67th Southwest Regional Meeting

The Central Texas Section of the American Chemical Society will host the 67th Southwest Regional Meeting (SWRM 2011) at the DoubleTree Hotel Austin in Austin, Texas, from Wednesday, Nov. 9, to Saturday, Nov. 12.

The meeting venue is conveniently located minutes from the lively downtown Austin entertainment district, the State Capitol, the University of Texas, and the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.

Visit the SWRM 2011 website, www.swrm2011.org, for evolving details, registration, and hotel information.

Technical Program. An interesting and diverse technical program covering the latest cutting-edge research in numerous fields of chemistry is planned.

Nobel Laureate Robert F. Curl Jr. of Rice University and Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University will serve as plenary speakers.

Symposia will include “The Atmosphere & Climate Change,” “Bio-Activities of Small Molecules,” “Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy in Materials Science,” “Contemporary Organic Chemistry,” “Corrosion Mitigation & Surface Protection Techniques,” “Division of Small Chemical Businesses: Intellectual Property Issues for Small Chemical Businesses,” “Electrochemical Methods: Fundamentals & Applications, a Symposium in Honor of Bard & Faulkner,” “Functional Aspects of Coordination Polymers,” “Graphenes & Other Non­spherical Nanoparticles,” “Main-Group Chemistry: A Continual Source of Fundamental New Knowledge & Applications in Everyday Life,” “Mass Spectrometry-Based Structure Analysis of Biological Molecules,” “Materials Science in the 21st Century,” “Nanomaterials: Energy Conversion & Storage Applications,” “Natural Product Biosynthesis,” “New Approaches to Drug Discovery—Techniques & Applications,” “New Directions in Green Chemistry,” “Nuclear & Radiochemistry: Current Issues in Nuclear Forensics & Neutron Activation Analysis,” “Paul Barbara in Texas: Single Molecules & Single Particles,” “Polymer Nanocomposites,” “Profiles of Past ACS Presidents,” “Recent Advances in Chemical Health & Safety,” “Theoretical/Computational Chemistry—Dedicated to James E. Boggs,” “Modern Nanoparticle Approaches to Drug Delivery & Diagnostics,” “Supramolecular & Dynamic-Covalent Materials,” “Supramolecular Chemistry,” “Synthesis & Studies of Metal-Containing Polymers,” “Theoretical & Experimental Investigations of Biomolecular Interactions,” and “The Richard J. Lagow Memorial Symposium.”

Confirmed speakers include H. W. Roesky (University of Göttingen), A. J. Bard (University of Texas, Austin), T. D. Tilley (University of California, Berkeley), P. P. Power (UC Davis), D. DesMarteau (Clemson University), T. Mallouk (Pennsylvania State University), L. R. Faulkner (Houston Endowment Inc.), K. Stevenson (UT Austin), B. Zhang (University of Washington, Seattle), S. Maldonado (University of Michigan), L. A. Baker (Indiana University), R. M. Crooks (UT Austin), J. L. Atwood (University of Missouri, Columbia), G. Gokel (University of Missouri, St. Louis), M. J. Krische (UT Austin), P. D. Magnus (UT Austin), H. C. (Joe) Zhou (Texas A&M University), J. L. Sessler (UT Austin), E. Anslyn (UT Austin), R. Dias (UT Arlington), R. Kemp (University of New Mexico), W. Carroll (Occidental Chemical), D. Nelson (University of Oklahoma), K. Willets (UT Austin), A. T. Keatinge-Clay (UT Austin), J. Brodbelt (UT Austin), M. Berg (University of South Carolina), D. Berg­breiter (Texas A&M University), E. Ann Nalley (Cameron University), C. Mullins (UT Austin), J. Thrasher (Clemson University), and J. Sibert (UT Dallas).

General oral and poster sessions are also planned for biochemistry; nanochemistry; and inorganic, organic, and physical ­chemistry.

A series of symposia specifically focused on chemical education and an extensive undergraduate program are cornerstones of this year’s meeting. The undergraduate program was inspired by the International Year of Chemistry and is dedicated to the environment, energy, materials, and health.

WORKSHOPS. The ACS Department of Career Services will offer three career workshops on Wednesday: “Planning Your Job Search,” “Preparing a Résumé,” and “Effective Interviewing.” An ACS career consultant will be available on Thursday to provide individual résumé reviews and career assistance; attendees must bring a copy of their résumé. Sign-up will be available at meeting registration.

Other workshops will include “National Instruments Workshop, LabVIEW for Data Acquisition & Instrument Control” on Wednesday and “Introduction to the Federal Grant Process Workshop” on Thursday.

