nesacs summer issue of the nucleus

7/28/2019 NESACS Summer Issue of The Nucleus

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http://www.nesacs.org

Summer 2013 Vol. XCI, No. 10

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A Quarter of NESACSScience Outreach

Summary of GovernanceActions

245th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA

ACS Report onGraduate Education

NESACS ElectionResults

Katherine Lee selected as 2014 NESACS Chair-

Elect


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2 The Nucleus Summer 2013


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The Nucleus Summer 2013 3

The Nucleus is published monthly, except June and August, by the Northeastern Section of the AmericanChemical Society, Inc. Forms close for advertising on the 1st of the month of the preceding issue. Textmust be received by the editor six weeks before the date of issue.

Editor: Michael P. Filosa, Ph.D., ZINK Imaging, Inc., 16 Crosby Drive, Building 4G,Bedford, MA 01730 Email: Michael.filosa(at)zink.com; Tel: 508-843-9070

Associate Editors: Myron S. Simon, 20 Somerset Rd., W. Newton, MA 02465, Tel: 617-332-5273,Sheila E Rodman, Email: serodman(at)hotmail.com,Mindy Levine, 516-697-9688, mindy.levine(at)gmail.com

Board of Publications: Mary Mahaney (Chair), Mindy Levine, Vivian K. Walworth, James Phillips

Business Manager: Karen Piper, 19 Mill Rd., Harvard, MA 01451, Tel: 978-456-8622

Advertising Manager: Vincent J. Gale, P.O. Box 1150, Marshfield, MA 02050,Email: Manager-vincegale(at)mboservices.net; Tel: 781-837-0424

Contributing Editors: Morton Hoffman, Feature Editor; Dennis Sardella, Book Reviews

Calendar Coordinator: Sheila Rodman, email: serodman(at)hotmail.com

Photographers: Morton Z. Hoffman and James Phillips

Proofreaders: Donald O. Rickter, Vivian K. Walworth, Mindy Levine

Webmaster: Roy Hagen

Copyright 2013, Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society, Inc.

The Northeastern Section of the AmericanChemical Society, Inc.

Office: Anna Singer, 12 Corcoran Road,Burlington, MA 01803(Voice or FAX) 781-272-1966.e-mail: secretary(at)nesacs.org

NESACS Homepage:

http://www.NESACS.orgOfficers 2013

ChairLiming Shao158South Great RoadLincoln, MA 01773limingshao(at)comcast.netshao(at)fas.harvard.edu781-518-0720

Chair-ElectCatherine CostelloBoston University School of Medicine670 Albany Street, room 511Boston, MA 02118-2646Cecmsms(at)bu.edu

Immediate Past ChairRuth TannerOlney Hall 415BLowell, MA 01854University of Mass LowellRuth_Tanner(at)uml.edu978-934-3662

Secretary:Michael SingerSigma-Aldrich3 Strathmore Rd, Natick, MA 01360774-290-1391, michael.singer(at)sial.com

Treasurer:James Piper19 Mill Rd, Harvard, MA 01451978-456-3155, piper28(at)attglobal.net

Auditor:Anthony Rosner

ArchivistTim Frigo

Trustees:Peter C. Meltzer, Esther A. H. Hopkins,Michael E. Strem

Directors-at-LargeDavid Harris, Stephen Lantos, James Phillips,Ralph Scannell, Mary Burgess, John Burke

Councilors Alternate Councilors

Term Ends 12/31/2013Alfred Viola Mark FroimowitzMichael Singer Sophia R. SuRobert Lichter Kenneth C. MattesMary Shultz Tim FrigoLeland L. Johnson, Jr. Mukund Chorghade

Term Ends 12/31/2014Katherine Lee C. Jaworek-LopesMichael P. Filosa Lawrence ScottDoris Lewis Andrew Scholte

Morton Z. Hoffman Raj RajurPatrick Gordon John PodobinskiMary Burgess Stuart Levy

Term Ends 12/31/2015Catherine E. Costello Marietta SchwartzRuth Tanner JerryJasinskiDorothy J. Phillips Stephen LantosMichaeline Chen Norton P. PeetJackie ONeil Wilton Virgo

