ACS Division Innovative Project Grant Recipients

Past IPG Successes

Innovative Project Grants are funded by the Divisional Activities Committee to experiment with new ideas and approaches to engaging members. Every division that receives an IPG files a report on their activity and the outcomes.

For a list of IPG grants awarded prior to those listed on this page, please email DAC@acs.org.

Learn more about Division Innovative Project (IPG) Grants.


Fall 2021 Awards

BIOL

More Bang for our Buck: BIOL Strategic Planning for 2022

The goal of the SPR will be to create a 5-year plan that lays out our vision and priorities. The SPR will involve 10-15 people including elected DBC leaders, students and engaged DBC members. We will have diversity (gender, ethnic. scientific focus, career stage) in the participants. We will hold our SPR using ACS facilitators on March 19 and 20, 2022 in San Diego associated with the Spring ACS meeting to lower costs and facilitate participation.

BIOT

Increasing Student Engagement in BIOT

In partnership with the European Society of Biochemical Engineering, we will launch a signature event for domestic and international students during BIOT programming at the San Diego meeting: a “BioDesign-a-Thon”. A design problem is posted (e.g., “Design a commercial in vitro transcription process to make mRNA at 1 gram/batch”); teams of 3 or 4 work overnight in a conference room with access to bioprocess design software and the internet, periodic access to expert consultants, refreshments, and audience space; an expert panel selects the top three designs the next morning; the top three make short presentations at noon where 1st, 2nd and 3rd place are awarded by the panel and audience. The BioDesign-a-Thon will replace the BIOTESBES Student Design Competition, a technical report-based competition with a high attrition rate due to the year-long time commitment. The BioDesign-a-Thon limits effort to a short, intense burst, encouraging broader participation and generating excitement.

BIOT

Igniting BIOT Social Media to Increase Members Engagement

Based on a 2018 survey, a majority of BIOT members did not feel very involved or not involved at all with BIOT in the past year (163 respondents). A lack of virtual programming and content has immensely contributed to the 20% decrease in membership since last year. BIOT needs to ignite its social media presence to promote member involvement and attract new membership to the division. This will be achieved through the development of a social media strategy which will curate content to the interest of BIOT members as well as ignite an online community within the ever-growing biotechnology industry world-wide. Currently, BIOT has 2573 members with 321 followers on Twitter and approximately 1000 followers on LinkedIn.

CARB/CELL

2023 CELL-CARB Symposium on Glycoscience

Our divisions, CELL and CARB, propose to collaborate to organize a two-day symposium for the 2023 ACS Spring Meeting in Indianapolis, IN, entitled “Transforming Glycoscience: Where do we stand?” The symposium is intended to bring together senior leaders and promising new investigators from both divisions to assess progress that has been made toward the goals of the NRC roadmap. The symposium will conclude with a round table directed at young investigators to discuss were more progress in the field needs to be made and identify key objectives for the next 10 years.

CATL

Open-Source Software Workshops

This project involves hosting an inaugural series of workshops on freely available open source softwares of relevance to our division. Three workshops will be held in the days preceding ACS National meetings for Spring 2022, Fall 2022, and Spring 2023. This is a critical time in the history of our field and the project will seek to fulfill several goals: a) To increase education among our membership about the open softwares so that this may facilitate research progress. b) To experiment with workshop formats to see if this is a better forum than oral presentations for researchers whose work involves creating open softwares, c) to enhance the research inclusivity of our field, d) to recruit and retain members

CHAS

"CSL in a Box" - Introduction to the Chemical Safety Library

This project will create a "CSL in a Box" as a self-directed resource, providing guidance and materials needed to run a CSL Safety Day Workshop and Datathon on local campuses. We have partnered with CSHEMA to identify campuses which are interested in hosting such an event. Resources from this grant would go towards preparing a self-contained package of teaching materials, programming suggestions, marketing aids (invitation letters, promotional posters, etc.), recommended success measurements, and prizes that would allow university campus librarians, EH&S staff, ChemClub, student group or other interested campus community to host and run a CSL Safety Day Workshop and Datathon.

ENFL

The First U.S.-Europe Symposium on Energy

The first U.S.-Europe symposium on energy is being planned with Energy and Fuels (ENFL) program in the ACS 2022 Fall National Meeting (Aug. 2022) at Chicago. The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) and the European Chemical Society (EuChemS) will be cosponsors. Dr. Yun Hang Hu (Charles and Carroll McArthur Endowed Chair Professor, Michigan Technological University, USA) and Dr. Mario Pagliaro (Research Director, National Research Council of Italy) are co-organizers. The symposium will be a forum for active scientists and engineers from U.S. and Europe to present their latest findings and innovations for energy conversion and utilization. Leaders and policy makers from Industry and governments are also expected to present at the symposium. The symposium will also provide a unique opportunity for them to exchange ideas that would lead to some collaborations between two places.

