Register for the 2024 Southeastern Regional Meeting

The American Chemical Society’s Georgia Section will host the 75th Southeastern Regional Meeting (SERMACS) Oct. 23–26 at the Atlanta Convention Center at AmericasMart in Atlanta. Details about the meeting can be found on the meeting website at sermacs2024.org.

Technical program. The meeting will feature 50 technical symposia, including 105 half-day sessions of oral presentations and 862 poster presentations, with 351 poster presentations at the undergraduate research symposium. The technical program will include presentations by three distinguished plenary speakers: M. G. Finn, James A. Carlos Family Chair for Pediatric Technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology, delivering “Click Chemistry: Bringing the Power of Chemical Synthesis to Everyone”; Cary Supalo of Educational Testing Service delivering “Seeing Beyond the Visual: Ways to Unlock the Potential of the Blind in Chemistry”; and Dennis Liotta, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Chemistry at Emory University, delivering “Making New Drugs the Hard Way.”

A symposium recognizing recent Charles H. Herty Medalists, who will speak on their accomplishments in research and contributions to the chemistry community, will be part of the Thursday programming. Descriptions of other topical symposiums can be found on the SERMACS website.

Additionally, the Southeastern Magnetic Resonance Conference (SEMRC) will take place alongside SERMACS this year, as it did in 2023. SEMRC includes 6 half-day sessions over 3 days during SERMACS.

Workshops. Workshops to help define your career in chemistry include “Finding Yourself: Identifying a Career that Matches Your Strengths and Values,” “Acing the Interview: Setting Yourself Up for Success in an Interview,” and “Networking: How to Get Started.” Other offerings include “K–12 Teachers Workshop,” “Implementing Active Learning in General Chemistry Courses,” “Digital Alchemy: The Fusion of Chemistry and Computing,” and a workshop focusing on chemistry at Merck & Co. And “Chemical Patents Workshop: Intellectual Property (IP) for Chemists” will help with commercializing your technology.

Undergraduate programming. For those considering their postgraduate life, the meeting will offer a graduate fair on Saturday morning as well as the workshops on career preparation mentioned previously.

Human periodic table. Participating high school students will form a human periodic table. Students will pick out an element and prepare a report on that element for credit. Then, as part of SERMACS, the students will form a periodic table—holding a placard of their element and taking the appropriate place for that element in Centennial Olympic Park. A drone will take overhead photos of the gathering.

Meeting exposition. The meeting exposition will offer a great opportunity to learn about the latest products on the market as well as to interact with potential employers and colleagues. Applications for exhibitors are available on the meeting website.

Awards. Several awards will be presented at the meeting. These include the E. Ann Nalley Regional Award for Volunteer Service to ACS, the Stanley C. Israel Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences, the ACS Division of Chemical Education Southeastern Regional Award for Excellence in High School Teaching, the SERMACS Industrial Innovation Award, and the Partners for Progress and Prosperity Award. The awards dinner will take place on Thursday evening in the Penthouse Theater.

Social events. Among the highlights of SERMACS 2024 will be a brewery tour and tasting followed by dinner at Max Lager’s Wood-Fired Grill and Brewery on Wednesday evening, the awards dinner at the Penthouse Theater of AmericasMart on Thursday evening, and a sponsored tour and dinner at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights on Friday evening. Planned luncheons will be sponsored by the Women Chemists Committee, the Senior Chemists Committee, and the Younger Chemists Committee. Additionally, Atlanta provides opportunities to enjoy networking and interacting with colleagues from across the chemistry spectrum: discoveratlanta.com/things-to-do/main.

Lodging and registration. Early-bird registration for the meeting ends at 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on Sept. 23, and you can register at the on-site rate through the end of the meeting. The meeting hotel is the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in downtown Atlanta, which connects through an enclosed walkway to the meeting venue. Travel and hotel discounts are available at sermacs2024.org/travel-information.