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The major actions taken by the ACS Board and Council during the national meeting in Boston on Aug. 22–26 were reported in C&EN, Oct. 11, page 47.
The Society Committee on Budget & Finance (B&F) met on Aug. 21 to review the society's probable financial results for 2010. ACS is projected to end the year with a net contribution from operations of $14.4 million, or $2.4 million favorable to the 2010 approved budget. In addition, the society expects capital expenditures to be essentially on budget at approximately $23.2 million.
In October 2010, the society plans to retire the remaining bonds from its $45 million Franklin County, Ohio, Development Revenue Bond issue (1999 Series). There is approximately $20.8 million outstanding. By redeeming the bonds early, the society will save approximately $2.5 million in interest expense over the next five years.
The committee considered a new program funding request for the ACS Global Research Experiences, Exchanges & Training (GREET) program and recommended that the ACS board approve funding in the 2011 proposed budget. The committee considered a new request for the Department of Professional Education and, subject to B&F's annual review, recommended that the ACS board approve funding in the 2011 proposed budget and 2012–13 forecast. The committee also reviewed a program reauthorization request for the State Government Affairs program for 2011–13 and recommended that the ACS board include funding in the 2011 proposed budget and the 2012–13 forecast.
The committee received a report from the Program Review Advisory Group (PRAG) on its 2010 activities, which included a review of two society programs: Science Literacy and Public Communications.—John E. Adams, Chair
The Society Committee on Education (SOCED) discussed the recommendations for entering medical students contained in the Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians report, produced by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The committee also reviewed the results of two recently completed surveys of high school chemistry teachers and two-year college chemistry faculty and voted to support the proposed ACS position on "Science and Technology in the FY 2012 Budget" with suggested changes. SOCED recommitted the Education Policy Statement to the task force for revisions and accepted the Statement on Scholarship. The committee agreed to form a small working group to collaborate with the Sustainability Engagement Event action teams and the Committee on Environmental Improvement in exploring ideas related to sustainability education. SOCED approved the release and dissemination of the draft Chemistry-Based Technology Degree Programs at Two-Year Colleges supplement to the ACS Guidelines for Chemistry in Two-Year College Programs. SOCED received a report from the Chemistry Olympiad subcommittee on the team's performance at the recent International Chemistry Olympiad in Tokyo, where the team earned two gold medals, one silver, and a bronze.—Mary K. Carroll, Chair
The Board Committee on Grants & Awards (G&A) met virtually on Aug. 10. The chair of the Fellows Oversight Committee reported that all primary nominators were sent a survey regarding the submission process used this year. The primary nominators were satisfied or very satisfied with the preparation time, ease of submission, and clarity of the instructions. A total of 192 fellows (an increase from 163 in 2009) were selected and were inducted in Boston on Aug. 23.
The chair reported that letters were sent to several of the technical divisions, requesting their assistance in identifying sponsors for several of the national awards.
The Subcommittee on Nominations & Selections reported that the subcommittee held one conference call since the June board meeting. The subcommittee discussed the collection of demographic information on the national awards nomination form. Additionally, the subcommittee reviewed the selection committee survey to determine if survey questions should be added or reworded. Lastly, the subcommittee discussed comments received from the survey of past presidents concerning the national awards selection committee process.
The chair of the Subcommittee on Funding reported that the subcommittee has reviewed the process by which award sponsors are recruited. The subcommittee has also reviewed the list of national awards without sponsors and made several suggestions for ways to identify new sponsors.
The ACS/AWIS/AWARDS Action Group reported on the AWARDS (Advancing Ways of Awarding Recognition in Disciplinary Societies) meeting that was held on June 24–25 in Arlington, Va. The workshop, organized by the Association for Women in Science (AWIS), brought together members of seven disciplinary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) societies to participate in a National Science Foundation-funded program. The organizers of the workshop discussed implicit biases that are often found in documents for awards and prizes.
G&A voted, upon the recommendation of the Joint Board-Council Committee on Public Relations & Communications, to recommend to the ACS Board of Directors that the society nominate its National Chemistry Week Program for the National Science Board Public Service Medal.
G&A also voted to recommend to the ACS Board of Directors the establishment of a new award, the George & Christine Sosnovsky Award for Cancer Research; the award recognizes "outstanding achievements in the elucidation of the chemical and biochemical pathways underlying human cancers, leading to the discovery and development of improved cancer therapeutics."
The committee reviewed a request from the Task Force on Implementing the ACS Diversity Reports to establish an award for K–12 teachers for encouraging students from underrepresented groups to pursue college degrees in the chemical sciences. The committee discussed the request and is not against the establishment of a new award; however, the establishment of all new awards must be supported by an endowment.—Kent J. Voorhees, Chair
The Committee on Professional & Member Relations (P&MR) held a virtual meeting on Aug. 11. P&MR affirmed a cooperative cosponsorship with the American Association for Cancer Research and a request from the AGRO division for nominal cosponsorship of the International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) International Congress on Pesticide Chemistry in 2014.
The Professional Advancement Subcommittee reviewed recent progress on advancing the diversity task force recommendations and on elevating the Joint Subcommittee on Diversity (JSD) to a new Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board. P&MR reinforced that the new group should use the broad definition of diversity in the ACS Statement on Diversity, develop and communicate a strategic plan for ACS in this area, circulate a periodic inventory of activities, and oversee implementation of the diversity task force recommendations.
Following review of the draft report on Value to Members, P&MR agreed with the subcommittee to add a final round of focus groups to shed more light on what members value most in certain demographic groups, including younger members, non-U.S. members, industry members, and members with non-R&D jobs. The results will be available in the fall for board consideration.
