Official Reports From The Salt Lake City Meeting

Major actions taken by the ACS Board and Council during the national meeting in Salt Lake City were reported in C&EN, April 27, page 41.

Reports of Society Committees

Budget & Finance

The Society Committee on Budget & Finance met on Saturday, March 21, to review the society's 2008 financial performance. The society ended 2008 with a net contribution from operations of $9.7 million, on revenues of $458.8 million and expenses of $449.1 million. This was $563,000 favorable to the approved budget. After including the results of the Member Insurance Program and New Business Ventures, the society's overall net contribution for 2008 was $8.9 million, which was $2.7 million favorable to the approved budget. In addition, the society ended the year in compliance with four of the five board-established financial guidelines. The fund-balance ratio guideline, which measures the society's reserve adequacy, was not met. The shortfall was due to the adverse impact of the historic decline in the global capital markets on the society's investments and defined benefit pension plan.

In other actions, the committee elected Robert Lichter as vice chair of the committee and voted to recommend to council that dues for 2010 be set at the fully escalated rate of $145. In addition, the committee received reports from the Subcommittee on Communications, and the Subcommittee on Financial Impacts of Constitution & Bylaw Amendments on one petition slated for consideration: "Petition on Election Timelines 2009." Updates were also received from the Subcommittee on Program Funding Requests on the schedule and process to be followed for 2010 new program funding and program reauthorization requests, and the Program Review Advisory Group on its planned activities in 2009.—Dennis Chamot, Chair

Education

The Society Committee on Education (SOCED) received an overview of the $33 million Hach Foundation gift to ACS. The committee suggested ways in which ACS can best market the new Hach programs as well as mechanisms by which early-career high school chemistry teachers can be supported. The committee discussed the role of general chemistry in the higher education curriculum with the goal of identifying opportunities to promote content and pedagogy that engage students. SOCED voted to form a task force to examine this issue in more detail. The committee voted to establish a new task force to determine the interest in and viability of strategies for engaging and supporting two-year college programs. SOCED also voted to approve the formation of an advisory board on high school chemistry teaching, which will provide a mechanism for high school teachers to communicate issues of interest to the committee and ACS. SOCED considered how education could best support the goals and themes of the International Year of Chemistry (IYC) in 2011. Subcommittees identified existing products and networks that could be leveraged in support of the International Year of Chemistry, as well as ways to promote the IYC. The ACS Office of Public Affairs reported on recent activity related to science, technology, engineering & mathematics education at the federal and state level, with a focus on the priorities of the new Obama administration.—Bryan Balazs, Chair

Board Committee Reports

Standing Committees

Grants & Awards

The ACS Board Committee on Grants & Awards (G&A) voted to recommend to the board a screened list of five nominees for the 2010 Priestley Medal, a screened list of five nominees for the 2010 Award for Volunteer Service to the ACS, and that the Board delegate oversight of the Fellows Program to the Committee on Grants & Awards.

The 2009 G&A subcommittees will include the Awards Review Committee, the Subcommittee on Nominations, and the Subcommittee on Selection.

Acting under delegated authority, the Committee voted to continue ACS's relationship with the Astellas USA Foundation by submitting a new proposal by the April 30 deadline, to accept the recommendations of the ACS Petroleum Research Fund Advisory Board (February 2009 meeting) for funding grants totaling $6.7 million, and to approve a list of candidates for new appointments to the PRF Advisory Board.

The committee discussed and reviewed several of the nomination guidelines and rules for the national awards program. Several items were referred to the Subcommittee on Nominations and the Subcommittee on Selection.

The committee also discussed ways to improve the visibility of the awardees and their significant contributions to science and society as a whole.—Eric C. Bigham, Chair

Professional & Member Relations

The Committee on Professional & Member Relations (P&MR) identified its tier one priorities for 2009: International, Community &Network Building, and Professional Advancement. Subcommittees were established to address each of these priorities. In addition, a working group was established to oversee the pilot Diversity Partner Program.

Following a briefing on ACS's portfolio of career services, the committee suggested improved marketing of these important efforts, enhanced coordination with the Committee on Economic & Professional Affairs, and exploration of a theme that urges members to look ahead and prepare now for career changes around the corner.

P&MR was briefed on the status and recent priorities of the ACS Leadership Development System, including identifying optimal venues for delivering courses, building awareness and demand for the system's products and services, creating a new oversight group—the Leadership Advisory Board—to replace the Board Oversight Group, and planning the launch of the system during the current national meeting.

P&MR voted to recommend to the board of directors elimination of the Publications/CAS subscription authentication requirement for participation in the ACS Network as an ACS global partner. The International Subcommittee also reported that marketing efforts in the four targeted countries would be enhanced to increase international participation in the ACS Network.

The committee received reports on internationally related efforts regarding alliance activities with the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Society for Chemical Industry as well as continuing discussions with the Chinese Chemical Society. P&MR also reviewed current plans to promote the UN International Year of Chemistry in 2011.

P&MR reviewed the background and recent activity of the new Sustainability Stakeholders Steering Group (S3G), and agreed that P&MR would serve as the conduit through which S3G would report to the ACS Board. The action plans of the new ACS Diversity Partners were included in the committee's agenda for their review and comment.—Diane G. Schmidt, Chair

Public Affairs & Public Relations

The Committee on Public Affairs & Public Relations (PA&PR) chair opened the meeting by informing committee members of a June training opportunity on making successful presentations and also asked committee members to mark their calendars for the May 4–5 Legislative Summit and Public Awards Ceremony. The Legislative Summit will focus outreach efforts on key federal agencies to consult with them on their FY09 and FY10 priorities and to offer the assistance of ACS as they draw up and implement plans for funding provided by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.

The chair highlighted recent governance and presidential advocacy activities since the December meeting and shared letters she sent appointing members to the ad hoc Committee on National Historic Chemical Landmarks, a subcommittee of PA&PR.

The chair reminded committee members of a special 30-minute conversation planned for the March 20 board meeting to explore how ACS might increase effectiveness in influencing the outcome of public policy to reflect ACS priorities. This discussion will help frame for a more robust conversation at the June board meeting.

