62nd Southwest Regional Meeting

The 62nd Southwest Regional Meeting (SWRM 2006), hosted by the ACS Greater Houston Section, will take place from Thursday, Oct. 19, through Sunday, Oct. 22, at the Westchase Marriott Hotel in Houston. The meeting's theme is "Nano Scale-Giga Vision," and sessions will encompass biochemistry and medicinal chemistry; chemical education; and analytical, inorganic, organic, polymer, and physical chemistry. Featured topics include nanoscience, biochips, anticancer carbohydrates, catalysis and kinetics of polymers, carbon black in tires, chemical utilization of solar energy, and chemical safety on the Gulf Coast.

TECHNICAL PROGRAM
Planned symposia include the following: "Recent Advances in Density Functionals & Applications," "Bio-Nano Chemistry," "Structure-Property Relationships in New Inorganic Solid-State Materials," "Relaxation & Transport in Strongly Nonequilibrium Media," "Hydrophobicity," "Biothermal Chemistry," "Pacific Rim Materials," "Design & Development of Novel Anticancer Drugs," "Biopharmaceutical Considerations in the Design of New Drugs," "Solar Energy," "Kinetics & Reactivity of Polymers," "Nanostructures," "Porphyrins & Electrochemistry," "Structures of Signaling Proteins," "Polymer Materials," "Nanocomposites & Interfaces," and "Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Single Molecules."

Other symposia on the program are "Atmospheric Chemistry," "Modeling & Chemistry," "Nano Environment in Chemistry," "Proteomics in Chemical Biology," "Modeling Chemical Dynamics in the Quantum Regime," "Challenge of NMR Structural Proteomics," "Scanning Probe Microscopies: AFM-STM," "Protein Folding," "Computational Drug Design & Screening," "Nano-Carbon Technology," and "Chemotherapeutic Peptides."

A memorial symposium will honor the life, accomplishments, and legacy of John L. Margrave. Margrave will long be remembered for his passionate promotion of chemistry through teaching and research at Rice University; his "magic" shows in libraries, schools, museums, radio, and other community outlets; his training and encouragement of more than 200 graduate students and postdocs; his administrative skills as vice president for advanced studies and research; and his patriotism as a World War II Army Chemical Corps reservist and Navy ROTC representative at Rice. More than 800 publications testify to his half-century of creative and exceedingly productive research.

Within his multitude of accomplishments, Margrave's greatest love was his interaction with students of all ages, and his inspiration brought many to the study of chemistry. Perhaps his best known interdisciplinary talk on "Chemistry under Extreme Conditions" exemplified his broad range of research. Margrave's greatest supporter was his wife of 53 years, Mary Lou Davis Margrave, who will be an honored guest at the Awards Banquet on Friday.

Educational Programs & Workshops
On Friday afternoon and Saturday, SWRM 2006 has scheduled sessions and workshops designed for K-12 teachers. Jeff Hepburn will share how to increase "chem-thusiasm" in students of all ages at a special ticketed luncheon for precollege teachers on Saturday. K-8 teachers will find sessions designed to increase their confidence in and knowledge of various chemical concepts.

Additionally, a special "Kids & Chemistry" program will provide teachers with resources for implementation. Invited teachers will present their research on a variety of topics that are applicable to different levels of academe through Advanced Placement classes. Sessions include reaction prediction, radioactivity, using eggs as a theme for teaching chemistry, and using the Texas Instruments calculator in chemistry. ChemEd sessions running Thursday afternoon and Friday morning may also be of interest to area high school teachers.

SPECIAL EVENTS
SWRM 2006 special events begin with an opening reception in the exhibition hall on Thursday evening from 5 to 7 PM.

On Friday morning, all registered attendees are invited to the complimentary ACS District Director's Breakfast, hosted by ACS Director-at-Large Howard Peters and other ACS governance and staff present at the meeting. Recent ACS Board of Directors actions and activities will be discussed. Attendees are encouraged to bring their ideas, questions, or concerns.

The SWRM 2006 Awards Banquet will be held on Friday evening beginning with a reception at 6 PM. The banquet will feature the presentation of the ACS Southwest Regional Award, Southwest Regional Teacher Award, Ann Nalley Volunteer Award, Greater Houston Section Awards, and others.

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. The center is open to ACS members and national and student affiliates. All job seekers and employers must sign up online at cen-chemjobs.org/careercenter to participate. The Chemjobs Career Center will be held on Thursday and Friday from 8:30 AM to 5 PM.

The following workshops will be held on Saturday: "Résumé Preparation," 9 AM; "Targeting the Job Market," 10 AM; and "Interviewing Skills," 11 AM. Individual résumé reviews will also be held on Saturday from 1 to 5 PM; those planning to take advantage of this opportunity should bring a copy of their résumé. 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. All job seekers and employers must sign up at chemistry.org/careers beginning Sept. 18 to participate. 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.

Exhibits
The exhibition will be held on Friday and Saturday in the Grand Pavilion of the hotel. The Grand Pavilion will also be the central location for technical poster exhibits. The exhibition area layout maximizes the opportunity for attendees to interact with exhibitors, and the coffee break area has been chosen to enhance the movement of attendees through the exhibit area. For further information, please see the SWRM 2006 website or contact Tecle Rufael at tecle.rufael@chevron.com.

Travel & Lodging
A block of rooms has been reserved for SWRM participants at the Houston Westchase Marriott Hotel. Participants can make reservations online or by calling the hotel directly at (713) 978-7400. Identify yourself as an ACS Southwest Regional Meeting attendee to receive the special SWRM 2006 rate of $139 for single, double, triple, or quad rooms. This rate is guaranteed through Sept. 28, so register soon. There is no charge for parking, and attendees can access free Wi-Fi in the meeting area.

Visit the meeting website at www.chem.uh.edu/swrm06 frequently to keep up with the latest meeting information. For additional information, contact the general meeting cochairs, Joe Hightower (jhigh@rice.edu) or Mamie Moy (mmoy@uh.edu).