ContentsA Quarter of NESACS Science Outreach ____________________4Written and compiled by Jack Driscoll and Jennifer Maclachlan

ACS Report on Graduate Education________________________6

9th Annual NESACS Scramble Golf Tournament ______________8

National Chemistry Week Events __________________________9

Summary of Governance Actions/Reports__________________10American Chemical Society 245thNational Meeting, New Orleans, LA,April 7-11. 2013

Call for Nominations___________________________________13Gustavus John Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest

Historical Note_______________________________________13Leon Mir 1938-2013

NESACS 2013 Election Results__________________________15

Photos from Summerthing and Earth Day Events____________15Photos by Doris Lewis

Esselen Award Photos _________________________________16Photos by Joel Laino

Cover: Gustavus Esselen IV (L) presents the Esselen Award to Michael H. Gelbas co-awardee Frantiek Tureek (center) looks on. The award was presented on

April 4, 2013 at the Pfizer Lecture Hall at Harvard University. (Photo by JoelLaino).

Editorial Deadlines: September 2013 Issue: July 15, 2013October 2013 Issue: August 15, 2013

Al l Ch ai rs of st an di ngCommittees, the editorof THE NUCLEUS, andthe Trustees of Section

Funds are members of theBoa rd o f Directo rs. AnyCouncilor of the American Chemical Soci-ety residing within the section area is an ex

officio member of the Board of Directors.


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These three months were a very busytime for NESACS science outreach

pr ogra ms . Ch eck our webs it e athttp://www.NESACS.org for addi-tional events. Any NESACS membersinterested in volunteering for futureevents please contact Jack Driscoll, PRChair, at [email protected]. Age is no

ba rri er, wh et he r you are yo unge rchemist or a senior chemist.

February 16-17, 2013- Family Sci-ence Days at the American Associa-tion for the Advancement of Science(AAAS) Meeting, Hynes ConventionCenter, Boston MA

This spectacular science outreachevent was sponsored by AAAS and co-sponsored by the Cambridge ScienceFestival. This free two-day event wasattended by 3,700 people. The Ameri-can Chemical Society: NortheasternSection of the ACS (NESACS),

together with the ACS Division ofSmall Chemical Businesses (SCHB),reserved and staffed a booth. The ACSOffice of Public Affairs provided sev-eral hundred copies of both Kids Dis-cover Chemistry magazine and theCelebrating Chemistry Nanotechnol-ogy National Chemistry Week handout,in addition to Chemistry Ambassadorsashes, stickers and pins for distribu-tion at this event. There were morethan 60 organizations at the FamilyScience Days.

Our hands-on materials were pro-vided by National Chemistry WeekCoordinator, Chris Jaworek-Lopes.David Sittenfeld of the Museum ofScience not only donned a ChemistryAmbassador sash and put in volunteerhours at the booth, he also arranged forus to borrow the MoS demo kits thatwe utilized in addition to the NCWsupplies. We had three experiments:sun screen, surface area & nanosand.The latter was the most popular. I men-

tioned to booth visitors that the ACShad some very educational nanotechvideos on their YouTube channel.

When thanked for his time at thebo ot h, Ma rk Jones (pictu red rightabove next to Jack Driscoll) replied thatthe experience was surprisingly enjoy-able. Mark Jones is a Keynote speakerat the 2013 ACS Central RegionalMeeting (CERM) and was volunteeredto us by his Dow Chemical colleague,Katie Hunt, 2007 President of the ACS,who knew that we had booked an ACStable at this AAAS event.

We had about 350 parents andchildren visit us on the first day andabout 250 on the second day. The audi-ence was primarily K-6, but we did talkto several sophomores about careers inchemistry. One Post Doc mom asked

A Quarter of NESACS Science OutreachWritten and compiled by Jack Driscoll and Jennifer Maclachlan,NESACS Public Relations Committee


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me whether I would make a video toinvite her 6-year old son to the Expothe next day. I did that and met her sonthe next day.

On Sunday, Lisa Shatz from Suf-folk University, brought a number ofEE gadgets including a Mendocinomotor driven by a flashlight, solar cellsand magnets, a robot, a Gauss meter, amagnet & a tube of iron filings thatcould be used to demonstrate a mag-netic field.

