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March 26, 2001
Volume 79, Number 13

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ACS Today
ACS AT 125: A CHEMIST'S PLACE
The American Chemical Society offers its members an extraordinary array of products and services

LINDA R. RABER, C&EN WASHINGTON

The American Chemical Society--the world's largest scientific society--offers its members hundreds of programs, products, and services that support the science and profession of chemistry. Member benefits include reduced registration fees for ACS meetings, greatly reduced rates for subscriptions to ACS journals, opportunities to keep current in specialty areas of chemistry and to meet with colleagues in all fields through 33 technical divisions, opportunities to network with peers by participating in the activities of one of the 188 ACS local sections, reduced registration fees for ACS short courses, exclusive employment assistance and career guidance, and special insurance plans for ACS members only.

By the end of 1876, ACS had 35 members. In 2000, ACS ended the year at a member count of more than 163,000. In 1876, there were two membership categories--member and associate--paying the same dues. Currently, there are three membership categories and 11 special dues categories. The society has come a long way.
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ACS PUBLICATIONS.
The society's 34 journals and magazines cover virtually all areas of chemical research and professionalism. A recent profile of the Publications Division of ACS (C&EN, Feb. 19, page 58) gives details on the activities of this important division.

With the premiere issue of the Proceedings of the American Chemical Society 125 years ago, ACS became the first society in the U.S. to publish a journal specifically for chemists. In 1879, that publication's name was changed to the Journal of the American Chemical Society, which has been published continuously for 122 years.

Now 78 years old, Chemical & Engineering News, the official newsmagazine of ACS, started off as Industrial & Engineering Chemistry, News Edition in 1923. C&EN, the most visible of all ACS benefits and the one that all members receive, provides readers with up-to-date news of the science and the profession. And the society's prodigious work in publishing continues to respond to the needs of chemical scientists with the recent approval of the Journal of Proteome Research, slated for debut in January 2002.

* Journals and Special Publications. All ACS journals have their own home pages on the ACS website where information about the journal and the most recent tables of contents are posted for all to see. Subscribers to ACS Web Editions can receive full-text articles in both HTML and PDF formats; Articles ASAP, which is a compilation of peer-reviewed, fully edited articles published two to 11 weeks prior to their print publication date; access to back issues; and links to supporting information, including all-new, exclusive reference linking to Chemical Abstracts Service and bibliographical information.

* Books. ACS now collaborates with Oxford University Press (OUP) to coproduce and distribute ACS book titles. There are now nearly 800 books in the ACS Symposium Series, which started in 1974. ACS and OUP also publish "Reagent Chemicals," now in its 9th edition; the publication is now fully accessible on the Web.


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CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS SERVICE. Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), another division of ACS recently profiled in C&EN (Feb. 26, page 45), produces the world's largest and most comprehensive databases of chemical information, including 16 million abstracts of chemistry-related literature and patents and more than 30 million substance records.

CAS publishes Chemical Abstracts (CA) and related publications and CD-ROMs. It also operates the CAS Chemical Registry and produces a family of online databases and desktop research tools. CAS operates STN International, a network of science and technical databases, in association with FIZ Karlsruhe in Germany and the Japan Science & Technology Corp.

* CAS Publications. Four CAS publications are available to ACS members at discounted rates. CA Selects monitors current publications for specific topics in the chemical sciences. Abstracts, accompanying bibliographic citations, and structure diagrams (when applicable) are provided for each topic. CA Selects Plus monitors publications on 33 different topics and includes abstracts from the CAplus database before they are fully indexed and published in CA or CA Selects. Chemical Titles is a biweekly listing of titles of recently published papers of chemical interest. CA Section Groupings is the total abstract content of CA divided into five individually packaged categories.

* Chemical Information Tools. CAS is in the forefront of technology developments that bring chemical information to scientists in the most effective way. The showpiece of CAS technology development is its SciFinder graphical user interface, which is the most user-friendly way to access chemical information available.
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ACS ON THE WEB. In 1996, ACS unveiled ChemCenter, a website for ACS members, other scientists, and those interested in the chemical sciences. It integrated all the offerings from ACS: publications, CAS, and ACS programs and services. Each month, ChemCenter logs more than 100,000 visitors who take the opportunity to interact using technologies such as webcasting and streaming media.

