Voting Period: October 25 to November 14, 2022
SVACS members received an emailed notification to cast their votes online. To help you be more informed when casting your ballot, a sample ballot is shown below. After the sample ballot, candidate statements and biographies are also shown.
Student members may vote and sign petitions, but they may not run for office. Affiliate members may not participate in the election.
How to petition to be on the ballot:
Prior to October 15, 2022 any member or affiliate of the Section may, in writing or from the floor at a meeting to conduct governance business, nominate additional candidates for office, provided that the candidates are members of the Section, and the nomination is seconded by another member or affiliate. Nominations shall be equally valid as those from the Nomination Committee. All candidates nominated shall have indicated willingness to serve if elected. Written petitions can be sent to the Chair of the Nominations Committee, Natalie McClure, nmcclure@drugregulatoryaffairs.com. You may also contact Natalie with questions.
A petition must include the following: name of the proposed candidate, the proposed position, and the name and ACS membership numbers for both the candidate and the person who is seconding the nomination. All petitions must be submitted by October 14, 2022, to the SVACS Secretary.
Sample Ballot
Chair-Elect (3-year commitment, will be Chair-elect 2023, Chair in 2024, and Immediate Past Chair in 2025) VOTE for ONE (1)
- Todd Eberspacher
- Write-in
Secretary (2-year term)
- Megan Tichy
- Write-in
Councilor (2 open positions for 3-year terms. Vote for two (2)
- Madalyn Radlauer
- Ihab Darwish
- Write-in
Alternate Councilor (3 open positions: the three candidates with the most votes will fill the 3-year terms. Vote for three (3)
- Amanda Nelson
- Kristin Schmidt
- Laura Yeager
- Tim Erdmann
- Write-in
Biographies
Chair-Elect
Todd Eberspacher, PhD
Candidate Statement
The Silicon Valley Local Section of the ACS is among the largest and most active sections within the organization. The local section offers many ways to be involved including dinner meetings, outreach events, and governance. I have been asked to serve as Chair and look forward to returning to the leadership of the local section as we return to a more active and in-person group. The local section has many opportunities to participate and has a very active outreach program to deliver STEM opportunities to the community. I would like to see greater participation from Academia and Industry in the local section activities and will continue to promote the ACS by serving as needed.
Biography
I am the Facilities, EHS, and Infrastructure Manager for the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University. I have a PhD in Organic and Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Nebraska. I have had multiple positions at Stanford ranging from Lecturer to Research Staff, and department Management.
Secretary
Megan Tichy, PhD
Candidate Statement
I’ve been a member of ACS for 20 years. After earning my Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from Texas A&M University in 2004, I went directly into teaching as a Lecturer in Organic Chemistry at A&M. While in College Station, TX, I volunteered in several outreach events such as the Science Olympiad and Regional Science & Engineering Fair, and served as Moderator at a few Science Bowls. I moved to Silicon Valley in 2009, and I’ve been teaching General and Organic Chemistry at Santa Clara University ever since. Currently, I serve as Coordinator of the General Chemistry Laboratory Program at SCU. I have three children, and serve as Secretary of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and Chair of Science Fair at their local elementary school. I’m hoping to gain valuable leadership experience, learn how I can make a difference in my chemistry community, and gain a bird’s-eye-view of the activities that go on in Silicon Valley-ACS.
Biography
Megan Tichy is a Senior Instructor and Coordinator of the General Chemistry Laboratory program at Santa Clara University. She has a PhD in Biological Chemistry from Texas A&M University and a BS in Chemistry from State University of New York.
Councilor
Madalyn Radlauer, PhD
Candidate Statement
Joining the leadership of the Silicon Valley ACS Section has been a great way for me to be connected to the local chemistry community. I have especially enjoyed opportunities to partner with various Bay Area groups, like the Cal ACS Local Section and the SJSU chemistry and chemical engineering clubs, to put on engaging events including trivia, networking, and escape room activities. I am proud of my involvement in developing our strategic plan and in piloting Paving the Path, a peer mentoring program aimed at supporting future transfer students. I look forward to continuing to serve the local ACS and to be a representative of our section at both the national ACS level as well as in our community.
