ACS Webinars for Professional Development
Learn from the best and brightest minds in chemistry.
We are pleased to make the collection of ACS Webinars below free to watch!
- Enjoy watching on your own.
- View a webinar concurrently with your colleagues, lab members, or friends.
- Encourage students to watch a webinar and then host a virtual discussion (as part of a class or group meeting).
ACS Webinars are presented live each Thursday at 2 PM ET.
ACS Members have access to hundreds of past ACS Webinars from subject matter experts on a variety of topics.
Exceptional Presentations In Spite of PowerPoint: How to Communicate in the Digital Age
Join Mark Jones, Executive External Strategy and Communications Fellow at Dow Chemical, in order to discover the keys to effective presentations like knowing your audience, recognizing limitations, and overcoming those limitations.
What You Will Learn
- How and why you must identify your target audience to deliver impactful presentation
- What are the limitations when presenting to faceless audiences that are miles away
- How to overcome virtual audience limitations with learnable skills
Coffee: A Chemical and Physical Perspective
Join the Atlantic’s “Specialty Coffee’s Resident Scientist” Christopher Hendon of the University of Oregon in this free interactive broadcast as he uses chemistry and physics, to discuss how to isolate the most impactful variables in the reproduction of cup quality, while optimizing the usage of coffee to maximize profitability and flavor.
What You Will Learn
- How water chemistry impacts the perceivable flavors in a cup of coffee
- How the temperature of whole coffee beans determine the particle size distribution produced by a grinder
- How to systematically improve coffee production (focusing on espresso, but applicable to all brew methods), while reducing wasted coffee mass
Is Biodegradability a Solution to Plastic Waste Pollution in the Ocean and on Land?
Join Ramani Narayan, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State University, to discover the science of biodegradability and compostability, as well as identify facts vs. hype so that you can ask the right questions.
What You Will Learn
- The science of biodegradability-compostability and its use for environmentally responsible plastics waste management. Learn to recognize false and misleading “biodegradable product claims”
- What does the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the State of California, NGO’s like the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Ocean Conservancy, the European Union Packaging Directives, and United Nations Environmental Program have to say on the subject
Creating a Lab Safety Culture for Industrial Chemists, Educators, and Grad Students
Join ACS President Dr. Peter Dorhout as well as three experts in a lively discussion of how this initiative influences their roles as educators, industry and graduate students as well as the valuable new ACS lab safety resources for both the teaching and research chemistry laboratory.
What You Will Learn
- What safety knowledge, skills, and attitude does industry expect of the chemists it hires
- How graduate students can impact the safety conditions and programs in their research labs
- What faculty members can do to model safe practices in the teaching and research labs
An Evolutionary Mystery: Mirror Asymmetry in Life and in Space
Join Brett McGuire of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in this free broadcast to discover if we can peer into the center of our galaxy for the answer as well as the current understanding of how such an excess may have arisen in the interstellar medium and before the formation of the Solar System.
What You Will Learn
- What is the impact of homochirality on biology and chemical evolution
- What are the potential origins of homochirality and what are the challenges in studying possible interstellar origins
- What was the first detection of a chiral interstellar molecule and what are the challenges associated with measuring a potential chiral excess in space
Riding the Wave of Green Chemistry: How to Enhance Awareness of Plastics in the Ocean
Join Jane Wissinger of University of Minnesota in a free interactive webinar for Chemists Celebrate Earth Week. During this special broadcast, Jane and Reuben Hudson, of Colby College will bring awareness to the accumulation of plastics in our oceans, highlight outreach and curriculum materials that teach polymer basics, and feature innovative ideas by chemists who apply green principles to develop more sustainable materials.
What You Will Learn
- Accessible resources which convey the magnitude of plastics in our oceans and the negative consequences on marine life
- Hands-on activities and experiments which model polymeric materials made from renewable feedstocks and designed for degradation (K-12, outreach and college level)
Top Tips for Communicating Your Science: Knowing Your Audience
Join Chris McCarthy, Manager of Social Media & Member Engagement at the American Chemical Society during this free interactive broadcast to learn what questions to ask our audience in order to shape your message and acheive your desired impact.
What You Will Learn
- Tips for effective science communication with different types of audiences
- Key questions to ask about your audience
- Tailoring your message based on who you want to reach
Women in Drug Discovery and Development: How to Succeed as a Female in Academia and Industry
With more young women than ever opting to study within the STEM field, we look to answer just what it takes to create a rewarding and successful career within academia or the pharmaceutical industry as a female. Join Nurulain Zaveri as we explore insights from those in the field today to understand the technical and soft skills necessary to flourish.
What You Will Learn
- Insight and real life experiences from successful females in drug discovery and development from academia to industry
- A day in the life of each panel member highlighting their roles and responsibilities in their specific functions
- The technical and soft skills ideal for each panelist's position within drug discovery and development
Writing Competitive Research Proposals that Win Funding
Join Nancy Jensen, a Program Manager of the Office of Research Grants at ACS, as she focuses on the basic skills and pointers for writing a competitive research proposal.
What You Will Learn
- What are some general research proposal writing rules that everyone should follow
- The mechanics of proposal writing – funding agencies, selecting a topic, and preparing the document
- Details about proposal evaluation and common misconceptions
Become a Science Advocate
Join ACS Immediate Past President, Allison A. Campbell and Laura Pence, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Hartford and Member of the ACS Board of Directors, as they share why science is an invaluable component in making laws and regulations and how we can engage our elected officials with stories conveying the impact, importance, and excitement of the work that we do.
What You Will Learn
- Why it is important that scientists speak with their elected officials and how to engage with elected officials
- How to build a compelling message and prepare for a meeting with an elected official
- The process for executing a successful meeting and what to expect from the visit
