2010 Recipient, Agnes Ann Green
Distinguished Service Award
This year’s recipient of the Agnes Ann Green Award for Distinguished Service is Robert de Groot, who is being recognized for his extensive and dedicated service to the Southern California Local Section. Bob has been an integral part of the Section for many years. He started as our National Chemistry Week Chair and expanded that program to become the very active, year-round outreach program we have today. Bob has also served as Member-at-Large, Councilor and Chair. We are pleased to honor Bob de Groot with the Agnes Ann Green Award for Distinguished Service to the Section.
During his undergraduate years at Occidental College, Bob was initiated into the Beta Mu Chapter of the Alpha Chi Sigma Professional Chemistry Fraternity and served as the chapter president during the 1988-89 school year. His involvement in AXS activities inspired him to pursue a degree in science education. While in graduate school at Northern Arizona University Bob was the National Chemistry Week – NCW coordinator (1996-98) for the Central Arizona Local Section. Upon returning to California in 1998 to pursue a Ph.D. in science education at USC he joined the Southern California Local Section and almost immediately assumed a leadership role in the Section’s community activities program. For nearly twelve years he has been facilitating the implementation of National Chemistry Week, Chemists Celebrate Earth Day, and other outreach programs for the section. He was elected Member at Large in 2007, Councilor in 2009 and served as the Chair of the Section in 2009. His current projects include running for 2011 Chair-Elect and serving as General Co-Chair of the November 2011 Western Regional Meeting in Pasadena, CA.
Bob’s national service began in 1998 when he became a member of the ACS Committee on Public Relations and Communications. Upon reaching his term limit in 2008, Bob continued with the committee as a consultant. In 1999, he joined the ACS Committee on Community Activities – CCA (then the National Chemistry Week Task Force) and he currently serves as co-chair of the Program Development and Promotion sub-committee. He is also co-chair of NCW25 – Celebrating twenty-five years of National Chemistry Week. The theme for this 2012 celebration is nanoscale science and engineering.