SVACS

Discovering Magnetoelasticity in Soft Matter for Bioelectronics
2025-09-25 15:00 - 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
Jun Chen, Ph.D., UCLA
Sponsored by Southern California Section ACS
3:00-4:00 pm, Online, Free, Registration required, Download flyer (PDF)

Real Time Exploration of Allosteric Communication: Experiment, MD and Low-Dimensional Modeling
2025-09-29 15:00 - 16:00 | In-person
Prof. Gerhard Stock, University of Freiburg
Sponsored by Stanford Department of Chemistry
3:00-4:00 pm, Stanford University, Sapp Center Auditorium 111, Free, Learn more

Reimagining Druggability Using Chemoproteomic Platforms
2025-09-30 15:00 - 16:00 | In-person
Prof. Dan Nomura, University of California, Berkeley
Sponsored by Stanford Department of Chemistry
3:00-4:00 pm, Stanford University, Sapp Center Lecture Hall 114, Free, Learn more

Hybrid Bronzes
2025-10-02 15:00 - 16:00 | In-person
Prof. Adam Jaffe, University of Notre Dame
Sponsored by Stanford Department of Chemistry
3:00-4:00 pm, Stanford University, Sapp Center Lecture Hall 114, Free, Learn more

Understanding, Developing, and Implementing Laboratory Safety/Safety Culture in 2 Year Institutions
2025-10-03 11:00 - 12:00 | Virtual
Sponsored by ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety Two-Year College Community of Practice, 2 Year College Chemistry Consortium(2YC3), and ACS Chemical Safety Committee
11am-Noon, Online, Free, Registration required, learn more
https://dchas.org/2yc-community/?elqE=15161&elqC=9150
https://2yc3.org/

Silicon Valley ACS Executive Committee Meeting
2025-10-06 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-11-03 19:00 - 20:30 | Hybrid
Sponsored by the Silicon Valley ACS local section
7:00-8:30 pm, Hybrid Event, Free, Guests welcome: contact Chair to attend

Mapping Heavy Metal Contamination in Chicago’s Neighborhoods
2025-10-08 10:30 - 12:30 | Virtual
Assoc. Prof. Shelby Hatch, Northwestern University
Sponsored by California Section ACS, Women Chemists Committee
10:30 am-12:30 pm, Online, Free, Registration required

Kid Makers: Pop Up Chemistry
2025-10-11 14:00 - 15:00, 2025-11-08 14:00 - 15:00 | In-person (Redwood City Public Library-Downtown Library), 1044 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA, 94063, United States
Sponsored by Silicon Valley ACS & Redwood City Public Library (RCPL)
2:00-3:00 pm, In-person for ages 8-12, RCPL Downtown Location, 1044 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, Free, Learn more

Higher Education - Presenting Yourself
2025-10-15 09:00 - 09:30 | Virtual
Sponsored by ACS Careers
9:00-10:30 am, Online, Free, Registration required

Unraveling Flavor Chemistry Sensory Experience and Food Innovation
2025-10-15 15:00 - 16:00 | Virtual
Prof. Devin G. Peterson, Ohio State University
Sponsored by Southern California ACS Section
3:00-4:00 pm, Online, Free, Registration required, Download flyer

ViridisChem: AI-Driven Tools Enabling Green Chemistry Adoption
2025-10-16 10:30 - 13:00 | Virtual
Neelam Vaidya, CEO ViridisChem
Sponsored by California ACS Section
11:30 am-1:00 pm, Online, Free, Registration required

National Chemistry Week Seminar - “Spice is Nice”
2025-10-16 15:00 - 16:00 | In-person
Prof. Richard N. Zare, Stanford University
3:00-4:00 pm, Stanford Univ., 376 Lomita Dr, Stanford, CA 94305, Sapp Center Lecture Hall (STLC 114), Free, Learn more

Harnessing Biological Redox Processes for Sensors and Diagnostics
2025-10-16 15:00 - 16:00 | Virtual
Assoc. Prof. Ariel L. Furst, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sponsored by Southern California ACS Section
3:00-4:00 pm, Online, Free, Registration required, Download Flyer

Understanding, Developing, and Implementing Laboratory Safety and Safety Culture in Two-Year Colleges
2025-10-17 11:00 - 12:00
Sponsored by the 2 Year College Chemistry Consortium (2YC3), ACS Committee on Chemical Safety, and ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety Two-Year College Lab Safety Community of Practice,
11am-Noon Pacific Time, Online, Free, Registration required

Revisiting Research Integrity and Open Science (Open Science Essentials)
2025-10-21 08:00 - 09:00 | Virtual
Sponsored by ACS Publications
8:00-9:00 am, Online, Free, Learn more and register

Health Benefits of Spices: From Traditional Use to Modern Science
2025-10-22 04:00 - 17:00 | Virtual
Prof. Zhaoping Li, University of California at Los Angeles
Sponsored by Southern California ACS Section
4:00-5:00 pm, Online, Free, Registration required, Download flyer

