Welcome to the Activities Page. This is a blog page which the Permian Basin Local Section will use to post about recent events, activities, reports, and announcements. We have begun uploading old material. We will be loading the oldest activities first, so bear with us.
Virtual talks organized by the California Local Section Woman Chemists Committee are open to the Permian Basin Local Section members. The first talk of 2024 was the February 10, 2024, presentation “Toxic Beauty: The Effects of Phthalates and Bisphenols on Human Stem Cells and Embryo Development”. Time was allotted preceding the talk for attendees to participate in breakout sessions for networking. The talk concluded with a Q&A with the speaker.
Sonya M. Schuh, PhD
Dr. Sonya Schuh is a passionate mother, teacher, scientist, artist, athlete, environmentalist, and STEMinist. Originally from San Diego and inland Southern California, she grew up exploring nature, the ocean, and enjoying all things outdoors. An inquisitive bold nature, fascination with life and the natural world, and being the product of educator parents, would eventually lead her to a science career. She earned a BS in Marine Biology and Zoology from Humboldt State University, where she conducted marine research and worked as a Marine Naturalist. She then completed her PhD in Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Washington in Seattle, focusing on chemical effects on sperm. Later, at Stanford’s Stem Cell Biology Institute, she delved into genes and environmental factors affecting human fertility and led the largest study to date on genes linked with ovarian reserve (oocyte number) in women. Joining Saint Mary’s College of California in 2013, she initiated a research program on the impact of endocrine disruptors on embryos of various species and animal and human stem cells.
Dr. Schuh’s research focuses on reproductive and developmental biology and toxicology. Her talk delved into the prevalent challenges of the current plastics and environmental toxin crisis, and their effects on human health, fertility, and congenital defects. Ubiquitous chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, present in a wide variety of plastics, cosmetics, personal care, and household products, disrupt hormones and pathways and act as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the body. Despite efforts over the last several years to replace BPA with alternatives labeled “BPA-Free,” Dr. Schuh’s work has revealed that these substitutes actually carry similar, and in some cases much worse, toxic risks. She and her all–woman undergraduate research team were recently featured in a docuseries on HBO Max entitled “Not So Pretty,” which highlights their research on the toxic and teratogenic effects of bisphenols and phthalates on embryo development. Schuh, a self-proclaimed “Science Queen” and her team of “STEM Chicks,” also did testing of chemicals in various beauty products featured by the series. The Schuh lab has since filmed for another upcoming documentary and has published several impactful manuscripts, with this work getting national and global attention. All of Dr. Schuh’s recent findings emphasize the potential implications for human health and fertility, especially for women, urging consumer awareness, policy reform, sustainable alternatives, and putting ‘people over profit.’
Virtual talks organized by the California Local Section Woman Chemists Committee are opened to the Permian Basin Local Section members to attend. The last talk of 2023 was the November 4, 2023, presentation “Shining light on solar cells and their material impacts”. As with previous sessions, time was allotted preceding the talk for attendees to participate in breakout sessions for networking. The talk concluded with a Q&A with the speaker.All talks were via Zoom.
Rachel Woods-Robinson, PhD
Rachel Woods-Robinson (she/her) received a B.S. in Physics from UCLA and a Ph.D. at U.C. Berkeley and Berkeley Lab, designing new crystals for solar energy by combining computational chemistry, thin film growth, and device fabrication. Rachel recently started as a
Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Washington’s Clean Energy Institute to study environmental and human impacts of such new solar materials. In addition to research goals to curtail climate change, Rachel aims to support scientists in sharing our work accessibly and engaging collaboratively with our communities. From her love of outdoor adventuring, she co-founded “Cycle for Science,” in which scientists go on bicycle tours and visit K-12 classes to teach hands-on lessons about sustainability. She instructs “Cycle the Rockies” (Wild Rockies Field Institute), an immersive month-long course in which undergrads ride bicycles across Montana to learn about local energy and climate impacts.
