2018 Southwest Regional Meeting

The ACS Central Arkansas Local Section will host the 2018 Southwest Regional Meeting (SWRM) at the Little Rock Marriott and Statehouse Convention Center on Nov. 7–10. The general cochairs are Marty Perry of St. Louis College of Pharmacy, and Grover Miller of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Technical program. The meeting theme is “The Natural State of Chemistry.” Symposia will feature various aspects of nanotechnology and a keynote address by John Wright of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Other highlights of the technical program include symposia on bioanalytical chemistry, natural products chemistry, and drug discovery. The Cope Scholars Symposium, as well as technical sessions on medicinal chemistry, nanotechnology, chemical education, and chemical toxicology, will also take place.

Workshops. Faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) will benefit from the Reaxys Education workshop. Reaxys Education is developing a series of open education resources that are available to all schools, and potentially an education portal for PUIs offering baccalaureate degrees in chemistry that could bring this valuable resource into their students’ academic learning experience. Reaxys contains the world’s largest collection of document, substance, experimental property, and chemical reaction information. The ACS Division of Chemical Health & Safety will host a workshop on Saturday. This workshop will identify key educational chemical safety objectives for lab workers and ACS resources that support those objectives. Topics include critical use of safety information sources, assessment and prioritization of laboratory chemical risks, management of safety in the lab, and emergency planning. Additional workshops include the ACS Leadership Course, ACS Careers workshops, and a workshop on the Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning Project.

Undergraduate programming. If you are considering what to do after you complete your undergraduate degree, SWRM 2018 has programming that provides guidance. Various sessions on career path options will be available, including a graduate school fair that will take place on Thursday and Friday. Applications for schools that want to participate in the fair can be found on the meeting website. Undergraduates can also participate in the Little Rock River Market social on Thursday evening. There will be an undergraduate poster session and a number of podium sessions and an exciting Chem Demo Exchange on Saturday morning. There will also be a keynote presentation by Thomas E. Goodwin, the Elbert L. Fausett Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Hendrix College.

Precollege programming. Secondary science teachers can participate in a day of professional development, which will feature University of Tennessee, Knoxville, chemistry professor Al Hazari’s Magic of Chemistry show, a Chem Demo Exchange, and speakers from the Society for Science & the Public and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

Exposition. A reception on Wednesday evening will help kick off the exposition, which will run through Friday. The expo will offer an opportunity to learn about the latest products on the market. Applications for exhibitors are available on the meeting’s website.

Awards. Several awards will be presented at the meeting, including the ACS Division of Chemical Education Southwest Region Award for Excellence in High School Teaching, the E. Ann Nalley Regional Award for Volunteer Service to ACS, and the Southwest Regional ACS Award. The awards dinner will take place on Thursday evening at the Clinton Presidential Center and will include a tour.

Social events. The social highlights of SWRM 2018 include the ACS Governance Luncheon on Friday and a career luncheon for undergraduates on Thursday. Participants are also invited to attend the Women in Chemistry Luncheon, which will also take place on Thursday.

Lodging and registration. Early-bird registration for the meeting ends at 11:59 PM CDT on Oct. 1, but you can register at the on-site rate through the end of the meeting. Your opportunity to reserve a room at a reduced rate at the Little Rock Marriott hotel, which is in the heart of downtown along the Arkansas River, will end at 11:59 PM CDT on Oct. 8. More details are available at the meeting website, swrm.org/2018.