Do you have any ideas or suggestions for how the Alaska Local Section should plan the 2016 NORM Meeting in Anchorage?

[#1]

Hello AK ACS members,

I recently returned from the 2012 NORM meeting in Boise, ID.  It was a 
good meeting in what turned out to be a pretty good place.  Having grown
 up in northern ID, I’d been to Boise a few times, about 25 years ago.  
It has changed quite a bit.  The downtown now has a very nice pedestrian
 center with good shopping, restaurants and parks; overall a nice place 
to visit.  The scientific presentations ranged from technical 
applications (nano and nuclear chemistry) to the more esoteric 
(non-linear optical spectroscopy) as well as chemical education.  I 
attended several fascinating sessions.  I also attended the NORM Board 
meeting and as your representative and took that opportunity to present a
 bid for the 2016 NORM meeting.  The theme of the proposed meeting was “Integrated Ecosystem Studies of Terrestrial and Near-Shore Environments”. 
 The bid was accepted so it looks like we’re on for the 2016 ACS-NORM 
meeting in Anchorage (please see below for further details on the 
proposal).  2016 may seem like a ways out but we all know how fast time 
flies so I’m going to try to get as much as possible done well-ahead.  
With that said, Chairperson Bill Howard and I would like to take this 
chance to solicit your input.  We would very much like this meeting to 
be something that appeals to and serves all members of the AK section as
 well as our lower-48 colleagues of the ACS.  Please send your 
suggestions for symposia, session topics, workshops and/or 

extracurricular activities to either Bill (wahoward@alaska.edu ) or me (lahoferkamp@uas.alaska.edu ). 
 And if you’d like to get involved in the organization and 
implementation of the meeting (e.g. chair a session), then by all means 
let us know!  I’ll keep you posted as the meeting structure and contents
 develop and will always welcome your comments, suggestions and 
insights.  

Here are some of the details from the proposal I presented at NORM 2012:

*Basic elements of the technical program planned: Biochemistry,<br> Chemical Education, Environmental Chemistry, Geochemistry, Inorganic <br>Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Toxicology. </p><p>Particular highlights or themes for your meeting (is a logo planned?): *Integrated
 Ecosystem Studies of Terrestrial and Near-Shore Environments.  
Excursion to the Seward Sealife Center, a banquet at the Alyeska Resort,
 the Anchorage Museum at Rasmussen Center, the University of Alaska 
Anchorage (Environment and Natural Resources Institute, Institute for 
Circumpolar Health Studies) and the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.

I’ll
 keep you informed as plans solidify and I look forward to including 
your good ideas.  If you’re not interested in receiving these email 
updates, please let me know and I’ll remove your address from this 
list.  

Regards,

Lisa Hoferkamp