News Release

May 24, 2007

Two Major Scientific Organizations Plan Regional Meetings in Boise June 17-21
Boise State University hosts meetings; public lecture series planned

More than 800 scientists, faculty and students from eight Western states and several foreign countries will gather in Boise June 17-21 for regional meetings of two major national scientific organizations. The five-day event includes guest lectures on a variety of topics that are open to the public.

The Northwest Region of the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Pacific Division will meet at Boise State University and the Boise Centre on the Grove for workshops, technical meetings and research presentations on topics ranging from sensor technology and advanced nuclear systems to animal behavior, wilderness issues, cancer treatments and infectious diseases.

Boise State is hosting the AAAS division meeting, themed “Science for a Green Future,” and is a contributing sponsor of the ACS regional meeting. Boise State science and engineering faculty are playing a prominent role in leading workshops, according to Owen McDougal, chair of the local AAAS organizing committee, and Jeffrey Peloquin, chair of the local Snake River Section of the ACS. Both McDougal and Peloquin are chemistry professors at Boise State.

A wide range of fields will be represented at the meetings, including anthropology, earth sciences, engineering, physics, political science, chemistry, biochemistry and many others. Undergraduate and graduate students from many universities will attend and present research papers and posters that will be evaluated by judges as part of a competition. Micron Technology Inc., the major sponsor of the ACS regional meeting, will sponsor technical sessions on semiconducting materials.

The first local section of the ACS formed in the last 10 years, the Snake River Section, will be officially welcomed into the national organization by national ACS President Katie Hunt. The new section was formed by Boise State’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and includes about 100 chemists from educational institutions, industry and government in southwest Idaho.

According to Peloquin, about three years ago the Richland Section of the ACS asked the BSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry to help bring the annual ACS conference to Boise for the first time in the history of the meeting. “The request was made because of the growth of science and technology in southwest Idaho and the area’s growing importance in the Northwest,” he said.

Added McDougal: “We are very excited that these two annual meetings are being co-located in Boise for the very first time. We are looking forward to some outstanding technical presentations, as well the opportunity to talk about our research with our colleagues at other universities and research centers in the West.”

While pre-registration and fee payment is required to attend most conference events, the public is invited to attend a number of free lectures given by nationally-recognized scientists. Among the highlights:

• 7:15 p.m. Sunday, June 17, Summit Room, Boise Centre on the Grove: PBS “Now” correspondent and Stanford University researcher Jon Christensen will discuss “How Green is Idaho?” Christensen will also screen his new short documentary on the efforts to protect wilderness in the Boulder-White Cloud Mountains, including the politics that brought together Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho and the Idaho Conservation League’s Rick Johnson in an effort to find common ground. Christensen, a research fellow at the Center for Environmental Science and Policy at Stanford, will also field questions about bringing a complex story involving people, politics, the environment and science, to 1.2 million households across the country.

• 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 18, Summit Room, Boise Centre on the Grove: Shirley Malcom, head of the Directorate for Education and Human Resource Programs for AAAS in Washington, D.C. will discuss “Science: The Public’s Need (and Right) to Know.” Malcom heads the AAAS programs in education, activities for underrepresented groups, and public understanding of science and technology. She has addressed a number of national committees addressing education reform and access to scientific and technical education, careers and literacy. In 2006, she was named as co-chair of the National Science Board Commission on 21st Century Education.

Other public lectures and symposia include:

• 8 a.m.-noon, Monday, June 18, Summit Room, Boise Centre on the Grove: Eric J. Clark of the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory in Portland will lead a symposium on “Public Response to Chemical Exposure Emergencies.” This symposium provides information on how various agencies and governmental jurisdictions perform specialized functions in response to a major chemical release. The topics include rapid clinical sampling and analysis, field/border detection methods and instrumentation, detection techniques and response triggers. Situation scenarios are for any kind of large scale chemical release, either accidental or intentional.

• 12:15 p.m. Monday, June 18, Summit Room, Boise Center on the Grove: Boise State Vice President for Research Mark Rudin will discuss “From Vegas to Boise: A Theme of Collaborative Research.”

• 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, June 19, Theatre, Boise Centre on the Grove: Kathleen M. Fisher a biology professor at San Diego State University, will discuss “Geology and Fauna of Four Galapagos Islands, 2006.” Fisher is past president of AAAS, Pacific Division president and former director of the Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education.

• 8:15 p.m. (approximate) Tuesday, June 19, Student Union Jordan Ballroom, Boise State. AAAS, Pacific Division President Carl A. Maida will speak on “Sustainability: Thinking and Designing a New World” following dinner and the presentation of student awards of merit. Maida is professor of public health at the UCLA School of Dentistry.

• 12:15 p.m.Wednesday, June 20: Summit Room, Boise Center on the Grove: Donald W. McGraw will discuss “The Early Years of Tree Ring Science.” McGraw is the former associate provost at the University of San Diego and currently a private contractor doing ethnographic research among native Americans such as the Inuit in Alaska. He is also chair of the AAAS Pacific Division History and Philosophy of Science Section.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is the largest and oldest general scientific society in the United States. With a large international membership, it is dedicated to advancing science, science education, science literacy and science policy around the world. AAAS publishes the journal Science, which is one of the premier scientific journals in the world, as well as many scientific newsletters, books and reports. Founded in 1848, AAAS includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science and serves upwards of 10 million individuals.

The American Chemical Society is a self-governed individual membership organization that consists of more than 160,000 members at all degree levels and in all fields of chemistry. The organization provides a broad range of opportunities for peer interaction and career development, regardless of professional or scientific interests. The programs and activities conducted by ACS today are the products of a tradition of excellence in meeting member needs that dates from the Society’s founding in 1876.

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Contact: Owen McDougal, Boise State University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, (208) 426-3964, owenmcdougal@boisestate.edu (AAAS)
Jeffrey Peloquin, Boise State University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, (208) 426-1423, jpeloquin@chem.boisestate.edu (ACS)
Media Contact: Janelle Brown, Boise State University Communications, (208) 426-1790, jbrown2@boisestate.edu

May is “Return to Learn” month at Boise State University. “Return to Learn” is a concentrated effort to provide information on the best options for returning to school to those who are considering taking classes from the university. For more information, call (208) 562‑3127 or click http://returntolearn.boisestate
 

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Last reviewed on Monday, July 16, 2007