SERMACS Success

“LIVING AND WORKING in a Material World” was the theme of the recently completed ACS Southeastern Regional Meeting (SERMACS). The meeting was held on Nov. 12–15 at the Music City Sheraton Hotel, in Nashville. At the meeting, Nobel Laureate Robert H. Grubbs of California Institute of Technology presented a plenary talk, “The Synthesis of Large and Small Molecules Using Olefin Metathesis.” Stanford University chemistry professor Richard N. Zare was the keynote speaker in a symposium titled “Rising above the Gathering Storm (RAGS) Redux: What Has Happened Since?” Panelists included Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.); Linda Jordan, K-12 consultant for the Tennessee Department of Education; and Eric Cromwell, president and chief executive officer of Tennessee Technology Development. ACS President Bruce E. Bursten moderated. ACS Executive Director and CEO Madeleine Jacobs was the speaker at the Women Chemists Committee Luncheon, which attracted more than 1,500 people. Also attending SERMACS were board members Eric C. Bigham, Marinda Li Wu, and Kent J. Voorhees.