43rd Western Regional Meeting

The 43rd Western Regional Meeting (WRM 2011) will be hosted by the Southern California Section of the American Chemical Society (SCALACS) from Thursday, Nov. 10, through Saturday, Nov. 12, at the Westin Pasadena Hotel and California Institute of Technology’s Beckman Institute. The theme of the meeting—“Celebrating 100 Years of Outstanding Chemistry in Southern California!”—ties in with SCALACS’s 100th anniversary and the International Year of Chemistry.

Information on the evolving meeting program and schedule of events as well as details about lodging and transportation can be found at wrmacs.org.

Technical Program. Meeting symposia will focus on energy, health, and a century of chemical discovery and innovation in the Southern California region.

Technical sessions will begin on Thursday afternoon. On Thursday evening, the Beckman Institute and SCALACS will host a special symposium and reception celebrating the legacy of Arnold O. Beckman. After a brief introduction by Caltech’s Harry B. Gray and a historical perspective by Gerald E. Gallwas of the Arnold & Mabel Beckman Foundation, Leroy Hood of Seattle’s Institute for Systems Biology will give the invited address. Mark E. Thompson of the University of Southern California and David A. Tirrell of Caltech will present plenary talks on Friday to describe new advances related to energy and health—two focus areas of the International Year of Chemistry.

Other scheduled sessions and symposia include “Noninvasive Monitoring of Drugs & Other Compounds In Vivo,” “Microfluidics & Other Techniques for Bioanalysis,” “Chemistry of Wine & Beer,” “Structural Biology of Proteins at Cell Surfaces,” “New Synthetic Methods in Traditional & Nontraditional Media,” “Elucidating Mechanisms for Natural Products Biosynthesis in Multifunctional Enzyme Systems,” “Organometallic Chemistry,” “Development of Innovative Monitoring & Remediation Technologies for Contaminated Groundwater & Soil,” “Nanomaterials Design & Properties,” “Protein Engineering,” “Atmospheric Chemistry throughout the Solar System,” “ACS PRF-Funded Research in the Geosciences,” and “Biomolecular Engineering & Design of Drug Carriers.” Poster sessions and general sessions covering all areas of chemistry will also be included in the program.

The technical program will conclude on Saturday with a symposium titled “Understanding Chemical Reactivity through Computational Chemistry,” organized by Kendall N. Houk of the University of California, Los Angeles.

Workshops. Workshops on educational, technical, and professional topics will be held on Saturday, Nov. 12.

For chemistry educators at the precollege and undergraduate levels, workshops titled “Inquiry Chemistry Experiences for Elementary, Middle & High School Students Using Household Chemicals” will run in parallel with a symposium on undergraduate chemistry education.

Other workshops will include sessions on intellectual property as well as a program geared to new chemical entrepreneurs and others who want to know more about the opportunities and challenges of starting a chemistry-related business.

Chemical careers sessions on Saturday morning will cover résumé preparation, networking, and interviewing.

More details on workshops are available at wrmacs.org.

Special Events. Tickets may be purchased through advance registration. Also, a limited number of tickets for most events will be available to on-site registrants.

In addition to the free Beckman legacy reception, special events will include an opportunity to meet with members of ACS governance at a complimentary luncheon hosted by the ACS Board of Directors and a banquet and panel discussion led by distinguished Southern California chemists to celebrate the SCALACS centennial. Both of those events will take place on Friday.

Saturday will feature a luncheon at which SCALACS and the Western Region will present awards to high school and college educators.

Exhibits. Vendors and other organizations wishing to connect with Western Region attendees will be provided exhibition space in central, highly visible areas during the meeting. More information is available on the WRM 2011 website. Vendor inquiries should be directed to office@scalacs.org.

Lodging. WRM 2011 has reserved a block of rooms at the Westin Pasadena. Online reservations can be made at www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/ACSMeet ing2011.

Registration. Registration is available online at www.wrmacs.org/registration11.html. Alternatively, attendees can register by mail with Nicole Fisher, 1155—16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036; or by fax at (202) 872-6128.

Advance registrants will receive their registration materials at the meeting registration area of the Westin Pasadena.

Attendees who register by Oct. 20 will receive an early-bird discount; after that date, the on-site registration rates will prevail. On-site registration will be available from Thursday, Nov. 10, through Saturday, Nov. 12. ◾