WCMC-Q celebrates International Year of Chemistry with Symposium

Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar joined the international scientific community in celebrating International Year of Chemistry (IYC) 2011 by hosting a Chemistry Symposium with a Chemistry in Medicine competition on November 26^th at the WCMC-Q campus in Education City.

The competition was open to all schools and undergraduate colleges where chemistry is taught and the students were invited to make presentations on the role of chemistry in medicine. Students submitted a 200-250 word abstract describing the premise of their talk and WCMC-Q faculty evaluated them. Those they selected were then invited to give a five to seven minute oral presentation based on their proposal and prizes were awarded for first, second and third place.

Elizabeth Boctor, a Pre-medical student at WCMC-Q, won first prize in the undergraduate section of the competition and Ibtihal M.H. Abdallah, from Qatar University’s College of Pharmacy, won second prize.  WCMC-Q Pre-medical student, Amchalia Chandrakakumaran took third prize. The school prize was awarded to Alhassan Khalid al Hasson from the Omar bin Akatab School, Lara Hamed, from the Lebanese School of Qatar, won second prize and third went to Tasneem Mahmoud from Al Bayan.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, in conjunction with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, have designated 2011 the International Year of Chemistry. In recognition of this designation, WCMC-Q organized the chemistry-themed presentation competition.

Through their participation students learnt of the profound benefits that chemistry provides humankind and gained appreciation for the importance of informative speech and the elegance of the spoken word.

Senior Lecturer in chemistry at WCMC-Q and the organizer of the symposium, Dr. Sheila Qureshi, said it was a memorable occasion for WCMC-Q students and the scientific community with participation from Qatar University, the College of Pharmacy and several high schools in Doha. Dr. Rodney Sharkey, a Professor in the Pre-medical Program and an experienced public speaking coach, provided presentation skills sessions for those with successful submissions

International Year of Chemistry 2011 celebrates the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well being of mankind. It also coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize awarded to Madame Marie Curie — an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of women to science. This year is also the 100th anniversary of the founding of the International Association of Chemical Societies, providing a chance to highlight the benefits of international scientific collaboration.