14th Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research Symposium

ACS National Meeting,  New Orleans- March 18-22, 2018

Download the application form in Word format

 

Highlights and information from prior symposia in: 2018,   2017,  2016,  2015,   2014,  2013,  2012,  2011,   2010,  2009,  2007, 2006, 2004

 

As part of Polymer Division's initiative on graduate student membership and graduate education, the Division started a special symposium, entitled "Excellence In Graduate Polymer Research" at the National ACS Meeting in Philadelphia in Fall 2004. The thirteenth symposium will be held at the National ACS Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 18-22, 2018. It will consist of oral and poster sessions, with presentations by the students.

 

The purposes of this symposium are to provide recognition to outstanding graduate students in polymer science and engineering, to foster networking and exposure, and to help develop the careers of future leaders in our field. In our discussions with graduate students, they have indicated high levels of interest in scientific presentation, career development, and networking, both among members of POLY and with their peers. They wish to become more involved and integrated into the Division and the community of Polymer Chemistry as a whole. Our hope is that this symposium represents a step in this direction.

 

We request that each department (e.g., chemistry, chemical engineering, or polymer/material science) nominate one outstanding graduate student to speak on his or her original research in this special symposium. Previous Excellence Symposia participants will not be eligible to participate in the 2018 Excellence Symposium. We would hope that the student's advisor would be able to fund the student's travel to the meeting. If possible, we will try to raise funds to provide limited financial assistance.

 

The nominated student should enter the abstract of his or her presentation to the presentation to the new ACS abstract entry system MAPS (at maps.acs.org).  In the MAPS webpage, select the meeting (New Orleans), enter POLY for “program area”, and “Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research” for “symposium.”  Deadline for MAPS is October 16, 2017.

 

In addition, the nominating department should prepare the following materials in order to aid in the selection process:

• One-page nominating letter from the student's research advisor

• One-page seconding letter from Department Chair (or equivalent)

• The application form (download from the above link), to be filled out by the student, including:

• • One-page  "Research Overview" (a summary of your research in view of what has been done before)

  • One-paragraph  "Statement of Goals" (career goals in field of polymer science)

These three documents should be sent, by October 16, 2017 (electronically preferred but paper is acceptable) to:

Dr. H. N. Cheng
Southern Regional Research Center
USDA Agricultural Research Service
1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70124
hncheng100@gmail.com

(backup email: hncheng100@yahoo.com )

 

Thank you in advance for your participation.

 

Symposium Organizing Committee:

H. N. Cheng (USDA), (POLY Workshop Chair)
Christopher J. Ellison (Univ. of Minnesota), (POLY Member)
Timothy E. Long (Virginia Tech), (POLY Past Chair)
Christine Landry-Coltrain (Eastman Kodak), (POLY Alternate Councilor)