We were gra ced with the mostamazing volunteers from the ACSSmall Chemical Businesses Division,

Northeastern Local Section of ACS(NESACS), Mid-Hudson Local Sec-tion of ACS, Dow Chemical (MI &MA), Suffolk University DepartmentChairs, including a Trustee, andMuseum of Science Boston (MOS).We couldnt have staffed the six hourseach day (Saturday and Sunday) with-out this team of volunteers: MukundChorghade, Jack Driscoll, ChrisGilmore, Mark Jones, JenniferMaclachlan and family, George Ruger,Lisa Shatz, David Sittenfeld, Sonja

Strah-Pleynet and family, Tricia Vick-rey and Dennis Walczewski.

Workshop at AAAS : Learn how toSatisfy your Entrepreneurial CareerCravings-NESACS/SCHB (4/17/13)

Jennifer Maclachlan coordinated andfacilitated the workshop, while JackDriscoll and Mukund Chorghadetalked about their entrepreneurial expe-riences. We had about 25 people inattendance. Two of the people talked to

us afterward about starting their ownsmall chemical business, and a reporterinterviewed Mukund. AAAS provideda lounge area after the talks, where wemet additional people and continuedthe discussion on starting small chemi-cal businesses.

Science on the Street - At the Brew-ster Museum of Natural History inBrewster, MA, Sat. March 23, 2013.By Jennifer Maclachlan,NESACS,Public Relations Committee Member

I spent Saturday afternoon at theCape Cod Museum of Natural History

participating in the Cambridge ScienceFestival, Science on the Street STEM

outreach event. This was an event Ihad planned to attend with my family,but instead we ended up as exhibitors,representing the American ChemicalSociety & NESACS. My eight-year olddaughter enjoys the VIP experience ofworking atscience festivals for severalreasons: getting there before the publicis allowed to enter, as the kid of a vol-unteer she gets to try all the cool activ-ities before everyone else since theexhibitors are eager to practice on areal kidand the best is having a spot torest between doing fun activities.

Since both of my girls had planned toassist me at the ACS table, I told eachof their teachers about it. The second-grade teacher suggested I make a flyerthat she would send home with the stu-dents in the class plugging the event

with a call-out box stating that theirclassmate would be at the ChemistryTable and we hoped to see them there.As a result of our *backpack market-ing,* each of my girls had a classmateattend. We talked to more than 100interested children. Before my six yearold (picture above in goggles on the*worker* side of the table) went tosleep that night she told me that thisfestival was the best one we have everdone. It was her favorite. I told her itwas my favorite, too. Some serious

mother-daughter bonding took place

while working the chemistry tabletogether. Im glad we decided to vol-unteer instead of just attend. Some-times it really pays to be a VIP.Somethings Brewing in the Bayoumoderated by Jack Driscoll of

NESACS at ACS NOLA 4/9/13Jack Driscoll of NESACS was the

moderator for the Brewmaster Panelrepresenting three local breweries:Abita, Covington Brewery and NOLABrewing. After a short presentation onthe history of brewing, this panelanswered questions for two hours infront of an audience of 25 chemistsorganized by the ACS Division ofSmall Chemical Businesses.

April 13-20, 2013- Cambridge Sci-ence Festival-this is the second con-secutive year that NESACS has

part ic ipated . pH measurements ofcommon household solutionsPrepared by Jackie ONeil, PR for

NSYCC


Science Outreachcontinued from page 4

continued on page 14
mailto:[email protected]


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The ACS recently released the report

of the Presidential Commission onAdvancing Graduate Education in theChemical Sciences, where the termchemical sciences is used to encom-

pass chemistry, chemical engineering,biochemistry, molecular biology, mate-rials science, polymer science,nanoscience, and other activities thatfocus on molecules, chemical reac-tions, and chemical properties. TheCommission, appointed by ACS Presi-dent, Bassam Shakhashiri, consisted ofdistinguished chemists and other scien-tists from academia, industry, and gov-ernmental and non-governmentalorganizations. The work of the Com-mission was supported by a grant fromthe National Science Foundation andthe ACS, mainly through its Presiden-tial Discretionary Fund, and is avail-able online at .

Charges to the Commission

What are the purposes of graduateeducation in the chemical sciences?

