MARM 2017

The American Chemical Society’s Lehigh Valley and Susquehanna Valley local sections will host the 2017 Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting (MARM) at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, Pa., on Sunday, June 4, to Tuesday, June 6.

The meeting theme is “Elements of Transition,” with presenters sharing advances spanning medicinal chemistry to electronic properties of materials. Academic-industry partnerships and the impacts of changing regulations will also be featured. Esther S. Takeuchi of Stony Brook University, who is working on more efficient energy storage systems, will deliver the plenary lecture on Monday.

MARM’s general chairs are Lorena Tribe of Pennsylvania State University and Dee Casteel of Bucknell University. The program chair is David Rovnyak of Bucknell University.

Technical program. More than 50 technical sessions will highlight advances in the traditional areas of chemistry, as well as in cosmetics, materials, nanotechnology, drug discovery, metabolomics, biosensors, ionic liquids, imaging, and green chemistry.

Chemistry’s many benefits will be highlighted in sessions such as “Food Safety,” which will examine product authentication, detection of toxins and adulterants, antimicrobial treatments, and evaluation of nanomaterials in foods. A session on the “Evolving Landscape of Drug Discovery & Development” tackles chemical biology platforms, navigating start-ups, and bridging discovery and development.

A full-day session on women in organic chemistry will include a keynote presentation by Madeleine M. Joullié, the first female chemistry faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, whose research on the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds and bioactive natural products has resulted in more than 300 peer-reviewed publications.

A Cope Award session on Sunday will recognize Chris Vanderwal of the University of California Irvine.

Workshops. Workshops will be offered on leadership development, chemical health and safety, career pathways, and law and intellectual property. Additionally, a molecular computation and visualization for undergraduate education (MoleCVUE) workshop will help faculty learn how to adopt computation in their classrooms, while the CrIME (Criminal Investigation through Molecular Examination) workshop will help faculty learn activities and strategies for teaching a cross-disciplinary course in chemistry based on environmental forensics.

Undergraduate program. The undergraduate program takes place on Sunday and will feature brainstorming and networking sessions for student chapters, as well as professional development, career preparation, and career transition workshops for rising undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and professors.

High school program. From workshops on Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning to updating the classroom for today’s youth, the Teacher’s Program on Sunday features ways to incorporate social, computational, and sensor technology into the middle and high school chemistry curricula in a way that will engage, motivate, and inspire students.

Also on Sunday, teams of high school students will participate in the Chemagination Competition, where teams will design magazine covers highlighting a recent breakthrough or innovation in chemistry that has improved the quality of people’s lives.

Exhibition and special events. The exhibition will be open all three days of the meeting and will include companies such as Advion, Agilent Technologies, JEOL, Perkin-Elmer, Magritek, Nanalysis, Pearson, Rigaku, TCI America, Top Hat, Vernier Software & Technology, and Waters.

The opening luncheon on Sunday will feature Howard and Sally Peters, also known as Mr. and Mrs. Chocolate. In the evening, there will be an opening reception in the Great Hall where light hors d’oeuvres will be served. Undergraduates can participate in an ice cream social hosted by the Berks Chemical Society.

On Monday morning, the Younger Chemists Committee will host a 5K run, and at the Senior Chemists Breakfast, a guest speaker will address science and human rights. At noon, meet with ACS Governance members for an ACS Strategy Café (spaces are limited so be sure to sign up as you register for the meeting.) And in the evening, celebrate chemical achievements at the Awards Banquet.

On Tuesday morning, there will be a Diversity & Inclusion Breakfast with guest speaker Ingrid Montes of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. A MoleCVUE Round Table will address computational chemistry in the four-year undergraduate chemistry curriculum, followed by a luncheon with guest speaker Rigoberto Hernandez from John Hopkins University. Students can attend a career panel featuring several ACS board members. Relax at the end of the day with a chocolate and wine tasting on-site.

Lodging. Rooms are available at the Hershey Lodge on a first-come, first-served basis at the special rate of $189 per night when booked through the meeting website. The room rates are a substantial discount over peak rates and include complementary access to the indoor water attraction and exercise facility.

Registration. Early bird registration will close on May 8, and online registration will be open through the end of the conference. On-site registration will also be held through the end of the meeting. For more information, visit the meeting website at marm2017.sites.acs.org.

MARM 2017 at a glance

▸ Dates: June 4–6

▸ Location: Hershey, Pa.

▸ Information contacts: Lorena Tribe, lut1@psu.edu, and Dee Casteel, casteel@bucknell.edu, general chairs; David Rovnyak, drovnyak@bucknell.edu, program chair

▸ Website: marm2017.sites.acs.org