ACS New York Section

LONG ISLAND SUBSECTION

2008 Annual Report

The Long Island subsection held monthly meetings and seminars in the spring and fall, plus its annual Chemistry Challenge and annual Long Island ACS High School Awards.  The meetings were held at various locations on Long Island.

February 7, 2008
Monthly meeting and seminar
Location: Hofstra University
Speaker: Dr. Andy Lichtman, Nassau County Department of Health
Topic: Trace Analysis of Environmental Toxins
62 attendees

March 6, 2008
Monthly meeting and seminar
Location: St. John’s University
Speaker: Dr. Sandra Reznik, St. John’s University
Topic: The Role of Endothelien I in Preterm Labor and its Inhibition by Novel 1,3,6-Trisubstituted 4-Quinolone ETA
44 attendees

April 3, 2008
Monthly meeting and seminar
Location: Queensborough Community College
Speaker: Dr. Jun Shin, Queensborough Community College, CUNY
Topic: The Ansa-Effect in Permethylmetallocene Chemistry
45 attendees

April 10, 2008           LI-ACS Chemistry Challenge
Location: Queensborough Community College
General/organic chemistry “quiz show” contest between colleges in the LI area. There were 6 teams from QCC, 3 teams from NCC, and 1 team from Hofstra University. Each team is composed of three students. The winning team was from Hofstra University; 2nd and 3rd place went to two QCC teams. All participants received Barnes and Noble gift cards through a sponsorship arranged by Eugene Brown of NCC: $25 gift cards to each 1st place winner and $15 gift cards to all others.
Approximately 45 attendees
...... ..... ...


May 17-21, 2008       Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting of the ACS
Location: Queensborough Community College, Bayside, NY
Most of the LIACS Executive Board was heavily involved in this regional meeting, either serving on the Executive Committee or organizing technical symposia. The annual Sterrett Symposium was cancelled this year, but the Environmental Chemistry symposium at MARM was held in honor of Francis Sterrett.



June 2, 2008             High School Student Awards
Location: OSI Pharmaceuticals, Farmingdale, NY
 
Chemistry teachers from area high schools nominate outstanding chemistry students who receive personalized certificates of achievement. OSI sponsors the event with a donation of $2500 to the LI-ACS, and they also provide a conference room, a buffet dinner and dessert, and a tour of the facilities. The guest speaker this year was Dr. Cleveland Dodge from Brookhaven National Laboratory. The title of his seminar was “Green Chemistry: A Challenge for the Future”. 85 students were nominated following a mass mailing. 54 of the nominees indicated they would attend the event. However, only 17 students actually attended and received their plaques. (The rest of the plaques were mailed to the nominees, at the expense of the subsection. The best way to handle this in the future is under discussion.) Most students brought one or two guests and a few high school teachers attended, so overall attendance was fine. Ralph Stephani was instrumental in securing support from OSI Pharmaceuticals in 2007 and 2008.



September 11, 2008
Monthly meeting and seminar
Location: Hofstra University
Speaker: Dr. Tanaji Talele, St. Johns University
Topic: Design & Synthesis of Novel Antifungal Compounds
61 attendees

October 2, 2008
Monthly meeting and seminar
Location: Hofstra University
Speaker: Dr. Luis Avila, Columbia University
Topic: Constructing Chemical Thinking.  A Constructive Approach to Teaching Laboratory Courses
68 attendees

November 6, 2008
Monthly meeting and seminar
Location: Hofstra University
Speaker: Dr. Abhijit Mitra, College of Mount Saint Vincent
Topic: Fingerprinting Molecules by NMR Spectroscopy
55 attendees

December 4, 2008        Holiday Party
Monthly meeting and seminar, board elections, and holiday party
Location: Nassau Community College
Speaker: Dr. Anthony Carpi, John Jay College, CUNY
Topic: Did Goldilocks kill the 3 bears? The use of forensic science in investigating environmental crimes
Number of attendees TBD, ~80 expected
In addition to the guest speaker, there will be a buffet dinner and dessert, plus some prizes will be raffled.
Postcards sent to the Long Island Subsection membership showing the monthly seminars
for the Fall and the Spring






2008 EXECUTIVE BOARD

Chair
David M. Sarno
Department of Chemistry
Queensborough Community College
222-05 56th Ave
Bayside, NY 11364
718-631-6058
dsarno@qcc.cuny.edu

Chair-Elect
Jun Shin
Department of Chemistry
Queensborough Community College
222-05 56th Ave
Bayside, NY 11364
718-631-6255
jshin@qcc.cuny.edu

Chair-Past
Eugene Brown
Department of Chemistry
Nassau Community College
One Education Drive
Garden City, NY 11530
516-572-7966
eugene.brown@ncc.edu

Secretary
Joe Landesberg
Department of Chemistry
Adelphi University
1 South Ave.
Garden City, NY 11530
LANDESBE@adelphi.edu

Treasurer
Phil Mark
Department of Chemistry
Nassau Community College
One Education Drive
Garden City, NY 11530
516-572-7580
Philip.Mark@ncc.edu

Directors-at-Large

Ralph Stephani
St. John's University
Department of Chemistry
8000 Utopia Parkway
Jamaica, NY 11439-0001
718-990-5215
stephanr@stjohns.edu

Paris Svoronos
Department of Chemistry
Queensborough Community College
222-05 56th Ave
Bayside, NY 11364
718-631-6280
psvoronos@qcc.cuny.edu

Soraya Svoronos
Department of Chemistry
Queensborough Community College
222-05 56th Ave
Bayside, NY 11364
718-631-6280
ssvoronos@gmail.com

Luis Vargas
Department of Chemistry
Queensborough Community College
222-05 56th Ave
Bayside, NY 11364
718-631-6939
lvargas@qcc.cuny.edu

Respectfully prepared and submitted,
David Sarno
December 1, 2008