What steps should be taken to ensure

that important societal issues areaddressed, as well as the needs andaspirations of graduate students?

Major Conclusions

1) Current educational opportunitiesfor graduate students, viewed on

balance as a system, do not pro-vide sufficient preparation fortheir careers after graduate school.

2) The system for the financial sup-port of graduate students, as cur-rently operated by private,

institutional, state, and federalfunds, is no longer optimal fornational needs.

3) Academic chemical laboratoriesmust adopt best safety practices;such practices have led to aremarkably good record of safetyin the chemical industry andshould be leveraged.

4) Departments should give thought-ful attention to maintaining a sus-tainable relationship between theavailability of new graduates at all

degree levels and genuine oppor-

tunities for them; replication inexcess is wasteful of resources anddoes injustice to the investmentmade by students and society.

5) Postdoctoral training and educa-tion is an extension of graduateeducation that is important forsuccess in a variety of career

paths, particularly for facultyappointments; a postdoctoralappointment should be a period ofaccelerated professional growththat, by design, enhances scientific

independence and future careeropportunities.

Recommendations for Each Conclu-sion

1) Preparation for careers

Departments are encouraged toundertake greater oversight over the

progress and opportunities of individ-ual graduate students.

Graduate programs should be moreactive in diagnosing and remediatingdeficiencies in the preparation of

first-year students. Beyond core academic competency,additional skills are critical for afuture career; specific activitiesshould be offered that would enhancestudents abilities.

Four years should be the target forcompletion of the Ph.D., with thedepartmental median time less thanfive years.

Every department should constitute adoctoral committee for each studentcomposed of several faculty who will

be in timately involved in the stu-dents graduate education, and makean individual development plan astandard part of every doctoral stu-dents experience.

Departments should require at leasttwo original research proposals, onewith a focus outside the studentsimmediate field of study.

Faculty should encourage students toengage in projects requiring collabo-ration that broadens the studentsfield of study, especially interdiscipli-

nary and multidisciplinary team

approaches to complex problem solv-ing.

Students interested in entrepreneur-ship should have access to a curricu-lar option providing an introductionto relevant topics; one or more formalcourses should be developed for themore explicit preparation of studentswho intend to seek academic employ-ment.

ACS is encouraged to undertake anextensive survey of representativegraduate programs at selected major

universities to ascertain requirements,expectations, and organizationalstructures that best facilitate the edu-cational goals of the Commission.

2) Financial support of graduatestudents

Public and private funding agenciesand universities should take stepstoward the uncoupling of student-support funds from specific research

projects by experimenting with a newstrategy for graduate programgrants to support graduate students.

The U.S. Department of Educationshould make the GAANN (GraduateAssistance in Areas of National

Needs) Program more generally use-ful.

Faculty members should view workby grad ua te st udents as te achi ngassistants much more strategically asan opportunity and an obligation ofthe program to enhance the profes-sional development of the student.

Government sources should rebal-

ance fellowship programs to makemore awards available to students inthe second year of graduate schooland beyond, rather than primarily inthe first year.

Many of the nations that send gradu-ate students to the U.S. have strength-ened financially; departments and

programs shou ld place in crea sedemphasis on having international stu-dents supported by their home coun-tries.

The timetable for graduate work

should include support for all stu-

ACS Report on Graduate Education


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dents for two months during the sum-mer before the start of courses toreceive initial training in professionalskills, including instructional skills,and to begin exploring researchopportunities.

3) Best safety practices

Safety as a culture must be consis-tently led by example in all graduate

programs in the chemical sciences.

A natural supporting step would be toestablish a safety performance part-nership between industry and aca-demic institutions, whereby

corporations share best practices withstudents and faculty on a regular

basis.

Leadership from the top of an institu-tion is essential for a sound safetyculture to take root and thrive, andfaculty members in the chemical sci-ences can and should take the leadtoward best practices, advocating forsupport at the highest institutionallevels.

4) Availability of new graduate stu-dents

Given that the employment opportu-nities for new Ph.D.s are and willcontinue to be uncertain, departmentsare urged to adjust their programsizes to reflect those opportunities forgraduates that are truly attractive.

Faculty members and other academicleaders in every graduate program,whether at the masters or doctorallevel, are urged to reassess and tofocus the program distinctivelytoward its competitive advantages.