Friday’s workshops include “Chemistry Career Panel Discussion & Networking,” “Lens of the Market Workshop” (limited to seven teams of two to five people), and “Laboratory Waste Management Workshop.” Saturday will feature “High School Teacher Workshop,” “Leadership Development—Fostering Innovation,” and “How To Be an Effective Chemical Hygiene Officer.” Additional details, including fees and a description of the workshops, can be found at www.swrm2011.org/workshops.

SOCIAL EVENTS. A variety of social events and field trips have been planned for SWRM 2011. Event tickets may be purchased during registration or on-site as available. Further details can be found on the meeting website at www.swrm2011.org/events.

An opening reception will be held on Tuesday evening at the Black Star Co-op.

On Wednesday, the ACS Member Insurance Program and MetLife will sponsor a “Lunch & Learn, Investing 101” seminar that will explain the difference between saving and investing. A welcome reception will be held on Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday will start with a Women in Industry Breakfast. Later, an undergraduate lunch will kick off the undergraduate program with icebreakers to invite communication between ACS student chapters.

The “Act4Chemistry Lunch, Advocating for Science” will also take place on Thursday. ACS’s Act4Chemistry is a grassroots advocacy program for updating members on policy issues and facilitating contact with legislators. This session will feature a panel of people involved in influencing, interpreting, and voting on legislation at the local, state, and national levels.

An exhibitor reception will be held on Thursday evening and will include beer, wine, and hors d’oeuvres. “ ‘Breaking Bad’: Inspiring the Next Generation of Scientists,” will run that same evening. At this event, Donna J. Nelson, a chemistry professor at the University of Oklahoma, will discuss requests for assistance from producers of “Breaking Bad” and will show clips from the TV show that reveal her responses.

Later that night, the “Science in the Movies” keynote event will relate science concepts to movie stunts and special effects as a way of getting people interested in and excited about science while teaching basic concepts in a way that no one will forget. Drawing on his background as a stunt and special effects coordinator, Steve Wolf will tie the science of moviemaking to classroom science lessons. During an engaging and interactive presentation, Wolf will perform numerous stunts that can serve as the basis for teaching key science and safety concepts.

The Grad/Undergraduate Networking Breakfast will take place on Friday morning. Graduate students will mingle with undergraduates, answering questions about their graduate programs while enjoying a continental breakfast. The event will enable undergraduates to gain insight about graduate school as well as hone their list of questions to discuss with graduate recruiters later in the day.

A Women Chemists Committee lunch on Friday will feature Susan Davenport speaking about “Regional Technology Ecosystem: Challenges & Opportunities.” Davenport is senior vice president of global technology strategies for the Austin Chamber of Commerce. She manages the Greater Austin Technology Partnership, which develops and implements strategies designed to improve Austin’s global competitive position for technology innovation. She is also the program manager for the Central Texas Regional Center of Innovation & Commercialization, which focuses on the commercialization of disruptive technologies. Over the past five years, the initiative has helped 32 companies garner more than $57 million of investment and aided regional universities and research entities in obtaining $30 million of funding from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.

All registered attendees are invited to a governance reception hosted by the ACS Board of Directors from 5 to 6:30 PM. The event will feature refreshments, hors d’oeuvres, and conversation with ACS governance and staff members present at the meeting. Attendees will mingle with board members, hear about the latest board activities, and discuss the state of ACS.

Also on Friday from 5:30 to 6:30 PM, an undergraduate ice cream social will take place. This social event will give student chapters one last opportunity to exchange ideas and network while enjoying ice cream.

The Friday evening awards dinner will feature Nobel Laureate Robert F. Curl Jr. as plenary speaker. The ACS Division of Chemical Education Regional Award for Excellence in High School Teaching, the E. Ann Nalley Regional Award for Volunteer Service to the American Chemical Society, the Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences, and the Southwest Regional ACS Award will be presented at the dinner.

Exhibition & Sponsorships. SWRM 2011 will feature an exposition that spans the chemical sciences and higher education in chemistry. The exposition will be open from 9 AM to 5 PM on Wednesday and Thursday and from 9 AM to noon on Friday.

The exposition will feature an exhibitors’ drinks reception on Wednesday evening, in addition to other events that will ensure participation of a wide audience of chemists.

Individuals, businesses, and other organizations are invited to help sponsor symposia and other events at SWRM 2011 to ensure the highest quality of technical programming at this regional meeting. The sponsorship application can be downloaded from the meeting website at www.swrm2011.org/sponsors.

Lodging. Rooms should be booked at the DoubleTree Hotel Austin by Oct. 26 to take advantage of the group preferred rate of $99 per night. Reservations may be extended for three days before and after the meeting dates at the group rate. More information is available at www.swrm2011.org/venue.

Registration. Registration is available through the SWRM 2011 website at www.swrm2011.org/registration. Advance registration closes on Oct. 18; however, online registration will remain open at the on-site registration rates until the end of the meeting. On-site registration will take place in the hotel lobby. ◾