The committee reviewed the results of the annual advocacy prioritization survey and voted to adopt the four tiers of policy categories for 2009. During discussion of the prioritization of policy statements, the committee explored the types of statements that ACS might consider in the chemical regulatory arena, and it was agreed that this topic should be postponed for deeper discussion at the next meeting. The committee agreed to elevate two statements from their preliminary tiers and then voted by voice to adopt the prioritization for 2009.

The chair discussed 2009 committee goals and proposed the adoption of goals 4 and 5 from the ACS Strategic Plan 2009 & Beyond as they were within the purview of the committee's jurisdiction. After discussion, the chair proposed to incorporate the feedback and send them back to committee members seeking their final approval.

The committee received a presentation on recent ACS advocacy activities including ACS leadership on scientific research and education support in the $787 billion American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, which included $22 billion for science related programs; annual research and education federal appropriations; interactions with the administration on science education; and green chemistry.

The committee received a presentation on the key activities associated with the third year implementation of the ACS Communications Strategic Plan, which largely calls for the delivery of "Chemistry for Life" tools and consistent messages to members. A key delivery mechanism is to rejuvenate the Local Section Public Relations program and create a Chemistry Ambassadors program to empower members to speak on why they are "proud to be a chemist."

Committee members engaged in a wide-ranging discussion on how to encourage local section involvement to help favorably shape public perception of chemistry and facilitate understanding of the benefits it provides to society. Committee suggestions will be helpful as ACS Office of Public Affairs staff implement year three activities.

A presentation was also made on how ACS is working to aggressively communicate scientific research and the value of chemistry in a media market that is rapidly changing and evolving. The presentation focused on how ACS has been adapting to this changing environment though programs like the weekly ACS Press Pac and ACS Live Chat for virtual press participation. ACS staff have developed a more refined method to get more accurate media coverage reports for ACS-promoted articles and this will sharpen the ability to measure impacts.

The committee offered several suggestions to enable ACS to continue to be a leading and credible science resource for members, media, and the general public. ACS Office of Public Affairs staff will be able to incorporate these suggestions into future communication outreach efforts.

The chair, in concluding the meeting, urged all members to review the information in the agenda book detailing accomplishments of the state government affairs pilot program.—Bonnie A. Charpentier, Chair

Other Committees

Chemical Abstracts Service

(Joint with Council)

The Committee on Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) met in executive session on March 20 and in open session jointly with the Joint Board-Council Committee on Publications and the Division of Chemical Information on March 23. CAS management reported on a number of developments and highlighted the record growth in CAS databases in 2008 database records, including the addition of more than 8.2 million small molecules to the CAS Registry for a total of nearly 43 million small molecules. In addition, more than 1.2 million publications were indexed from journals, patents and other chemical literature, bringing total indexed publications to more than 27 million, spanning a period of more than 100 years.

Committee members learned that due to the overwhelming adoption of CAS electronic products, the demand for print Chemical Abstracts (CA) and certain other CAS print products has now diminished; therefore, effective Jan. 1, 2010, CA and other print products (except for CA SELECTS) will no longer be available in print. The content provided by print CA can continue to be accessed in CA electronic products, such as CA Web edition, SciFinder and STN. CA SELECTS products will remain available.

During the committee session, committee members again reviewed with CAS management the problem of unauthorized access to SciFinder through university and college systems in the U.S. This piracy limits or significantly reduces the available legitimate access to chemical information paid for by U.S. institutions for the benefit of their faculty and staff. The committee is encouraging CAS to take all reasonable actions including a more comprehensive communications effort to enlist the schools in blocking or deterring this unauthorized access.

Committee members continue to bring forward suggestions and feedback from industry and academia colleagues in open discussion, thereby fulfilling the committee's responsibility to provide a conduit for information from members to CAS management. A review of the listed committee suggestions and ideas is conducted at each meeting as well as actions taken by CAS management.—Patricia L. Dedert, Chair

Chemical Safety

(Joint with Council)

The Committee on Chemical Safety (CCS), at its meeting in Salt Lake City, reviewed the progress of 2008 activities and discussed new projects and directions for the committee for the next two to three years. CCS has numerous publications in print and works continuously to keep these updated. The committee has just released the 3^rd edition of "Chemical Safety for Small Chemical Businesses," which serves as a manual for all those who work with chemicals, particularly for small businesses that may not have a specialized expertise in chemical safety. Information presented in the manual includes suggestions for working safely, following generally accepted practices, a summary of specific regulation, as well sources of additional information that is supplementary to the content of this publication.

The committee has reviewed the ACS Strategic Plan for additional projects within the overall scope of the society's strategic thrusts. The committee considered ways to publicize the committee's publications to other groups including the biological community, the Small Business Administration, the National Science Teachers Association, and Internet books sales. The committee also discussed the recent tragic death of the research associate and considered developing a guidance statement on performing high-risk activities in a chemical research environment. These guidelines would be risk-centered and incorporate the use of the Global Harmonization System in their development. They would also tie in with currently available resources. Also, under consideration is developing a document outlining managers and employers responsibility under various regulations to train employees and to operate a safe workplace.—Laurence J. Doemeny, Chair

Chemists with Disabilities

The Committee on Chemists with Disabilities (CWD) continued to work on several projects including a CWD Users Manual (a guide to new members) and a symposium cosponsored with the Joint Subcommittee on Diversity slated for Washington, D.C., entitled: "Chemistry, Sustainability and Diversity: Global Imperatives."

CWD members provided information to assist a professor who was seeking input on how to recruit and locate students with disabilities for her high-profile internship program at Stanford University.

Copies of the recently reprinted ACS-CWD publication, "Teaching Chemistry to Students with Disabilities: A Manual for High Schools, Colleges and Graduate Programs (4th ed.)" were made available to councilors at the council meeting. Additional copies may be requested by contacting the committee at cwd@acs.org. The committee will also hold a book release event at the upcoming Washington meeting to announce the renewed availability of one of ACS's most highly requested publications.

