The Virginia Section of the ACS invites allVirginia two-year and four-year schools to join us for a forum / information session about establishing Laboratory Safety Teams (LSTs) at these institutions on Friday, October 18, from 4:30-6:00 PM EST. In partnership with the ACS Office of Safety Programs, the Virginia Section of the ACS will be facilitating this hybrid session at the J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, VA.

LSTs are communities of graduate students and postdoctoral associates that promote a bottom-up approach to safety cultures, empowering members to propose solutions to safety-related issues.

The purpose of our session will be to further acquaint faculty and students with the concept of LSTs and explore how to initiate such student-led communities at their own institutions using the available mechanisms of support. Strengthening student understanding of safety culture and informing them of supportive networks as early in their educational career as possible can only help them to be better scientists in the future!

We hope you can join us to learn more about the LST grassroots movement and how your institution can get involved! Please RSVP and/or address all inquiries about this session to me, Joe Crockett, at jcrocketchem@gmail.com.

This year Marks the 18th year the TVHS-ACS has celebrated Earth Day with the Girl Scouts.

Volunteers are being sought to perform a variety of scientific demonstrations highlighting the chemistry of batteries, e.g. making batteries from Cu/Zn cells, lighting an LED with a battery made from fruit, learning to send morse code with an LED powered by a button battery and copper ribbon plus more. Stations will be set up for hands on demos with groups of Scouts rotating through the various demos. The Scouts range in age from 5 to 13. Materials will be supplied, and volunteers will be trained as necessary.

The event will be held at the ETSU Geosciences Building (Ross Hall) on Saturday, April 20, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM. Volunteers are requested to arrive at 12:00 PM to be trained and help with set up and stay until around 5:00 PM to help clean up.

If interested in volunteering, or for more information, please contact Deborah Wilkinson, TVHS-ACS Chemists Celebrating Earth Week Coordinator by April 1, 2024. For more information and Deborah’s contact information see this flyer.

Please join us in for a seminar given by Dr. Karan Arora, Research Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University on February 22, 2024 at 7:00 PM (Dinner and Social at 6:00 PM). The event will be held in Conference Room 219 at the Toy F. Reid Employee Center in Kingsport (400 S Wilcox Dr, Kingsport, TN 37660).

Abstract

Cancer is one of the most fatal diseases which is becoming a major widespread health issue, affecting a large amount of the population every year. It is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., only behind heart disease. Tremendous progress has been made over the last two decades in cancer treatment and improving the overall survival and quality of life of cancer patients. To enhance the efficacy and minimize the off-target toxicity. I synthesized an arsenal of prodrugs that takes advantage of the different tumor microenvironments in comparison to healthy tissues, to release the active drug selectively in malignant tumor areas and kill them effectively with minimum to no effect on normal cells. The use of local stimuli such as elevated protease levels, lower pH, light, heat, and hypoxic nature is being explored to achieve spatial and temporal control for drug delivery. Incorporating these pro-drugs with stimuli-cleavable linkers enhances their efficacy by increasing their water solubility for systemic administration, improving their circulation half-life, and allowing for selective release of the active drug only at tumor sites.

Other Details

Dinner and social will start at 6:00 PM, catered by Pratts BBQ. The cost of the meal is $15/person (free for students) payable by cash or check (made out to “TVHS-ACS”). You must RSVP to Dane Scott (scottdw@etsu.edu) before the event to ensure adequate catering. There is no cost to attend the presentation only.

The menu will consist of Coke, iced tea, pulled pork sandwiches, vegetable lasagna, chips and queso, and season fruit.

Find more information in the attached flyer.

Please join us on Thursday, October 19th at 5:30 PM EST as Dr. Catherine E. McCusker discusses, “Capturing Sunlight with Earth-Abundant Materials”. Catherine E. McCusker is the 2023 Distinguished Member Awardee.

Abstract

Solar photocatalysis offers a mechanism to harness the sun’s energy and store it in chemical bonds, creating new fuels. While there are many known fuel-forming catalysts based on first-row transition metals, there are few examples of earth-abundant photosensitizers. Metal complexes of dipyrromethene (dipyrrin) ligands have potential as sensitizers for photocatalysis. These ligands possess the intense visible absorption properties of the related porphyrins, while being more synthetically accessible. First row transition metal complexes of dipyrrin ligands are known, but the photophysical properties of these complexes are generally unexplored. In zinc dipyrrin complexes the tetrahedral geometry allows for interligand charge transfer, forming a charge separated (CS) state. In polar environments the CS state is stabilized and quenches the S 1 fluorescence. It is theorized that the CS state also enhances the intersystem crossing (ISC) to the long lived T 1 state. This presentation will quantify the triplet extinction coefficient and quantum yield for a series of zinc dipyrrin complexes in both polar and non-polar solvents to determine if increased CS state formation (as determined by fluorescence quenching) does lead to increased triplet state formation. The complexes have also been used to sensitize carbon dioxide reduction using an iron based carbon dioxide catalyst.

Seminar Information

The TVHS-ACS 2023 Distinguished Member Seminar will be held via Zoom on Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 5:30 PM EDT. Please use the following link to access the seminar: https://american-chemical-society.zoom.com/j/84621841652

A summary of governance issues and actions from the ACS Fall 2023 Meeting in San Francisco, CA can be found here.

TVHS-ACS would like to extend an invitation to this year’s Science Cafe & Presentation by Ramani Narayan on Wednesday, August 9th, 2023 @ 6:00 PM EST at the Langston Centre in Johnson City (315 Elm St, Johnson City, TN 3601). Networking with TVHS-ACS members will begin at 6:00 PM, with a presentation and Q&A by Dr. Ramani Narayan beginning at 6:30 PM. Dinner will follow at 7:30 PM.