The Web Strategy & Innovation Subcommittee report included an overview of the recent upgrade of the ACS Network, including the new integrated platform and new and improved functions. It was also reported that implementation of the network "opt out" policy was in full swing, that less than 1% of members decided to opt out, and that all others would be migrated to the network and sent welcome messages.
The International Strategy Subcommittee presented a full briefing on current plans and messages to advance International Year of Chemistry 2011 (IYC 2011). The subcommittee suggested that ACS clearly communicate that all society units are equally important to the celebration, regardless of their international engagement. The cochairs of the Sustainability Stakeholders Steering Group (S3G) presented a set of proposed goals and targets for P&MR consideration as the committee works to address global sustainability challenges through chemistry. P&MR voted to recommend board approval in principle of the goals and targets developed by S3G and its component committees, finding them consistent with the ACS strategic plan.
Finally, the committee was briefed on the results of the 2010 Membership Satisfaction Survey and looks forward to receiving further analysis of the data and conducting follow-on efforts to inform member-related decisions.—Diane G. Schmidt, Chair
The Committee on Public Affairs & Public Relations (PA&PR) conducted a virtual meeting on Aug. 12.
The chair welcomed committee members and highlighted governance advocacy related activities:
The chair also highlighted the following:
◾ A new consolidated member involvement report that lists local section member government affairs and public relations outreach in their local communities.
◾An opportunity for ACS members to provide input into the drafting of the society's new climate change position statement via a survey posted on the ACS website and a climate forum held at the Boston national meeting on Aug. 23.
◾The joint PA&PR and P&MR breakfast took place on Aug. 23 to solicit input into the development of an ACS position statement on improving the business environment for creating U.S.-based science jobs.
The committee discussed two ACS position statements under development on public access to high-quality science and reauthorization of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
The ACS Governing Board for Publishing (GBP) and staff from the ACS Publications Division are working on a new statement on public access. Committee members, guided by 10 principles outlined in the Brussels Declaration on STM Publishing (where STM is scientific, technical, and medical), discussed key points that GBP should include in a new statement. The TSCA statement is slated for action by the Committee on Environmental Improvement at its Aug. 21 meeting in Boston. Both statements are expected to be discussed at the PA&PR meeting in December.
The committee also discussed the creation of a new society position statement focused on implementing national policies that can create a favorable environment to create new science-based jobs in the U.S. This effort will be jointly led by the committee, as well as by P&MR. Five ACS committees have been contacted for input into the drafting of this new statement. The chair led committee members in brainstorming ideas and concepts that can be included in a jobs statement. These ideas will be combined with input from other ACS committees to draft a statement. The statement will be considered at the December meeting of the committee.
The chair of the Committee on Chemistry & Public Affairs discussed proposed revisions to the ACS Public Service Award selection criteria. The general intent of the proposed revisions is to clarify the award's purpose and audience. The committee found the proposed revisions thoughtful and provided feedback to CCPA in finalizing its recommendations.
The chair updated the committee on revisions to Bylaw XII of the ACS bylaws to bring it into alignment with other sections of the ACS governing documents (Bulletin 5) (www.acs.org/bulletin5). A proposal revising Bylaw XII was developed by a working group comprising several policy-making committees; this will be put into official bylaw language and submitted as a petition to the ACS Council for consideration at its March 2011 meeting in Anaheim, Calif. The Bylaw XII revision would then be acted upon by the ACS Council at its August 2011 meeting in Denver, Colo. The board of directors would later vote on this action.
Staff members of the ACS Office of Public Affairs (OPA) presented notable highlights to the committee from each of the five functional areas in OPA: Public Policy, Advocacy, Federal Relations, Science Communications, and Society Communications.
The chair raised two new business items: a discussion of proposed changes of Goals 4 and 5 in the ACS Board "Strategic Plan for 2011 and Beyond" and an executive summary of an Outreach Plan for IYC 2011 received from the Committee on Community Activities.—William F. Carroll, Jr., Chair
Chemical Abstracts Service management reported on a number of developments including the enhanced patent coverage that now spans 61 patent authorities worldwide, including the Costa Rica Registry of Industrial Properties and the Argentina National Institute of Industrial Properties; the addition of more than 13.6 million synthetic preparations to the CASREACT database in 2010; and further enhancements to SciFinder, such as Markush structure search access to patents.
The Committee on Chemical Abstracts Service (CCAS) continues to fulfill its charter by serving as a channel for the flow of information between society members (and users of CAS services), the ACS Governing Board for Publishing and CAS management to help assure that each party's needs are researched, recognized, and represented. The committee has reached out to ACS members in a multitude of new channels to support CCAS' mission. A CCAS blog on the ACS Member Network has been established where anyone (ACS member or not) can post feedback and questions for CCAS members to provide input to CAS management.—Spiro D. Alexandratos, Chair
The Committee on Chemical Safety (CCS) is composed of dedicated members and advisers, who contribute to the chemical enterprise on matters relating to health and safety. Several are now ACS Fellows. The committee's primary responsibility is to encourage safety and promote best practices for professionals and students who face special risks working with chemicals in laboratories.
This year the committee plans to publish two "Safety in the Academic Chemistry Laboratory" presentations on laboratory safety: "Eye Protection" and "Starting with Safety," based upon the popular publication by the same name. "Safety in the Academic Chemistry Laboratory," has been translated into Arabic and is available at www.acs.org/safety.
The committee has developed the "Laboratory Waste Management Handbook," which provides guidance for classifying chemical laboratories similar to the classification used for biological and biomedical laboratories. In addition, members of the committee and others, with the support of ACS, contributed to a revised version of the National Academy of Sciences publication, "Prudent Practices in the Laboratory," which includes an expanded chapter on chemical laboratory safety.
