Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 162 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 162 (Session 2)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 162 (Session 3)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 162 (Session 4)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 162 (Session 5)
Lead Organizers: Will Noid (wgn1@psu.edu), Lasse Jensen (lxj18@psu.edu), Stewart Mallory (sam7808@psu.edu), and Lukas Muechler (lfm5572@psu.edu)
Description: Computation continues to play an increasingly central role in science, as clearly illustrated by the rapidly growing power and prominence of artificial intelligence and machine learning in modern technologies. Computation and theory now provide an invaluable complement to experiment in all areas of chemistry, ranging from analytical and biological chemistry to materials and organic chemistry. This symposium will highlight recent advances that expand the efficiency, scope, and accuracy of computational methods for classical and quantum simulations. The symposium will also spotlight the development of new theories that provide insight into experimental measurements in biological and materials chemistry. In particular, we anticipate that the symposium will discuss recent methods and insights in emerging areas, such as machine learning, quantum information science, nonequilibrium active matter, and topological materials, as well as in more traditional areas, such as biochemistry, polymeric materials, interfacial science, and spectroscopy.
Sponsor: COMP and PHYS

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 1:30pm-3:05pm / Willard 158 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 1:30pm-3:05pm / Willard 158 (Session 2)
Lead Organizer: Barbara Hillery (hilleryb@oldwestbury.edu)
Description: The ACS website describes analytical chemistry as ‘the art and science of determining what matter is and how much of it exists’, a description that covers a lot of territory. Analytical chemistry is fundamental to many fields, including environmental, forensics, pharmaceuticals, food chemistry, art conservation, etc. The list goes on. The education needed is diverse, and can differ with differing specializations, differing techniques, differing instrumentation, differing regulatory environments. What, then, is the best undergraduate curriculum to develop current and future analytical chemists? What are the needs for graduate and professional development? This symposium looks at opportunities in analytical chemistry, and the educational innovations needed to meet the academic, industrial, and regulatory challenges.
Sponsor: ANYL and CHED

Date/Time/Location: Thursday, Steidle 114
Session 1: 8:00-9:20 am
Session 2: 9:40-11:00 am
Session 3: 11:10 am-12:30pm 
Career Panel: 12:45-1:45 pm
Research Elevator Pitches: 2:00-3:00 pm
Session 4: 3:00-4:20 pm
Lead Organizer: Rob Hickey (rjh64@psu.edu)
Description: Polymer materials are critical in numerous technologies such as biomedical, energy harvesting, telecommunication, textiles, and robotics. Interdisciplinary collaborations that harness new chemical methods and predictive models for polymer molecular design and processing are necessary to continue scientific advances in polymer materials. The goal of this symposium is to bring researchers together from different research areas and disciplines in the mid-Atlantic region to highlight recent advances in polymer science and engineering. Areas of interest include new polymerization and functionalization strategies, polymer materials from sustainable sources, polymer recycling and upcycling, synthetic biomaterials and biopolymers, hierarchical structure control, and computer simulation and modeling.
Sponsor: PMSE

Date/Time/Location: Friday / 8:00am-9:45am / Willard 162
Lead Organizer: Christine Mahajan (cvl5983@psu.edu)
Description: A celebration of simulation, big data, high-performance computing, and artificial intelligence in the field of chemistry.
Sponsor: COMP

Date/Time/Location: Wednesday / 1:00pm-2:25pm / Willard 062 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 062 (Session 2)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 062 (Session 3)
Lead Organizer: Kevin Range (krange@commonwealthu.edu)
Description: A general session consisting of oral presentations in the field of analytical chemistry.
Sponsor: ANYL

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 060 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 10:30am-11:35am / Willard 060 (Session 2)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 060 (Session 3)
Lead Organizer: Miriam Freedman (maf43@psu.edu)
Description: Atmospheric chemistry is the study of the transformations of gas and particle phase species in the atmosphere and the impact of these transformations on atmospheric processes such as radiative forcing, cloud formation, reactive chemistry, etc. Such research has application to understanding the climate, air pollution, disease transmission, etc. This symposium will cover diverse topics from the field of atmospheric chemistry, broadly defined.
Sponsor: ANYL and ENVR