ORGN

DOC Career & Mentoring Video Series

The DOC hosted a Diversity & Inclusion “listening session” at the spring ACS Meeting where attendees indicated interest in 1) mentoring and sharing information about different chemistry careers, 2) increasing video/online content (broadly accessible for DOC members and for outreach, e.g., sharing with high school students), 3) increasing visibility of diverse chemists as role models to create a more inclusive chemistry community. The Executive Committee discussed options for IPG submissions and the idea for a career/mentoring series was supported as this would enhance current resources and the goals of the DOC to engage members, enhance community, and focus on diversity and inclusion. We have a need for social media engagement and video clips provide an excellent opportunity. According to a study from Cisco, 82% of all online content will be video by 2022. It has been noted that video content is an effective way to engage members and stay relevant on social media. 

Spring 2021 Awards

CELL/ENVR

ACS Revealed: Behind the scenes of CELL and ENVR Divisions

This project will establish a Fellowship Program that provides practical leadership training opportunities for the next generation of emerging leaders to serve the ACS CELL and ENVR Divisions. The leadership training will help the divisions establish a succession planning process for leadership in their divisions.

ENFL

Linking Invited Faculty/Scientist Talks for Monthly Orientation, Recruitment, and Exchange (LIFT MORE)

We propose the internationalization of the Monthly Invited Talk Series (MITs) from the perspectives of both division and the individual. The interpretation of internationalization is focusing on the role of chemical science culture as a crucial factor for the successful recruitment, retention, and expansion of new members into the division. The MITs zoom approach showcases a complex set of abilities needed to effectively and appropriately interact with others who are linguistically and culturally different, in that energy & fuels may not be a focus research area. Through increasing diversity and capacity toward further intercultural chemical competence at both division and individual levels, we anticipate integrating new members and assimilate them in a manner where we espouse shared values and shared governance. Through this enhanced diversification of members, talk topics, speaker background inter-chemical competencies will be strengthened.

FLUO

Building Digital and Virtual Infrastructure for FLUO Division: Networking, Education and Inclusivity

New challenges have emerged in the effective functioning of the division due to pandemic: (1) disrupted regular in-person communications between the division members due to cancelled conferences; (2) difficulties recruiting new members and retaining current members; (3) lack of modern content-rich division website that hamper active member engagement, (4) lack of prior tradition of virtual means of communications in the community. To address these challenges, we propose to build, develop, and launch a state-of-the-art FLUO division website that will become an active professional platform of choice for researchers engaged in fluorine science in academia and industry from around the world. Currently, such online medium for fluorine chemists simply does not exist. Creating a series of the online interactive events for division members as outlined in the project will serve the purpose of cultivating innovative ways of education, networking, and membership recruitments.

SCHB

Redesign and Update of SCHB Website

The current website was designed and implemented more than six ago. It is outdated and needs to be redesigned and updated for SCHB member benefits, including a new platform design that enables significantly improved viewing, content presentation, state-of-art plugins, and improved navigating throughout the website.

TOXI

Recruiting and retaining individuals from underrepresented minority groups in the Division of Toxicology of the American Chemical Society

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives aim to increase the recruitment and retention of individuals from underrepresented minority (URM) groups including Latinos, Blacks, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and individuals that identify as LGBTQ+. The goal of this project is to recruit undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs from URM groups to the Division of Toxicology (TOXI) of the ACS; we propose to provide financial support to cover the costs of ACS membership and registration fees to attend the fall 2021 ACS National Meeting. Individuals from URM groups are more likely to leave chemistry fields at all points throughout their careers compared to their non-minority peers. To promote retention of these individuals within chemistry, we will partner each person participating in our program with a mentor within TOXI. Attendance at the national meeting will serve as an opportunity to find and establish these mentoring relationships.

Fall 2020 Awards

AGRO

Updating the AGRO Strategic Plan for member engagement in a virtual world
In 2021, we want to build on elements of our current Strategic Plan. We need to address ways to maintain our successes as well as address newer challenges of member engagement in a virtual world. For 2021, we wish to update our strategic plan in a face to face meeting which would include a mixture of AGRO elected leaders, councilors, committee chairs, students and engaged members. A group of 12 core members is envisioned for participation in a retreat. A pre survey of membership on key topics will enhance focus and outcomes. A virtual component to loop in additional participants will be considered. ACS facilitation is preferable. Specific elements for attention are 1) innovative ways to maintain/upgrade our many existing initiatives for outreach, membership and long term programming, 2) develop New AGRO Leaders, and 3) embrace and develop effective virtual engagement strategies.

