It has been an honor to serve the Section as a member of the Executive Committee. Over the past 20+ years, I have endeavored to increase the level of communication between the local section and the various student member chapters. During this time I have worked to foster student participation in a variety of SCVACS activities such as National Chemistry Week, the National Chemistry Olympiad, the section’s “Teach the Teachers Workshops,” and the annual Northern California Undergraduate Research Symposium. As a Councilor I have served the section by participation at ACS National meetings and have served on the Women Chemists Committee. Although the past year was certainly a challenge, it did provide new opportunities to encourage members (including our student members!) to engage with the section using Zoom-linked activities such as online chemistry trivia games and allowed for greater participation in local section monthly meetings. In the coming year I hope to foster these and other innovations, blending them with more traditional activities, to offer a greater variety of avenues for members to interact with the ACS.
Biography
Linda Brunauer received the B. S. degree in Chemistry with an emphasis in Biochemistry from San Jose State University and the Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles. Following graduate school, she was an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Chemistry, Stanford University. In 1988 she joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Santa Clara University where she is currently an Associate Professor. In 1989 she was instrumental in the creation of the Northern California Undergraduate Research Symposium (NCURS) and has helped to nurture this annual regional conference where undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry majors gather to present the results of their independent research projects in a supportive environment. In 1996 she was named Faculty Advisor of the Year at Santa Clara University for her work with the SCU Chemistry Club and in 1999 she received the Ottenberg Award for Outstanding Service to the Section. In 1999 she was awarded an Excellence in Teaching Award for her work in Santa Clara University’s summer school program and in 2003 she received Santa Clara University’s highest award for teaching, the Brutocao Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2013 she received an ACS Salute to Excellence Award for her efforts supporting regional testing of the National Chemistry Olympiad. She is a passionate advocate of science education, publishing articles in the Journal of Chemical Education and, since 2007, has served as a volunteer at the Bio-Link Depot in Oakland, helping numerous high school, community college and university STEM educators in the Bay Area secure free laboratory supplies and equipment for their classroom instruction. She is active in the Silicon Valley Section of the ACS and has served as a member of the Executive Committee as Student Affairs Chairperson (1989-present) and Councilor (1998-present).