Bruce Bursten Is 2007 ACS President-Elect

In a runoff election that began as a four-way race, Bruce E. Bursten, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and distinguished professor of chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, claimed the title of 2007 ACS president-elect. He will serve as ACS president in 2008 and as a member of the ACS Board of Directors from 2007 to 2009.

Bursten received 13,871 votes. Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, received 12,179 votes.

Two-thirds of the total votes cast were made via the Internet. The total number of valid votes cast was 26,050, compared with 24,299 cast in the general election.

In his candidate's statement (C&EN, Sept. 4, page 58), Bursten said that as president of ACS he will focus on education and communication. "I think that education and communication are the foundations of progress for our society, and I hope that our efforts in other areas will be built on these dual pillars," he said.

Bursten received his S.B. degree in chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1974. He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from UW Madison in 1978. He has been a member of ACS since 1974, and he has served in a number of positions including the advisory board of Inorganic Chemistry and chair of the Division of Inorganic Chemistry.