That's right! You read that correctly, meetings plural. I'll start with the one that is currently accepting submissions - the Spring 2019 meeting in Orlando. My minions, Emily Sylvester and Chip Nataro, will be doing all the leg work (which they have to do, me being a snake and all) for our annual symposium. We are now accepting submissions here. We expect to have three oral sessions as well as a poster session. Consider this your invitation to present. We will limit oral presentations to one per research group.

It's hard to believe that the academic year is about to start for many of us. I'm slowly making it through my pre-semester to do list. I spent the morning trying to pick the perfect paper and theme for my junior level LIterature and Seminar class where we explore everything from close reading strategies for reading the literature, searching, and data management to ethics and science in society. I have several good themes - I just need to pick one. I also found a paper on CO₂ conversion that I might be able to use to drive much of my Inorganic II class.

Has the end-of-summer, classes-start-in-less-than-a-month panic set in yet? I’ve started to feel it*, and I imagine we all have to a degree. Some of us VIPEr folks remember how especially anxious we were approaching our first year teaching general chemistry, having to start from scratch with lecture notes and course materials. How much anxiety (and time!) could have been saved if we had found a treasure trove of hand-picked gen chem teaching resources, located conveniently in a single location.

At the recent Organometallic Chemistry Gordon Research Conference there was a noticible fashion statement being made on Wednesday night. Four people were wearing identical shirts. And just to show how cool the shirts are, a fifth person wore their shirt on Thursday night during a special session. I would give more details, but what happens at a Gordo stays at a Gordo. What was this shirt you might ask?

Not to be outdone by my colleagues at the Organometallic GRC, I was reminded of our fun Science T-shirt day at the Dearborn Summer workshop!  Here are some of the entries.  Which ones are your favorites?  Got any more to add?  Post your pictures in the replies on the IONiC VIPEr Facebook page.

Note: This blog was originally posted on September 18, 2017 on www.manyconversations.org as part of One Book, Many Conversations, an international dialogue on reading George Orwell's 1984.

Graduation always leaves me in a reflective mood. It's a thrill to watch our graduates march across a stage and think about all of the things they've accomplished over the last four years. It also made me remember that I needed to submit the form for JMU's nominee for the 2018 ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry Undergraduate Award in Inorganic Chemistry!