Chemistry Club

Meetings

Regular Fall & Spring semesters

Students of all majors are welcome to meetings and events.

When

Alternate Fridays @ 12 noon

Where

Room 220 of Fox Science Building 1 

MAP

Chemistry Club in the News

Chemistry Club coordinates symposium on space and environmental chemistry

Students and faculty participants of Midland College’s Cloudcroft Symposium, Lincoln National Forrest, New Mexico.

This past spring, the Midland College (MC) Chemistry Club, under the direction of MC Chemistry professors Dr. Thomas Ready and Dr. Patchemalle Kesavan, organized its first symposium on space and environmental chemistry in Cloudcroft, NM.

During the days, students and faculty spent time at New Mexico State University’s Sunspot Solar Observatory, the Museum of Space History and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.  They also collected soil samples to analyze nitrate and phosphate contents from various locations in the Lincoln National Forrest.  In the evenings, participants gathered for lectures presented by professors from Midland College, the University of Texas El Paso, the University of Texas McDonald Observatory and the University of Texas Permian Basin. Lecture topics focused on human physiology during space travel, phases of water and ice planets, and the role of environmental chemistry in developing sustainable energy sources, just to name a few. 

“The symposium enriched my knowledge in various ways,” Paula Garcia, student in MC’s Primary Care Pathways Program, said.  “I learned many things about the universe and realized the major importance of scientific research in any field.  In many of the presentations, I observed how scientific research helped to develop new critical knowledge that has helped scientists with important projects such as studying the sun and galaxies.”

The symposium was funded through an American Chemical Society engagement grant and the generosity of an anonymous donor.

Three MC Chemistry Club students presented at national meeting

Midland College (MC) Chemistry Club students and advisors attended the recent American Chemical Society (ACS) spring 2023 meeting in Indianapolis, IN, March 26-30.  During the meeting, MC students Lily Arbuckle and Zak Alvarado presented on successful outreach activities of the MC Chemistry Club chapter.  

MC student Maria Gonzalez presented her research on silver nanoparticle synthesis using green tea.  Gonzalez is conducting this research with mentor Dr. Pat Kesavan, MC Chemistry professor, in the hopes of finding ways to deliver chemotherapy directly into tumor sites.  

In addition to the presentations, the MC delegation attended the plenary session entitled “Chemistry at the Crossroads:  The Development of Asymmetric Organocatalysis and Metallaphotoredox” presented by Dr. David MacMillan, 2021 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.   

“Our students did a fantastic job and represented Midland College very well,” Dr. Kesavan said.  “Besides the presentation from David MacMillan, we also attended a conversation with another Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi.  It was awesome to meet two Nobel laureates in one day!  Dr. MacMillan’s presentation was especially powerful to young researchers.” 

MC students and professors also discovered several new experiments to conduct in outreach efforts with local K-12 schools and connected with Salt Lake City Community College in order to collaborate on research.

Picture from left to right, MC Chemistry Department Chair Tom Anderson, MC Chemistry Professor Dr. Pat Kesavan and MC students Maria Gonzalez, Zak Alvarado and Lily Arbuckle.

About ACS

As a non-profit scientific organization with more than 140 years’ experience, we are a champion for chemistry, its practitioners and our global community of members. 

Founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress, we are one of the world’s largest scientific organizations with more than 155,000 members in 150 countries. Our mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people. Our vision is to improve people’s lives through the transforming power of chemistry.

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