Comment: Science advocacy is hard. If not you, who?

Admit it, when an email arrives in your inbox from “MBX OSTP” with the subject line “Invitation to the White House”, and warning “External Email – Use Caution,” you, like me, may be ready to click Delete. Fortunately, having recently received the incredible news that I had been elected 2025 American Chemical Society president-elect, the legitimacy of such a dubious-sounding message seemed within the realm of possibility. I had indeed been invited to serve on a panel at an event that took place on Dec. 19 at the White House, hosted by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). This was no ordinary event—it was a celebration of the release of a report on the future of sustainable chemistry in manufacturing.

As a member of a cross-disciplinary team at the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, funded by the National Science Foundation, I have contributed to the development of design principles for nanoparticles that will be sustainable in the sense that they will do no harm to the environment and perhaps will eventually be part of a life cycle toward reuse. My roles in ACS and on advisory boards have also given me insight into the mentoring and championing needed to advance a scientific workforce prepared to address grand challenges to creating a sustainable energy economy. But this is not about me. While, true, I was excited about the opportunity to share my expertise in the service of our nation, I was equally excited that chemistry—and ACS—was being called upon to be part of a solution addressing the global challenge of sustainable chemical manufacturing.

I was also delighted to serve as a panelist at the OSTP event, along with Adelina Voutchkova, ACS director of sustainable development and leader of the Green Chemistry Institute, and several other ACS members, such as Kathryn Beers (National Institute of Standards and Technology), David Berkowitz (US National Science Foundation), and John Hartwig (University of California, Berkeley). Together, we all celebrated the release of the Federal Sustainable Chemistry Strategic Plan in response to a bipartisan bill passed in 2019. I appreciated the opportunity to highlight the critical needs for materials and people as we advance a sustainable future. You can read more about the report in the Feb. 21 C&EN article “New federal report outlines strategic goals to advance sustainable chemistry” by Sara Cottle. And I rejoice that ACS and its members were able to offer leadership in chemistry to the federal government that day.

The strategy, as noted in the report, for getting more students into sustainable chemistry relies on promoting the needs and opportunities of industries to students. The value proposition for students is complex, but they do value remuneration, personal growth, and the opportunity to help others and the planet. Sustainable chemistry offers all these values and much more.

The chemical industry does not exist in a vacuum: it requires a trained workforce that is continuously adapting to emerging technologies. To this end, industry needs to invest in the institutions that develop their workforce. This list includes colleges, universities, and trade schools. As companies recruit new employees, they have signaled the need for job seekers to be conversant in sustainable practices. They have also found that their advocacy for our planet attracts students. Professional societies also provide career development and training for their members to learn such skills. For example, the ACS is investing broadly in promoting its core value in sustainability through advocacy and education.

My vision for my ACS First platform is that ACS should be the first place our members and the public turn to when they need an answer to a chemistry question. That starts and ends with science advocacy. I look forward to seeing ACS members being called upon to share our expertise and offer solutions. If you aren’t called on, I encourage you, for example, to make a call yourself: contact your state and federal representatives to let them know that science is important to you and your fellow constituents. You don’t need to do this alone—we are in this together as chemists and as scientists. If you find yourself with an opportunity to engage in science advocacy, don’t hesitate to reach out to our units such as the ACS Office of Government Affairs or the Committee on Chemistry and Public Affairs. You can also join our member advocacy volunteer program.

Through ACS, we will continue to advocate for your voice to be heard throughout the world, whether that is in school classrooms, corporate board rooms, government offices, or somewhere in between. Together we can address the grand challenges that confront us, such as those in sustainable chemistry and manufacturing, through the transformative power of chemistry.

I look forward to hearing from you about how, together, we can best advance ACS through ACS First activities. Please reach out to me at local, regional, national, and international ACS meetings or email me at acs-hernandez@jh.edu.

Views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of C&EN or ACS.