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40th Midwest Regional Meeting

September 26, 2005 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 83, Issue 39

SPARKLING
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Credit: COURTESY OF JOPLIN CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
Grand Falls on Shoal Creek, south of Joplin, Mo., flows year-round.
Credit: COURTESY OF JOPLIN CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
Grand Falls on Shoal Creek, south of Joplin, Mo., flows year-round.

The 40th ACS Midwest Regional Meeting (MWRM 2005), hosted by Mo-Kan-Ok, the Tri-State Section, will be held in Joplin, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 26 through Saturday, Oct. 29. The meeting will feature several technical symposia and poster sessions, a Friday-afternoon workshop for high school science teachers, extensive student affiliate programming, and an expanded employment services program aimed at newly graduated chemists. For evolving meeting and program information, please visit the website mwrm2005.org.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Special symposia include "Green Chemistry," "Heterocycles," "Innovations in Polymer Chemistry," "Interaction of Organic & Inorganic Substances with Clay Minerals," "Science Education K-12," and "Smaller Is Better: Miniaturization in Analytical Chemistry." The technical program will include oral and poster sessions in analytical, biochemical and medicinal, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry, and in chemistry education.


NWRM 2005 AT A GLANCE

Dates: Oct. 26-29

Location: Holiday Inn, Joplin, Mo.

Website: mwrm2005.org

Information contacts: Mel Mosher, general meeting chair, (417) 625-9733 or mosher-m@mssu.edu; Michael Garoutte, program chair, (417) 625-0579 or garoutte-m@mssu.edu.


The symposium titled "Science Education K-12" will be of particular interest to high school science teachers. A chemical magic show, sponsored by the Mo-Kan-Ok student affiliates, will lead off the program. The program will also include the Midwest High School Teacher of the Year address, a workshop on calculator-based laboratories in high school chemistry, and a panel discussion.

The panel discussion will feature three high school teachers who have had extensive experience mentoring quality science research with their students. Each has had numerous students qualify for the Intel International & Science Engineering Fair and has had students win awards at the fair. The teachers (along with former students) will present their techniques for motivating students to conduct research, assisting them in selecting topics, and mentoring the research.

Awards to be presented at the meeting include the Midwest High School Teacher of the Year; the Midwest Regional Award in Chemistry; and for the first time, the Midwest Regional Industrial Innovation Award. In conjunction with the awards, each honoree will present an address at the meeting.

STUDENT AFFILIATE PROGRAM

The Mo-Kan-Ok student affiliate chapter is sponsoring several events for undergraduates at the meeting. There will be a photo scavenger hunt during the Wednesday-evening mixer. On Thursday, in addition to the morning résumé preparation and mock interview workshop, a noon pizza luncheon will be followed by a presentation by Anthony Toste about the effects of radiation on organic waste, an afternoon green chemistry workshop, and a belly-flop contest in the swimming pool. On Friday, the student affiliates will sponsor a workshop titled How To Get More Students Involved. Throughout the meeting, a student lounge will be available, and snacks and chemistry board games will be provided to challenge and entertain students.

ACS CAREER RESOURCE CENTER

This comprehensive career employment center will provide a broad array of career services, including online job searches, career workshops, and one-on-one résumé reviews.

The Chemjobs Career Center is open to ACS members and national and student affiliates. All job seekers and employers must sign up online at chemistry.org/careers (click on Chemjobs Regional Employment Center) beginning on Sept. 26 to participate. Access to the online service is through personal computer. There will be no direct access provided by MWRM 2005.

Members and national and student affiliates wishing to have their résumé reviewed by a career consultant should sign up for an appointment at the MWRM 2005 registration desk. Résumé reviews will be conducted on Thursday from 1 to 5 PM.

Career workshops will be presented to help experienced chemical professionals or younger members and students in preparing résumés, interviewing, and job searching. The speakers will give useful tips on career development and valuable lessons on the workplace, as well as unique insight into the job market. The following one-hour workshops will be presented on Thursday: résumés; Preparation, Targeting the Job Market, and Interviewing Skills.

ACS PROGRESS

To help raise awareness among women chemical professionals, their colleagues, and their employers of the challenges experienced by women in the chemical workforce, the ACS PROGRESS Project will present a half-day symposium on Friday afternoon, Oct. 28, entitled "PROGRESS: Thriving in the Workplace Road Show." This symposium will present best practices and the challenges facing starting and midcareer women chemists and chemical engineers and tips on how to help them thrive in the workplace, thereby fostering diversification of the workforce. The session will include two presentations and a panel discussion. A networking reception will follow the presentations.

