For District V director: Mark C. Cesa

Chicago Section. Retired, INEOS Nitriles, Naperville, Illinois.

Academic record: Princeton University, AB, 1974; University of Wisconsin-Madison, MS 1977, PhD, 1979.

Honors: ACS Fellow, 2012; BP Chemicals Breakthrough Award, 1999, 2000; BP Chemicals Outstanding Performer Award, 1996, 1997; BP America Inventors Hall of Fame, 1995; BP Chemicals Innovation Award, 1990, 1995.

Professional positions (for the past 10 years): INEOS Nitriles USA LLC, Process Chemistry Consultant, 2007–15.

Service in ACS national offices: Committee on Ethics, 2024; International Activities Committee, 2019–23; Committee on Science, 2008–18, Chair 2016–18; Committee on Chemical Safety, 2006–08; Division of Professional Relations, Member-at-Large, 2007–08; E. J. Murphree Award Canvassing Committee, 2001–02.

Service in ACS offices: Chicago Section: Director of Budgets, 2023–24; Assistant Comptroller, 2023; Chair, 2022; Awards Committee, Chair, 2020; Bylaws Revision Committee, 2011; New Technologies Committee, 2010–11; Vice Chair, 2007, 2009; Councilor, 2006–11, 2022–24; Director, 2005–06, 2010–11, 2020–21; Alternate Councilor, 2004–05; Professional Relations Committee, Chair, 2004–11; Long-range Planning Committee, 2002–11; Topical Group Committee, Chair, 2002–03; Treasurer, 2002. Cleveland Section: Awards Committee, Chair, 1998; Chair, 1995; Sohio Acrylonitrile Process National Historic Chemical Landmark Committee, Chair, 1995–96; Secretary, 1993; National Chemistry Week Committee, 1994–98; Meeting-in-Miniature, Program Chair, 1991–93; Organic Topical Group, Chair, 1989–93; Great Lakes Regional Meeting: Program Co-Chair, 2006-09; Central Regional Meeting: Program Co-Chair, 1996–98.

Member: Member of ACS since 1976. ACS Divisions: Professional Relations, Chemical Safety.Related activities: International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Past President, 2016–17, President, 2014–15, Vice President, 2012–13; Committee on Ethics, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Chair, 2024, Member, 2022–23; Organizational Structure Review Group, Chair, 2020; Finance Committee, Member, 2018–21; Membership Relations Committee, Chair, 2016–17; IUPAC-Solvay Award Committee, Chair, 2016–17; IUPAC Committee for the International Council for Science, Chair, 2016–17; Executive Committee, 2012–17; Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry Division, 2010–13; International Year of Chemistry Management Committee, 2008–12; World Chemistry Leadership Meeting Organizing Committee, 2007, 2011; Bureau, 2006–17; Project Evaluation Committee, 2006–09; Statutes and Bylaws Revision Committee, 2006–09; Committee on Chemistry and Industry, 1997–2011, Chair, 2006–09. US National Academies: Board on International Scientific Organizations, Chair, 2022–24, Vice Chair, 2019–21, Policy and Global Affairs Committee, ex officio, 2023–24; Committee on the Chemical Management Toolkit Expansion-Standard Operating Procedures, 2015–16, Committee on Promoting Safe and Secure Chemical Management in Developing Countries, 2009; US National Committee for IUPAC, 2003–24, Chair, 2005–07. Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons: Experts’ Workshop on Chemical Security, 2017; Advisory Board on Education and Outreach, Observer, 2016–19; Workshop on Guidelines for the Practice of Chemistry Under the Norms of the Chemical Weapons Convention, 2015; Standing Committee for Gender Equality in Science, 2020–24, Treasurer, 2022–24. Ursuline College, Adjunct Faculty, 1993–94; John Carroll University, Lecturer, 1989. 31 US patents, 26 publications, (co)organizer of 8 symposia, 69 presentations worldwide.

Cesa’s statement

It is an honor to be a nominee for District V director. The chemistry enterprise faces challenges in the rapidly evolving scientific and societal landscape, and the American Chemical Society has a wealth of resources that provide skills and information to equip its members to advance the chemical sciences and solve global problems. Meeting those challenges will require contributions from scientists with a broad range of skills and experience.

In technical and managerial roles in the chemical industry, I have carried out and directed research on new catalytic reactions, polymerization, chemical process optimization, modeling of chemical reactions, and safety and environmental protection in the manufacture and use of chemicals. I have also contributed through leadership in ACS at the local and national levels, as well as in the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the US National Academies, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and the International Science Council. My career has emphasized chemical safety; ethics, diversity, equity and inclusion; budgeting and investment portfolio management; strategic planning and implementation; governance; and multidisciplinary collaborations—all with a global perspective.

ACS enjoys a position of respect in chemistry across academic, government, and industrial sectors. The ACS Board of Directors guides the society through the challenges and opportunities facing chemistry. And ACS can offer impactful contributions to address those challenges and opportunities.

Resources for our members

ACS serves a broad and diverse member base. ACS provides leadership in teaching and mentoring the next generation of chemists, developing the expertise of chemists at all career stages, and drawing on the wealth of experience of retirees. The new ACS initiative to ensure a skilled technical workforce targets the needs of its working members. As a leader in diversity, equity, inclusion, respect and belonging, ACS should continue to advocate and provide resources for enabling and celebrating the participation of underrepresented groups in the chemical sciences. ACS can convene productive collaborations among its domestic and growing international member bases, its local sections, and its international chemical sciences chapters. Including the new International District director on the ACS Board can facilitate these partnerships, and ACS can explore ways of working together with its sister societies around the world.

The science of chemistry

Many of the most exciting and valuable advances in chemistry occur at the interfaces between chemistry and other scientific disciplines. ACS’s offerings in chemical information uniquely enable ACS to address emerging opportunities, for example, in its Chemical Abstracts initiative to enhance access to research in the life sciences. Publishing news about discoveries and breakthroughs in its journals, C&EN, and social media can encourage collaborations between chemists and scientists in other fields. ACS’s work to increase access to research data will help chemists take advantage of the emergence of big data and the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence in chemical research and development.

Chemistry and the public

Improving the public perception of science is exceptionally important because the public has legitimate concerns about the effects of chemicals and their manufacture and use on health and the environment. However, despite these concerns, discoveries in chemistry stimulate great public interest. For example, announcements about new elements generate remarkable levels of excitement around the world, and breakthroughs in medicine and green energy are welcomed. ACS can help improve the reputation of chemistry and chemists through objective reporting about new developments and discoveries in chemistry. ACS can also enable outreach by our local sections to illustrate how chemists make our world better. Advocacy for chemistry among government officials and policy makers, a noteworthy ACS initiative, is another productive way to advance public appreciation of chemistry and elevate the importance of chemistry in our lives.

Global challenges

Chemistry addresses global needs. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the International Decade of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development, and the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry are examples of worldwide initiatives to benefit humankind, all of which ACS supports. Additionally, worldwide initiatives supporting scientific ethics, gender equity, and underrepresented groups in science call on chemists to incorporate these principles into their work. The ACS should continue to support its members’ efforts to address global challenges through its efforts to enable a sustainable future.

ACS faces an exciting future with a wealth of challenges and opportunities, and it has resources to achieve great things in science. I am eager to work as a volunteer in the ACS to help improve people’s lives through the transforming power of chemistry.