Happy New Year! I’m thrilled to be serving as your Chair for the upcoming year and look forward to the many exciting events we have in the works for 2022. I hope everyone’s holidays were merry and filled with time with family. We rounded out the year with the 2nd Bay Area Chemistry Symposium (BACS) in November. Judging by the high attendance, BACS is here to stay! Our final monthly seminar was on December 7th with an informative talk by Dr. Charles Rand of Checkerspot. Checkerspot is a company using big data to discover novel materials. Early in 2022 we have the Mosher award lecture coming up and in April a panel on the Chemistry of Cannabis is planned.
Your ACS Silicon Valley Executive Committee is hard at work determining a hybrid and in-person structure for future events. Stay tuned for more details.
My goals as your 2022 SVACS Chair include:
- Increase presence online through social media platforms to communicate our local section-sponsored news and events, and expand participation. Activities will focus primarily on LinkedIn and potentially Twitter.
- Foster relationships with other ACS sections to build regional community. One goal will be to host a joint virtual event with the Pacific Northwest ACS local section.
- Continue with a hybrid of in-person and virtual events to allow easier access to our section’s events. A goal will be to continue hosting virtual webinars and panel discussions, expanding invitations to beyond our section.
Lastly, I will be taking a brief leave this quarter adjusting at home with a new baby. I look forward to coming back in the second quarter. You’re in good hands while I’m out with your Chair-Elect, Natalie McClure, a long time ACS Silicon Valley member and organizer.
Should you have any feedback or questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at chair@svacs.org. If you come across folks who are interested in joining or participating more actively in Silicon Valley ACS, please also send them my way.
