Have you noticed how many kinds of periodic tables have sprung up these days? There is a periodic table format for practically everything! All you have to do is search for the term “Periodic table of <insert term of your choice>” in your search engine and I bet you find a periodic table. I found a periodic table of books (by Nick Thomas), signal flags (by Joe Lomax), desserts (by Andrew Plotkin) and my favorite so far, the periodic table of Disney characters (by Kit Chapman). What I find particularly interesting is how much of an icon the table is! Chemists and non-chemists relate to the idea of periodicity and organization whenever they visualize the periodic table. I am going to take this opportunity to introduce one more such periodic table – the periodic table of Harry Potter Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans created by Dr. Eefei Chen, a project scientist at UC Santa Cruz who volunteers her talents as a graphic designer generously to scientific endeavors and to our section.
Eefei created the graphic for us to promote a series of talks entitled ‘The Joys of Chemistry’, a series of talks on topics that weave together artistic, cultural, and culinary themes and their underlying chemistry. Coming up are: Dr. Steven Pollack to talk about the influence of types of wood and polymers on the sound quality of guitars, Dr. Harry Klee to discuss why commercial tomatoes have no taste in his talk about the biochemistry and genetics of flavor preferences, Dr. Mark Griep to talk about chemical conundrums in movies, Rebecca Lai to talk about elements in the Harry Potter series, and Dr. Tammy Hsu to talk about making sustainable indigo blue for the denim industry. I am incredibly excited about these talks!
On 11 March 2021, we will host Professor Jennifer Heemstra, a supramolecular chemist and a Twitter sensation. She will speak about combating impostor syndrome. Professor Heemstra enjoys a huge following on Twitter and is a regular columnist in C&E News where she discusses mentoring, mental health and wellness, and leadership.
The Younger Chemists Committees from CalACS and SVACS have joined forces to create an online trivia contest, anticipated for 4 March 2021. Stay tuned.
We are diligently working on bringing back our successful program of ‘Pop-Up Chemistry’ in collaboration with the Redwood City Library. Susan Fritts will also be creating a similar experience for the kids at the Edward Boss Prado Foundation. During 2021, we will prepare and distribute bags containing the required hands-on materials and instructions for experiments to be carried out at home, targeted for middle school students. We will follow the distribution with interactive Zoom sessions staffed by SVACS volunteers to accompany these experiments. Last year, we were thrilled with the positive feedback from the students that participated – see the write-up and photos in the article Making a Difference – SVACS Brings Science to Life through Outreach in 2020 written by Alternate Councilor Sogol Teschler in our December 2020 newsletter. We hope to replicate in 2021 the success of this wonderful Pop-Up Chemistry program in other locations willing to partner with us. Your suggestions are welcomed. Even amidst the changes the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought, we continue doing what we do best: supporting, promoting, and deploying chemistry and creativity. Looking at the bright side – video conferencing platforms have broadened the spectrum of speakers from all over the US! Join us virtually until we can once again meet safely in person.