The society's newest Web presence, chemistry.org, recognizes the evolution of both users' needs and technology by providing a dynamic, interactive site that promotes contact and collaboration and is targeted to the needs of chemists, ACS members, media, high school chemistry students and teachers, legislators, and the intellectually curious general public. ACS staff incorporate the latest technology into chemistry.org to allow users to create a customized experience that takes advantage of all the resources available from the society and other trusted partners.
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EDUCATION. A significant portion of income derived from ACS Publications and CAS information services goes to support other important society programs that benefit the science and the profession of chemistry. Among the most visible of these are the programs of the ACS Education & International Activities Division.

The ACS Education Division has its direct roots in 1970 in the Department of Educational Activities, but the society has been involved in education since the 1930s. Today, ACS education programs provide teachers from prekindergarten through college with a range of instructional materials to enhance their teaching, including books, magazines, videos, laser discs, and CD-ROMs (see box on page 299). ACS also produces curriculum materials for middle school, high school, and college educators. ACS offers workshops for precollege chemistry teachers and provides professional development opportunities for midcareer chemists in industry and academia. Special programs are available for high school and undergraduate students, including career information. Support is provided to academic and industrial institutions, including guidelines for ACS-approved programs at the undergraduate level.
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PROJECT SEED. This program, which has been running continuously since 1968, encourages economically disadvantaged high school students to pursue career opportunities in the chemical sciences. Through this program, students work in the summer in laboratories doing hands-on research guided by a scientist-mentor. Students who have not graduated from high school are eligible for the Summer I program, and those returning for a second summer of research may participate in the Summer II program. College scholarships are available for SEED students who have graduated from high school and attend college.
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JOBSPECTRUM.ORG. Slated for debut in June, JobSpectrum.org is a collaboration between the ACS Publications and Membership Divisions. This full-service website aims to be the largest online destination for job posting and career advancement for chemists and other scientists. The site will have two main areas: a job-posting center, including employment opportunities, response features, and application facilitation; and a career development center, including résumé builders, online tutorials, and salary surveys.

 
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CAREER SERVICES. ACS offers myriad career services designed to optimize members' career opportunities. The department stands ready to assist ACS members at any stage of their careers.

* Counseling. Career Services provides one-on-one career counseling, direct contact with employers, and information on employment trends and issues.

* Online Information. Chemjobs, a central resource for chemistry jobs online, gives members access to the Online Professional Data Bank (PDB). PDB is an Internet-based service for ACS members seeking employment and a resource for potential employers. The ACS Job Bank is an online service that includes classified and display ads from the two most recent issues of C&EN, links to other online job banks, and websites of major companies.

* Advertising. C&EN situations-wanted ads are a great option for ACS members at a modest fee. Members can advertise their professional qualifications in the Employment section of C&EN. This service is free to unemployed and retired members and to student members or affiliates who have not obtained employment two months before graduation.

* Employment Clearinghouses. Employment clearinghouses are held at national and regional meetings and offer opportunities for members to be interviewed on-site by potential employers.

* Career Development Workshops. Offerings are found at regional and national ACS meetings and upon request at local sections, colleges, and universities.

* Career Materials. Publications, workforce analyses, and videos are available to assist members in their job search, career transition, résumé and interview preparation, and professional development. 

* Local Section Help. The Local Section Career Program provides a trained local coordinator in most ACS local sections.

 
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DIVISIONS AND LOCAL SECTIONS. The ACS constitution of June 6, 1890, authorized the establishment of ACS local sections, and the ACS Council first authorized a technical division in 1908.

* Divisions. ACS members are heartily encouraged to take full advantage of membership in the society's technical divisions. Organized and operated by volunteers, the ACS divisions focus on particular disciplines within the chemical enterprise from basic research to education to business to process engineering. ACS divisions publish newsletters, provide scholarships and summer job opportunities, organize symposia, and sponsor awards for technical achievements.

