GEOC Newsletter: Fall 2020
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Ashaki Rouff
Greetings GEOC Division Members,
The GEOC Division has had quite a year. The Spring 2020 meeting in Philadelphia was ready to go with almost 300 abstracts to be presented in 13 Symposia over the entire 5 days of the meeting. We had an exciting mix of Symposia covering topics such as 40 Years of NMR, Materials of the Universe, Environmental Challenges in Oil & Gas, and Engaging Students in Geochemistry for Career Pathways. We also awarded Student Travel Grants to 5 graduate student presenters vying for the Best Student Presentation Award. You can check out the names and affiliations of our awardees later in the Newsletter. With a public health crisis in full swing, cancellation of the meeting was inevitable. The good news is that the theme for this meeting “Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century” will be revived for the Spring 2021 meeting in San Antonio. Get your Symposia and abstract resubmissions ready!
Following the cancellation of the Spring meeting, the Fall meeting marked new territory for the ACS with the decision to go completely virtual. Working through the challenges of doing this for the first time, GEOC hosted 26 abstracts and even managed to hold a virtual social! The plan for the Spring 2021 meeting is still undecided but will most likely retain a virtual component. More details to follow.
In other new developments GEOC initiated a Strategic Planning process supported by an ACS Innovative Project Grant. The survey sent out earlier this year collected valuable input from the membership to help direct the process. Thank you to all who participated! The results from the survey and more details about the planning process are described in the Newsletter.
In closing, I want to acknowledge the GEOC Executive Committee Members who volunteer their time and energies to make sure we are run smoothly and fulfill the needs of the membership and the ACS. If you are interested in volunteering, scroll through the rest of Newsletter for open leadership positions and other volunteer opportunities. Finally, I would like to thank all GEOC members for your contributions to the Division. Hosting symposia, submitting abstracts, presenting and participating in ACS Meetings and Division activities is what keeps GEOC going! Thank you all for your contributions. It was my pleasure to serve as Division Chair in 2020. See you in San Antonio!