South Central Missouri Section of the American Chemical Society

Constance Wyrick awarded 2007 High School Teacher Award

Ms. Constance Wyrick, of Tuscumbia High School in Tuscumbia, MO, was awarded the 2007 South Central Missouri - Outstanding Chemistry Teacher Award. The award consisted of a plaque and an honorarium of $300. The award is sponsored by the South Central Missouri Local Section of the American Chemistry Society (ACS). The award was presented to Ms. Wyrick on Tuesday, March 18, 2008, at 4:30 p.m. in Room G-3 Schrenk Hall at the University of Missouri-Rolla. A lecture, open to the public, by Sara J. Risch of Michigan State University, entitled: Flavor Chemistry, followed the award ceremony. Picture: Ms. Wyrick (c) with C. Chusuei (l) and F. Blum (r).

Ms. Wyrick is in her 32nd year of teaching students and has been named the National Intel Outstanding Research Teacher of the year. She has also served as an instructor at Lincoln University in the gifted program, the Missouri Scholars Academy, and the Missouri Department of Education.

Doug Kempler, Principal of her high school states "Mrs. Wyrick's dedication towards student learning is second to none. She genuinely cares for all students and does the extra things that good teachers need to do. She is a large part of our community and her dedication is greatly appreciated."

Paul Nam, Chemistry faculty member at Missouri S&T wrote "Mrs. Wyrick is a very dedicated science teacher who is making outstanding contribution to the scientific education of her students."

Former recipients of this award include: Bill Brent (Rolla), John Hambacker (Salem), Bill Nelson (Potosi), James Jenkins (St. James), Karen Hammond (Rolla), Gayle Lucian (Rolla), Peggy Brown (Newberg), Pam Probert (Mansfield).

50 Year Members Honored

At the meeting on April 23, 2007, two 50 year ACS members, Dr. Charles Heitsch and Mr. Les Weinert were honored for their service to the Scoiety.

Charles (Chuck) Heitsch received a BS and PHD degree from the University of Michigan working with Robert Parry. He then joined the faculty at Iowa State University, and later moved to duPont (Wilmington, DE) and Monsanto (St. Louis). In 1986, he moved to the University of Missouri-Rolla (mst) as Assistant Department Chair. During this time he served as Chair of the South-Central Missouri Local Section and the 1997 Midwest ACS meeting. Chuck retired to maintain his apple orchard in Bourbon MO. Picture: F. Blum (l) and Charles Heitsch (r).

Mr. Lester A. Wienert received his bachelor degree in Chemistry at Iowa State University in 1952 and was then employed at Swifton Company in Tennessee. He joined the ACS in 1959. He then left Swifton to join Beckman Laboratories and worked in this company for 21 years. He left Beckman Labs to start Wienert Manufacturing Company which he still runs to this day. In 1998, he had sold the operation. In 2008, he started a new venture called "Grab Em Paints" in Louisburg, MO. Mr. Wienert has also co-taught the polymer short courses for a number of years at Missouri S&T alongside with Drs. Jim Stoffer, Michael Van de Mark and Harvest L. Collier. His area of specialty is in anticorrosive and antimicrobial additives in coatings. For his continued passion and dedication in Chemistry, the South Central Missouri Local Section is pleased to present Mr. Lester A. Wienert with his Certificate of Recognition of 50 years of service to the American Chemical Society. Picture: Les Wienert (l) and C. Chusuei (r).

• The W. T. Schrenk Society, the ACS Student Affiliate group.
• Neighboring ACS Local Sections:
  • The St. Louis Section.
  • The University of Missouri Section (Columbia).
  • Ozark Section (Springfield)
• The University of Missouri-Rolla Chemistry Department Home Page.
• ChemCenter (ACS)
• ACS's CEN-ChemJobs      
• ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry, Inc. WWW Site at U.M.R. - Meeting Announcements, informational files.
• UCLA Chem Server Lots of listings of university chemistry departments.
• Maimi University's Center for Chemical Education.

