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Environment

2013 Southeastern Regional Meeting

October 7, 2013 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 91, Issue 40

Atlanta
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Credit: Shutterstock
Atlanta
Credit: Shutterstock

If we’re lucky, the fall leaf colors will be at their best in the thriving Midtown district of Atlanta, where the ACS Georgia Section will host the 65th Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (SERMACS 2013) on Nov. 12–17. Consistent with the theme of “Building Chemical Bonds: Academia-Industry-Government,” the meeting will highlight collaborative endeavors among these three sectors. Information about registration, accommodations, and up-to-date meeting details can be found on the meeting website, sermacs2013.org.

Sponsors of the conference include Aerotek, Allnex, several ACS local sections, Ballard Spahr, ChemSpider, Coca-Cola, Eastman Chemical, the Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Kemira, Kimberly-Clark, Pabst Patent Group, and Solvay Chemicals.

TECHNICAL PROGRAM. We’ve worked hard to put a super technical program together for you, including presentations by some of the top researchers from the Southeast and beyond.

The latest developments from synthetic chemists in academia, industry, and government laboratories will be presented in “Approaches to Organic Synthesis across Disciplines.”

A symposium on “The Chemistry of Star & Planet Formation” will explore the role of chemistry in the universe. Symposia on biological simulations and on electronic structure in complex environments will present the latest advances in modeling systems in condensed phases.

SERMACS 2013 At A Glance

Dates: Nov. 12–17

Location: Loews Atlanta Hotel, Atlanta

Information contacts: Terry Say and Mark Mitchell, general chairs, terrysay@aol.com and mmitch52@kennesaw.edu; JoAnn Arceneaux and David Sherrill, program chairs, joann.arceneaux@cytec.com and sherrill@chemistry.gatech.edu; Jason Lye, publicity chair, jason@lycoworks.com; Michelle Stevenson, ACS Department of Meetings & Expositions, m_stevenson@acs.org

Website: sermacs2013.org

Symposia on mass spectrometry will highlight the field of gas-phase multidimensional separations with a focus on applications in various “omics” fields, such as proteomics and metabolomics, and also the role that mass spectrometry plays in enhancing the public’s health through work in academic, private, and government laboratories.

A symposium on medicinal chemistry will discuss how four different neuropeptidergic targets could lead to potential pharmacotherapies for substance abuse problems and other central nervous system disorders. Other symposia will focus on the frontiers of nucleic acid chemistry and the RNA world.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the ACS Committee on Minority Affairs, SERMACS 2013 will present the symposium “Minority Serving Institutions & Their Role in the STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics] Pipeline.Speakers from academia, industry, and government will address the successes of minority-serving institutions and present ideas to promote diversity, improve recruitment efforts, build partnerships, and create sustainable pipelines for a diverse workforce.

A symposium on nanochemistry and spectroscopy will honor Mostafa El-Sayed, a chemical physicist at Georgia Institute of Technology and recipient of the National Medal of Science, on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

SERMACS 2013 will also feature a symposium on “Nanoelectrochemistry in Biomedical Research & Energy Technology.”

A special symposium titled “Novel Bonding Types in Inorganic Chemistry” will include sessions on catalysts for energy conversion and storage, halogen bonding, main-group chemistry, N-heterocylic carbene chemistry, and new materials. The symposium will be anchored by Konrad Seppelt of the Free University of Berlin and Pierangelo Metrangolo of Polytechnic of Milan, in Italy.

Speakers for the “Southern Chemistry History Lessons for 21st-Century America” symposium include a president, senior vice president, and award-winning chemists representing academic, industrial, and public-private partnership institutions.

A supramolecular chemistry symposium will explore “chemistry beyond the molecule” and its relevance to biomedical, materials, mechanistic, sensory, and structural applications.

A symposium on “Synthesis, Structure & Properties of f-Element Materials” will highlight recent advances in the synthesis and properties of complex rare-earth halides, intermetallics, and oxides, as well as studies of the unusual characteristics of actinide bonding. New developments in lanthanide coordination polymers and nanoparticles for biomedical applications will also be presented.

Symposia of particular interest to industry will include “Chemical Patent & Trademark Law” and “New Opportunities for Chemical Businesses.”

Chemical education symposia will cover innovative teaching techniques with a focus on improving student learning outcomes, as well as undergraduate forensic chemistry education.

General sessions and poster sessions will cover analytical, biological, computational, environmental, inorganic, materials, medicinal, organic, physical, and polymer chemistry, as well as chemical education.

