webpage this year to increase
its usefulness to members. For the first time, we posted the previous year’s
annual report on our website. Additionally,
we used the website and newsletter to publish Councilor reports from both
national meetings.
Membership Affairs
Recruitment and retention of members
is important our local section. This year, efforts were made to recruit new
members, through visits to the topical group meetings. These events were
targeted as they often attract non-member scientists, as well as many members who
may be able to recruit non-member colleagues.
In our efforts to retain new
members, a letter is sent to all new section members inviting them to attend a
topical group meeting, and providing them with a free dinner at that meeting.
This year, the letter went to 584 new members and recent transfers to the
section.
MetroWomen Chemists
The MWCC continues to serve
as a coordinating group for women’s activities in the Metropolitan Area. This year, they joined with the Association
for Women in Science and the New York Academy of Science to honor outstanding
women in the Metropolitan Area. They
also organized the Women’s Chemists Luncheon at the 2005 Middle Atlantic
Regional Meeting and continued to seek nominations of women for ACS awards.
Outstanding Women Scientists Awards – April 26 2005,
New York Academy of Science
MWCC cosponsored this award
event with the Metropolitan New York Chapter of AWIS and the Women
Investigators Network of the New York Academy of Science. The honorees included chemists Susan
Fahrenholtz and Joan Roberts of Fordham University and Lakshmi Devi of Mt.
Sinai Medical Center. They were
recognized for their contributions to science and for their support of students
and women in science. About 75 people
attended the event. Student attendance
was subsidized and many students attended.
MARM 2005 Women Chemists Luncheon – May 24, 2005,
Rutgers University
A very successful women
chemist’s luncheon was held at the MARM 2005 meeting. Elsa Reichmanis, Director of the Materials Research Department of
Lucent Technologies and an ACS Past President spoke on Breakthroughs in Materials Chemistry for Advanced Technologies: A
Collaborative Endeavor. A sandwich
luncheon was served and attendance was excellent, with approximately 125
attendees, which was our size limit for the room.
MetroWomen Chemists Awards
We continue to try to
identify women for ACS awards. This
year a successful nomination was prepared nominating Susan Fahrenholtz for the
2005 Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical
Sciences. In addition to receiving the
Israel Award, Susan was also informed that she was selected for the ACS Award
for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences.
This award resulted from a
nomination submitted in 2004.
Minority
Affairs
The
“Freddie and Ada Brown Encouragement Award For Future Careers in Chemistry” was
created this year to identify and encourage high achieving middle- and
high-school students, of African American and Native American heritage, to
further develop their budding academic skills, with views on careers in
chemistry.
Education
Activities and Teacher Affiliates
Excellent
High School teachers, along with a good education often lead a student to
choose a career in chemistry. The North Jersey Education committee and Teacher
Affiliates Group work together to provide educational activities for pre-college
students, and ongoing education to High School Teachers so that they can
develop programs and better educate students.
Our
Teacher Affiliates Group has 127 members, and 24 are also ACS members. This
year, they continued several high quality programs in addition to the New Generations
Workshop, a top 10 activity. ChemTag, ChemCentral
and the new ChemTAG Northwest meetings are held throughout New Jersey, so
teachers can attend events closer to their schools. During meetings, teachers perform demos, ask and answer
questions, swap lab activities, exchange ideas to help them to become better in
the classroom. Also continuing this
year was the ChemEssentials Workshops. These are quarterly workshops, primarily
designed for new teachers. Each focuses on fundamentals of a single topic such
as Scientific Math, the Periodic Table, Chemical Reactions, and Equilibrium and
Kinetics. Additionally, ChemEnthusiasts, a Yahoo group, provides a place where
TAG can announce meetings, provide tips on demos and discuss relevant events. TAG,
along with the Education Committee sponsors the annual New Jersey Chemistry
Olympics, a competition for exceptional high school students. This year’s event
served the largest group of competing high school students in its history. Support
from TAG and the Education Committee is in the form of financial support,
planning and judging.
The
Education Committee members were present at all Teachers Affiliates activities
and meetings, including ChemTAG, ChemCentral and ChemTAG NW meetings. The
Committee had a strong presence at the New Jersey Science Convention in October
in Somerset, NJ. Besides having a table
to distribute materials, the Committee actively supported the Teachers
Affiliates with sales and instructional assistance.
Social
Events
We
work hard as a section, but we also have fun. We kicked off the New Year with a holiday
party
for our executive committee, MARM volunteers, and family members. After MARM,
we celebrated with a Pizza party. A summer barbecue was also held for the
executive committee and family.