Do it your way: Insights from 256th ACS National Meeting

“Yesterday’s coffee is tomorrow’s coffee” is my favorite quote from the 256th ACS National Meeting, which was held in Boston from Aug. 19 to 23. I heard this during the Polymeric Materials: Science & Engineering Division’s “Advances in Human Space Exploration” symposium, where I was chairing a session to highlight advances in this field from industry.

The comment was made in the context of reusability in space. Given the cost of space missions and how undesirable debris is—I learned that even a fleck of paint can punch a hole in critical systems because of its speed of travel—researchers are continuously looking at ways to reuse or recycle parts or components, including any air and water in the crew cabin. We also got to see up close a CubeSat, a miniature satellite weighing around 2 kg that, because of its low cost and relative technical simplicity, is democratizing space exploration.

That was one highlight, but there are many others. The C&EN team enjoyed the first-ever live recording of our podcast, Stereo Chemistry. This will be released in the next few weeks, so if you haven’t subscribed to it, I invite you to do so now. Other high points included the Talented 12 symposium and reception. Both events were superb, with presentations by the chemists showcasing the best of scientific research around the world. Our keynote speakers, David Liu from Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard and Harvard University and Nobel laureate Fraser Stoddart from Northwestern University, also delighted the attendees with their insights. Both keynotes were inspirational and full of good advice for early-career chemists. There was much in common between the two talks, but the most important lesson I took from them was “Do it your way.” From all of us who had the luxury of being there, I can say, “We will.”