To encourage and help guide neededchanges, it is recommended that theACS collect and publish aggregated,

privacy-protected data, organized bygraduate program, on post-degreeoutcomes for all graduates, includingtime-to-degree, types of job place-ments, salaries, and overall studentsatisfaction with the graduate experi-ence and employment outcome.

Programs should build the domesticfraction of their graduate enrollmentsas a high priority; at the same time, it

is recognized that great contributions

have historically been made in ourgraduate programs and in ournational technical enterprises byinternational citizens who were first

attracted to the U.S. as graduate stu-dents.

To take advantage of the nationswhole talent pool, graduate programsmust place an emphasis on attractingand empowering students fromunder-represented groups.

Communications to undergraduatesshould point out that not only is grad-uate education in the chemical sci-ences free to them, but that they willreceive a stipend, as well.

5) Postdoctoral training and educa-

tion Institutions and departments, as well

as faculty mentors, should takegreater responsibility for ensuringthat postdoctoral associates develop

professionally.

All funding agencies should requiregeneral mentoring plans of applicantsseeking support for postdoctoralassociates.

Foundations and other funding agen-cies should re-explore programs for

teaching postdoctoral associates, sothat trained professional instructors

become an alternative to the currentreliance on doctoral students for so

much of a departments undergradu-ate teaching responsibility.

A feedback mechanism linking thesize of Ph.D. programs to job avail-ability is needed to minimize bulgesin the career pipeline at the postdoc-toral level.

Summary Statements

The Commission hopes to freedepartments and programs from feel-ing the need to be nearly identical.There is room for greater variation in

pr ogra m desi gn th an ha s been

recently typical in American graduateeducation in the chemical sciences. Itis believed that the field would bene-fit from more venturesome designand greater experimentation.

The Commission explicitly discour-ages any form of checklist for gradu-ate programs or any analogue to theACS Committee on ProfessionalTraining, which serves usefully toapprove undergraduate chemistry

programs.


Graduate Educationcontinued from page 6



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9th Annual NESACS Scramble Golf Tournament2013 Tournament Co-Organized with PCI Synthesis

Kernwood Country Clubwww.kernwoodcc.org

Salem, MA

August 5, 2013

BBQ Lunch followed by a Shot Gun Start at 1 PM

Buffet Dinner and Awards Immediately Following

Cost: $170 per golfer

Fee Includes:Greens fee, Cart

Full BBQ lunch, snacks and drinks on the course, passed appetizers,

and full buffet dinner with carving stations

Prizes include longest drive, closest to the pin, first, second, and third place teams

Hole Sponsorships are available at the suggested levels:

$2500 Boron

$2000 Osmium

$1500 Sulfur

$1000 Tritium

$500 Oxygen

$300 Nitrogen

Please note:hole sponsorships are very important. All proceeds support NESACS pro-grams

Registration: contact Harry Mandeville at [email protected]. Please include all

golfers names and e-mail addresses. Payment: by check only. Please send your check to:

Harry Mandeville

7 Pillings Pond Road

Lynnfield, MA 01940


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National Chemistry Week Events*Celebrating

Energy: Now and Forever!*(National Chemistry Week is Officially held Oct.20 -26)

October 27, 2013 Museum of Science Boston Phyllis A. Brauner Memorial Lecture by Dr. Bassam Shakhashiri

Dr. Bassam Shakhashiri is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is the

William T. Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea. Professor Shakhashiri has captivated

audiences with his scientific demonstrations at a variety of locations, including Bostons Museum of

Science, the National Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum in

Washington.

Taking place in Cahners Theatre (2nd floor, Blue Wing) at 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm.

* Admission to the museum is required. Free tickets to Dr. Shakhashiris show will be available

on a first come, first serve basis. Tickets are available via advance reservation. To reserve tickets,

please contact the NESACS secretary either via email [email protected] (preferred) or by phone 1-

781-272-1966 before October 23, 2013. Tickets will be available for pick-up in the lobby of the

museum at the ACS table.

Hands-on Activities related to energy

Taking place from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm on October 27, 2013 throughout the Museum.

