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Recurring academic laboratory accidents and a lack of consensus about the best approach to chemical safety culture education has led to the development of laboratory safety team (LST) programs at many research institutions in the United States. LSTs are collaborative groups that seek to improve the safety culture within a department or multiple departments. They usually consist of a partnership between departmental faculty, staff, and students and have the goal of providing concrete opportunities for all of these stakeholders to continuously improve safety practices within their department. These programs also offer a supplementary form of safety education that is designed to fit the specific culture and needs of each institution. As these programs have developed in a variety of institutions, best practices for forming and maintaining LSTs have begun to emerge. In order to better understand these best practices, we developed a pilot workshop for the 255th National American Chemical Society Meeting audience to provide attendees with the knowledge and resources to go back to their home institutions and establish LSTs or similar programs. To understand the effectiveness of this pilot workshop, we conducted a small survey of the attendees at the first presentation. Questionnaires before and after the workshop show that the workshop was well received overall. Participants became more confident in their ability to teach others about safety and gained an improved understanding of safety topics and resources. There is also evidence that the workshop changed participants perception on their own career values and their institution's values on laboratory safety. These results are promising and give us hope that programs such as this can be a useful platform for safety education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers news briefs related to chemical education in the U.S. A Web Seminar headed by John Moore and Lynn Diener will be held at the Chemical Education Digital Library (ChemEd DL) on July 1, 2009. The "Journal of Chemical Education" will participate in the ChemEd conference to be held in Virginia from August 2-6, 2009. William E. Synder has received the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Chemical Education Central Region Award for Excellence in High School Teaching.

The article offers information about the summer undergraduate research fellowships (SURF) program of the American Chemical Society's Division of Organic Chemistry. The fellowships are awarded to undergraduate organic chemistry students in the U.S. It is awarded on the merits of students' research proposals, academic records, faculty recommendation and the students' passion for laboratory science. The program provides financial support to the qualified recipients to visit an industrial campus.

The article examines the differences of the two versions of the American Chemical Society (ACS) 2002 standardized multiple-choice examination in first-semester general chemistry. According to the authors, both questions and answers were ordered differently in the blue and gray versions. They observe some version-dependent differences in student performance that seem to relate to the order of the answers. They add that performance on multiple-choice examination questions can depend strongly on the placement of questions and answers, with the answer order probably being the more important factor in the observations.

The article reports that the Committee on Professional Training (CPT) has approved the American Chemical Society (ACS) guidelines for the approval of undergraduate chemistry programs as a means for promoting excellence in chemistry education. The guidelines have been modified to reflect changes in chemistry and education. They highlight the curriculum for an ACS-certified degree, which consists of introductory course work, foundation work and in-depth course work to provide a deeper, specialized or multidisciplinary experience. Other details of the guidelines, including the goals, institutions, faculty and infrastructure requirements, are provided.

The article offers news briefs concerning updates in chemistry and chemical societies in the U.S. The "Journal of Chemical Education" will feature topics concerning Earth Day in its February 2007 issue. Thomas A. Holme, director of the American Chemical Society, has received the 2006 Great Lakes regional Award for Volunteer Service. The College Chemistry Consultants Service is now housed within the American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Education to offer academic assistance to schools.

Highlights several program and activities for the Division of Chemical Education (CHED) at the American Chemical Society 2001 National Meeting in San Diego, California. Venue of the CHED dinner; Schedules of various technical sessions and symposiums; General information about the city.

Reports the proceedings of a marathon of plenary sessions held during the 219th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Details on the lectures regarding innovations in biotechnology; Discussion on the challenges of chemical education in the 21st century; Format of the plenary sessions marathon.

The article offers information on the American Chemical Society-Examinations Institute (ACS-EI) Anchoring Concepts Content. Map (ACCM) for general chemistry. It mentions the processes involved in the construction of the ACCM. Moreover, it presents the four levels of ACCM, its philosophy and its uses.

The article reports on the guidelines issued by the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Committee on Professional Training (CPT) for the approval of undergraduate chemistry programs. It highlights the features of undergraduate research and the rigorous and excellent practices of the CPT. It details how the ACS Guidelines and CPT supplements support the important role played by a research-supportive curriculum in the development and training of chemistry students.

The article offers news briefs in the chemistry industry in the U.S. The American Chemical Society joined the annual celebration of the Earth Day. The 2011 James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement for Teaching Chemistry will be held in November 2011. The National Science Foundation accepts nominations for the 2011 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

The article discusses the opportunity offered by the International Year of Chemistry (IYC) for academic chemists in the U.S. in 2011. It states that the IYC will promote the engagement of these professionals in precollege science education which is designed to achieve the objectives of the group. It also notes the country's agenda for K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

The article focuses on the methods to adopt the microscale and green chemistry in the U.S. The development of new experiments; the use of catalysts; and organizing talks, workshops and demonstrations are some of the methods to promote and adopt the green chemistry. The participation of students, the mass media, and the American Chemical Society (ACS) are encouraged for the success in disseminating knowledge on Chemistry.