Most of the 33 ACS divisions meet in conjunction with the society's semiannual national meetings. The divisions provide the technical programming and scientific content for the meetings.

* Local Sections. Monthly meetings of the society's 188 local sections make regular participation in ACS activities possible for nearly all U.S. members. Local sections are established in all 50 states and in Puerto Rico. In addition to monthly meetings on technical subjects, local section activities include interaction with local professional and academic organizations, community programs on environmental topics and other issues of local concern, workshops for students and teachers, and professional and student awards.

The ACS National Chemistry Week program involves all the local sections. It is a grand event that engages literally hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country in celebrating chemistry.

Annual ChemLuminary Awards are presented at fall ACS national meetings. Awards are given in seven different categories: Phoenix Awards for the previous year's National Chemistry Week activities, awards for outstanding performance by local sections, local section public relations awards, local section younger chemists committee awards, recognition for innovative programs and outstanding service to members by ACS divisions, technician affiliate group awards, and the Helen M. Free Award for Public Outreach.

The ACS Speaker Service continues to be a popular method for chemists to share their expertise with local section members. More than 400 speaking engagements were arranged in 2000, and for the first time, ACS speakers were invited to give talks at regional meetings.

The Salutes to Excellence Program was launched in 2000 to give local sections an opportunity to conduct events that recognize achievements in chemistry.
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INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES. ACS is a truly international organization. It encourages cooperation in the broadest sense among chemists of all nations and actively works to form better bonds with all chemists both in the U.S. and overseas. 

* International Chemical Sciences Chapters. To improve society services to overseas members, the International Activities Committee and the Office of International Activities spearheaded a movement to create International Chemical Sciences Chapters of ACS. Groups of 25 or more members in countries overseas can petition to form chapters, which allow members to meet under the ACS banner and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow chemical scientists and engineers. Thus far, two chapters have been formed, one in Saudi Arabia and one in Hong Kong.

* International Meetings. ACS is seeking better relations with chemical societies throughout the world. To this end, the society supported the Meeting of Major Chemical Societies that took place in late November 2000 in Washington, D.C. ACS sends representatives to chemical congresses worldwide, including participation in International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) activities, the triennial International Congresses on Chemistry in Africa organized by the African Association for Pure & Applied Chemistry, meetings of the Federación Latinoamericana de Asociaciones de Química, and scientific meetings organized by many individual societies around the world 

* German-American Frontiers of Chemistry Symposia. In July 2000, the Office of International Activities and the German Chemical Society (GDCh) organized a German-American Frontiers of Chemistry Symposium. Held near Munich, Germany, the symposium brought 40 of the leading early-career U.S. chemists together with a group of equally talented German counterparts. A second conference is planned for the fall of 2002 in Boston.

* CHEMRAWN. ACS International Activities has played a major role in organizing, fund-raising, and outreach on behalf of IUPAC's CHEMRAWN conferences. CHEMRAWN XIV on green chemistry will be held in June. Funding and logistical support from ACS has facilitated CHEMRAWN participation by scientists from developing countries. In several cases, special workshops for young scientists have been held in conjunction with the meetings.

* International Initiatives. The International Initiatives program supports short-term exchanges of scientific personnel between the U.S. and selected countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America, specifically Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Venezuela. The purpose of the visits is to develop new contacts in research between U.S. and overseas laboratories.

* Pittcon Participation. Each year, the Committee on International Activities and the Office of International Activities host a group of up to 20 visitors from a given developing region at the Pittsburgh Conference (Pittcon), the world's foremost exposition and conference on analytical methods and instrumentation. Scientists have been invited in various years from Africa, India, Latin America, Central Europe, and Russia. The visitors receive free registration at the conference, hotel accommodations, a meals allowance, enrollment in an ACS short course at the meeting, and assistance with travel costs.

* Project Bookshare. For nearly two decades, Project Bookshare has sent books, journals, and other scientific materials donated by society members, government, industry, and academia to libraries and educational institutions around the world. An agreement with UNESCO has helped the society to increase the number of shipments, now some 100 tons per year.