Date/Time/Location: Friday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 362 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 1:30pm-2:30pm / Willard 362 (Session 2)
Lead Organizer: Levi Ekanger (ekangerl@tcnj.edu)
Description: This symposium focuses on inorganic complexes or materials studied within the context of bioinorganic chemistry. The unifying theme is the application of inorganic model systems to deepen our understanding of the structure, function, and/or spectroscopic features of metal ions within biomolecules.
Sponsor: INOR

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 358 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 358 (Session 2)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 358 (Session 3)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 358 (Session 4)
Lead Organizer: Anthony Pedley (amp33@psu.edu)
Description: A general session consisting of oral presentations in the field of biological chemistry.
Sponsor: BIOL

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 358 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 358 (Session 2)
Lead Organizer: Lee Solomon (lsolomo@gmu.edu)
Description: Wounds require a variety of interventions to address a complex network of signals and processes happening at once. The wound needs to be clean, it needs nutrients to fuel the healing process, it needs metabolic signals to communicate to local cells to begin dividing and repairing the damage, and more. A variety of complications exist that interfere with the healing process including poor circulation or microbial infections that can rob the body of nutrients or produce metabolites that send the wrong signals. Biomaterials are beginning to play a large role in this process due to their diversity and functionalization allowing them to directly take part in the wound healing process or recruit growth or healing factors to the site. Similarly, they can inhibit microbial pathogens from colonizing the wound itself. In this symposium, we seek to highlight current advances in that field and explore the ways chemistry is being applied. We are looking to recruit a diverse group of speakers who cover all fields of chemistry and can help us decode how to treat wounds and highlight current work creating new interventions and applications to speed up the process or make patient outcomes better.
Sponsor: BIOL and POLY

Date/Time/Location: Wednesday / 1:00pm-2:25pm / Willard 162
Lead Organizer: Benjamin Smith (bdsmith@francis.edu)
Description: Manipulating only water, hops, grains, and yeast creates a wide variety of beer styles and flavors. Beer brewing involves myriad chemical processes to ultimately produce a complex and alluring mixture. Chemical analysis is needed during the growth of the raw ingredients through the sometimes long shelf-life of the product. This symposium covers many aspects of the brewing process from flavor to production with both academics and industry professionals.
Sponsor: ANYL and CHED

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 062 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 062 (Session 2)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 062 (Session 3)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 062 (Session 4)
Lead Organizers: Julie Fenton (fenton@psu.edu) and James Hodges (hodges@psu.edu)
Description: Symposium focused on innovations in the synthesis and characterization of inorganic solids. Topics will include (but are not limited to) exploratory synthesis, crystal growth, new materials discovery, structure-property relationships in solids, synthesis of colloidal nanomaterials, porous materials, and crystalline hybrid materials.
Sponsor: INOR

Date/Time/Location: Wednesday / 1:00pm-2:25pm / Willard 160 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 160 (Session 2)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 160 (Session 3)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 160 (Session 4)
Date/Time/Location: Friday  / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 160 (Session 5)
Lead Organizer: Heidi Hendrickson (hendrihe@lafayette.edu)
Description: Computational chemistry is becoming an increasingly important aspect of chemical education, but instructors often find it difficult to incorporate computation into the existing chemistry curriculum. This symposium is focused on examples of how computational chemistry has been implemented in both the classroom and the laboratory. Talks highlighting computational chemistry integration across the chemistry curriculum are particularly encouraged.
Sponsor: CHED and COMP

Date/Time/Location: Friday / 1:30pm-3:15pm / Willard 262
Lead Organizer: Joseph Houck (jdh68@psu.edu)
Description: The "Cope Scholar Symposium" will honor Professor Thomas Lectka, a 2024 Cope Scholar, as the keynote speaker. The symposium celebrates his contributions to catalytic reactions, for bedrock descriptions of catalytic mechanisms, and for the creative study of nonnatural products and their close interactions. Through a series of presentations and discussions, attendees will explore the latest developments in organic synthesis, catalysis, and methodology, showcasing the innovative work of emerging and established researchers.
Sponsor: ORGN