The article offers updates related to the news and activities in the chemical education in the U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the winners of the 2009 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards, including small business award to Virent Energy Systems Inc., Greener Reaction Conditions Award to CEM Corp. as well as Academic Award to Krzysztof Matyjaszewski. American Chemical Society's (ACS) Division of Organic Chemistry hosted the Centennial Symposium during the 237th ACS National Meeting and Exposition to be held on August 18, 2008 in Philadelphia. ACS is pushing the Commemorative Stamp Petition to the Postal Service which urge to adopt chemistry as a theme for the 2011 commemorative stamp.

The article offers information on several courses, seminars, and meetings related to science and chemistry. The Division of Chemical Education Examinations Institute will move its summer 2008 office at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. A new online magazine titled "Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears," is now available for elementary teachers. The 2008 science history tour is headed to France, starting from Provence on June 18, 2008 to Paris on July 2, 2008. The American Chemical Society (ACS) will conduct summer workshops for high school chemistry teachers in the United States.

The article discusses the preparations made by educational institutions in the U.S. to prepare graduate school students for a life after school. According to the article, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Office of Graduate Education has launched the "Preparing a Life After Graduate School" (PfLAGS) program in order to provide career guidance to all doctoral students who still have no idea about industrial research. In addition, it states that the project wishes to uphold their aims of finding employment opportunities to students, defining careers for them as well as setting non-technical knowledge and skills to define one's career.

The article presents information related to the developments in chemical education. Jon Holmes, software editor of the "Journal of Chemical Education" received the 11th Pirelli Internetional Award for chemistry in Rome, Italy. The Web-based journal "Astronomy Education Review" is celebrating its 5th anniversary. A chart depicting proposal deadlines of the U.S. National Science Foundation is also given. Information is given on the schedule of upcoming meetings of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the American Chemical Association (ACS).

The article presents information related to various developments and awards announced in the chemical industry in the United States. The software company JCE Software has released the Joy of Toys CD-ROM and has shipped to those who have placed orders. Professor of Chemistry at the University of Michigan, Brian P. Coppola, has been selected as the recipient of the 2006 James Flack Norris Award. The American Chemical Society has solicited nominations for 2008 ACS Award for Achievement in Research for the Teaching and Learning of Chemistry. A new award program, the HIST Citations for Chemical Breakthroughs, has been announced by the ACS Division of History of Chemistry (HIST).

The article presents ethical guide to publication of chemical research revised by the Editors of the Publications Division of the American Chemical Society in January 2000 in the U.S. The guide is discussed according to categories including ethical obligations of editors of scientific journals, ethical obligations of authors, ethical obligations of reviewers of manuscripts and ethical obligations of scientists publishing outside the scientific literature.

Surveys inorganic chemistry teachers in the United States to address questions in teaching undergraduate inorganic chemistry. Diversity of undergraduate inorganic programs; Comparison with the curriculum suggested by the Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society; Time allocated to inorganic chemistry.

The article offers news briefs related to chemical society in the U.S. in 2011. It mentions the launch of the American Chemical Society's (ACS) 241st meeting in Anaheim, California on March 27, 2011. It cites the recipients of the Pittcon Heritage Award including Arvin Smith, John Hatsopoulos, and George Hatsopoulos. It also notes the opening of applications for the ACS Scholars Program.

The article announces the deadline and presents the qualifications for the 2010 awards of the American Chemical Society. All nominating materials will due on November 1, 2008. Details on the qualifications for the 2010 ACS George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education, the 2010 ACS James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry and the 2010 ACS Award for Achievement in Research for the Teaching and Learning are provided. The award recipients are requested to appear in person at the spring ACS awards banquet to receive the award and to deliver an award address.

The article reports that the American Chemical Society (ACS) Women Chemists Committee has formed the ACS 2008 Overcoming Challenges Award. The award aims to recognize a woman undergraduate from a two-year or four-year institution for her efforts in overcoming hardship to achieve success in chemistry. It consists of a plaque, a monetary award of $250 and up to $1,000 in travel expenses to the fall ACS national meeting. Information about award criteria and administration is provided on society's Web site.

The article focuses on the 20th anniversary celebrations of the National Chemical Week (NCW) community outreach program of the American Chemical Society (ACS). It is reported that the NCW is celebrated in the U.S. in the fourth week of October every year. The theme for the 2007 NCW is "The Many Faces of Chemistry." It is informed that the National Chemistry Day was first celebrated on November 6, 1987 which was later converted to NCW due to popular public support. It is reported that the NCW provides an opportunity to educators to engage students in community services. It is also informed that a reception will be held in Boston, Massachusetts on August 19, 2007 to recognize volunteers who have played crucial role in making the NCW a success.