* Scientific Freedom and Human Rights. The International Activities Committee and the Office of International Activities are the focus of scientific freedom and human rights activities for the society. Led by the Subcommittee on Scientific Freedom & Human Rights, International Activities takes action when the rights of scientists are abridged.

* Studies and Analyses of Chemically Related Activity. The Office of International Activities has produced studies of current chemically related activity carried out by industry, education, government, and professional and learned societies in Africa and in Latin America.

 
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DIVERSITY PROGRAMS. On Dec. 1, 2000, the ACS Department of Minority Affairs became the Department of Diversity Programs, expanding both its scope and mission. In addition to providing service to the Minority Affairs Committee, the department now serves the activities of the Women Chemists and Younger Chemists Committees.

National meeting programming of this office has arranged for distinguished speakers such as U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. Another focus is fostering stronger collaborations with minority advocacy organizations such as the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists & Chemical Engineers, the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos & Native Americans in Science, and the American Indian Science & Engineering Society.

* Committee on Minority Affairs. Organized in 1993, this ACS governance committee supports the professional and technical development of underrepresented minority chemists (African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian) as well as underrepresented minority students aspiring to become chemists. Several programs are under this committee's direction, including the ACS Scholars Program.

* ACS Scholars Program. This program provides scholarship and mentoring support to students from underrepresented groups who pursue bachelor's degrees in the chemical sciences. More than 900 students have been awarded ACS scholarships, 276 of whom have graduated.

* Women Chemists Committee (WCC). Activities of this committee and ACS staff position the society as a leader in attracting, developing, and promoting women in the chemical sciences. WCC's activities are targeted to women in a variety of settings including undergraduates, graduates, postdoctoral students, those in midcareer, and those who have achieved distinction in the field. This committee's notable accomplishments include the WCC Overcoming Challenges Award that recognizes a woman from a two- or four-year educational institution for overcoming hardships to achieve success in chemistry. The WCC Travel Award Program helps undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral women chemists to attend scientific meetings and present research. Programming at national and regional meetings focuses on career development and other workplace issues relative to women, and special events foster networking among women chemists.

* Younger Chemists Committee (YCC). Responding to the needs of younger chemists is the focus of this committee, which seeks to lead younger chemists into successful careers and active roles in ACS and the profession. Most notable among its activities are significant programming at national meetings addressing issues of concern to younger chemists and the establishment of one-on-one mentoring and younger chemists networks. 

* Committee on Chemists with Disabilities. This committee strives to inform chemistry educators and employers of scientific and technical personnel about the capabilities and contributions of chemical professionals who have physical, sensory, or learning disabilities.

 
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MEETINGS. ACS has held 220 national meetings in the past 125 years, attracting more than 1 million scientists; in addition, hundreds of regional meetings have been held. Looking forward to the next 125 years, the society has launched a new line of world-class specialty conferences called ACS ProSpectives.

Twice a year, ACS sponsors national meetings--five days of symposia, tutorials, and poster sessions that cover every area of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related sciences. The ACS Exposition, run in conjunction with each ACS national meeting, features nearly 300 companies displaying the latest in instruments, publications, computer hardware, software, and other professional resources.

Regional meetings of ACS offer educational and networking opportunities on a more intimate scale than national meetings. About eight regional meetings are offered each year all over the country.


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LEGISLATIVE & GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS. The ACS Office of Legislative & Government Affairs (OLGA) is committed to fulfilling the ACS charter mandate to increase public understanding of chemistry, especially as it relates to public policymakers. The society's government relations programs are designed to facilitate broad member participation. These programs advise and inform ACS members and local, state, and federal governments on scientific and technological issues relating to chemical sciences and the public interest, such as the environment, chemical safety and health, science education, research, the workforce, and technology policy.

* Congressional Fellowships. ACS offers one-year congressional fellowships and a science policy fellowship that directly immerse three ACS members in government affairs.

* Legislative Action Center. The society maintains an Internet-based Legislative Action Center for members interested in federal funding policy as manifested in funding for the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, the Department of Education, the Department of Defense, the National Institute of Standards & Technology, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Using the Action Center, members can immediately and easily communicate directly with their legislators.

