Local Section Innovative Project Grant Recipients
Fall 2022
Orange County
Applications of Chemistry beyond STEM
An afterschool program to engage middle school students in chemistry by having them perform experiments that will connect non-STEM fields to chemistry to make chemistry more understandable and inspire students to pursue a previously unknown passion through experiencing chemical applications to the discipline.
Erie
Erie Local Section Centennial: Celebrating 100 Years of Chemistry in Northwestern Pennsylvania
A centennial celebration programming in 2023 that includes hybrid meetings, general interest talks, outreach events, and contests to mark this milestone.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia Area Chemistry Competition
A one-day chemistry event/competition for our undergraduate chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical engineering majors this spring with events that include competitions such as Pop Rocket Targets, Titration races, Weighing for Accuracy, and Dry Ice hockey while highlighting lunchtime speakers from ACS and YCC explaining the benefits of ACS.
Alabama
Alabama Chemistry Games
A year-long Chemistry Game series with six chemistry-themed activities planned for student and professional members to create better engagement at Birmingham, AL, a city known for hosting The World Games, an international sports competition.
Northeastern
NERM2023: Green Chemistry Workshop for High School Educators
In partnership with Beyond Benign empowering educators to adopt green chemistry and a sustainable STEM curriculum in the classroom in a professional development workshop at ACS North Eastern Regional Meeting (ACS-NERM) 2023 by having teachers rotate through 4 experiment stations and be given the materials to run at each of their institutions once.
Rio Grande Valley
Implementation of a Chemistry Outreach Program for the South Texas Local Section
Implementation of a community outreach program within local schools in South Texas in partnership with Texas A&M University Higher Education at McAllen (TAMU-HECM) by training TAMU-HECM undergraduate students to do effective chemistry demonstrations and volunteer at local schools to perform these demonstrations during the school year.
San Diego
Chemistry and Confections: A Zoom Cooking Class
A lecture on Zoom about the chemistry of chocolate and how to make tasty confections from the comfort of one's own home by Robyn Araiza Ph.D., a lecturer at California State University San Marcos, with Local participants having a kit of ingredients delivered to their homes before the event.
Nashville
Chemistry of Paints and Pigments
Supporting the collaboration of school teachers, university professors, and pre-service teachers by producing a new educational tool, “Science Heroes Game,” to help popularize science by introducing scientific topics in a fun way and helping students rethink themselves as scientists while in addition providing professional training opportunities for all of the participating parties.
New York
Science Heroes Game as an educational tool for popularization of science and scientific career
Supporting a local Oregon classroom teacher to lead with Beyond Benign, Oregon DEQ, ACS Portland Section, Boeing, and Oregon teachers; designing a pilot of an on-demand self-paced training green chemistry labs resources with Oregon DEQ’s procurement guidance resources; and training teachers on green chemistry replacement lab substitutes to increase classroom safety through the reduction of lab hazardous materials.
Spring 2022
Iowa
ACS IPG for MWRM-2022 joint-programming
Joint programming with the American Scientific Glassblowers Society (ASGS) occurring at the 2022 ACS Midwest Regional Meeting (ACS-MWRM) in Iowa City.
Puerto Rico
75th anniversary as a milestone for the Puerto Rico Section
A yearlong anniversary celebration of our profession and the relevance of chemistry in life focusing on supporting and revamping successful ongoing and previous activities; establishing and renewing partnerships; starting Innov Prog(IP) and alliances to create a transdisciplinary community of researchers, students, and citizens that look forward to a sustainable and equitable society.
Florida
Bringing Our Subsections Support (BOSS): Providing support for the subsections of FLACS
Aiming to provide support to subsections to organize smaller events such as the Florida Annual Meeting and Exhibition (FAME) that can be shared with the entire local section.
Wyoming
Chemical Demonstration Library
Building a library of Chemical Demonstration Kits that can be made available to members of the Wyoming Local Section via a checkout system. Demonstration kits will be mailed to remote Section members or checked out and transported in person.
Hawaii
ACS Hawaii Section Centennial Celebration and Retreat
Planning a 2-day long, 100th-year celebration for members, their families, and the community with activities that include: student poster sessions, invited speaker(s), hands-on chemistry activities, chemistry games, a talent show, and chemistry-inspired interpreted dance, an opportunity for participants to meet and greet section officers, get membership information, and learn about section volunteer opportunities.
Indiana
Beyond Academics: IN LS YCC Career Development Symposium
Providing insights into the next steps of a young scientist’s career by hosting an in-person one-day career development symposium geared towards high school, undergraduate, graduate, and early career professional populations and allowing them to practice what they learned while also engaging in an outreach event to promote STEM in the Indianapolis community.
Indiana
Artificial intelligence
Developing an artificial intelligence sensor of water shed.
Detroit
The Chemistry and Art of Making Medals
Hosting three workshops in partnership with the American Medallic Sculpture Association (AMSA) at the teaching lab in the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) coordinated by Mark Benvenuto, a UDM professor, to create medals in Tin or low melting alloy, graphite molds, and tools needed to carve.
Fall 2021
Binghamton
Past, Present and Future: Binghamton Local Section 80 years Celebration
2021 is the 80 anniversary of the Binghamton ACS Local section. We will celebrate with Past, Present and Future events celebrating the Local Section and inspiring future membership involvement. Celebrating past and present will be a Guest Panel and dinner during National Chemistry Week, Oct 2021. Career workshop and networking events will help to inspire involvement and support our younger members
Central Massachusetts
Resetting Strategic Direction Post-COVID
The Central Massachusetts Local Section will hold an ACS Virtual Strategic Planning Retreat to reset the direction and align local section activities to better serve members and increase engagement within local initiatives.
