It is with great humility that I accept to serve as President of the Association of the Chemical Profession of Alberta (ACPA). Dr. Norman Gee introduced me to ACPA in the late 90’s while I was at the University of Alberta.

I have a Bachelor of Education (chemistry and mathematics), and an M.Sc. (Chemistry) from Kenyatta University, Nairobi Kenya. In 1994, I came to Edmonton for my PhD (Chemistry) at the University of Alberta. I have had an extensive teaching career, have taught in primary and secondary schools in Kenya, and for the last twenty plus years, at the university level both here in Edmonton as well as in Kenya. I served as a supervisory teaching assistant at the University of Alberta during my graduate studies, as chemistry program coordinator, department chair and currently as Dean of Science at Concordia University of Edmonton. I have a passion for education and especially for chemical education.

Many members of the ACPA volunteer their time to work on internal committees for the benefit of our association, chemists across the province and society at large. Thank you to all of you who have become an integral part of the association in donating your valuable time and effort. We are looking for volunteers for the following committees:

At our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 5th, 2018, it was suggested that the ACPA develop its first formal strategic plan. We are now beginning this work and all members will have the opportunity to have their voices heard during the process of the plan’s development.  

The strategic plan will look multiple years into the future and give our association a roadmap and focus for the coming years. The plan will highlight the value we as a profession offer to the public, it will set out our vision for our ideal future, our mission which are the things we do to reach our vision, our values that we as professional chemists strive to uphold, our goals as an organization, and strategies to achieve these goals.

Our strategic planning committee is being chaired by ACPA board Director, Mark Rice, who has significant experience and formal graduate level education in strategic planning. A systematic approach will be used to create our plan. Our committee will craft questions for a member survey, review responses from the survey, conduct relevant related research, and use this information to craft a draft strategic plan for consideration by our board of directors. While it is very early in the process, we envision having a strategic plan developed by the end of this calendar year.  

Please pay attention to your newsletters and emails from the ACPA requesting your input into the plan in the near future. In the meantime, and throughout the planning process, feel free to email any thoughts you may have to the ACPA office, with “Attention: ACPA Strategic Planning Committee” in the subject line.

The Chemist’s ring has been proposed as a national symbol of the professional chemist. It should be worn on the pinky finger of the working hand.

The ACPA offer’s these rings in gold, or silver and now in titanium. The cost for the titanium ring is very reasonable, but only because we are ordering them from China in a large volume. Please note that half sizes will not be available for the titanium ring because of the numbers of rings required for each size. 

It has taken some time for other provincial chemistry associations to solicit orders from their members. We expect to confirm the last of these orders by the end of September. The order to China will be placed at that time and we expect the rings will take about a month to arrive. Your continued patience is appreciated. 

If you want a titanium ring and haven’t placed your order yet, your order must be received no later than September 17, 2018 

Ms. Emily Skinner from Father Leonard Van Tighem, this year’s Lethbridge Youth Science Fair winner of ACPA Alberta Chemist Award for project titled, "Skittles"

(Above) Dr. Margaret- Ann Armour – guest speaker at the AGM

Mr. Noureldin Sherif Abdel-Kerim from R.T. Alderman, this year’s Calgary Youth Science Fair (CYSF) winner of ACPA Rick Dillen Memorial Award in Chemistry for project titled, "The Effects of Various Low PH Levels on Mung Beans"

Job postings are listed on the  Careers page on the  ACPA website . Please check this web page regularly for new postings that may have tight application deadlines.

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