NERM 2016

The American Chemical Society’s Binghamton Section will host the 41st Northeast Regional Meeting (NERM 2016) on Oct. 5–8 at the Binghamton, N.Y., DoubleTree and Holiday Inn hotels. The meeting theme is “Chemistry at the Crossroads of Energy & Life.” The meeting will be held in conjunction with the 28th Electronics Packaging Symposium & Workshop, sponsored by the Integrated Electronics Engineering Center (IEEC) at Binghamton University, SUNY, and General Electric, which will take place on Oct. 6–7. The general chair of NERM 2016 is Wayne Jones of Binghamton University. The program chairs are Christof Grewer and Nik Dimitrov, both of Binghamton University.

Technical program. During NERM 2016, more than 50 symposia and workshops will highlight advances in all traditional chemical areas, with a special emphasis on the forefront of energy and life-sciences-related research. In addition to the technical symposia, there will be four educational and career development workshops, a poster session, and an exhibition. Susan B. Horwitz of Albert Einstein Cancer Center at Albert Einstein College of Medicine will present the keynote lecture, titled “Taxol, Tubulin & Tumors: A Study in Drug Development.” Materials-related symposia include “Complex Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Properties, Applications,” “Electrochemical Energy Conversion & Storage,” “Smart Energy,” “Electronic Materials & Nanotechnology: From Fundamentals to Applications,” “Solid-State Chemistry,” and “Surface Chemistry.” Life-sciences-related symposia include “Chemical Biology,” “Medicinal Chemistry/Drug Development,” “Nucleic Acids,” “Membrane Biochemistry,” “Drug Delivery,” “Bioorthogonal Chemistry,” “Metals & Metalloproteins,” “Metals in Biochemistry,” and “Biological NMR Spectroscopy.” In addition, there will be sessions on “Electronic Packaging,” “Theoretical & Computational Chemistry,” “Computational Chemistry,” “Green/Environmental Chemistry,” “Chemical Hazard Mitigation,” and “Chemical Information.” General poster sessions will include the topics of analytical, biological, computational, electro-, environmental, inorganic, materials, medicinal, organic, physical, and polymer chemistry, as well as chemical education.

Courses & workshops. The program will include several workshops for unemployed members, undergraduate and graduate students, and postdocs. The “Résumé Review” workshop will provide an opportunity for one-on-one time with an ACS facilitator, who will offer advice on job searching after graduation, as well as help with résumé and cover letter writing. The “Acing the Interview” workshop will focus on skills development. And the “Collaborating across Boundaries” workshop will offer strategies for making collaborations productive and rewarding. For graduate students and postdocs, the ChemIDP workshop will provide information on various career options and how to prepare for them. The workshop will also focus on self-assessment, skill building, career exploration, and goal setting. Lunch will be provided after the session.

Undergraduate programming. Undergraduates can present their research projects at the poster session, allowing ample opportunity to introduce their work and network with academics and professionals in their field. A workshop for undergraduate students will highlight career pathways in chemistry, such as industry, higher education, and government, as well as self-employment. Finally, representatives from chemistry graduate programs at several universities in the Northeast will have information booths, allowing for discussions with faculty directly involved in admitting graduate students.

Awards. Several awards will be presented during Friday evening’s awards ceremony. These include the Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences, ACS Division of Chemical Education Northeast Region Award for Excellence in High School Teaching, the E. Ann Nalley Regional Award for Volunteer Service to ACS, and the Partners for Progress & Prosperity Award—Northeast Region P3 Award.

IEEC/GE electronics packaging event. The 28th Electronics Packaging Symposium & Workshop will be integrated into this year’s NERM meeting. This will allow attendees to visit sessions on the application side of chemistry in the electronics industry. The symposium and workshop offers a wide range of talks on electronics packaging and reliability.

Exhibits & special events. The meeting will kick off with an opening reception on Wednesday night. Light hors d’oeuvres will be served, and a cash bar will be available. The exhibits will start on Wednesday evening and will be open throughout the meeting. The Women Chemists Committee luncheon will be held on Thursday, Oct. 6. Mindy Levine of the University of Rhode Island will be speaking on “Balancing the Equation of Professorship, Parenting & Personal Satisfaction as a Female Chemistry Professor.” Binghamton has several brewpubs and bars around the downtown area. For those over 21, there is a tour through several pubs to taste some of the local brew.

Lodging & registration. Early-bird registration has closed, but on-site registration will continue through the end of the meeting. Reserve rooms at the DoubleTree or Holiday Inn through the NERM website at nerm2016.sites.acs.org.