Date/Time/Location: Friday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 262 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 262 (Session 2)
Lead Organizer: Wesley Farrell (wfarrell@usna.edu)
Description: This symposium will highlight early career investigators in the fields of organic and inorganic chemistry, broadly defined, from a diverse array of institutions within the Mid-Atlantic region.
Sponsor: ORGN and INOR

Date/Time/Location: Wednesday / 1:00pm-2:25pm / Thomas 101
Lead Organizers: Joseph Houck (jdh68@psu.edu) and Melinda Urich (melinda.urich@restek.com)
Description: Forever chemicals are a growing concern in environmental chemistry. Join us for a discussion of PFAS contamination, health risks, and possible solutions.
Sponsor: BMGT

Date/Time/Location: Friday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 160 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 160 (Session 2)
Lead Organizer: Melinda Urich (melinda.urich@restek.com)
Description: Industry scientists discuss their work on innovative ideas and solutions. Presentations included products, technologies, methods, and techniques developed to accelerate the work of scientists in the fields of technology, environmental, food, diagnostics, and research.
Sponsor: Restek

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 060 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 1030am-11:55am / Willard 060 (Session 2)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 060 (Session 3)
Lead Organizer: Lindsey Welch (Lawelch@cedarcrest.edu)
Description: This symposium is accepting abstracts for research and innovations in the area of environmental chemistry. Content may include remediation of environmental contaminants, emerging environmental threats, fate and transport of pollutants, water and atmospheric chemistry, green chemistry, environmental catalysis, as well as renewable and sustainable energy research. Presentations which address environmental justice or education for the public and youth about environmental chemistry and climate change will also be considered.
Sponsor: ANYL and ENVR

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 362 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 362 (Session 2)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 362 (Session 3)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 362 (Session 4)
Lead Organizer: Ursula Williams (williams@juniata.edu)
Description: Contributors to this symposium will describe research advances in the areas of inorganic coordination chemistry and the application of inorganic chemistry to the field of catalysis.
Sponsor: CATL and INOR

Date/Time/Location: Wednesday / 1:00pm-2:25pm / Willard 360 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 360 (Session 2)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 360 (Session 3)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 360 (Session 4)
Lead Organizer: Mark Hedglin (muh218@psu.edu)
Description: Nucleic acids are the chemical carriers of an organism's genetic information and also serve many non-genetic roles that are central to cell viability, homeostasis, and proliferation. This symposium will focus on the chemical reactions by which nucleic acids (DNA and/or RNA) are modified, degraded, replicated, or repaired, highlighting ground-breaking research in the fields of DNA replication, DNA repair, Transcription, Translation, and Epigenetics.
Sponsor: BIOL

Date/Time/Location: Wednesday / 1:00pm-2:25pm / Willard 258 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 258 (Session 2)
Lead Organizers: Barbara Ameer (b4chemistry@gmail.com) and Scott R. Goode (srgoode@mailbox.sc.edu)
Description: It is challenging to communicate chemistry to diverse audiences in a way that is concise, accurate, understandable and engaging. The ACS Committee on Public Relations and Communications (CPRC) recently compiled resources that are handy tools for communicating chemistry and the value of the chemical sciences. The collection covers a range of formats including videos directly accessible through the Society’s website. This symposium is an opportunity to hear about how fellow scientists are deploying resources such as the ACS collection to convey enthusiasm for chemistry and closely related sciences to diverse audiences within and outside of chemistry. Submissions for live, oral presentations will be considered for inclusion in this symposium.
Sponsor: Public Relations & Communications Committee