Illinois-Iowa
Community Engagement Promoting Chemistry at the Putnam Museum and Science Center
The Illinois-Iowa Section of the American Chemical Society will partner with the Putnam Museum and Science Center over the next year to empower its members to engage in our community to promote an appreciation of chemistry. It will begin with a mole day celebration and continue throughout the year with members serving as guest presenters for the museum's weekend STEM activities.
Kentucky Lake
Supporting 3D Printing in High School Chemistry Classroom and Laboratories in the Kentucky Lake Region
We propose to invite high school instructors in Kentucky Lake Section (KLS) region to a one-hour pre-meeting during KLS monthly meeting and introduce 3D printing as a classroom and laboratory asset to improve students’ understanding of chemistry. We will demonstrate several 3D printing applications for enhanced chemistry education and provide four 3D printers and consumables
Lehigh Valley
Creating a Community of Practice for Faculty Mentoring Undergraduate Research in the Lehigh Valley
We intend to create a community of practice to build bridges between chemistry programs at our LVACS institutions so that more collaboration and sharing of resources can benefit our local section members. At these institutions, undergraduate research is mentored by independent faculty, but there is very limited communication between faculty who mentor undergraduate research at various campuses.
Mojave Desert
Inspiring Young Future Rocket Chemists
This outreach event, which will be in partnership with the China Lake Museum Foundation (CLMF), is a hands-on workshop and demonstrations for children within the local area focused on rocket chemistry. The experiments and demonstrations will introduce young students to the concepts of fuels, energetics, and material science through the scope of rockets and missiles, the major focus of the CLMF.
New York
The Chemistry of LOVE
We would like to bring more awareness of Chemistry to the community and in a positive, cheerful, and happy way. What better way than to host an event that marks a day which our society celebrates “love”….that is….VALENTINE’S DAY! The title of this novel event is, “The Chemistry of LOVE”. The idea is to highlight the chemical aspects of “LOVE”.
Northeastern
NESACS Website redesign
The Northeastern Section aims to engage Atomik Design Studio, a local web design company, to redesign the NESACS.org website and the NESACS newsletter, the Nucleus. Benefits include: integration of ACS branding; improved navigation/architecture, and modernization of the underlying platform for the website; and refreshed design of the website and newsletter.
Ole Miss
Ole Miss ACS Scent Club: Home Distillation of Local Fragrances
This IPG will facilitate social & intellectual interactions between members of all ages and backgrounds through the extraction of fragrances from locally available plants. We will begin with a social meeting where distillation is demonstrated and members can check out kits. Extracted liquids will be brought back to subsequent meetings for sharing and for analysis using analytical techniques.
Portland
Building and supporting an Oregon Green Chemistry Professional Learning Community (PLC)
"To build a collaborative partnership across Oregon teachers, educational non-profits and government agencies to foster a regional green chemistry education community that equips teachers to integrate green chemistry and sustainable STEM resources into their classrooms. "
San Diego
The Chemistry and Art of Glass
Participants will attend a private class at a local glass art studio to learn about the chemistry and techniques of glass working. A social mixer will immediately follow at a craft brewery next door to the studio.
Southern Arizona
Southern Arizona ACS section Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting: Diverse Chemistry in a Diverse Region
This is a regional meeting for the Rocky Mountain Region to be held in Tucson, Oct 20-23, 2021. This meeting, like all other fall ACS meetings, will be an in-person event. We are seeking specific support for the Spanish language component of the meeting involving a symposium entitled Quimica and a subsequent networking event.
Southwest Georgia
Research and Mentoring Workshops at Regional Universities
The SOWEGA section members will participate in research and mentoring workshops for undergraduate students at regional universities in our area. The events will take the form of small working groups to foster dialogue with the goal of encouraging STEM students, especially chemistry majors, to join in research projects with their professors.
Spring 2021
California
CalACS College Application and Professional Success (CAPS) Program
High school students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds gain personalized advice for college applications and career preparation during a 4-month professional development series, with continued communication with program alumni. Mentees are assigned with a mentor who is either an undergraduate, graduate student, or young professional in the field of chemistry.
Central Texas
High School Teacher Programming at SWRM 2021
Workshops, training, and networking events for chemistry high school teachers will be offered at the Southwest Regional Meeting in Fall 2021. Virtual and in person activities include a Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) workshop, laboratory safety training, and a best practices forum. New ways to educate and deliver learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic will be featured.
Chemical Society of Washington
Diversity Book Author Seminar
A lecture style seminar with a distinguished book author. We will purchase the reading material (book) published by the guest author. Each registered attendant for the seminar will receive a copy of the book. The author will discuss diversity, inclusion, racial justice and advice on attaining a PhD for minority students. The virtual event is tentatively scheduled 4/21.
Eastern New York
Chemistry Immersion: Blushing-Up on Science and Contouring Leadership Skills
Chemistry Immersion is a new program to increase involvement of younger chemists in ACS activities. Local high school students (at least half from under-resourced school districts) learn more about cosmetic chemistry, meet experts in the field, visit a cosmetics lab, receive leadership development training, attend LS meetings, create a demo for NCW, and receive mentorship from YCC members.
Midland
MMTG Website Upgrade and 30th Anniversary Banquet
The Mid-Michigan Technician Group (MMTG) would like to initiate a local section webpage upgrade to attract more techs, provide timely information, make it more user-friendly, then finalize the project with an MMTG 30th anniversary banquet, highlighting their essential role as a solid foundation of the chemical industry. Dow CEO, Jim Fitterling, has been invited to be our featured speaker.