November 9, 2013 Boston Childrens MuseumFrom 11 am 4 pm, NCW volunteers will be on-hand throughout the museum to perform demonstra-

tions and assist in hands-on activities related to the yearly theme.

September 1 October 5, 2013K-12 students participate in the NCW poetry contest. Visit www.nesacs.org andhttp://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_MULTICOLUMN_T2_50&node_id=1033&use

_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=58ef8ea1-4479-48ac-91dd-6d2467fe63bc for more information (afterJuly 15, 2013).

July 1 September 20, 2013K-12 students participate in the Northeastern Local Section design a t-shirt competition. Visit

www.nesacs.org for more information.
http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_MULTICOLUMN_T2_50&node_id=1033&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&_uuid=58ef8cal-4479-48ac-91dd-6d2467fe63bchttp://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_MULTICOLUMN_T2_50&node_id=1033&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&_uuid=58ef8cal-4479-48ac-91dd-6d2467fe63bchttp://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_MULTICOLUMN_T2_50&node_id=1033&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&_uuid=58ef8cal-4479-48ac-91dd-6d2467fe63bchttp://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_MULTICOLUMN_T2_50&node_id=1033&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&_uuid=58ef8cal-4479-48ac-91dd-6d2467fe63bc


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The following summary is provided tohelp Councilors report to their localsections and divisions on key actionsof the ACS Council and Board ofDirectors at the 2013 spring nationalmeeting.

ACTIONS OF THE COUNCILElection Results

The Committee on Nominations andElections presented to the Councilthe following nominees for selectionas candidates for President-Elect,2014: G. Bryan Balazs, Charles E.Kolb, Jr., Carolyn Ribes, and DianeGrob Schmidt. By electronic ballot,the Council selected G. Bryan Bal-azs and Charles E. Kolb, Jr. as candi-dates for 2014 President-Elect.These two candidates, along with

any candidates selected via petitions,will stand for election in the Fall

National Election.

The Committee on Nominations andElections announced the results ofthe election to select candidatesfrom the list ofnominees to serve asDirectors from District II and Dis-trict IV on the Board of Directors forthe term 2014-2016. Nominees forDistrict II included George M. Bod-ner, Jed F. Fisher, Alan A. Hazari ,and Robert A. Pribush. Nominees

for District IV included John P.Fackler, Jr., Rigoberto Hernandez,Larry K. Krannich, and John A.Whittle. By mail ballot, the Coun-cilors from these districts selectedGeorge M. Bodner and Alan A. Haz-ari as District II candidates; andRigoberto Hernandez and Larry K.Krannich as District IV candidates.Ballots will be mailed on or beforeOctober 10 to all ACS members inDistrict II and District IV for elec-tion of a Director from each District.

Candidates for Directors-at-Large:

The Committee on Nominations andElections announced the selection ofthe following candidates for Direc-tors-at-Large for a 2014-2016 term:Susan B. Butts, Thom H. Dunning,Jr., Dorothy J. Phillips, and Kath-

leen M. Schulz. The election oftwo Directors-at-Large from amongthose candidates and any selectedvia petition will be conducted in thefall. Ballots will be mailed to theCouncil on or before October 10.

Committee Election:

Two vacancies on the Committee onCommittees were created by theelection of Ingrid Montes to the ACSBoard of Directors and the appoint-ment of H.N. Cheng as chair of the

Committee on International Activi-ties. Prior to the New Orleans meet-ing, the Committee on Nominationsand Elections presented to the Coun-cil the following slate of candidatesfor membership on the Committeeon Committees beginning 2013:Christopher J. Bannochie, ArindamBose, David Lohse and JasonRitchie. Christopher J. Bannochieand Jason Richie were selected to fillthree-year and one-year terms,respectively.

Committee Review: As part of a regular performance

review, the Council VOTED unani-mously to continue the Committeeson Chemical Abstracts Service,Environmental Improvement, andYounger Chemists. Continuation ofthese three committees requiresBoard concurrence.

Re-alignment of Electoral Districts:

At the 2012 fall meeting, Councilorscalled for a broader and long-lasting

solution to requirements that Board

electoral districts have parity inmember populations. At this meet-ing, the Committee on Nominationsand Elections reported on their dis-cussions of a revised redistricting

proposal which brings all six elec-tion districts within 400-1,000 mem-

be rs of th e mi d-po in t of th epermissible range. This proposedaction is designed to eliminate theneed for frequent small changes forsome time to come. The proposalwill be up for vote at the fall Councilmeeting in Indianapolis.

