This is my last Chair’s message for 2023. In January, I will hand over the Chair position to Todd Eberspacher and I am delighted to welcome Amanda Nelson to her new role as Chair Elect. I am confident that our section is in good hands.
For the second year in a row, we have a National winner for the National Chemistry Week (NCW) poetry contest. The ACS poetry contests are run twice per year – once for the NCW and once for Chemists Celebrate Earth Week (CCEW). This year, 29 local sections contributed illustrated poetry entries from 66 young scientist/artists. National ACS presents awards to first and second place in four grade groups: K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. Shreya K, a student at Harker Academy in San Jose, was awarded first place in the 6-8 grade category. You can see her winning entry in this newsletter. All the winning poems are posted on the ACS website. In addition to a prize given by our section for winning in our local competition, first place at the National level wins a cash prize of $300. If your young scientist/artists want to start composing now, the theme for the 2024 CCEW will be “Get a charge out of chemistry” which should spark lots of ideas for creative poems. Check out the December 18 issue of C&EN to see pictures from NCW events across the country and hopefully a few pictures from our section’s NCW events.
We have completed the elections for the 2024 Executive Committee, with results reported in an article in this newsletter. Congratulations to all those who were elected to serve our section. We are a volunteer organization and it takes a village (or at least a community) to keep the section active and vibrant. We have some exciting things planned for next year, starting with the Mosher award in January, described in this newsletter. Although I am passing the baton, I hope to see or hear from you at many of our events.
Respectively submitted,
Natalie McClure
