The Environmental Chemistry Division (ECD) was implemented in our local ACS Student Chapter at the University of Puerto Rico in Bayamon (ACS-UPRB) during the beginning of the 2018-2019 academic year. This new division was inspired out of the need to make awareness, study and educate about the chemical processes involved in environmental chemistry and its impact on humankind. One of our goals is to provide conferences and workshops to give our members and the community opportunities to learn and teach about the effects of climate change, and other environmental issues. Therefore, the ECD of ACS-UPRB has implemented activities with this approach. Among these, during the “Dive into Marine Chemistry!” Festival in El Paseo de la Princesa in P.R. on April 22, 2018, ACS-UPRB presented the experiment <i>Marine Battery</i>, explaining the scientific base, the importance and impact of alternative energy sources. Moreover, in September 2018, the ECD participated in “Caminata: P.R. ante el Cambio Climático”. In this event, ACS-UPRB members participated as volunteers, in the march and in the presentation of <i>The Greenhouse Effect</i>; teaching, through experimental demonstrations, the effects of climate change. This experience brought our community awareness of climate change and how we can make a difference in our lives. For our participation in this event, the ECD was awarded first place. Alongside these projects, for future activities, the ECD will give undergraduate students of ACS-UPRB the opportunity to actively engage in a partnership with a local, non-profit organization, to monitor the water quality in a natural reserve. These activities are all enacted to reach one final goal, give undergraduate students and the community the tools they need in order to alert, execute and apply innovative solutions that have the potential to change the world.

Innovative approaches for implementing environmental chemistry in an ACS local chapter

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.