STEM education nonprofit ChemTalk makes chemistry accessible to everyone

ChemTalk, a grassroots 501(c)(3) science education and outreach non-profit based in Thousand Oaks, CA, announced today the official launch of the organization and the ChemTalk website, chemistrytalk.org. To date, the all-volunteer organization has received donations from several organizational and private donors including the American Chemical Society and CABRI foundation, and today launched a $50,000 GoFundMe fundraising campaign.

"ChemTalk is reinvigorating the world's love for chemistry, science and the elements. In a land full of video games and social media, ChemTalk breathes a well needed fresh perspective into STEM education and how people can perceive & experience chemistry" says Dr. Eric Scerri of UCLA, considered one of the world’s experts on the periodic table.

After commissioning a survey showing that 85% of students felt that chemistry could have been more fun and interesting, the four co-founders of ChemTalk put together an ambitious plan to improve the process of chemistry education – making it more fun, easier to learn, and more relatable to everyday life.

“Chemistry needs a catalyst, and that catalyst is ChemTalk. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD.org, ranks the United States #18 globally in science education, and we know we can do better. ChemTalk will advance students’ understanding of chemistry and spark their interest and excitement about science.” says executive director Scott Gietler.

ChemTalk is creating the world’s first free chemistry “super portal” to educate and inspire the next generation of scientists. ChemTalk creates unique multi-media and written content designed for middle-school, high-school, and college science students. The content will be expanded into organic chemistry, material science, and the life sciences. This unique content is combined with easy-to-read articles and tutorials normally found on disparate platforms.

“I love the way ChemTalk bridges everyday chemistry and classroom concepts and models. High school and college chemistry is brought to life through connections to everyday experience. ChemTalk is likely to appeal to a broad audience, including students at the middle, high school, and college levels as well as members of the general public interested in learning more about chemistry, and how it permeates our everyday lives” says Michael Evans, instructor of chemistry at Georgia Tech University.

ChemTalk is also developing the ChemTalk LiveLab, a revolutionary concept that changes the way students without access to the best facilities can experience science. Launching in 2022, the LiveLab will live-stream experiments and demonstrations over Twitch and Youtube Live, allowing students around the world to interact in real-time, ask questions, and participate virtually. 

Over 60 high-school and college students from across North America have participated in ChemTalk’s national internship program, becoming advocates for science while honing their own skills and knowledge. This number is expected to climb exponentially over the next 12 months.

“I wanted to find people obsessed with science, people who wanted to prove that science can be both fun and easy to learn for anyone and everyone. At ChemTalk, I have finally found those people,” says Melissa Valqui, a chemistry major from Boston University and one of ChemTalk’s volunteers.

In the ten months since ChemTalk’s website was created, traffic has climbed to over 93,000 visitors per month, making it one of the fastest-growing education websites of 2021. 

Social media channels were launched on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, and LinkedIn. One video, possibly the first video to show a maze being solved by chemistry using a pH gradient, received over 800,000 views on their new TikTok channel. The ChemTalk podcast has interviewed over a dozen professors, scientists, and Nobel laureates to expose young people to role models, early in their lives.

ChemTalk is located in Southern California in the heart of a burgeoning biotech and life-science cluster growing in the region surrounding biotech giant Amgen. Brent Reinke, Founder and Chairman of Bioscience Alliance (www.biosciencealliance.org), located in nearby Westlake Village, CA, stated that “It’s exciting to see a fast-growing STEM education nonprofit located right in the middle of our region’s rapidly expanding life science cluster. ChemTalk’s mission fits extremely well with the goals of BSA. That’s why we are excited to announce the organizations have agreed to become sponsors of one another to further support our mutual efforts. ChemTalk will play an integral role in ensuring there are highly sought after STEM workers for the growing number of young companies in our area.“

ChemTalk received donations from the American Chemical Society (Los Padres Chapter), CABRI Foundation (Cayman Chemical), KPM Accelerate, Bluewater Travel, and Ortheus Inc, a great show of support for a brand new grass-roots organization. They have already raised 25% of the $50,000 GoFundMe goal to fund their operations and programs for the next several months.

In addition to fundraising through donors and sponsors, ChemTalk is actively seeking writers, volunteers, partners, and advisory board members. Achieving ChemTalk’s fundraising goals will allow it to easily reach over 2,000,000 students in 2022, helping to create the next generation of the STEM workforce.

“ChemTalk is a wonderful initiative that inspires young people to gain a broad understanding and practical knowledge of chemistry concepts by leveraging the network effects and promoting collaboration, diversity, and inclusion. It is helping to build the future workforce of the chemical industry” says Dr. Selma Duhovic, a scientist at Kebotix Inc. 

Please contact Scott at press@chemistrytalk.org for a complete press kit, including photos, videos, and additional quotes from a variety of stakeholders.

About ChemTalk

ChemTalk is a 501(c)(3) public charity non-profit, focused on science education and outreach. Their mission is to make chemistry & related sciences more fun, easier to learn, and more relatable for students and the general public. They also focus on improving the perception of chemistry, and inspiring the next generation of our STEM workforce.