World’s largest scientific society holds regional meeting in Atlanta

• Analytical chemistry
• Biochemical chemistry
• Chemical education
• Computational chemistry
• Environmental chemistry
• Industrial chemistry
• Inorganic chemistry
• Materials chemistry
• Medicinal chemistry
• Nuclear chemistry
• Organic chemistry
• Organometallic chemistry
• Physical chemistry
• Polymer chemistry

Meeting highlights include the following special symposia:

• Chemical education symposium, "Teaching chemistry as the core molecular science"
  Nov. 17, 9 a.m., Atlanta Ballroom A

  Morton Hoffman, professor of chemistry, Boston University
  Glenn Crosby, retired ACS board member, inorganic chemist and professor emeritus, Washington State University, Pullman, Wash.
  George McLendon, chair, department of chemistry, Princeton University
  Arthur Ellis, head, chemistry division, National Science Foundation, and chemistry professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisc.

• Federal science, education and technology policy symposium
  Nov. 17, 4 p.m., Atlanta Ballrooms A and B

  G. Wayne Clough, president, Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Atlanta
  Neal Lane, member, U.S. Civilian Research Development Foundation and former Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and former Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
  U.S. Rep. Johnny Isakson, Ga-6
  Eli Pearce, immediate past president of ACS

A jointly shared Industrial Innovation award will be presented on Nov. 18, 4:15 p.m. as follows:

• Saul Furstein, senior environmental consultant, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Atlanta, Ga., and Israel E. Wachs, professor, chemical Engineer department, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Penn., for developing a process and catalyst to convert pulp mill gases into valuable products. This new process allows the conversion of methanol and mercaptans to formaldehyde, a building block chemical used for thermosetting adhesive resins which are used to bond plywood and other wood products. The waste gases are processed through a plant, which is similar in design to a conventional formaldehyde plant that utilizes commercial-grade methanol as a feed material.
• Marsha Ottem, a teacher of chemistry at Greenville High School, Greeneville, Tenn., is the winner of the 2003 ACS Southeast Region Award in High School Chemistry Teaching. She is recognized for active chemistry teaching involving hands-on experimentation with real-world problems. Ottem has taught chemistry at the high school since 1973 and started the Advanced Placement program in 1988. She also sponsors the Greeneville Chemistry Club and brings her students to ACS local section events and to regional meetings.

The general chair of the meeting is Thomas Netzel, 404-651-3129, tnetzel@gsu.edu, and the associate general chair is David Gottfried, 404-894-7300, david.gottfried@gtri.gatech.edu. The program chair is James Powers, 404-894-4038, james.powers@chemistry.gatech.edu.

For more information on the Southeast regional meeting (SERMACS 2003), visit http://www.cas.gsu.edu/units/default.aspx?unit=sermacs.