Last year, the committee experienced one of its biggest demands for chemical safety publications in recent history. This was largely in response to the sad passing of a University of California, Los Angeles, research associate in January 2009, which was widely reported in Chemical & Engineering News and other news media, and an explosion in a chemical laboratory at Texas Tech University in January 2010. The U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board will soon issue a report on its investigation into the cause of the explosion and related laboratory safety issues. The committee looks forward to the result of this investigation and will make use of the data as they relate to ethics and professional responsibility.
At the urging of CCS and the Division of Chemical Health & Safety, the board's Committee on Grants & Awards announced that it has revised its criteria to require adherence to the ACS Chemical Professional's Code of Conduct during the grants and award nomination process.—Laurence J. Doemeny, Chair
The Committee on Chemistry & Public Affairs (CCPA) advises and recommends ACS action on public policy matters involving the chemical sciences and technologies. CCPA also encourages and facilitates participation by the members of ACS in government relations.
In Boston, CCPA considered a draft ACS policy position related to fiscal year 2012 federal scientific research and education budgets. The committee also prepared input for an ACS Board of Directors policy discussion related to scientific job creation in the U.S.
In addition, the committee discussed ways for CCPA to effectively support other ACS member advocacy activities at the individual, local section, state, and federal levels. Focus areas for CCPA include recruiting a government affairs committee for each local section and assisting in the training of new government affairs committee chairs.
In April, ACS members from CCPA joined chairs of local section Government Affairs Committees to participate in the 15th annual Science, Engineering & Technology Congressional Visits Day. They joined more than 200 other scientists representing over 20 scientific societies on Capitol Hill to reinforce the ACS message on the need to increase U.S. competitiveness and express support specifically for reauthorizing the America COMPETES Act.
Annually, the ACS supports two congressional fellows, who are selected by CCPA, to work in a congressional office for a year. These fellows bring informed scientific perspectives to issues on the congressional agenda. In Boston, the committee received reports from the 2009–10 congressional fellows who ended their fellowships in August and discussed ways to further publicize the fellowships. The application deadline for the ACS congressional fellowship is Dec. 31. More information can be found on the ACS website. Recent graduates as well as more seasoned, midcareer applicants are encouraged to apply.—Kristin M. Omberg, Chair
The Committee on Chemists with Disabilities (CWD) marked its 30th anniversary in Boston by participating in a symposium honoring the late Thomas Kucera, CWD's first chair. CWD also sponsored the attendance of a student with disabilities at the meeting.
Prior to the 2011 launch of IYC, CWD will provide information to IUPAC on how to make IYC 2011 materials and activities fully accessible to persons with disabilities to promote facilitation, inclusion, and participation by disabled persons worldwide—the first time an effort of this scope has been undertaken.
CWD also continued its service to ACS by using its expertise to ensure full accessibility of a recently produced ACS instructional CD on chemical safety. CWD facilitated wider use of closed captioning during the Boston national meeting and of new state-of-the-art technologies such as remote real-time captioning to integrate off-site CWD members into the main committee meeting, which permitted their full participation. Using these and other technologies will significantly enhance the ACS member's ability to obtain reasonable accommodations for future national and regional meetings.
CWD has committed to helping ACS identify and implement a Web meeting product that will be fully accessible to all members with disabilities, enabling them to communicate and fully participate in meetings held by any ACS committee and in all ACS Web-based offerings. CWD plans to explore other options in the coming year and share findings with ACS as a whole and use the experience gained to update the committee's publications.—Judith A. Summers-Gates, Chair
On Tuesday evening, the Committee on Community Activities (CCA) presented ChemLuminary Awards to local sections that have demonstrated exemplary performance in the development and implementation of activities conducted safely in support of National Chemistry Week and Chemists Celebrate Earth Day.
The following sections were recognized: Central Texas, Delaware, New York, Northeastern, Orange County, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Puerto Rico, Syracuse, and Western New York.
National Chemistry Week will be celebrated Oct. 17–23 with its theme, "Behind the Scenes with Chemistry," highlighting the chemistry used in movies and TV for special effects, makeup, and sets. The free publication "Celebrating Chemistry" is geared toward elementary school children, features hands-on activities and articles, and is available in English and Spanish on the ACS website. NCW will be featured in the ACS weekly webinar series on Oct. 21, which highlights the benefits of community outreach.
CCA released the complete IYC 2011 outreach plan during the Boston meeting. All ACS members are encouraged to celebrate IYC 2011 and to share the importance and global impact of chemistry using the resources that will be available by quarter (1st: environment, 2nd: energy, 3rd: materials, and 4th: health).—Lynn Hogue, Chair
The Committee on Environmental Improvement (CEI) continues work to enhance ACS sustainability activities. In Boston, we were focused on supporting local section activities related to sustainability. CEI continues to provide grants to local sections engaged in sustainability programming and received a favorable report from the Syracuse Local Section about its very successful sustainability fair. To further encourage local section sustainability activities, the committee has initiated a 2011 ChemLuminary award to recognize outstanding programming in this area.
In conjunction with a CEI presidential symposium highlighting leading sustainability educators, we recognized the first recipients of the new ACS-CEI award to honor outstanding efforts to integrate sustainability into the chemistry classroom. The Subcommittee on Communications & Outreach is working with ACS staff and other committees to develop an ACS Web presence that can highlight ACS efforts in the area of sustainability and opportunities for members to get involved.
CEI also received reports from three Sustainability Engagement Event Action Teams and is in the process of developing specific plans to incorporate their proposals into future CEI activities, as well as those of two additional teams that we have agreed to support in cooperation with SOCED.
Finally, the Subcommittee on Public Policy continues to work on policy statement drafts concerning biomonitoring, chemicals management and regulation, climate, EPA research finding, and criteria for evaluating energy systems. The committee hosted a very successful presidential forum on climate change in Boston as a mechanism to gather information needed for the review of the existing ACS climate change policy statement.—Martin A. Abraham, Chair
The International Activities Committee (IAC) was established in 1962 as a Joint Board-Council Committee in recognition of the need for ACS to cooperate with scientists internationally and to highlight the application of chemistry to the worldwide needs of humanity.