Minnesota
Community Connections Committee
Establish a student led committee as part of the Joint Safety Team (JST) at the University of Minnesota (UMN). The committee purpose is to strengthen the broader local chemistry community in three ways; promoting chemical safety culture in regional institutions, creating protocols for conducting chemical demos safely, and hosting safety-oriented networking events to connect students with industry.
Northern Oklahoma
Grant writing workshop for local teachers
A key impact criteria for membership of Northern Oklahoma ACS is to support STEM education. We do this by funding local science teacher grants. However, sometimes teachers are not familiar with grant writing or submission so they miss out on the opportunity. To help market this support, one of our members (a high school science teacher) will lead a workshop to share this process.
Orange County
The Chemistry, Cultivation and Culture of Tea
Tea is the second most consumed drink on earth, after water. This project will include (1) a webinar by a tea chemist on the chemistry, cultivation and manufacture of tea, with a virtual in-home tea tasting based on tea samples shipped to attendees, and (2,) after the pandemic, a live “tea-room” meeting, (like a science café), open to the public, with a scientific presentation and tea tasting.
Philadelphia
Mini Leadership Development Institute
The Mini Leadership Development Institute will offer members from the Greater Philadelphia Area a chance to take one or two of four offered Leadership Development Courses and participate in a networking luncheon.
South Jersey
Chemistry Virtual Escape Room
The South Jersey local section seeks develop a chemistry-themed virtual escape room for membership use at one of the section meetings in late Spring 2021. The game will be comprised of teams of four players, and it will be played via the Zoom Platform for 60 minutes. The team that completes the room the fastest will receive a certificate and gift card prize for each player.
Southern Arizona
Southern Arizona ACS section Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting: Diverse Chemistry in a Diverse Region
This is a regional meeting for the Rocky Mountain Region and an awards ceremony for the Western region. We are seeking specific support for the Spanish language component of the meeting.
St. Louis
Diversity Inclusion and Respect Series
This project will include a collection of Diversity, Inclusion and Respect events such as podcast listening sessions, panel discussions, book discussions, and speaker events around topics such as understanding race and racism in today's society, an overall of diversity and an understanding of dimensions, women of color in STEM, understanding LatinX experiences cultural in the USA, etc.
Fall 2020
Brazosport
Career Readiness and Networking Event
A recent ACS Brazosport LS survey has revealed that career development is one of the most interesting areas of local section members. This IPG will be used to organize an event with a focus on 2 and 4 year community colleges in the Brazoria County. The event will be geared towards providing an opportunity for students to have exposure to the large chemical industry in the Brazosport region.
Chicago
Creating Demo Kits and Webinars for Teachers and Scout Leaders
The Chicago Section would like to put a new spin on the ACS “Program in a Box” by creating demo kits for K-12 teachers and scout leaders. They will participate in live webinars on how to carry out the demonstrations and learn about chemistry connections to the Chicago area.
Connecticut Valley
Career Development in Real Time: A Joint Younger Chemists Committee Symposium
The CVS Younger Chemists Committee (CVS-YCC) and the Northeastern Section Younger Chemists Committee (NSYCC) will hold a joint one-day symposium for younger chemists at the 2021 ACS Northeast Regional Meeting (NERM). Participants will attend career development activities centered around entering the job market. A closing mixer will serve as an opportunity to practice new skills in real time.
Erie
Virtually Engaged Erie ACS: Stay in Your Place & Maintain Your Space Pandemic Programming
The novel corona virus pandemic has forced ACS and its Local Sections to re-image programming. To address the need for safe and physically distanced programming, Erie Local section proposes to host virtual events, including webinars, general interest talks, NCW/CCEW outreach events, and contests, to continue safely and engaging members and the community at-large during the current pandemic.
Hawaii
Online Discussion Series for Local University Educators
The goal for this project is to produce a series of online episodes of 5-9, initially local and then cross region, university educators discussing specific topics related to ways to excel under current conditions. We would try to follow the pattern of this YouTube series "Reunited Apart".
Indiana
Covid-19 Chemistry Kits for Kids
Help keep underserved children within our Indiana section safe during the COVID-19 pandemic and tie supplies that we will provide to chemistry in a fun way. We will prepare & distribute kits to 100 children (ages 6-12) that will contain COVID-19 safety supplies, educational material, and other fun activities that they can enjoy while learning about chemistry through this real-life event.
Kansas City
KChemistry on the MOVE (Mobile Outreach Volunteer Effort)
KChemistry on the MOVE will bring chemistry themed activities to students and families across the Kansas City local section region using a mobile laboratory from Missouri Western State University. Participants will receive instructions that will enable them to do the activities at home as well. Events will be advertised using social media with approximately 1 outing per month planned.
Nashville
Bonding with Chemists- Alternative Careers in Chemistry Panel
A career panel focusing on alternative careers in chemistry is being planned. It will highlight career paths for chemists outside of the traditional academic and industry settings. A strong commitment will be made to include speakers representing diversity both in careers and in personal aspects.
New York
Teachers and YCC Future-Teachers Members Collaborative Digital Science Library Project
This project supports the collaboration of schoolteachers, university professors and students' future-teachers. It will produce digital resources for remote teaching and learning during mandatory social distancing. It will provide professional training opportunities for all the parties participating and help activating them to become ACS members and stay active in the future as volunteers.
