SVACS

National Chemistry Week Seminar - “Spice is Nice”
2025-10-16 15:00 - 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | 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
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

Silicon Valley ACS Executive Committee Meeting
2025-11-03 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-12-01 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-12-01 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-01-05 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

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
Sponsored by ACS Careers
9:00-10:30 am, Online, Free, Registration required

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.

Kid Makers: Pop Up Chemistry
2025-11-08 14:00 - 15:00, 2025-11-13 14:00 - 15:00
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

Strategies for Visually Accessible Science Communication
2025-11-13 11:00 - 12:00 | Virtual
Sponsored by ACS Webinars and ACS Office of Inclusion and Belonging
11:00 am-Noon, Online, Free, Registration required

Citations That Save Lives: The Power of Publishing Safety Research
2025-11-20 11:00 - 12:15 | Virtual
Sponsored by ACS Webinars and ACS Publications
11:00 am-12:15 pm, Online, Free, Registration required

2YC CHAS Chat: You are Now in Charge of Safety, Now What?
2025-11-20 13:00 - 14:00 | Virtual
Sponsored by the ACS Chemical Health & Safety Division
1:00-2:00 pm, Online, Free, Registration required

Catalytic Adventures in an X-ray Playground
2025-11-20 19:00 - 20:00 | In-person
Adam Hoffman, Staff Scientist, SSRL
Sponsored by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
7:00-8:00 pm, In-person, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Kavli Auditorium, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, Free, Registration required

New Therapies for a World Without HIV
2025-12-01 10:00 - 11:15 | Virtual
Sponsored by ACS Webinars, Science History Institute, and ACS Publications
10:00 am-11:15 am, Online, Free, Registration required

Kid Makers: Pop Up Chemistry
2025-12-13 14:00 - 15:00
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
Young scientists explore different aspects of chemistry! Once a month, join members of the ACS and take part in hands on experiments. For ages 8-12. This program will take place in the Makerspace.

Pacifichem 2025 - The International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies
2025-12-15 - 2025-12-20 | In-person
Honolulu, Hawaii, In-person, Learn more
The 2025 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies will be held 15-20 December 2025. Pacifichem 2025 will be the ninth in the series of successful cosponsored scientific conferences of Pacific Basin Chemical Societies. Founded in 1984, these conferences have been held in Honolulu, Hawaii about every five years.

Making the Most of Your Interview: Outshine the Competition (ACS Career Pathways Virtual Workshop)
2025-12-17 09:00 - 10:30 | Virtual
Sponsored by ACS Careers
9:00-10:30 AM, Free, Online, Registration required

This virtual live, 90-minute workshop prepares participants to take on different question types often encountered in interviews. Participants will practice answering these types of questions as well as formulating your own questions for your interviewer.
After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

Identify and answer behavioral-based interview questions
Anticipate and answer difficult interview questions
Prepare insightful questions to ask

The first hour of the workshop will feature a presentation by an ACS Career Consultant, while the last 30 minutes will be a dedicated Q&A session between participants and the facilitator.