As part of the committee's continuing efforts to improve programs of ACS for chemists with disabilities, the committee reviewed its collaborations with other committees including those on Chemical Safety, Meetings & Expositions, Community Activities, Minority Affairs, Women Chemists, Younger Chemists, Technician Affairs and Economic & Professional Affairs and proposed the exchange of liaisons with a number of other committees where those relationships have not existed up to this point.—Judith A. Summers-Gates, Chair

Community Activities

At the Salt Lake City national meeting, the Committee on Community Activities (CCA) partnered with the office of the president and the Salt Lake City local section to host a "Chocolate Fest" at the Discovery Gateway Museum. The event attracted more than 750 people from the local community. ACS President Tom Lane presented the museum with a "Salutes to Excellence" plaque for its support of the event.

Chemists Celebrate Earth Day (CCED) will be celebrated on April 22 with its air-based theme, "Air—The Sky's the Limit." The CCED edition of "Celebrating Chemistry," the hands-on activity produced for elementary school children, is being distributed through the nationwide ACS volunteer network.

CCA continued to develop plans for CCED and National Chemistry Week programs through 2010 and formed an internationally focused 2011 theme team to assist with the International Year of Chemistry celebration.

Upcoming National Chemistry Week Dates and Themes

Oct. 18–24: "Chemistry—It's Elemental"

Oct. 17–23, 2010: "Behind the Scenes with Chemistry"

Upcoming Chemists Celebrate Earth Day Theme

April 22, 2010: "Plants: The Green Machines"—Ingrid Montes, Chair

Environmental Improvement

(Joint with Council)

The Committee on Environmental Improvement (CEI) continues to pursue a wide range of projects related to sustainability. In Salt Lake City, the committee worked with many units to prepare for the programming at the 2010 national meetings in San Francisco and Boston, with special attention to programming under the spring sustainability theme.

The committee also is continuing to work with other groups on the Sustainability Stakeholders Steering Group, applying sustainability principles to our meetings, to the chemical curriculum, to energy policy, and to international chemical activities. CEI is partnering more closely with the ACS Green Chemistry Institute to advance these and related projects. The committee also is beginning new programs with the Committee on Local Section Activities and the staff of the Education Division to encourage and recognize sustainability activities by individuals and sections.

In public policy activities, CEI is working on statements for consideration by the board on endocrine disruptors and on chemicals management and regulation. In preparation for the latter project, the Committee will be engaging in dialogue with various experts during 2009, to establish the appropriate message for ACS in this complex policy arena.

Finally, CEI began a new strategic plan in Salt Lake City that will focus committee activities over the next three years to

Equip ACS with the knowledge, strategies, and tools it needs to deal with emerging and ongoing environmental issues;

Promote sustainability within ACS and society at large; and

Be a resource and leader in facilitating communications & networking on sustainability and other environmental issues.—Martin A. Abraham, Chair

International Activities
(Joint with Council)

Established in 1962 as a joint board/council committee in recognition of the need for ACS to cooperate with scientists internationally and to highlight the application of chemistry to the worldwide needs of humanity, the ACS Committee on International Activities (IAC) met and welcomed the leadership of visiting chemical societies from Germany, Hungary, and the U.K.

At its Salt Lake City meeting, IAC heard reports and/or engaged in action on the following.

• The National Academy of Sciences and the ACS Office of Public Affairs presented on trends in visa delays and denials for international chemists traveling to the U.S. On the occasion of the ACS Washington, D.C., national meeting in August, a group of IAC members will visit U.S. government agencies to learn more about and discuss with officials the accelerating and hindering factors affecting international chemists coming to the U.S. under nonimmigrant visa classifications.

• IAC received a presentation from the ACS Secretary's Office on international aspects of the 2009 ACS Strategic Plan.

• At its 2007 General Assembly in Turin, Italy, the International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) unanimously approved a resolution in favor of designating 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry (IYC). Less than a year later, the UNESCO Executive Board recommended the adoption of such a resolution, submitted by Ethiopia, and which subsequently led to the declaration in December 2008 by the United Nations General Assembly of 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry.

• IAC is leading a coordinating task force in cooperation with other ACS committees to assist in gathering and analyzing the society's existing activities and networks to contribute to IYC's success while raising chemistry's and the society's global profile.

• With material assistance from the organizers of PITTCON, IAC supported 10 analytical chemists from Central America to attend the PITTCON 2009 in Chicago earlier this month. For 2010, this program will focus on developing nations in the Middle East and North Africa; 2011 will focus on Eastern Europe.

• IAC considered a request for the society to participate in the AAAS Human Rights Coalition and agreed to monitor the coalition's activity.

• IAC received information on the AIDS-Free Africa program and agreed to work with its leadership to share information on related organizations working in Africa and explore the feasibility of creating a "virtual international chemical sciences chapter" in Africa and using the ACS Network to catalyze interactions among chemists in Cameroon.

• IAC received information on the IUPAC World Chemistry Congress in 2011 in Puerto Rico and created a task force to make recommendations to the ACS Board of Directors for the appointment of ACS members to the scientific and organizing committees.

• In follow up to the successful 2008 IAC Chinese dean's visit to the U.S., IAC received a presentation on plans for a reciprocal U.S. deans to visit China in July 2009.

• On the occasion of the Boston 2010 ACS National meeting, IAC agreed to support nominally a U.S./German exchange program in collaboration with the ACS Northeast Section.

• IAC received an update on the three-year, National Science Foundation funded ACS International Research Experiences for Undergraduate Program that places U.S. chemistry students for 10-week laboratory visits in Europe each summer. The program has received supplemental funding to increase the number of students and to conduct a workshop on responsible conduct of research in the context of dual use during the predeparture orientation. The number of applicants has increased from 92 in 2008 to 291 in 2009. Minority applications increased from 3 to 23%.

• The committee was also briefed on planned ACS workshops to engage U.S. and Chinese early-career scientists in supramolecular and new materials chemistry; the ACS Chemical Sciences and Society Symposium in collaboration with the chemical societies of China, Germany, Japan, U.K. and the U.S.; the ACS /IUPAC program on technical division cooperation.

