The student chapter of American Chemical Society has been chosen to receive an honorable mention award from the national organization.
The group will be honored at the 225th ACS National Meeting in New Orleans on March 23 and will be featured in Chemical & Engineering News and in Chemistry, the official ACS newsmagazine and Student Affiliates publication, respectively.
Every year, approximately 950 student chapters submit a report of activities to ACS. Lafayette is one of only 71 schools to receive an honorable mention.
”Professor William Miles, faculty adviser of the chapter, deserves special commendation,” says Eli Pearce, president of American Chemical Society. ”Few faculty members are willing to make the great commitment of time and energy that a successful chapter requires of its adviser. Professor Miles’ efforts certainly represent the best in undergraduate science education and mentoring around the country.”
This year’s plans are not set, but Miles reports that ACS members will head to March Elementary School in Easton to help students learn about and gain an appreciation of science during National Chemistry Week. They will do demonstrations with liquid nitrogen and teach lessons on scientific phenomena during their visit.
Besides holding monthly meetings and conducting events during National Chemistry Week, Lafayette’s chapter of ACS sponsors appearances by outside speakers and hosts talks by Lafayette chemistry faculty and students on research projects.
The September/October 2001 issue of In Chemistry, The Magazine for ACS Student Affiliates, cites the role of Lafayette in founding the first student chapter of the American Chemistry Society and provides a profile of the current Lafayette group in a separate article.
Established in 1876, ACS is a professional organization of 161,000 members dedicated to the pre-professional development of undergraduate students in the chemical sciences. Student Affiliates was founded in 1937 and has an enrollment of more than 7,500. The program offers members the support, privileges, and benefits of the largest scientific professional society in the world.