ACESS-Akron Council of Engineering and Scientific Societies

ACS - Akron Section Award
2023-11-14 17:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Kent State University – Integrated Science Esplanade Commons, 1175 University Esplanade, Kent, Ohio, OH, 44242, United States
Dr. Prashant K. Jain, G.L. Clark Professor of Physical Chemistry
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Afternoon – Technical Lecture
Catalysts Dressed in Light
3:00 PM at The University of Akron, Mary Gladwin Hall 111
Evening Program – Akron Section Award Lecture
Kent State University, Integrated Science Esplanade Commons
5:30 PM Networking
6:30 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Lecture (open to the public)
Dinner Reservations: RSVP at akronacs.org
$30 for members / public and $10 for students
Dr. Prashant K. Jain Bio: Prashant K. Jain grew up in Bombay, where he completed his undergraduate education. He obtained his PhD working with M. A. El-Sayed at Georgia Tech, following which he was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. After a Miller Fellowship at UC Berkeley, he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he is the G. L. Clark Professor of Physical Chemistry and a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and the Materials Research Laboratory. He is also a University Scholar and an Affiliate Faculty Member of Physics and the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology (IQUIST). Prof Jain’s lab specializes in nanoscale light–matter interactions and nanoscale chemical imaging. His research website is found at https://nanogold.org.
Afternoon Abstract: Catalysts Dressed in Light. The interaction of light with molecules can be used to access new modes of chemical reactivity; however, this interaction is often difficult to exploit in a universal manner. I will describe how plasmonics is proving to be a general strategy for interfacing photons with molecules and activating chemical transformations. This strategy involves heterogeneous catalysts comprised of plasmonic nanoparticles. Plasmonic excitation of the catalyst generates electronically and vibrationally excited states, which modify chemical activity at the interface and even induce emergent activity. I will describe how catalysts based on plasmonic nanoparticles are allowing light to be used as a redox equivalent in chemical reactions, for driving non-equilibrium chemical processes, for modifying product selectivity, for photosynthesizing fuels, and for boosting electrochemical conversions. The ultimate vision is a future where plasmonic excitations can be used to power chemical transformations or direct them with bond-level precision.
Updates will be posted on akronacs.org.

ACESS Joint Societies Event - Sponsored by 3 ACS Sections
2023-11-02 18:00 - 22:30 | OH
Cleveland Poison Symposia – The Dark Side of Chemistry
Nickname: Arsenic Bar Crawl
Location 1: “Spirits of Willoughby” 6:00 PM (Spirits has a huge parking lot)
Speaker 1: Mike Fricke, Akron ACS “Introduction to Arsenic”
Speaker 2: Mike Kenney Contact, Cleveland ACS “Arsenic Poisoning”
Location 2: “Nora’s Public House” 7:30 PM (0.2 mile walk from Spirits)
Speaker 3: Kevin Kubachka, US FDA “Arsenic in Foods”
Speaker 4: Abe Gutierrez, Agilent “Arsenic Analysis by ICP-MS”
Location 3: “The Wild Goose” 9:00 PM (0.1 mile walk from Nora’s)
(Invited) Speaker 5: Reid Kirby, Z-Day Center “Before Manhattan: The Dew of Death”
(Invited) Speaker 6, Melissa Tedone, U of Delaware “The Poison Book Project”
http://wiki.winterthur.org/wiki/Poison_Book_Project
Notes from Mike Fricke: A little more about Reid Kirby, who’s abstract is in this chain. I gave a presentation to the Cleveland ACS Section in Jan 2020 about the Cleveland Mousetrap (just before the pandemic started). This is America’s 1918 chemical weapons facility that was built in Willoughby and likely the first WMD factory in the world. Here’s a good primer on the site:
https://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2014/01/17/conants-war-inside-mouse-trap/.
Our current bar crawl event will roughly follow the route that the Mousetrap soldiers took three times a day as they walked into Willoughby for their meals. For this event, I wanted to find an authority to speak about the Mousetrap. This proved difficult as local historians: John Grabowski and Alan Rocke were unfamiliar with the story. I contacted authors who have written about the Mousetrap and came up empty. Finally, I contacted the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) which won the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. Eventually, I made contact with Alastair Hay with Physicians for Human Rights (2105 Hague Award and Order of the British Empire). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastair_Hay. Alastair Hay put me in touch with Reid Kirby who is very familiar with our Willoughby site and has even held in his hands the infamous black book of notes that Jim Conant kept while building the site.
More details to be announced

ACS - Careers Night
2023-10-25 | OH
Virtual Event – More details top be announced