To address climate change, transitioning to renewables such as photovoltaic solar panels is required, but one key barrier to this transition is that better materials are needed. This talk started with the sun and then zoomed into a solar panel all the way down to the nanoscale, highlighting materials challenges that scientists face at each length scale to make solar more efficient, reliable, and sustainable. The different material components, such as absorbers and transparent conductors (TCs), were introduced, and Rachel shared some of her research into designing new TCs for solar. Next, she zoomed back out to discuss challenges they faced beyond the lab in bringing solar to society, including critical raw materials, environmental impacts, and “green sacrifice zones.”
Lastly, Rachel shared some insights from her outreach project Cycle for Science and college course Cycle the Rockies. Cycle for Science brings interactive, renewable-energy focused science lessons to communities by bicycle.
Virtual talks organized by the California Local Section Woman Chemists Committee are opened, as in the past, to the Permian Basin Local Section members to attend. The first talk of 2023 was the February 25, 2023, presentation “Nonlinear Career Path: A New Normal and a Fun One”. As with previous sessions, time was allotted preceding the talk for attendees to participate in breakout sessions for chatting/networking. The talk concluded with a Q&A with the speaker. All talks were via Zoom.
Dr. Atefeh Taheri
Dr. Atefeh Taheri received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Analytical Chemistry from the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Johns Hopkins University with Prof. Jerry Meyer and then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis with Prof. Louise Berben. Atefeh started her first industry position as a product developer and formulator for the Clorox company. She then joined Chevron corporation, initially as a fundamental scientist, followed by various other roles. Currently, Atefeh is the Reliability and Maintenance Team Lead for the Western US plants and terminals of the America Fuels and Lubricants business unit of Chevron. In addition, Atefeh is the 2023 Chair for California ACS, on the leadership team of the Association of Women in Science East Bay chapter, and one of the leaders of Chevron PRIDE in Richmond (an Employee Resource Group for LGBTQA+ employees and allies).
People often ask children what they want to be when they grow up. It took Atefeh some years to realize that she had a broad interest in many topics and wanted to try various roles and responsibilities. She has embraced what Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta, has said, “Careers are not ladders, those days are long gone, but jungle gyms. Jungle gyms offer more creative exploration”. In this talk, Atefeh shared her story and career journey and discussed how nonlinear career paths can be challenging but very rewarding at the same time. She provided her perspective on what she had learned during her journey that may be helpful for others in navigating their careers.
This is the last talk for 2022 sponsored by the California Local Section Woman Chemists Committee. The November 12, 2022, presentation was “Empowering Women Scientists: In Your Past, Present, and Future”. As with previous sessions, time was allotted preceding the talk for attendees to participate in breakout sessions for chatting/networking. The talk concluded with a Q&A with the speaker.All talks were via Zoom.
Dr. Lucinda Jackson
Dr. Lucinda Jackson is the author of two memoirs: Just a Girl: Growing Up Female and Ambitious, about her struggles to succeed in the male-dominated work world, and Project Escape: Lessons for an Unscripted Life, an exploration of freedom after leaving a structured career. She is a PhD scientist and global corporate executive who features on podcasts and radio and has published articles, book chapters, magazine columns, and patents. Dr. Jackson is the founder of LJ Ventures, where she speaks and consults on energy and the environment and on empowering women in the workplace and in our Next Act. You can connect with Dr. Jackson or find her books at: www.lucindajackson.com
Dr. Jackson worked for decades in the male-dominated science world and faced sexism, harassment, and discouragement. Along the way she learned how to empower herself by recognizing and utilizing her past, identifying her vision and core values for decision-making in the present, and planning for her future Next Acts after a long, structured academic and corporate career. From her personal real-life examples Dr. Jackson had compiled tried-and-true tips, tricks, and behaviors that worked in overcoming shame, self-blame, and lack of confidence to become an authentic, purposeful leader. As she shared her insights with the audience, a robust Q&A followed.
