American Chemical Society Student Affiliates Chapter Selected to Receive Outstanding Award

The American Chemical Society (ACS) Student Affiliates chapter at the University of HawaiŌi at Manoa has been selected by the Society to receive an Outstanding award for its chapter activities conducted during the 2000-2001 academic year.

ACS, one of the largest scientific professional societies in the world, offers preprofessional development opportunities for undergraduate students in the chemical sciences through its Student Affiliates (SA) program. There are over 900 SA chapters at colleges and universities in the United States and Puerto Rico. Every chapter is required to submit an annual report of its activities, and based on the review of these reports, chapters are selected by the Society Committee on Education for recognition as Outstanding, Commendable, or Honorable Mention chapters.

"The Student Affiliates group last year did a lot of exciting things both for the University and the community," said Professor David Harwell, advisor of the UH Manoa ACS Student Affiliates chapter. "They helped each other, the University, and the general community, and for this they were honored with an Outstanding designation."

The UH Manoa chapter is one of 24 chapters to receive the Outstanding designation. As a result, the chapter will receive a note of accomplishment in Chemical & Engineering News, the SocietyÕs official national newsmagazine, and in in Chemistry, the Student Affiliates magazine. The chapter will also be recognized at the 223rd ACS National Meeting in Orlando, Fla., on April 7, 2002.

Last year, the chapter organized numerous educational outreach activities, including a training session for K-12 teachers during the HawaiŌi State Teachers Association meeting in October entitled "Chemistry in the Classroom." Teachers were shown how to do several chemistry-related demonstrations in an interactive forum. Chapter members also went to several elementary schools and Summer Fun programs to perform chemistry demonstrations for children including making "slime," testing "how bad is your breath," and making "sour warts." Through these demonstrations, children learned about basic chemical and physical concepts such as reaction dynamics, chemical bonding, and acid/base neutralizations.

The chapter also hosted a murder mystery game called CheMystery. The event required teams to de-tangle a murderous plot using their sleuthing skills and scientific evidence. Teams came from six different high schools, UH Manoa, KapiŌolani Community College and HawaiŌi Pacific University, as well as the general community.

Chapter members also offered support to each other and the University through social activities and chemistry tutoring. Professional development activities included industrial speakers and field trips.

The American Chemical Society was founded in 1876 and is a self-governed individual membership organization that consists of more than 163,000 members at all degree levels and in all fields of chemistry. The organization provides a broad range of opportunities for peer interaction and career development, regardless of professional or scientific interests. The Student Affiliates program supports students and their faculty and local section members to promote professional development, mentoring, and peer-support mechanisms for undergraduates majoring in the chemical sciences.