FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | December 03, 2015

West Harford chemist elected to the board of the world’s largest scientific society

WASHINGTON — Laura E. Pence, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at the University of Hartford, has been elected to the board of directors of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society. She will begin her three-year term on the board Jan. 1, 2016.

Pence earned a B.S. at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania in 1987 and her Ph.D. at Michigan State University in 1992. She was a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow from 1992–1995.

“Being a chemist is being part of a vibrant group of innovators who are never content with the status quo. We constantly ask how something can be better. Better medicines and materials. Better education for our students. Better processes that are safer, use less energy and produce less waste,” says Pence. “As the district I director, I will work toward a better ACS for the 21st century.”

An ACS member since 1987, Pence has served as chair of the ACS Committee on Environmental Improvement and as an advisor on the ACS Green Chemistry Institute Governing Board. A former ACS/AAAS Congressional Science Policy Fellow, she worked  in the office of Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) for a year.  She is the first Science Policy Fellow to serve on the ACS Board of Directors.

She lives in Newington, Connecticut with her husband, Prof. Steve Watton.

ACS district I includes local sections in the northeastern United States and those in the provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edwards Island and Quebec.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress.  With more than 158,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society 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.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society 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.

Media Contact

Joan Coyle
202-872-6229
j_coyle@acs.org

 

Photo of Laura E. Pence, Ph.D.
Laura E. Pence, Ph.D.
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