The Permian Basin Local Section members were invited to attend the September 2022 Zoom seminar hosted by the Greater Houston Local Section Young Chemist Committee. The presentation was “Developing a New Pasta (the Cascatelli Story): Essential product development lessons for the chemical industry”. Attendees had an opportunity to network before the seminar. Time was allotted afterwards for Q&A.
Mark E. Jones, PhD
Mark Jones retired in March 2021 as Executive External Strategy and Communications Fellow for Dow Chemical. He retired with responsibility, among other things, for next generation sustainability goals associated with innovation at Dow. Mark currently serves on and is past co-chair of the National Academy’s Chemical Sciences Roundtable.
Mark joined Dow in 1990 following a graduate career that had very little to do with his ultimate career path. He followed a degree from Randolph-Macon College with a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado-Boulder where he studied gas-phase ion molecule chemistry. A post-doc at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science preceded coming to Dow. His early Dow career was spent in Catalysis, in what is now Core R&D.
Stephen F. Hahn
Steve Hahn is an experienced chemist, materials scientist, and evaluator of new technology-based business opportunity. He was employed by the Dow Chemical Company for 35 years in a variety of research and new business development roles. Beginning in 2010, Hahn established Dow’s Technology Scouting presence in the North American West Coast Region to identify and evaluate strategically aligned business opportunities.
Hahn has a B.S. in Chemistry from Michigan Tech and an M.S. in Chemistry from Central Michigan University. He is a member of the Academy of the College of Sciences and Arts at Michigan Tech and served on the Advisory Board for the Global Social Venturing Competition at the Haas School of Business at UC-Berkeley. He is currently an Expert in the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships at the National Science Foundation, supporting the ICorps and SBIR/STTR programs.
Challenges in developing a new product
The story of Cascatelli, a new pasta shape, began with an observation something could be improved, that there was an unmet need. Many pasta shapes don’t hold sauce well. The surface area to volume ratio is wrong. Many shapes have poor mouth feel, too thin to resist biting. Many were hard to pick up with a fork. Dan Pashman believed there had to be an undiscovered optimum, a better pasta shape. Cascatelli is the result of his quest to develop and commercialize a new pasta shape and is well documented in a series of audio podcasts, Mission Impastable.
Mark E. Jones and Stephen F. Hahn presented the Cascatelli story and its many parallels to the chemical industry. The story of Cascatelli describes the common challenges and many of the characters inhabiting most new product development stories. There are incumbent pastas. Market incumbents frequently exist in chemicals and materials. Dan Pashman unexpectedly encountered something quite common in the chemical industry, the challenge of scale. This seminar related the Cascatelli story while highlighting useful takeaways for those working in the chemical and materials industries.
The Permian Basin Local Section members were invited to attend the 2022 talks sponsored by the California Local Section Woman Chemists Committee. The September 10, 2022, presentation was “Moving the Needle: How key interventions can increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM”. As with previous sessions, time was allotted preceding the talk for attendees to participate in breakout sessions for chatting/networking. The talk concluded with a Q&A with the speaker. All talks were via Zoom.
Dr. Malika Jeffries-EL is the Associate Dean of the Graduate School in Arts and Sciences and Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Division of Materials Science at Boston University. Her research focuses on the development of organic semiconductors – materials that combine the processing properties of polymers with the electronic properties of semiconductors. Dr. Jeffries-EL is a fellow of the American Chemical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry and has won numerous awards including the Percy Julian Award from the National Organization of Black Chemist and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), the ACS Women Chemist Committee Rising Star award, the Iota Sigma Pi Agnes Fay Morgan Award, and the Stanley J. Israel award for diversity. She has authored over 40 publications, received over 4000 citations, and given over 175 invited lectures domestically and abroad.
