2012 Southeastern Regional Meeting

The 64th Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (SERMACS 2012) will be hosted by the North Carolina Section from Wednesday, Nov. 14, through Saturday, Nov. 17. The meeting, which has a theme of “Catalyzing Sustainable Innovation,” will be held at the Raleigh Convention Center in beautiful and historic Raleigh, N.C.

The latest information about the program, including registration, accommodations, and other details, can be found on the meeting website at sermacs2012.org.

TECHNICAL PROGRAM. The technical program will cover a wide array of chemistry topics, with 26 invited symposia and contributed papers together comprising more than 100 oral sessions and over 40 poster sessions.

SERMACS 2012 is fortunate to have partnered with other organizations whose meetings will be featured in the program. The Energy Frontier Research Center and the Solar Energy Research Center will host a conference on “Photonic Assemblies, Materials, and Catalysts for Solar Fuels.” The 41st Southeastern Magnetic Resonance Conference will cover the latest developments in nuclear magnetic resonance, electron paramagnetic resonance, and magnetic resonance imaging with presentations from established and emerging leaders in the field. And the North Carolina Local Section will hold its conference, featuring the NC Distinguished Speaker Award Lecture. The full list of symposia and their sponsors can be found on the SERMACS website.

EXPOSITION. On Thursday and Friday, attendees will be able to visit more than 50 booths in the exposition area, where vendors and organizations will showcase their products and services. Companies including Waters Corp., Gamry Instruments, and Netzsch Instruments will present their latest developments and applications during special vendor seminars.

COURSES & WORKSHOPS. The meeting will provide several opportunities for skill development. Offerings include workshops on grant writing, negotiating for women chemists, and chemistry demonstrations. Job seekers will benefit from ACS career workshops, job hunting tips, résumé review, speed networking, and the Career Connections office.

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM. On Friday and Saturday, SERMACS 2012 will have a large contingent of oral and poster sessions specifically for undergraduates, with prizes awarded to the best presentations. Undergraduates will also be able to participate in the career development workshops, network with other scientists, and learn about higher education opportunities.

GRADUATE SCHOOL FAIR. At the Graduate School Fair on Friday and Saturday, more than 20 exhibitors will describe their programs to undergraduate student presenters and attendees.

HIGH SCHOOL & PROJECT SEED ­PROGRAM. A number of events for high school teachers and students will take place on Saturday. In the morning, Learn NC will offer an orientation program for high school teachers. Morning oral and poster sessions will give students a chance to share their work and practice presentation skills. A panel discussion will delve into the best ways to prepare students for college chemistry. In the afternoon, a special Project SEED symposium, the first of its kind at SERMACS, will discuss best practices in the program.

EVENTS. On Wednesday evening, a welcome reception will be held in conjunction with the North Carolina Local Section Conference. The reception will include awards for the best posters in a variety of categories and will conclude with a lecture by the 2012 NC-ACS Distinguished Speaker Award winners, Jane S. and David C. Richardson of Duke University, who will speak on “Admiring, Analyzing, and Improving 3-D Structures of Macromolecules.”

Thursday will include a Women Chemists Committee luncheon; a plenary lecture by Royce W. Murray from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; then science and socializing in the evening at the Sci-Mix reception and poster session, sponsored by Scynexis.

On Friday, entrepreneurial chemistry will be celebrated with a symposium and an Industrial Innovation Award luncheon honoring the award winner, Christian Melander of North Carolina State University. Friday afternoon will feature an ice cream social with ACS governance.

Friday evening, attendees can explore the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences while attending the SERMACS Awards Reception, sponsored by Eastman Chemical. The ACS Stanley C. Israel Southeastern Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences will be presented to Christine S. Grant of NC State, and the E. Ann Nalley Southeastern Regional Award for Volunteer Service to ACS will be presented to Christopher J. Bannochie of Savannah River National Laboratory. The museum event will also feature a plenary address by Joseph M. DeSimone of UNC Chapel Hill and NC State.

On Saturday, two luncheons will celebrate undergraduate oral and poster presentation award winners and Susanne M. Dana of Blacksburg High School, in Virginia, who is the winner of the ACS Chemical Education Division Regional Award for Excellence in High School Teaching.

LODGING. The Raleigh Marriott City Center Hotel, located next to the convention center, is sold out at this time. See the meeting website for other hotel options.

ACTIVITIES & TRAVEL. Visitors can enjoy Raleigh’s vibrant downtown restaurants, museums, music venues, sports events, and other diverse cultural attractions, many within walking distance of the conference or on the free downtown R-line bus route. Explore the nearby Research Triangle area, whose many companies and universities are leaders in catalyzing sustainable innovation. The Visit Raleigh website at visitraleigh.com/visitors offers additional information.

REGISTRATION. Attendees who have not yet registered must do so on-site. On-site registration will take place in the Raleigh Convention Center lobby on Wednesday, Nov. 14, from 10 AM to 7 PM; Thursday and Friday, Nov. 15 and 16, from 7 AM to 7 PM; and Saturday, Nov. 17, from 7 AM to 5 PM.

Please join us at SERMACS 2012 in Raleigh to see the latest innovations in chemistry served up with traditional North Carolina hospitality.