Greetings from Ithaca, NY, site of the ACS Northeast Regional Meeting (motto: The Finger Lakes Region Goes Green!). The hosts at Ithaca College did a fantastic job of organizing 2 days of outstanding presentations on inorganic chemistry, organometallic chemistry, green polymers and more. The event was kicked off by a huge poster session featuring many undergraduate researchers and a plenary lecture by material scientist/chemical engineer Esther Takeuchi.

While introduction to VIPEr workshops have been staples at spring national ACS meetings and BCCEs, VIPEr now has a presence at regional ACS meetings as well. The NERM workshop was attended by VIPEr members, new and old, from assorted SUNY schools (Cortland, ESF, and Potsdam) and a curious undergraduate. The format was similar to other Introduction to VIPEr workshops: how to be a user (finding a learning object, adopting and using a learning object) and how to be a contributor (adapting LOs and creating new ones). In between our exploration of the site, we had great discussions about teaching at our respective institutions and then brainstormed some new LOs that attendees could contribute.

The best part of the workshop was definitely getting to meet each other and go from being complete strangers to new friends. We look forward to having them participate in our community as VIPEr users and contributors. I just checked the site and one of them already posted a new LO for review. Very cool.

Hey, I just remember that I have to revise and re-submit a learning object I started awhile ago. I bet some of you out there have an LO you've been meaning to share too. Let's make a pact to get our LOs uploaded before the summer ends, just in time to help everyone with their fall course prep!