Northeast Tennessee
Development of Virtual and Hands On Programming for a National Chemistry Week Event
For the past 30 years, National Chemistry Week has been celebrated by hosting 4th graders at Eastman Chemical Inc. in which they participate in demonstrations and activities inspiring them in the sciences. This year, these activities need to be partly virtual and remote. This grant supports the development of virtual demonstrations and hands on programming for this year and beyond.
San Antonio
Chemistry Online Resources in San Antonio (CORSA)
We will develop online chemistry resources for regional high school students with the goal of increasing student competence and enthusiasm for chemistry. CORSA includes quizzes, web-link assistance, and help via electronic meetings. These resources will enhance student success in chemistry leading to increased performance on standardized exams and participation in the ACS Chemistry Olympiad.
San Diego
Cheesy Cultures and Flavors Chemistry
Participants login to a live interaction while everyone remains safely in their own homes. The hosts give a science lesson on how the cheese is made and why it has a particular flavor. For example, the tyrosine crystals that give the interior of Swiss and Romano cheese a crunch will be compared to the calcium lactate that gives an external crunch to some Cheddar and Colby varieties.
St. Joseph Valley
Supporting K-12 teachers in a virtual world
In coordination with the undergraduate chemistry club at Notre Dame, our Section will develop and distribute K-12 chemistry kits to compliment online demonstrations prepared by the Notre Dame students.
Spring 2020
California Los Padres
Inspiring Young Women (and Men) in STEM through theater
This project will bring a theater performance called 'No Belles' which focuses on the lives of eighteen women scientists, some of whom won Nobel Prizes. The theater performance will occur at the Oxnard Performance Art Center, located in an economically disadvantaged area within our Section. The aim will be to inspire students in the region to become more involved in STEM.
Colorado
Celebrating a Century of Chemistry in Colorado
The Colorado Local Section is celebrating its 100th Anniversary in 2020. As part of this celebration, the section plans to host a mini regional meeting in October 2020. This will be a one-day meeting to which all the local sections within the region are invited. Plans are being made to ensure that the diverse parts of the local section are included in an active way in this celebration.
Georgia
Reaching members on the Air
Yearly the ACS Georgia Local Section is challenged with member engagement. While the issues are not new, it' critical that we use technological advances in both video and internet bandwidth to increase opportunity for members to engage. With YCC members wanting more accessible leadership, these podcast helps us apply an integrated communications plan to reach our members.
Kentucky Lake
Career Enhancement Workshops for Undergraduate Students and Younger Chemists in the Kentucky Lake Re
A series of 30-min workshops which will focus on career development activities for members in our section, in particular undergraduate students, and younger chemists, is proposed. Topics will include a panel discussion from experienced professionals, resume writing, interviewing tips and mock interviews.
Northeastern
Bonding to create future leaders
The first meeting will be held in conjunction with the Global Women’s Breakfast, and will lead to a series of meetings, held every 2 months in the Boston area. This is an opportunity to bring professionals & students together, fortifying collaboration between universities & the chemical industry. This event will be an unparalleled networking opportunity which extends beyond the “chemical” bonds.
Portland
BCCE 2020 Green Chemistry Workshop Collaboration
Identify and directly support 15 Oregon teachers wanting to attend BCCE Green Chemistry Workshop fees and registration for the regional BCCE 2020 Conference. Targets K-12 teachers who otherwise do not have means to attend. BCCE 2020 is at Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR and is sponsored by the Division of Chemical Education (DivCHED). The conference is designed for teachers at all levels.
Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada Young Chemist Workshop
This workshop will facilitate interactions between early career scientists, regional industrial partners, academics, and other local ACS members through a poster session, invited talks, and panel discussions. Overall, this informative workshop will improve community engagement, recruitment, and provide an opportunity for students to showcase their research and collect feedback from professionals.
Trenton
USNCO Preparation & Mentorship Workshop Series
The USNCO Mentorship Program is a multi-tiered support program to better prepare high school students for the US National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO) local exam, national exam, and study camp. Comprehensive academic support and practical training will be offered at no cost to students within the Section, enabling equal access to support for all students who wish to participate competitively.
Upper Peninsula
Bringing "water" to the Upper Peninsula
The Michigan Upper Peninsula has 1,700 miles of shoreline with Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior and contains 4,300 inland lakes. Water is everywhere and many institutions study water. However, we don’t know everything. The Upper Peninsula Section plans to invite regional water experts to share their insight with members of the Upper Peninsula Section and the public community.
Western Carolinas
Creating Successful ACS Student Chapters
In this proposal, the Western Carolinas (WC) and Carolina-Piedmont (CP) Local Sections are seeking funding for the establishment of a joint workshop series entitled “Creating Successful Student Chapters.” Our Local Sections will partner to host two workshops aimed at providing important resources for students and advisors interested in establishing or redeveloping student chapters.
Wisconsin
Professional Development Opportunities to Reactivate ACS Student Membership in the WI LS
To increase student membership, engagement, and community building within the local section (LS), a series of professional development experiences for undergraduate students in the chemical sciences will be offered. Weekly seminars, an outreach event, and two field trips will be organized that highlight the importance of networking, careers in chemistry and on-going professional development.
Fall 2019
Akron
Preproduction and Filming of a Broadcast Ready Blu-Ray of the Science Magic Show "Magical Science!!"
Record, produce, manufacture, and distribute a DVD/Blu-Ray of the science magic show “Magical Science!!”. A high definition Blu-Ray, produced as broadcast ready, will be marketed to local television for broadcast.
