Chemists Come to Washington

The heat and humidity of summer didn't dampen the spirits of 13,040 chemical scientists, exhibitors, and guests in Washington, D.C., last week for the 230th American Chemical Society national meeting. However, concern for their colleagues in areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina was, according to ACS President William Carroll, a "poignant reminder not to sweat the small stuff." The ACS Council unanimously approved a resolution expressing "sincere and heartfelt concern" over the hurricane's death and destruction.

Carroll sponsored 11 presidential sessions on topics ranging from "The Business Case for Diversity" to a discussion of globalization related to his yearlong project "Enterprise 2015." The latter session included a wide-ranging discussion in which audience members gave their predictions of the state of the chemical sciences 10 years from now.

A festive luncheon thanked financial supporters of the ACS Scholars Program. The program, celebrating its 10th anniversary at the meeting, has provided financial support to 1,600 African American, Hispanic, and Native American students who have shown promise in the chemical sciences. Of these students, 660 have graduated, 96 are in Ph.D. programs, and 22 have received doctoral degrees. At the luncheon, ACS Executive Director and CEO Madeleine Jacobs announced that PPG has become the program's first $1 million donor.

A banquet honored this year's Heroes of Chemistry for contributions that have benefited humanity. Companies with honorees at the banquet were Colgate-Palmolive, ExxonMobil, IBM, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, and Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.

Victoria Bragin, a chemist-pianist, gave a recital that included a scherzo by chemist-composer Alexander Borodin. The program drew about 400 people and was sponsored by the ACS Division of the History of Chemistry and the Chemical Heritage Foundation.

In governance news, the Committee on Budget & Finance reported that ACS is projected to end the year with a net contribution from operations of $5.6 million, which is $3 million better than the approved budget. On advice from B&F, the board approved funding for reinvention of the ACS Web presence, a two-year pilot for ACS High School Chemistry Clubs, the International Science & Engineering Fair, and leadership development programs.

Valerie Kuck, chair of the Committee on Nominations, informed councilors that John Kozarich has withdrawn from the election for 2006 president-elect.

Other facts and figures reported at the meeting include that, as of July 31, there are 155,567 ACS members, an increase of 282 over July 2004 figures. More than 7,400 technical papers and posters were presented at the meeting and 313 exhibitors staffed 504 booths. At the Chemjobs Career Center, 1,917 job seekers were scheduled for 1,678 interviews for 289 positions posted. The number of interviews scheduled was up compared with last spring, and the number of job seekers was the highest in five years.