Society Finances:

Despite the sluggish economy, ACSgenerated favorable operating resultsin 2012. Total revenue was $490.7million, which was $6.1 million or

1.3% greater than the approvedbudget, and 3.9% higher than 2011.The Net from Operations was $20.2million, or $4.3 million favorable to

budget. This was largely attributableto better-than-expected performance

by ACS Publications and CAS, andrepresents the Societys 9th consecu-tive year of positive operatingresults. While operating perform-ance was favorable, Unrestricted NetAssets declined $1.4 million to$100.6 million. Finally, ACS ended

the year in compliance with four ofthe five Board-established financialguidelines.

2014 Member Dues:

The Council VOTED to set themember dues for 2014 at the fullyescalated rate of $154. This rate isestablished pursuant to an inflation-adjustment formula in the ACS Con-stitution and Bylaws.

Petition to Amend the Constitutionand Bylaws (For Action):

After discussion, a vote to approve

SUMMARY OF GOVERNANCE

ACTIONS/REPORTSAMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY245th ACS NATIONAL MEETING

NEW ORLEANS, LA

APRIL 7-11, 2013


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the Petition to Amend National Elec-tion Procedures FAILED (85%against, 15% in favor). The petitionsought to shorten the campaign

period for candidates for President-Elect and to charge the Committeeon Nominations and Elections(N&E) with proposing two candi-dates for President-Elect. Currently,

N&E proposes fournominees fromwhich Council selects two candi-dates. Under the petition, Councilwould no longer vote on a list ofnominees. In collaboration with theCommittee on Nominations andElections, the Council Policy Com-mittee authorized a joint task forceon election timelines and proce-dures. This task force will examinethe entire election system.

Member Statistics

Society membership at the end of2012 was 163,322 - 893 lower thanthe total for year-end 2011 despiterecruiting 24,943 new members.The net loss occurred primarily inthe Regular, full member category.There was continued growth in boththe Student Member undergraduateand international categories, which

helped mitigate the overall decline inmembership. The MembershipAffairs Committee approved five

pilot market data tests to increasemembership.

Attendance Report

As of this morning (April 11, 2013),the ACS spring national meeting hadattracted 15,596 registrants, includ-ing 8,105 regular attendees and5,793 students. The meeting had11,232 papers presented.

Academic Professional Guidelines: The Council VOTED to approve the

Academic Professional Guidelines assubmitted by the Committee on Eco-nomic and Professional Affairs.These guidelines apply to those mem -

bers of the academic communitywhose job function impacts directlyor indirectly on scientists practicingthe profession of chemistry.

Local Section Allotment Formula:

The Council VOTED to approve anew formula for the distribution of

allocations to individual Local Sec-tions beginning in 2014. The newallocation will be divided as follows:

base allotment (49%); per member

allotment (43%), and LSAC pro-gram funds (8%).

Divisional Activities Name ChangeRequest:

The Divisional Activities Committee(DAC) received a request from theDivision of Colloid and SurfaceChemistry to change its name to theDivision of Colloids, Surfaces and

Nanomaterials. Six divisions haveregistered opposition to the proposedname, largely due to the use of theterm nanomaterials. DAC will ask

Council to vote on the new name inIndianapolis, with a recommenda-tion to approve.

Revision to Charter Bylaws for theInternational Chemical SciencesChapters:

The Council VOTED to approvechanges to the Charter Bylaws for

New Internat ional Chemical Sci-ences Chapters. These changes willguide the Committee on Constitutionand Bylaws in reviewing bylawchanges before proposed changes

are approved by the membership ofthe new chapter.

New International Chemical Sci-ences Chapter:

The Council VOTED, in concur-rence with the Board of Directors, toapprove the petition to charter theRomanian International ChemicalSciences Chapter, consisting of theTerritory of Romania.

