H. N. Cheng is 2020 ACS president-elect

H. N. Cheng, a research chemist with the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, has been elected the 2020 American Chemical Society president-elect by members of ACS. Cheng will serve as president of the society in 2021 and immediate past president in 2022; he will also serve on the board of directors from 2020 through 2022.

In addition to selecting an ACS president-elect, members also passed a petition to amend the ACS Constitution and bylaws to streamline the ACS governing documents. In total, 11,302 members voted in favor of the amendment, while 688 members voted against it.

With 7,474 votes, Cheng won the president-elect race against Carol A. Duane, president of D&D Consultants of Mentor, who received 4,986 votes. ACS, which publishes C&EN, also elected or reelected four other board directors.

“I’m very much honored by the trust that ACS members have placed on me,” Cheng says. “Over the years, I’ve gained a lot from being involved in the ACS, and I want to give back to the profession.”

Cheng says his presidential goals include strengthening member involvement in ACS, supporting innovation and career programs, advocating for science, and growing the chemistry enterprise. He also wants to continue strengthening ACS’s connections around the world.

“I’m very much in favor of global collaboration. I think it benefits our members, and ultimately it benefits the science,” Cheng says.

In other election news, Christina C. Bodurow, vice president of global regulatory affairs at IQVIA, was reelected director of District II, defeating Dawn Mason, external innovation manager at Eastman Chemical, and Ellene Tratras Contis, a professor of chemistry at Eastern Michigan University.

Lisa Houston, director at Petroleum Analyzer Company, was elected director of District IV, winning over incumbent Rigoberto Hernandez, a professor of chemistry at Johns Hopkins University.

G. Bryan Balazs, a retired staff chemist from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, was elected director-at-large, along with Dorothy J. Phillips, a retired director previously with Waters, who was reelected for the role. They won over Harmon B. Abrahamson, professor emeritus at the University of North Dakota, and D. Richard Cobb, a retired senior research associate previously with Eastman Kodak.

A total of 12,460 valid votes were cast for president-elect. Voter participation was nearly 9% of all eligible voters.