California
Manya - A Living History of Marie Curie
The California Section of ACS has contracted with Susan Frontczak, a story teller, who enthralled the attendees of the 2011 ACS National meeting in Philadelphia. In addition to a two-hour program, titled “Manya – A Living History of Marie Curie” formatted for adults, Ms. Frontczak also crafted an one-hour program “A Visit with Madame Curie” designed for school age students.
Central Arkansas
Increasing Local Section Activity in the State of Arkansas
Create a one-time event for the International Year of the Periodic Table and create an annual event to increase local section member activity and increase awareness of the organization in the community.
Central New York
Exhibition on Molecular Self-Assembly at the Syracuse Museum of Science and Technology
We will create a new educational exposition on Self-Assembly at the Museum of Science and Technology (MOST) in Syracuse. The interactive nature of the project will increase participants’ understanding of science as dynamic, ever-evolving, and exciting, rather than as a set of hard rules to memorize. Hands on demonstrations are intended to further foster their interest in science.
Chemical Society of Washington
Pump-Chem Patch Festival
A Pump-Chem Patch Festival similar to a visit to the Pumpkin Patch with the family. Event held in the Fall on a nice Autumn day. ACS theme the “International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements” type games and activities for all ages. Chemistry-themed scavenger hunts, which include periodic table related clues, a corn maze, and pumpkin table to paint on elements from the periodic table.
Erie
Celebrating the P-ERIE-odic Table
In commemoration of the International Year of the Periodic Table of Elements (IYPT), the Erie Local Section proposes holding an element-themed outreach event with a community partner, targeting a novel audience of children in the community, and engaging with local college/university chemistry clubs/student chapters by sponsoring chemistry-themed creative competitions, promoting the periodic table.
Greater Houston
Greater Houston Section-Event Passport
Greater Houston Section plans to introduce an “Greater Houston Section Event Passport” project. GHS members will obtain a passport, they will be required to attend several events-seminars, networking events, career workshops, monthly board meetings, social events, facility tours, which will be organized by different committees of GHS, to promote member involvement.
Green Mountain
Interactive Public Television Chemistry Demonstrations for Elementary and High School Students
This project aims to spark interest, enjoyment, and involvement in chemistry in school aged children, by having a peer explain and demonstrate a chemistry concept of experiment in a 5-minute video or live broadcast via public television. ACS local section members would work with their local K-12 science teachers and students to plan a topic and presentation together.
Lehigh Valley
Da Vinci Young Inventors Idea Lab / LVACS Program Partnership: ""Kids Inventing with Chemistry""
This IPG aims to forge a partnership, which will enhance the Da Vinci Science Center’s Young Inventors Idea Lab program by supporting the intersection of activities/presentations by professional scientists and engineers.
Midland
H2O Q - 2019 CERM STEM Citizen Science Experiment, Project Transfer (Expansion) to CERM 2020
H20 Q was designed and implemented by the Midland Section as a regional experiment engaging middle schoolers as citizen scientists. Proposed herein is transfer of the project, expertise, and supplies to Columbus via a 1-day workshop on H20 Q. Midland Section volunteers will host a workshop for CERM 2020 leaders, middle school teachers, and Columbus local section members.
Mississippi
MS Local Section NCW "FINAL EXAM" Escape Room
The student members of the ACS at Mississippi State and part of the MS local section will implement a novel, chemistry-focused escape room that will incorporate NCW theme. Participants will act as students who are taking a final exam practical for general chemistry – the only way to pass is to solve a series of puzzles to demonstrate fundamental chemistry knowledge in a race against time.
Montana
Improving Member Participation and Community Engagement Through Interactive Distance Learning
We will leverage the distance learning expertise of Inspired Classroom (a Missoula, Montana Company) to improve participation from section members and simultaneously engage the local communities by producing high-quality collaborative content. This will be accomplished through live events that are professionally filmed and made available through our various social media channels.
Nashville
Learning and practicing the art of communicating science through storytelling with Andrei Codrescu
Dr. MacDougall raised $11,000+ to bring renowned poet and longtime storyteller on NPR, Andrei Codrescu, to MTSU. He’ll give a public lecture about storytelling the history of science, and lead workshops to help students and faculty become better storytellers themselves. The IPG proposal will fund a contest, participation T-shirts, and two cash awards for the best stories written by students.
North Carolina
Membership Recruitment and Engagement project for the North Carolina section
We would like to increase our members involvement with our local section, concentrating on new members and also recruiting new members into the local section and the ACS.
Ouachita Valley
Celebrating Investment in STEM Education in the Ouachita Valley Region
In Fall 2019, the new Integrated Engineering and Science Building (IESB) at Louisiana Tech will officially open for classes. An Open House coinciding with the first Engineering and Science Day at this new building will be used to promote the Chemical Sciences throughout the region. The event will include a demo room, student poster presentations, and meetings between faculty and future students.
Princeton
Synthesis on Scale: Process Chemistry in the Pharmaceutical Industry
This centrally situated symposium should draw an audience widely from the Route 1 corridor (New York to Philadelphia), including industry, graduate, and postdoctoral students from the many graduate programs and institutes in this area (e.g., Rutgers, Princeton, Penn, NYU, Temple, Drexel, Delaware, Sloan Ketterring, Columbia, Rockefeller, and many others), as well as chemistry, pharmaceuticals, and chemical engineering undergraduates from the surrounding area.
Puerto Rico
The Coffee Seedbed as Didactic Resource in Rural School Grades 6th - 8th
This project has a 1-year timeframe. The main activities include a series of workshops that will develop participants’ skills in coffee crops and organic agriculture. These will be designed to reach students of various ages in grades 6th through 8th, as well as their teachers. They will participate of demonstrations and educational games offered during the educational outreach activities.
