Conference Highlights
Make sure you check out these special events!Saturday, June 22
Breaking Borders: Building Bonds at the Palouse Discovery Science Center
June 22, 1 to 3 pm
Join us for family fun at the Palouse Discovery Science Center! Kids of all ages will enjoy engaging, educational, hands-on science exhibits throughout the Center, and the Washington – Idaho Border Section will host chemistry activity tables designed for ages 3 – 12 that feature tie-dye shirt making (you get to keep the shirt!), slime-making (you get to keep the slime!), beads that reversibly change color when exposed to UV-light (you get to keep these too!), as well as a fun, color-changing demonstration of chemical reactivity. Admission to the Palouse Discovery Science Center is free for all between 1 – 3 pm.
Sunday, June 23
Opening Reception
June 23, 5 to 7 pm
Leading up to the opening plenary session on June 23rd, there will be an opening reception in the exposition hall (Compton Union Building, Senior Ballroom) sponsored by ACS Governance.
Plenary Talk – José Almirall
Opening Reception, June 23, 7pm
National Science Foundation; Programs in the Chemistry Division and Beyond
This talk will cover the NSF Division of Chemistry’s core programs, history and evolution and its significant collaborative investments. Learn about NSF’s broader opportunities, including research translation and strategic initiatives, and funding opportunities across all career levels, from students to established researchers. A virtual panel featuring program directors from diverse CHE programs will share insights and address audience questions.
Dr. Almirall is Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in Chemistry and Biochemistry at Florida International University in Miami and the founding Director of the NSF-funded Center for Advanced Research in Forensic Science (CARFS) at Florida International University.
Plenary Talk – Susan E. Ebeler, UC Davis
Opening Reception, June 23, 7:45 pm
Chemistry in a Glass: The Borders and Bonds of Wine Chemistry
Sue Ebeler is the associate dean of Undergraduate Academic Programs for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES) and a professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology. Her research seeks to answer questions about food and beverage flavor, quality and health effects.
By linking compositional and sensory information, this research reveals information about how aroma compounds interact with each other and with food matrix components to contribute to complex food and beverage flavors.
Chemistry in a Glass – Wine & Beer Reception
June 23, 8:30 to 10 pm
Following the opening plenary lectures there will be a wine and beer reception, sponsored by House of Smith Winery, in the Senior Ballroom of the Compton Union Building.
NORM 2024 Expo
- June 23, 5 pm to 7 pm
- June 24, 8 am to 5 pm
- June 25, 8 am to 3:30 pm
Join us to meet supporters of NORM 2024 with products and booths relevant to your professional and academic interests!
Monday, June 24
Doughnuts with Directors
June 24, 7 to 8 am
Join us for an in-person and virtual panel with NSF program officers. Doughnuts will be provided to registrants.
The Women Chemists Committee (WCC) WCC Luncheon
Ticketed Event
June 24, 12 to 1:30 pm
CUB Junior Ballroom
Honoring Joan Broderick, 2019 ACS Alfred Bader Award winner in Bioinorganic or Bioorganic Chemistry and a Washington State University alum. The program will include an update from representatives of the national WCC and a keynote address by Dr. Broderick. She will describe key milestones, motivating forces, scientific and personal passions and challenges that drove her career decisions, and triumphs.
Free Pizza Lunch
June 24, 12 to 1:30 pm
CUB Senior Ballroom
Thank you to our exhibitors for making this free pizza lunch available to NORM 2024 attendees! Be sure to drop by and meet these great companies and organizations after enjoying a delicious meal.
University of Idaho and Washington State University Alumni and Friends Reception
June 24, 5 to 6 pm
In an effort to break borders and build bonds: Washington State University and the University of Idaho would like to invite alumni, friends, and colleagues to reconnect at a reception.
Plenary Talk – Jorge Cham and screening of The PhD Movie
June 24, 7 to 8 pm
CUB Auditorium
Talk followed by a screening of The PhD Movie, 8 to 9:30 pm
Jorge Cham is the creator of Piled Higher and Deeper (PHD Comics), the popular comic strip about life (or the lack thereof) in Academia. He is also the co-founder of PHD TV, a video science and discovery outreach collaborative, the best-selling author of several non-fiction books for kids and adults, and the Emmy-nominated creative director and co-creator of the PBS Kids animated series Elinor Wonders Why.