• IAC was briefed on human rights and scientific freedom issues including academic boycotts of Israeli scientists by institutions in Canada and the U.S.

• Finally, IAC organized a meeting in Salt Lake City to bring together the leadership of chemical societies in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. to explore a regional model of collaboration in support of the International Year of Chemistry.—Peter K. Dorhout, Chair

Minority Affairs

(Joint with Council)

The Committee on Minority Affairs (CMA) continues to promote the participation of minority chemical scientists in the society as well as the chemical enterprise.

CMA met with representatives from various committees including the Committee on Chemists with Disabilities (CWD), the Local Section Activities Committee, the Committee on Economic & Professional Affairs and the Committee on Professional Training (CPT), to explore ways that the interests of underrepresented groups can be brought to the forefront in terms of programming. Specifically, CMA will be working with CPT in the near future to implement recommendations coming out of the workshops regarding the needs of African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics in science education. A symposium on these issues, cosponsored by CPT and CMA is currently being planned for the upcoming ACS national meeting in Washington, D.C.

CMA heard reports from the Scholars Program Office and the ACS Development Office. Although this is a lean year for securing monetary support of programs through donations, the Scholars Program looks strong. More than 1,000 applications for the program were received prior to the application deadline. These applications will be evaluated in late April of this year and the 2010 awardees selected. In addition, a new CMA subcommittee was formed to formulate a funding plan for the Scholars program. The plan will be presented to the Board Committee on Budget & Finance early next year.

The committee has started a discussion group in the ACS Network focusing on "Diversity Issues." People are encouraged to join the discussion group and to express their opinions freely as part of the group.

CMA has joined forces with the Younger Chemists Committee, the Women Chemists Committee, and CWD to organize the symposium, "Chemistry, Sustainability & Diversity: Global Imperatives" for the upcoming ACS national meeting in Washington, D.C. The symposium is scheduled to take place on Monday morning followed by a ticketed lunch featuring a panel of CEOs or Diversity Officers from various chemical companies. This distinguished panel will discuss the value of diversity in terms of the company's bottom line. This luncheon will take the place of the usual CMA luncheon.

The committee also held a brainstorming session on programming for regional meetings and local sections. Stay tuned for programming sponsored by the CMA. The committee plans to use the local sections as part of a grassroots approach for regional and local diversity programming. The CMA starter minigrant application and a local section CMA starter kit are both available on the CMA website.—Allison Aldridge, Chair

Patents & Related Matters

(Joint with Council)

The Committee on Patents & Related Matters (CPRM) focuses its efforts in three main areas: providing ACS members and the general public with information about patents and other intellectual property issues important within the chemical enterprise, nominating notable chemist-inventors for national awards that recognize the innovations and contributions of chemists to society, and monitoring legislative and regulatory developments influencing intellectual property in ways that impact the chemical enterprise. CPRM discussed the recently enacted ACS Patent Policy Statement as well as proposed legislative and regulatory changes to the U.S. patent system and the potential affects such matters might have on industry and academia. CPRM also continued its work on several new educational tools to assist and inform members on patent issues and other intellectual property matters important to a successful career in the chemical enterprise. Many of these tools are now available on the Committee's expanded website, http://membership.acs.org/C/CPRM/. Finally, CPRM continued its work with respect to nominating deserving scientists for inclusion in the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and for the National Medal of Technology.—Andrew G. Gilicinski, Chair

Planning

During its meeting in Salt Lake City, the Planning Committee continued its focus on the development and advancement of the "ACS Strategic Plan for 2009 and Beyond" (http://strategy.acs.org). Representatives of the Council Policy Committee, Local Section Activities Committee, and Divisional Activities Committee provided reports on their strategic activities, including thematic and multidisciplinary programming, grassroots sustainability programs in the local sections, the enhanced New Councilor Orientation, and the use of electronic "clicker" voting in council.

The committee considered the strategic implications of environmental analyses of key trends and economic and generational factors that may affect the society's success. The committee discussed a wide-range of topics, including K–12 educational resources (Goal 1), the promotion of ACS career development activities (Goal 1), filtering of proliferating scientific information (Goal 1), empowering younger chemists to communicate and advocate on behalf of chemistry (Goals 4 & 5), providing tools to support scientific understanding by nonscientists (Goal 4), social networking for members and students (Goal 2), and open innovation with respect to global challenges (Goal 3).

The committee agreed to create a group in the ACS Network (https://communities.acs.org/groups/acs-board-standing-committee-on-planning) for committee members and other interested members to interact, react to planning staff work, and continue generative and strategic conversations online.—Judith L. Benham, Chair

Professional Training

(Joint with Council)

At the March 2009 meeting, the Committee on Professional Training (CPT) discussed three updates and five site visit reports. With the approval of seven new schools and withdrawal of approval for one school, the total number of colleges and universities offering ACS-approved bachelor's degree programs in chemistry is now 653.

The committee devoted a substantial portion of its March meeting to the development of policies and procedures related to the periodic review of chemistry programs under the 2008 ACS Guidelines. The committee approved several new topical supplements to support the guidelines, and these documents will be published on the ACS website this spring.

As part of CPT's efforts to encourage diversity within the chemistry profession, the committee discussed the reports and recommendations emerging from two workshops held in the fall of 2008. One workshop focused on increasing participation of Native Americans undergraduates in chemistry, and the other workshop addressed the same topic for Hispanic undergraduate students. The reports from these workshops and from an earlier workshop with historically black colleges and universities and other African American-serving institutions are available on the ACS website.

Among other business items, the committee completed work on revamping the visiting associate component of the approval process, met with the director of the ACS Examinations Institute, and adopted a new strategic plan for 2009?11.—Cynthia K. Larive, Chair

Publications

(Joint with Council)

The committee elected Ned D. Heindel as vice chair for 2009.