ChemHIST Talks: (1) A Remarkable but Little-Known American Contribution to the Invention of the Periodic Table: The work of Charles F. Chandler and Charles S. Peirce, and (2) Glue and Adhesives: A Chemical History
2025-10-22 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Sponsored by the ACS History of Chemistry Division
Noon-1:00 pm, Online, Free, Registration required

Multiscale Control of Dynamic Hydrogels for Bioinspired Applications
2025-10-22 18:00 - 19:00
Prof. Adrianne Rosales, Chemical Engineering Dept., Univ. of Texas, Austin
Sponsored by Golden Gate Polymer Forum (GGPF)
Details TBA, see https://ggpf.org/

Multiscale Control of Dynamic Hydrogels for Bioinspired Applications
2025-10-22 18:00 - 19:00 | Virtual
Prof. Adrianne Rosales, Chemical Engineering Dept., Univ. of Texas, Austin
Sponsored by Golden Gate Polymer Forum (GGPF)
6:00-7:30 pm, Online, Free/$5 Donation, Registration required by Oct. 21 at 1pm

ACS Western Regional Meeting 2026
2025-10-25 - 2025-10-28 | In-person
Sponsored by Silicon Valley ACS and California ACS Sections
In-person at Signia by Hilton San Jose, 170 S Market St, San Jose. Early Bird Registration ends September 25, 2025. Learn more

Bay Area Science Festival 2025
2025-10-25 11:00 - 16:00 | UCSF Mission Bay, 1675 Owens St, San Francisco, CA, 94158, United States
Sponsored by UCSF and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
11:00 am-4:00 pm, UCSF Mission Bay campus, Koret Quad., Free, Learn more

STEM Community Day 2025
2025-10-25 13:00 - 17:00 | In-person
Sponsored by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
1:00-5:00 pm, SLAC, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California, 94025, Free, Registration required by October 17th

What Next for Open Access? Open Science Essentials
2025-11-04 08:00 - 09:00 | Virtual

Applications of New Z-Polymers Filament and Fiber (Tullomer)
2025-11-04 17:00 - 19:00 | Virtual
Dr. Mike Zimmerman, CEO-Founder of Z-Polymers, Founder of iQLP Incubation Lab;
Professor of Practice, Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University
Sponsored by Golden Gate Polymer Forum (GGPF)
Details TBA, see https://ggpf.org/

Mini-Chemical MBA: Corporate Structures & Corporate Fundraising
2025-11-05 11:00 - 12:30 | Virtual
Sponsored by ACS Webinars and ACS Small Chemical Businesses Division
11:00 am-12:30 pm, Online, Free, Registration required

ACS Virtual Office Hours: Finding and Securing an Internship
2025-11-06 09:00 - 22:30 | Virtual

Mapping Heavy Metal Contamination in Chicago’s Neighborhoods
2025-11-08 10:30 - 12:30 | Virtual
Assoc. Prof. Shelby Hatch, Northwestern University
Sponsored by California Section ACS, Women Chemists Committee
10:30 am-12:30 pm, Online, Free, Registration required | Download flyer

Please register before Thursday, November 6, 2025, 12 noon. Your email address is needed to send the ZOOM link, which will be shared with attendees on or before the day of the event.
Questions? Please contact Elaine Yamaguchi at eyamaguchi08@gmail.com
Abstract:
For over two decades, I have partnered with undergraduate students, environmental justice organizations, Chicago Public School (CPS) teachers and their students, and faculty from various Chicago universities to study heavy metal contamination across the city of Chicago. Projects have ranged from examining contamination caused by particular industries – including the now-shuttered Crawford and Fisk coal-fired power plants – to exploring specific neighborhoods with differing demographics, to zooming in on areas where students live and go to school. Despite this, when we took a comprehensive view of our data, we realized that there were areas of the city where we had never collected even one sample. As a result, we set a goal to collect samples from all 77 community areas in Chicago to aid in answering the broad research question: to what extent is heavy metal contamination in our city correlated with socio-economic, racial, and ethnic demographics?
In this talk, I will discuss our research methods (analytical chemistry, ICP spectroscopy, and geospatial analysis), the collaborative, participatory, nature of the work, and how it is shared publicly, particularly with those most affected, through StoryMaps.
About the Speaker:
Shelby Hatch (she/her) is a scientist focused on the intersections of chemistry, sustainability, and social justice. Shelby is a Weinberg College Adviser and an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University. Her research incorporates environmental justice and Youth Participatory Science (YPS), which centers and involves students in the entire research process, from creation of a hypothesis through disseminating results once data has been collected and analyzed. Shelby’s primary research focus is on the distribution of heavy metal contamination in Chicago in relation to where low socio-economic status and communities of color are located. She enjoys teaching undergraduate chemistry courses that incorporate sustainability and environmental justice into the curriculum. Shelby is also very passionate about teaching in the Northwestern Prison Education Program (NPEP). She developed a course and compiled an open educational resource textbook for her NPEP chemistry courses and has taught several cohorts of incarcerated men and women through NPEP. Shelby developed a “Chemistry of…” series in collaboration with the Illinois Science Council (ISC) and local Chicago businesses to give adults hands-on opportunities in learning the chemistry of coffee, chocolate, and more! She received her BA from The College of Wooster and her PhD from the University of Rochester.