For more information, contact Felicia Dixon, American Chemical Society, 1155--16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036; (202) 872-6334; e-mail: f_dixon@acs.org.

ONE-DAY POGIL WORKSHOP

A one-day workshop on Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning (POGIL) will be held on Saturday, Oct. 29, from 9 AM to 4 PM at Missouri Southern State University, in Joplin.

POGIL is a classroom and laboratory technique that seeks to simultaneously teach content and key process skills, such as the ability to think analytically and work effectively as part of a collaborative team. A POGIL classroom or lab consists of any number of students working in small groups on specially designed guided-inquiry materials. These materials supply students with data or information followed by leading questions designed to guide them toward formulation of their own valid conclusions--essentially, a recapitulation of the scientific method. The instructor serves as a facilitator, observing and periodically addressing individual and classroom-wide needs.

There is no charge for this one-day workshop, but participants are asked to register in advance. For more information and to sign up for the workshop, please visit www.pogil.org and click on "Events."

ACS CHEMISTRY TEXTBOOK WORKSHOP

The new ACS textbook "Chemistry" is designed to support an activity-based, student-centered approach to teaching general or honors chemistry high school courses. Most of this workshop for college/university instructors and secondary school teachers of honors chemistry courses is devoted to hands-on participation in group activities and pointers from faculty who are using the text about how this approach is accomplished in classrooms. These activities also provide a way to include and explain content and concepts that may be treated somewhat differently in this text. Also included is an introduction to the "Web Companion" with its interactive animated exercises that illustrate, reinforce, and extend the content and concepts in the static text as well as an introduction to the "Faculty Resource & Organizational Guide," a resource with complete instructions for all activities and extensive solutions to the in-chapter activities and end-of-chapter problems.

There is no charge for this one-and-a-half-day workshop, which starts at 8:30 AM on Saturday, Oct. 29, and ends at noon on Sunday, Oct. 30. For more information and to sign up for the workshop, contact Jerry A. Bell at j_bell@acs.org.

SOCIAL EVENTS

MWRM 2005 will kick off at 6:30 PM on Wednesday with Sci-Mix, featuring a poster session, social mixer, and opening of the exposition.

On Thursday morning, all MWRM 2005 participants are invited to join ACS President-Elect E. Ann Nalley; ACS Board members Diane Grob Schmidt, Howard Peters, and Kent Voorhees; and other ACS governance members for a continental breakfast and member open forum. Recent board actions and activities will be discussed, and attendees will have the opportunity to share their ideas, questions, and concerns about ACS.

The MWRM 2005 Awards Banquet will be held on Thursday evening at 6:30 at the Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral Museum in Joplin. Tickets are $35 and may be purchased with advance registration. A limited number of tickets will be available for sale on-site. The banquet will honor Jerry Atwood of the University of Missouri, the recipient of the 2005 Midwest Award sponsored by the St. Louis Section; Shannon Sample of Seneca (Mo.) High School, the recipient of the 2005 Midwest Regional Award for Excellence in High School Teaching--the John E. Bauman Jr. Award in Chemical Education; and Ivan Javni of the Kansas Polymer Research Center, the recipient of the ACS Midwest Industrial Innovation Award.

Atwood's presentation will anchor a Thursday-afternoon minisymposium in supramolecular chemistry. His interests lie in the characterization and manipulation of the intermolecular noncovalent interactions that are responsible for the complex molecular interplay mechanisms prevalent in biological systems.

At 7:30 on Friday morning, Javni, who is being honored for the development of intelligent gels and unique biobased polyols for use in polyurethanes, will present his research and receive his award during a continental breakfast sponsored by the ACS Office of Industry Member Programs.

VENDOR EXHIBITION

The MWRM 2005 exposition will be centrally located in the atrium area of the Holiday Inn adjacent to the poster sessions and coffee breaks. A maximum of 16 vendor booths will be available to MWRM 2005 attendees Wednesday evening though Friday noon. Potential exhibitors are encouraged to review the invitation to exhibit on the MWRM 2005 website.

HOUSING & TRAVEL

Joplin is conveniently located at the intersection of Interstate 44 (old Route 66) and U.S. Business 71. From the east or west, take I-44 to Joplin; from the north or south, take U.S.-71 to I-44, then go west 3 miles. Then, from I-44, go north on Range Line Road (Exit 8B); take an immediate right turn onto Hammons Boulevard, which leads to the Holiday Inn.

