Conference Proposal for NSF support of the Fall 2020 ACS Graduate Student Symposium entitled Pushing the Boundaries: Women Scientists Catalyzing Change; AUG 2020; San Francisco, CA

该项目支持在秋季2020年美国化学学会（ACS）全国会议和博览会，2020年8月16日至20日在旧金山弗朗西斯科，加利福尼亚州的演讲者和研究生与会者的旅行和住宿费用。具体而言，这笔资金将用于支持研究生组织的题为“推动边界：女科学家促进变革”的专题讨论会。研讨会将重点表彰全国各地的女化学家和化学工程师在分子和纳米催化领域的高影响力研究。 研讨会是由韦恩州立大学的研究生委员会构思和组织的。 该研讨会是美国化学学会研究生研讨会规划委员会（GSSPC）（由ACS化学教育部共同主办）实践的延续，允许来自特定机构的一组研究生在国家ACS会议上计划和策划研讨会。研究生在选择一个主题，邀请杰出的演讲者，确保赞助，并选择和指导下一个GSSPC研讨会全权负责。 拟议的研讨会的智力价值在于努力邀请在分子和纳米催化领域有重要影响的发言者。催化材料研究是一个有趣的领域，因为这些材料对我们接近我们生活方式所必需的合成过程的方式具有有益的影响。从替代能源到绿色家用燃气转换，这些过程都需要催化剂来推动其反应向前发展。因此，研讨会的目标之一是通过邀请这些领域的杰出女性研究人员前来分享她们的科学知识，利用这些领域正在进行的创新研究工作。从更广泛的影响角度来看，该项目将对科学界留住和招聘妇女产生积极影响。除了促进性别平等外，研讨会还将通过三种方式促进STEM领域的多样性和包容性：1）邀请来自文化和专业背景的演讲者，2）为代表性不足的身份群体的本科生提供旅行赠款，3）邀请所有与会者参加研讨会后的网络招待会。科学影响包括使科学界接触到广泛的催化材料，并吸引更多的科学家进入催化研究领域。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The project supports travel and accommodation costs for speakers and graduate student attendees at the Fall 2020 American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting and Exposition, August 16-20, 2020 in San Francisco, CA. Specifically, the funding will support a graduate student organized symposium entitled 'Pushing the Boundaries: Women Scientists Catalyzing Change.' The symposium will focus on recognizing the high-impact research of women chemists and chemical engineers all over the country in the field of molecular and nanoscale catalysis. The symposium is conceived and organized by a committee of graduate students from Wayne State University. The symposium is is a continuation of a practice by the Graduate Student Symposium Planning Committee (GSSPC) of the American Chemical Society (co-sponsored by the ACS Division of Chemical Education) to allow a group of graduate students from a particular institution to plan and orchestrate a symposium at a national ACS meeting on a subject of their choosing. The graduate students have full responsibility in selecting a theme, inviting distinguished speakers, securing sponsorship, and selecting and mentoring the next GSSPC symposium. The intellectual merit of the proposed symposium lies in efforts to invite speakers that have significant presence in the field of molecular and nanoscale catalysis. Catalytic materials research is a rich area of interest because of the beneficial implications these materials have on the way we approach synthetic processes imperative to our way of life. From alternative energy to green house gas conversion, these processes need catalysts to drive their reactions forward. Thus, one of the goals of the symposium is to exploit the innovative research work being done in these areas by inviting distinguished female researchers in these fields to come and share their science. From the broader impacts perspective, the project will make a positive impact on the retention and recruitment of women in science. In addition to promoting gender equity, the symposium will promote diversity and inclusion in STEM fields in three ways: 1) by inviting speakers from culturally and professionally diverse backgrounds, 2) by providing travel grants to undergraduates from underrepresented identity groups, and 3) by inviting all attendees to a networking reception following the symposium. Scientific impacts include exposing the scientific community to a broad range of catalytic materials and engaging more scientists into the field of catalysis research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.