Following the lecture by Jorge Cham, The PhD Movie will be screened. In March 2011, Jorge Cham started filming a movie based on the comic series. The film production was a collaboration between Cham and a theater group at the California Institute of Technology.
Tuesday, June 25
Fun Run: To (not from) the Bears
June 25, 6:30 to 7:30 am
Join us for a 2.6 mile roundtrip run to (not from) the Grizzly Bear Center on the WSU campus from the Compton Union Building. The WSU Bear Center is the only grizzly bear research center of its kind in the United States. Upon reaching the WSU Bear Center, the grizzly bears will be visible from a viewing area in the parking lot, where anyone can view the bears foraging or playing in the exercise yard, splashing in their pool, or lounging in their outside runs. Download the Fun Run Map.
Free Boxed Lunch
June 25, 12 to 1:30 pm
CUB Senior Ballroom
Thank you to our exhibitors for making this free boxed lunch available to NORM 2024 attendees! Be sure to drop by and meet these great companies and organizations after enjoying a delicious meal.
Nuclear Reactor Tours
June 25 and 26
WSU houses a 1 MW TRIGA research reactor. The WSU Nuclear Radiation Center, a WSU department within the Office of Research and located in the Dodgen Research Facility, participates in nationally and internationally pertinent research, isotope production, and various community education initiatives benefiting WSU, other university institutions, and national and worldwide clients. The department and facility are utilized by a variety of fields of study including: nuclear engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, geology, environmental sciences, archaeology, geology, and traditional and nuclear forensics. We provide laboratory space and equipment for the WSU Chemistry Department Radiochemistry Lab Sections, in addition to utilization of the reactor facility.
Innovation to Impact (I2I) Part 1: Story of the Cosmic Crisp Apple
June 25, 4:40 to 5:30 pm
The Cosmic Crisp® apple demonstrates how the science of breeding and the art of imagination can work together to create an utterly new and delightful apple.
NORM 2024 Awards Dinner
June 25, 6 to 9 pm
The NORM 2024 Awards dinner will take place at the Banyans Pavilion of the Palouse Ridge Golf Club. Come celebrate your honored colleagues!
Nuclear—The Energy of Tomorrow
Plenary Seminar
During Awards Dinner
The Awards Dinner will include a Plenary Seminar by Dr. Simon Pimblott, Laboratory Fellow at the Idaho National laboratory and Nuclear Science and Technology Directorate Chief Scientist.
Wednesday, June 26
ACS Career Workshops
June 26
- 8 to 11 am, Finding Yourself: Identifying a Career that Matches Your Strengths and Values
- 11 am to 12 pm, Networking: How to Get Started
- 1 to 5 pm, Resume Reviews
Innovation to Impact (I2I) Part 2: Business Model Canvas Workshop and Fast Pitch Contest
June 26, 9 am to noon
Have you ever thought about commercializing your technology? Are you ready? In this interactive workshop Asa Brown, from the Carson Business Solutions in the Center for Entrepreneurship at WSU, will lead teams through the model building process, highlighting success stories while helping you build your pitch. At the end of the workshop, a panel of experts will come in to help judge your pitch and decide if you are on the right track to commercialization.
Concept Mapping in the Science Classroom: Theory, Implementation and Best Practices
June 26, 10 am to 12 pm
Krista Nishida discusses concept mapping, an evidence-based, active-learning pedagogical approach to student learning that involves visual representations of information and emphasizes conceptual connections and relationships in the course material. Several different approaches to using concept mapping in the classroom will be described, as well as results from classroom research. Includes hands-on concept mapping activities. K-12 teachers that attend will be able to earn clock hours.
Safety Luncheon
June 26, noon to 2 pm
Come join the Environmental Health and Safety team from the University of Idaho and Washington State University to learn the contents and how to prepare standard operating procedures followed by an informal discussion on lessons learned on safety incidents/near misses.
Crossing the Border into Idaho: Night out in Moscow, ID
Come join us for a night out in Moscow, Idaho. Starting at Colter’s Creek Winery (4:30 – 7 pm) and finishing at Hunga Dunga Brewery (6:30 – 9 pm).