Media registration opens for ACS 239th National Meeting in San Francisco, March 21-25

News media accreditation and housing reservations are now open for the 239th National Meeting & Exhibition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. It will be held March 21-25 in San Francisco.

The meeting will offer print, broadcast, and online journalists a rich assortment of spot news and feature possibilities, with more than 12,000 presentations on new discoveries that span science's horizons, from astronomy to zoology. The topics include food and nutrition, medicine, health, energy, the environment, and other fields where chemistry plays a central role. Sessions will be held in the Moscone Center and downtown hotels. There will be an array of papers and multidisciplinary symposia focusing on the meeting's theme, "Chemistry for a Sustainable World." In addition, the meeting — among the largest scientific gatherings of 2010 — will feature a sprawling exhibit area, with hundreds of booths with scientific instrumentation, journals, and other items.

ACS' Press Center will be located in the South Lobby of the Moscone Center. It will host daily press briefings and a news media workroom fully staffed to assist in arranging interviews. The Press Center will have wireless Internet, telephones, computers, photocopy and fax services, and refreshments.

For reporters planning to cover the meeting from their home bases, the ACS Office of Public Affairs will broadcast the press briefings over the Internet in ACS' popular "Live Chat" format. Offsite reporters will have the ability to question scientists at each chat session. Details on obtaining access to the chat room, a press briefing schedule, and embargoed copies of press releases will be available on the ACS Press Room on EurekAlert in March. Reporters also will have access to all 12,000 abstracts of the technical presentations and hundreds non-technical summaries of research presentations written by the presenting scientists.

News media can apply for complimentary registration now at meeting registration. Hotel reservations and other information are available at housing.

Reporters are invited to a special news media briefing and reception with food and beverages on "The Chemistry of Sourdough & Other Breads" hosted by the ACS Office of Public Affairs. It will be from 6-9 p.m. on Monday, March 23, at Bistro Boudin, the famous sourdough bread bakery, restaurant and museum on Fisherman's Wharf. Internationally known food chemists Sara Risch and Shirley Corriher will discuss and demonstrate the process for making crusty, tasty sourdough bread.

Provided by American Chemical Society