Dear High School Chemistry Instructors:

The New York Section of the American Chemical Society, ACS, will be sponsoring the Fifth Annual Chemagination contest. Chemagination is a science essay and poster contest for high school chemistry students, grades 9-12, that asks them to address the question, “What innovation or breakthrough in the field of chemistry will be important in the lives of teenagers 25 years from now?” Students choose one of four categories: Alternative Energy Resources, Environment, Medicine/Health, or New Materials and their entries are written as articles of 1000 words or less that might appear in a future issue of ChemMatters, a science publication for high school students. This is a great opportunity to challenge your students to demonstrate an understanding of chemical principles through creative, independent research.

A sample winning entry and some additional information about the chemagination contest can be found on the NYACS Web site: http://www.newyorkacs.org/chemagination.html . A maximum of two teams per category per school may be entered. Students must work in teams of two or three members for each entry.

FYI:

· DEADLINE for submission of the “Intent to Participate Form” is January 10, 2008.

· DEADLINE for submission of the “Article Submission Form” is February 14, 2008.

· The New York section contest will be held in early March (more details to follow) at St. John’s University, Queens, NY.

· A $30.00 Submission Fee is required for each project entry (please make the check to NYACS).

· Please mail your forms to: Dr. Vijaya L. Korlipara, 301 St. Albert Hall, College of Pharmacy & A.H. P., 8000 Utopia Parkway, St. John’s University, Queens, NY 11439.

The top finalist in each category will go on to compete in the Regional competition to be held on Saturday, May 17, 2008 at Queensborough Community College, NY, as part of the Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting of the ACS.

If you have any questions about Chemagination, please contact me at 718-990-5369, or e-mail me at korlipav@stjohns.edu

Sincerely,

Vijaya Korlipara

Vijaya L. Korlipara, Ph.D.

Chemagination Coordinator

New York Section of the American Chemical Society