Puget Sound
Day of Chemistry
This will be an opportunity for the public to learn more about fun and hot topic within the field of chemistry. This event will have an interactive science fair layout with professionals operating each booth. We hope to also collaborate with several neighboring organizations within our local section bounds, such as Seattle Aquarium, Pacific Science Center, and Woodland Park Zoo.
Sabine-Neches
CHEMDIVERSITY-NETWORK IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
The ChemDiversity-Network is a one-day event designed to establish a professional environment where all local chemists will feel included and valued as contributors. Discussions will relate the regional companies to academic research and developments. The event will be advertised as an opportunity for networking while fostering a spirit of diversity inclusion to benefit our local ACS chapter.
San Gorgonio
Celebrating 70 Years of the San Gorgonio Section; Past, Present and Future
To use this landmark anniversary to stimulate interest and member involvement in the San Gorgonio Section with the following:
- Celebrate the rich history of our Section at summer and fall activities and meetings
- Acquaint members with the activities and resources currently available
- Initiate the creation of a digital record of our Section’s history, events and notable chemists for future members
Silicon Valley
Launching the First Annual Bay Area Chemistry Symposium (BACS)
BACS brings together San Francisco and Monterey Bay area industry and academic scientists in synthetic, computational, process and medicinal chemistry for an all-day event centered on talks, networking opportunities and an evening poster session. It will provide opportunities for students, postdocs, academic, government, and industry scientists to interacts. BACS will be the kick-off of an annual event.
South Florida
Chemical Sciences Symposium: "Evolution of Immune System: Chemistry in the Action on Immunity."
A Chemical Sciences Symposium sponsored by the South Florida ACS local section (SoFL-ACS) will be help in April 2020 on the chosen topic “Evolution of Immune System: Chemistry in the Action on Immunity.” At the graduate level there are specialized societies such as ASBMB for biochemistry; however, at the undergraduate level, students and the associates have to rely primarily on the ACS.
Southwest Georgia
Activities in recognition of active members and IYC Periodic Table Celebration
Our local section is a small ACS local section, we would like to present a series of events to recognize our student members, specially those who are active in undergraduate research by awarding lab coats with ACS logo; initiate a new large outreach event at Georgia Southwestern University; and host a government/diversity speaker.
Wichita
2019 ACS Midwest Regional Meeting: High School Teachers Program - Wichita, KS - 10/19/2019
Seminar style forum with speakers representing different aspects relevant to teaching chemistry in the high school setting. Topics include AACT & CHED resources, NCO preparation, community outreach, and science teaching strategies. Incentives, such as free memberships and prizes, will be awarded to attendees. Lunch will be provided to attendees and speakers.
Spring 2019
Ames
Midwest Retreat for Diversity in Chemistry
We propose to expand an existing retreat for women chemists so that it supports all underrepresented groups in the chemical sciences. The retreat, which has been held for the past two years is aimed at the retention and advancement of women chemists, and its expansion is motivated by expressed desire from other underrepresented groups to be involved. The IPG will support more diverse programming.
Coastal Georgia
Diversity in Chemistry: Examining Perspectives and Implicit Bias to Promote Equity and Inclusion
It will consist of a two-day symposium, closed with an interactive luncheon. The symposia will consist of a broad introductory panel (four – seven individuals), hopefully discussing policies or practices which have made a positive impact on equity and inclusion in the sciences among minorities. The symposia will be followed by breakout presentation sessions to provide a platform for many individuals.
Corning
Scientific Ethics Training
This grant will provide funding for a short (3/4 day) training course on scientific ethics for especially the science and engineering students in the academic institutions in the Corning Section, but open to all interested members. The short course and its assessment tools have been approved for Human Subject Research by Alfred University’s Human Subject Research Committee.
Illinois Heartland
Improving Chemistry Education in the Illinois Heartland Section
The goals of this project are:
- to build a thriving and supportive network of chemistry educators that will improve chemistry education in our section;
- to give local science teachers access to Vernier lab equipment and supplies to enable them to provide demonstration and hands-on laboratory experiments for their middle and high school students;
- to provide annual training for middle and high school teachers on the use of Vernier lab equipment including a discussion of how to best incorporate the experiments and demonstrations into their individual curriculum;
- to provide a forum for ongoing communication with regards to the strategies and questions associated with successful chemistry education.
Kalamazoo
International Year of the Periodic Table: Beer Tap Take Over
This project will:
- raise public awareness of the positive role of chemistry I n our lives through social and educational events to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the periodic table,
- support opportunity for less priviledged students to pursue scientific learning through local funding of Project SEED (goal to raise $50,000 for local funds) and,
- distribute items to commemorate this historic year.
Minnesota
Creating a Twin Cities PUI Sustainable Polymer Education and Research Consortium
To create a workshop and consortium that would provide a forum for faculty from local primary undergraduate institutions (PUIs) to learn about polymers, sustainable plastics, and the work of the University of Minnesota Center for Sustainable Polymers and local polymer industries such as Cargill, 3M, and NatureWorks, to name a few.
New York
Creation of a Symposium Session Introducing Undergraduates to Industrial and National Lab Research
The New York Section sponsors an annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, which provides students an opportunity to present their research and learn about the work carried out by their peers at other local academic institutions. Here, we propose initial funding to create a unique session for the event, which will be composed of speakers whose research was conducted outside of a university.