Presenter Bio

Ramani Narayan is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. He is an internationally acclaimed thought leader and expert in bioplastics, focusing on the manufacture of biobased and compostable plastics. His research encompasses design and manufacture of biofiber composites for auto and industrial applications. He is involved with measurements and reporting of biobased carbon and environmental footprint using LCA tools. He received an M.S. degree in organic chemistry (1969) and a Ph.D. in polymer science and engineering (1975) from Bombay University in India. He is a fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Inventors and the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM). He serves as the scientific chair of the Biodegradable Products Institute, North America. He served on the board of ASTM International and was founding chair of the committee on Environmentally Degradable Plastics and Biobased Products. He is the USA technical expert to ISO (International Standards Organization) TC 61 on Plastics; convener of SC 14 WG (working group) 3 on biobased plastics; convener of working group 7 of ISO TC 120 SC 4 on Packaging and the Environment. Narayan is an advisor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) BioPreferred Program on Standards and serves on the ASTM Technical Advisory Committee on USDA programs for labeling of biobased products. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on biobased plastics and is technical advisor to the WWF BioPlastic Feedstock Alliance. He received the ASTM Award of Merit, the highest award given by the society to an individual member and was the first recipient of the William N. Findley Award from ASTM for significant contributions to the application of new technologies. His other honors include the James Hammer Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award, State of Michigan – Governor’s University Award for Commercialization Excellence, and Michigan Green Chemistry Governor’s award. His awards from MSU include a University Distinguished Faculty Award and a Withrow Distinguished Scholar Award. He received the Fulbright Distinguished Lectureship Chair in Science & Technology Management & Commercialization (University of Lisbon, Portugal). He has more than 200 refereed publications, 30 issued patents, and graduated 20 Ph.D.’s and 25 master’s degree students.

Event information

The cost for the meal (vegetarian and non-vegetarian options available) is $10/person for section members and general attendees and the meal is free of cost for current students. Payments can be made by cash or check (made payable to “TVHS-ACS”). Payment will be collected at the event. There is no cost for attending only the talk.

Please RSVP by noon on Thursday, July 31, 2023 at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BCJ32HD.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. George Painter, Executive Director of the Emory Institute for Drug Development at Emory University, Atlanta, GA, who will be presenting a talk on “Small Molecule COVID Antivirals: New Game Changing Treatments for COVID-19”. This seminar will discuss the discovery and development of two successful COVID-19 orally available treatments, molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir. Dr. Painter will also talk about how students and young polymer chemists can get involved in the exciting field of pharmacological research.

Presenter Bio

George Painter, Ph.D., is the George R. Painter III distinguished professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at Emory University School of Medicine, CEO of Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory (DRIVE), and Executive Director of the Emory Institute for Drug Development where most recently he led the discovery and development of molnupiravir. Dr. Painter has decades of experience in the discovery and development of pharmaceutical agents for the biotechnology and global pharmaceutical sectors. Over the last 30 years, he has played a major role in the discovery, development, and implementation of modern antiviral therapy. Before coming to Emory in 2012, Dr. Painter cofounded and led the biotechnology company Chimerix, Inc. During his tenure there, he led the development of the drug Tembexa, which is in the Strategic National Stockpile for the treatment of smallpox in the event of a bioterrorist attack. Before Chimerix, he was a founding member of the management team of Triangle, Inc., where he led the development of the now widely used HIV drug, Emtriva. Prior to entering the biotech sector, Dr. Painter held senior management positions in large pharmaceutical companies including Burroughs Wellcome Co and what is now GlaxoSmithKline, where he led the discovery, development and commercialization of antiviral agents to treat HIV and Hepatitis B. He holds more than 250 patents, many of which have led to approved, commercially available drugs or combinations of drugs for the treatment of HIV, Hepatitis B, smallpox and coronavirus infections. He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed papers. Dr. Painter earned his BS in Chemistry, MS in Physical Organic Chemistry, and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at Emory. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology. He has received the Gertrude B Elion Lifetime Achievement Award in Antiviral Research from the International Society for Antiviral Research and is a member of the National Academy of Inventors.

Seminar Information

Seminar will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, May 10th, 2023, at 6:00 PM EDT. Please use the following link to access the seminar: https://american-chemical-society.zoom.com/j/88642831169

A summary of governance issues and actions from the ACS Spring 2023 Meeting in Indianapolis, IN can be found here.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Davide Simone, a senior research chemist at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in Dayton, OH, who will be presenting a talk on “High Performance Multifunctional Materials for Air Force Applications”. This seminar will highlight how the nation’s defense depends on the state-of-the-art materials chemistry to create protective equipment and weaponized vehicles that leverage strong polymers and polymer composites to protect our service men and women. Dr. Simone will also talk about how students and young polymer chemists can get involved in this exciting field of research.

Presenter Bio

Dr. Davide L. Simone received his B.S in Chemistry from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (now NYU) with Professor Yoshi Okamoto in 1995 and his Ph.D. in organic/polymer chemistry in 2002 at MIT with Professor Timothy Swager. He spent 17 years at GE Global Research before joining the Air Force Research Lab in 2019. His current research includes chiral high performance resin development, autonomous reaction optimization/material discovery and molecular stress/strain sensing.

Seminar Information

Seminar will be held via Zoom on Thursday, March 23rd, 2023, at 6:00 PM EDT. Please use the following link to access the seminar: https://american-chemical-society.zoom.com/j/87173340217