San Diego hosts ACS Spring 2022

The American Chemical Society held its second hybrid meeting March 20–24 with both virtual and in-person sessions in San Diego. As of March 18, 12,566 people had registered. In a reverse from ACS Fall 2021, the society’s first hybrid meeting, most of those registered attended in person: 74% traveled to San Diego, and 26% attended virtually. The meeting included 11,359 oral and poster presentations on the theme “Bonding through Chemistry.”

The opening session featured talks by Anastassia N. Alexandrova of the University of California, Los Angeles, on quantum information science; Danna E. Freedman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on chemistry for the second quantum revolution; and Tyrel M. McQueen of Johns Hopkins University on quantum materials.

Y. Shrike Zhang of Harvard Medical School presented the Kavli Foundation Emerging Leader in Chemistry Lecture, titled “3D Bioprinting for Functional Tissue Fabrication.” Alán Aspuru-Guzik of the University of Toronto presented the Fred Kavli Innovations in Chemistry Lecture, titled “Billions upon Billions of Molecules.”

During the ACS Board of Directors regular session, Kathryn L. Beers of the National Institute of Standards and Technology delivered a talk on achieving a more sustainable chemistry future via circularity.

Presidential events at the meeting included a workshop titled “Everything Chemists Always Wanted to Know About Machine Learning (but Were Afraid to Ask)” and a celebration of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers’ 50th anniversary. A satellite event for virtual attendees in India included “Pitch Your Research: A Virtual Science Communication Competition” and “Researcher’s Roundtable: A Virtual Roundtable Discussion Event.”

At the virtual meeting of the ACS council on March 23, the Committee on Budget and Finance reported that total revenues in 2021 were $660.3 million, up $41.9 million (6.8%) from 2020. Net contributions from operations totaled $78.9 million, up $17.9 million (29.3%), and total expenses were $581.4 million, up 24.1 million (4.3%).

In his report to the council, CEO Tom Connelly highlighted the launch of the ACS Institute and the $50 million investment in four new strategic initiatives over 5 years. “This is our largest meeting since the last time we were in San Diego in 2019,” Connelly says. “It has the true scale and feel of an ACS meeting.”

The council voted to approve the continuation of the Committee on Chemists with Disabilities and amend the committee’s duties; to amend the use of dues, a change expected to increase support for ACS local sections and divisions; to change the name of the Division of Carbohydrate Chemistry to the Division of Carbohydrate Chemistry & Chemical Glycobiology; to charter an International Chemical Sciences Chapter in Switzerland; to extend market testing of the international dues discount program based on World Bank country income levels; and to approve the 2023 schedule of membership.