* Information Publications. OLGA publishes various pamphlets that provide a balanced, technically accurate look at chemistry-related societal issues such as acid rain, biotechnology, chemical risk, global climate change, groundwater, hazardous waste management, pesticides, and recycling. The office also publishes technical brochures on legal issues that affect practitioners in the chemical disciplines.

 
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INDUSTRY OUTREACH. More than 60% of ACS members work in industry. The society works with the chemical industry to meet the needs of industrial chemists and to recognize their accomplishments.

* Office of Industry Relations. This office creates and promotes programs and activities to increase participation in ACS by industrial members at the local, regional, and national levels. Industry Relations works with senior leaders, directors, technical managers, and chemists at all levels in major chemical and allied companies to develop and expand activities that will improve their workplaces.

* Corporation Associates. ACS Corporation Associates (CA) is an organization of more than 75 companies dedicated to ensuring that ACS offers valuable products and services to its industrial members and companies. CA accomplishes its goal through the hard work of dedicated professionals among its member companies. CA member dues provide financial support for different activities through programs such as the Corporation Associates Grant Program, which has given funds for ACS Project SEED, ACS national meeting functions and events, and CA-developed symposia. CA also supports the activities of the ACS technical divisions by funding symposia geared to industrial members and by serving as consultants to develop symposia relevant to today's industrial chemists.


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OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS. Also involved in building support for chemistry is the ACS Office of Communications. This office is the nerve center for disseminating information from the society to the public and the news media. The office works closely with individual members, division and local section officers, the ACS Board of Directors, journal editors and authors, and regional and national meeting organizers and speakers to identify news topics and develop communications strategies. Several programs in this office work with members to coordinate public relations activities in the divisions and local sections and to communicate with the public about chemistry's historic achievements.

* News & Information Department. This department disseminates to the news media information highlighting advances in chemistry; coordinates the distribution of ACS information to reporters; develops relationships with a wide range of print, broadcast, and Web news media; and provides information about ACS to the public.

* Communications Services Department. This department reviews journal articles and meeting abstracts for potential news stories, prepares news releases and other documents to publicize chemistry, monitors and reports on media coverage, and oversees public opinion research for the society.

* National Historic Chemical Landmarks Program. Under this program, ACS designates significant landmarks in chemical history and carries out a range of communications activities for each designation to highlight the profession's contributions to society throughout history. Local sections and divisions may nominate potential landmarks as part of a competitive process that includes review by the Board Committee on the National Historic Chemical Landmarks Program and approval by the full ACS Board of Directors. More than 30 landmarks have been designated thus far, including several international landmarks.

* Local Section & Division Public Relations Program. This important program provides public relations training and technical assistance to local sections and technical divisions to help them raise awareness of their activities. The program encourages member units to appoint public relations chairs to coordinate their activities and offers a special website and a training workshop, "The Elements of Communication."

 
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AWARDS & GRANTS. Acknowledging chemists for their contributions to science and to the society as well as supporting fundamental chemical research is another well-recognized activity of ACS.

* Awards. ACS started giving national awards in 1923 with the presentation of the Priestley Medal to Ira Remsen. So far, the society has recognized about 1,800 individuals and their scientific accomplishments. ACS now presents more than 50 national awards annually, including the prestigious Priestley Medal, the James Bryant Conant Award, the Grady-Stack Award, and the Garvin-Olin Medal.

* Research Grants. The Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) is a trust established in 1944 by seven major oil companies. ACS uses the income from this trust "for advanced scientific education and fundamental research in the 'petroleum field,' which may include any field of pure science which ... may afford a basis for subsequent research directly connected with the petroleum field." Grants are awarded to nonprofit institutions in the U.S. and other countries in response to proposals. Fundamental research is currently supported in chemistry, the earth sciences, chemical engineering, and in related fields such as polymers and materials science. Since the first ACS-PRF grants were approved in 1954, several grant programs have evolved to serve segments of the scientific community. PRF funding commitments in 2000 totaled $17.0 million.

The assets of PRF, which total more than $500 million, were recently transferred to ACS, and the fund will be renamed the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund. A board study group will make recommendations for the administration of these assets.

