Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative

Abstract

As I begin my third and final year as chair of the American Chemical Society Women Chemists Committee (WCC), I want to share some thoughts about navigating the past and future. The COVID-19 pandemic created challenges and opportunities during my term. Vaccines and variants became part of our everyday vocabulary. The term zooming morphed to refer to virtual meetings instead of describing traffic on the highway. For many, working from home and hybrid work became the new reality. Masked people entered stores, not as thieves, but to search for mostly unavailable products. The usual sources of solace became muddled by uncertainty. Wanting to leave you with an uplifting message, I pondered the words of Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer in their hit jazz tune “Accentuate the Positive.” Released after World War II and sung by generations of entertainers, the song has lyrics that provide encouragement: You’ve got to accentuate the