5:30 p.m. Meet and Greet

6:00 p.m.     Dinner

7:00 p.m.     Lecture -Dr. Gary Small, University of Iowa. "Environmental Remote Sensing by Passive Infrared Spectroscopy"

ExCom Meeting immediately after the presentation


Reservations: RSVP to Lynn Lewis at llewis@abtech.edu by Tuesday, March 16th. Please include the names and affiliations of each person attending. We always welcome attendance (without charge) at the presentations even if you are unable to come for the dinner!

The detection of airborne chemicals is a key capability in a variety of environmental monitoring scenarios. For these applications, passive infrared remote sensors collect infrared emissions from natural and manmade sources such as the radiant emission from the earth or emissions from the stacks of a chemical plant. Chemical compounds absorb or emit infrared energy at characteristic wavelengths, and the profile of these absorption or emission signatures can be used to identify a chemical and to estimate the amount present. Passive infrared remote sensors can be implemented in either imaging or non-imaging configurations and can be constructed to acquire infrared emission data in either multispectral or hyperspectral modes. Implementing these measurements successfully requires the construction of rugged and portable instruments capable of being mounted on platforms such as moving aircraft or ground vehicles. In addition, sophisticated computer processing techniques must be designed to allow the automated analysis of the large quantities of data acquired by these sensors. The research presented describes the development of novel signal processing and pattern recognition methodology for application to multispectral imaging data and to non-imaging data acquired with a hyperspectral instrument. Remote sensing data were collected with these instruments mounted on an aircraft platform as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?s ASPECT emergency response program. Remote measurements collected during several field responses will be used to evaluate the data analysis methodology and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the imaging and non-imaging remote sensing approaches.

The Western Carolinas Section of the American Chemical Society will hold its annual Outstanding Seniors Award dinner on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 in the Townes Science Center on the Furman University Campus. We request that you identify your institution's Outstanding Senior Chemistry Major and fill out the linked information form below. This form should be returned by Monday, March 21. The form may be returned by Email or by regular post to the address shown below. Each Outstanding Senior will receive a certificate and a gift from the Section.

The awardees are encouraged to present a poster highlighting important aspects of their undergraduate experience. Often this takes the form of a research poster, but it may highlight any aspects of the student's activities. Each student will be allotted a 4' x 6' board. Pushpins will be provided. In addition to the outstanding senior, up to four other students from your institution may also display posters. These might be students who have won some other award or who have distinguished themselves in some way or simply students that deserve attention by the Section membership. These students need not be seniors. All presenters (including the award winners) should complete the attached abstract form for the program booklet. Only the awardee needs to complete the biographical form.

All students who present a poster and/or receive the Outstanding Senior award will have their dinner paid for by the Section. You are strongly encouraged to bring other students as well to join in the celebration. These students will be able to eat at the reduced meeting rate indicated in the Periodic News, approximately ½ the normal rate.

The evening's activities will include an informal meal, followed by a one and a half-hour poster session, where attendees will have a chance to look over the posters and to talk with the students. Following this, there will be a very brief awards ceremony to honor the Outstanding Seniors as well as high school students who turned in an outstanding performance in the Chemistry Olympiad. The Chair of the Western Carolinas section will introduce each student, and will present him or her with a certificate and a recognition gift.

We thank you for your participation in this important event.

Sincerely,

Laura Wright
Acting Awards Chair, Western Carolinas Section of the ACS
Department of Chemistry
Furman University
Greenville, SC 29613
864-294-3375
Laura.Wright@Furman.edu

WCACS Member:

In Summer 2010 the WCACS executive committee formed an ad-hoc committee to review and amend our section?s By-laws. The first goal was to update language to reflect the change in student membership status from ?student affiliate? to ?student member?. The second goal was to re-word By-law 4, section 8 to allow our section to utilize electronic voting. Electronic voting will save our section time, money and paper.

The ad-hoc committee brought the proposed amendments to the WCACS Executive Committee. After reviewing the proposal, the Executive Committee submitted proposed amendments to the Constitution & Bylaws committee (C&B) of the ACS for review. After reviewing the recommendations of C&B, the Executive committee voted to accept the proposed amendments and bring amended By-laws to the section for a vote.

We now need your voice. On the front page of our website (www.wcacs.net) you will find a copy of the current By-Laws and the proposed changes to the By-Laws. Please take time to review these recommended changes. Once you have reviewed the changes, please vote to either accept or deny the changes.

You will receive a ballot in the mail with the Spring WCACS Newsletter. A yes vote on the ballot indicates you accept the recommended changes to the By-Laws. Once you have voted, the ballot should be sealed in an unmarked envelope. This envelope should then be placed in a second envelope. Please write the word ?BALLOT?, then sign and print your name on the back of the envelope. When completed, mail the ballot to WCACS Secretary Alice Claggett at:


Alice Claggett
193 Briarcreek Drive
Spartanburg, SC 29301

Ballots must be received by April 12th. You may hand-deliver your ballot at the April 12th Awards Dinner.

Thank you for your service to the section and your community,

Sid Parrish
Immediate Past Chair

The national organization of ACS has asked our section to make revisions to our bylaws, which are available on the section website (http://www.wcacs.net/Business/Bylaws.html). The majority of the changes involve one of two major issues. First, ACS has recently created "Student Membership" to replace "Associate Membership" for students who participate in the society. Second, voting procedures have been revised to allow electronic voting, in addition to traditional paper ballots.

Links are provided here to our current and proposed bylaws.

Click here to view the section's current by-laws.

Click here to view the section's proposed by-laws.

Pittcon 2011 is the world's annual premier Conference and Exposition on laboratory science. Pittcon is the one place you can evaluate and compare products from nearly 1,000 exhibitors from around the world, network with thousands of the world's leading scientific minds and enhance your professional development by attending a Technical Session or Short Course.

Dr. David Butcher - Chair 2011, david.butcher@analytchem.org.
Blaine Childress - Chair-Elect 2012
Sid Parrish - Past Chair 2010
Alice Claggett - Secretary 2010
Julia Brumaghim – Treasurer 2010
Lucy Pryde Eubanks - Councilor 2009-11.
Dr. George Heard – Councilor 2011-2013
Dr. John Kaup - Alternate Councilor 2011-13.
Dr. Laura Wright - Alternate Councilor 2001, Awards Chair.

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Several of you requested a copy of Dr. Wagener's presentation from our July 2010 meeting. Dr. Wagener has graciously agreed and provided his presentation in .pdf format. Please click the link below to save it to your computer.

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Our Webmaster, Dwayne Grassie, would welcome your "press releases" about activities that you believe would be of interest to our section. As he says so eloquently on our web site, "without active members reporting the activities of the section to me there would be no web site because there would be nothing to report." Dwayne can be reached at: MAG-IT@charter.net