ANYL

Multicomponent Programming Directed to Improve Diversity and Inclusion within ANYL 

This Innovative Project Grant Application emerges from a special meeting of an ad hoc Diversity and Inclusion Working Group within ANYL. Nineteen proposed actions were put forward, falling into three major categories: Communications, Education, and Partnerships. We propose to organize a coordinated set of activities to be scheduled contiguously and prominently featured in the ANYL Program at the most immediate national meeting. In addition, we will reach out to the Professional Affairs Division (PROF) and the Committee on Minority Affairs (CMA) at ACS to co-sponsor the activities, which will consist of the following elements: (1) a 1/2-day symposium featuring 6 prominent scientists from under-represented minorities ending with a Keynote lecture; and (2) a follow-on afternoon panel discussion which will be heavily promoted to students. (3) an electronic record of the proceedings will be made available to minority-serving educational institutions and to ACS student affiliate groups In addition to describing their exciting research, speakers will be asked to address the complementary scientific and social challenges that had to be overcome in the development of their programs and careers.

BMGT

Creation of a Live Virtual Networking Technology

The BMGT Division wants to create a virtual environment for members of the Division to interact and have meaningful exchanges as if networking in person. To do this, we are going to build a virtual networking space with tools for a rich exchange for our members. With the unprecedented cancelations of both in person national ACS meetings and widespread closures of schools and businesses in 2020, professionals have had to learn how to live and work more virtually. Within the ACS, a lot of staff and volunteers have worked extremely hard to continue to bring important content to the members of the chemistry   community. However, for many of us, networking, meeting new colleagues, and working on innovative projects are a   large driving force for meeting in person. Since there is no indication when in person meetings might restart, there is an   urgent need to create these opportunities in a rich and vibrant virtual setting. 

COMP

Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIOPOC) in Computational Chemistry

Young under-represented scientists, at the graduate and post-doctoral level, are essential part of the bright future of   academia and industry. In this scenario, there is pressing need to incentivize young scientists coming from underrepresented   groups in engaging fundamental studies and motivate them in pursuing their career as   theoretical/computational chemists. The COMP division aims at implementing concrete actions to promote and inspire Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC, https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-bipoc.html) scientists. Toward this goal, we propose a one-day symposium dedicated to BIPOC at the graduate student and post-doctoral level at the national ACS meeting.

ENVR

Establishing the ENVR Strategic Plan: Toward an Impactful Future

The goal of this IPG is to develop a strategic plan for the ACS Division of Environmental Chemistry. The Division of Environmental Chemistry has seen growth in membership and programming in the past 5 years. This has been a result of the goals of the 2012 strategic plan, which was completed in 2017. The Division has not had a strategic planning process since 2012 and is now ready to engage in the process that will direct its future goals. We are pleased with the progress we have made as a result of the last strategic plan, and we are now eager to embark on addressing upcoming challenges. The current challenges are: 1. Retaining current members, and attracting new members. 2. Engaging past, current and future members in initiatives to advance the goals of the division 3. Maintaining the high level of programming achieved prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with regard to international members. 4. Developing a strong online presence for increased visibility and member engagement. 5. Engaging industry members. As a Division, we aim to emerge as the premier location that environmental chemists and engineers will engage with from around the world to find the most prominent programming and resources. We also aim to be a resource for educators interested in curriculum development in the field of environmental chemistry. We also need to engage industry partners who will find ENVR as a great resource for finding talented students for the future workforce. Our challenges will open new opportunities for new partnerships and important initiatives that will engage participants from around the world, and in doing so will increase the Division's membership.

MEDI

MEDI Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative

MEDI is interested in contributing to new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion efforts to recruit, retain and develop a more diverse Division. The goals are to increase membership and identify potential future leaders to ensure a diverse MEDI leadership group. With the recent events in our society in early 2020, it is clear that a "call to action" is needed to make a meaningful change. Underrepresented minorities suffered from a lack of role models in the field of medicinal chemistry. The MEDI Division wants to show a commitment with "action" to provide opportunities to break down stereotypes, increase visibility of minorities, and provide opportunities for development and overcoming barriers to inspire new members to join. We aim to establish this new format at upcoming ACS National meetings or alternatively with MEDI student chapters at different universities (Kansas, Minnesota and Florida). To accomplish this, the requested funding could assist with travel and/or offering a number of "free" memberships for underrepresented minorities to speak at the events.

ORGN

Strategic Planning Event

The last Strategic Planning event for the ORGN division took place in August 2012. Many of the current Executive Committee members, including myself, were not part of the committee at the time. We are overdue to meet again to have a focused discussion on where we have been and we are headed as a Division. Since the last strategic planning event we have significantly improved our website interface, increased social media presence, initiated virtual symposia and firmly established the Graduate Research Symposium as a premier event for graduate students. There is still more work to be done however especially with respect to diversity and inclusion. Since many of the Executive Committee members will attend the 2021 National Organic Chemistry Symposium event to be held at UCSD in June/July, this would be an ideal time to gather for a Strategic Planning event to define SMART objectives for the Division for the next 5 years and beyond.