Dr. Jeffries-EL, is also a staunch advocate for diversity and a dedicated volunteer that has served in several activities within the American Chemical Society. She is a science communicator who seeks to encourage students from underrepresented groups to pursue STEM degrees and recently appeared on the NOVA series Beyond the Elements. She also serves the community through her work with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (AKA).
Although African Americans make up approximately 13% of the US population, they are severely underrepresented in advanced degrees awarded in STEM disciplines. Currently, they hold ~2% of tenure/tenure track positions in research institutions in the US. Despite the overwhelming statistics, Dr. Jeffries-EL pursued and completed a doctorate in chemistry, obtained an academic job, and then tenure in promotion in due course. She was born in Brooklyn, NY where she lived in public housing and attended public school. Although her situation was less than ideal, she always had a passion for science that her parents encouraged her to pursue.
In her talk, Dr. Jeffries-EL discussed what excited her about science, diversity, equity and inclusion issues and potential solutions were woven all within the context of her personal experiences. She stressed that throughout her career, mentors, coaches, and supporters were instrumental in her successes.
The Permian Basin Local Section members were invited to attend the July 2022 Zoom seminar hosted by the Greater Houston Local Section. The two-part presentation was “Planting a SEED: Career Journey in Chemistry and Review of the History of Lubricant Development for Automotive A/C Compressor Systems”. Attendees had an opportunity to network before the seminar. Time was allotted afterwards for Q&A.
Dr. Bridgett Rakestraw is a project lead/formulator in the Strategic Research and Innovation group at CPI Fluid Engineering in Midland, Michigan. She obtained her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry studying the reactions of the troposphere from the University of Cincinnati and B.S. in Chemistry from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Prior to joining CPI, Dr. Rakestraw spent five years at BASF in Tarrytown, New York as a Scientist developing new additive technologies for automotive and industrial applications. In her current role, Dr. Rakestraw develops new lubricant formulations for use in low global warming potential for refrigeration and air-conditioning compressor systems.
During the first part of her talk “Planting a SEED: Career Journey in Chemistry”, Dr. Rakestraw shared her journey through her early education and career in chemistry. She expressed her appreciation for the support from her mentors and the ACS Project SEED program in helping her reach her goals.
The remainder of the seminar “Review of the History of Lubricant Development for Automotive A/C Compressor Systems” was an overview of the refrigeration industry. Environmental regulation had shifted the refrigeration industry towards more reactive refrigerants to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and global warming potential (GWP). The primary modification in the automotive air conditioning industry is the incorporation of the HFO, R-1234yf, an unsaturated refrigerant, into these hermetically sealed systems. A comprehensive review of the chemical stability, miscibility and wear performance of lubricants designed for use with R-1234yf was highlighted.
The Permian Basin Local Section members were invited to attend the 2022 talks sponsored by the California Local Section Woman Chemists Committee. The February 12, 2022, presentation “The Stories We Tell as Women in Chemistry” was the first one this year. As with previous sessions, during the time allotted preceding the talk, attendees had an opportunity to participate in breakout sessions for chatting/networking. The talk concluded with a Q&A with the speaker. All talks were via Zoom.
Dr. Fanny Frausto is currently a Senior Scientist in Product Development at the Clorox Company. She works as a Product Developer and formulates cleaning products to meet the future needs of professional and healthcare spaces. Dr. Frausto is the WCC Co-Chair of the California Section of the ACS and the 2022 Chair for the Section. She is an ACS Scholars Alumna and credits the programs offered by the ACS for her success. Dr. Frausto earned her SB from MIT and her PhD in chemistry from Tufts University, studying fluorescent doped conjugated polymer nanoparticles to detect a reactive oxygen species called singlet oxygen.
“At times the world can seem incredibly frightening and unfathomably exciting.” This was a recurring theme of Dr. Frausto’s talk. Through storytelling, she shared her journey as a “pre”-scientist and formerly undocumented immigrant navigating the world to get through her early education to her current chosen field of formulation chemistry and data analytics. She shared with the audience how her use of such powerful tools as storytelling, mentorship, and service helped shape her world and got her through to the present. Dr. Frausto provided examples of hope, experience, and strength for those early career and mid-career scientists, or anyone who is asking what they truly want to do today.
