19th Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting

The 19th Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting ([RM]₂ACS 2006), hosted by the ACS Southern Arizona Section, will be held at the Doubletree Hotel Tucson at Reid Park, in Tucson, Ariz., from Saturday, Oct. 14, through Wednesday, Oct. 18. The theme of the meeting, "Chemistry at the Borders," reflects the interdisciplinary nature of chemical research on which the meeting is based, as well as the geographic location of the meeting. Visit the website, www.rmacs2006.arizona.edu, for the most up-to-date program and registration information.

TECHNICAL PROGRAM
Featured symposia at [RM]₂ACS 2006 were organized to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of chemical research and reinforce the theme of the meeting. These include "Environmental Chemistry of Metal Pollution in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region," "The Chemistry of Terrorism," "Victor J. Hruby Symposium," "Bioinspired Chemical Analysis," "The Chem in Biochem-Enzymes & Mechanisms," "A Little Chemistry-Polymers & Nanostructured Materials," "Chemical Biology of Nitrogen Oxides," "Chemistry & the Environment," "David F. O'Brien Symposium," "Chemical Biology of Cancer," "Chemistry at the Boundary with Biology," "Chemistry of Drug Development, Delivery & Formulations," "Stepping across the Border: Charge Transport at Metal-Organic Interfaces," "The 0s & 1s of 21st-Century Learning: Digital Technologies for Teaching Chemistry," "Chemistry in Silico," "Chemistry of Art Restoration," and "Molecular Origami: Conformation in Chemistry & Biochemistry."

In addition, the following symposia focusing on intellectual property and technology transfer will be presented: "From Lab to IPO: The Nuts & Bolts of Starting a Company" and "Starting a Company: Beyond the Basics-Fund-raising, FDA Approval & Clinical Trials." Oral and poster sessions highlighting research in traditional and interdisciplinary chemical research are scheduled throughout the meeting.

PLENARY SESSIONS
A plenary session, "Chemistry at the Borders," is scheduled for Sunday. Harry Gray of California Institute of Technology will speak on "The Currents of Life: Electron Flow through Metalloproteins"; Craig Hawker, University of California, Santa Barbara, addresses "Chemical Opportunities at the Nanotechnology Frontier-From Microelectronics to Biotechnology"; Jeanne Pemberton, University of Arizona, will present "Just Stick To It: Interfacial Characteristics of Microbially Produced Rhamnolipid Biosurfactants"; and James Wells, UC San Francisco, looks at "Site-Directed Small-Molecule Discovery at Adaptive & Allosteric Sites."

The speakers, each of whom brings a broad range of chemical expertise and research, will focus on their accomplishments in interdisciplinary chemical research in bioinorganic chemistry, materials chemistry, surface science, and bioorganic chemistry. A welcome reception will follow the plenary session.

On Monday and Tuesday, two full-day symposia will honor Victor J. Hruby and David F. O'Brien, respectively, for their contributions to interdisciplinary chemical research within the Rocky Mountain region. A luncheon will take place during each symposium with the honoree delivering a keynote address.

STUDENT PROGRAMMING
The student affiliate (SAACS) chapter at the University of Arizona has organized an undergraduate program for the meeting. These events include an undergraduate symposium and keynote speaker scheduled for Saturday. Undergraduate students will give oral presentations on their research, followed by a keynote speaker, Charles M. Falco, chair of condensed matter physics and professor of optical sciences at the University of Arizona.

Following the symposium, the students are invited to attend a barbecue hosted by SAACS that will give undergraduates an opportunity to talk informally with industrial chemists about the chemical industry, the opportunities available, and the paths to get there. There will be an undergraduate mixer and movie night later that evening at the Student Union Underground.

On Sunday, undergraduates are invited to breakfast with graduate school recruiters to discuss graduate studies. Students can take a break with an ice-cream snack made with liquid nitrogen in true SAACS tradition. Following the plenary session, an undergraduate poster session and reception will be held in conjunction with the plenary reception and a graduate recruiting fair.

Graduate students are encouraged to participate in the technical program and present their research in both oral and poster sessions. Events include a graduate student keynote lecture on the science of brewing presented by Charles W. Bamforth, chair of the department of food science and technology at UC Davis. Bamforth joined UC Davis in 1999 after more than 20 years as a research scientist in the brewing industry. His talk will be followed by a guided tour of the Nimbus Brewing Co. microbrewery in Tucson.

Other events of interest to graduate students are the ACS Career Workshops on Monday and the Industrial Awards symposium on Tuesday evening.

