249th ACS National Meeting

“Chemistry of Natural Resources” will be the theme of the ACS spring national meeting, which will be held in Denver’s Colorado Convention Center and contracted hotels.

Numerous events throughout the meeting will support that theme, including a plenary session on Sunday, March 22, from 3 to 5 PM, featuring experts on geological gas hydrates, water scarcity, and biofuels.

ACS President Diane Grob Schmidt will host 29 technical divisions and eight committees in original programming over 857 half-day oral sessions and 130 poster sessions that include Sci-Mix. More than 10,000 papers will be presented, and nearly 4,000 poster presentations will take place at the meeting. There will also be more than 6,000 oral presentations.

Schmidt will also host numerous events and symposia during the meeting, including a public outreach event, “Exploring Our World through Chemistry,” on Saturday, March 21, at 10 AM. Attendees can learn more about the world of chemistry through hands-on, age-appropriate activities.

Many education-focused programs for high school teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and chemical professionals will be offered. A range of professional development courses will be available; ACS Short Courses have a separate registration and fee. For job seekers and employers, the ACS Career Fair will provide opportunities for interviews (both on-site and online); job seekers will also find one-on-one career assistance, and more than 30 career-related workshops.

The exposition will feature more than 250 companies that will showcase services, instruments, books, lab equipment, and much more in more than 400 booths.

The 2015 ACS national award winners will be recognized with a banquet on Tuesday, March 24, at 7:30 PM, and Jacqueline K. Barton, the Arthur & Marian Hanisch Memorial Professor of Chemistry at Caltech, will deliver the Priestley Medal Address. Although the banquet is a ticketed event, the Priestley Medal Address, at 9:30 PM, is free for all registered meeting attendees. The Arthur C. Cope Award winners will be recognized at the fall national meeting in Boston.

Around Denver, free tours are offered at the U.S. Mint, the Coors brewery, and the Colorado State Capitol, which tells the state’s history in stained glass. Other cultural, entertainment, and gastronomic options abound in the Mile High City.