The Santa Clara Valley
Section of the American Chemical Society (SCVACS) has posted its
monthly
newsletter, "The Silicon Valley Chemist", on the local section website. The newsletter and Section’s website
are the primary communication links between members of the Section and
its affiliates. The newsletters from 1999 to present are available on
the site in .pdf format making the letters available for the general
public as well section members. This was the twenty-ninth year of the
publication for the section’s letter.
Last year we changed from
expensive printings and mailings (tens
of thousands of dollars per year) of paper newsletters to all of our approximately 3600 members
to reliance on the posted copies on our website. We bulk e-mail members
who have opted-in to our system (they can easily opt out if they wish)
notices of the
availability of the latest issue, and a conspicuous link to
it now appears on our home page. We
still mail paper copies to those members who write in and ask for them,
at no cost to the member. The advantages of this system are (1) greatly
reduced printing and mailing costs, allowing us to reallocate our
resources to other programs and (2) color graphics, high resolution
photos and larger type for items such as our ChemPloyment Abstracts
(job listings).
The newsletter typically provides information about the upcoming monthly speakers and dinner meetings, as well as abstracts of the presentations and the speakers’ biographical sketches. The letter also includes news items of interest to the membership.
A calendar of upcoming ACS meetings is printed in each issue. The calendar serves to remind the readers of the dates and topics for the current dinner seminars and also alerts the readers to other chemistry related events that are happening in the area as well as events that are held by ACS nationally. Additionally, the Chair’s Message is a featured portion of the letter encouraging members to become involved in section and national activities and providing updated status reports regarding SCVACS Executive Committee deliberations and decisions. The ChemPloyment Abstract Bulletin also appears in every issue of the Silicon Valley Chemist. The ChemPloyment Abstracts have a standard format in which employers, who pay a small fee for the ad, can provide information about the latest chemistry related job opportunities at their companies. ChemPloyment Abstracts have proven to be a valuable source of employment information for members and chemists seeking employment in our five-county area. Each issue also contains important contact information. The names of the Section officers, councilors and alternate councilors are listed as well as their telephone numbers and e-mail addresses making the Executive Committee accessible to all members. The contact information for the ChemPloyment Abstracts Director and Newsletter Editor are also featured.
Some of the
highlights featured in the 2007 issues include an article for recent
ACS Presidential candidate Howard Peters urging ACS members to become
involved in science fairs; an article introducing our members to
ChemInsight; a front-page story, including a photo, or our Chemistry
Olympiad finalist, Vikram Nathan; the announcement of the October
dinner meeting with speaker Helen Free, a former ACS President and an
article in our December article by one of our members titled, "How I
Became a Chemist" (this will be the first of a series).
Cinzia Muzzi
Editor, Silicon Valley Chemist