Date/Time/Location: Wednesday / 1:00pm-2:25pm / Willard 260 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 260 (Session 2)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 10:30am-12:05pm / Willard 260 (Session 3)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 260 (Session 4)
Lead Organizer: Ken Knappenberger (klk260@psu.edu)
Description: Nonlinear optical spectroscopy is a powerful tool for elucidating the structure and dynamics of chemical, materials and biological interfaces. The field has witnessed tremendous growth over the past few years, achieving broader spectral range, higher spatial resolution, and enhanced detection of weak signals by the implementation of new light sources, new polarization schemes, and coupling with microscopy. These technical innovations have broadened and deepened our understanding of the photochemistry, phase transitions, and interfacial chemistry of a wide range of systems and their functions on the nanoscale across many degrees of freedom. This symposium aims to bring together experimentalists and theoreticians in the Mid-Atlantic region to discuss work at the forefront of both methodology development and application of nonlinear spectroscopy and microscopy for understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of molecular, biological, and materials systems.
Sponsor: COLL

Date/Time/Location: Friday / 8:00am-9:35am / Willard 260 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 10:30am-12:05pm / Willard 260 (Session 2)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 260 (Session 3)
Lead Organizers: Christopher Rumble (crumble@psu.edu) & Mark Maroncelli (maroncelli@psu.edu)
Description: Electrolyte solutions are of central to many aspects of environmental and biological processes, and they are key components in a variety of energy storage applications and industrial processes. This symposium will feature recent research focused on understanding the structure and intermolecular interactions in electrolyte solutions that give rise to their equilibrium and dynamical properties in the bulk and at interfaces. The types of electrolytes currently studied range from simple ionic solutions, to concentrated water-in-salt systems, ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents, and complex polyelectrolyte coacervate mixtures. The symposium will bring together experimental, computational, and theoretical researchers in order to foster discussion between different communities and present a diverse set of perspectives on this important class of materials.
Sponsor: PHYS

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 8:00am-9:25am / Willard 262 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 262 (Session 2)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 1:30pm-2:55pm / Willard 262 (Session 3)
Lead Organizer: Eric Nacsa (nacsa@psu.edu)
Description: This symposium highlights recent developments in the synthesis of organic compounds. Abstracts outlining the development and/or application of new methods, catalysts, and reagents, new strategies toward complex molecules, and related research topics will be considered.
Sponsor: MEDI and ORGN

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 8:00am-9:05am / Willard 158 (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 10:30am-11:55am / Willard 158 (Session 2)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 8:00am-9:05am / Willard 158 (Session 3)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 10:30am-11:35am / Willard 158 (Session 4)
Lead Organizer: Morgan Vincent (mzv5264@psu.edu)
Description: This symposium serves as a dynamic platform to highlight the ways in which innovative teaching and learning methods are integrated into diverse branches of chemistry. It aims to go beyond traditional boundaries, fostering an inclusive space for educators to collaboratively share insights and best practices that cultivate an environment of novel learning experiences. The symposium welcomes a comprehensive array of talks, spanning from innovative pedagogical and assessment strategies to course development, and from enhancing student engagement to broader educational considerations.
Sponsor: CHED

Date/Time/Location: Friday / 6:30pm-9:00 pm / Pegula Ice Arena
Organizers: Will Noid (wgn1@psu.edu), Lasse Jensen (lxj18@psu.edu), Stewart Mallory (sam7808@psu.edu), and Lukas Muechler (lfm5572@psu.edu)
Description: Computation continues to play an increasingly central role in science, as clearly illustrated by the rapidly growing power and prominence of artificial intelligence and machine learning in modern technologies. Computation and theory now provide an invaluable complement to experiment in all areas of chemistry, ranging from analytical and biological chemistry to materials and organic chemistry. This symposium will highlight recent advances that expand the efficiency, scope, and accuracy of computational methods for classical and quantum simulations. The symposium will also spotlight the development of new theories that provide insight into experimental measurements in biological and materials chemistry. In particular, we anticipate that the symposium will discuss recent methods and insights in emerging areas, such as machine learning, quantum information science, nonequilibrium active matter, and topological materials, as well as in more traditional areas, such as biochemistry, polymeric materials, interfacial science, and spectroscopy.
Sponsor: COMP and PHYS

