Dear esteemed members,
I hope you enjoyed some time with friends and family for Thanksgiving. I am thankful to all of you for helping our Local Section have another great year. This year, I was privileged to serve as Chair to lead our Section’s transition away from purely remote programming. I am humbled to be able to serve as your 2023 Chair and look forward to working with my colleagues to continue to provide you with novel opportunities to interact and learn with fellow members. On that note, I would like to thank our dynamic duo of culinary chemistry, Jackie Trischman and Robyn Araiza, for hosting last month’s delectable hybrid event on the chemistry of chocolate.
Our final event of the year will take place on December 8th at 6:30 PM. Join us for our (virtual) annual meeting, which will be paired with a cheese, wine, and charcuterie tasting. During the meeting, I will formally announce the winners of this year’s elections and provide a preview of the exciting events and opportunities we have lined up for you in 2023. Leading our tasting presentation is our favorite Cheesemonger, Robert Graff, from Venissimo Cheese. You may register for the virtual meeting by clicking here.
One event you will hear a lot about in the coming weeks is our upcoming collaboration with Novo Brazil Brewery in Otay Ranch. Join us on the evening of January 12th for a delightful presentation on the Chemistry of Beer and Brewing, which will be paired with a networking event. Presenting at the event is my colleague, David Hecht, Ph.D., who teaches a class on the chemistry of beer at Southwestern College and the Novo Brazil master brewers. Register for the event here.
Lastly, I would also like to recognize and congratulate one of the finest organic chemists of our time who calls San Diego home, Prof. Barry Sharpless from the Scripps Research Institute. This year, Dr. Sharpless joined an elite club of Laureates who have won multiple Nobels and is the second person in history to win the Nobel in Chemistry twice (the first was Frederick Sanger). Dr. Sharpless won his first Nobel Prize on chirally catalyzed oxidation reactions in 2001. Dr. Sharpless received this year’s Prize for his work on “click” and bioorthogonal chemistry. It is an understatement to say that Dr. Sharpless’s contributions to organic chemistry have profoundly affected the development of many pharmaceutical products.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and can share it with your closest friends and family. Thank you for a great 2022!
With gratitude,
Juan Gonzalez