The Joplin Regional Airport is a commercial service airport (code: JLN) with scheduled air-carrier service (currently two flights per day to and from St. Louis on the 29-passenger Jetstream 41) from American Eagle, affiliated with American Airlines. Hertz and Avis rental cars are available at the airport. The Holiday Inn provides a free shuttle if you are rooming there; some other hotels also provide this service.

A block of rooms has been reserved for MWRM 2005 attendees at the Holiday Inn at the rate of $78 per night plus applicable taxes for single or double rooms. There is a $10 charge for each additional occupant. To make reservations at the MWRM 2005 rate, call the Holiday Inn at (417) 782-1000 or (800) HOLIDAY and ask for the ACS room block. You may also book rooms online at www.holidayinn.com/joplinmo (be sure to enter the group booking code ACS).

For a list of other lodging options, visit the MWRM 2005 website. For additional information on Joplin and the surrounding area, please go to www.visitjoplinmo.com.

REGISTRATION

The advance registration deadline is midnight (eastern time) on Oct. 12. Meeting attendees are encouraged to register in advance. Online registration is now available through www.mwrm2005.org or via the regional meeting home page of chemistry.org. On-site registration and distribution of program books and badges will take place in the atrium of the Holiday Inn from 4:30 to 9:30 PM on Wednesday, from 7:30 AM to 5 PM on Thursday, and from 7:30 AM to 1 PM on Friday. Requests for refunds must be made in writing to Donna Davis, ACS Office of Society Services, 1155--16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036; d_davis2@acs.org. Full refunds will be issued until Oct. 12. From Oct. 13 to 25, a $20 processing fee will be assessed. No refunds will be issued after Oct. 25. All registration questions, including requests for registration forms from those without Web access, should be directed to the ACS Office of Society Services at (800) 227-5558.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For additional information, contact the general meeting chair, Mel Mosher, at (417) 625-9733 or mosher-m@mssu.edu, or the program chair, Michael Garoutte, at (417) 625-0579 or garoutte-m@mssu.edu.

GETTING THERE

ACS has negotiated discounted rates for air and ground travel for five days before and after each meeting.

Air: United [(800) 521-4041, Meeting Plus Code 517SM] and US Airways [(877) 874-7687, Gold File No. 97692959] both offer discounts off published domestic fares and unrestricted coach fares and do not require a Saturday-night stay. United offers 5% off fares booked 30 days in advance. US Airways offers 5% off fares booked 60 days in advance.

Ground: Contact Avis [(800) 331-1600, ID Code B120799] or Hertz [(800) 654-2240, ID Code CV# 02UZ0004].

GENERAL SCHEDULE

WEDNESDAY

4:30-9:30 PM--Registration

6:30-9:30 PM--Opening Sci-Mix

THURSDAY

7:30 AM-5:00 PM--Registration

7:30-8:30 AM--Continental Breakfast and Member Open Forum with ACS Governance Leaders

9:00 AM-noon--Career Services Workshops

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1:00-5:00 PM--Career Services Résumé Reviews

6:30-9:00 PM--MWRM 2005 Awards Banquet

FRIDAY

7:30 AM-1:00 PM--Registration

7:30-8:30 AM--Continental Breakfast/Industrial Innovation Award Symposium

Noon-2:00 PM--Midwest Board Meeting & Lunch

TECHNICAL PROGRAM

Visit www.mwrm2005.org for evolving information on the technical program.

WEDNESDAY EVENING

Sci-Mix Poster Session

Undergraduate Programming

THURSDAY MORNING

Heterocycles

Chemistry Education

Miniaturization in Analytical Chemistry

Inorganic Chemistry

Physical Chemistry

Biochemical/Medicinal & Analytical Chemistry Poster Sessions

Undergraduate Programming

THURSDAY AFTERNOON

Heterocycles

Chemistry Education

Miniaturization in Analytical Chemistry

Green Chemistry Workshop

Organic & Polymer Chemistry Poster Sessions

Midwest Award Symposium

Undergraduate Programming

FRIDAY MORNING

Industrial Innovation Award Symposium

Green Chemistry

Innovations in Polymer Chemistry

Interactions with Clay Minerals

Analytical Chemistry

Biochemical & Medicinal Chemistry

Organic Chemistry

Chemistry Education & Inorganic Chemistry Poster Sessions

Undergraduate Programming

FRIDAY AFTERNOON

Interactions with Clay Minerals

Science Education K–12

Organic Chemistry

Physical Chemistry Poster Session

PROGRESS: Thriving in the Workplace Road Show

Undergraduate Programming

SATURDAY–SUNDAY

ACS "Chemistry" Textbook Workshop

POGIL Workshop

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