 
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CHALLENGE 2000. This is a matching-gift fund program established by the ACS Board of Directors in December 1994. Through this program, contributions of $2,500 or more to ACS eligible programs are matched by ACS on a dollar-for-dollar basis, which ultimately allows a donation to have a significant, positive impact on the activities of the program.

Through Challenge 2000, Project SEED has grown, allowing more high school students to experience working in a laboratory setting and to pursue their interest in a career in science. Through corporate partnerships, the ACS Scholars program is able to offer more college scholarships for members of minority groups traditionally underrepresented in chemistry and science and to offer students more opportunities for internships and mentorships in industry.

 
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OFFICE OF SOCIETY SERVICES. At ACS, there is always a staff person ready to take calls and help members with anything having to do with ACS programs or membership. The Office of Society Services also fulfills orders for all products available through the online store on ChemCenter. Nearly 200 titles and topics are handled by this office.

 
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INSURANCE PROGRAMS. Celebrating its 35th year, ACS Insurance Programs now insures more than 30,000 members and their families, with $1.8 billion of insurance in force. The ACS Member Insurance Program offers members and their spouses a full range of insurance plans at low group rates and a variety of supplemental retirement plans. The following are offered: health insurance, disability income insurance, hospital indemnity insurance, long-term care insurance, and professional liability insurance.

 
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BELMONT CONFERENCE CENTER. ACS is also the proud owner of Belmont, a full-service conference center located in a graceful 18th-century manor setting in Elkridge, Md. Built in 1738, Belmont has 80 acres of rolling wooded countryside located just 8 miles from Baltimore-Washington International Airport and 35 miles from Washington, D.C. Belmont is available for corporate retreats, meetings, team-building activities, and social events.

 
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ACS STAFF. ACS has 671 employees in Washington, D.C., and about 1,300 employees at Chemical Abstracts Service in Columbus, Ohio. These dedicated people strive to ensure that ACS programs run smoothly and that services are delivered correctly. They do this by coordinating services, developing technology, acting as liaisons to ACS members and governance, and spreading the good news of chemistry near and far.


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STRUCTURE AND GOVERNANCE.
ACS is governed by a board of directors consisting of 15 elected members (six regional directors, six directors-at-large, the ACS president, the president-elect, and the immediate past-president), the ACS executive director, and the ACS Council comprising almost 500 voting members. The board meets at least four times a year and is the legal representative of the society, administering property, funds, and affairs, as well as setting ACS policy.

The ACS Council functions as adviser to the ACS Board of Directors. Councilors are elected by local sections and divisions. Convening twice a year at ACS national meetings, the council acts on matters referred to it by its standing committees and has the authority to amend the society's bylaws.

ACS programs are guided by committees that report to the board of directors, the council, or both. Members of ACS committees are appointed by the ACS president, president-elect, and chair of the board of directors.


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PROGRAMS

A Lot To Learn About Chemistry

The ACS Education Division has products for teachers and learners at all levels

Kindergarten to Eighth Grade

ACS has produced two books for little ones: "Apples, Bubbles, and Crystals--Your Science ABCs" and "Sunlight, Skyscrapers, and Soda Pop--The Wherever You Look Science Book." These books encourage children to discover the wonders of science while strengthening reading skills.

Kids & Chemistry (K&C) provides scientists with resources and training necessary to share hands-on science with schoolchildren ages nine to 12. By working directly with children, scientists can make a real contribution to children's understanding of science, showing them that science and chemistry are part of everyday living.

The videos "Inventing the Future: African-American Contributions to Scientific Discovery & Invention" and "Tracing the Path: African-American Contributions to Chemistry in the Life Sciences" highlight selected contributions made to scientific discovery, invention, and the life sciences in the U.S. from Colonial days to the present.

The "Best of WonderScience," Vols. 1 and 2, feature activities from the 99 issues of WonderScience, the hands-on physical science activity magazine for elementary school teachers and students in grades three to six. WonderScience activities use common, inexpensive materials that often can be found in the home or classroom.