In 2008, C&EN undertook the doubling of a highly read feature, Science & Technology Concentrates, which has allowed the magazine to significantly increase its coverage of research developments. C&EN now offers an electronic edition, which is a facsimile of the print magazine, including advertising content, and is enhanced with additional functionality, including hyperlinking to other content. First introduced in 2008 to international members, in 2009, the electronic edition option has been extended to ACS members located in North America as an alternative to the print format, with a special incentive included that enables members to designate a donation to the ACS Green Chemistry Institute in exchange for their decision to take an electronic subscription in lieu of the print edition. Contextual advertising in C&EN Online has been moderately successful; however, there are no plans at this time to undertake such contextual advertising within the peer-reviewed article content of ACS journals.

Editorial monitoring reports for The Journal of Physical Chemistry and Crystal Growth & Design were presented by staff and accepted by the committee. The committee recommended the reappointment of the current editors of these journals, which the ACS Board of Directors approved. The next publications to be monitored will be Macromolecules, Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, Analytical Chemistry, and Organometallics. Upon the committee's recommendation, the ACS Board of Directors approved the appointment of Gustavo E. Scuseria (Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston) as coeditor of the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, who will join current editor William Jorgensen in that capacity.

The Conference of Editors of ACS Publications was held in January 2009. Topics included operational issues and technology innovations across the society's publishing activities, and wide-ranging discussions on editorial policies and practices related to the integrity of the society's journals.

The Subcommittee on Copyright presented an update on recent cases and legislation, including open access developments. ACS's response to the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) mandatory deposit requirements in connection with that agency's public access policy, including author reactions to the various options now offered by the society in support of NIH-funded authors, were provided as staff updates. The committee was informed of the status of the "Fair Copyright in Research Works Act" which was first introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, and which has been reintroduced in 2009.—John N. Russell Jr., Chair

Science

(Joint with Council)

In support of a larger society initiative on sustainability, the Committee on Science (ComSci) continues to focus on alternative energy systems (AES). To assist in our efforts, the committee established three working groups:

• Science and technology,

• Education, and

• Policy, Funding, & Communications.

Among other goals, ComSci intends to achieve the following: to deliver a holistic and comparative perspective on alternative energy systems, including the identification of opportunities for chemists to contribute to solving the global energy challenge, and to develop detailed and unbiased educational, communication and outreach programs that will facilitate understanding of AES issues among multiple audiences. This will include policy recommendations.

More specifically, ComSci will deliver the following over the next year: at the Washington, D.C., national meeting, a program on AES titled "Alternative Energy Sources: Perspectives & Opportunities," a comprehensive website where one can readily find links to the most prominent AES information issued by external organizations, and a summary and analysis of the results of ComSci's internally conducted scientific literature search.

In response to a request from the ACS Board Committee on Grants and Awards (G&A), ComSci agreed to identify a nominee for the 2010 National Medal of Science, and provide the necessary nomination documents for G&A to review at its meeting in August.—Carolyn Ribes, Chair

Women Chemists

(Joint with Council)

For the spring 2009 meeting in Salt Lake City, the Women Chemists Committee (WCC) presented an excellent program, including a technical symposium on the very relevant topic, "Alternative Energy Sources: Women at the Forefront of Science." This session featured award-winning scientists discussing possible solutions to our energy and environmental issues. At the Sci-Mix Poster Session, WCC had 11 posters on "Utilizing the X Factor: Empowering the Next Generation of Women Chemists," where students and professionals showcased a variety of strategies for supporting women chemists. WCC celebrated the contributions of a special WCC alumna with the ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences: Symposium in Honor of Mary F. Singleton. In an exciting collaborative effort, the WCC Open Meeting included participation from women chemists at the University of Utah and the Salt Lake Section of ACS.

WCC honored the recipient of the 2009 Garvan-Olin Medal, Kathlyn Parker from Stony Brook University, at the WCC Luncheon, alongside all 12 female ACS national award winners. In addition, WCC announced the spring 2009 WCC/Eli Lilly Travel Award winners. In fact, this year marks the 20^th anniversary of the travel award, which has helped more than 500 young women attend their first national meeting to present their scientific research. Watch for special recognition of this anniversary throughout 2009.

Look for interesting WCC events at the fall meeting in Washington, D.C., such as a joint workshop with the National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) on high-tech start up companies and entrepreneurship. More information can be found on our website at http://membership.acs.org/w/wcc/.—Dawn A. Brooks, Chair

Younger Chemists

(Joint with Council)

The Younger Chemists Committee (YCC) continues to promote its vision to lead younger chemists into successful careers and active roles in the society. Our mission is to advocate for and provide resources to early career chemists and professionals in the chemical sciences and related fields.

YCC has decided to revamp the YCC website over the next several months. The goal is to post the most up-to-date information for younger chemists on the front page of the YCC website. In addition, YCC will continue to distribute its newsletter to all chemists age 35 and younger four times annually.

YCC is planning a workshop for Local Section Younger Chemists Committee chairs and other younger chemists on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 16, during the Washington, D.C., national meeting. The summit will provide a venue for local sections to share ideas on local activities and leadership development for younger chemists as well as allow them to meet members of the national Younger Chemists Committee.

YCC has agreed to submit a nomination for the Alan T. Waterman Award to the ACS Board Committee on Grants & Awards. The award recognizes an outstanding young researcher in any field of science or engineering supported by the National Science Foundation. In addition to a medal, the awardee receives a grant of $500,000 over a three-year period for scientific research or advanced study in the mathematical, physical, biological, engineering, social, or other sciences at the institution of the recipient's choice.<o:p></o:p>

YCC continues to develop programming of interest to younger chemists. In Salt Lake City, programs included "Non-Traditional Careers in Chemistry," "Green Chemistry," and "Overcoming Issues in Graduate School," and "Starting a Successful Research Program at a Predominately Undergraduate Institution." All of the YCC sponsored technical sessions in Salt Lake City were captured as audio, synced with PowerPoint slides, and will be posted on the YCC website at www.acsycc.org. Looking forward to Washington, D.C., YCC will sponsor the following symposia: "Science Policy," "The Art of Collaboration," and "The Science of War: Ammunition, Homeland Security, and Forensics."<o:p></o:p>

YCC is always looking for new ways to get younger chemists involved in ACS. We accomplish this through outreach activities, which include involvement with the Graduate Education Advisory Board, Committee and Division Liaisons, and our Leadership Development Workshop. In addition, we facilitate online communication with our members by using tools such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Google groups, discussion threads and blogs. More information can be found on our website at www.acsycc.org.—Michael Hurrey, Chair

Council Committee Reports

Elected Committees

Committees

The Committee on Committees (ConC) held its annual training for new committee chairs in late January at the ACS Leadership Development Institute in Ft. Worth, Texas.

