Macromolecular Alliance of Community, Resources and Outreach
See their webpage at https://macro-poly-pmse.org/
About : MACRO is a newly created committee that is being support by both the POLY and PMSE divisions of ACS. Current leadership includes, Philip Costanzo from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (POLY) and Dominik Konkolewicz Miami University, Ohio (PMSE)
Our goal is grow and develop the polymer community by supporting three distinct initiatives, which are : 1) curriculum; 2) professional development; 3) outreach.
Curriculum : We aim to create a depository of teaching materials for instructors to be able to acquire and utilize in their classrooms. Materials will range from undergraduate to graduate level lecture material as well as a range of laboratory experiments (both teacher and student guides). We aim to create materials students of various academic standing (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior or graduate) and of various backgrounds so that polymer content can be incorporated into various aspects of a student’s curriculum (i.e. polymer exposure in general chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, etc…).
We hope to create an interface where an instructor can request instructional content based upon student level, interest and background. Additionally, we plan to create an opportunity for faculty to share what they are currently utilizing in their classroom and receive appropriate recognition for their contributions to the Polymer community. We envision a two-way interface where individuals can submit and withdraw polymer knowledge.
Professional Development : We aim to create an open forum for individuals within the Polymer community to engage with each other in a range of topics including but not limited to :
Undergraduate level. Resources for connecting undergraduate students to research opportunities and REUs/ other internships. MACRO will also provide a guide on applications to graduate studies.
Graduate / Postdoc level. MACRO will provide information on both graduate fellowship opportunities and also resources on how to apply to these types of fellowships for current graduate students. Similarly, to the resources for undergraduates to apply to graduate programs, MACRO will provide a guide for graduate students to apply for postdoctoral fellowships, and for current postdoctoral fellows to apply for faculty positions. Of particular interest will be guidelines for potential faculty members to consider R1 vs PUI positions.
Faculty level. MACRO will develop materials to guide new faculty on mentoring and training postdoctoral fellows and graduate students and setting up a new group in polymer science. MACRO will provide materials, resources and content to help junior faculty navigate the proposal process.
Outreach : We aim to create a depository of outreach materials for individuals to be able to spread their passion and knowledge of science to the general population. We hope to create an interface where individuals can request instructional content based upon audience composition and support resources. Additionally, we plan to create an opportunity for individuals to share what they are currently utilizing in their communities and receive appropriate recognition for their contributions to the Polymer community. We envision a two-way interface where individuals can submit new polymer knowledge and also access and gain new resources in polymer science.
If you are interested in contributing to any of these initiatives, please feel free to contact Phil (pcostanz@calpoly.edu) or Dominik (d.konkolewicz@miamioh.edu).