In Boston, IAC focused on implementing its strategic goals for 2010 and beyond: to enhance ACS international collaborations furthering chemistry's role in addressing global challenges, to sustain momentum of IYC beyond 2011, and to help extend the society's engagements in international education and training.
IAC welcomed the leadership of many of our partner societies, including IUPAC, the Federation of African Societies of Chemistry, the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies, the German Chemical Society, the Chemical Society of Thailand, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and our ACS International Chemical Sciences Chapters in Hong Kong and Hungary. The committee learned of and discussed their international strategies, plans for IYC 2011, and interests in helping monitor the scientific freedom and human rights of scientists in their regions.
IAC also approved petitions to establish new ACS International Chemical Sciences Chapters in Shanghai and Thailand.
IAC is planning symposia at next year's ACS national meeting in Anaheim. The first is International Collaboration in the Chemical Sciences: Best Practices. The second is Scientific Freedom and Human Rights in the Chemical Sciences.
The committee also began preparations for the launch of IAC's new Global Research Experiences, Exchanges & Training (GREET) Program, approved by B&F and the board at the Boston meeting.
IAC received a report from Seeding Labs, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support and expansion of scientific research in developing countries by providing affordable, reclaimed laboratory equipment and facilitating connections within the global scientific research community. IAC agreed to establish a working group to explore collaboration between ACS and Seeding Labs.
IAC also agreed to establish a ChemLuminary Award to recognize outstanding IYC 2011 activities of a local section, technical division, or committee.—Judith L. Benham, Chair
The Committee on Minority Affairs (CMA) revised its vision and mission statement in alignment with the Joint Subcommittee on Diversity and the society's strategic plans. CMA goals are focused on increasing membership, recognizing pioneers from underrepresented groups, and educating the society on the issues facing underrepresented groups.
CMA has identified four minority-serving institutions to work with and to recruit new members. They include institutions that serve Native Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans. The committee plans to support the activation of new ACS student chapters by partnering all chapters with neighboring institutions that have thriving programs.
The committee also identified several ACS national awards that will be targeted to enhance minority participation. Potential nominees and candidates for each of the award selection committees will be proffered. CMA is also compiling a list of stellar scientists for consideration as ACS journal editors.
CMA has formed the Marie Daley Task Force with the Women Chemists Committee. Marie Daley was the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. This task force is charged with telling the story of this scientist and educator in a way that honors her and inspires others.
The 15th anniversary of the ACS Scholars Program is 2010. The CMA luncheon featured Daniel J. Mindiola, who was the first ACS scholar to complete a Ph.D. He is also the 2009 Fresenius Award recipient. The celebration continued with a presidential event symposium organized by Carlos Guitierrez entitled, "ACS Scholars Program Results: Stories Highlighting 14 Successful Years." All the speakers were former ACS scholars. The data for the ACS scholars over 15 years are very impressive. There have been more than 2,300 scholars in total, including 70 confirmed Ph.D.s.—Allison Aldridge, Chair
The Committee on Patents & Related Matters (CPRM) focuses on three main areas. First, CPRM provides ACS members and the general public with information about patents and other intellectual property issues. Second, CPRM proposes nominations of notable inventors for external national awards recognizing the innovations and inventions of chemists. Finally, CPRM monitors legislative and regulatory developments influencing intellectual property in ways that impact the chemical enterprise.
Over the past year, CPRM has continued to work toward U.S. patent reform. Our new policy statement, as adopted by the ACS Board of Directors, incorporates compromise positions reflecting the diverse interests of the chemical enterprise. The committee's recommendations include improved funding for the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office by preventing patent-fee diversion and adoption of a first-to-file patent system.
CPRM has recommended nominees for the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the National Medal of Technology & Innovation. CPRM also engages in educational outreach to help chemists and others understand the patent system. CPRM has partnered with ACS's Chemistry & the Law Division to provide patent-related programming at national and regional meetings. In addition, CPRM has created numerous educational materials, many of which provide guidance regarding second careers in the area of intellectual property. CPRM's materials are available on its website.
CPRM has created a group on the ACS Network enabling it to collaborate and continue its work between national meetings. CPRM has developed active working relationships with many governance units. If you are interested in working with us, please contact us.—Andrew G. Gilicinski, Chair
At the August national meeting, the Committee on Professional Training (CPT) evaluated 54 periodic reports. The reports were from currently approved programs, three updated programs, one site visit, and six conferences with schools applying for ACS approval. With the approval of two new schools, the total number of colleges and universities offering ACS-approved bachelor's degree programs in chemistry is now 663.
The committee held a lunch meeting with 27 chairs of Ph.D.-granting chemistry departments. The gathering was intended to improve CPT's dialogue with those institutions about the approval program and their unique role as leaders in our field and as consumers of baccalaureate chemistry graduates.
The committee released the 8th edition of "Planning for Graduate Work," a resource designed to advise undergraduates and international students. Also at this meeting, CPT organized a full-day presidential symposium on Excellence in Undergraduate Chemistry Education: A Global Perspective.
The committee completed a survey on faculty status and will release the final report on the survey early this fall. The survey was designed to capture information about the types of instructional staff (including tenure-track, permanent, and temporary), the courses taught by instructors in each category, and the percentage of women and underrepresented minorities in each type of position. This is the first survey aimed at measuring "Who's teaching whom?" in chemistry programs. CPT sent the survey to 1,012 chemistry programs in the U.S. and its territories and obtained a 42% response rate. The complete report and the data will be made available on the ACS website.
