Filed by Linda Wang

My favorite part of the national meeting is running around with my camera and seeing what everyone else is up to. Here are some memorable scenes.

POLISHED Julien Couet, a polymer chemist at Imtek Freiburg, in Germany, gets his shoes shined at the convention center.

Click “more” to see other images from the meeting.

A LIKENESS Fan Yang, a graduate student at the University of Illinois, Chicago, gets a caricature of her drawn during the First-Time Attendee Orientation & Reception on Sunday night.

CHICAGO-STYLE Jana Hoerner, a junior chemistry major at the University of the District of Columbia, finishes off a hot dog.

REST Two meeting attendees get some shut-eye.

SHOE TRACKS A convention worker erases streaks made by meeting attendees.