Candidates’ election statements and backgrounds

Two candidates will vie for the office of president-elect of the American Chemical Society for 2020 in this fall’s election. They are H. N. Cheng, a research chemist at the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service in Louisiana, and Carol A. Duane, a mentor with D&D Consultants of Mentor in Ohio. The successful candidate will serve as ACS president in 2020 and as a member of the ACS Board of Directors from 2020 to 2022.

Candidates for director of District II are Christina C. Bodurow, IQVIA vice president of Global Regulatory Affairs; Dawn Mason, external innovation manager with Eastman Chemical; and Ellene Tratras Contis, professor of chemistry at Eastern Michigan University.

District II consists of members assigned to or residing in local sections with headquarters in Indiana (except the St. Joseph Valley and Wabash Valley Sections), Kentucky, Michigan (except the Kalamazoo and Upper Peninsula Sections), North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee (except the Memphis Section), Pennsylvania (except the Central Pennsylvania, Erie, Lehigh Valley, Penn- York and Susquehanna Valley Sections), Virginia, and West Virginia and those members with addresses in the states of Indiana (except the counties of Lake and Porter), Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan (except Dickinson County), Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia who are not assigned to local sections.

District IV will also be holding elections for director. Candidates are Rigoberto Hernandez, the Gompf Family Professor at Johns Hopkins University, and Lisa Houston, director at Petroleum Analyzer.

District IV consists of members assigned to or residing in local sections with headquarters in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee (except the East Tennessee, Nashville, and Northeast Tennessee Sections), Texas, and Puerto Rico and those members with addresses in Arkansas (except the counties of Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Columbia, Drew, Hempstead, Lafayette, Miller, Ouachita, and Union), Georgia (except the counties of Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Walker, and Whitfield), Louisiana, and certain counties in Texas who are not assigned to local sections. The winners of Districts II and IV will serve on the ACS Board of Directors beginning in 2020 and running through 2022.

Four candidates are running for two director-at-large positions. They are Harmon B. Abrahamson, professor emeritus at the University of North Dakota; G. Bryan Balazs, a retired staff chemist previously with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; D. Richard Cobb, a retired senior research associate previously with Eastman Kodak; and Dorothy J. Phillips, a retired director previously with Waters Corporation. The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes will serve a 3-year term from 2020 to 2022.

Balloting will be conducted online, with the option to receive a paper ballot upon request. Ballots will be distributed Sept. 30–Oct. 2 with a voting deadline of Oct. 25. ACS members eligible to vote received information in early September on how to request a paper ballot.

All voting members of ACS may receive ballots enabling them to vote for president-elect and a constitutional amendment upon request. Only members with mailing addresses in Districts II and IV may receive ballots to vote for director from those districts. Only voting councilors may receive ballots for the director-at-large elections.

The ACS Committee on Nominations and Elections did not provide candidates with specific questions to frame their statements. Information about ACS policies for elections and campaigning can be found in Bulletin V, Bylaw 5, Section 13 and in “Guidelines for Campaigning and Communication.” Candidates’ views have also been posted online at www.acs.org/elections.