Plans to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Committee on Professional Training were completed. Everyone is invited to join CPT in celebrating this milestone at a symposium and reception at the ACS national meeting in Anaheim.—Cynthia K. Larive, Chair
The Publications Committee (PUBS) was briefed on the development and implementation of expert surveys, which will be included in journal monitoring reports and in the editor reappointment deliberations. The monitoring reports for ACS Nano, Journal of Organic Chemistry, and Journal of Proteome Research were presented, discussed thoroughly, and accepted. The committee deliberated regarding editor reappointments and submitted recommendations to the ACS Board of Directors. The next publications to be monitored will be Environmental Science & Technology and the Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry.
The committee voted to approve experimentation with Google to undertake algorithm-driven advertising on the journals Web edition platform. Advertising will appear on journal home pages and search results pages, including abstract pages accessed openly by nonsubscribers, but will not appear associated with the full text of published articles. The experiment is anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2010.
C&EN's first "news channel," the Environmental SCENE, was launched on July 1, 2010. C&EN Archives—the digital, fully searchable archive of C&EN from its debut in 1923 through 2010—will launch as a new Publications Division product in 2011.
Staff presented an overview of the revised Copyright Status Form–now called the Journal Publishing Agreement. The revised agreement expands and clarifies what authors are permitted to do with different versions of the manuscripts they submit for publication in ACS journals, and the conditions that apply for such use.—John N. Russell, Jr., Chair
The Committee on Public Relations & Communications (CPRC) reported on progress since the March meeting and identified several areas for new and continuing activity in social media and new technology, Chemistry Ambassadors, local section public relations, awards, and food chemistry events. In partnership with the Women Chemists Committee, CPRC will consider how to best utilize social media for communicating chemistry. The goal is to prepare a set of guidelines that ACS committees and other groups, such as Chemistry Ambassadors, can use to reach various audiences.
Tools and training for local section public relations chairs are another priority for the committee. CPRC members have contacted most PR chairs, offering support and assistance through starter grants, webinars, and Web-based tools. A workshop for PR chairs on Oct. 15–17 included content on how to publicize local section events, generate news coverage, and communicate with impact about chemistry.
The committee and staff continue to host receptions with a food chemistry theme for reporters covering ACS national meetings. In Boston, the theme was the chemistry of ballpark foods; the reception was held at nearby Fenway Park with chemists Shirley Corriher and Sara Risch. These events provide the basis for news stories that connect chemistry with everyday life.
The committee honored William Deese with the Helen Free Award for Public Outreach and presented the Delaware and Portland local sections with Chemluminary awards for new and ongoing public relations programs. CPRC plans to use its tools and programs to showcase IYC in 2011 and will encourage Chemistry Ambassadors and local section public relations chairs to do the same.—Cheryl B. Frech, Chair
The Committee on Science (ComSci) organized two symposia at the Boston national meeting on alternative energy systems (AES). One symposium focused on the science, economics, and policy issues related to advances in hydrogen, and the other focused on formal and informal education platforms on AES. ComSci is organizing three symposia for the Anaheim national meeting on AES education in community colleges and advances in solar and nuclear energy.
Two experts have agreed to serve as guest editors for the special issue on alternative energy systems in the ACS journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. ComSci is now recruiting additional guest editors. The committee has also begun to frame policy recommendations based upon the AES information gathered so far.
ComSci, in collaboration with the Multidisciplinary Program Planning Group and the ACS Green Chemistry Institute, organized a late-breaking, all-day symposium on the Gulf oil spill. ComSci has agreed to organize future late-breaking symposia on behalf of ACS in response to challenges and opportunities with broad scope and national and global implications.
ComSci has formalized its STEM task force with representation from other committees and divisions to move the STEM Education Pipeline to Innovation & Entrepreneurship initiative to the next level. The task force has established three goals and is planning a symposium in Anaheim.
ComSci conducted a brainstorming session on challenges and opportunities related to job creation and provided input to PA&PR and P&MR. Representatives from ComSci also participated in an intercommittee discussion forum on this subject.—Sadiq Shah, Chair
At the Boston meeting, the Women Chemists Committee (WCC) focused on its goal of developing women in the chemical enterprise. On Sunday, Aug. 22, WCC presented the symposium, Non-Tenure Track Faculty: Swimming Outside the Tenure Stream. The morning session featured speakers who told of their experiences and challenges, and the afternoon session featured ACS salary and employment data and early results of CPT's nationwide faculty survey.
On Monday, WCC hosted its signature Women in Industry Breakfast: "Let's Talk Careers," which featured career mentoring, and supported thematic programming with the afternoon symposium, "Women at the Forefront of Combating and Preventing Disease." Monday evening, WCC held its open meeting with the Joint Subcommittee on Diversity partner committees.
On Tuesday, the WCC, with the ACS Department of Diversity Programs, CMA, and the Younger Chemists Committee, presented the Women Chemists of Color (WCoC) Summit. The event included two presidential symposia designed to broaden awareness of challenges for women of color, gather more data, and provide a forum for building community. The afternoon symposium, organized by WCC, focused on midcareer issues.
Also on Tuesday, six recipients of the fall 2010 WCC/Eli Lilly & Co. Travel Award shared their research highlights at the WCC/Eli Lilly & Co. Poster Session and Reception, followed by the WCC Luncheon, where they were recognized along with Christine Bonvillian, the 10th Overcoming Challenges Award winner. The luncheon featured Donna Murasko of Drexel University as the keynote speaker.
Tuesday evening, WCC, with the ACS Division of Business Development & Management and CMA, hosted colleagues from the WCoC Summit at "Just Cocktails," a continuing informal networking initiative targeted at midcareer chemists.—Janet L. Bryant, Chair
The Younger Chemists Committee (YCC) recently selected nine recipients of the CIBA Young Scientists Travel Award; each received travel grants of $500 to attend ACS national or regional meetings to exhibit research and benefit from professional development. Applications are now being accepted through Oct. 31 for the next class of travel award winners. Additionally, Oct. 1 is the application deadline for the 2011 YCC Leadership Development Awards, which will provide funding for 15 younger chemists to participate in the annual ACS Leadership Institute, Jan. 21–23, 2011.
