This week hundreds of American Chemical Society members across the country are directing an array of activities aimed at increasing the public's awareness of the role chemistry plays in daily life. After months of planning and anticipation, National Chemistry Week (NCW) is finally here, and it's probably ACS's biggest public relations effort ever. All 183 local sections of ACS are staging events in public places, especially targeted at the nation's youth, who in recent years seem to be turning away from studies of science and mathematics. Local section events range from the simple to the complex, from displaying posters and exhibits in shopping malls to holding contests on chemistry among high schoolers, from conducting chemical plant tours to producing videotapes explaining everyday contacts with chemistry. In addition, 6 million copies of a 12-page tabloid-style newspaper supplement were scheduled to be inserted in yesterday's editions of 13 major newspapers in the U.S. The supplement, titled Solutions ...