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 9:00am-4:00pm / Steidle Atrium (Session 1)
Date/Time/Location: Friday / 6:30pm-9:00pm / Pegula Ice Arena (Session 2)
Organizer: Rob Hickey (rjh64@psu.edu)
Description: Polymer materials are critical in numerous technologies such as biomedical, energy harvesting, telecommunication, textiles, and robotics. Interdisciplinary collaborations that harness new chemical methods and predictive models for polymer molecular design and processing are necessary to continue scientific advances in polymer materials. The goal of this symposium is to bring researchers together from different research areas and disciplines in the mid-Atlantic region to highlight recent advances in polymer science and engineering. Areas of interest include new polymerization and functionalization strategies, polymer materials from sustainable sources, polymer recycling and upcycling, synthetic biomaterials and biopolymers, hierarchical structure control, and computer simulation and modeling.
Sponsor: PMSE

Date/Time/Location: Friday / 6:30pm-9:00pm / Pegula Ice Arena
Organizers: Cathy Hetrick (cathy.hetrick@restek.com), Joseph Houck (jdh68@psu.edu)
Description: We invite poster submissions from researchers at all career stages in chemistry, biochemistry, and materials science.
Sponsor: ANYL, BIOL, CHED, ENVR, INOR, MEDI, ORGN, and PHYS

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 10:30am-12:00 pm / Willard 371
Organizer: ACS Careers
Description: If the purpose of the resume is to get the interview, then the purpose of the interview is to get the job offer! This ACS Careers Workshop, sponsored by ACS National, will offer strategies and techniques to develop an extremely effective interview. Participants will learn how to anticipate questions; develop thoughtful, robust responses; and handle difficult questions.  The workshop will not only provide critical practice interview scenarios but will also help participants leave a lasting impression with hiring staff to secure the position well-aligned to their strengths and values.

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 8:00am-10:00am / Willard 371
Lead Organizer: Paul Connolly (paul.connolly@restek.com)
Description: Following a brief presentation on Restek's Pro EZLC Chromatographic Modeling software, participants will be guided through some modeling examples and then have an opportunity to generate their own models with instructors available to assist.

Date/Time/Location: Friday / 8:00am-11:00am / Willard 258
Lead Organizer: Heidi Hendrickson (hendrihe@lafayette.edu)
Description: Integrating computational chemistry into undergraduate and high school classrooms can make abstract concepts more concrete for students by enabling them to visualize molecules, compute molecular properties, and observe trends in molecular data from their own calculations. But implementing computational chemistry in the classroom can also be a challenge for instructors at all levels. This workshop aims to empower participants with the tools they need to integrate computational chemistry activities into their classrooms! The workshop will include demonstrations and hands-on activities based on WebMO, a free/low cost, web-based interface for performing computational chemistry calculations without the need for additional computer hardware or software. Participants will learn how to incorporate various computational activities into their own curriculum, and will be provided with ready-to-use example activities from each subfield (general, organic, physical, inorganic, etc.). The workshop will also address typical implementation challenges related to system setup, submitting computations, interpreting and visualizing results, and other practical issues. A question/answer period with experts will be included. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 1:30pm-4:00pm / Willard 371 
Organizer: ACS Careers
Description:  A good résumé portfolio can be an invaluable tool during your job search. This workshop will walk you through what is required for Academic, Industrial and Governmental application processes as well as assist Entrepreneurs looking to create a business plan. Bring your resume to this workshop to get expert advice on how to bolster your CV from an ACS Careers Representative!

Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 1:30pm-2:15pm / 102 Forum (Demo Show)
Date/Time/Location: Thursday / 2:30pm-4:00pm / 106 Whitmore Laboratory (Workshop)
Lead Organizer: Lori Stepan (lsv10@psu.edu)
Description: This workshop will be a hands-on exploration of activities associated with Chemists Celebrate Earth Week and National Chemistry Week. Attendees will learn about planning scientific outreach events that bolster engagement with a variety of audiences. In addition to the workshop, there will be a chemistry demo show!