ACS Postdoc Summit At Clemson

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY hosted ACS's first workshop for postdoctoral scholars planning an academic career in chemistry; it was held on Oct. 2–5. The workshop engaged 31 postdocs and eight facilitators and was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The workshop was designed to familiarize future faculty members with a variety of interactive teaching models; provide resources that facilitate the incorporation of interactive pedagogies; create a network of early-career faculty; and present strategies for balancing research, teaching, and service expectations with life outside academia.

The postdocs participated in extensive discussions focused on the academic job search, including potential interview questions, teaching and research statements, and the application process. The importance of institutional fit—that is, ensuring that the candidate's interests and expectations match those of the institution—was emphasized. Breakout sessions addressed faculty expectations at research institutions and primarily undergraduate institutions.

Participants also received an introduction to three different pedagogies of engagement: Student-Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs (SCALE-UP), Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL), and problem solving. A session on scientific teaching explored the misconceptions that many students bring to the chemistry classroom and the need to address those misconceptions to promote understanding.