A few days ago, I was scrolling through some social media posts and came across a post by Priya Amin, a mother and the CEO of Flexable. She shared her thoughts on the importance of taking a break from work after she received a drawing from her 6-year old son showcasing their literal interaction, with Amin ignoring her son while staring at a computer screen. You may check out this post here. As I looked at the drawing, it hit me really hard, because that sounds exactly like the kind of an experience my son would describe. In fact, as I write this post, I can see him get a bit edgy as he has been waiting patiently for hours to play one round of his favorite board game with us. Frankly, this is a common scene in so many households. Our life and work have been jumbled together and while the pandemic should have made us pause and rethink our situation, the fact is that the mindset prevails of work above all else. While I am aware that I am truly fortunate that I have a great job, good friends, and a family that is supportive, I am also aware that the pandemic is taking its toll. This burden looks different for each one of us in our individual circumstances, yet we are all in it together.
I think difficult topics like mental health should be talked about. C&ENews wisely covers this topic with articles about mental health and achieving the coveted work-life balance. It was here that I came across Professor Jen Heemstra’s column, Office Hours. She does a phenomenal job writing, podcasting and tweeting about mental health, self-doubt, creativity, and mentorship while also leading her own research team in the chemistry department at Emory University. We have invited her to speak to us on March 11 about tackling one of these dilemmas – impostor syndrome. Please join us as Dr. Heemstra explores the mechanisms by which thoughts of impostor syndrome can form, and how we can work to dismantle them.
The Joys of Chemistry seminar series described in last month’s newsletter offers a March program on the unfortunate taste of supermarket tomatoes. Dr. Harry J. Klee of the University of Florida will explore why the tomatoes sold in our supermarket have no flavor and what we can do to make tomatoes taste better again. Join us on March 18th from 7-8 PM PST for this flavorful program.
On Thursday, March 4th, join California ACS, Silicon Valley ACS, and the ACS@Berkeley student chapter for a fun, virtual chemistry-themed trivia night. The event will be held over Zoom from 7-8 PM PST.
Despite the challenges of holding chemistry competitions virtually, the annual high school Chemistry Olympiad will be held in March, 2021. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge Dipti Shingnapurkar who has been extremely busy organizing the Chemistry Olympiad for our local section, corresponding with students and teachers, handling registrations, and recruiting sponsors. The list is absolutely endless! We really appreciate all the work Dipti is doing. Dipti is looking for volunteers to assist with online proctoring from Noon-1.50pm PST on 27 March 2021. If you are interested, please fill out the Google form available here. We are offering a $25 honorarium to the online proctors. We have about 200 students registered and will need at least 20 proctors.
Do you know any middle school kids that love science, or have yet to discover their love for science? Encourage them to join us as we kick-off our first Pop Up Chemistry event – Chemistry Expands Your World – this month in collaboration with Redwood City Library. Last year, we inflated balloons using thermal energy. This year, we will try some chemical energy to do the same.
We hope to see you at one or several of these upcoming events. Share this newsletter with a friend or family member to introduce them to your dynamic local ACS science organization. They are welcome to all of our events, free and open to the public. And now, off to play the Game of Life!
