Students, Professor Present Papers at National ACS Meeting

LAKELAND, Fla. (April 6, 2009) — Florida Southern College's Student Affiliate chapter of the American Chemical Society received an Undergraduate Chapter Award at the ACSs national meeting March 21-26 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Several FSC students and Dr. Carmen Valdez Gauthier, chair of the Natural Sciences Division, made presentations at the meeting.

FSC's Student Affiliate chapter was among 100 chapters to receive awards at the meeting, out of 1,000 chapters in the United States and Puerto Rico. FSC received a "commendable" award for the fourth consecutive year and was recognized for the seventh consecutive year. The FSC students – Alyssa Huebner, Danielle Carr, Brittany Lindsey, Natalia Ruiz, Maleah Hinckle, Casey Platt, Alison Tamasi, and Lauryn Wolfe – presented a poster, "Florida Southern College: Community Outreach and Activities," on the chapter's continuing efforts to introduce Lakeland-area elementary and high school students to the wonders of chemistry. The chapter's faculty advisers are Dr. Gauthier and Dr. James Worden.

Also at the meeting:

1. Alison Tamasi and Lauryn Wolfe presented a paper, "Synthesis of coordination polymers using the imide ligand [N-(4-carboxyphenyl)-5-carboxypthalimide] and other novel imide ligands," at the division of inorganic chemistry symposium on Undergraduate Research at the Frontiers of Inorganic Chemistry. The work was conducted under Dr. Gauthier's direction as part of an independent study course and honors thesis.
2. Alexandra Jenkins and Alexandria Lister presented a poster, "Comparative study of defensive chemicals and warning color pigments in Jadera haematoloma and Oncopeltus fasiatus" at the Undergraduate Poster Session. The research was conducted under the direction of FSC professors Dr. Joseph Macedonia, Dr. Eric W. Kjellmark, and Dr. J. Michelle Leslie.
3. Dr. Gauthier presented a poster, "Having a Ball with Chemistry," as chair of the Volunteer Engagement and Recognition committee and a Councilor of the Florida Section of ACS.

In addition, FSC students participated in the undergraduate program by introducing speakers, assisting at the awards ceremony, and participating in the industry networking session. They also had a chance to meet with the president of the American Chemical Society, Dr. Thomas Lane, and Nobel Laureate Dr. Roald Hoffmann.