YCC hosted the 8th Annual 5K Fun Run in Boston, with the cosponsorship of the ACS Publications Division, ACS Member Insurance Programs, and the ACS Northeastern Local Section YCC. A total of 71 runners completed the race; the Fun Run has donated $3,000 to the ACS Scholars program over the past three years.
YCC is exploring an international younger chemists exchange program, inspired by the successful 10-year exchange between the Northeastern Local Section and the Young Chemists Forum of the German Chemical Society. YCC has created a partnership with the European Younger Chemists Network to institute both a virtual and physical exchange program, with the goal of helping both the U.S. and international younger chemists make connections and build professional relationships in other countries. In 2011, YCC will host a virtual exchange in Anaheim and a physical exchange in Denver, thanks to a grant from the Committee on Corporation Associates.
The YCC website has been updated with new content and features; please visit www.ycc.sites.acs.org.—Michael Hurrey, Chair
The Committee on Committees (ConC) announced that its annual training session for new committee chairs will be held as part of the ACS Leadership Institute, on Jan. 21–23, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas.
ConC received reports from its subcommittees or task forces on diversity, industrial chemists pipeline, leadership development, Web page, and senior chemists. It reviewed the proposed Committee Expense Reimbursement Policy of the Council Policy Committee-ConC task force and expressed support for the principle of reimbursement for noncouncilors. The Subcommittee on Industrial Chemists Pipeline was discharged, and a new subcommittee was established to investigate the governance pipeline with the goal of increasing overall participation in society leadership and governance.
Performance reviews for the committees on Ethics, Project SEED, and Publications are still under way, and recommendations for the continuation of these committees will appear in the council agenda for the fall national meeting in Denver. Council approved ConC's recommendation, subject to concurrence of the board of directors, that the Committee on Science be continued.
The committee has begun developing its recommendations for 2011 committee chairs, members, associates, and consultant appointments for consideration by the president-elect and the chair of the board.
Finally, on behalf of the council, ConC recognized 37 councilors who will have served the statutory limit or otherwise completed their service on ACS governance committees at the end of 2010, 11 committee chairs who will have served the statutory limit on the committee they chair, and 36 councilors observing 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, or 40 years as a councilor.—Les W. McQuire, Chair
The Committee on Nominations & Elections (N&E) reported that, based on feedback from the spring ACS Council meeting held in San Francisco, the Petition on President-Elect Eligibility was withdrawn.
N&E discussed candidate use of the ACS Network for campaigning and determined that this mode of campaigning is consistent with the existing guidelines.
N&E approved a Strategic Plan (2010–12) that defines the mission and duties of the committee. This plan will be posted on the committee's website in September.
An e-mail was sent to all local section and division officers reminding them to ensure that their elections are conducted in accordance with their bylaws. A copy of this message was included in the councilor bulletin.
Before each council meeting, members of N&E test the clicker systems. Councilors were invited to participate in the testing process that occurred on Tuesday afternoon before the council meeting.
Ballots for the 2010 fall national election were mailed on Sept. 24, with a voting deadline six weeks later, on Nov. 12. Members will have the option to vote electronically or by the traditional paper ballot. To encourage voter participation, our election vendor, VR Election Services, will send two e-mail reminders during the voting period to all eligible voters who have not voted as of those e-mail dates.
N&E requests that all councilors encourage fellow members to participate in the upcoming ACS national election. All ACS members will vote for president-elect, councilors will vote for director-at-large, and members of the appropriate districts will vote for district directors.
In its executive session, the Committee on Nominations & Elections developed slates of potential nominees for president-elect 2012 and directors of Districts III and VI for 2012–14, as well as a slate of potential candidates for director-at-large for 2012–14. The pertinent biographical information will appear in the council agenda book for the ACS national meeting in Anaheim.—Frank D. Blum, Chair
Since the spring meeting, the Committee on Constitution & Bylaws (C&B) has reviewed proposed bylaw changes and submitted preliminary reports to eight local sections and five Divisions. C&B is happy to announce that the committee is completely caught up with its backlog and currently has no bylaws under review.
The July 1 edition of Bulletin 5 is the authoritative version of the ACS Governing Documents and is available only on the Web: www.acs.org/bulletin5. A link to petitions, certified bylaws for all units, and useful guideline documents on how to update bylaws can also be found at this location.
C&B noted that if local section or Division bylaws were certified more than seven years ago, they probably don't have the proper language to allow for electronic balloting. To update bylaws and bring them in compliance with current business practices, please e-mail the C&B office at bylaws@acs.org.
C&B presented one petition for action: the Petition on Recorded Votes, which was approved by council. Regarding procedures for handling recorded votes, C&B is working with CPC's Subcommittee on C&B, in order for CPC to address this issue. There were no petitions for consideration in Boston.
New petitions to amend the Constitution or Bylaws must be received by the Executive Director of the society by December 8 to be included in the council agenda for consideration at the spring 2011 meeting in Anaheim.—Alan M. Ehrlich, Chair
The Divisional Activities Committee (DAC) approved 15 Innovative Project Grant (IPG) proposals from 13 divisions, totaling $102,400. DAC will consider another set of IPG proposals at the Anaheim national meeting in March. In order to have their proposals considered by DAC in Anaheim, divisions must submit them no later than February 1, 2011.
Operating as a DAC subcommittee, the Multidisciplinary Program Planning Group (MPPG) has approved the following themes for upcoming national meetings:
Progress is being made to improve the Program & Abstract Creation System (PACS). The majority of the shortcomings in this software have been corrected, and those remaining are being addressed, which makes it likely that the experience of Anaheim program chairs and session organizers will be markedly better than that of previous users.