"WonderNet--Your Science Place in Cyberspace" is a kid's website for entertaining, hands-on science activities. It is regularly updated and provides archived activities and resources for parents and information about science projects.

FACETS (Foundations & Challenges to Encourage Technology-Based Science) is a middle school integrated science program, developed with funding from the National Science Foundation. FACETS consists of 24 modules for grades six, seven, and eight, all of which deal with topics, issues, and events that are of high interest to middle school students.

High School Chemistry

"Chemistry in the Community" (ChemCom), a high school chemistry textbook published by W. H. Freeman for college-bound students, presents chemistry topics organized around societal issues. The course is about 50% laboratory based and features decision-making activities that give students practice in applying their chemistry knowledge in decision-making situations.

"Science in a Technical World" is an NSF-supported, technician preparation modular program for students in grades 11 and 12. Its modules allow students to investigate industry-based problems that science technicians face in a typical workday.

ChemMatters, a quarterly magazine for high school chemistry students, focuses on articles that reveal chemistry at work in everyday life.

"Chemistry in the National Science Education Standards" is a publication that helps teachers build their understanding about the implications of standards-based education reform.

Project SEED is an ACS program designed to encourage economically disadvantaged high school students to realize chemistry career potential through internships.

The U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad program stimulates and promotes excellence in high school chemistry through international competition.

"VC2--Your Virtual Chemistry Club" is a website for high school students interested in chemistry. A periodic table format leads students to a careers section, product studies, chemical mysteries, and more.

College/University Chemistry

"Chemistry in Context: Applying Chemistry to Society" (CiC) is ACS's introductory, one-semester chemistry course for nonscience majors; it is used by more than 450 colleges and universities across the country.

Chemical technician educational materials include "Foundations for Excellence in the Chemical Process Industry," which is used by corporate trainers, curriculum developers, technician supervisors, and technician educators. This 400-page book presents the results of three years of work to identify skill standards for chemical laboratory technicians and process technicians.

Since 1936, the Committee on Professional Training has developed and administered guidelines that define high-quality undergraduate chemistry programs.

Since 1937, the ACS Student Affiliates program has supported undergraduate students, faculty, and ACS local section members in promoting professional development, mentoring, and peer support for chemical sciences majors.

The ACS Chemical Technology Program Approval Service approves chemistry-based technology programs that meet ACS guidelines. The approval signifies to industry that a college's program has met standards of quality similar to those of the most effective programs in the country.

"Preparing Future Chemistry Faculty" is a program to improve the quality of undergraduate education in math and the sciences by restructuring the preparation of doctoral students aspiring to the professoriate.

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"Experiential Programs in Chemistry" provides students with information about the importance and availability of outside-the-classroom opportunities: study abroad, cooperative education, internships, and service learning.

Career materials in print and video formats are available for high school and college students. A grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation made it possible for the production of a number of career products, including "Futures Through Chemistry," a comprehensive career guide, and "Chemical Careers in Brief," a collection of 30 career descriptions.

Continuing Education

To keep abreast of so much rapidly evolving technology, professional education is essential. ACS members stay at the cutting edge of their professions by selecting from among the many ACS short courses and professional development courses offered at ACS national and regional meetings.


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Copyright © 2001 American Chemical Society

Greetings
Celebrating 125 years of Chemistry

Greetings
Happy Birthday ACS!

Greetings
Attila E. Pavlath, ACS President

Nina I. McClelland, ACS Board of Directors, Chair

John K. Crum, ACS Executive Diretor

ACS History
Society Reaches 125th Birthday
Anniversary serves as a milestone to commemorate ACS's contributions to the advancement of chemistry and society

Important Chemical And Related Events

ACS Today
ACS At 125: A Chemist's Place
The American Chemical Society offers its members an extraordinary array of products and services

ACS Contacts
Get in Touch with ACS

2001 American Chemicals Society Board of Directors

ACS Publication
The Society's 34 journals and magazines cover all areas of chemical research

Essays
C&EN features the thoughts and aspirations of 171 young chemists, chemical engineers, and business leaders, who collectively describe a vibrant and challenging future for the chemical enterprise.


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