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Elections

For District IV director: Christopher J. Bannochie

by Christopher J. Bannochie, candidate for District IV director
September 9, 2022 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 100, Issue 32

 

Christopher Bannochie.
Credit: Laura Russo/SRNS Photography Studio
Christopher Bannochie

Savannah River Section. Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina.

Academic record: St. John’s University, BA, 1984; Texas A&M University, PhD, 1989.

Honors: ACS Division of Professional Relations Louis J. Sacco Award, 2014; ACS E. Ann Nalley Southeastern Regional Award for Volunteer Service, 2012; ACS Fellow, 2009; ACS Savannah River Section Salute to Excellence Award, 2006; ACS Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Promoting Diversity in the Chemical Sciences, 2005; National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals Walt Westman Award, 2007; George Westinghouse Signature Award, 1992; Sigma Xi; Phi Lambda Upsilon.

Professional positions (for the past 10 years): Savannah River National Laboratory (operated by Battelle Savannah River Alliance), research and development manager, advanced and energymaterials, 2020, training and procedures manager, 2019–20, senior fellow, 1991–2019.

Service in ACS national offices: Committee on Nominations and Elections, member, 2019–21; Committee on Committees, member, 2013–18; Committee on Science, member, 2008–13, associate, 2007; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Respect Advisory Board, 2019–21, 2016–18, 2011; Committee on Meetings and Expositions, consultant, 2008–10, 2022-24; Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs, member, 2001–06, 1996–99.

Service in ACS offices:Savannah River Section: councilor, 1996–22; chair, 1993–94; chair-elect, 1993; archivist, 2001–21; Government Affairs Committee, chair, 2007–09; newsletter editor, 1995–98; public outreach officer, 1992. Southeastern Regional Meetings (SERMACS): Executive Committee, 2017–22, 2013–15, 2005–10; chair, 2020–21, 2014, 2009; chair-elect, 2019, 2013, 2008; general co-chair, 2017–18; general chair, 2005–06. Professional Relations Division: chair, 2011; chair-elect, 2010; secretary, 2009; treasurer, 2003–08; program chair, 2007–08; member-at-large, 2013–22, 2002; Pacifichem, ACS topical program advisor, 2015, 2010.

Member: Member of ACS since 1984. National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals, Board of Directors, 2009–22; Georgia Equality, Board of Directors, 2014–15; Augusta Pride, Board of Directors, 2010–13; Out to Innovate 2014, co-chair; Leadership Augusta, class of 2004, Board of Directors, 2005; Savannah River Site Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Employees and Allies Association, president, 2003, 2009–21; American Association for the Advancement of Science. ACS Divisions: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry; Nuclear Chemistry; Professional Relations.

Related activities: Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity (OXIDE), Advisory Board, 2014–22, chair, 2022-23; Imperial Theater Program Committee, 2004–05; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (operated by the University of California), visiting scientist, 1998–01.

Bannochie’s statement

I was honored and humbled to be nominated to run for a position on the American Chemical Society Board of Directors. This has given me a chance to reflect on my 38 years of ACS membership and nearly 30 years of active ACS volunteerism.

Introduction

For the past 30 years, I have been a local section volunteer and leader. Roles I have undertaken include: division treasurer, secretary, and chair; program organizer; general chair for two regional meetings; twice chair of SERMACS board; member of two Pacifichem organizing committees. I have also served on five national committees (two elected roles). I have gained a tremendous respect for the strength and creativity of ACS membership, and I continually encourage all members to be involved in their professional home.

These many roles managing ACS programs and people helped prepare me for my current role as a R&D manager at Savannah River National Laboratory. After many years working my way up the technical ladder to senior fellow, I decided several years ago to move into management to bring the skills I had learned as an ACS volunteer managing budgets, people, and complex programs. It has been a rewarding journey.

I bring a great deal of institutional knowledge to the ACS Board of Directors. My service on other boards and advisory committees for smaller organizations has also prepared me for this work, and I view this opportunity to serve on the board not as a goal to be achieved, but as a sacred trust to uphold the values that make ACS so unique and dear to so many members.

The Board of Directors has many responsibilities including fiduciary, official society positions, and public policy decisions. I have written four ACS public policy statements that were adopted by the board from my service as chair of the public policy subcommittees for both the Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs and the Committee on Science. I understand the importance of listening to all viewpoints, the need for consensus, and the presentation of a unified group decision.

Each board member also brings their unique skills and passions to the position. For the past 30 years I have had two passions—diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect (DEIR), and regional meetings.

DEIR

I have been a vocal advocate for the inclusion of all voices within the society. At times this may have threatened the status quo, but at other times it was tremendously rewarding to see the staff and members lend their strong support and encouragement to these efforts. From the inclusion of sexual orientation and later gender identity and expression in both the Professional and Academic Professional Employment Guidelines beginning in 1996, to the first reception for the ACS LGBTQ+ community in 2002, and the first national symposium highlighting the need for the Employment Non-discrimination Act (ENDA) in the Chemical Process Industries and a related public policy statement supporting ENDA in 2003, to more than a decade of service in various roles on the DEIR Advisory Board and its predecessors, it has been important to me to make change happen.

In 2016, I initiated the first demographic survey of committee members to provide the Committee on Committees with both baseline data to evaluate their goal of increasing diversity in the committees and to allow everyone to see themselves in the survey questions—it is vitally important for everyone to be seen. Change can be disquieting for some, so it is important for the society, in its efforts to acknowledge all, to also not neglect the needs of the majority, while it strives to serve the needs of minority and underserved communities. We truly are all in this together, and our success depends on serving everyone with respect and dignity and leaving no one behind.

Regional meetings

The regional meetings that serve District IV, the Southwest Regional Meetings (SWRM) and SERMACS, have made technical meetings accessible to many members unable to attend national meetings, and they demonstrate the power of ACS communities (academe, industry, and national laboratories) working together for the advancement of scientific exchange and education. For over 70 years, these meetings have served a portion of the country only occasionally as the site of national meetings. I will bring a deep understanding of these meetings and the partnership between regional organizers, local sections, and staff that enable them to continue to be successful recruitment, testing grounds, and community building venues.

Conclusion

Thank you for your time reading this statement and your investment in learning about the nominees for this important office. If you entrust your vote to me, I will do my best to serve the society we all love.

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