TOXI

Expanding our future: TOXI Strategic Planning 2021

The plan is to gather 15 TOXI members to perform the strategic planning process. The following characteristics of the strategic planning group will be implemented: Different age groups, from student (undergraduate and graduate) to senior leadership including the current and future chair. Representation across toxicological disciplines from basic to applied aspects Representation from academic, industry and government sectors Minimum 40% female participants, balanced from junior to senior participants Participation of at least two underrepresented racial/ethnic minorities (including in role as project leader) Global representation including Asia, Europe, USA, and Latin America Our plan is to gather in Autumn 2020 for a virtual meeting via Zoom.
 

Spring 2020 Awards

AGRO

Fifty Years of Noteworthy Agrochemical Achievements and Contributors 

By highlighting the rich history, accomplishments, and contributors of the past 50 years of the Agrochemicals Division we hope to both educate and inspire the next generation toward agrochemical careers, scientific contributions, and Division participation. We are using the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of AGRO, to be celebrated as part of the ACS Fall National meeting in San Francisco during August of 2020, to foster collection, compilation and creative communication of historical information to educate and inspire existing and future membership as well as raise the profile of agrochemistry and AGRO activities within the broader academic, industry, and regulatory communities.

ANYL

Improved, Sustainable Social Media Approach to Enhance Connections with ANYL Division Members

The goal of this Innovative Project Grant Application is to create a sustainable, integrated social medial and web presence for the Division of Analytical Chemistry (ANYL). These venues will serve to improve the experience for current and future ANYL division members and to recruit new members. With our present, volunteer-run web/social media presence, our volunteers do not have sufficient time or expertise to do things efficiently and according to best practices. Thus, content is updated as volunteers have time, but the frequent nature of social media interactions leads to volunteer burnout.

We will contract with a company (sociallyUP) that specializes in the development and delivery of web-integrated social media content. Additionally, they have expertise to assist with web development as needs arise in the Division. This is especially crucial as no individual ANYL member has either the time or expertise to accomplish this alone. During a one-year trial period we will work with sociallyUP (quote provided) to develop and deliver web-integrated social media, and assess the effectiveness of their approach. If our evaluation affirms improvements in outcomes for division social media presence (reposts, likes, etc.), we will adjust our future budget to continue this contract beyond the requested IPG period.

BIOT

Realizing the Benefits of Inclusion and Diversity through ACS BIOT

Create a space for BIOT members to gain the tools to thrive and navigate in environments that do not necessarily foster inclusivity. We hope to engage with our members to seed a sustainable new discussion forum to help enable increased diversity and inclusion in all aspects of research collaborations (e.g. ACS Meetings and in the broader biotechnology field). This new initiative is in alignment with a new strategic goal of BIOT: to develop leadership behaviors that value diversity and inclusion. This new strategy has been captured in a revised mission statement and a value statement that is being developed. We hope to use the IPG platform to eventually be a resource for diversity and inclusion for other divisions. This project is innovative in that the focus is on a topic beyond biochemical technology. The basis for this IPG came after an involved discussion during the ACS 2019 meeting and realizing that BIOT has not previously initiated efforts on this topic.

BMGT

ACS Meetings: A Place to do Business

The ACS Division of Business Development and Management (BMGT) seeks to expand programming and collaborations across the Society by creating unique and impactful events with collaborators: Committee on Corporate Associates (CA), Chemical Angels Network (CAN), Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), and the Multidisciplinary Program Proposal Group (MPPG). This project will enable a relatively small ACS Division to build a program for the Fall 2020 meeting that will cater to the multitude of needs of industrial chemists and industrial chemical corporations – an underrepresented segment of ACS membership. One of the more innovative aspects will be to provide a space and forum for small companies to explore ways to commercialize their technology as part of the National ACS meeting. We will hold a technology commercialization pilot for small chemical businesses to help them build their network and grow their business while simultaneously learning how we can better cater to this community with more sustainable business activities.

CARB

Improving CARB Value and Processes via Webinars

The major goals of the project are to 1) Foster community within the ACS CARB division via Webinars that provide high value contact and 2) meet the changing needs of the ACS CARB executive committee and affiliated committees through web-based meetings.