• Mon, Feb 2, 2009, 4:30 PM, G-25 Schrenk Hall
  Title: "Untangling the Origins of Complex Phase Behavior in Amorphous Macromolecules: Dynamics and Thermodynamics in Polyolefin Blends "
  Speaker: Jeffrey White
  Oklahoma State U
  
  

  Saturated hydrocarbon polymers, e.g. polyolefins, represent a limit in structural simplicity for macromolecules and therefore define an important boundary for understanding macromolecular thermodynamics. From an economic perspective, polyolefins are arguably the most valuable of all macromolecules. The ability to predict, and in some cases, even define, intimate chain mixing and miscibility in polyolefins became an important goal during the late 1990's with the advent of metallocene polymerization catalysis. In this seminar, recent results from advanced magnetic resonance experiments that clarify long-standing questions about polymer miscibility will be discussed. Specifically, direct experimental inspection of individual polymer chains in the solid (bulk) state before and after formation of miscible versus immiscible polyolefin blends indicates that configurational entropy is the operative thermodynamic driving force for miscibility in the few miscible polyolefin blend systems identified to date. Our group first proposed this mechanism several years ago, in contrast to the conventional enthalpic models previously espoused. Key experimental developments that facilitated direct chain inspection will be detailed, as well as implications for predicting miscible polyolefin pairs in future new materials. The connections between macromolecular dynamics and thermodynamics derived from our experimental results are relevant to many current discussions in the literature involving miscible blend dynamics (e.g., the Lodge-McLeish model).

• Tuesday, Feb 10, 2009, 4:30 PM, 104 Hum. Soc. Sci.
  Title: "CHOCOLATE - FOOD OF THE GODS"
  Speaker: Howard and Sally Peters
  retired
  
  Chocolate has been a part of New World culture for thousands of years. This talk includes: 1. Some high points of the history of chocolate and its production from the Mayan, Olmec and Aztec cultures up to the present; 2. Aspects of the processing of the cocoa bean & pod, fermenting, drying, roasting, conching, tempering, blending and finishing; 3. Some chemistry, biochemistry, and biology of chocolate and the active ingredient theobroma cocoa (literally from the Greek - Food of the Gods); 4. Some health aspects (flavanoids, polyphenols & other anti-oxidants) that this exotic food is good for you; 5. A discussion about aspects of the "dark side" of chocolate; and 6. A few circulating legends (& trivial connections) about chocolate. For attendees who stay to the "bitter" end, there will be a free drawing for a 10 pound bar of Guittard "bittersweet" chocolate. You must be present to win. For more information, see http://www.howard-peters.com (home page and some old slides in PPT on the second page under the Presentations bar) and http://scvacs.org/newsletter/news0806hi.pdf p.2-3)
  
  Bios
  Howard Peters - is a 1962 graduate of Geneva College , Beaver Falls PA (& hometown of Joe Namath). He earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Stanford University in 1967 under the late Dr. Harry S. Mosher. After 12 years in industry first with The Dow Chemical Co. in Midland MI and then SRI International in Menlo Park, CA in high explosives research, he received his Juris Doctor in law from Santa Clara U. in 1978. He was first a chemical patent attorney with SYNTEX (The Pill and ALEVE) and then was in private patent law practice for 12 years with Phillips Moore Lempio & Finley LLP of San Francisco and Palo Alto. He was a cofounder of the boutique patent law firm, now Peters Verny LLP of Palo Alto, in 1996 and retired from active practice in 2007. He is a 46 year member of the ACS and has 30 years of service on the ACS Council (of 500). He was a co-founder of the ACS Division of Chemistry and the Law in 1983 (now celebrating its 25 th anniversary). He received the 2007 ACS Henry Hill Award for advancing chemistry as a profession. From 2005-7, Howard served as a member of the ACS Board of Directors and was the unsuccessful candidate for ACS President-elect in 2007. In April 2008, he received the annual Geneva College Life G Award to recognize community service and public outreach. He is the author of the ACS reference book, Understanding Chemical Patents, 2nd, 1991 and is currently working of the next update.
  
  Sally Peters - is a graduate in chemistry of Geneva College (1964). She did work in tobacco mosaic virus research at Stanford under Dr. Hubert Loring (the chemist who first crystallized the polio virus) and then worked briefly in the Swain Chemistry Library at S tanford. In 1983 she earned a Masters degree in Library Science at San Jose State U. She has been a chemical information specialist at PARC, INC (formerly XEROX PARC) in Palo Alto CA for 25 years. She served as the 2001 Chair of the ACS Santa Clara Valley Local Section and has served as a member of the ACS Council for 15 years. Sally received the Geneva College Outstanding Alumni Service Award (1997) and the ACS - SCV Section's Ottenberg Award in 2001. She has organized the high school level ACS -United Nations Chemistry Olympiad competition in the Silicon Valley since 2001.
  
