I Won a SETAC Award!

Recently I received a call from Greg Schiefer, Executive Director of SETAC-NA, also known as the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry-North America. SETAC is an international scientific organization comprising over 6000 members, of which over 3200 are in the North American region. Greg informed me that I had won the 2015 Outstanding Regional Chapter Member Award.

This award is very special to me. I’ve been a member of my regional chapter, the Chesapeake-Potomac Regional Chapter (CPRC), for nearly 25 years, and SETAC for even longer. During that time I’ve been President of CPRC on two separate occasions. At other times have been a Board member, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-President, and Newsletter Editor/Publisher. It’s been a lot of work, all volunteer, but I’ve loved every minute of it.

The Outstanding Regional Chapter Member Award recognizes “the countless hours that its members contribute, often in the background, to the functioning of the Society’s Regional Chapters.” I am honored to receive it.

This award joins other recognition I’ve received during my years with SETAC, including a President’s Citation (2005) and an Executive Director’s Citation (1996). I was also privileged to receive the Distinguished Service Award from CPRC in 2002.

Being a member of CPRC and SETAC has been an amazing experience. Through these organizations I have made many friends, developed incredible professional contacts, and learned everything from keeping up with the science to how to negotiate a cavernous conference center filled with thousands of other lost colleagues desperately seeking the right meeting room for their next session.

I’m happy to say that I continue to be highly involved with both the parent and regional groups. I chair a committee for SETAC and attend annual meetings for SETAC and CPRC, and I regularly contribute presentations and newsletter articles. Science Traveler (aka, this website/my professional writing business) has been a proud sponsor of CPRC for the last three years.

To say I appreciate receiving this award would be a vast understatement. I’m looking forward to featuring it next to my writer’s desk…and continuing to be active with SETAC and CPRC. Thank you all.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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