Did you miss me?

I know it's been a while, but don't worry--I have plenty in store for you in this post!

1. Spring 2009 Registration
It's that time of year again! At this point you should have been contacted by your academic advisor to set up your mandatory advising appointment. If you have not, then get in touch with him or her to set up something ASAP. Registration opens on the 28th, and time tickets are now viewable in Oscar.

Looking for a great free elective?
Check out CHEM 2802 GT. Drs. David Collard, Cam Tyson, and yours truly (that's Dr. Shepler for those of you who haven't been following along :p ) are teaming up for our very first offering of a two credit "Sophomore Seminar." While our ultimate goal is to target second semester sophomores, in this first offering we'd love to have you juniors and seniors join us, too. Topics to be covered include:
Scientific ethics
Enhancing your scientific writing skills
Building and polishing your resume
Interview skills--complete with mock interviews conducted by alumni
And more!

Contact Dr. Shepler for more information.

2. Study Abroad Opportunities
The Office of International Education has many opportunities for you. Two upcoming programs include the GT Pacific Program Spring 2010 (New Zealand and Australia) and the GT Oxford Program Summer 2010. For more information check out:
www.pacific.gatech.edu or www.oxford.gatech.edu

3. Want to hear a Nobel Laureate speak?
Professor Sir Harry Kroto, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, will speak at the Ferst Center at 10:00am on Wednesday, November 4. The topic is "Science, Society, and Sustainability."

4. Graduate School Fair at Emory
Thursday, October 29, 12-3pm
Cox Hall Ballroom and Winship Ballroom (Dobbs University Center), Emory University
For a list of participating schools, go to www.career.emory.edu
This looks like a great opportunity, and you can take the GT/Emory shuttle (more info here).

5. Thinking about an MD/PhD?
Not even sure what that means? Check out this article.
If you think this might be for your, then you're invited to a program outlining the nuts and bolts at Morehouse! An impressive panel will be on hand.
Monday, November 16 at 6:00pm
Morehouse College Leadership Center (830 Westview Drive, Atlanta 30314)

6. Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education / Oak Ridge National Laboratory Internships
ORISE / ONL have tons of opportunities for undergraduates. You can find more information on their website, or now you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter!

7. ORISE / Center for Disease Control and Prevention Opportunity
Go here for more information!

Spend the summer working on "projects associated with developing and applying new methods to characterize and quantitate biochemical markers that are relevant in environmental exposures and chronic diseases. This includes assessing a variety of markers in biologic specimens (such as serum or urine) and developing reference materials.

You will be part of a multidisciplinary team and will work with state-of-the-art equipment on topics relevant to public health." This is a "stimulating environment that enables summer Fellows to learn about applied analytical chemistry and to enhance their knowledge of public health." Summer stipend is ~$2100! Deadline for application is January 15.

8. Volunteer opportunity

During Spring Break of 2009-2010, the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children (FIMRC) will be sending a group of GT students abroad to volunteer at a children's clinic and reach out to the surrounding community. The trip destinations for the spring trip are El Salvador and Nicaragua. If you are interested in this amazing service opportunity, please see attached files for detailed information.
Applications for the FIMRC Spring Break trip are due at 11:00 pm on October 30, 2009 to Amanda Jara at fimrc.trip@gmail.com. Contact Dr. Shepler for an application.

9. Want to strut your (research) stuff?

Check out the Southeastern Undergraduate Research Conference (SURC) to be held at Kennesaw State University on Thursday April 8 and Friday April 9, 2010. More details will be coming in January, but mark you calendars for a great opportunity!

October Happenings

Registration and Other Important Deadlines
1. Withdrawal deadline for individual courses is Friday, October 16 at 11:59pm. Don't forget that some courses (CHEM 2211) are withdrawal by permit only, so plan ahead.

2. The Spring course schedule comes out on October 21. Registration opens on October 28. Be on the lookout for emails from your advisers regarding mandatory pre-registration advisement.

3. Friday, October 16 is also the deadline for turning in paperwork for Freshmen Forgiveness. If you retook a course in the spring, you must turn in the paperwork by Friday to replace the grade. Don't forget that you will have separate Tech and HOPE GPAs if you use this.

4. Friday, October 16 is also the deadline for changing a letter grade to pass-fail basis and vice versa. Remember that only free electives may be taken on a pass-fail basis, and you are restricted to a maximum of nine hours of pass-fail credits during your whole time at Tech (assuming you've been at Tech for your whole degree).

Congratulations!
Congratulations to Ms. Roya Kalantari on her recent acceptance to the Berkeley Edge Conference where she will present her undergraduate research. This is a national program designed to help strengthen applications to graduate school, and attendance is quite an honor! We're very proud of Roya!

Thinking about grad school?
1. Don't forget that graduate fellowship opportunities can be found here and here

2. Professor Vince Donnelly from the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) Department at the University of Houston (UH) will be visiting Georgia Tech on October 19, 2009. He would like to discuss the UH graduate program with GT seniors in a variety of disciplines who have an interest in graduate school. The presentation and opportunity for discussion regarding the program at UH will be held in room L1125 in the Ford Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) Building from 12 – 1 PM on October 19.
A wide range of research areas are covered within UH:
• Nanomaterials
• Biomolecular Engineering
• Energy and Petroleum Engineering
• Environmental and Reaction Engineering
• Transport

Graduate Research Symposium and Homecoming Weekend Itinerary
Friday October 16, 2009 – Graduate Awards Symposium (3:00-5:00 p.m.)
3:00-3:20 Mr. Chip Humphries:
“Late Endosomal Degradation of Low-Density Lipoprotein Probed with Two-Color Fluorescence Microscopy”
3:25-3:45 Ms. Paige Stout:
“Antibacterial Neurymenolides from the Fijian Red Alga Neurymenia fraxinifolia”
3:50-4:10 Ms. Jennifer Steeb:
“Electrochemically Prepared Microirradiators”
4:15-4:35 Mr. Rakesh Nambiar:
"Designing New Architectures to Control Solid State Properties of Conjugated Polymers"
4:40-5:00 Mr. Tait Takatani:
"Big trouble for DFT: Salient characteristics of metal-salen complexe

HomecomingAlumni Reception/Poster Session (5:00-6:30pm)
Among those present will be alumni who are currently with Solvay, Kimberly Clark, Monsanto, and Croylife.

Interested in presenting a poster? Cash prizes are involved! Please contact Dr. Shepler if interested.

Saturday, October 17, 2009 – Tailgating (2 hrs before game time)
Outside 1st Floor of Molecular Science and Engineering Building

Please RSVP here
Be sure to also mark your calendar!