North Jersey
The Art of Chemistry
Through a series of four workshops, members of the North Jersey section, chemists, students, and the public can learn about and manipulate the redox chemistry of copper and other metals to create art and to emphasize the integral relationship between art and chemistry.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Local Section Centennial Celebration and Pentasectional Meeting
This project will celebrate the continued contribution of various institutions that have allowed this section to persist and thrive for 100 years. This celebration will be hosted together with an annual 64th Pentasectional ACS meeting with four other local sections participating. Funding will be provided to offset the cost of travel and registration for the meeting as well as presentation awards.
Ole Miss
Ole Miss ACS Movie Club: Enhancing STEM Diversity and Community Inclusion via Pop Culture
The Ole Miss Local Section of the ACS will connect members of all backgrounds with potential student members through examining diversity and inclusion in STEM. A movie series that highlights the lives of scientists from underrepresented groups will be shown to foster discussions and socialization to boost younger membership and strengthen the commitment of current members.
Portland
Pre-college teacher’s track at 2019 Northwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society
A day-long track for pre-college chemistry teachers, with three separate portions:
- A science-outreach talk by Oregon State professor Skip Rochefort
- A hands-on workshop for attendees on “Reaction Power Cars”, with Dr. Rochefort teaching stoichiometry concepts.
- Panels on best practices for chemistry teachers and national resource available.
Richland
Launching a Richland Local Section (LS) Government Affairs Committee (GAC)
The Richland LS proposes to launch a Government Affairs Committee. The GAC’s formation was approved during the LS’s December 2018 Board meeting. Three events will be held in 2019 to launch and establish the GAC; this IPG will provide funds to support these events. The events will comprise advocacy training and meetings with elected officials in Washington and Oregon (the LS spans both states).
Snake River
The Chemistry of Color in Art
The purpose of this innovative program is to create a transdisciplinary workshop that provides situational and tactile exposure to chemistry and science through the lens of art.
Fall 2018
Binghamton
Design chemistry kits for K-12 educators that augment National Chemistry Week programing and help share love of science through innovative experiments.
Central New York
Provide socioeconomically disenfranchised high school female students with an opportunity to learn about the importance of a science background and cyber-security.
Illinois-Iowa
Hand-on STEM learning collaboration between the Botanical Center and Illinois-Iowa section. Families learn about plant science.
Lacrosse-Winona
Host a series of mixers and events with invited speakers to help connect local section members with one another and to local section resources.
Spring 2018
Auburn
Host a series of workshops to help improve graduate student well-being by discussing and destigmatizing common mental health concerns for their cohort.
California
Host the Portal Theater Company’s performance of ‘No Belles’, a play focusing on the lives of eighteen women scientists who won Nobel Prizes and some who did not. The WCC sought to benefit and inspire young women working in STEM.
Rochester
Create a ‘Chemical Demonstration Center’ at St. John Fisher College that will develop save, chemically instructive and age-appropriate shows emphasizing the role of chemistry in our lives.
Virginia
Implement a career development workshop to foster the professional development of students and young professions within the section.
Fall 2017
Central New Mexico
Chemistry Day at the Los Alamos National Lab
Host a Chemistry Day at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), where 100 selected LANL summer students will tour chemistry facilities and observe a selection of the chemical research conducted at the national lab.
Central North Carolina
SERMACS 2017 Diversity Programs
Spotlight diversity programming by supporting registrations and subsidizing cost of symposia and luncheon at SERMACS 2017.
Central Texas
Central Texas Local Section Centennial Celebration
Recognize 100 years of community engagement, member outreach, and professional development with a centennial celebration consisting of a luncheon featuring a keynote speaker, employer exhibit, poster presentations, followed by an evening reception and cruise on Lake Austin.
Chemical Society of Washington
Kids & Chemistry Demonstration Day: Advancing Chemistry Appreciation using Chemical Demonstrations
Implement an innovative outreach program for underrepresented elementary school students at the third-grade level, in which they watch chemical demonstrations to foster STEM appreciation.
Colorado
Elevate & Promote Chemistry in Colorado
Produce short, professional videos highlighting the benefits of volunteering and live-stream presentations from remote locations to entice the public to attend unique science cafe events.
Indiana
Music & Chemistry in Perfect Harmony
'Orchestrate' an event that harmonizes music and chemistry through two talks consisting on music’s effect on brain chemistry, and hands-on displays and demonstrations of how musical instruments are made, while guests enjoy fine live music and refreshments.
Middle Georgia
Invest in the Chemistry Education of Middle Georgia
Provide resources and access to mentorship, sponsor memberships to the American Association for Chemistry Teachers, and invite students to participate in a Chemistry Olympiad which provides a networking opportunity for students and teachers.
Nashville
Chemistry Rocks the Tennessee STEAM Festival!
Section and student affiliate members will host a Chemistry Rocks! hands-on event at Discovery Center and serve as volunteers at Tennessee STEAM Festival events throughout the state.
North Jersey
Annual Fair for Emerging Researchers (FER)
Through school visits and supplementary materials, engage students in 5-8 grade in a yearlong process of designing and conducting experiments, culminating in a poster session, held on Drew University’s campus.
Pittsburgh
Culinary Reactions: An Iron (Fe) Competition & Molecular Gastronomy Lecture/Demonstrations
Host an engaging "Iron (Fe) Chef" competition for local university ACS Student Affiliate Chapters to encourage participation and recruit members. Contestants will be asked to use culinary reactions to prepare and present dishes to judges.
Portland
Supporting Women Science Students through Mentoring & Networking
The Women Science Student Summit will address challenges and rewards for women in science; and through a Career Day, the project will support women science students by providing them with career advice and direction. These events, though focused on women, will be open to both women and men.
