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2023 Citizen of the Year Finalist: Gina Malczewski

By Ben Jodway, Midland Daily News
Published Dec 27, 2023 online
 

Gina Malczewski might be a biochemist, but she doesn’t like to teach with explosions. She’d rather show students how chemistry is part of everyday life.

In her nomination for 2023 Citizen of the Year, Malczewski was described as an “Energizer bunny.” Her passion for STEM education has led her down paths ranging from helping kids get interested in science through baking to traveling to Guatemala.

Going down the path of STEM as a woman was “a little discouraging,” she said. She didn’t have a lot of support.

“All the guys would always call you ‘honey,’” she said. “(The recruiters) would say, ‘Why do you want to do this? ’ or ‘Really, you think you’re going to be able to do this? ’”

That was when she had a bachelor's degree in biochemistry. The jobs were too monotonous for her anyway, she said.  

Malczewski wanted to design her own experiments.

“Yes, you sit on committees and you have to go through this stuff, especially when you’re in an industry, but there’s enough exciting stuff during the day that it’s certainly not boring,” she said.

She got a job at Dow Corning. There, her boss at the time was getting involved in introducing STEM to Midland students in the ‘90s. Her passion for STEM education blossomed out from there, she said.

“I started getting more and more involved in (American Chemical Society),” she said. “I got more involved in doing outreach, which is what I enjoyed.”

One of her favorite memories was going to Guatemala. There in 2016 and 2017, she brought science kits to hold a workshop with teachers some hands-on science—they only interacted through it with a textbook.

“Some of those folks have never seen a thermometer,” Malczewski said. “For the first time, these people were actually seeing (science).”

Teachers not only from the local area, but also some surrounding towns, came to learn from Malczewski’s team. Two years later, she taught children too and saw them “loving this exposure to science that they’ve never had before.”

That year, she was also invited to go to a University of Guatemala satellite campus to do a workshop for professors. She left her teaching supplies there, and the professors still do her workshop to show teachers-to-be science.

“They taught over 1,100 teachers with the supplies that I had left,” she said. “It was going forward, which made me feel really good.”

Seeing scientists in classrooms through the American Chemical Society has been a boom to STEM, she said.

“I may not look like your version of a scientist — but I am a scientist,” Malczewski said. “And that means you can be a scientist,” she said.

MIDLAND ACS CHEMISTRY FOR LIFE CENTENNIAL 1919-2019 - ONLINE BIO ABOUT DR. GINA MALCZEWSKI '72

Dr. Regina Malczewski worked for 29 years at Dow Corning in the fields of medical materials biotesting, personal care research, and biotechnology investigations. More precisely, as stated in a profile in the November 2021 volume of The Midland Chemist, she “…evaluated the biocompatibility of silicones for medical use, developed Si-based substrate binders using biotechnology, characterized the performance of silicones in personal care, tested materials for antimicrobial use and drug delivery, and investigated applications of nano-structured Si materials.”

Born in Dayton, OH, Gina graduated from Carroll High School (Dayton, OH) in 1972, earned her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Dayton (OH) in 1976 and her Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from the University of Michigan in 1982. She completed postdoctoral studies in biological transformation at the Michigan Molecular Institute in Midland, MI, from 1982-3. In 2007, she attained secondary teaching certification in Michigan for Biology, Chemistry and General Science from Saginaw Valley State University.

The profile which follows may also be found in The Midland Chemist, Nov. 2021, Vol. 58, No.11, under the article “The Fifth Quarter: A Fulfilling Retirement Benefits from Staying Connected to the Young” by Steve Keinath, portions of which are reprinted from the October 7, 2021 issue of ACS Industry Matters Newsletter from the American Chemical Society. The full article, which begins on page 7, may be accessed at the bottom of this page.

“Gina has served the Midland Section ACS in numerous ways and elected roles, always with high energy. She served as the local section Chair in 2012, and again in 2015, plus fulfilling the associated roles of Chair-Elect, Past Chair, and Program Chair before and after each of the Chair officer years. She also served in the elected roles of Secretary in 2014, and Director in 2017-2019, and is currently serving as Director for the 2021-2023 term. During her terms of office as local section Chair, she led the effort to rework and update the Midland Section Handbook. Over the years, Gina has also led or been actively involved with a number of local section committees, including Long-Range Planning, Outreach/Kids and Chemistry, Teacher Support, Scholarship, and the 100th Anniversary celebration which culminated in the construction and display of the local section’s centennial exhibit for much of 2019 along with additional, special programs that year. She is also active in National ACS committee work.”

“Gina has been recognized with a number of awards, including the National ACS Local Section Outreach Volunteer of the Year Award, 2014; Midland Section ACS Science Education Volunteer of the Year Award, 2015; National ACS Helen M. Free Award for Public Outreach, 2015; Midland Section ACS Outstanding Service to the American Chemical Society Award, 2018; and Michigan Governor’s Senior Volunteer Service Award, 2019. In addition, she was selected as an ACS Fellow in 2019.”

Gina “…has made six HELPS International trips to rural Guatemala, helping to install stoves and water filters, and providing science training to teachers there. Gina and her husband, Frank, volunteer for the local Red Cross. She is very proud of her family, including her three sons.”

Explore the full article and a Q&A with Gina in the attached issue of The Midland Chemist at https://midlandacs100.org/gina-malczewski-2/!