ORG - Fall Technical Meeting
2023-09-26 16:00 - 21:00 | Hilton Garden Inn Twinsburg, 8971 Wilcox Dr., Twinsburg, OH, 44078, United States
Ohio Rubber Group Fall Technical Meeting
Sept 26, 2023 from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Hilton garden Inn Twinsburg
Technical Presentations:
“Sustainability in Rubber and Plastics”
Nicki Hershberger, Senior Technical Advisor, Akron Rubber Development Laboratories
Overview of different sustainable / recycled products that can be used in elastomers and how to compound for them.
“Testing and Analysis Methods for Rubber Durability”
Tom Ebbott, Vice President, Endurica LLC
Having an impact with durability analysis and predictions starts with good materials data. Reliable and accurate predictive methods require advanced testing equipment, software, and analysis methods. Topics of discussion will include testing methods for crack growth and intrinsic strength, strain-induced crystallization in filled natural rubber compounds, testing and analysis for ozone aging conditions, and workflow for durability analysis.
“It’s Not How Much You Make. It’s How Much You Keep.”
Fred Carter, Strategic Partner, Schooley Mitchell
In this presentation, Fred will be sharing practical insights from Schooley Mitchell’s fight against irrational and abusive pricing practices. This will include helping you recognize questionable vendor pricing practices and showing you how to combat prices that aren’t always as fixed as we assume. Afterall, who doesn’t love paying vague addons like hazmat charges? They sound official and mandated. Not always! Fred’s information will be useful for business owners, finance officers, purchasing agents, or even homeowners who are tired of having too much taken from what they’ve earned. For businesses these methods get millions of dollars returned to their bottom lines.

ACS - Joint Meeting Akron and Cleveland Sections
2023-09-21 17:30 - 20:30 | The Brew Kettle, 11 Atterbury Boulevard, Hudson, OH, 44236, United States
Ross Widenor and Ron Shaffer, Bridgetome
“Radically Re-Thinking our Raw Materials Supply Chain”
The Brew Kettle, 11 Atterbury Boulevard, Hudson OH 44236
5:30 PM – Social time
6:30 PM – Dinner
7:15 PM – Talk
RSVP by Sept 19 at ACSCleveland.org. Menu Cornbread, Salad, White cheddar Mac & Cheese, Coleslaw, Baked beans, Cajun chicken pasta, Pulled pork, Chicken tenders. Soft drinks are included, as will be one beer for those of legal age.
Members $20, retirees, $10, unemployed and students FREE.
Abstract: As the tire industry strives to deliver sustainability objectives, one major challenge will be to decouple our upstream supplies from traditional petrochemical feedstocks and diversify into renewable, bio-sourced and recycled materials. This presentation will investigate how Bridgestone views this challenge and how our traditional industry ecosystem, combined with new players and new technologies can work together to deliver on those objectives.
Ross Widenor Bio: Originally from the Pittsburgh area, Ross received his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. He joined Bridgestone Americas in 2013, and has progressed through roles in Central Research, Raw Materials Development, Compound Development, Open Innovation, and Project Management. He leads Bridgestone’s volunteer Akron Campus Green Team and chairs the Summit of Sustainability Alliance, a collective of for-profit, non-profit, government, and educational institutions interested in partnerships for sustainability. Ross also sits on the board of BProud!, Bridgestone’s employee resource group for LGBTQ+ teammates and allies. He is active in his local community, promoting similar values to those he champions in the workplace.
Ron Shaffer Bio: Dr. Ron Shaffer is Senior Manager, Materials & Sustainability in the Core Material Sciences Division at the Bridgestone Americas Technology Center in Akron, Ohio. In this role, he is responsible for management of an applied R&D program focused on advanced and sustainable materials and material data science. His department is also responsible for the raw material approval program for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. Before joining Bridgestone in 2018, he worked in a variety of scientific and leadership positions at the Naval Research Laboratory, General Electric Global Research Center, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Shaffer received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Ohio University in 1996. He is the author/co-author of 90+ manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals (H-index = 45, 7t00+ citations) and 7 US patents.

SPE - September Meeting
2023-09-11 17:30 - 20:00 | Doubletree by Hilton Akron Fairlawn, 3180 West Market Street, Akron, OH, 44333, United States
Akron Section SPE
Monday, September 11, 2023 5:30 p.m.

Greg Kozera
Director of Marketing, Shale Crescent USA
Global Economic Factors Now Favor U.S. Plastic Product Manufacturing over China-Based Operations
Long term fundamental shifts changed the playing field. What it means to Ohio processors.

Hilton Inn, 3180 West Market Street Akron, Ohio 44333

Gathering Dinner Program

Member $30
Retiree $25
Student $10
Gathering 5:30 p.m.
Dinner 6:00 p.m.
Program 7:00 p.m.

Greg Kozera, is the Director of Marketing for Shale Crescent USA, a non- profit economic development, marketing and research organization based in Marietta, Ohio. He is a professional engineer and an environmentalist with more than 40 years of experience in the natural gas and oil industry. Kozera is the author of the books Just the Fracks Ma’am and Learned Leadership. Greg is a marketing and leadership expert and a high school boys soccer coach whose teams have won 18 regional and 7 state championships. He understands the importance of teamwork and leadership. He is also a professional speaker, weekly regional newspaper columnist and former Adjunct Professor at Pierpont Community College.

Reservations by Sept. 8. Buy tickets at the links below or RSVP and pay at the door.
Be sure to include your company affiliation and dietary restrictions.
