Five students attend American Chemical Society Conference

LSMSA students were able to meet and hear from chemists from around the region at this annual conference.
On Nov. 7-10, five Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA) students attended the Southwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The students were Daniel Metzger (’19), Shivam Shah (’19), Samuel Konur (’20), Casey Tonnies (’19), and Sara Mixon (’20). The students were accompanied by Associate Lecturer of Chemistry Dr. Stephen Costin and Instructor of Chemistry Dr. Christina Hillesheim.

The annual professional conference brought in chemists from all over the region who presented and shared their latest research with other conference attendees. LSMSA students and staff were able to sit in on research talks provided by undergraduates, graduates and professors. They were also able to network and participate in several poster presentation sessions.

During the conference, Tonnies presented her original research, titled, "Synthesis and coordination chemistry of N,N'-disubstituted malonamide derivatives as a multi-step reaction for undergraduate labs." Research for the project was conducted at LSMSA.

The overall goal of the research was to combine the four major areas of chemistry (organic, inorganic, analytical, and physical) into a single semester-long lab course for undergraduate chemistry majors to take in their senior year,” said Costin.

This is the third year that LSMSA students have been able to participate in the conference. Travel support for the trips were made possible by the LSMSA Foundation’s Student Enrichment Fund, which seeks to expand educational opportunities for students.

LSMSA’s Sciences Department provides a college-level curriculum with state-of-the-art equipment for students hoping to dive deeper in their respective fields of interest. For more on the department, visit www.LSMSA.edu/sciences.
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