Biography
Hello ACS Silicon Valley! In August of 2017, I joined the faculty of the San Jose State University Chemistry Department as an Assistant Professor. Originally from New Orleans, LA, I first came to the Bay Area for my undergraduate studies in Chemistry at Stanford University where I worked in the laboratory of Prof. Robert Waymouth. During my doctoral studies at Caltech with Prof. Theodor Agapie, I synthesized bimetallic polymerization catalysts and studied mechanism and the effects of proximity. After finishing my PhD in 2014, I moved to Minneapolis, MN (yes, it was cold) and completed a 3-year postdoctoral position with Prof. Marc Hillmyer at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities where I was a Dreyfus Environmental Chemistry Fellow. During these three years, in addition to research about polymeric materials, I was the co-lead for the Women in Science and Engineering Initiative. Back in the Bay Area I work at SJSU where I teach inorganic, polymer, and analytical chemistry and lead a group of undergraduates and Master’s students working to catalyze challenging reactions relevant to human health and fuel production using a combination of organometallic and inorganic catalysts and polymeric frameworks. In 2018 and 2019 I served as an Alternate Councilor and since 2020 I have served as a Councilor with the Silicon Valley ACS Local Section. I have been active in a number of committees: Younger Chemists, Nominations, Strategic Planning, Communications, and Paving the Path. I have also served as an associate member of the national Women Chemists Committee since 2021.
Ihab Darwish, PhD
Candidate Statement
I am honored and pleased to have been nominated to serve as a Councilor and hopeful you will provide me with the opportunity to continue to serve as Treasurer of the Silicon Valley Section. I joined the American Chemical Society early on in my career and have enjoyed many benefits the Society has to offer. As Treasurer, I will continue to ensure our Local Section has the funds to carry out the Section’s stated goals and objectives. If elected, I will continue to support existing programs and explore new policies that would enhance our Section’s efficiency and help navigate the Section through economic cycles. As Councilor, I would advocate for ACS to become more vibrant and relevant to persuade younger generations to join ACS and enjoy membership benefits. I promise to listen to members to identify what’s working well and what we could be doing better to shape the future of ACS. I am pleased with my record of service and hope you will elect me. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Biography
Ihab S. Darwish received his BS degree in chemistry from SUNY/Old Westbury and his MS and PhD degrees in Organic Chemistry from Princeton University. After a two-year postdoctoral appointment with Professor Marvin J. Miller, he joined Seattle-based Pathogenesis, a startup focusing on chronic infectious diseases. Shortly thereafter, he joined Darwin Molecular/Chiroscience/Celltech where he developed chemical libraries focusing on autoimmune diseases. In 2002, Dr. Darwish moved to the Bay Area and joined Rigel Pharmaceuticals where he worked as a medicinal chemist focusing on the development of novel, small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of viral diseases, metabolic disorders, immuno-oncology as well as oncology. In August 2021, Dr. Darwish joined Nuvation Bio, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutic candidates tackling unmet needs in oncology. Dr. Darwish joined the Silicon Valley Section upon moving to the Bay Area and accepted an appointment as an Alternate Councilor in August of 2005. In 2006 and again in 2009, he was elected to three-year terms as an Alternate Councilor and was appointed Treasurer of the Silicon Valley Section in June of 2009. In 2010, Dr. Darwish was elected as the Section Treasurer and has served in that capacity since then.
Alternate Councilor
Amanda Nelson, PhD
Candidate Statement
What distinguishes the American Chemical Society as a professional organization today? Most respondents would say it is the leading source of scientific information through its peer-reviewed scientific journals, national conferences, and the Chemical Abstract Service. Many would point out its growing influence in science education, research, advocacy, and outreach. Others would name the unique grants program for students and dedicated support of the industrial enterprise. The ACS unites diverse constituencies in the advancement of chemistry both as a science and as a profession. It also looks to enlarge its membership and develop its leadership, especially the local levels, to meet the challenges of our times. The Silicon Valley Region can serve as a model for developing strategic partnerships in diverse settings.
It has been my privilege to serve as the Chapter Advisor for the chemistry fraternity, Alpha Chi Sigma, at Stanford University. Over the past three years, I have implemented strategic planning to keep the organization thriving throughout the remote years of the pandemic and to grow its following. Not only did this organization come out of the remote years stronger than before, but we also used that momentum to grow our population by 200% and set new goals to expand our influence. As we look towards the future, supporting the integration of undergraduates with their department and faculty, building a community of science exchange and excellence, and spreading our enthusiasm for the chemical sciences through outreach initiatives in the community are just a few examples of our broader goals. It is my hope to offer my experience and growing skills to the regional leadership of ACS.