Currently, the ACS CARB division creates community and delivers value through ACS national meeting programming and through the email delivery of a biannually newsletter. In addition, the ACS CARB division and CARB affiliated committees meet one time per year and sometimes two times per year at a face-to-face meeting held at an ACS National meeting. The remainder of division business is managed via email. As has been noted by the ACS Council Committee on Divisional Activities (DAC), the ACS Leadership Institute, and other divisions that there has been an explosion in the growth of internet-based meeting technology. It would be highly innovate for the CARB division to implement this technology to enhance CARB community creation, deliver enhanced value to members, and to use this technology to hold some ACS CARB division and CARB-affiliated committee meetings remotely rather than face-to-face.

ENVR

Promoting Climate Science and Environmental Policy Literacy through the COP ACS Student Ambassadors Program

This innovative project grant will fund ACS Student Climate Literacy Ambassador team-travel to ACS National Headquarters for media outreach & communication training and to the ACS National Spring Meeting to present outcomes in their role as UN Accredited ACS “Observers” at the annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP). The annual COP provides the international platform for our ACS Student Ambassadors to observe the formulation of international environmental chemicals management policy and to engage ENVR members, our Society leaders, and the broader global population in the climate science and policy discourse. Innovative programming at the national meeting will include a “Climate Corner”, Tweet storming, live radio broadcasts, discussion sessions, student designed outreach, international Zoom sessions, and daily award presentations. This project provides a platform for environmental advocacy that connects environmental science with social & economic justice and public policy. Support of this project may lead to a new era of division programming at ACS National Meetings.

POLY

Three Minute Pitch Competition

The purpose of the Three Minute Pitch competition is to encourage students to communicate their research in a clear and effective manner and inspire students to think about their thesis as an entrepreneurial effort. This IPG project has the following goals:

  • Provide students with an engaging platform to develop their communication and “pitching skills” to better prepare them for their post-graduate/post-doctorate careers
  • Improve graduate students’ communication of research to non-specialist and non-academic audiences
  • Provide feedback and evaluation of student’s ability to convey complex technical information in a condensed, understandable, and engaging format
  • Make polymer focused research approachable to all

RUBB

2021-2023 Strategic Planning Retreat

The Steering Committee along with input from the Division staff will meet for three days to create a new strategic plan and goals. We will utilize a facilitator to assist us in developing new goals and review our strengths and weaknesses. The Steering Committee will also develop core values for the Division.

SCHB

Bench to Market: Mentoring Entrepreneurs in the ACS Meeting and Exposition

The ACS Division of Small Chemical Businesses (SCHB) seeks to recruit ten start-ups or small chemical businesses for the "Small Business Row" at the ACS 260th National Meeting Exposition in San Francisco, August 2020. The exhibitors will be required to present a poster or oral presentation in one of SCHB’s San Francisco technical program sessions. This project seeks to engage current SCHB members, members of the SCHB Booth, Program, and Publicity Committees, as well as the entire SCHB Executive Committee, to recruit new members to ACS and SCHB by providing financial assistance for a booth in the Exposition and one-on-one mentoring.

Strategic Planning Session for the Division of Small Chemical Businesses

During the course of our Strategic Planning session, we would like to identify what our strengths are as far as membership benefits. We would also like to identify a few areas where we are lacking so that we can identify areas for improvement with SMART goals. Those present can leave with some action items to help strengthen our overall impact for our members and future members. We can also identify if we think these new membership benefits warrant a dues increase. We would like to assess our involvement in meetings and events outside the National Meetings. We can discuss how our participation and programming at Regional Meetings and Specialty Conferences has been going and determine if we should continue, modify how we do things, or possibly end certain projects.

Fall 2019 Awards

AGRO

Touring Crop Protection Advancements and Sustainability in California

As AGRO is approaching its 5Oth anniversary, we want to review advancements in agricultural chemistry and develop a new way to promote the benefits of agricultural chemistry and to inform educational groups and practitioners in the field. The venue will be an interactive bus tour through one of California's agricultural regions. The bus trip will include mini-lectures and open discussions regarding agricultural practices past and present, the importance of preserving agricultural land, and the necessity of agrochemicals for our sustainable food supply. Each tour stop will supply additional learning opportunities. Each presentation will be filmed and made available on the AGRO website as well as upon request to students, educators, and other interested groups.

BIOT

ACS BIOT-CBT Collaboration to Increase BIOT Presence in India

The goal of this project is to initiate a larger ACS-BIOT membership presence in India. Growing membership internationally by supporting niche local events, especially in developing countries with huge biotech hubs like India, is a first strategic outreach of its kind for BIOT. This project aims for BIOT to partner with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Centre of Excellence for Biopharmaceutical Technology (CBT) to create value for BIOT members in India through the following:
1)    Offer training by short courses both in fundamental as well as in practice of biopharmaceutical development. Share the online short-course content with the
2)    BIOT membership via webinars on the ACS-BIOT website.
3)    Organize professional workshops where industry, academia and regulatory stakeholders can meet and discuss on the various issues faced by the
4)    biopharmaceutical industry.
5)    Collaborate with Indian and International regulators to ensure manufacturers adopt best practices.
6)    Establish CBT as a key partner in India to host networking & career events to increase BIOT membership

We think that this is a unique scientific strategy and will ensure great success of our long-term goal would be of making meaningful contributions to affordable healthcare across the world and aligned with the overall BIOT mission of "advancing biotechnology to improve life”.

