GEOC Newsletter: Spring 2007

Message from the Chairperson

The Spring meeting this year takes us to Chicago and explores topics ranging from probing amorphous materials, to radicals, to metal-bacteria interactions. After a very successful meeting in San Francisco that marked the 25th anniversary of the Geochemistry Division, we are launching into the next 25 years with a renewed sense of purpose. We begin on Sunday with a symposium devoted to the structure of amorphous and poorly-crystalline materials. Radicals are the topic for Monday. Tuesday morning is devoted to the binding of metals onto bacterial cell walls. In the afternoon, the Geochemistry Medal is awarded to Robert Aller, a long-time colleague at Stony Brook University. Several talks by friends, former students, and colleagues highlight the program. The business meeting coupled with an award reception will take place on Tuesday starting at 5:30 pm in the Chicago Marriott Hotel. The Geochemistry-led symposia conclude on Wednesday with the second session of the metal-bacterial interaction symposium, followed with an award symposium for Robyn E. Hannigan. Robyn is the recipient of the ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences.

At the San Francisco meeting last Fall, ACS introduced the concept of a central meeting theme. For Chicago the theme is “Sustainability of Energy, Food, and Water”. Our own Ken Anderson is one of the coordinators. The Division is co-sponsoring a symposium related to the central theme with the Nuclear Chemistry Division. The joint symposium explores the environmental fate of radionuclides and is titled : “Understanding Radionuclide Transport in the Environment: Remediation, Nuclear Waste Disposal, and Long-term Stewardship” Other co-sponsored symposia are: Abiotic and Biotic Factors Affecting Contaminant Transformation at Iron Oxide Surfaces and Organics and Nanoparticle Reactivity, both led by the Environmental Chemistry Division.

At the Chicago meeting I am turning over the Program Chair duties to Timothy Filley. He has already been busy lining up symposia for Boston. I encourage you to talk to Timothy and his successor Doug Kent if you have an idea for a symposium. Backed by the ACS operations team and their web-based abstract submission, review, and session organization system there is almost no administrative work involved. Instead you can concentrate on getting the best people in your community to participate in your symposium.

Finally, I would like to thank of you who volunteer their time to make meetings like the upcoming meeting in Chicago a success. Let’s have a drink at our social hour on Sunday (also Chicago Marriott Hotel from 5-6 pm) and enjoy the reception on Tuesday.

See you all there. Martin Schoonen