NCS brings record number of students to Spring 2023 ACS Meeting

NCS (Nittany Chemical Society) is a Penn State student affiliate chapter of ACS (American Chemical Society). It is student-run with current faculty advisors, Drs. Joe Houck and Lori Stepan. The students engage in professional development while building outreach with the chemistry department and general community. 

This year, NCS took part in major fundraising efforts to bring 33 students to the 2023 ACS conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. This number of students was doubled from last year and ended up being the largest student affiliate group at the ACS poster session. According to NCS President Ryan Lai, “our overarching goal was to expose our undergraduates to the chemistry world, and it was clear that we collectively gained new perspectives and learned a lot. Additionally, these conferences always bring the students together. It was fun to see everyone get to know each other even more this trip.” 

ACS is the world’s largest scientific society with more than 150,000 members worldwide. Their mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people. The vision is to improve people’s lives through the transforming power of chemistry. At these national meetings, there are research presentations and networking opportunities for undergraduate students and NCS took on these opportunities.  

Some of the NCS poster presenters reflected on their time at the ACS conference. 

Ashley Beers (2nd year, Boehr Group): “Presenting at the ACS conference was an incredible experience. Being able to share my work with others was very gratifying. Also, I met so many new people that I normally wouldn't have met which helped me figure out where I want to be in the future.” 

Gary Chen (4th year, Asbury Group): “I really enjoyed my time at the ACS conference. It was amazing to be able to share the knowledge I gained through undergraduate research with many professionals in the field. The experience talking about my research and learning about different topics has given me a head start as I prepare for graduate school.” 

Kayla Constantini (4th year, Nacsa Group): “Initially I was nervous, but I found that I really enjoy presenting my research and sharing my findings with others. Presenting is more of a conversation than it is an actual presentation, and conversing with other scientists has helped build my confidence immensely.”