American Chemical Society Committee Research Articles

Call for nominations for ACS-CEI Award for Incorporation of Sustainability into Chemical Education

The American Chemical Society Committee on Environment and Sustainability (ACS-CEI) seeks third-party and self-nominations for the ACS-CEI Award for Incorporation of Sustainability into Chemical Education. This award recognizes groups or individuals that have made exemplary contributions to the incorporation of sustainability into chemical education for K–12 students and teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, or the general public. Focus areas for the award include green chemistry, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and systems thinking. Awardees will be expected to present invited talks at a selected conference. More information can be found at cenm.ag/acs-cei-award . The nomination deadline is Sept. 30.

Welcome to the future of membership

I hope you have been following along over the last 4 years as the American Chemical Society Committee on Membership Affairs (MAC), governance colleagues, and staff have modernized the ACS membership model. As many of you will have experienced firsthand by now, and others will shortly as they come up for the 2022 membership renewal, this extensive transformation of the membership experience was fully realized on January 1, 2022. This transformation positions ACS to bring together chemists and allied professionals to cultivate a stronger and more engaged community that will be exemplary among scientific organizations in its vibrancy, scale, and diversity. A big thank you is due to you, ACS members, for your passion over these last few years. Your refreshing comments, guidance, and gratitude kept us focused on why we were transforming ACS membership. I have received a few questions around the exact details of the transformation, and I

CMA announces Pfizer Travel Award winners

The American Chemical Society Committee on Minority Affairs (CMA) is proud to announce the first 10 winners of the Pfizer Travel Award for spring 2022. Five undergraduate and five graduate students received $2,000 each to attend ACS Spring 2022 in San Diego and present their research posters during the Office of DEIR Reception Honoring NOBCChE’s 50th Anniversary. This award is part of Pfizer’s 2-year pledge of $100,000 to diversify science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. To be eligible, students must be from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group (including but not limited to Black, Hispanic, Latino, and Indigenous students), have a physical or cognitive disability, or identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Students are selected on the basis of their academic and research achievements, the potential benefit that conference attendance can have on their career, and interest and engagement in the chemistry and broader STEM enterprise. The 2022

Building a sustainable future for all

Every American Chemical Society committee, division, and local section can go through the strategic planning process. An important step in the process is developing the mission and vision for your organization. The ACS Committee on Environmental Improvement (CEI) completed its strategic plan in August, and our vision is “Chemistry for a sustainable world.” This vision belongs not to the 30 members of CEI but to all of us. Similar to CEI’s vision, the United Nations sustainable development goals (UN SDGs) are a call to ensure our actions today do not compromise the ability of our children and future generations to meet their own needs. ACS has chosen to highlight 9 of the 17 UN SDGs to which we, as chemical professionals, are uniquely able to contribute. We have the tools and ability to provide clean water and sanitation in every community, just as we can help supply clean and affordable

Thomas R. Beattie dies at 81

Thomas R. Beattie, founding chair of the American Chemical Society Committee on Senior Chemists, has died at age 81. He is remembered for his legacy of service to ACS and as a dedicated friend, leader, and mentor to members of the ACS San Diego Section. Beattie earned a BS in chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, later completing a PhD at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in physical organic chemistry. After a stint as a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he began a 27-year career at Merck Research Laboratories in Rahway, New Jersey, working in early-stage drug discovery. In 1993, Beattie retired early from Merck and moved to San Diego, where he worked as a biopharmaceutical consultant. Beattie was a councilor for the ACS San Diego Section for more than 20 years. He served as the section’s chair in 1999; that year, the section took home a ChemLuminary

Collaborations advance ACS chemical safety programs

Many of us in the safety community say, “Safety is no accident,” and, “Safety is an active verb.” The members of the American Chemical Society Committee on Chemical Safety (CCS) and the Division of Chemical Health and Safety (CHAS) are exemplars of the commitment to the core ACS value of safety. We are passionate about safety. We care and want everyone to care about safety as much as we do. This cadre of dedicated safety professionals, chemistry educators, researchers, and ACS staff has been actively collaborating, developing, and producing authoritative safety resources for the community. The Committee on Chemical Safety has been a catalyst and promoter of this work, which not only benefits ACS and its members but also extends to the wider chemical enterprise. The guideposts of the CCS are stated in its strategic plan. Its mission is to provide collaborative leadership and resources to advance chemical safety. Its