ConC began developing its recommendations for 2010 committee chair appointments for consideration by the president-elect and the chair of the board. ConC continues to focus efforts to identify members with the requisite skills and expertise using preference forms for councilors and noncouncilors.

The final report and recommendations from the Joint Board of Directors-ConC Action Enablement Team was delivered to ConC at this meeting, and the committee began discussion for response and action. The committee also received an update from the Council Policy Committee (CPC)-ConC Task Force on Non-Councilor Reimbursement, which delivered its final report to CPC at this meeting.

The committee recommended council and board approval of a request from the Joint Board-Council Committee on Chemistry & Public Affairs to amend its charter to specifically include "Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) education funding" in the list of science policy issues to be identified and analyzed.

The committee approved a statement of best practices for committee-to-committee liaisons and circulated it to committee chairs for review and comment.

Performance reviews for the committees on Analytical Reagents, Chemical Abstracts Service, Minority Affairs, and Technician Affairs have been completed and sent to the respective committee chairs for review. ConC's recommendation for the continuation of these committees will appear on the council agenda for the fall national meeting in Washington, D.C.—Les W. McQuire, Chair

Nominations & Elections

The Committee on Nominations & Elections (N&E) held a very successful eresident-elect Town Hall meeting on Sunday, March 22. president-elect nominees responded to many thought-provoking questions from the audience.

At the Council meeting, councilors voted to select two candidates for president-elect 2010 from four nominees via electronic voting using clickers. Prior to the end of the meeting, Councilors were asked if they would like to continue using clickers for voting, if circumstance permit. Councilors voted overwhelmingly to use clickers in the future.

N&E is responsible for reviewing annually the distribution of member population within the six electoral districts to assure that the districts have equitable representation. According to Bylaw V, Section 4(a), the member population of each electoral district must be within ten percent of the average number of members residing in each district. The committee reported that the six electoral districts are in compliance.

As part of its charge and activities for its spring meeting, the committee spent considerable time developing slates of potential candidates for the Council Policy Committee and the Committee on Committees for the 2010–2012 terms. Councilors will vote on the final list of candidates at the fall council meeting.—Frank D. Blum, Chair

Standing Committees

Constitution & Bylaws

One petition, the "Petition on Election Timelines 2009," was presented to council for consideration at this meeting. The petition includes a preliminary report by the Committee on Constitution & Bylaws (C&B). The committee will issue its final report when the petition is presented for action at the Washington, D.C., meeting.

New petitions to amend the constitution or the bylaws must be received by the executive director by April 29, to be included in the council agenda for the fall 2009 meeting in Washington, D.C. C&B welcomes the opportunity to provide assistance in the preparation of new petitions, if requested, prior to their formal submission.

The committee, acting for the council, has approved bylaw amendments and issued new certified bylaws to three local sections and one division. C&B currently has under review bylaw amendments for one other local section and one division.

C&B urges local sections and divisions to request a preliminary review of their proposed amendments prior to a vote by their members. Local sections and divisions planning to revise their bylaws should obtain an electronic copy of their current certified bylaws from the committee's staff liaison at bylaws@acs.org.—Alan M. Ehrlich, Chair

Divisional Activities

The Multidisciplinary Program Planning Group (MPPG) confirmed the 2011 national meeting themes; "Chemistry of Natural Resources" in Anaheim, Calif., and "Chemistry of Air, Space & Water" in Denver. It will seek division feedback on 2012 proposed themes. Visit the MPPG website, linked from the Technical Division site, for information on upcoming themes and to suggest future themes.

In the first of two solicitations for 2009 Innovative Project Grants, the Divisional Enhancement Subcommittee funded 12 proposals from 10 divisions totaling almost $60,000.

Congratulations to all 33 divisions for timely annual report submission. This year, divisions received allocations three months earlier than in the past, including a summary describing how funds were earned as a result of division activities.

Based on recommendations of the Task Force on Electronic Dissemination of National Meeting Content, the Divisional Activities Committee (DAC) will conduct further experimentation on electronic delivery of meeting content and craft guidance for divisions about how best to deliver this benefit to members while minimizing negative impacts in areas such as meeting attendance, intellectual property, and prior publication.

The Division of Chemical Technicians (TECH) has accomplished its mission to enhance the society status of technicians. As a result of discussions at a fall Applied Chemical Technology Professionals Summit, the executive committee voted to disband TECH. Division membership then voted to recommend to DAC that the division be disbanded. At this meeting, DAC voted to accept that recommendation and will bring it for council vote at the fall 2009 meeting in Washington, D.C.—Kevin J. Edgar, Chair

Economic & Professional Affairs

In response to the current economic and workforce challenges faced by our members, CEPA has worked closely and rapidly with ACS Careers to enhance current career services available to unemployed members and others in the chemical enterprise. In addition to the services for unemployed members mentioned in the executive director's report, the ACS Careers Jobs Database has been enhanced and streamlined. An agreement with Kelly Scientific was reached to increase the number of quality job postings available to our members. Positions posted through Kelly Scientific now appear in the ACS Jobs Database. Discussions are in progress with additional employment and staffing agencies.

In January, ACS Careers began offering a Web-based platform for members to practice and perfect interviewing techniques. ACS members can log into the system through the ACS Jobs Database. This is a members-only program. Using a webcam, members can practice interviewing at anytime. Employers can also use the system to prescreen job candidates through an automated interview system. This new technology was introduced at the ACS Career Fair in Salt Lake City.

The board of directors has approved the society's Association Health Care Policy Statement proposed by CEPA. The committee is now preparing a letter based on this statement which will be sent to Congressional leaders after board approval. CEPA is planning to hold a public policy forum during the ACS national meeting in San Francisco to identify additional workforce concerns of members.

