For president-elect: Rigoberto Hernandez

Georgia Section. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Academic record: Princeton University, BSE, 1989; University of California, Berkeley, PhD, 1993.

Honors: Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences, ACS, 2018; Herty Medal, ACS, 2017; ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences, 2014; Outstanding Service Award, ACS Georgia Section, 2012; ACS Fellow, 2010; Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science (PAESMEM), Finalist, 2024; Humboldt Return Fellow, 2022; Cottrell IMPACT Award, Research Corporation, 2020; Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow, 2020; Transformational Research and Excellence in Education Award, Research Corporation, 2016; Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar, 2015–16; Diversity Award, Council of Chemical Research, 2015; Diversity Champion Award, Georgia Tech, 2013; APS Fellow, 2011; Vasser Woolley Faculty Fellow, Georgia Tech, 2011–13; Humboldt Research Fellow, 2006–08; American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow, 2005; Goizueta Foundation Junior Professor, Georgia Tech, 2002–06; Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, 2000; Sigma Xi Southeast Regional Young Investigator, 2002, 2000; Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar, 1999; Blanchard Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Georgia Tech, 1999–01; National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, 1997; Feinberg Postdoctoral Fellow, 1994; AT&T CRFP Fellow, 1989–93; NSF Graduate Fellow, 1989–92; and Sigma Xi, Member, 1994.

Professional positions (for the past 10 years): Johns Hopkins University, Gompf Family Professor, 2016–present, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 2020–present, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, 2020–present; Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity (OXIDE), Director, 2011; Georgia Institute of Technology, Adjunct Professor, 2016–18, Professor, 2009–16, Associate Professor, 2002–09, Center for Computational Molecular Sciences and Technology, Co-Director, 2000–16.

Service in ACS national offices: Society Committee on Publications, 2022–24; Committee on Budget & Finance, Member, 2016–21; National Awards Advisory Board, Chair, 2018–21; Board of Directors, Director, District IV, 2014–19: Councilor ex officio, 2014–19; Committee on Professional and Member Relations, Member, 2017–19, 2014; Committee on Grants and Awards, Member, 2014–16; Committee on Science, Member, 2013; Committee on Committees, Member, 2009–12; Committee on Divisional Activities, Member, 2004–08; Joint DAC/LSAC Subcommittee, Co-Chair, 2005–07; Board Committee on “Minorities in Academe Implementation Team,” 2003–04; Hildebrandt Award Canvassing Committee, 2002–04.

Service in ACS offices: Georgia Section: Bylaw Councilor, 2012, Alternate Councilor, 2012–13, Councilor, 2003–11, Past-Chair, 2000; Chair, 1999, Chair-Elect, 1998; Herty Award Committee, Chair, 2006–16; 75th Herty Medal Celebration Chair, 2009; Herty Medal Undergraduate Research Symposium, Founding Chair, 2006–10. Division of Computers in Chemistry: Alternate Councilor, 2013.

Member: Member of ACS since 1992. American Association for the Advancement of Science; American Physical Society; Biophysical Society; Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. ACS Divisions: Computers in Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Chemical Education, Inorganic Chemistry and Professional Relations.

Related activities: Accounts of Chemical Research, Executive Advisory Board (EAB), 2023–present; Chemical Reviews, EAB, 2022–present; Journal of Physical Chemistry, EAB, 2019–present; Academic Leadership Training Workshop, Co-Founder, Chair, 2016–present; Minority PhD Advisory Committee, Sloan Foundation, 2013-present; NSF Chemistry Division Director Search Nominating Committee, 2023; Committee on Opportunities in Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2020–23, Chair, 2022–23; Scialog Review Committee, Chemical Machinery of the Cell, Research Corporation, 2018–21; Science and Software Advisory Board, Molecular Sciences Software Institute, 2017–19, Chair, 2019, Vice-Chair, 2018; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education, Review Committee, AAAS, 2015–16; Executive Board, Georgia Tech Faculty, 2013–16; National Institute of Health, Macromolecular Structure and Function B Study Section, 2009–13; Research Corporation Cottrell Scholars Advisory Committee, Member, 2011–17, Chair, 2016–17; National Academies Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, 2007–10; Board of Directors, Telluride Science Research Center, 2007–09; External Review Committee for Morehouse College Chemistry Department, 2007; Steering Committee for NSF Workshop on complexity and emergent phenomenon, 2007; Steering Committee for NSF Workshop on excellence empowered by a diverse workforce, 2007; National Academies Committee on Revealing Chemistry through Advanced Chemical Imaging, 2005–06; published over 175 peer-reviewed articles.

