Movies, iPad, Symposia and More: Fall 2012 National Meeting Anticipations

By: Stephanie Prosack, Education Assistant

      ACS, Graduate & Postdoctoral Scholars Office

Welcome to Philadelphia, the birthplace of America! 

This is my first visit to this fine city, and I wish I had ample time to view the historical and tourist attractions, but I am preoccupied at the 244^th ACS National Meeting. Currently, I am sitting at the Postdoc to Faculty workshop sponsored by the Graduate & Postdoctoral Scholars, however this isn’t the only activity GPSO is participating in this National Meeting; we have plenty more you don’t want to misss.

Let’s start at the beginning of GPSO’s National Meeting programming in Philly by highlighting some events I am looking forward to attending this meeting. These events, a more, are included in the ACS Grad Grad, a comprehensive collection of activities, symposia, and fun available for grad students and postdocs in Philly-be sure to check it out! For those of you unfamiliar with the Postdoc to Faculty workshop, this is a two-day competitive event for aspiring chemistry faculty. Participants receive advice and feedback from established professors to help improve their chances of landing their first faculty position. A slew of information is provided to faculty candidates, from teaching pedagogies and statements to proposal writing. The Postdoc to Faculty workshop is held just prior to each fall National Meeting, and interested participants can learn more by viewing www.acs.org/p2f.

Unwind from traveling and attending poster sessions by attending Double Feature Movie Night, a free screening of the films, Carbon for Water and The PhD Movie.  A film by Evan Abramson and Carmen Elsa Lopez, Carbon for Water chronicles the intentions of a company to distribute more than 900 water filters in Western Province, Kenya, all entirely funded by carbon credits.  The second movie of the night will be Jorge Cham’s The PhD Movie, based on his popular comic strip, Piled Higher & Deeper. Following four graduate students, the film follows their quest for love, teaching and research completion. 

Network with peers and ACS technical division representatives at the Graduate & Postdoctoral Scholars Reception! Taking place on Monday, August 20, 2012, this is an excellent opportunity to network with students and talk with achieved chemists in a relaxing atmosphere. Free drinks and food will be served, with the chance to win ACS t-shirts and a third generation iPad 3! 

The final event I am looking forward to attending is the Graduate Student Symposia Planning Committee (GSSPC).  This year’s event, The Power Chemistry in Public Health: Drug Development from the Lab Bench to the Consumer, was planned by Binghamton University. They will be discussing the work and deliberation which goes into creating, testing and researching drugs used for public health. The GSSPC is an all-day symposia planned and hosted by graduate students from a different institution at each ACS National Meeting. Participants are responsible for choosing topics, speakers and logistics of their event, and receive sponsorships from the ACS Graduate & Postdoctoral Scholars Office and the ACS Division of Chemical Education.

Like, you, my schedule will be packed in Philly! I hope you will attend one of the aforementioned events. If you will be unable to attend the fall 2012 National Meeting, don’t worry, the Graduate & Postdoctoral Scholars Office will be hosting many of the same events at the spring 2012 National Meeting in New Orleans, LA.