Language Partnership Program: With a growing number of international graduate students, PLU and the Chemistry Department have created the Language Partnership Program to help incoming international students adjust to graduate school in the U.S. The primary goal of the program is to increase English communication skills. Domestic graduate students in the department pair up with first-year international students and meet frequently throughout the first semester of graduate school to have a conversation in English. Individual meetings and group gatherings provide a way for international students to practice their English speaking and listening skills in a nonthreatening environment. The domestic student can also help the first-year student in adjusting to life in the U.S. and life in graduate school.
The first-year grad students enjoyed a social lunch with many domestic grad student volunteers for the kick-off event of the 2011-2012 Language Partnership Program .
Hill Lecture: The Hill Lecture is an annual event in the Duke Chemistry department which is organized and enacted by our PLU chapter. Many distinguished speakers have journeyed to Durham to speak to the department about their fascinating science in memory of Dr. Douglas Hill. In Spring 2011, Dr. Harry Gray gave a rousing talk about his solar army and the accomplishments they have made in the world of harvesting solar energy. The 2012 Hill Lecture brought us Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi who spoke about her pioneering work in Bioorthogonal Chemistry.
Academic Speaker: In addition to the Hill Lecture, PLU also brings in a separate academic speaker of marked accomplishment. In 2006, both Dr. Hector Abruña from Cornell University and Dr. Richmond Sarpong from University of California, Berkeley visited our department to give talks. Although this event has not taken place in the last few years, a renewed effort will bring us a speaker during the 2011-2012 academic year. Stay tuned!
Non-Academic Speaker: Once a year, PLU sponsors a speaker who discusses subjects related to science, but not in an academic realm. This is a really great opportunity to get a look into non-traditional chemistry careers. Some former non-academic speakers include Madeline Jacobs, then editor-in-chief of C&E News during the fall of 2001, and in the spring of 2003 Felice Frankel, science photographer and artist-in-residence at MIT. In the spring of 2011, Duke held a panel discussion of chemists in industry from start-ups to GSK to government, including new hires all the way up to VPs. In May, 2012 “ACS on Campus” came to Duke to discuss non-academic careers for students and post-docs.
Chemical Heritage Foundation Partnership: Duke PLU has teamed up with the Chemical Heritage Foundation to connect graduate students in the triangle with chemists working in RTP. The first event was held in 2011 and consisted of a panel discussion with local chemists followed by a social hour in FFSC. In April 2012, Dr. Tom Tritton, President and CEO of CHF, gave a talk on “The Story of Chemistry” followed by a reception at RTP Headquarters. Students from Duke, NCSU, UNC, and Elon as well as CHF patrons and RTP chemists attended this event and had a fun time hearing (and debating) Dr. Tritton’s “Top Ten” chemists of the last two centuries. CHF also has an array of ongoing events geared towards chemists of all ages. Learn more by visiting their site HERE.