Princeton
Protein Chemistry for Life: New ACS Educational Outreach Program Integrating Chemistry & Life Science
Promote the role for chemistry in life sciences, with a focus on proteins/protein chemistry to strengthen relationships with local educators and offer volunteer and learning opportunities for members.
Puerto Rico
Entrepreneurship & Innovation for Scientists in Puerto Rico
Incorporate a Scientific Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (EI) to the 42th Senior Technical Meeting. The EI program will give scientists an opportunity to present their research with commercialization potential and meet with prospective investors.
Richland
Enhancing Presentation Skills for Non-English Speaking Scientists
Conduct a public speaking workshop uniquely designed to address the language challenges that non-native English speaking scientists, specifically Asian scientists, encounter when presenting their research in English. This workshop is expected to give practical methods for these scientists, in turn, enhancing their future career prospects.
San Joaquin Valley
Promoting Involvement & Education in Chemistry for Everyone (PIECE)
Encourages student, community, and member involvement in chemistry education and literacy through a field trip to local labs, a chemistry-based group activity for youths, and mass media to promote a student Earth Day contest.
Spring 2017
Central Pennsylvania
Development of a Chemistry Lesson Kit Program
Develop two sets of chemistry lesson kits on topics such as forensics, polymers, and chemical vs. physical changes for grades K-2 and 3-5 to be used by section members in local schools.
Connecticut Valley
Building the Membership through Student Leadership
Expand membership by targeting ACS student chapters from nearby colleges for day-long activities at flagship universities.
East Central Illinois
Networking Social & Award Ceremony
Invite ECI local section members, industry professionals, and members from neighboring sections for a first annual networking social, including an awards ceremony.
Erie
Bonding with Undergraduate Chemistry Clubs
An action-packed event to increase student involvement in the local section and community, foster creativity and ownership, and promote networking—all to culminate with a keynote speaker.
Florida
Collaborations between Science & Technical Arts Teachers in Florida’s Secondary Schools
Integrate the grassroots STACT (Science and Technical Arts Collaborative Teaching) project within the FLACS annual meeting (FAME).
Georgia
Time Consuming, but So Worth It!
Atlanta Science Festival attendees will embark upon an interactive journey to investigate who stole the NIST-F2 cesium atomic clock; and learn about various forms of evidence, collection methods, and the role of chemistry plays in solving crimes.
Idaho
ACS Local Section Exchange: Bringing Chemists from a Very Large Section to a Very Small Section
Partner with a larger local section to create and test a website to host webinars in order to increase member participation.
Kalamazoo
KACS Logo Lab Coats
Obtain 60 lab coats branded with the local section's logo to be worn by student members in their academic work and when volunteering at outreach events—promoting KACS externally and provide members a symbol of professionalism, identity, and cohesion.
Kanawha Valley
Remote Communication with Members
Enable video communication with remote members in the local section (via Skpe) during section meetings and special events, enabling members to view on their personal computers.
Kentucky Lake
Nobel Prize Gala
Study and celebrate the nominees and awardees of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Maryland
Webinar Program for the Maryland Section
Purchase video conference equipment and an internet meeting subscription to host a series of up to four webinars in 2017, in order to connect with student members across the Section.
Mid-Hudson
Mid-Hudson Section's 75th Anniversary Celebration
Develop promotional materials with the 75th anniversary logo, prizes for members who attend multiple activities during the year, some of which include: separate tours to a zinc mine and vineyard, a trivia contest, and dinner with featured speakers.
Midland
Execution of the Midland Section Strategic Plan
Advance Section's strategic plan through new activities surrounding the annual Awards Ceremony and a “Mid-Michigan Scientists“ Lecture Series.
New York
Increasing Member Engagement via Social Media
Targeted Facebook ads will be used to inform our younger members of NY ACS events. Seminars and events will be live streamed, and used to generate webinars to increase member involvement.
North Alabama
Innovative Speaker Cost Reimbursement
Host a volatile chemical metabolomics meeting in cancer diagnosis in 2017, held in conjunction with the Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology.
Northeastern
The NESACS Multi-Generational Mentorship Initiative
A collaboration of the Younger, Women, and Senior Chemists Committees will host a series of mentoring events for students and young chemists to connect with senior chemists, learn about resources from the ACS, and find support for professional development.
Puget Sound
Allyship to Improve Diversity in the Chemical Sciences & Engineering
Women in Chemical Sciences (WCS) and Women in Chemical Engineering (WChE) at UW will develop "Allyship": an event to give students tools to be allies/advocates for women/underrepresented minorities in science.
Purdue
Iota Sigma Pi (ISP) 32nd National Triennial Convention
This convention promotes the advancement of women chemists through recognition, outreach, and networking, including ISP chapters from across the nation and the Purdue local section to learn about cutting-edge research and strengthen professional networks.
Santa Clara Valley
Exposing Local Colleges to ACS
Expose local undergraduate students, especially from schools with ethnically diverse populations, to the larger science community, which will help progress their career and shape the next generation of scientists.
South Jersey
What ACS can do for Chemical Industrial/Techician Practitioner
A small virtual event to inform members not attending national meetings on how ACS can assist with professional development, provide leadership opportunities, continuing educational coursework, and more.
Wisconsin
2017 Wisconsin Crystal Growing Contest
Introduce students to chemistry and the scientific method to learn an advanced vocabulary and essential laboratory skills; winners will collaborate with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space in the Space Station Explorers education program.
More Information
- For information on funded IPGs prior to Spring 2017, email LSAC.
- Submit a final report if your local section's IPG-funded activities have completed.
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