GEOC Newsletter: Fall 2018
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Nadine Kabengi
Dear Division Members,
August was an excitingly busy month for the Division of Geochemistry (GEOC) and its members who traveled near and far to Boston where the 2018 Fall ACS National Meeting took place from August 19th to the 23rd. It was my pleasure to serve as Program-Chair and want to thank you all for your many contributions that made the GEOC programing successful. Symposia covered a variety of topics from interfacial chemistry under nano-scale confinement and molecular understanding of the structure and reactivity of mineral-water interfaces to visualizing heavy element contamination in the environment at the nanoscale, mechanistic understanding of mineral growth and dissolution, and microbial, chemical processes and advanced nanotechnology for contaminated site remediation. From the 70+ abstracts received, the Division was pleased to award one student travel award to Mr. Jim Entwistle. The award covered the full cost of his registration. Congrats!
Bostonian charm seeped into the traditional Tuesday-night GEOC Division social which took place at Capo Restaurant in the heart of south Boston. Guest feasted on upscale hors d’oeuvres, enjoyed free drinks, and mingled for two full hours ;) These division-sponsored social events provide fun and effective ways to build community and strengthen our collaborative networks. I highly encourage you to attend and please feel free to bring collaborators, friends and significant others along. We look forward to further developing our Division and hope to see you all in the future at these events.
The Division is currently ramping up its activities in preparation for the highly anticipated 2019 Spring ACS Meeting taking place in Orlando, Fl March 31st to April 4th. The GEOC abstracts are due on Nov 5th. The meeting theme is “Chemistry for New Frontiers” and the GEOC Divi- sion has curated 12 interesting symposia guaranteed to fit all your exciting work. Plus, the Division will be awarding its biannual Geochemistry Medal to Prof. Everett Shock, so expect two additional symposia to celebrate Prof. Shock’s many achievements. The call for Abstracts has gone out and I will be following up with few additional reminders as the deadline approaches. If you haven’t done so already, I urge you all to submit abstracts and to encourage all your eligible students to apply to the student travel award. The GEOC will be giving out up to 5 awards.
The GEOC Division is ran by a small but highly motivated groups of folks! I would like to personally thank them all for their exemplary service and help over the summer in pulling off the Fall Meeting. It does take a village, and this village is pretty awesome. If you are interested in joining the executive committee by running for a leadership position in the GEOC or just look- ing for volunteering opportunities, let one of us know. We are all featured on the GEOC website. Follow GEOC on social media and do not be strangers. We look forward to seeing you all very soon.
Cheers,
Nadine Kabengi