A strong and stable IP system incentivizes tools to combat COVID-19

The American Chemical Society Committee on Patents and Related Matters (CPRM) provides information and guidance to ACS and the broader chemistry community about patent and other intellectual property (IP) issues. During the pandemic, the world witnessed the power of science and innovation, including the creation of mRNA vaccines. The rapid deployment of these technologies was made possible by years of innovations incentivized by IP systems worldwide. This system has always played a vital role in incentivizing the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel scientific technologies that benefit not only those rewarded with IP rights but also the public. However, some have argued that our IP system is a hindrance and has contributed to the worldwide vaccine shortage, particularly in developing countries. At an October 2020 World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting, India and South Africa proposed waiving certain IP protections provided by the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property

The future of ACS membership

The American Chemical Society Committee on Membership Affairs (MAC) remains focused on ensuring that our membership stays vibrant, relevant, and useful to chemical scientists and engineers worldwide. Our market tests, research, surveys, panels, simulations, and our members all articulated the need for ACS to offer new membership options to meet the changing needs of our diverse community. We are thrilled that after nearly 3 years of work, the transformative 2022 schedule of membership was approved by the ACS Council and adopted by the ACS Board of Directors this past spring. This change to our governing documents is a huge stride in our journey to provide a modern membership experience. It positions ACS to cultivate a strong and large community of chemists and allied professionals unsurpassed in vibrancy, scale, and diversity. Thank you to the countless champions who have partnered, supported, advocated, and challenged us on this journey. I am proud

Nita “Qiuyun” Xu wins chemical technician award

Nita “Qiuyun” Xu, an R&D/TS&D technologist at Dow, is the recipient of the 2021 National Chemical Technician Award, presented by the American Chemical Society Committee on Technician Affairs. The award honors excellence and professionalism among technicians, operators, analysts, and other applied chemical technology professionals. Xu’s expertise includes synthesis of complex small molecules and formulation of intricate polyurethane systems for adhesive and sealant applications. Her work has resulted in numerous commercialized products and publications, including 10 granted patents. “Nita is talented and passionate about product development and innovation, with versatile expertise and dedication to team success,” says Will Koonce, senior R&D director at Dow Polyurethanes. “Her excellent contributions have translated into strong sustained business impact for Dow’s Voramer binders as well as the recently launched and award-winning Diamondlock adhesives and sealants product lines.”

Committee on Minority Affairs: Advancing the chemical enterprise through the inclusion of underrepresented groups

Since its inception in 1993, the American Chemical Society Committee on Minority Affairs (CMA) has worked to help increase the proportion of underrepresented groups in the chemical sciences and hel...

Improving diversity, inclusion, and respect on ACS committees

The American Chemical Society Committee on Committees (ConC) enables a dynamic and effective committee system by ensuring that our committees are optimally organized, resourced, and engaged. Our committees ensure that the ACS Board of Directors and the ACS Council can carry out their responsibilities in support of ACS’s mission and address broad topics such as outreach and advocacy, member and professional development, education, diversity, science, and operational excellence. Their work affects members, chemistry professionals, educators, and our communities. Ideally, the demographic makeup of committees should reflect society as a whole, and hopefully ACS reflects that as well. We know that some voices and perspectives are underrepresented in ACS committees. According to an unpublished survey by ConC , approximately 750 ACS members are on Council-related committees, and only 5% self-identify as Black, 5% as Latino(a)/Hispanic , 5% as Asian, and 0.5% as Indigenous people, well below their representation in the US

Insights Gained into Marginalized Students Access Challenges During the COVID-19 Academic Response

The American Chemical Society (ACS) Committee on Minority Affairs (CMA) endeavors to support all chemistry faculty and staff as they educate all of our students during this pandemic. While the chemistry education community and the ACS have both provided resources as most institutions transitioned to virtual platforms, this pandemic disproportionally affects our students of color, lower socio-economic and rural backgrounds, and students with disabilities. Specifically, these students must overcome hurdles of technology access, environmental disruptions, and cultural pressures in order to be successful. Therefore, CMA has formulated partnerships with both academic and industrial institutions to highlight some best practices to improve future virtual learning experiences of these oftentimes marginalized students. Specifically, the work presented here examines programs and policies at three academic institutions with very different student body demographics and surrounding learning environments (Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), and Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD)) with an attempt to identify variables that enhance marginalized student success in chemistry courses. The combination of their results suggests elements such as access to technology, home responsibility, and impostor syndrome, that other learning programs should consider to increase virtual learning success. Furthermore, other stopgap measures implemented at industrial partners give insight as to how these considerations can be implemented during virtual internship programs to meet their learning objectives associated with entering their institutional pipeline.