This is the fourth talk from The California Local Section Woman Chemists Committee. The November 13, 2021, presentation “A Career Journey in the field of Environmental Toxicology” was the last one this year. During the time allotted preceding the talk, attendees had an opportunity to participate in two breakout sessions for chatting/networking. The talk concluded with a robust Q&A with the speaker.
Dr. Taylor is an environmental toxicologist and will share her career path (academia, consulting, government) with audience members. Dr. Taylor studied environmental toxicology, which included water chemistry, for her PhD at the University of California at Riverside.
She completed a postdoc at UC Berkeley, and then was an environmental science consultant for five years. During the pandemic, Dr. Taylor took a new job, and now holds a government scientist position at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. Within the Safer Consumer Products Program, Dr. Taylor helps to reduce potentially toxic chemicals in consumer products.
Dr. Taylor discussed her early education and what drew her to environmental chemistry, especially into environmental toxicology. She shared several networking tips for early career scientists, specifically how to prepare for conference networking. Dr. Taylor also stressed the importance of volunteering in expanding one’s network. She provided examples from her own participation in the California Local Section. Dr. Taylor can be contacted via her LinkedIn page.
The California Local Section Woman Chemists Committee had extended an invitation to the Permian Basin Section members to attend their 2021 talks. The September 18, 2021, presentation “Air Pollution in High Definition: Building Low-Cost Sensor Networks & Community Partnerships” was the third one this year. During the time allotted preceding the talk, attendees had an opportunity to participate in two breakout sessions for chatting/networking. The talk concluded with a robust Q&A with the speaker. All talks were via Zoom.
Dr. Alexis Shusterman
Dr. Shusterman completed her PhD in atmospheric chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley while working with Prof. Ronald Cohen. Her graduate work centered around the construction of BEACO2N, a high-density network of more than three dozen low-cost sensors capable of providing community-level air quality reports throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. During graduate school, Alexis worked with science communication and outreach organizations nationwide to spread climate change and environmental justice awareness, winning recognition in the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) Grad Slam, the University of California Carbon Slam, and the American Chemical Society Chemistry Champions competitions. Now a lecturer in the UC Berkeley College of Chemistry, Alexis dedicates herself to delivering high quality chemical education full time.
Dr. Chelsea Preble
Dr. Preble earned her PhD in Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley in 2017, and is now an Assistant Research Engineer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley and affiliate of the Energy Technologies Area at Berkeley Lab. In her work, she seeks to better understand air pollution trends, sources, and controls in impacted communities and to evaluate the real-world emissions impacts of new regulations and alternative energy technologies. Her research includes characterizing in-use emissions from heavy-duty diesel trucks and commercial harbor craft, developing community-based air quality sensor networks, and quantifying emissions from organic waste diversion systems.
The presenters noted several observations: (1) Measuring atmospheric pollutants has the potential to help identify the sources as well as the communities facing disproportionate risks, and (2) due to the significant upfront and operational costs of high-precision and high-accuracy instrumentation, most traditional air quality monitoring campaigns in these communities have been scarce. To address these challenges, the two researchers provided evidence for the benefits of tracking air pollution at the neighborhood scale using low-cost monitoring techniques. They used custom-built, low-cost black carbon (BC)—or soot—sensors outside of community members’ homes and businesses. They were “able to capture seasonal trends in ambient BC on a block-by-block basis and found that the patterns in BC concentrations were driven by truck activity”. They also present initial results from community air quality studies in two San Francisco Bay Area communities that are “burdened by diesel particulate matter pollution. Through meaningful partnerships between researchers and key community stakeholders, these collaborations created actionable datasets that advance both science and advocacy goals as part of broader Community Air Protection Program monitoring efforts.”