Chemistry Club receives honorable mention award

October 29, 2007

Chemistry is an important part of life. It happens in plants, animals, humans, relationships and even in student organizations. The Chemistry Club is the student chapter of the American Chemical Society dedicated to promoting chemistry and community interaction. Recently the club received the honorable mention award from the American Chemical Society.

First started in 1992, the Chemistry Club has come a long way, said faculty advisor and Associate Professor of Chemistry Hephzibah Kumpaty.

"When the club started, there were only about four or five members," she said. "The chapter was considered inactive, but now with more than 15 members we can do a lot to promote chemistry."

To be considered active, a chapter has to follow certain guidelines set by the ACS such as fundraising, community interaction and school involvement. To fulfill these requirements, the club did numerous activities in the 2006-07 school year.

One thing the chapter did was visit local schools and give chemistry demonstrations. Schools like North Prairie, Elkhorn, Madison and Fort Atkinson were a few the club visited. These demonstrations are used to promote chemistry and get students involved at a young age, Kumpaty said. The club also tutors UW-Whitewater students who need help in Chemistry.

The chapter also did its own fundraising with its annual soap sale, where chemistry students make soap and sell it, plus T-shirt and bake sales.

The biggest thing the chapter did during the year was host the annual Undergraduate American Chemical Society Great Lakes Regional Meeting in June 2006. Members placed advertisements in chemistry magazines and e-mailed all the chemical societies in the Midwest.

"This was a huge amount of work," Kumpaty said. "I put the members in charge and they did a lot."

After a long year of hard work, the Chemistry Club was recognized with the honorable mention award and a list of the winners will be published in "Chemical & Engineering News" and "In Chemistry" magazines. The chapter will also be honored at the 235th ACS National Meeting in New Orleans in April 2008.

"I am so proud of what our club has accomplished over the years," said former club president Emily Hall. "This award is only the beginning of what our chapter can accomplish in the future. We worked very hard, and I am happy that we are one of the few groups that was honored."

For more information about the Chemistry Club and all that it does, contact Hephzibah Kumpaty at 262-472-1097 or visit the club's Web site at http://stdorgs.uww.edu/chemclub.