I would like for the Silicon Valley Regional board to be known for the accomplishments that we identified together. These may include, for example, increasing local membership, hosting scholars or events, developing white papers, creating new alliances with industry, promoting collaborations which involve students and teachers, expanding current programs, or taking a closer look at prominent issues like this area’s cultural influence on the scientific enterprise. The list is suggestive but underscores my drive to focus on achieving results. It would be my great honor to take these next steps with you.
Biography
Amanda Nelson is the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Librarian for Stanford University. Amanda has a PhD from Virginia Tech University. Amanda was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and worked at The Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany as a Research Assistant to Dr. Todd Marder, exploring the development of copper-catalyzed transformations of organoboron compounds. She investigated the application of these methods using B-boryl ketones and esters substrates.
Kristin Schmidt, PhD
Candidate Statement
I am a polymer chemist and work at IBM Research where I lead a group of chemists, computer scientists and software developer to develops AI tools to help scientists to discover faster. Our focus is on the Expert-AI Interaction and to find way how to enable human experts to co-create with AI as a peer. As a side role at IBM Research, I am the vice-chair of our physical science council, and our goal is to promote exploratory physical science research at IBM with objectives that are 10 years out or more. I am also the mom of two amazing children and through raising them and realizing the different opportunities kids have in our society, I got passionate about early STEM education for all children, no matter of race, gender, or socio-economic status. Over the years, I volunteered at different schools to offer science demonstrations and lately, through ACS, got involved in providing science projects through the Redwood City library program. Last year, I received the YWCA emergent leader award partly due to my contribution to early STEM education. I would like to serve as an alternate councilor for the ACS Silicon Valley section to bring more awareness to early STEM education in order to raise a diverse group of kids to become our next generation scientists.
Therefore, I ask for your vote and support as alternate councilor for the 2020-2023 term.
Biography
Kristin Schmidt has a PhD from University of Bayreuth, Bavaria Germany. She then did a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Santa Barbara conducting morphological studies of organic solar cells and light emitting diodes using X-ray scattering, diffraction and spectroscopy. Kristin has worked for BASF, SLAC and is now a Research Scientist at IBM.
Laura Yeager, PhD
Candidate Statement
Joining the leadership team as Alternate Councilor will allow me to help further a cause I strongly believe in: a viable, relevant, local ACS Section that supports its members and acts as a place to network, share, inspire each other while educating the public around chemistry and chemists. As past secretary for the SVACS section, I understand it takes committed volunteers who roll up their sleeves, engage, and donate their time and effort to keep a local scientific section alive and relevant. I would love the opportunity to be one of those volunteers and serve as a representative of ACS.
Biography
I have a BS in Chemistry from Cal Poly Pomona and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from UCLA. I have over 20 years of experience as an Industrial Chemist/Material Scientist working across multiple industries from Chemical Manufacturing (Polymers, Films, Adhesives) to Aerospace (Satellites, Airplanes, Droves, etc.), to Consumer Electronics. In my various industrial roles, I have enjoyed conducting deep-dives into the fundamental understanding of various polymeric materials, with the goals of solving materials-related issues and resolving complex production problems. I am currently applying my expertise in the areas of FTIR and Molecular Spectroscopy to problems encountered in the High-Tech industry, bringing the latest spectroscopic techniques and material analysis know-how to Apple. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time raising my three teenagers and bargaining with my two cats. I also dabble in fitness, hiking, cooking, time with friends, and drinking coffee…..lots of coffee.
Tim Erdmann, PhD
Candidate Statement
By volunteering in local ACS outreach activities this year, such as the Bay Area Pasifika STEM Fair 2022 – PIEFEST or the Sciencepalooza! at SJSU, I could support the local community and students, and could spread the excitement for chemistry in public that we all share within the ACS. In the future, I am looking forward to the opportunity to increasing my contribution within the ACS as alternate councilor and to shaping and organizing programs as well as outreach activities in a way to reflect the current exciting and very promising development of combining chemistry with AI/ML to accelerate how we perform research.
Biography
After finishing my PhD at the Technische Universität Dresden in Germany in 2017, I joined IBM Research as a PostDoc on a fellowship by the Humboldt foundation. In my 5 years at IBM, I transitioned from a full-time synthetic chemist to a chemist and software developer due to discovering my passion for coding and the obvious benefits by applying programming, robotics and AI/ML to materials research.
