Over 200 chemists expected for mass line dance celebrating the International Year of Chemistry, March 28, in Anaheim

Press may attend and film the event, 7:30 to 8 p.m. Pacific Time, Hall B of the Anaheim Convention Center

ANAHEIM, March 23, 2011 — In business suits, lab coats and possibly dressed as everything from magnesium to Marie Curie, more than 200 chemists will kick up their heels for the 2011 International Year of Chemistry (IYC) with a mass line dance and original rap at the Anaheim Convention Center on March 28.

For a sneak preview, full music and lyrics, visit: www.acs.org/iyc2011/chemistscandance

Final YouTube footage of Chemists Can DANCE! will be posted at: http://bit.ly/ChemDance (by March 29, 4 p.m. PDT)

Here’s an excerpt from the rap lyrics:

“Chemistry – the central science, building blocks of life
Engineering new solutions, rid the world of its strife
We’re part of the solution, we ain’t no precipitate,
This is the chemistry dance, now get up and participate.”

© 2011 by the American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

The dancers are members of the world’s largest scientific society, the American Chemical Society (ACS), and are in Anaheim for the Society’s 241^st national meeting and exposition, where they will report on latest research in medicine, energy, materials, and the environment.

The music and dance are the original creation of 2010 International Chemistry Olympians Richard Li and Utsarga Sikder. Li, originally of Clarksville, Md., currently attends Stanford University; Sikder, a high-school senior from Monmouth Junction, N.J., has also been accepted to Stanford University.

“The dance is a fun way to make an important point: chemistry plays a central role in improving the daily life of humankind,” ACS President Nancy B. Jackson, Ph.D., said. “Whether you’re talking about investigating treatments for autism, understanding global warming, creating films to improve solar cell efficiency, or developing organic semiconductors to create flexible electronics, chemistry is at the heart of daily life for all of us. In 2011, the International Year of Chemistry, it’s really up to us to remind the world of the importance – and the wonder – of chemistry. It is, truly, the central science.”

The U.N.-designated International Year of Chemistry is an initiative of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and has the support of chemistry associations and societies worldwide. The U.N. chose 2011 to celebrate IYC as it marks 100 years since Madame Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for her studies of radioactivity. Through this anniversary IYC will emphasize the important contributions women have made in the sciences.

In addition to highlighting chemistry’s past achievements, international celebrations of IYC will communicate chemistry’s central role in solving current world challenges for clean water, sufficient food sustainable energy, human health and that of our planet. IYC will also strive to increase interest in chemistry among young people and generate public enthusiasm for the creativity chemistry solutions often provide whether that be green engineering for solar power, nanotechnology for delivering medicines in the human body, or safer bicycle helmets.

ACS will focus its IYC activities along four thematic areas including energy, environment, materials, and health, and these themes will form the backbone for an online resource: 365: Chemistry for Life! The website will cover important elements, compounds, discoveries, processes, noteworthy chemists, and chemistry innovations that reveal just how important chemistry is to daily life.

For more information about ACS activities for IYC, visit: www.acs.org/iyc2011. To learn more about the IYC Global Water Experiment, which launched on March 22, 2011, visit: http://water.chemistry2011.org.

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