2015 GdCh/YCCB Exchange in Boston

In 2015, the international exchange program for young chemists between the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society (NESACS) and the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh) was expanded beyond the United States and Germany. A spin-off  program of the NESACS-GDCh program was created in 2011 between the European Young Chemists Network (EYCN) of EuCheMS and the ACS Younger Chemists Committee, called Younger Chemists Crossing Borders (YCCB). At the 250th American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition, a joint exchange program of the two programs was hosted in Boston. The one week scientific and cultural exchange program included 20 international participants and 12 NSYCC representatives from 7 different countries. The program established relationships between participants worldwide.

The program began at the ACS National meeting where 14 delegates from GDCh and 6 delegates from EYCN gave a total of 30 presentations. Additionally, a symposium featuring 12 speakers talked about past, present and future international and inter-society collaborations. Among those speaker were Marinda Wu, past ACS President, HN Cheng, chair of the ACS International Activities Committee, Frederique Backaert, former chair of the EuCheMS European Young Chemists Network (EYCN), Michael Linden, chair of the German YCC called JungChemikerForum (JCF) and Felicia Lucci, chair of the NSYCC.

After the conference, the participants embraced the culture of  New England culture by attending a Red Sox game, visiting Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Cape Cod, and touring universities and chemical companies in Cambridge. The week was completed with a farewell dinner cruise on the Boston harbor.

The students who participate in the program must apply and are selected based on their accomplishments in research, their interests, and recommendations from their advisors.