A Globalization Task Force was formed with membership from CEPA, SOCED, International Activities Committee, Younger Chemists Committee, Corporation Associates, and the Divisions of Professional Relations and Business Development & Management to identify programs and services to help our membership cope with and prosper in an environment of increasing globalization. The task force identified a number of helpful resources which will be posted on the ACS Careers website. They are now investigating the use of additional online forums to allow members to express concerns, ideas and experiences.

CEPA has prepared a document detailing our process for the development of new programs products and services. These guidelines are available for any committees, local sections or divisions that would like them through the CEPA website.

Council voted to approve the 8th edition of the ACS Professional Employment Guidelines without revision. The guidelines will go to the ACS Board of Directors in June for final approval.

In Salt Lake City, the ACS Career Fair continued to serve our members with 611 candidates, 176 available positions, and 32 employers. This is the lowest turnout for employers and jobs seekers in many years. CEPA expressed concern and will continue to monitor the situation.

CEPA organized or cosponsored several symposia, including one on nontraditional careers in chemistry. In addition, 35 workshops, and hundreds of mock interviews and resume reviews were conducted. CEPA and the Career Fair expect the programming to be just as active at the Washington, D.C., national meeting.—Martin L. Gorbaty, Chair

Local Section Activities

The Committee on Local Section Activities (LSAC) recognized those local sections celebrating anniversaries in 2009 including: San Joaquin Valley local section, which celebrated its 25^th anniversary; the Mississippi, Permian Basin, and Wichita Falls-Duncan local sections, which celebrated 50th anniversaries; and, the Cleveland, Puget Sound, and University of Missouri local sections, which celebrated their 100^th anniversaries.

LSAC reported that it hosted the local section track of the ACS Leadership Institute on Jan. 23–25 in Fort Worth, Texas. All incoming chairs-elect as well as other interested local section officears were invited to attend this important training. Building on a successful pilot from 2008, ACS Student Affiliates leaders were also included to allow them to network and experience the leadership training offered by the American Chemical Society.

In a new pilot program, LSAC will add a new component to the Speaker Service Program to allow local sections more control over scheduling speakers including single event bookings. A new website in support of this program will be released in June. LSAC will be partnering with the Committee on Environmental Improvement to encourage local sections to host events related to sustainability. We will also be partnering with the Committee on Public Relations & Communications to host a teleconference this summer that will assist local sections with developing Government Affairs Committees and to support local section public relations chairs.

The committee worked with ACS President Tom Lane to encourage local sections to partner with nonscientific groups to promote the positive image of chemistry. Fourteen local sections received grants under this program. In addition, the committee continued funding of the Science Caf? Minigrant Program with 39 sections planning to host cafes for their members and the public in 2009.

LSAC is pleased to announce that grants have been awarded to 16 Local Sections to assist them with hosting ACS Leadership Development System courses in 2009. In addition, minigrants will be offered to local sections during the summer of 2009 to encourage local sections to host events that will welcome student affiliates as student members of the local section. The "Local Section Innovative Projects Grant Program," now in its sixth year, is accepting applications by the July 1 deadline. Program information and grant applications are available on the new get involved website listed on the screen.—Wayne E. Jones, Jr., Chair

Meetings & Expositions

The Committee on Meetings & Expositions (M&E) reports that the 237th ACS national meeting in Salt Lake City hosted 10,599 attendees, including 5,704 full registrations, 3,412 students, 909 exhibitors, 323 expo-only, and 251 guests. The exposition had 356 booths with 228 exhibiting companies and there were 14 exhibitor workshops. This year, for the first time, the exposition opened with an attendee welcome reception on Sunday evening, which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony by President Tom Lane and Willem Leenstra, Chair of the M&E, and wishes to thank the attendees for participating in this very successful event. M&E also thanks attendees for fulfilling the hotel-block obligations, as ACS will have no financial penalties related to housing for this meeting.

After the fall meeting in Philadelphia, M&E conducted the fourth consecutive attendee satisfaction survey. The committee is pleased to report that the overall indicator reached a new high, with 89% of the respondents recommending Philadelphia as a future site.

In 2008, a total of eight regional meetings were held, which attracted more than 6,100 attendees, and received a total of 4,020 abstracts.

M&E has proposed the sites and dates for the 2019 national meetings. M&E thus recommends to the board that the spring national meeting be held in Orlando, Fla., from March 31?April 4, 2019. Secondly, M&E recommends that the fall national meeting be held in San Diego, from Aug. 25?29, 2019.

M&E maintains its commitment to "greening" the national meetings. For example, the committee continued the practice of using only recyclable directional and session signage throughout the meeting. With the availability of an excellent public transportation system in Salt Lake City, the operating hours of shuttle service were reduced in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint. In addition, recycling bins were placed at the convention center, and at each hotel property, if the hotel did not already have an existing program. M&E will continue to work with other committees such as the Committee on Environmental Improvement to help in this very important effort.—Willem R. Leenstra, Chair

Membership Affairs

The Membership Affairs Committee (MAC) reviewed progress on membership recruitment, retention, and recognition efforts. The year-end membership total for 2008 is 154,024, compared to 160,052 for year-end 2007. The 2008 number reflects a higher than average number of members dropped for nonpayment of dues, and also a correction for 2,589 emeritus members. These emeritus members have not responded to numerous attempts to reach them. Their records remain available, but they are not being counted as active members. The number of new membership applications received last year was 14,692.

The Member-Get-A-Member Campaign resulted in 1,361 new members.

In cooperation with the Society Committee on Education (SOCED), MAC is overseeing the implementation of the Petition on Membership Categories & Requirements. Effective in June 2009, all current student affiliates will be transferred to student member status on an opt-out basis. They will be notified on June 3 of their upgraded status via e-mail, if possible, or otherwise via snail mail. Current student affiliates will be offered new student member status and an electronic C&EN package for $44 or access to C&EN Online for $23. These are the same offers that Student Affiliates receive now.

