ACS Meets In Chicago

SUSTAINABILITY OF energy, food, and water was the overarching theme of the 233rd ACS national meeting held on March 25-29 in Chicago. Scientific symposia and poster sessions were held in support of this theme and in all areas of the chemical sciences.

The meeting attracted 14,520 registrants; of them, 5,059 were students; 1,283, exhibitors; and 119, precollege teachers. The exposition of scientific equipment and software attracted 268 exhibitors in 424 booths and included 16 workshops. More than 9,000 papers were presented in 778 half-day symposia and poster sessions.

In governance actions, the Committee on Budget & Finance (B&F) reported that the society had a very good year last year. The 2006 net contribution from operations was $12.2 million on revenues of $424.0 million and expenses of $411.9 million. This net was $7.8 million better than had been budgeted.

On the recommendation of B&F, the ACS Council raised full-member dues for 2008 by $4.00 to $136. Council also approved a proposal to allow ACS members who are not in special dues categories to pay dues for a period of one, two, or three years at a rate established for the first year of the period.

Thomas H. Lane, director of global science and technology outreach and a research scientist with Dow Corning in Midland, Mich., and Howard M. Peters, a patent attorney and founding partner of Peters Verny LLP, Palo Alto, Calif., were selected by council as candidates for 2008 president-elect from a field of four nominees prepared by the Committee on Nominations & Elections (N&E). Lane and Peters, along with any petition candidates, will be listed on this fall's ballot. A petition candidate for national office must collect signatures from 300 ACS members to have his or her name appear on the ballot.

Before considering the lengthy and complicated "Petition on Election Procedures 2006" (C&EN, March 5, page 61), the council voted to separate it into two parts and handle each separately.

The first part of the proposal to be considered was approved without discussion; it will change language in ACS bylaws relating to director-at-large elections. The other part of the proposal was controversial. It sought to increase the number of signatures required for a person to add his or her name to a ballot for ACS president-elect to about 1,500 and for director at-large to about 750. Council voted to send the petition back to N&E.

Councilors indicated concern about the procedures for collecting and verifying so many signatures. Also, some councilors expressed their desire that the committee reevaluate the proposed number of signatures to be required with an eye to lowering that number.

Another proposal sought to disqualify any person either serving on N&E or who is less than one year past completing service on that committee from being nominated by the committee for national office. The petition was defeated. A recorded vote was taken and will be published in C&EN at a later date.