Hernandez’s statement

ACS First, ACS for All, and ACS for Life. You and I, together, with over 150,000 chemical professionals are the American Chemical Society. Together, we advocate for science and education to the public and governments: I have lobbied for us on Capitol Hill. We amplify people and accelerate innovation in molecular science and engineering: I have disseminated findings and policy through more than 400 invited lectures. We train chemists at all stages of their careers: I have trained more than 40 undergraduate and 40 postgraduate researchers. We publish and patent the leading advances in molecular science: I have published in at least 15 different ACS journals and many others. We work with each other and staff to advance the objectives of the ACS: I have served on your Board of Directors. Together, we can move our society forward as we promote ACS as the first choice source for information solutions in the chemical sciences (ACS First), advocate for a membership oriented culture to advance inclusive excellence (ACS for All), and establish avenues for lifetime engagement with our society (ACS for Life).

The ACS should be the first place that everyone goes to when they seek answers to questions related to chemistry. Our journals are the “Most trusted. Most cited. Most read.” They are the first place many turn to when they want to disseminate or learn new advances in our discipline and practice. Our national and international meetings have historically been among the largest chemistry meetings. Many chemists receive scholarships or grants advancing their careers and science from the ACS. Thus, the ACS has been first in the chemical sciences for the past century or more. We need to ensure that the world beyond us knows this. We should also not forget that the ACS is where many of us first found community in chemistry, and where we continue to introduce it to the next generation. To these ends, I would like to charge an ACS First Task Force to establish a vision for how the ACS can be the primary home for all chemists, and everyone who should engage us.

In recent years, we have leaned on the power of the ACS to improve chemical safety through the promotion of a safety culture embedded within everything we do. Safety is not just something we talk about in a yearly training class, but rather it is something that must be ingrained through intentionality. Similarly, advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect (DEIR) is not a practice that we can do through one-time events or training. As the OXIDE Director, I have advocated for the power of creating and fostering a diversity culture. We can ensure that chemistry thrives in our academic and industrial communities only if we invite every chemist to join us. I will champion ACS for All in support of ACS’s DEIR core value to promote a culture that welcomes the next generation of chemists.Perhaps the easiest way to ensure that once a chemist is a member of the ACS, that they remain a member, is to offer ACS life memberships. After all, what binds us together is not necessarily what we work on now. Instead it is the way we think about solving problems from a molecular perspective. In the article “ACS: Your brick-and-mortar and virtual network all in one,” I argued that this commonality among our diverse membership is the key to the value proposition for membership. If we can be chemists for life, why can’t we also be ACS members for life? I will champion an ACS for Life Task Force working in support of our membership teams to construct an implementation plan for lifetime memberships that ensures the stability of our financial position.

I ask that you support ACS First, ACS for All, and ACS for Life. Promotion of the ACS First brand should remind present and future members, government organizations, and the public, that they should turn to us when they need chemical information solutions. We are stronger because our membership is diverse across many dimensions. We can ensure that strength only through the inclusion and belonging that an authentic diversity culture will bring. Life memberships would provide stability to our membership and reward members with the security of engagement with us throughout their lives. We can do this ACS together. Please vote, and know that I have the time and energy to advance an ACS that continues to be the society you need and want.

For more information on our activities and on ways to engage, please go to rigobertohernandez.org, or find me on X/Twitter, Instagram, Threads or Bluesky at @EveryWhereChem.