2017 Volunteer of the Year: Mako Masuno
In the Sacramento Local Section, Mako has been the person responsible for running all aspects of the local and national U.S. Chemistry Olympiad for the last six years. Under his guidance, participation has grown each year due to the relationships he has built with the students and high school teachers and the very tasty liquid nitrogen ice cream he makes after the exams!
Jonathan Alspach: 50 Year Member of ACS
Congratulations to Dr. Jonathan Alspach, a 50 year member of the American Chemical Society. Dr. Alspach is a native of New York City, where he attended the Bronx High School of Science. He received a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Fairleigh Dickinson University, a master’s in Organic Chemistry from M.I.T., where he worked on the synthesis of the peptide antibiotic Bacitracin A, and a doctorate in Biochemistry from U.C. Davis,...
Two ACS Fellows from Sacramento Section for 2017
The American Chemical Society announced its 2017 ACS Fellows in the June 19th issue of CHemical and Engineering News. We were pleased to see two Sacramento Section members receive this honor: Dean Tantillo Contribution to the science/profession: Recognized for applying the tools of theoretical chemistry to solve important mechanistic and structural problems in the areas of chemical biology, natural products biosynthesis, and organic...
2017 Chemistry Olympiad a Huge Success!
By Mako Masuno The National Chemistry Olympiad was held, 4/22/2017 at Sacramento City College. A special thanks to the supporting parents, administrators and teachers, and a special thanks to Varnell Crankfield, who each year, tirelessly supports the lab portion of the exam. Please congratulate Fouab Alameddine (Folsom), Anish Adoni (Folsom), Zach Bergevin (Davis), Pranav Kodali (Mira Loma), James Yoon (Oak Ridge), Ethan Liu (Tracy),...
ACS Sacramento Section Special Awards at Regional STEM Fair
By Cindy Castronovo Although Sacramento Section ACS members have participated as judges for many years at the Regional Science Fairs, this year our section offered cash prizes for three projects which demonstrated exemplary use of the scientific method in a subject relating to chemistry. Here are the winners! First Place ($75) – Vishalakshi Arun – “Comparative Analysis of Current Sunscreens to Develop a More Efficient...
68th Annual ACS-BBQ at University of the Pacific
By Andy Franz On April 22, 2017, the Department of Chemistry at the University of the Pacific held its 68th Annual ACS-BBQ for approximately 110 alumni and friends in attendance. The Sacramento Section of the ACS generously supported the event, which featured Nirmal Saini, chief of the Center for Analytical Chemistry at the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). His talk was titled “The Role Science Plays at the CDFA”....
Travel Award Winners
SACACS is happy to announce the winners of our most recent travel awards: Jamieson Thom, an undergraduate from Sacramento City College, Benjamin Wigman, an undergraduate student from UC Davis, and Sven Hackbusch, a graduate student from University of the Pacific. The awards were presented at the ACS National Meeting in San Francisco, where each winner presented their research.
James Hill Wins Chemistry High School Teacher Award
The Sacramento Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) is pleased to announce that James Hill has won the Janan Hayes High School Teacher Award (HSTA) for 2017. Mr. Hill wins a $500 cash prize and $500 for classroom supplies. Additionally, he will be honored at the Sacramento Section’s awards ceremony on September 30th, 2017 that is part of the section’s “Flavors of Chemistry” event. Mr. Hill currently teaches Honors Chemistry...
ACS Sacramento Section Button Design Contest
The ACS Sacramento section is excited to announce our second Button Design Contest! This competition is open to all members of the ACS Sacramento Section. The winning design will become the official button for the ACS Sacramento Section and win $100. All designs must be emailed to cmsaunders@ucdavis.edu with the subject line “ACS Button Design” by 5:00pm on June 1st. Please also include a description of the image or the story behind...
2017 Student Travel Award Winners
Congratulations to our 2017 Student Travel Award Winners! Each will make a presentation at the ACS Spring National Meeting. Awards will be presented at the Sacramento Section Social Tuesday 5-7pm. Sven Hackbusch, CARB 52: Application of newly developed Karplus equations for C(sp2)-O-C-H dihedral angles to the conformational analysis of ester linked carbohydrate derivatives Jamieson Thom, CHED 839: Homemade antacid tablets for the...
