As I sit down to write this message, the school year has sprung again! If you are a parent of a kid under the age of twelve like me, you are probably dealing with the stressful dilemma of unvaccinated children returning to in-person learning ‑ a move that many see as crucial to kids’ well-being and learning. It’s not clear when younger kids will be able to get their shot, prolonging our challenges to protect children from getting sick and to curb the spread of COVID-19. Following initial hopes that children’s vaccines would be available in early fall, experts now believe that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is not likely to grant that authorization until late November. (Here’s the latest on COVID-19 vaccines). In the meantime, experts say we already have some powerful pathways to protecting kids from the Delta variant: vaccinating more adults and employing measures at schools like air cleaning, air circulation and wearing masks . I wish you all a safe, healthy and happy school year!
And with the fall semester, National Chemistry Week (NCW) is right around the corner—October 17-23! This year’s theme is “Fast or Slow … Chemistry Makes It Go!”. The focus is on the exciting and kinetic world of reaction rates, including how temperature, pressure, concentration, the presence of a catalyst, and more affect how fast or slow a reaction happens. Back by special request this year for NCW, we’re being welcomed back to the Redwood City Library with a new Pop-Up Chemistry session to celebrate! Whether we meet in person for hands-on experiments or provide pick-up kits followed by a zoom session will depend upon the pandemic situation in October. Stay tuned for more details!
The next SVACS talk will be on Thursday, October 21. Dr Mike Idacavage of Radical Curing will speak over Zoom about photopolymers in coatings, inks, and 3D printing. Check the newsletter or our website for more information.
The election for 2022 SVACS local section officers takes place in November. I would like to thank the nominations committee and congratulate them for a wonderful slate of candidates. I would also like to encourage you to consider submitting one or more petition candidates. See the article in this newsletter for further information on the ballot and petition process.
In ACS National news, starting on January 1, 2022, current and prospective ACS members will be able to choose from several new ACS membership packages that feature different levels of benefits. No matter where you are in your academic or professional life, these new options will provide you with more flexibility to choose the package that best fits you, and with dues that are lower than they are today. There will even be a no-dues option that includes limited benefits. More details are available on the ACS website.
