2024 RRV-ACS Research Conference

Friday / Saturday February 2-3 2024 

Bemidji State University, Bemidji

The Red River Valley Local Section of the American Chemical Society (RRV-ACS) held the 2024 RRV-ACS Research Conference in February at Bemidji State University.

After the success of the 2023 RRV ACS Research conference held in January at Concordia College, and with support from an ACS LS-MEET grant, the event drew over 100 attendees, saw an excellent plenary lecture, 20 oral research presentations and 27 posters and brought together chemists from across our region to share their work and connect. 

Link to Bemidji Pioneer article mentioning our event: Click Here

ABSTRACT BOOK CLICK HERE

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 Conference Schedule and Presentation List:  Click here for pdf

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Event Gallery - Click Here 

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Travel Award Information.

As part of the 2024 RRV ACS Research Conference, the RRV Local Section awarded travel awards to presentations based on judging by a panel of judges. This is part of our ongoing effort to allow researchers a chance to share their work beyond the local section.


2024 Outstanding Presentations ($500 Travel Award)

Bohdan Domnich (NDSU)

Katerina Litvanova (UND)

Elisabeth Starosta (undergrad – UND)

 

2024 Excellent Presentations ($250 Travel Award)

Michael Odegaard (NDSU)

Chameli Samarawickrema (NDSU)

Benjamin Lebau (NDSU)


Additional non-travel awards were also made for selected presentations.

Plenary Speaker: Dr Valerie Pierre (University of Minnesota)

Dr. Pierre’s research employs coordination and supramolecular chemistry to solve medical and environmental problems.  She designs unique metal-based receptors to modernize dialysis and treat hyperphosphatemia - a condition affecting millions of patients with kidney diseases. As part of her environmental efforts, she is designing new complexes, supramolecular receptors and polymeric membranes that can catch pollutants from lakes and rivers. Her current goal is to design new tools that can economically remove phosphates and nitrates from surface water contaminated with agricultural run-offs. Similarly, she is designing new ligands and novel separation protocols that can separate metal ions, especially rare earths, in a sustainable manner without generating waste or using harsh solvent extraction methods.

2024 RRV ACS Local HS Chemistry Teacher Award Winner: 

Jill Bakken (Bagley Public Schools)

To celebrate the contribution of local teachers to our chemistry community, we awarded the first RRV ACS Local HS Chemistry Teacher Award. The nominee must be actively involved in teaching chemistry or a chemical science for students in Grades 9 -12 (High School) and will have to provide a copy of their CV or resume as part of the packet.

This award comes with an award plaque for the teacher's classroom and a one year membership to American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT  https://teachchemistry.org/)

The award nomination form should be downloaded and completed and can be found  HERE

The nominator of the award winner will also be encouraged to consider further developing their nomination and submitting this to the ACS Chemical Education Division Regional Award for Excellence in HS Teaching. More details can be found at: 

https://www.divched.org/award/divched-region-awards-excellence-high-school-teaching

More details: https://sites.google.com/view/rrvacs-hsteacher/home

EVENT SUPPORT: 

We are grateful to ACS and the Local Section Advisory Council (LSAC) for providing financial support for this event in the form of a 2023 LS-MEET grant. More info on the LS-Meet program at https://www.acs.org/funding/grants/local-section-mett-grant.html

We are also grateful for additional financial support provided by Anasazi Instruments (https://www.aiinmr.com/ )  and Ani pharmaceuticals (https://www.anipharmaceuticals.com/) and Bemidji State University for hosting our event (https://www.bemidjistate.edu/)


Campus Map, Hotels and Parking:

The Event will be held in  Hagg-Saurer hall as marked on map. Also marked is the best place to park and the location of Hagg-Saurer hall. Attendees can park on the street but Bemidji has complicated parking regulations (for snow removal) and they may get a ticket. The Bangsberg lot isn’t ticketed on weekends and it isn’t that long of a walk to get to Hagg-Sauer. 

Recommended Hotels:

Hampton Inn & Suites Bemidji

1019 Paul Bunyan Dr S, Bemidji, MN 56601

hilton.com

(218) 751-3600

 

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bemidji

115 Lake Shore Dr NE, Bemidji, MN 56601

(218) 441-4400



Questions / Contact Information:

For further information contact either