DAC was briefed on the recent activities of the Electronic Dissemination of Meeting Content Task Force. Before year-end, the task force will report its recommendations for managing this initiative with respect to ACS meetings. In the meantime, approximately 360 recorded presentations from the Boston national meeting will be made available online to Boston meeting registrants on Sept. 10, and to the general ACS membership on Sept. 24.
DAC congratulates the following divisions for winning a 2010 ChemLuminary Award: Agricultural & Food Chemistry, Computers in Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Nuclear Chemistry & Technology.—David J. Lohse, Chair
The Committee on Economic & Professional Affairs (CEPA) focused on job creation and retention. There were increased numbers of employers at the Career Fair, as well as online job listings in the ACS Careers Jobs Database. However, the job market is still observing the effects of the massive mergers and acquisitions that have taken place in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Furthermore, CEPA is aware that large companies are highly capitalized, which indicates that more mergers and acquisitions are likely in the coming years.
Results from ACS Career Fair in Boston
Job Seekers: 1,074
Employers: 68
Positions Available: 484
A recent survey of employers indicates that many are starting to hire; however, most do not have enough open positions to justify participating in a national career fair. As well, many of our members cannot afford to travel to national and regional meetings to attend career fairs. To better accommodate employer and job seeker needs, ACS Careers hosted a Virtual Career Fair on Nov. 2–3. The virtual fair will feature an interactive platform, text and video chat, webinars and 24/7 availability with no associated travel costs.
At the CEPA Public Policy Focus Group held last spring in San Francisco, the overwhelming concern was job creation and retention. Secondary issues mentioned include immigration, education, retirement security, and sustainability.
CEPA developed several recommendations related to public policies to support scientific job creation. These recommendations were forwarded to the Board Committees on Public Affairs & Public Relations (PA&PR) and Professional & Member Relations (P&MR) for consideration.—Lynne P. Greenblatt, Chair
The Committee on Local Section Activities (LSAC) presented the 2009 Awards for Outstanding Performance by Local Sections at the 12th Annual ChemLuminary Awards celebration. The winners were Chicago, San Diego, Cincinnati, Nashville, Brazosport, and Penn-Ohio Border.
Three other awards were presented: "Stimulating Membership Involvement" to the San Diego Section, "Most Innovative New Activity or Program" to the Southern Arizona Section, and the first Local Section Partnership award to the Syracuse Section.
The award for "Collaboration Between a Local Section and Division" was presented to the Savannah River Section and the Division of Nuclear Chemistry & Technology.
Fourteen Innovative Project Grant applications were approved. Notifications will be made in mid-September. The next submission deadline is Jan. 31, 2011.
Bridging the Gap minigrants for IYC 2011 activities and for Student Involvement are now available. LSAC encourages local sections to apply for grants to host an ACS leadership development course for their members and for grants to start Science Cafes. Visit www.acs.org/sciencecafes for more resource materials. Information on all grants can be found at www.acs.org/getinvolved.
The Online Speaker Directory (speakers.acs.org) is available for planning. Sections and individuals should e-mail speakers@acs.org to recommend speakers and to request assistance for 2011 planning.
Council passed two territorial change motions: the Northeast Oklahoma Local Section will include the territory of the North Central Oklahoma Local Section upon its dissolution on Dec. 31, and the Binghamton Local Section will include the territory of the Norwich Local Section upon its dissolution on Dec. 31.—Lee H. Latimer, Chair
The Committee on Meetings & Expositions (M&E) reported that the ACS national meeting in Boston hosted 14,151 attendees. More than 90% of the divisions participating in this meeting were able to hold technical programming in or near the convention center. The exposition had 451 booths and 329 exhibiting companies and exceeded projected revenue. The expo had 56 first-time exhibitors—the highest number of new exhibitors in ACS meeting history.
M&E thanks attendees for their commitment to helping fulfill the hotel block obligations. The Westin Copley Place is the only hotel where bookings were much lower than ACS expected , and the committee is negotiating with the Westin to reduce the resulting $45,000 penalty.
M&E also reports that the attendees surveyed after the spring meeting in San Francisco gave an approval rating of 95%. These survey results, and the very high attendance at that meeting, are indications that national meetings should continue to be held in San Francisco.
The M&E site subcommittee has been working with the Sustainability Shareholders Steering Group Action Team on greening the national meetings and has partnered with a company that will work with our hotels, the convention center, and every vendor working at the meeting to measure our sustainability efforts in Boston. Collection of these data will give M&E a benchmark for progress in moving toward a sustainable green meeting. Data from this report will be shared during the council meeting in Anaheim.
M&E presented its award for Outstanding Regional Meeting during the ChemLuminary awards in Boston. Awards were made to the Southeast Regional Meeting 2008, hosted by the Nashville Section, and to the Northwest Regional Meeting 2009, hosted by the Puget Sound Section.—William R. Oliver, Chair
The student nember community has continued to grow since creation of that new member category in June 2009. The number of student members was 12,815 as of July 31, 2010. The 2010 membership numbers are on track to exceed the 2009 year-end total.
To facilitate membership growth and retention, the Membership Affairs Committee (MAC) announced two new electronic benefits: gradstudent.acs.org, a virtual membership recruiting site uniquely designed for graduate students, and the membership Renewal Express, www.renew.acs.org, a fast, easy, improved way to pay dues online.
Beginning in June 2010, the former Admissions Committee's duties were incorporated into the MAC subcommittee on Recruitment & Admissions. In Boston, MAC approved an updated ACS membership application process.