How COVID-19 has put accessibility front and center

As I prepared to put the finishing touches on the American Chemical Society Committee on Chemists with Disabilities (CWD) agenda in late February this year, it became apparent that the ACS national...

Considering ethics during a time of crisis

So much can change in a short time. In February 2019, I wrote a C&EN Comment describing the activities of the American Chemical Society Committee on Ethics and encouraging local sections to develop...

IUBMB/PSBMB 2019 Conference/Plenary: National Program Accreditation. Does it help drive change and support faculty and student or does it limit our creativity?

Accreditation of academic programs and recognition of student degrees provide academic institutions a measure of a set of community agreed upon standards. These can aid pedagogical change, support faculty to successfully engage students in their discipline and to provide a mechanism to maintain standards. Several professional scientific societies from engineering, chemistry, and biochemistry and molecular biology have developed standards by which departments can be recognized for accreditation. As one of the members of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology who helped develop the accreditation and standardized exams and a committee member of the American Chemical Society's Committee on Professional Training I will present the evolution of the accreditation process, discuss the benefits and challenges with being an accreditation. How these programs serve their communities and at times can hinder or be used to support potential creativity and teaching pedagogies will also be discussed.

John Stelter wins chemical technician award

John Stelter, an advanced laboratory technologist at 3M, is the recipient of the 2020 National Chemical Technician Award. The award, administered by the American Chemical Society Committee on Techn...

Looking ahead with the ACS Committee on Science

What does the American Chemical Society Committee on Science (ComSci) do? If you ask the ACS membership, it’s likely that a large majority would have little idea, as did I before I began serving on the committee. What I learned is that the committee has a broad range of responsibilities that impact the society in multiple ways. In early 2018, under the guidance of our past chair, Mark Cesa, ComSci developed its most recent strategic plan, which established a revised framework in which to accomplish its mission and vision. We developed an aspirational vision statement: “Engage the global/broader chemistry enterprise to build a better tomorrow.” How we accomplish that is reflected in our mission: “To identify new frontiers of chemistry, examine the scientific basis of and formulate public policies related to the chemical sciences, and recognize outstanding chemical scientists,” which reflects the committee’s primary charges. One of our approaches to

A monumental year for international activities

It’s a monumental year for the global chemistry enterprise. The United Nations designated 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT2019). This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC100). As chair of the American Chemical Society Committee on International Activities (IAC), I encourage members of ACS and our sister scientific societies to celebrate throughout 2019 and beyond. IAC is a joint board-council committee that assists scientists and engineers worldwide “to communicate and collaborate for the good of the chemical and chemically related sciences, chemical engineering, and their practitioners.” A key part of achieving this objective is to encourage ACS members to participate in events by our sister societies, as well as in activities of our international chapters and student chapters. This year, such activities include IYPT2019 and IUPAC100. In December 2017, the UN General Assembly approved

Supporting students and chemists with disabilities

When I was asked to serve as chair of the American Chemical Society Committee on Chemists with Disabilities (CWD), my gut reaction was “Wow, that’s a lot of work!” After a bit of reflection, I began to think about the impact that our committee could have on the culture and atmosphere within ACS. When I was 18 years old, I had a traumatic accident that resulted in the loss of my left arm and right leg. During my rehabilitation, I struggled to feel comfortable with a career path that would fit with my newly acquired disability. Fortunately, I had role models who had successfully adapted to life “after.” This was a critical juncture in my development because it showed me that any excuse for not moving forward was invalid and that it was possible to achieve success in my college courses and subsequently the workplace. This is an example of

ACS honors its 2019 volunteers of the year

The American Chemical Society Committee on Community Activities (CCA) has named its 2019 Outreach Volunteers of the Year. This year’s awardees are the following: Maria Alvim Gaston of the Indiana Local Section, Kaoru Aou of the Brazosport Local Section, Mark Benvenuto of the Detroit Local Section, Julian Bobb of the Virginia Section, Ivana Brekalo of the Chemical Society of Washington, Angel Colón Santiago of the Puerto Rico Section, Patrice Cusatis of the Mid-Hudson Section, Holly Davis of the Georgia Section, J. Corinne DeMuth of the Northeastern Ohio Local Section, Rick Ewing of the Philadelphia Section, George Farrant of the Maryland Section, Christina Forbes of the Central Arizona Section, Chanel Fortier of the Louisiana Local Section, Dawn Friesen of the Greater Houston Section, Connie Gabel of the Colorado Local Section, Brian Gibney of the New York Section, Melinda Greer of the Dayton Section, Benjamin Haenni of the LaCrosse-Winona Section, Fran Kravitz