The Twelfth Annual Connections to Chemistry program took place at Burlington High School (Burlington, MA) on Monday, October 24th, 2011. The program is aimed at connecting high school chemistry teachers with the educational resources of the American Chemical Society. Each registrant participated in two of four different workshops which included presentations on “Artificial Photosynthesis – A Workshop in Solar Cell design” (developed by Dr. Jonathan Rochford and given by Mr. Joseph Harney, both of UMass Boston), an IYC-themed workshop on “pH and Its Effect on the Human Body and the Environment” (presented by Dr. Jack Driscoll, PID Analyzers), an informational workshop on “What Is a “Learning Progressions Perspective” and What Do the New Frameworks for K-12 Science Education and Next Generation Science Standards Mean for Teaching High School Chemistry?” (offered by Dr. Hannah Sevian, UMass Boston) and a workshop on “Using the Molecular Workbench for Inquiry at the Atomic Level” (given by Mr. Dan Damelin, The Concord Consortium). Over 70 registrants attended, from high schools in five different states (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine).

The participants were welcomed by Marietta Schwartz, Connections Program Chair and Chair of the NESACS Education Committee, and by Peter Nassiff, Head of the Science Department at Burlington High School. Bassam Shakhashiri, President-Elect of the American Chemical Society, brought greetings of the national society to the participants.

Following the workshops and dinner, Mort Hoffman, NESACS Chair for the International Year of Chemistry, spoke briefly about IYC and the topic of the day (Vitamin K). The keynote address was given by Dr. Shakhashiri, entitled “Chemistry and Society Connections: Looking Back, Looking Around, Looking Ahead” which focused on the relationships between chemists and society and how we can communicate that important and exciting connection to our students. His address was followed by the traditional raffle of American Chemical Society items and subscriptions to the Journal of Chemical Education, augmented by the generous donation by Dr. Shakhashiri of three signed copies of his latest volume of Chemical Demonstrations.