2019 Central Regional Meeting

The 2019 Central Regional Meeting (CERM) of the American Chemical Society, hosted by the ACS Midland Section, will take place June 3–8 at the H Hotel and the H.H. Dow Leadership Academy in Midland, Michigan. Special events will be held at the Midland Center for the Arts, Dow Diamond stadium, and Michigan State University’s Midland STEM Center.

The ACS Midland Section will be celebrating its 100th anniversary, as well as the 50th anniversary of CERM. Meeting details are available at acscerm2019.org.

Technical program.The meeting’s theme is “Molecules to Materials.” Plenary talks will be delivered by Tobin J. Marks of Northwestern University; Craig J. Hawker of the University of California, Santa Barbara; Melanie S. Sanford of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and A. N. Sreeram of Dow.

Symposia include “Adhesion, Surfaces, and Interfaces”; “Bioinorganic: Metalloproteins, Model Complexes, and Metals in Medicine”; “Cosmetic Chemistry: The Science beyond Beauty”; “Developing Sustainable Chemistries—Principles, Tools, Drivers, and Case Studies”; “Novel Chemistries Enabling High Performance Buildings”; “Feedstock and Energy Related Catalysis”; “Chemical Tools for Investigating Biology”; “The Central Nature of Diversity in Organic Chemistry”; “Synthesis and Characterization of Advanced Polymeric Materials”; “Polymer and Colloid Science: Fundamentals and Applications”; “Process Chemistry and Development”; “Chemistry and Transportation”; “Safety in the Undergraduate Curriculum”; “Materials for Advanced Separations”; “Industrial Applications of Polymers”; and a special event illustrating achievements from the ACS central region.

On Friday, the ACS Division of Business Development and Management will host a talk on entrepreneurship by Joseph M. DeSimone of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Exhibition. The exhibition will take place Tuesday through Friday. Exhibiting companies include Advion, Agilent, Biotage, Bruker Optics, Macherey-Nagel, Midland Moose Works, Impact Analytical, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Workshops. Educators can attend a variety of workshops, including “Toxicology for Chemists”; “Creating a STEM Elementary School Using Project Lead the Way Concepts”; “Virtues and Values in Science Education,” which includes dinner and a tour of the Chippewa Nature Center; “Introduction to 3-D Printing in the Science Curriculum”; and “Chemistry, Life, the Universe, and Everything.” Some of the workshops will be also be available through video conferencing.

Special events. An opening reception and ice cream social will take place on Monday from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Midland Center for the Arts. Attendees can enjoy appetizers, drinks, and locally made ice cream while viewing the Chemistry and Art exhibition, which celebrates the contributions of chemistry to creativity.

On Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at the Midland Center for the Arts, astronaut Captain Scott Kelly will present the talk “The Sky Is Not the Limit: Lessons from a Year in Space,” exploring the role of chemistry and science in discovery. Tickets are $25 and available through the center’s box office at www.mcfta.org.

CERM’s Regional Water Quality Experiment, a yearlong citizen science activity that engaged middle school students in a water-quality study of the central region, will wrap up on Thursday with a tailgate at the Dow Diamond stadium. The program will include a career-mentoring panel, a networking event, and STEM Night at Dow Diamond featuring a high school robotics competition.

The regional meeting will conclude on Saturday with the National Historic Chemical Landmark dedication for the advancement of the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry coupling that originated at the Dow Chemical spectroscopy labs in Midland in 1955. The ceremony will take place in the Dow Lounge of the H Hotel.

Registration and lodging. Registration is now open and will continue through June 8. Rooms are available at the H Hotel and can be booked through the meeting website. Breakfast and lunch are included with meeting registration and will be served at the H Hotel. For more information, visit acscerm2019.org.