Record Set in San Diego

More than 15,000 chemists and others interested in the subject converged on scenic San Diego last week for the American Chemical Society's 229th national meeting and exposition. A record 9,278 papers in 933 sessions were scheduled over the course of the meeting.

The future of the chemical enterprise was on the minds of many attendees, and a number of presidential events in which speakers gave their projections highlighted the meeting's program. ACS President William F. Carroll sponsored multiday symposia on his project, "Chemistry Enterprise 2015" The project, which looks at how the chemical enterprise will change over the next 10 years, is a primary focus of Carroll's presidency.

Another presidential event, "Academic Hiring: How Do You Get the Job?" provided continued society emphasis on graduate education and the Academic Employment Initiative (AEI). ACS Immediate Past-President Charles P. Casey started AEI last year.

Other presidential events included "Teaching High School Chemistry as a Second Career" "Preparing for Careers in Chemical Technology" a panel discussion on "Closing the Gap for Underrepresented Groups by 2015" "Communicating Beyond Generational Differences: Boomers, X-ers, and Millennials in the Industrial Workplace" and the Festival de Qumica, an outdoor bilingual community outreach event.

In governance actions, the ACS Council voted to raise member dues for 2006 to $127 from $123. The council also voted to create a society ethics committee as an ongoing committee of the ACS Board. A petition on multiple-candidate elections that was up for consideration was withdrawn by the Committee on Nominations & Elections (N&E) for further improvement.

Councilors also selected candidates for the office of 2006 ACS president-elect. After hearing brief speeches from four nominees selected by N&E, councilors chose Katherine T. Hunt of Rohm and Haas, Spring House, Pa., and John W. Kozarich of ActivX Biosciences, La Jolla, Calif., as candidates. The committee then reported that George E. Heinze, councilor for the North Jersey Section, had been certified as a petition candidate. The winner of this election, which will be held in the fall, will serve a three-year term in the presidential succession, including as ACS president in 2007.

The Society Committee on Budget & Finance had positive news to report to the board on ACS';s 2004 financial status. After factoring in the Member Insurance Program and the sale of the Belmont Conference Center, the society's net contribution for 2004 was $4,465,000, which was $3,229,000 more than had been budgeted.

The ACS Chemjobs Career Center reported that 1,344 job seekers registered for the service, with 1,410 interviews scheduled for 189 positions; 32 career workshops were presented. At its debut last August in Philadelphia, the ACS Chemjobs Career Center had 1,556 job seekers registered and 107 employers conducting 1,639 interviews for 303 jobs posted.

Official society membership numbers for 2004 saw little change. At year-end, there were 158,127 members, a drop for the year of less than 1%.