Information for ACS POLY National Meeting Symposium Organizers

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Overview
Timeline
Proposing a POLY Symposium at ACS National Meeting
Organizing a Symposium
Fundraising and Financial Support
Final Programming
Running the Symposium

Overview

Symposia programming at national ACS meetings is facilitated by 3 chairs representing industry, national labs/federal agencies, and academia. These program chairs are responsible for review and approval of symposia and organizing the POLY Division’s overall programming at ACS National meetings. The following information is for symposium at national meetings, but similar processes are used at regional ACS meetings as well. For full consideration, please submit by the deadlines listed below. Questions about a specific meeting should be directed to the lead program chair.

Meeting	Theme	Lead Program Chair	Deadline for Symposia Proposal
Fall 2025 Washington D.C.	Innovations in Chemistry	Graham Collier	Closed
Spring 2026 Atlanta, GA	TBA	Alice Savage	May 1, 2025
Fall 2026 Chicago, IL		Julia Kalow	October 1, 2025
Spring 2027 New Orleans, LA		TBD	May 1, 2026
Fall 2027 San Diego CA		TBD	October 1, 2026

Timeline

>12 months before meeting: submit symposium proposal
~10-12 months before meeting: symposium topic/timing is approved, amended, or declined
~6-10 months before meeting: organizers send out invitations
~6 months before meeting: abstract submission closes
~4-5 months before meeting: organizers fill out requested schedule using MAPS system
~3 months before meeting: ACS sends out scheduled day/time for presentations
At meeting: symposium organizers report session attendance to POLY office within 24 hours of end of symposium

Proposing a POLY Symposium at ACS National Meeting

POLY symposia at ACS National Meetings are put together by volunteers. Usually, there are 2-3 organizers for each symposium. The planning for POLY Programming at a national meeting begins at least a year before the event. To ensure full consideration, please submit the symposium request form at least 2 weeks before the national ACS meeting taking place a year later. Programming chairs will review the submitted topics and provide support for organizers during the national meeting. At least one of the organizers must be an active member of the POLY division. Before proposing a symposium, organizers should review the recent and upcoming symposia at national ACS meetings, as well as the topics for POLY workshops. Organizers should only submit their proposal to one division, even if co-sponsored, to avoid duplicate programming.

Programming chairs will try to respond to requests for proposed symposia within a month of submission. Topic areas may be combined with other symposia or moved to a following national meeting to ensure engaging programming. Efforts will be made to accommodate special scheduling requests, but specific dates/times cannot be guaranteed.

Organizing a Symposium

Symposium organizers are encouraged to create a diverse program featuring a mix of invited talks and submitted abstracts, as well as a balance of poster and oral presentations. The POLY division and ACS recommend a diverse lineup of participants across career stages, nationalities, and backgrounds. Organizers must remind speakers of ACS deadlines for abstract submissions and promote their call for papers through direct emails, social media (tag @POLY_ACS), and the POLY Listserve. All symposium planning occurs via the MAPS website, and presenters must register for the ACS meeting as required.

After abstract submissions close, organizers have about one month to review and select submissions for presentations and posters. The duration of oral presentations, including any introductions, breaks, and panel discussions should be specified, where a half-day symposium session features 6-9 speakers including intermission. Organizers should also select session presiders for their program. Please remember, the times submitted via the workbook submission is a preliminary request and may be subject to change due to scheduling conflicts. Presenters should be aware their slot may occur at any time during the ACS national meeting and exact timing will be confirmed when the official program is released. ACS provides further resources for symposium organizers here.

Once complete, organizers should submit the workbook to programming with the national ACS committee via MAPS. Organizers and participants can expect to be contacted with details about dates/time of their presentation ~2.5 months before the meeting.

Fundraising and Financial Support

POLY Support:  Seed funding for POLY in person technical sessions is available up to $500 per ½ day ($2,000 max) while funds last (General Papers Symposia and Awards Symposia generally do not qualify). For joint programmed symposia listed in POLY and one other division, POLY provides $250 per half-day session in the whole symposium, up to a maximum of $1,000; for joint programmed symposia listed by POLY and two or more additional divisions, POLY provides $175 per half-day session in the whole symposium, up to a maximum of $700. At least one organizer of the POLY programmed/co-programmed symposium must be an active POLY member and should email the POLY Treasurer to request consideration at least three months prior to the start of the ACS National Meeting. In the email, please clarify the session title, meeting date, anticipated use of funds, and the number of expected half-day sessions in the symposium overall and if applicable other divisions involved in the co-programming (cc Kathy Mitchem). Poly recommends that funding be used to support travel and registration costs of younger members and highlight the benefits of POLY membership to the symposium participants. 

Sponsor Support: Additional sponsor support is encouraged. The POLY Business Office can assist organizers by sending an invoice to the sponsor, collecting the support, and distributing funds. Upon confirmation from a sponsor for support, please reply and cc Kathy Mitchem with the following text: “Kathy from the POLY Business office is cc’d on the message and can assist with the payment process.” The sponsor will be directly invoiced by the POLY business office which will handle processing and reimbursement (see below). Please note that a 5% collection service fee will be deducted from the collection.

Utilizing Support: Kathy Mitchem in the POLY Business Office can assist with distribution of support. Funds for your symposia can be used for travel or registration refunds, a reception or dinner, or other symposia-related expenses. If you provide a list of speaker names and reimbursement amounts at least 1 week prior to the ACS meeting, the checks will be prepared and ready for pick up at the POLY desk onsite for individuals. If you prefer to process this postmeeting, email your list of names, the amount per person, and email contact for follow-up. Issuance of checks for $600 or more require receipts for expenses (per tax law). For receptions or meals, the organizer is required to make all prearrangements and pay the bill. Submit the receipt at the POLY Desk for a refund on-site or email the receipt and address post-meeting and a check will be mailed to you. If you anticipate several checks will be required on-site, please alert the staff 7 days prior to the meeting. All support distribution should be processed within 2 months post-ACS Meeting. Financial support cannot be carried over for future use or transferred for a different purpose. If a sponsor clarifies a specific use, the staff will honor that requirement. Collected Sponsor funds will be utilized prior to POLY sponsored funds.

POLY Operates on a money-in before money-out policy. If the sponsor support has not arrived in the bank by the beginning of the ACS meeting, those funds cannot be distributed until support arrives.

Award Support: POLY Award Sessions are supported through the award funds and do not qualify for technical session support. Please check the email from the award committee to clarify the award amount. If additional support is desired for additional speaker support or a special dinner, organizers are encouraged to seek sponsors. ACS provides a special one-day registration for invited speakers who will only attend their specific talk or session only (typically $99). If you expect to have someone that might fit this description, please request more information from Kathy Mitchem.

Support from Other Divisions: Organizers are encouraged collaborate with and seek funding from other Technical Divisions. In addition, if the topic of the symposium is closely aligned with the theme of the National Meeting, organizers can request financial support from the Multidisciplinary Program Planning Group (MPPG). Since this funding available to all divisions, it is highly encouraged to reach out early during the planning process.

Final Programming

Official decisions on symposium and presentation timing can only be issued by the national ACS MAPS system. Only an author on a presentation can present the work. If they are unable to present, they may withdraw their abstract, as per official ACS rules.

Running the Symposium

Organizers and/or presiders are encouraged to attend all presentations associated with their symposium, whenever possible. Presiders for each session must submit the number of attendees in the audience to the POLY desk after each session.