Seton Hill College

ACS-SA Chemistry Club

Spring 2002

 

I.                     SERVICE

 

A.     Take the Day On:  Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

 

Four Club members joined the Sisters of Charity at Caritas Christi to make blankets for the "Honduras Blanket Project."

 

B.     Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science

 

Three club members served as judges for a PJAS practice session at St. Joseph’s High School, New Kensington.

 

Five club members served as judges at the PJAS Region 8 competition at California University of Pennsylvania. They judged the 7th to 12th grade projects.

 

C.    Women in Science Day

 

The fourteenth annual Women in Science Day was celebrated on March 27, 2002 to recognize 75 female high school juniors from 38 schools for their achievements in the disciplines of biology, chemistry and mathematics. The day consisted of a keynote address by Sandra Burin Bobick; laboratory activities conducted by Club members and Division Faculty and an awards luncheon.  

 

    

 

 

 

D.    Adopt-a-Highway

 

On April 23, 2002 six students cleaned the 2.5-mile stretch of highway, which passes through Twin Lakes Park. 

 

 

E.     Girl Scouts

 

The chemistry club engaged in a variety of teaching demonstrations and hands-on activities with local Greensburg cadets this past April 10th.  The girls enjoyed their night of experiments, snacks, and a video on women in science.

 

 

       Stephanie Reigh Performing a demonstration with Lycopodium.  Wow!               Susan Gillenberger helping Girl Scouts with the "Chemistry in a

          Zip-lock Bag" experiment.

                                                  

 

T-Shirt Chromatography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                     Girl Scouts on the T-Shirt production line

 

 

The Finished Product

 

 

 

 

 

F.     St. James School Visit

 

On April 25, 2002 thirty-five students from St. James Middle School in Wilkinsburg came to campus for a fun-filled day of science activities.  Club members and the club advisor, Sr. Susan Yochum, taught several activities including earthworm dissection, molecular modeling, and t-shirt chromatography.  Afterward, the students were provided lunch and watched a short movie regarding careers in science.

 

Students from St. James work hard at dissecting earth worms

 

 

         

                                    St. James students maneuver around the Molecular Modeling Lab                           A student from St. James doing a “light reaction!”

 

 

 

II.                   Tours

 

A.     Allegheny County Crime Lab Tour

 

On March 19th, 2002, eight club members and club advisor traveled to Pittsburgh to tour the Allegheny County Crime Lab.  The tour included the following labs: analytical, fingerprints, fire- arms, drug, and DNA.

 

III.                  Student Seminars

 

A.     Senior Christin Hanigan presented her summer research, “Bridging Science and Medicine:  Research Experience at University of Iowa.”

 

B.     Senior Jessica Conlon presented “Bayer, not just Aspirin.”  Jessica demonstrated her summer work in rigid foams with actual chemicals producing ‘fun’ foam.

 

C.    Senior Demetra Chengelis gave a seminar on her internship at Carnegie Mellon University, Research Center for the Materials of the Artists and Conservators.

 

D.    Kristen Ventrice presented “Vinyl, It’s Still in Fashion.”  [Internship at Omnova in Jeanette]

 

E.     Juniors Tracey Harshberger and Sara Hileman presented a seminar on their experience at the Pittsburgh Conference in New Orleans.

 

IV.               Professional Seminars

 

A.     Seton Hill alumna Ja’Nean Ceidro presented her research conducted at the University of Pittsburgh on gene therapy and Downs Syndrome.

 

B.     Physics instructor, Doug Koebler, discussed his work at the biotechnology company, Automated Cell.

 

C.    Dr. Christopher Chengelis presented a seminar on the field of toxicology.

 

V.                 Technical Meetings

 

A.     The Pittsburgh Conference (PittCon) – New Orleans, LA

 

Juniors Tracey Harshberger and Sara Hileman traveled to New Orleans to serve as student aides at the annual Pittsburgh Conference sponsored by the SACP and SSP.

 

B.     American Chemical Society National Meeting – Orlando, FL: Four senior chemistry majors attended the American Chemical Society National Meeting in Orlando, April 6-9.  Christin Hanigan, biochemistry and math major, Club President Demetra Chengelis, chemistry and art history major, Public Relations Officer Jessica Conlon, chemistry major Kimberly Hart, chemistry major Each student presented a poster at the Undergraduate Research Poster Session. The seniors also attended the ACS Student Affiliates Award Ceremony where they received the Outstanding Chapter Award for 2000-01. This is the 8th consecutive year that the club has earned this award. The SHC Club is ranked among the top 24 in the nation. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the Student Affiliates Undergraduate Program at the ACS National Meeting. As part of the celebration, Seton Hill was invited to present a historical poster at the anniversary reception. The Club was also invited to present a poster at the National Chemistry Week workshop.

 

 

      

      

Photos: Top left, Christin Hanigan; top right, Demetra Chengelis;

Bottom left, Jessica Conlon; Bottom right, Kimberly Hart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chemistry club members receive the Outstanding Chapter Award for the 8th consecutive year.

 

 

        (left)  Poster presentation on the history of Seton Hill College's ACS Student Affiliates Chapter  (right)  Poster presentation at the   

        Successful Student  Affiliates Chapters Poster Session at the Sci-Mix.

 

C.    ACS Student Affiliates "Meeting in Miniature" at Duquesne University

 

On April 20th, five students traveled to Duquesne University in Pittsburgh for an ACS meeting in miniature.  Seniors Christin Hanigan and Kimberly Hart presented their summer experiences, while club officers Sara Hileman, Tracey Harshberger, and Susan Gillenberger, presented the club poster.  Events at the meeting included a mini-graduate school fair, and a plenary speaker on "Alternate Forms of Energy."

 

Club officers Chris Gillenberger, Sara Hileman, and Tracy Harshberger proudly present the club poster.

 

VI.               Chemistry Club Spring Picnic

 

Chemistry Club members showed their flexibility in planning when the spring picnic was "rained-out."  Instead of the planned trip to Twin Lakes Park, members relaxed in the Chemistry Reading Room and enjoyed classic "picnic" dishes indoors.  The senior chapter members were recognized, and the officers for the year 2002-2003 were announced.

 

 

VII.              Summer 2002 Interns

 

Congratulations to the Chapter Members who will be working as interns this summer:

 

Sara Hileman (Junior) will be interning at CWM Environmental in Kittanning, PA.

 

Susan Gillenberger (Sophomore) will be involved in pharmacological research at Case Western Reserve University’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program.

 

VIII.            Congratulations to the following graduating senior chemistry club members. 

 

A.     Demetra Chengelis will be attending the Ph.D. Chemistry Program at the University of Pittsburgh.

 

B.     Jessica Conlon will be working at Carpenter Corporation in Richmond, VA as a flexible foams chemist.

 

C.  Christin Hanigan received a Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award  

      (IRTA) Fellowship at the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute,

      Bethesda, MD, in the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis.

 

D. Kimberly Hart will be attending the Ph.D. Analytical Chemistry Program at Miami 

     University.

 

Good luck in all your future endeavors!