Student Affiliates graduating this spring will be offered regular membership status. They are all eligible for the recent graduate discount of 50% off the regular member dues. If they will be continuing on to graduate school as a full-time student, they will receive an additional 50% student discount-making their dues $35.

Information has been prepared for student faculty advisers, and we plan to write a joint comment for C&EN with the chair of SOCED to help explain the many changes that are taking place as a result of the petition.

In addition to the changes impacting our undergraduate student members in June, associate members will become regular members, and society affiliates will begin paying 100% of regular member dues. The implementation also marks the beginning of the new membership standards that will make high school chemistry teachers eligible for membership. Changes to the Online Membership Application will also be implemented in June 2009.—D. Richard Cobb, Chair

Ethics

The ACS Ethics Committee cosponsored (with the Division of Chemical Education) a very successful symposium titled "Plagiarism: What Is it? What Can We Do about It?" The committee is endeavoring to publish the symposium presentations in order to achieve a wider audience for this important subject.

The committee continues to work on improving its Ethics Workshop, which has been presented at various regional meetings the past few years. This past year, the committee presented at the Northeast and Southeast regional meetings. The workshop team gave a brief demonstration to the committee and solicited feedback regarding fine-tuning the case studies that are at the core of the workshop.

Plans are under way to sponsor a symposium at Pacifichem in 2010, titled "Cultural Influences on Professional Ethics." The intent is to examine the perception that the mores and attitudes of students in different countries ultimately impact their personal definitions of professional ethics in their graduate studies and beyond.

Ethical considerations involving safety training and laboratory safety conditions, including the failure to remedy known safety problems in laboratories and the legal liability of supervisory personnel relative to laboratory accidents, were discussed. The Ethics Committee will seek to partner with the Committee on Chemical Safety to address such issues.

The committee reexamined its core mission statement and the target outcomes of its last strategic planning session. Each subcommittee was given specific charges reflecting their individual missions. The subcommittees each presented a working time frame to accomplish these charges. To facilitate committee work between the national meetings, a Collective X groupsite was set up. The committee has already made good use of this in preparation for Salt Lake City and expects to continue to do so in the future.—David J. Chesney, Chair

Nomenclature, Terminology & Symbols

The committee's role in programming special topics was reviewed, and plans were made for its open meeting, which will be held in Washington, D.C., at the fall ACS national meeting, to review and to comment on the change in the definition of the kilogram, as proposed from the International Bureau of Weights & Measures (BIPM). The two methods under consideration are using a more precisely defined Avogadro's number or using Planck's constant. The committee will seek endorsement from the American Chemical Society, the American Physical Society, and the National Academy of Sciences for the change.

The committee reviewed its mission statement, goals, and metrics for 2009; received reports from member liaisons serving on various international advisory committees; and appointed James G. Traynham as secretary. Current projects on nomenclature generation programs and nomenclature entries in Wikipedia were discussed.

Nanoterminology efforts to address the need for precise nomenclature in the patent arena and regulatory agency use were debated. Various standards organizations have made little progress and no nanoterminology standards have been proposed. The committee continues to monitor progress for this nomenclature standard.

The committee continues to build liaisons with the Divisions of Carbohydrate Chemistry, Chemical Education, and Inorganic Chemistry as well as ASTM International, the International Organization for Standardization, and IEEE.—Peter F. Rusch, Chair

Project SEED

For the past four decades, Project SEED has helped high school students from economically disadvantaged families. Each student conducts research with a mentor in chemistry related fields. Nearly 9,000 summer research experiences have been provided to high school students over the years. Students report that their involvement in Project SEED exposed them to advanced chemical research, enabled them to discover new skills and abilities, and decide to continue their education after high school.

The committee approved research projects for 500 high school students for this summer in more than 200 academic, government, and industrial laboratories. The estimated program cost will be approximately $1,600,000. This program is made possible by contributions from ACS, industry, academia, local sections, ACS friends and members, the ACS Petroleum Research Fund, and the Project SEED Endowment. At this meeting, the committee agreed to change the 2009 stipend to $2,800 and $3,300 for Summers I and II, respectively.

The National Science Board selected Project SEED to receive the 2009 Public Service Award.

Project SEED conducted the second training workshop at ACS Headquarters to encourage new mentors and coordinators from Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, Puerto Rico, St. Louis, and Los Angeles, establish a SEED program. The workshop was sponsored by the Dorr Foundation and Sigma-Aldrich Foundation.

The committee approved the 2009 and beyond SEED Committee Strategic Plan and encourages all members to continue supporting Project SEED through their ACS membership renewal.—Joshua J. Pak, Chair

Technician Affairs

The Committee on Technician Affairs (CTA) is celebrating the past, promoting the present, and preparing for the future of chemical technicians in ACS.

This year, CTA celebrates its 45^th anniversary. Anniversary activities will include a cosponsored symposium featuring current and past ACS presidents, and a reception celebrating 45 years of technicians in ACS. Details will be available in the fall 2009 ACS national meeting program and on the CTA website.

To promote present opportunities, CTA works with Equipping the 2015 Chemical Technology Workforce. To date, this initiative has awarded 19 $500 minigrants to projects that bring together industry, academia, and the community to support technician education and/or professional development. The most recent winners are:

Arizona Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants (Tucson) for a workshop that will explore the latest techniques in groundwater analysis and form the basis of a Water Chemistry Alliance.

Bidwell Training Center (Pittsburgh) for a student retreat featuring discussions with industry representatives, resume reviews, and mock interviews.

The deadline for the next round of minigrants is July 20. More information on the minigrant program can be found on CTA's website.

Looking to the future, CTA is working with other ACS bodies to ensure ACS fully engages the technician community, following recommendations from the December 2008 Applied Chemical Technology Professionals Summit. A complete report of summit discussions and recommendations can be found on the CTA website.

CTA is also working with the Division of Chemical Technicians (TECH) as the division prepares to dissolve. At the spring 2009 ACS national meeting, the CTA and TECH executive boards met to discuss a smooth transition of some of TECH's activities to CTA.

CTA seeks opportunities to collaborate with other divisions, committees, and local sections to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and all of its practitioners.—V. Michael Mautino, Chair