CELL

2020 Mentoring Session

The Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division (CELL) of the ACS has experienced dramatic growth over the past 10 years with many student members. One action item that relates to two objectives (continual growth/retention of students) discussed at the previous year’s Strategic Planning event (supported by an IPG), was developing programs to reach out to students. To retain student members as they progress in their career, CELL must provide value by demonstrating that CELL researchers care about the students by offering programs to address student needs/desires. To that end, CELL intends to start a Mentoring Session during its 100th birthday celebration. CELL leadership will gather early-, mid- and senior-scientists to meet with 4-6 students for open discussions around their future chemical careers. Given historic attendance, we anticipate that as many as 100 students may participate. In this proposal, our mentors will provide real-life experiences as a CELL scientist for students considering a CELL-based career. The proposed event will create relationships which will result in member retention tut may develop into a recruitment tool where the student may work in the same organization as the CELL professional.

CHAS

Strategic Planning

Our last Strategic Planning retreat occurred in 2015. Since 2015, much has changed in the ACS regarding the importance of safety in the chemistry enterprise. Now, safety is included in the ACS Core Values, ideas have been generated in two Presidential Safety Summits, ACS Publications now requires a "Safety Statement" in their journals, and ACS Publications has recently acquired the Division journal, now marketed as ACS Chemical Health & Safety. Below are the past goals we need to reevaluate.
1. Growing the membership. Much of the increases in membership over the past five years has been due to the growth of our Subdivision CANN.
2. Growing the number of current members in the governance, programming, and outreach activities of the division.
3. Efficiently and effectively connecting the divisional activities with the activities of the Committee on Chemical Safety. The CCS will have a SP session in September 2019 and it will be good to have ours following that to address this challenge.
4. Developing ways to leverage ACS safety recent initiatives.

COLL

Nucleation and Growth of COLL Networks: Recognizing Student Research and Service at Disciplinary Meetings as a First Step in Recruitment to the Division

The goal of this activity is to make students aware of the presence and scope of the Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry (COLL) in the ACS and thus initiate life-long relationships between the division and these potential COLL members. COLL will recognize research and service in the discipline performed by students by granting certificates, division membership, and cash prizes. The division will capitalize on poster sessions held at Regional Meetings seeking out research germane to COLL at the poster sessions. Similarly, the COLL team will attend the Student Chapter poster session at national meeting and recognize the groups whose activities include topics related to the division. The proposed activity will go significantly beyond the current involvement of COLL with Regional Meetings and with undergraduate students. This new activity will target undergraduates who are working in areas related to colloid and surface chemistry but may not know there is an ACS division with which they can connect.

HIST

Elemental Art: Celebrating the Building Blocks of Matter

We plan to advertise the contest by publishing a “call" for art, the subject of which is the discovery, history, properties, and uses of specific elements. The announcement will be published in the HIST Newsletter, C&EN and Chemistry International. We will use social media to make it visible to a broad audience. The submission window will close 1 year after the first announcement. Once all materials have been received, a committee of judges, chosen by HIST, will select 3 winners (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place) in each category (poem, cartoon, and photograph), whose work will be published in the HIST Newsletter and in the Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. Based on the number of submissions, all may be published on the HIST website or collected in a volume (ACS Symposium Series, Briefs in the History of Chemistry). The publication will serve as an amusing read and useful educational tool. It is hoped the proposed activity will educate and inspire the public about science.

I&EC

Career networking and professional development for early career industry professionals

The l&EC Division proposes to organize 2 professional development/career networking events that target the early career (0-15 years since degree) industrial chemist demographic. The first event will be held at the spring 2020 national meeting in Philadelphia and the second by the 2021 Fall meeting in Atlanta. The main objective of this project is to increase membership value proposition to help target and recruit early career industrial membership into the l&EC Division through a set of events that address specific issues facing the target demographic. The l&EC Division will target the early career (0-15 years since degree) demographic with targeted programming as they represent a significant membership growth opportunity for the ACS and the l&EC Division.

NUCL

Nuclear Chemistry & Technology Strategic Planning

The NUCL Division has previously held two strategic planning retreats with the latest occurring in 2014. From that meeting, three major strategic goals were established for the division. We plan to evaluate and revise these goals as part of the current strategic planning process.

