SUNY Potsdam prof named manager of the year by National Association of Scientific Materials Managers

POTSDAM -- Janice A. Westerling, an instructional support associate in SUNY Potsdam's Department of Chemistry, has been selected 2010 Scientific Materials Manager of the Year by the National Association of Scientific Materials Managers (NAOSMM).

The award, along with a glass sculpture courtesy of the award sponsor Kimble Chase, was presented at the 37th Annual NAOSMM Conference in Norfolk, Va.

A certified scientific materials manager, Westerling has been active in the association since joining the SUNY Potsdam Department of Chemistry in 1998. She has served as a board member and as secretary for NAOSMM from 2005 to 2007.

A regular columnist for the NAOSMM Newsline, she has written 20 articles on current topics in scientific materials management for the publication, in addition to serving on multiple committees for the association.

Westerling expressed appreciation to her department and SUNY Potsdam for the College's support, which has allowed her to participate in NAOSMM activities.

Outside of work Janice is an avid swimmer, and participated in the Swim a Mile for Hospice.

She is a violinist, playing in the St. Lawrence University String Orchestra.

She lives with her husband Cliff in a renovated 1830s farmhouse on Moore's Hill outside of Potsdam.

NAOSMM is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization of stockroom managers and supervisors.

All members are involved in the purchase and supply of various scientific chemicals and apparatus in a wide variety of institutions throughout the United States, including at large multi-campus state institutions, small private colleges and pharmaceutical companies, in addition to associate members of national manufacturing companies and local and national scientific supply companies.

NAOSMM provides a source of information exchange through member contacts, as well as through an annual meeting that is held each summer.

The Department of Chemistry at SUNY Potsdam offers a rigorous and well-balanced curriculum that provides a solid foundation for successful graduate study, and/or a career in chemistry or a chemistry-related field.

The department is known for its strong and diverse undergraduate research programs, its grants to support teaching and research and a record of success in majors' acceptance into competitive graduate and professional schools.

To learn more about the chemistry department, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/AAS/Chem/index.cfm.