Peter Dorhout is 2017 ACS President-Elect

Peter K. Dorhout, Vice President for Research at Kansas State University, has been elected the 2017 American Chemical Society president-elect by members of ACS. Dorhout will serve as president of the society in 2018 and immediate past-president in 2019; he will also serve on the board of directors during that time.     

With 10,407 votes, Dorhout won the race against Thomas R. Gilbert, acting chair of the department of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern University, who received 7,319 votes. The society, which publishes C&EN, also elected or reelected four other board directors.

“I’m humbled and grateful for the support of the membership,” Dorhout says. “They have given me an opportunity and a tremendous responsibility to help lead this organization.”

“I’ve had the opportunity to visit with a lot of members over the course of this year at national meetings, at the regional meetings, and I’ve learned a lot about what people are concerned about. Young folks are concerned about finding that first job, and when I have polled the individuals, they often don’t realize the resources that ACS has.

“I would like to have regular virtual town hall meetings as president elect to just hear from the membership, what are the things they’re most concerned about and what ideas do they have to help us out,” Dorhout continues. “I think there are a lot of talented members that have given a lot of thought to our position in the world, and I want to open the doors to communicate with them.”

In other election news, Christina C. Bodurow, senior director of external sourcing in the medicines development unit at Eli Lilly & Co. in Indianapolis, was elected director of District II, defeating incumbent George M. Bodner, Arthur E. Kelly Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University.

And Rigoberto Hernandez, professor of chemistry at Johns Hopkins University, was re-elected director of District IV, edging out Larry K. Krannich, executive director of the Alabama Academy of Science in Birmingham.

Kathleen M. Schulz, president of Business Results in Albuquerque, and Dorothy J. Phillips, who is retired from Waters Corp., were elected director-at-large. They won over Joseph A. Heppert, associate vice chancellor for research at the University of Kansas, and Kristin M. Omberg, group leader in the Chemical & Biological Signature Science Group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Some 17,726 valid votes were cast for President-Elect. Voter participation for president-elect was more than 11.62% of all eligible voters.

Additional information about the winners can be found in the candidates’ statements.

RESULTS

Voting breakdown for fall 2016 ACS elections