2010-11-17: Agnes Ann Green Award for Distinguished Service Award Dinner Honoring Bob de Groot

Bob de Groot 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 is also a Councilor for the Section as well as past-Chair. We are pleased to honor Bob de Groot with the Agnes Ann Green Award for Distinguished Service to the Section. Please join us in recognizing Bob and his efforts on behalf of the Section and the community at large.

Biography of ACS Service: While in graduate school at Northern Arizona University, Bob was the National Chemistry Week coordinator for the Central Arizona Local Section. Upon returning to California in 1998 to pursue a Ph.D. in science education at USC, he joined SCALACS and assumed a leadership role in the section’s outreach program. For nearly 12 years he has planned NCW, CCED, and other events. In 2009 he was elected councilor and also served as the chair of the section. He is general co-chair of the 2011 Western Regional Meeting in Pasadena, CA. Bob became a member of the ACS Committee on Public Relations and Communications in 1998. In 1999 he joined the ACS Committee on Community Activities – CCA and he currently serves as co-chair of the Program Development and Promotion sub-committee.

Cost: There is a choice of Coq au Vin or Beef Bourguignon for dinner. Vegetarian entrée available upon request. The cost is $32 including wine with dinner, tax, and tip, payable at the door with cash or check. There is a $2.50 valet parking charge for parking in the lot. There is some parking on the street.

Reservations: Please call Nancy Paradiso in the Section Office at (310) 327–1216 or email office-at-scalacs-dot-org by Monday, November 15, 2010.

Directions: To access Google maps from their website, go to http://www.taixfrench.com/contact.html

When I was informed that I was the 2010 recipient of the Agnes Ann Green award I immediately thought of a quote taken from a letter from Sir Isaac Newton to Robert Hooke where he describes how his work was built on the knowledge of those who had gone before him. “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” The quote originates from a 12th century French philosopher Bernard of Chartres and I was amused to learn that the Latin translates literally into “Dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants.”

While an individual is being honored I think this award is a celebration of our overall success as a local section in how we are collectively fostering leadership, commitment, and a tradition of service to ACS members and the community. Dr. Agnes Ann Green embodied all of these qualities and I am very honored to be counted among the luminaries who have received this award since 1988.

It would take many pages of the SCALACS newsletter to recognize all of the ACS giants who have allowed me to stand on their shoulders. I owe the genesis of my ACS service to Dr. Chris Craney (Occidental College), my research mentor and Alpha Chi Sigma advisor. Chris inspired me to pursue a career in science education. Dr. Paul R. Jones (University of North Texas) helped me launch my career in ACS governance by nominating me to be a member of the Committee on Public Relations and Communications.

I have stood on the shoulders of many executive committee giants in my time with SCALACS. Sometimes those giants have carried me along so I could learn the landscape and others have caught me as I was about to fall. All of them have shared wisdom, insight, and an occasional a dose of constructive criticism. They have challenged me and have reminded me that “yes” is good in moderation (i.e. it is okay to say no sometimes).

I am proud to accept this great honor and I hope that like my SCALACS colleagues I too will someday become a “giant.”