EXHIBITION. Vendors and organizations will showcase their products and services on Wednesday and Thursday at booths in the exposition area. Participants so far include Alfa Aesar, Anasazi Instruments, Biotage, Bruker Daltonics, CEM Corp., Extrel, Hanna Instruments, Interchim Inc., Julabo USA, Metrohm USA, Netzsch Instruments, Oakwood Products, Shimadzu, Sigma-Aldrich, Sorbent Technologies, Spectrum Chemicals & Laboratory Products, TA Instruments, Vernier Software & Technology, Wasatch Photonics/Spectrecology, Waters Corp., and Wilmad-LabGlass.

COURSES & WORKSHOPS. The meeting will provide several opportunities for skill development. “Collaboration across Boundaries” will provide leaders with strategies and tools to make collaboration more productive, such as how to ensure equity between what parties bring and what they gain from the effort. The National Science Foundation proposal writing workshops will provide an overview of the programs within the Division of Chemistry, the kinds of projects it funds, and how to communicate with program officers.

ChemSpider will provide an interactive overview of using its free online database to find, deposit, and curate chemistry data. The session will also provide an overview of ChemSpider SyntheticPages, a community-based resource of semantically enriched synthetic procedures that allows community peer review.

Eastman Chemical and ACS will host a hands-on workshop on career pathways for chemists. This workshop is suitable for graduate students and recent grads, as well as experienced professionals considering a career change. In addition to learning about the types of careers that are available, you’ll also learn about job market and hiring trends that will help you make your choice. The workshop will allow time for you to inventory your values, interests, background, strengths, and weaknesses so you can select a career pathway to explore in detail. One-on-one résumé reviews and career guidance sessions will be offered in connection with this workshop. The workshop will also help grad school candidates prepare for the “Building Your Future” fair on Friday, which will include more than 20 exhibitors who will describe their programs to attendees.

An interactive workshop on ethics will use instant electronic polling to examine situations that a chemist could encounter. And a hands-on workshop will focus on the challenges that two-year college faculty face and the resources available to them.

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM. The undergraduate program will begin on Thursday evening with a social, including an appearance by a local chemist-magician. SERMACS 2013 will offer several oral and poster sessions on Friday specifically for undergraduates, with prizes awarded at the Saturday awards luncheon for the best presentations. Undergraduates will be able to participate in the career development workshops, network with other scientists, and learn about higher education opportunities.

Friday will also offer students a chance to learn about the fascinating research of an outstanding chemist at the kickoff of the “Careers in Chemistry Undergraduate Symposium.” The symposium will continue on Saturday morning after a chemistry demonstration exposition that will be as good as you make it! Have your school chemistry club sign up on the website to participate as chemistry demo artists.

Don’t miss the World of Coca-Cola tour on Friday evening, sponsored by Coca-Cola, followed by movie night back at the hotel.

HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM. We invite all teachers in the Southeast Region to be a part of the wonderful teachers program on Friday and Saturday, for a registration fee of $20. Workshops will cover chemistry demonstrations, implementation of common core learning standards, refresher training for experienced Advanced Placement chemistry teachers, school safety, and water quality and Adopt-A-Stream programs, including a water quality chemistry workshop at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

The program will also feature a poster session for high school scientists on Saturday. In addition, high school students are welcome at all undergraduate events on Saturday.

Teachers are also invited to bring students to the World of Coca-Cola tour on Friday evening.

AWARDS. We will present several awards during the meeting. The SERMACS 2013 Industrial Innovation Award will honor chemists who have commercialized their patented inventions. Other awards will include the ACS Division of Chemical Education Southeastern Regional Award for Excellence in High School Teaching, the E. Ann Nalley Southeastern Regional Award for Volunteer Service to ACS, and the Stanley C. Israel Southeastern Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences.

EVENTS. We will welcome you to Atlanta with our Early-Bird Reception on Tuesday evening. Light hors d’oeuvres will be served, and a cash bar will be available. Ice cream will be served at the ACS governance social on Wednesday afternoon.

Sign up for the Chemical Business Mixer networking event, which will take place before Thursday’s awards dinner. Sci-Mix will also be held on Thursday, as well as Women Chemists Committee and Younger Chemists Committee networking events and the Committee on Minority Affairs luncheon. On Friday, an undergraduate social event will take place at the World of Coca-Cola, including a beer-tasting event for those of legal age.

Consistent with the theme of the meeting, and in place of the traditional graduate school fair, SERMACS 2013 will host the “Building Your Future” fair on Friday. Students can obtain information about grad schools as well as about opportunities in industry and government organizations. Not only is this a great informational event for students, but it also provides recruiting visibility to academic, industry, and government organizations.

LODGING. Rooms are available at the Loews Atlanta Hotel on a first-come, first-served basis at the special rate of $159 per night when booked through the meeting website.

REGISTRATION. Advance registration closes on Oct. 25. For additional details, see sermacs2013.org.

We’ve been working hard to build an engaging meeting for our chemistry friends. We look forward to hosting you in Atlanta this fall!

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