It's Friday. I've just finished my first week of classes and I'm checking some things off of my "first week of classes to do list." Two of these things are related to the broader inorganic chemistry community - the ACS DIC Undergraduate Award in Inorganic Chemistry and the new Foundations of Inorganic Chemistry Exam being developed by the ACS Exams Institute.

Do you have an outstanding undergraduate inorganic chemistry student who you'd like to recognize? The ACS DIC Undergraduate Award in Inorganic Chemistry was created to recognize our outstanding students. Each ACS certified institution is eligible to nominate one student for this honor. The student nominee should have future plans that include a career in chemistry and will have demonstrated excellence in inorganic chemistry at the undergraduate level based on any combination of research, coursework, or motivation / interest / dedication as defined by their nominating institution. The website for nominating students is now active: http://www.ionicviper.org/dicaward.

Get ready for a new exam from the ACS Exams Institute. During 2014, a new Foundations of Inorganic Chemistry Exam was developed. It is less advanced than the existing Inorganic Chemistry exam and is appropriate for a sophomore level or first course in inorganic chemistry. The Exams Institute will be trial testing the exam in Spring 2015. If you would like to trial test the exam, let me know. I can answer questions and pass your name along to the Exams Institute.

Hope your semester is off to a great start!