Unconference

So, this coming Friday and Saturday, I'll be attending the She's geeky unconference in the twin cities. I'm hoping for some networking opportunities, and just to meet and support cool women doing science and technology things. Check out for more information, and come say hi if you're there.

American Chemical Society meeting

so I said this blog would be about chemistry and attempting to get myself set up as such. Yesterday was the Minnesota section of the American Chemical Society meeting. First off, there was a crap accident on I-94 on Hennepin. which made me late. grr. . . I missed a lot of "How to be a Chemistry Ambassador". Most of which seemed to boil down to "look on the national ACS webpage" and "talk about interesting applications of chemistry." Good ideas, though I wasn't sure how to use that to take any kind of steps. Maybe I'm not in a position to be a chemistry ambassador. then there was dinner and talking. Most people seemed to be really nice. I got to talk to a couple of other job seekers, and at least one lady who knows her husband's company is looking for a chemist. Is this the "networking" they speak of? okay, sarcasm done. but that was good. There seemed to be a lot of teachers there too. an interesting social interaction mode that reminded me of both my high school chemistry teacher and a couple of professors at the U of I. very . . . distinctive, though I'm not sure I could really describe it. But it made me giggle. I also might have volunteered to judge for a science fair on Friday. They seem to be looking for working chemists, but hey, I've got time. It'll be good for me. Making a name as a chemist and all that. Then there was a presentation about biobusinesses. If I was looking to make a start-up, I'd have been fascinated, though apparently Minnesota doesn't have all that good of an outlook for startups. Not enough capital and support. Hmmm. . . If I was an investor I'd see what I could do, because I do actually want to take chemistry knowledge and make it useful-to see products that make someone's life better as a result of my research.