American Chemical Society announces 2008 officers, objectives for year

American Chemical Society announces 2008 officers, objectives for year

The American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society, has announced its officers for 2008 and some of its key objectives for the new year. A list of officers follows at the end of this news release.

Incoming ACS President Bruce E. Bursten, Ph.D., said that his emphasis in the coming year will focus on energy development, education initiatives, enhanced communication of the centrality of chemistry and international cooperation between chemists and chemical engineers.

This year’s efforts will build on the Society’s achievements in 2007, and in 2008 –– and in the years ahead –– ACS will emphasize its position as a global leader to encourage other scientific collaborations to address, through chemistry, the challenges facing the world, according to Bursten.

The ACS will also continue its efforts to advocate for additional research and development funding along with support for legislation to keep America and its science and math students competitive with other countries, Bursten said. He said that ACS will be considering adding to its collection of 36 distinguished, peer-reviewed publications, which includes the new journal, ACS Nano.

The Society also will work to increase membership and improve on its retention rate of 92 percent, he said.

“Our members are the core strength of the Society,” he maintained. “With the emergence of a new generation of scientists and engineers, who expect highly customized delivery of information and new modes of collaboration, our ultimate goal is to strongly focus ACS resources on offering our members the precise programs, products and services that they want.”

ACS Officers

Chair, ACS Board of Directors

Judith L. Benham, Ph.D., a former business director at 3M Co., St. Paul, Minn., and now retired, has been re-elected to a one-year term (2008) as Chair of the board of directors. She also is serving her second 3-year term as director from ACS’ District V. That term runs through 2009.

ACS President

Bruce E. Bursten, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and distinguished professor of chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is 2008 president and will serve on the board of directors through 2009.

ACS President-Elect

Thomas H. Lane, Ph.D., a chemist and director of global science and technology outreach, Dow Corning Corp., Midland, Mich., will serve in this position until becoming ACS president Jan. 1, 2009.

Immediate Past President

Catherine T. Hunt, Ph.D., a chemist and the leader of technology partnerships at Rohm and Haas Co., Spring House, Pa., who served as 2007 president, remains an ex officio member of the Board of Directors.

Directors

Eric C. Bigham, Ph.D., retired, a chemist and former manager for discovery research and development at GlaxoSmithKline, Chapel Hill, N.C., will serve through 2010.

Dennis Chamot, Ph.D., an associate executive director of the National Research Council’s Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, Washington, D.C, will serve through 2009.

Bonnie A. Charpentier, Ph.D., vice president, regulatory affairs, Metabolex, Inc., Hayward, Calif., will serve through 2008.

Janan M. Hayes, Ph.D., retired chemist faculty member and administrator at Merced College, Merced, Calif., and former chemical educator and administrator at Cosumnes River College and American River College in Sacramento, will serve through 2010.

Madeleine M. JoulliÉ, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, will serve through 2008.

Valerie J. Kuck, a chemist and former staff member at Lucent Technologies – AT&T Bell Labs, will serve through 2009.

C. Gordon McCarty, Ph.D., an adjunct professor of chemistry at the University of

South Carolina in Beaufort, and formerly with Bayer in Pittsburgh, Pa., will serve through 2008.

Anne T. O’Brien, Ph.D., a Tarrytown, N.Y., chemist and former manager at Wyeth-Ayerst Research, will serve through 2009.

Diane Grob Schmidt, Ph.D., a chemist and section head at Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, will serve through 2010.

Kent. J. Voorhees, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, will serve through 2010.

Marinda Li Wu, Ph.D., a chemist and founder and president of the Science is Fun! Company in Orinda, Calif., will serve through 2008.

Other top officers include:

Executive Director

Madeleine Jacobs, of Gaithersburg, Md., is the ACS executive director and CEO and an ex officio member of the Board of Directors. She is the former editor-in-chief of the Society’s weekly newsmagazine, Chemical & Engineering News.

Secretary

Flint Lewis, of Centreville, Va., is the secretary of the Society, its Board of Directors and Council.

Treasurer

Brian A. Bernstein, of Alexandria, Va., is the treasurer and chief financial officer of the American Chemical Society.

The American Chemical Society –– the world’s largest scientific society –– is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

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The American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society, has announced its officers for 2008 and some of its key objectives for the new year.