Largest Ever Sacramento High School Chemistry Olympiad!
Sacramento City College hosted the Local High School Chemistry Olympiad on March 11, 2017. It had its largest showing ever again this year with 75 students! Students participated from the following schools: High School # Students Sheldon High School 40 Folsom High School 8 Mira Loma High School 8 Laguna Creek High School 5 Tracy High School 3 Davis Senior High School 6 Rio Linda High School 3 Oak Ridge High School 2 The top two...
2017 Janan Hayes High School Teacher Applications Due March 31st
The American Chemical Society (ACS) Sacramento Section (map) is proud to announce the Second Annual award for high school teachers in our section, named for a Jan Hayes, a councilor, educator and ACS Fellow with over 40 years of involvement with the Sacramento Section. The 2017 Janan Hayes High School Teacher Award will be $500 in cash and $500 for chemistry supplies. Our Sacramento Section winner will then be nominated to enter any...
Student Travel Grant to the ACS National Meeting in San Francisco
The Sacramento Section of the American Chemical Society is pleased to announce the third year of a travel grant to support undergraduate and graduate students presenting their work at national and regional meetings. Last year’s winners presented their work at the ACS Western Regional Meeting. Award Information: Two awards will be given in the amount of $250 each (one to a graduate student and one to an undergraduate). These awards are...
High School Chemistry Olympiad
Organized by Mako Masuno of MicroMidas, Inc. and hosted by Sacramento City College (SCC), the Sacramento Section is proud to announce the 2017 United States National Chemistry Olympiad Local Exam will take place on March 11th at SCC. Last year’s Olympiad was the largest one ever for the Sacramento Section and we hope to keep growing! Please let Mako know as soon as you can if you, your child, or your students are interested in...
Three Student Chapters Win Awards in Sacramento Section
Congratulations to the ACS Chartered Chemistry Clubs at Sacramento State, UC Davis, and Sacramento City College (SCC)! Both Sacramento State and UC Davis received “Commendable” awards for the 2015-2016 academic year. SCC received an Honorable Mention and was also recognized for being a “Green Chemistry Student Chapter”. A full list of winning chapters is available here. For the 2015-2016 academic year, there...
Flavors of Chemistry 2016 Brings Together ACS Local Sections
The 2016 Flavors of Chemistry: Wine and Cheese event brought together members of three local ACS sections to learn about and taste wine and cheese. District VI Director Paul David Jagodzinski gave introductory comments to open the event. Several members of the Sacramento section were also honored, including Steve Hummel, the inaugural winner of the Jan Hayes High School Teacher Award. Dr. Moshe Rosenberg, Professor and Specialist,...
$250 Student Chapter Grant Program
ACS Sacramento Section is announcing a new grant opportunity. Student chapters within the section may apply for up to $250 to engage in outreach to K-12 schools. Contact Bill Miller for more information.
2017 Janan Hayes High School Teacher Award
The American Chemical Society (ACS) Sacramento Section (map) is proud to announce the Second Annual award for high school teachers in our section, named for a Jan Hayes, a councilor, educator and ACS Fellow with over 40 years of involvement with the Sacramento Section. The 2017 Janan Hayes High School Teacher Award will be $500 in cash and $500 for chemistry supplies. Our Sacramento Section winner will then be nominated to enter any...
Flavors of Chemistry 2016 Photo Gallery
A variety of pictures of the Flavors of Chemistry event on October 1st at the ARC Ballroom on the UC Davis campus. All pictures were taken by Dan Gruber.
Back by Popular Demand: Flavors of Chemistry
Flavors of Chemistry: The Chemistry of Wine and Cheese including wine and cheese tastings October 1, 2016 2-6pm Activities and Recreation Center UC Davis Campus Tickets on Sale Now! This is a popular event so get your tickets soon! We are pleased to announce the return of a very popular event from last year: our Flavors of Chemistry event. Professor Moshe Rosenberg, Professor and Specialist in Dairy Engineering and Technology in the...