The Younger Chemists Committee

Programming at national meetings is the second major focus area of the YCC. Because national meetings are always well-attended, providing programs at national meetings allows us to reach a wide cross-section of our constituents in a highly effective manner. Thus, our past programs at national meetings tend to be broader in scope than what might typically be found at a local section. When the needs of our constituents overlap with the focus of other committees or technical divisions within the ACS, we often partner with these groups to organize events. Such events are designated as being co-sponsored by the YCC (e.g. in the list of technical programming).

YCC Symposiums Highlights from Salt Lake City

YCC organized three symposia during ACS National Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT, March 22-26, 2009. Here are some highlights of these symposia recapped by YCC organizers.

Overcoming Issues in Graduate School Symposium

by Dionne Dickson and Shanadeen Begay, Chemistry Department, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA

The Overcoming Issues in graduate school symposium took place on March 23, 2009 at the ACS national meeting in Salt Lake City. It featured five excellent talks from presenters that have tremendous accomplishments such in the areas of mentoring, counseling, career planning, teaching, and leadership within the ACS community and beyond. The symposium covered all stages of graduate school such as making the transition to a graduate education to transitioning to a post doctoral position and beyond. The first speaker was Jim White who has twenty-one years counseling Chemistry undergraduates concerning their futures at the University of Utah. He discussed transitioning from undergraduate to a graduate student life with emphasis on the importance of skills outside of work such as maintaining open communication with your professional friends, personal care, self-assessment, setting realistic goals, and maintaining mental balance. He gave references to key books such as Getting What You Came For: The Smart student's Guide to Earning A Master's or Ph.D., Put Your Science to Work: The Take Charge Career Guide for Scientists and The Ph.D. Process: A Student's Guide to Graduate School in the Sciences.

The second speaker was Dr. Yong Cai (Chemistry professor and graduate advisor at Florida International University). He discussed graduate school experience such as choosing a thesis topic and an advisor. Choosing an advisor/mentor is a major step to be successful in graduate school. The advisor/mentor will provide guidance throughout graduate school as well as guiding you through finding a position after graduation. Dr. Cai suggested that when choosing an advisor one should:

1. browse the internet to find out information about the faculty and his/her research
2. interview the faculty
3. attend the faculty research seminar
4. do a short term rotation
5. talk to fellow students ( Students will be able to give valuable information about the faculty)
6. Choose an advisor that you are compatible with

Selecting a thesis is another major step in graduate studies. Students need to discuss the thesis topic with the advisor as well as read lots of research articles to understand the thesis. Students should ensure that the research fits their interest because working on a project for the next five years that you dislike will cause a lot of stress and heartache. This talk gave excellent reference to key books titled, 'Developing Quality Dissertations in the Sciences: A Graduate Student's Guide to Achieving Excellence' and 'The Formation of Scholars Rethinking Doctoral Education for the Twenty-First Century.'

The third speaker was Dr. Majorie Caserio from the University of California San Diego and a consultant to the American Chemical Society on Graduate Education. She discussed factors to consider in making the mentor-mentee relationship work and factors that will influence having a good relationship with the mentor. An advisor/mentor should provide adequate mentoring to their graduate students so that students can achieve high levels of success. Students that have received adequate mentorship will more likely to remain in graduate school compared to students that received very little mentorship. Dr Caserio stressed that graduate students should maintain good communication with the advisor, develop a research plan and have good time management skills throughout the years in graduate school.

The fourth speaker was Joel Shulman who focused on 'Transitioning from Graduate School to an Industrial Position'. He highlighted the basics of R&D work, key factors for success in industry, successful transitioning strategies, the organizational culture, communicating company and employee expectations, and professional development. This was a brief introduction to his ACS workshop, Preparing for Life After Graduate School (PfLAGS) which is a graduate education resource.

The last talk was by Dr Cynthia Larive (professor of chemistry and graduate advisor at the University of California). She discussed transitioning from graduate studies to a post doctoral fellow (post-doc). She highlighted the importance of becoming a post-doc, when a post-doc experience is required, the difference between academia post-docs and industrial post-docs, and the application process of becoming a post doctoral fellow. Approximately 50% of graduate students will become post-docs that will receive additional training in a field outside PhD. Field.

Graduate school can be difficult at times and sometimes it can be one of the best times of your life. There will be numerous occasions where you will want to quit. There will be times when you will “hit the wall” in your research but you should never give up. The best advice is to:

• choose an advisor that you are compatible with
• choose a thesis topic that is not difficult and the objectives of your research can be accomplished within five years of study
• manage your time well and communicate well with your advisor (maintain a good relationship with your mentor/ advisor.)
• be persistent
• have a research plan and set goals for yourself
• lastly, have an idea of what you would like to do after graduation, whether a post-doc position or an industrial position. Having long term goals will keep you motivated throughout graduate school.

Green Chemistry Symposium

by Peter Smith, Associate Professor, Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA

The YCC Green Chemistry Symposium was held on the Monday morning of the Salt Lake city meeting. We had five fantastic speakers from both academia and industry. Our first speaker was Robin Rogers (Director of the Center for Green Manufacturing at the University of Alabama and Director of the Queen's University Ionic Liquids Laboratory (QUILL) at Queen's University, Belfast). Robin gave a "keynote" address on the current state of the green chemistry movement and shared his vision for the next Industrial Revolution - widespread implementation of sustainable practices. Our next two speakers were both 2008 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award winners. Representatives for SiGNa shared their work on developing stabilized alkali metals and Carl DeAmicis from Dow AgroSciences discussed their pesticide spinetoram. Carl also talked about the process of applying for the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge. This was particularly useful for the audience. Jim Hutchison from the University of Oregon followed with a talk about the challenges and rewards of incorporating green chemistry and sustainable practices into the organic chemistry teaching labs. Our final speaker was Frankie Wood-Black from Trihydro. She wrapped up the symposium with a challenge to adopt green chemistry processes but to always be aware of the impact of any process, even the "green" ones.

The symposium was very well attended with an average of 35 people in the audience at any given time. At one point we had 45 people in the audience. There was always excellent discussion after every talk, usually led by guests from the ACS Green Chemistry Institute and the EPA. These guests sought us out, and attended without a formal invitation.

Non-Traditional Careers in Chemistry Symposium

by BLore J. Ramillano

Non-Traditional Careers in Chemistry Symposium was held on the Sunday, March 22 of the Salt Lake city meeting. This symposium was organized to provide an informational session for chemists who are interested in obtaining a career outside of the laboratory setting. This symposium consists of speakers who have an educational background in chemistry, but are currently working in a non-traditional chemistry fields. The symposium showed that having a chemistry educational background will enhance a person's career choices instead of limiting it. The speakers demonstrated that a degree in chemistry can open doors to various career fields, including patent law, scholarly publishing, policy making, small business, etc.

Stay tuned for our Washington DC programming!