MN Local Section of ACS

Education:

Ph.D. in Chemistry (focus on Chemical Education), University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006

B.S. in Chemistry, North Carolina State University, 2001.

Professional Employment:

Clinical Faculty of Chemistry, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN (2008-present)

Teacher/Outreach Teacher, Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN (2006-2008).

ACS Service:

MN ACS Secretary (2010 – present)

University of St. Thomas Chemistry Club Advisor (2009-2011)

Volunteer at Minnesota Section Grande Expo (2006)

ACS member since 2005.

Statement:

            I have had the opportunity to serve the Minnesota section of ACS as Secretary for nearly two years.  During this time, I have enjoyed meeting and working with the rest of the Executive Board.  I would like to continue working with this group as a Councilor.  I look forward to representing MN ACS at the national level by sharing the views of our local section at ACS fall and spring meetings, as well as reporting back to the group about current objectives and policies.

Education/Employment: 

B.A.   Chemistry, Northwestern University                                                      1996

Ph.D.  Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley                                      2001

3M Company, Corporate Research Laboratories                                                         2001-2008

3M Company, Abrasive Systems Division Laboratory                                                2008-present

ACS Activities:

Councilor, MN Local Section                                                                          2006-present

Committee on Chemistry and Public Affairs (CCPA), ACS National               2006-present

Grassroots Subcommittee Chair           (2008-present)                                               

            Liaison to Cmte on Public Relations and Communications (2011-present)

Government Affairs Committee (GAC), Chair MN Local Section                               2005-present

Statement:

I am honored to be nominated for reelection to a councilor position in the Minnesota Local Section of the American Chemical Society.  The last six years I have served as councilor have been a great experience of how the ACS is a strong, growing professional society when it is responsive to its members and when members are empowered as scientists in the greater community, including workforce and educational institutions.  My goal has been to contribute to the structure and energy that supports all of us members.

My primary focus has been on legislative and government affairs concerns.  As Councilor, I have served on the Committee on Chemistry and Public Affairs (CCPA).  I have worked with fellow ACS members, the ACS Board and Office of Public Affairs (OPA) staff to establish national ACS public policy positions, including a new “chemical engine to the economy” framework for connecting chemistry’s contributions to the larger issues of jobs growth in our current economy. 

At the start of my second councilor term I was appointed chair of the CCPA Grassroots subcommittee.  In this role, I have led the CCPA team to conduct several advocacy workshops at National ACS Meetings.  At the Washington, DC meeting, we facilitated training and mentoring of 50 ACS members to visit their Congressional and Senate Offices, including providing CCPA members as “mentors” to help with the visits.  This is critical to ACS members seeing themselves as the advocates, speaking directly to their representatives, and also to leverage the experiences of member to help other members.  At the Denver National Meeting, I served as CCPA host and panelist in a workshop geared toward Younger Chemist Committee members.  This was a great collaboration with the National YCC. 

It is important to me to bring skills learned on the national level back to address MN Section concerns.  This year I participated in the first Minnesota Government and Legislative Affairs (MNGALA) Day at the State Capitol.  This year I also served as host when ACS Exec Director Jacobs visited 3M, including representing the activities of MNACS.  As liaison to the Committee on Public Relations and Communications, I hope to connect the work of MNACS and grassroots efforts more effectively to ACS resources for media and member communications.

I am excited to continue this work to build connections between local and national ACS objectives.  I hope you will support me in another term as Councilor for the MN Local Section.  Thank you for your consideration.

Outside of Wade's professional service, he teaches and researches in the area of inorganic chemistry.  Wade's current projects revolve around the use of polyoxometalates, a unique class of metal-oxygen clusters, as nanoscale building blocks for the generation of catalytically and structurally interesting metal-organic frameworks.  Wade also regularly teaches a study-abroad course in Europe on the history of science during January with about 30 students from Bethel.  Wade is married to Rachel, a history professor at St. Catherine University, and they have two children, Liam and Lucy, age 4 and 2.  Wade is an energetic, disciplined, and motivated individual that is interested in continuing to serve the MNACS as a councilor.

I am honored to accept the nomination to run for Councilor of the Minnesota Section of the ACS.  As a councilor, I will strive to enhance awareness of ACS.  My goal is to extend chemistry appreciation into various Minnesota communities by increasing educational opportunities and awareness.  During my own educational training, I often relied on the invaluable support and resources provided by ACS.  I feel it is important that ACS continues to bring chemistry into the lives of students of all levels and continues to make its opportunities and resources available and accessible to those who will benefit.  By strengthening the communities’ knowledge about chemistry, I hope that I may help MN-ACS further build a strong foundation of chemistry interest and encourage a solid network of professional support.

I am currently an Associate Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Geology at Minnesota State University, Mankato.  After I experienced the results of the section’s Community Outreach Activities in the metro area, specifically the “Chemists in the Library” (headed by Phil Buhlmann) and the “National Chemistry Week” (headed by Marilyn Duerst) events, I initiated a collaborative expansion to include southern Minnesota.  Beginning with the 2008 event, the “Chemists in the Library” event has been held annually in Mankato. Each year, students from the ACS-Affiliated club organize and facilitate the successful event.

Although my laboratory-based research is focused on elucidating the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and cancer chemotherapy, I am also interested in Chemical Education.  As a member of MN-ACS, I have also been working on increasing my involvement in the section’s Education Committee. If I am elected Councilor, I will also apply to work with the Education Committee on the National-ACS level.  While I have served as Alternate Councilor, I have had the wonderful opportunity to attend two National-ACS Council Meetings.  This has helped me develop an understanding of how the National-ACS is organized and functions.  It also helped me recognize some of the initiatives that I can further contribute to the ACS and represent the members of Minnesota section.

I began my post-secondary education by studying Biochemistry and Biology at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN.  Then, I earned a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the College of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN.  I have been a member of ACS for ten years.  I served as Treasurer of the Minnesota Section for two years (2006-2008) and Alternate Councilor for two years (2009-2011).  I am looking forward to continuing my service with MN-ACS as it continues to cultivate chemistry curiosity and collaboration.

Wayne C. Wolsey has represented the MN Section as Councilor since 1986 and served as Section Chair in 1986-87. He received his B.S. in Chemistry at Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Kansas.  After three years with PPG Chemistry Division, he entered academia at Macalester College in 1965.  He served as Chair from 1986-2001 and retired in 2006. With national ACS, he was an Associate Member of the Committee Abstracts Service, the Committee on International Activities, and the Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs. For nine years, he was a member of the Committee on Chemical Safety, and currently serves on the Committee on Analytical Reagents.  Honors received include Outstanding College Science Teacher of the Year, 1989—MN Acad. of Sci./MN Science Teachers Assoc; Robert E. Sloan Award, 2001—MN Conference of Am. Assoc. of University Profs.; the MN ACS Section’s Brasted Award for Undergraduate Teaching, 2005 and the Senior Chemist award, 2010; along with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the MN Acad. of Sci.—2011.

Active with the state science education community, he is a past-president of the MN Acad. of Sci. and has been involved with Science Fairs, the High School Science Bowl, and the Undergraduate Research Symposium.  Along with E.J. Slowinski and Robert Rossi, he is coauthor of the 10^th edition of Chemical Principles in the Laboratory (2012, Brooks-Cole).

 Candidate Statement

 As a regular attendee at MN Section events and national Council meetings, I feel that I have a sense of  local member concerns and have tried to represent these at the Council meetings.  I would be pleased to continue to help represent the MN Section through another term as Councilor.