SPECIAL EVENTS
[RM]₂ACS 2006 will recognize the achievements and contributions of several scientists at the Awards Banquet on Monday. David Shelton will receive the Regional Award for Excellence in High School Teaching, and Paul Smolenyak will receive the College Educator Award for Excellence in Teaching. The Rocky Mountain Regional Award for Volunteer Service to the American Chemical Society will be presented to E. Gerald Meyer. Additionally, the Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in Chemical Sciences sponsored by the ACS Committee on Minority Affairs will be given to Wilson Francisco. Terry Matsunaga and Varadarajan Ramaswami of ImaRx Therapeutics, in Tucson, will receive the Regional Industrial Innovation Award, sponsored by the ACS Office of Industry Programs. Following the award presentations, Robert N. Shelton, president of the University of Arizona, will present a keynote lecture.

The Southern Arizona Women Chemists Committee (WCC) will host several programs scheduled on Sunday: "Advancing in Your Career with Mentoring," "Networking: How Chemists Form New Bonds," and "Careers for Chemists Outside the Laboratory," led by ACS District VI Director Bonnie A. Charpentier.

A panel discussion on exploring career alternatives features women who have traded their lab coats for new roles. A WCC luncheon featuring F. Ann Walker as speaker follows the morning's presentations. Walker is Regents Professor of Chemistry at the University of Arizona and the 2006 recipient of the Alfred Bader Award in Bioinorganic Chemistry.

On Tuesday, all registered attendees are invited to the complimentary continental breakfast hosted by Charpentier. Recent ACS Board of Directors actions and activities will be discussed. Attendees are encouraged to bring their ideas, questions, or concerns about ACS.

A golf tournament will be held on Wednesday at the prestigious El Rio Golf Course. The course layout features tight fairways, small greens, relatively flat terrain, two lakes, and numerous trees. From duffers to pros, golfers of all skill levels are encouraged to play. The tournament is a fund-raiser for a very good cause: The proceeds will be used to help develop laboratories in local high schools.

ACS CHEMJOBS CAREER CENTER
The Chemjobs Career Center provides an array of career services, including online job searches, career workshops, and one-on-one résumé reviews. All job seekers and employers must sign up online at chemistry.org/careers (click on "Chemjobs Regional Employment Center") beginning Sept. 18 to participate.

The following workshops will be presented on Monday: "Résumé Preparation," 9 AM; "Interviewing Skills," 10 AM; and "Targeting the Job Market," 11 AM. Individual résumé reviews will also be held on Monday from 1 to 4:30 PM, so bring a copy of your résumé. ACS members and national and student affiliates wishing to have their résumés reviewed by a career consultant should preregister.

The Chemjobs Regional Employment Center (CREC) is open to ACS members and national and student affiliates. Job seekers may post their résumés, search for job opportunities, and communicate with employers, all online. Employers may search résumés and manage their accounts online. There will be no interviews held on-site.

CHEMICAL EDUCATOR PROGRAMMING
On Saturday, a one-day workshop on process-oriented guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) will be held. To register for this event and for more information, visit www.pogil.org. "Science Education Strategies for Elementary & Intermediate Educators," a workshop for grade K-8 teachers, is also scheduled for Saturday. The workshop "Photoelectron Spectroscopy & Ionization Energies for Chemical Educators" will take place on Monday. More detailed descriptions of these workshops can be found at www.rmacs2006.arizona.edu/workshops.htm.

WORKSHOPS
A public relations workshop, "Increase the Visibility of Your National Chemistry Week Events," conducted by the ACS Committee on Public Relations & Communications, will focus on how to promote your local section's National Chemistry Week events. Learn how to identify the audience, write media alerts that get attention, and explore options to publicize the events including online calendars, school newsletters, and community service announcements. These tools and techniques can be used throughout the year to promote other local section activities as well.

A two-part "Biological Mass Spectrometry Tutorial" will focus on mass spectrometry of small biomolecules in the morning session and proteomics in the afternoon session.

The Division of Chemical Health & Safety (CHAS) will hold two half-day short courses on Sunday: "Principles of Laboratory Safety" and "Developing an Effective Laboratory Safety Program." These will be followed on Monday by a full-day workshop, "How To Be a More Effective Chemical Hygiene Officer." On Tuesday, CHAS will present a morning workshop on laboratory waste management. The Chemical Hygiene Officer Certification Exam will also take place on Tuesday morning.

EXPOSITION
An exposition featuring local and national scientific companies will be held on Monday and Tuesday. Participating vendors are listed at www.rmacs2006.arizona.edu/meeting.html.

REGISTRATION
Advance registration is closed, but you can download a form to bring to the meeting. Discounted blanket registration rates are available and may be of particular interest to industrial members. For more information on blanket registration, contact rmacs2006@chem.arizona.edu.

LODGING
A block of rooms at a special meeting rate has been reserved for [RM]₂ACS 2006 attendees at the Doubletree Hotel Tucson at Reid Park. Reservations can be made by calling the hotel directly at (520) 881-4200 (mention the Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting to receive the special rate) or by following links from the meeting website, www.rmacs2006.arizona.edu/meeting.html. The hotel discount cannot be guaranteed after Sept. 21.