Kanawha Valley Chemistry Organization to Observe 80th Anniversary Nov. 16
cthomas@cnpapers.com 304-348-1232
On Friday, Nov. 16, the Kanawha Valley Section of the American Chemical Society will formally mark its 80th anniversary with a dinner celebration and a joint meeting with the Central Ohio Valley Section of the ACS.
The celebratory event will take place in the Erma Byrd Galley in Riggleman Hall at the University of Charleston.
According to Art Marcinkowsky of the Kanawha Valley Section of the ACS, “The 80th anniversary of the Kanawha Valley Section-ACS is an opportunity to reflect on the history of the section and its association with the local chemical industries and educational institutions.
“The section was created because the Kanawha Valley was becoming a chemical production region. Companies like Union Carbide, DuPont, FMC, Monsanto and others were starting new industries. These companies attracted many highly qualified chemists and engineers to get plants into production, and Union
Carbide established a major R&D center in the valley.
“These people needed a forum to get to know each other and discuss scientific and technical subjects so they could do their jobs better. That is why a group of people got together in 1927 and formed the Kanawha Valley Section.
“At one time, South Charleston styled itself as the chemical capital of the world,” Marcinkowsky noted.
“It is a great pleasure that the Central Ohio Valley Section is joining us in this special dinner meeting,” added Marcinkowsky.
Activities will get underway on Nov. 16 with a social at 5:30 p.m. At 6 p.m., Jean Cropley will present a musical program on his harmonica. Dinner will be served at 6:20 p.m.
The cost of the dinner is $10 for ACS members and $15 for nonmembers. The dinner is gratis for students attending.
At 7:10 p.m., the guest of honor and guest speaker, Dr. E. Ann Nailey, is scheduled to address the meeting.
Nalley served as the president of the American Chemical Society in 2006 and is serving as a member of the board of directors as past president.
She has served with the American Chemical Society at local, state, regional and national levels. She has nearly completed 10 years of service as a board of directors member, including seven years as the director of District V.
Nalley is also a member of the PACIFICHEM Organizing Committee, the first woman to be appointed to that position.
In 1996, she was awarded the Division of Professional Relations’ Henry Hill Award for Outstanding Contributions to Professionalism and was named the Oklahoma Chemist in 1992. She is the only woman to receive this award.
In 2005, Nalley received the Professional Excellence Award from the National Iota Sigma Pi Honor Society for Women in Chemistry.
She is a professor of chemistry in the Physical Science Department at
Cameron University in Lawton, Okla., a position that she has held since 1969.
Nalley has held positions as a visiting scientist or professor in the chemistry
departments at the University of Oklahoma, the University of Texas at Dallas, and the Polymer Science Department at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Nalley earned a bachelor’s degree at Northeastern Oklahoma State University, a master’s degree in analytical chemistry at Oklahoma State University and a Ph.D. in radiation chemistry from Texas Woman’s University.
Her research includes new product development and solving industrial problems in the area of cosmetic analysis, nanostructural materials, applied research in the petroleum industry and molecular modeling, according to the Kanawha Valley ACS chapter.
In her spare time, Nalley maintains a pet refuge for more than 40 displaced or abandoned animals.
The evening’s musical entertainer, Jean Cropley, retired from Union Carbide as a Corporate Fellow in 1993, after 41 years of service as a chemical engineer in the Research and Development Department.
In addition to his Carbide career, Cropley was a professional musician who played clarinet with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in the 1960s and 1970s.
His harmonica playing began when he attended junior high school in Denver, where he was a member of a square dance orchestra that included a viola and a snare drum.
Cropley was also part of a bluegrass band on a Navy destroyer during the Korean War.
His harmonica repertoire includes standards such as “The Beer Barrel Polka,”"Blues in the Night,”"Rhapsody in Blue,”"Summertime” and “Old Man River,” as well as numerous vintage tunes from the 1920s through the 1940s.
He and wife Helen live in Scott Depot, where he also serves as president of the Teays Valley Carbide Retirees Club. Their son, Tom, is a physician in Boston.
Reservations are requested no later than Wednesday, Nov. 14, for the Nov. 16 celebration. RSVPs may be made to Dr. John Taylor at 304- 747-5996 or taylorjg2@dow.com
The American Chemical Society is reportedly the world s largest scientific society and is chartered by Congress to provide advice related to chemical issues, particularly in matters of homeland security.
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