Goal 1: Education and Workforce Development develop the next generation of nuclear chemists and radiochemists to meet national workforce needs through education, hands-on training, and mentoring of students and young scientists.
Goal 2: Awards, Recognition and Membership recruit, engage, and recognize nuclear chemists and radiochemists and offer professional growth opportunities for members.
Goal 3: Expertise and Communication develop and facilitate events and communication tools that enhance nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry outreach and emphasize the value and importance of practical applications of nuclear science in all aspects of society.

PROF

Support of Programming at 2020 PACIFICHEM

PACIFICHEM offers a venue where women from countries bordering the Pacific Ocean can meet to discuss Geographic and Cultural problems, which women encounter in their professional careers. This venue offers a unique opportunity for sharing and identifying mentors who will be able to assist young women as they move through the different aspects of their careers.

The goal is to organize two symposia for the Division of Professional Relations for the 2020 PACIFICHEM Meeting in December of 2020 in Honolulu, Hawaii. These symposia will address the mission of DPR by creating inclusive and diverse communities for the benefit of all chemical professionals through programming at the 2020 PACIFICHEM. The two Symposia are:
•    "Empowering Women in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering": To compare and contrast the progress that women are making in improving their professional status in the various countries throughout the Pacific Basin and to share best practices with one another.
•    "Ethics in the Chemical Profession: Cultural Impact”: To call attention to the incorporation of ethics policies in research, in education and professional practices.

SCHB

International Chemical Business Development Symposium at 2019 RMRM/SWRM

The goals of this project are:
1) to organize a full day of international chemical business programming at ACS 2019 joint Rocky Mountain-Southeast regional meeting (RMRM/SWRM) and to convey such information to attendees,
2) to engage attendees and solicit interest in SCHB membership and member benefits at an expo table, and
3) to encourage attendees (ACS members) to engage in international business development in the chemical and related sectors.

SCHB members Carlin Burton, Mukund Chorghade, George Ruger, Joe Sabol, Niteen Vaidya, and others will participate in the full day (-8 speakers) symposium on international business topics, host an expo table, present a divisional poster; and generally interact with RMRM/SWRM attendees. Symposium topics to be considered will include, but are not limited to, international contracts and choice of law, patents, copyrights, and trademarks, NAFTAIUSMCA, multiple written and spoken languages and translation, tariffs and sanctions, financial transactions, and import/export regulations. As the RMRM/SWRM timeline is developed, speakers will be identified and invited.
 

Spring 2019 Awards

AGFD

Teaching Young Chemists About Symposia and Refereed Journals

A joint symposium with the ACS' International Chemical Sciences Chapter in Thailand (ICSCT) and the Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (AGFD) will be held later this year in Bangkok. We plan to have a workshop for young chemists describing the process of writing, submitting, reviewing, and publishing papers in the Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry (JAFC) and other journals. Another workshop will be held on how chemistry symposia and meetings are created and organized. These are not topics that students are ordinarily taught. We hope that these programs will increase the number of high-quality manuscripts from Southeast Asia and lead to higher participation in symposia by chemists there. The workshops will provide the information needed for the attendees to become leaders in their field.

BIOL

Community-Building in the Division of Biological Chemistry: Investing in a Shared Future through our Younger Members

We seek to increase engagement in the division's poster session and to strengthen a sense of community among division members. To these ends, we propose five interventions to be implemented at two successive National meetings of the ACS (targets: fall 2019 and spring 2020). We propose -1- a forum at which all poster presenters have the option to present a flash talk on their poster with the dual objective of giving each of these young scientists a few minutes at the podium, and of advertising the posters to be displayed; -2- poster bingo cards to encourage attendees to talk with poster presenters and ask questions; -3- divisional badges to identify badges of division awards; -4- distribution of the badges also to winners of flash talks and finally; -5- power breakfast with a panel discussion on diverse career options. Thus we intend to increase the prominence and preparation we give our rising young scientists, and create community building activities around them.

BMGT SP

Strategic Plan 2.0

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The primary innovation in this retreat plan is to take advantage of a pilot Strategic Planning 2.0 process created by the Leadership Advisory Board (LAB) and reduce the face-to-face time required, using technology alternatives. BMGT's current strategic plan goals have been accomplished. The primary innovation developed was the "BILL talk" which has been held at National meetings and is scheduled for Regional meetings in 2019. BMGT desires to build on and advance the current plan to introduce new elements that will help grow the division. The division needs this support due to the high cost cl travel for the strategic plan participants, and the fact that the BMGT budget is still recovering from the cost of the 2016 Strategic Planning retreat.

