251st ACS National Meeting

“Computers in Chemistry” is the theme of the ACS spring national meeting, which will be held in the San Diego Convention Center and contracted hotels.

Numerous events will support that theme, including a plenary session on Sunday, March 13, from 3 to 6 PM, featuring experts on self-assembly, proton-coupled electron transfer, protein design, and free-energy perturbation theory.

ACS President Donna J. Nelson will host 29 technical divisions and five committees in original programming over 1,028 half-day oral sessions and 141 poster sessions, including Sci-Mix. More than 12,000 papers and nearly 5,000 posters will be presented. There will also be more than 7,500 oral presentations.

Nelson will also host numerous events and symposia during the meeting, including a public outreach event, “Exploring Our World through Chemistry,” on Saturday, March 12, at 10 AM. Attendees can learn more about the world of chemistry through hands-on, age-appropriate activities.

This meeting offers programs for high school teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and chemical professionals. A range of professional development classes will be available; ACS Short Courses have a separate registration and fee. Job seekers can meet and interview with potential employers at the ACS Career Fair, find one-on-one career assistance, and pick among more than 20 career 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 2016 ACS national award winners will be recognized with a banquet on Tuesday, March 15, at 7:30 PM, and Mostafa El-Sayed, Regents’ Professor and Julius Brown Chair at Georgia Institute of Technology, 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 Philadelphia.

San Diego boasts a range of dining and entertainment options. Visit the world-famous San Diego Zoo, tour the U.S.S. Midway aircraft carrier and museum, get spooked at the haunted Whaley House, eat a kangaroo at Crazee Burger, try to make out the tune on 25th Street’s musical bridge, or check out SeaWorld’s famous killer whale show before it shuts down later this year.