While the committee continues to publicize member benefits via multiple media, we still receive feedback that some members are not aware of the value of ACS membership. One of the ways that MAC hopes to address this issue is by directly working with local section and division recipients of Innovative Program Grants that deal with membership recruiting and retention activities.
The committee formulated input for the ACS Strategic Plan for 2011 and Beyond, goal two, Engaging the Global Community. The sense of the group was that the plan as proposed overemphasizes the society's focus on international, meaning outside of the U.S., versus global, meaning inclusive of the U.S. The committee will submit a formal response to the Board Committee on Planning with full recommendations.
After two meetings at which a shortened one-day, Sunday meeting format was tested, the consensus of MAC was that the new schedule is a success.—D. Richard Cobb, Chair
The Ethics Education subcommittee reported that it continues to develop and refine ethics case studies into a form suitable for use as instructional resources. A set of 12 new case studies designed specifically to address issues of interest to chemical professionals is scheduled to be on the committee website soon.
The Ethics Awareness subcommittee continues to index materials that are already available on the Web and that are of particular interest to ACS members and chemical professionals. Individual ethics committee members will contact ACS committees and divisions to identify any ethics-related materials already developed by these units with the goal of highlighting these efforts on the ethics committee website. Talks are ongoing with ACS information technology personnel with regard to hosting an ethics search engine on the committee's webpage. Such a search engine would greatly facilitate inquiries from chemical professionals regarding professional ethics.
Several new symposia were announced for the Anaheim meeting. Ethics will partner with Professional & Member Relations in a symposium focused on conflict of interest in graduate education, as well as with the Committee on Chemical Safety in a symposium highlighting institutional differences in safety.
The committee is sponsoring (with the Division of Professional Relations) a symposium at Pacifichem 2010 titled "Cultural Influences on Professional Ethics." This symposium will explore the influence of a student's local or national culture on his or her ability to integrate into the professional culture of the country in which the student ultimately finds employment.—David J. Chesney, Chair
In Boston, the Committee on Nomenclature, Terminology & Symbols (NTS) discussed the current situation with the redefinition of the kilogram and the mole.
The proposed redefinitions of the kilogram and the mole are intentionally worded to make them independent of the method or methods used to determine the corresponding SI Base Unit. For example, the proposed redefinition of the kilogram based on the Planck constant does not explain how the kilogram is related to the Planck constant.
The impact of the proposed redefinition of the mole is more problematic as it requires that the mass of carbon-12 will become an experimental quantity rather than exactly 12 by definition. The molar mass constant will also change. Even though neither of these changes is expected to be more than a few parts per billion, they will have a profound impact on some fields of chemistry, including chemical education.
After lengthy discussion, the committee agreed that the chemical community had been largely left out of the considerations and that there is no clear path to express its concerns. Nonetheless, the committee will continue its efforts and make alternative suggestions through correspondence and publications.
Other topics on the agenda included discussion about liaisons with ACS divisions and non-ACS committees and resources for doing so; task force reports; improvements to the NTS website; IYC 2011 activities; and the relation of committee activities to ACS goals and metrics.—Peter F. Rusch, Chair
The Project SEED program offers real-world research opportunities for high school students from economically disadvantaged families. Since 1968, the program has had a significant impact on the lives of about 9,000 students and their families. This summer, Project SEED placed 451 students in more than 125 academic, government, and industrial laboratories, where they conducted research under the supervision of volunteer mentors.
Project SEED awarded 33 college scholarships for the 2010–11 academic year, and three of the last year's SEED scholarship winners were awarded Ciba scholarships.
In Boston, 69 students presented their research results at SciMix. At the ChemLuminary Awards, the Indiana Local Section was recognized with the 2009 award for the Outstanding Project SEED Program.
As a result of the commitment and hard work by everyone involved, ranging from SEED mentors to major advocates, the program has seen record-setting participation. The success would not have been possible without very important financial contributions from friends and members. Due to the current economic situation, the committee approved a temporary $300 reduction in student stipends, making them $2,500 and $3,000 for SEED I and SEED II, respectively. Although it is very likely that we will not be able to support the current level of student participation next summer, the committee believes that the stipend reduction will limit cuts in the number of students who can participate in the program.
The committee would like to remind all members that they can support this remarkable program by providing financial support to their local SEED program and continuing to use the dues check-off option on the ACS membership renewal form.—Joshua J. Pak, Chair
During the meeting in Boston, the Committee on Technician Affairs (CTA) was honored to present various awards to members who have served the applied chemical technology field:
◾ The Best Overall Technician Group Award was given to the Northeast Tennessee Section of ACS for dedication to community service; introducing more students to science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines; and providing continuing education opportunities.
◾ Donna Friedman was honored with the Distinguished Service Award for her efforts within ACS, particularly through the former Division of Chemical Technicians, where as treasurer she played a vital role in facilitating the seamless dissolution of the division.
◾ With great honor, CTA bestowed upon Richard Cobb the K. Michael Shea Special Recognition Award for years of ardent support and promotion of the chemical sciences. This award is in memory of a remarkable individual–Michael Shea–who routinely went above the call of duty to advance the applied chemical technology profession.
◾ CTA is also pleased to note that two former committee chairs—John Engelman and V. Michael Mautino—were recently inducted into the ACS Fellows class of 2010.
The committee has been working diligently to bring more products and services to applied chemical technology professionals. The committee met to plan future programs that will provide professional development opportunities in a format that will be accessible to a broader base of technology professionals.
In addition to participating in IYC 2011 "365: Chemistry for Life" program, CTA is seeking other opportunities to support ongoing activities in 2011.
With the dissolution of the TECH division, applied chemical technology professionals have found a venue for programming within the Applied Chemical Technology Subdivision of the Industrial & Engineering Chemistry division. CTA is actively cosponsoring programming with ACTS for the 2011 ACS Spring Meeting.—John K. Barrett, Chair
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