CELL

Strategic Planning – Continual Growth

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In order to meet the needs of CELL membership, a significant effort must be put forth to better meet the long-term challenges of the Division (Membership; Spring Meeting Programming; and Financials. To address this challenge the CELL Executive Committee desires a strategic planning session composed of Executive Committee members, regular members and student members. These participants would be focused on developing routes to improve the CELL division long-term health by considering cost-effective means of providing more value to CELL members.

LINKUS: Linking Industry & Know-how for Underserved Students

Our project goal is to run an industry-centric workshop for underserved and underprivileged NC high school students that gives them exposure, appreciation, and knowledge of the emerging bioeconomy and its industrial operations. The CELL Division will host a one-day workshop in New Berin, NC at Craven Community College, whose purpose is to provide students with networking opportunities for accessing learning and future career opportunities in the bioeconomy industries and affiliates. We will have a team of CELL Division leaders (both academic and industrial) that will facilitate the workshop as an active and engaging forum to provide short industry-relevant presentations with Q&A. Student teams will be organized to tackle questions related to the topics of the presentations, share lunch, visit an International Paper Mill nearby, and close with a review of relevant pathway to educational opportunities, membership in CELL, corollary activities (ACS Project SEED), and internships.

INOR

Strategic Planning

The current challenges of the Division of Inorganic Chemistry (DIC) are to show its relevance to the membership, and to increase membership numbers. As part of this process, the Division is working to demonstrate this relevance by continuing to sponsor symposia and poster sessions at national meeting and also to increase the DIC presence and the presence of its members at ACS regional meetings. The division needs to reassess budget allocation to regional and national meeting symposium support, such that it benefits the most members. Further, it also needs to develop strategies to engage with members more strongly beyond national and regional meetings attendance

Elements of the Periodic Table Videos

The Division of Inorganic Chemistry (DIC) will produce several 3-5 minute videos in celebration of the elements, on the occasion of the International Year of the Periodic Table. These videos will feature a renown U.S. or international scientist telling cool facts about the element, or the group of elements. The teaching of chemistry usually covers a wide variety of topics, yet little is usually conveyed in terms of the history and/or uses of the elements or groups of elements. DIC has long supported student members through extensive undergraduate programming. These videos will add a playful dimension to this effort. They will be used to 1) convey fun and interesting information that is usually not covered as part of the curriculum, 2) make the connection between elements, how they relate to chemistry in general, to Inorganic Chemistry and everyday life, and 3) draw attention of the students to chemistry and to inorganic chemistry and DIC.

POLY

POLY WebShops

The goal is to develop a new accessible web based workshop (WebShop). This would bridge webinars, which are short, focused and accessible, with in-person POLY workshops, which provide in-depth material albeit with substantial travel and financial commitment. The WebShop is accessible to all POLY members, and will provide value to our division members (estimated at 80%) that do not attend the national meeting. Dr. Konkolewicz will serve as the host/organizer of the WebShop with Dr. Marc Hillmyer acting as executive producer given his extensive experience with webinars. The inaugural WebShop will feature 4 leaders in controlled polymerization discussing their research and giving guidelines for creating polymers with precise structure and controlled architecture. The WebShop will allow attendees to engage with speakers through on-line Q&A. We hope the WebShop will engage all POLY members, improve retention, generate new members, and bring workshop experiences to all members.

PROF

Inclusive Excellence in Chemistry Education

STEM students are increasingly diverse and educational institutions must transform themselves to be welcoming to all students. Non-majority and first generation students leave STEM at higher rates than their counterparts and this issue is being addressed through curricular and institutional charge on many campuses. The Division of Professional Relations proposes a symposium series at the National ACS meetings entitled "Inclusive Excellence in Chemistry Education" with three goals:
1. Inclusion experts will provide a framework for faculty development training
2. Educators will share their progress towards inclusive excellence in chemistry
3. A community of professionals that are working towards inclusive excellence will be fostered.
Inclusive excellence initiatives often focus on faculty development, curriculum reform, and student support. The symposium will showcase a variety of approaches towards inclusion.

SCHB

SCHB Member Development in the Green Chemistry Community

SCHB seeks to increase three broad categories of members. SCHB individual membership (regular, student, and affiliate) has, more or less, remained constant during the past ten years, ~600. SCHB currently has less than six patron members and other financial supporters. The number of expo booths that SCHB has recruited for an ACS National Meeting Expo is generally a half dozen or less. The combined attendance at 23rd Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference (GC&EC) and 9th International Conference on Green and Sustainable Chemistry (GSC), June 11-13, 2019 in Reston, VA is estimated to be -1,000, smaller than an ACS National Meeting, but of similar size to an ACS Regional Meeting or Specialty Conference. More important, start-ups and small businesses have a substantial impact, from use of the Principles of Green Chemistry, in addressing issues before the chemical community and society at large. SCHB seeks to leverage its participation so as to attract new members.