  This Peters family includes Theresa, a 20+ year high school biology teacher in Pasadena CA and Elizabeth, a biotech business type with Gilead of Foster City CA. Their two grand daughters, Kayleigh & Megan, have over 125 years of ACS membership in their grand parents. The other grandfather Dr. Raj Bhatt is a retired biochemist from Abbott Labs in Illinois and is a 50+ year member of ACS.

Press Releases and Other Information for the Local Section

• The 2007 South Central Missouri Local Section, Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher Award made to Constance Wyrick of the Tuscumbia High School. (4/08)
• Dr. Charles and Mr. Les Wienert honored for their 50 years of membership in the ACS. (4/08)
• Dr. Orrin Crosser and Dr. Raymond Venable honored for their 50 years of membership in the ACS. (5/06)
• The 2005 South Central Missouri Local Section, Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher Award made to Pamela Probert of the Mansfield High School. (11/05)
• The 2003 South Central Missouri Local Section, Outstanding High School Teacher Award made to Peggy Brown of the Rolla High School. (11/03)
• Dr. H. O. McDonald honored for 50 year membership in ACS, 9/03.
• The 2001 South Central Missouri Local Section, Outstanding High School Teacher Award made to Karen Hammond of the Rolla High School. (11/01)
• Jim Stoffer and Terry Bone awarded a Certificate of Merit for their report of polymerization in microemulsions..
• Gail Lucian awarded the Outstanding High School Teaching Award for 1998.
• James Jenkins awarded the Outstanding High School Teaching Award for 1997.
• John F. Roland honored for 50 year membership in ACS, 4/96.

• Chair: Dr. Jyoti Malhotra, Brewer Science, jmalhotra@brewerscience.com
• Chair Elect: Dr. Jeffrey Winiarz, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-6733. winiarzj@mst.edu
• Treasurer: Dr. Klaus Woelk, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-4432. woelkk@mst.edu
• Secretary: Emma Schmittzehe, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573)-426-6065, emma@mst.edu
• Councilor: Dr. Frank Blum, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-4451, fblum@mst.edu
• Alternate Councilor: Dr. Thomas Schuman, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-6236, tschuman@mst.edu

Councilor's Reports from recent ACS Board Meetings.

• 2008: Dr. Charles Chusuei, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, 341-4537, chusuei@mst.edu
• 2007: Dr. Paul Nam, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, 341-4538, nam@mst.edu
• 2006: Dr. Klaus Woelk, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-4432. woelkk@mst.edu
• 2005: Dr. Xie Shao, Brewer Science, Rolla, MO, (573) 364-0300 x 1242, xshao@brewerscience.com
• 2004: Dr. Prakash Reddy, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-4768, preddy@mst.edu
• 2003: Dr. Yinfa Ma, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-6220, yinfa@mst.edu .
  
• 2002: Dr. Thomas Schuman, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-6236, tschuman@mst.edu.
  
• 2001: Dr. Chariklia Sotiriou-Leventis, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-4353, cslevent@mst.edu.
  
• 2000: Dr. Grant Merrill, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T./Dr. Chariklia Sotiriou-Leventis, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-4353, cslevent@mst.edu.
  
• 1999: Dr. Nuran Ercal, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-6950, nercal@mst.edu.
  
• 1998: Dr. Nicolas Leventis, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-4391, leventis@mst.edu.
  
• 1997: Dr. Shubhender Kapila, CChemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-6187, kapilas@mst.edu.
  
• 1996: Dr. Michael R. Van De Mark, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-4882, mvandema@mst.edu.
  
• 1995: Dr. Nicholas Morosoff, Chemical Engineering, Chemical Eng. Department, Missouri S&T.
  
• 1994: Dr. Phillip D. Whitefield, Chemistry, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T.
  
• 1993: Dr. Patricia M. Callahan, Chemistry, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T.
  
• : Charles Heitsch, Chemistry Department, Missouri S&T, (573) 341-4436, cheitsch@mst.edu.

Archived Local Section Information

• The Newsletter for 2001-2 is available as a .pfd file. Watch out, it is 6.2 MB. (1/03)
• Past lecture series listings

Last updated - Thursday, October 1, 2009- fdb