Undergraduate Research Symposium  (Program PDF)
The Student Activities Committee of the New York Section of the American Chemical Society invites you to present your research at the 68th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS) on May 1, 2021.  The day-long symposium is an excellent opportunity for undergraduate students in the New York Metropolitan Area to present the results of their research.  This year's virtual URS includes two keynote addresses (shown below), oral presentations and an exhibition. Undergraduates are invited to present their work in the areas of: Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Green Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Nano- and Surface Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, and Polymer Chemistry.


Date and Time :        Saturday, May 1, 2021
                                     9:00 AM - 1:o0 PM
Place:                          Online via Zoom (link will be sent to all registrants the day before)
Registration forms:   Faculty Mentor   Exhibitor   Guest
                                    The Registration Deadline is April 16, 2021
Abstracts:                  Abstract submission has closed.

Searching for the LEGOS of life
Prof. Paul G. Falkowski
Rutgers University

The black hole of chemistry is the origin of life.Over the past two centuries, many chemists have attempted to understand how molecules can both become replicative and catalytic, but we have, thus far failed to understand autocatalysis that can lead to a system of reactions far from thermodynamic equilibrium.In this talk I will discuss the distance between applied and theoretical chemistry, and most importantly, what questions each of us asked, and have answered, when we were six years old
Venom to the Rescue: Advancing Biological and Chemical Diversity One Killer Snail at a Time

Prof. Mandë Holford
Hunter College - CUNY

Animal venoms are comprised of a diversity of peptides that manipulate moleculartargets such as ion channels and receptors, however, identifying bioactive peptides still remains a significant challenge. Breakthrough technological advancements haveenabled interdisciplinarystudies using genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomicsto expand venom investigation to animals that produce small amounts of venom orlack traditional venom producing organs. One group of non-traditional venomousorganisms that have benefitted from the rise of -omic technologies is the Terebridae (auger snails). A venomics strategy has been applied to the discovery,characterization and optimization of Terebridae venom peptides, teretoxins. Venompeptides, like teretoxins, and the genes from which they are derived, are a resourcefor investigating biological processes pertaining to organismal evolution (adaptiveradiation, diversification), gene development (duplication, neofunctionalization),and cellular physiology involving ion channels (activating/inhibitory ligands). Thistalk will demonstrate the scientific path from mollusks to medicine examining howvenom evolved over time in the Terebridaeand using this evolutionary knowledge as a roadmap for discovering and characterizing new compounds with therapeuticpotential for treating pain and cancer.