NORM/RMRM 2010

The joint 65th Northwest Regional Meeting/22nd Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting (NORM/RMRM 2010), hosted by the ACS Washington-Idaho Border Section, will be held at the Compton Union Building on the Washington State University, Pullman, campus on June 20–23. Symposia will include sessions on solar energy, biofuels, and fuel-cell technology. A special symposium will honor the work of fluorine chemist Jean’ne M. Shreeve.

For detailed meeting information, visit norm-rmrm2010.wsu.edu or contact Pat Meier, general cochair, at meiergp@wsu.edu; Kirk Peterson, program chair, at kipeters@wsu.edu; or John Sophos, ACS Department of Meetings & Expositions, at (800) 227-5558 ext. 4608.

REGISTRATION. Register online at the meeting website. Early-bird registration closes on May 28. On-site registration will take place in the Compton Union Building from 5 to 8 PM on Sunday, from 7 AM to 5 PM on Monday and Tuesday, and from 7:30 to 10 AM on Wednesday.

TECHNICAL PROGRAM. The Jean’ne M. Shreeve symposium will cover the many facets of fluorine chemistry. Speakers include Darryl D. DesMarteau of Clemson University, Ronald E. Noftle of Wake Forest University, and Gary L. Gard of Portland State University.

The solar energy symposium will address fundamental aspects of the capture and utilization of solar energy. Specific topics include light harvesting, nanostructured materials, water oxidation, photosynthesis, and interfacial electron transfer. Presentations will be made by Oleg Prezh­do, Obadiah Reid, and Guozhong Cao of the University of Washington; Ursula Mazur, James Hurst, and David M. Kramer of Washington State University; and Niels Damrauer of the University of Colorado.

The biofuels symposium will feature some of the newest and most promising prospects for the area of biofuels and bioproducts. Speakers will include Claus Hviid Christensen of Haldor Topsøe, John Holladay of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Birgitte Ahring of Washington State University, Kulinda Davis of Sapphire Energy, and Shulin Chen also of Washington State University. The symposium will be followed by a panel discussion.

The fuel-cell technology symposium will focus on advances in the scientific understanding of fuel-cell technology. The keynote speaker is Subhash C. Singhal of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

General technical sessions will include analytical detection of security threats, nontraditional careers in chemistry, bioanalytical chemistry, biomaterials and biophysical chemistry, chemical education, computational chemistry, materials chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and undergraduate research.

WORKSHOPS. A patent law workshop will take place on Monday from 1 to 3 PM. On Tuesday, the ACS Office of Career Management & Development will offer three workshops on “Planning Your Job Search,” “Preparing a Résumé,” and “Effective Interviewing.” In addition, 30-minute résumé review sessions with an ACS career consultant will be available.

SPECIAL EVENTS. On Sunday evening, from 5:30 to 8:30 PM, attendees are invited to attend a welcoming mixer. The NORM/RMRM 2010 awards reception and banquet will be held on Monday evening from 5:30 to 10 PM at the Wawawai Canyon Winery. A number of awards will be presented, including the ACS Division of Chemical Education Northwest Regional Award for Excellence in High School Teaching, the E. Ann Nalley Northwest Regional Award for Volunteer Service, the Northwest Regional Award for Industrial Innovation, and the Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences.

On Tuesday, tours are scheduled to the Palouse Falls Brewing Co., Cowgirl Chocolates, and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. Following the tour at Schweitzer, ACS Board Chair Bonnie Charpentier will host a wine and cheese reception. To wrap up the meeting, a golf tournament is scheduled for Wednesday at the Palouse Ridge Golf Club. See the meeting website for more information about these special events.

EXHIBITION. The exhibit will take place on Monday and Tuesday from 9 AM to 5 PM. The exhibition area will include the poster sessions and is adjacent to the areas for technical sessions and symposia. To reserve exhibit space, visit the NORM/RMRM website.

LODGING & TRAVEL. Blocks of rooms have been reserved until May 22 at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel Suites (Code N10), (509) 334-4437 or (800) 465-4329, hiexpress.com/pullmanwa, and at the Quality Inn Paradise Creek Conference Center (Code 1996), (509) 332-0500, choicehotels.com. Hotel shuttles are available to take attendees to and from the meeting.

The Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport is 2 miles from campus. Horizon Air (Alaska Airlines) services the area. Spokane International Airport and Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport are also nearby. Wheatland Express, (800) 334-2207, offers van service to Pullman for a fee.

Major bus routes also pass through Pullman, and the bus stop is about 2 miles from campus.

By car, Pullman is five hours from Seattle; 90 minutes from Spokane, Wash.; and six hours from Portland, Ore.