Student Member Input Expands Southeast Regional Meeting Horizons

In 2005 and 2006, the Southeast Region established a very successful regional meeting format combining technical sessions and development workshops for professionals and students around a central theme, which was examined at the final session through an interactive panel discussion.   The two day meeting was structured with a technical poster session and reception on Friday evening and a Saturday agenda with a morning opening session, technical oral presentations, and a keynote luncheon speaker, followed by professional and student development workshops and concluding with an interactive panel discussion where panelists from across and beyond the Southeast Region addressed the conference theme from the perspective of their individual experiences and responses to comments and questions from the audience.

This format was expanded in 2007 planning meetings when professional members from the Atlanta Metro Chapter and engaged student members from Emory University and Georgia Tech examined options for taking the regional meeting to a higher level.  The graduate student members, Kornelious Bankston, Kimberlynne Davis and Tamara Henderson presented their views on increasing student participation through introducing a networking workshop prior to the Friday evening poster session/reception where the fundamentals of networking would be introduced by a professional, followed by application of these concepts through practice interactions of students and young professionals with professionals from corporate, educational and government entities.  Kornelious Bankston and Keith Oden recruited corporate participation  for this workshop and the networking reception. The student members also suggested designing meeting announcements that specifically motivated student participation, including cash prizes for student winners of oral and poster competitions.  Dale Mack, an AMC professional member suggested that a jazz trio at the Friday evening reception would also elevate the level of the meeting.

As the new ideas were incorporated and advanced, the 2007 theme “Building your platform: identifying and implementing strengths, skill sets and multi-dimensional strategies for success” was adopted and the five professional and student development workshops were agreed upon.  The proposed workshops and their conductors were: “Graduate school survivor”, Dr Angela Ragin (CDC) and Ms Kimberlynne Davis (Emory); “Situation independent mentoring” , Dr John Dimandja (Spelman); ORISE/Battelle Fellowships”, Dr Mary Robinson (CDC) and Mr Virlyn Burse (Battelle); “Investing in transitional economies”, Mr Derry Haywood, Peninsula Financial; and a technical workshop on an emerging multi-disciplinary domain “Nanotechnology”, conducted by Dr JanYoutie of Georgia Tech.

Dr Willie May of NIST agreed to deliver the keynote address since his full schedule did not have him in China as he was scheduled on the 2006 dates when the Southeast Region invited him.  Dr May was considered particularly inspirational because of his accomplishments, his direct communication style and his history of encouraging large numbers of research opportunities for diverse populations at NIST.  Dr Emanuel Waddell of the University of Alabama in Huntsville agreed to be responsible for technical presentations for the third year, and Ms Joy Nelson, a Florida State student designed the meeting general announcement and assisted with meeting VIPs.  Dr Keith Oden of Georgia Tech, advisor to the student chapter, coordinated and delivered resources and manpower to make the meeting flow. Yinka Ogunro of CAU and Tedric Campbell handled AV responsibilities.

The November 2007 Southeast Regional Meeting materialized at an elevated level as envisioned and implemented by student and professional members.  Tokiwa Smith, Theresa Rogers, Alisha Etheredge and Bernice Green commanded the registration process and kept on top of the meeting pulse. Attendees represented the breadth of the region with students and professionals from locations as diverse as Florida State, Howard, the University of Maryland, the University of Memphis, Spelman, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse School of Medicine, University of Alabama, Huntsville Georgia College and State University, Kennesaw State University and the Savannah River DOE Laboratory in Aiken, SC.  Exhibitors were GA Tech, Emory University , Purdue University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sponsors were Cambridge Isotope Laboratories and Mikart.  The poster session, with 21 entries was lively and very competitive with the graduate prize awarded to PaDreia Lawson of GA Tech and the undergraduate prize awarded to Andrea Boyd-Tressler of Spelman.  The oral presentation prize was awarded to Oliyomi Olumola from the University of Maryland .  The jazz trio provided smooth, melodic ambiance to the reception, and Dr May delivered an inspiring platform building message at the luncheon. The workshops were well attended and well engaged with interactive discussions regarding content.  The moderator of the panel discussion was Kimberlynne Davis of Emory, and the panelists were Dr Victor McCrary of Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) and NOBCChE National President, Dr LaKiesha Taite, a chemical engineering professor from GA Tech, Dr Miquel Antoine, a chemist from JHUAPL, Dr John Dimandja, chemistry professor at Spelman and Dr Willie May, Chemical laboratory Director at NIST.  The 2007 meeting set a new standard for the Southeast Region, and the region will continue to incorporate new ideas and strategies for elevated future trajectories.