MCF Organization

MCF Committees

Education Committee

Each year the Education Committee of the MCF sponsors 2 - 3 courses for its membership body through the year and 3 courses at the MCF Spring Symposium. Previously the MCF has been proud to offer courses in a variety of areas.

Our very special thanks to the vendors which regularly participate in the offered MCF courses. They provide the opportunity for "hands on" experience, along with the presentation of theoretical information, and help keep the course costs to a very reasonable level! The vendors who regularly participate include: Beckman Instruments, ChromTech, Hewlett-Packard, Perkin-Elmer, Shimadzu, Varian, Waters, and ThermoQuest. The opportunity exists for all vendors to participate and we are happy to welcome anyone else desiring to join us. Please contact the education chair for details.

The MCF Undergraduate Research Grant is designed to encourage undergraduate students to become aquatinted with scientific research. Proposals are submitted by undergraduate students for short research projects in which chromatography or some other separation technique plays an important role. The proposals are reviewed by a panel of judges and the student submitting the best proposal is awarded the sum of $2500. Each year we are looking for new ways to promote this award at colleges around the 5 state area. Any suggestions for reaching prospective students more effectively would be greatly appreciated!!!

External Affairs Committee

The purpose of the External Affairs committee is to seek out and foster interactions with other scientific groups. 

Membership Committee

The responsibilities of the MCF Membership Committee are as follow:

• Compile a membership directory of all MCF Members. This directory includes the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all current members.

• Maintain a mailing list from the MCF directory, making updated and corrections as necessary.

• Provide information about the MCF to potential members, including membership applications.

The membership and mailing lists are maintained in-house on a volunteer basis. The membership year runs from June to May and normal renewal occurs at the time of the Spring Symposium registration. The year for which an individual’s membership is valid is printed in the upper right hand corner of the repositionable mailing labels used for the newsletter and other mailings. The MCF Board reserves the right to drop non-current member from these lists.

Newsletter Committee/Editor

The newsletter shall function to bring together the interests of the MCF membership by publishing articles which promote the objectives of the MCF through the exchange of information related to all areas of chromatography.

The newsletter promotes the goals of the MCF by publishing monthly issues from September through June to publicize meetings, introduce people, and offer an opportunity for the exchange of technical information. The responsibility for the content of the newsletter with the Newsletter Committee under the direction of the MCF Board.

Palmer Award Committee

The Palmer Award is named in honor Leroy Sheldon Palmer (1887-1944), former Professor and Head of the Division of Agricultural Biochemistry at the University of Minnesota, and author of a major chromatographic work on carotenoids and related pigments. The purpose of the award is to recognize and encourage the art and science of chromatography. The function of this committee is to select an outstanding chromatographer from among nominees submitted by the chromatographic community. The award is presented annually at the Spring Symposium.

Symposium Committee

The Minnesota Chromatography Forum’s Spring Symposium is the annual major event which brings together chromatographers from throughout the upper midwest to discuss current topics related to chromatography and mass spectrometry. Annual attendance at the Spring Symposium is approximately 250 scientists representing a variety of disciplines. Thus, the Spring Symposium offers a forum for local, regional, and national chromatographers to both present and discuss their research.

The Spring Symposium Committee has the responsibility for organizing the one and one-half day professional meeting which includes the technical presentations, vendor displays, and member interactions. Following are the highlights of each of the above subcommittee’s responsibilities:

Program: this subcommittee invites the keynote and focus speakers, coordinates the solicitation of papers and organizes the technical program.

Exhibits: This subcommittee solicits vendors and vendor technical presentations, arranges vendor booth space and assigns exhibit space.

Publicity/Facilities: This subcommittee is responsible for publicizing the Spring Symposium through the creation of a poster that is sent to colleges, universities, and vendors, and by creating a brochure about the Spring Symposium that is sent to the MCF membership. The subcommittee also coordinates the audiovisual needs of the Symposium, the seating, food, refreshments, and the job board, designed to serve the needs of employers and prospective employees.

Chair: The Chair budgets, establishes timetables, meets with the MCF Board, and coordinates all efforts in meeting the budgets and timetables for the Spring Symposium.