Campus hosts chemical society lecture

On the evening of Sept. 21, students from Georgia College, Mercer University, Weslyan College and Fort Valley State University gathered in the Arts & Sciences Auditorium. These students came together to listen to Nancy Jackson, president of the American Chemical Society, discuss the current state of the field of chemistry.

In addition to being the president of the American Chemical Society, Jackson also manages the International Chemical Threat Reduction Department in the Global Security Center at Sandia National Laboratories. Jackson holds many scientific distinctions, and in 2005 received the American Indian Science and Engineering Society Professional of the Year award. Jackson’s favorite part of her position is the frequency of travel. “My day job allows me to work with chemists from Morocco to Malaysia,” Jackson said.

This year is the International Year of Chemistry 2011, and Jackson’s presentation was titled “The State of Chemistry in the International Year of Chemistry.” Jackson commented on the current risks involved with careers in chemistry, stating employment as one of them.

“The unemployment rate for chemists is at its highest point,” Jackson said.
Brian McKinnon, senior chemistry major and webmaster of the GC Chemistry Club, thought the information provided during Jackson’s presentation was important for students to know.

“She brought with her several real-world issues that affect not just the scientific community, but the world as a whole. Students and other young people need to be aware of the problems we will face, and what we need to do to be a part of the solution,” McKinnon said. “I thought her presentation showed a very real side of international worries, and what we as scientists can do to help.”

Other topics of discussion included what could be done nationally, as well as internationally, in order to increase chemists’ employment rate. Jackson also spoke about investing in energy and the lack of appreciation for those in the research and development field.

Amanda Burke, junior environmental science major, attended Jackson’s presentation, and was intrigued by the information given. As a science major, she found it motivational for her future endeavors.

“It’s sad to hear that American chemistry, and all of science and technology, is slowly losing funding and jobs to overseas markets. However, Dr. Jackson provided a message of hope suggesting that increased funding and opportunities in research could help bring the U.S. out of our current economic slope,” Burke said.

The Chemistry Club is responsible for bringing Jackson to GC.

“We actually came into contact with her through the American Chemical Society. We put a bid in to get her to come to our school, along with other schools around Georgia, and our school was selected,” said Katie Fredo, junior chemistry major and vice president of the Chemistry Club. “It is a very big honor to have been selected, having beat out all the other schools that wanted her to come.”
The GC Chemistry Club has won nine national awards from the American Chemical Society and has also been recognized for the Outstanding Chapter Award on four occasions; this is the highest award that a club can receive. The Chemistry Club is also very involved on campus.

“We host a ton of social activities within the club in order to relieve the stress of our major, such as movie nights, cookouts, Relay for Life and intramurals,” Fredo said.

Besides being involved on campus, the Chemistry Club is involved planning community events. Olivia Newman, sophomore chemistry major, is a member of the Chemistry Club.

“We have fun events during National Chemistry Week every year, including a haunted trail,” Newman said. “We put on shows for middle schools, and in general try to show the community the importance of chemistry while making it fun.”

The GC Chemistry Club meets on Mondays at 1 p.m. in Herty Hall 313. The Faculty Advisor is Catrena H. Lisse. For more information contact her at catrena.lisse@gcsu.edu.