Special Discussion Item:

A special discussion item was put on

the Council agenda for this meeting.ACS President Marinda Li Wu pre-sented and moderated a discussionon What else shoul d ACS do tohelp members to thrive in the globalchemistry enterprise? ACS hasestablished a strategic goal toEmpower an inclusive communityof members with networks, opportu-nities, resources, and skills to thrivein the global economy. In supportof this goal, President Wu commis-sioned a task force entitled, Vision

2025: Helping ACS Members Thrivein the Global Chemistry Enterprise,to identify globalization opportuni-ties and engage members in advo-

cacy for improving the business andjob climate. Following the presen-tation, 29 Councilors engaged in arobust discussion on what the Soci-ety currently offers or could offer tohelp members thrive in the globalchemistry community.

ACTIONS OF THE BOARD OFDIRECTORS

The Boards Committees and Work-ing Groups:

The Board of Directors received

reports from its committees onGrants and Awards (G&A), Execu-tive Compensation, Professional &Member Relations (PM&R), Plan-ning, and the oversight group onSociety Program Portfolio Manage-ment.

The Committee on Grants andAwards presented the Board withscreened lists of nominees for the2014 Priestley Medal and the Awardfor Volunteer Service to the ACS.The Board VOTED to approve the

screened lists, and will now vote on,and announce, the winners of thesetwo awards at its June meeting. TheBoard also VOTED to approve aSociety nominee for the NationalMedal of Science.

On the recommendation of the Com-mittee on Executive Compensation,the Board VOTED to approve sev-eral actions relative to compensationfor the Societys executive staff.The compensation of the Societysexecutive staff receives regular

review from the Board of Directors. On the recommendation of the Com-mittee on Professional & MemberRelations, the Board VOTED toapprove an alliance with the LatinAmerican Federation of ChemicalAssociations (FLAQ) and to renewan alliance with the Chinese Chemi-cal Society. The signing ceremonyfor alliances with the Chinese Chem-ical Society and the South AfricanChemical Institute (which was previ-ously approved) took place prior to




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the open meeting of the Board ofDirectors. The signing ceremony forFLAQ will take place at the fallnational meeting.

The Committee on Planning led adiscussion based on its initial find-ings from the ACS EnvironmentalScan/Strategic Context Research;and the oversight group on SocietyProgram Portfolio Management

br ief ed the Boar d on it s cu rren tactivities, including plans for theremainder of 2013. In 2012, the

oversight group outlined a process toeffectively and efficiently enable theSociety to routinely manage, priori-tize and rebalance its portfolio ofdiverse Society programs. Cur-rently, the oversight group is devel-oping the necessary processes, tools,and documentation related to the ini-tiative to put a process in place for2014.

The Executive Director/CEOReport:

The Executive Director/CEO and

her direct reports updated the Boardon the following: highlights ofaccomplishments from 2012; themajor challenges and projects facing

the Society in 2013; and the activi-ties of CAS (Chemical AbstractsService), the ACS Publications Divi-sion, and the Societys GeneralCounsel. As part of the Publicationsreport, the Board VOTED to approve

journal editor re-appointments andan appointment to the ACS Govern-ing Board for Publishing.

Other Society Business:

The Board ratified several of itsinterim actions, including anappointment to the Committee on

Executive Compensation. The Board also received reports

from the Presidential Succession ontheir current activities and plans forthe remainder of 2013 and the begin-ning of 2014; a briefing from thenew director of the ACS GreenChemistry Institute; and a reporton the newly instituted ACS CareerPathways Workshops.

The Boards Open Session:

The Board held a lively, well-

attended open session which fea-tured a special forum focused on twoquestions: 1) What one thing wouldyou like from ACS that you dontget now? 2) What one thing doyou get from another organizationthat you wish you got from ACS?Members attending this standing-room only session received a briefoverview of current Society offer-ings followed by an exchange ofseveral ideas on future services and

products.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONFOR COUNCILORS

The following is a list of URLs andemail addresses presented on slidesat the Council meeting. You willfind the information noted on thesesites helpful.

[email protected] contact informationfor ACS President Marinda Wu

www.acs.org/leadscopeqa - ACS vs.Leadscope questions and answers

www.acs.org/newmember - informa-

Governancecontinued from page 11


The Council of Scientific Society Pres-idents (CSSP), an organization of lead-ers of 60 scientific societiesrepresenting more than 1.4 millionmembers, has honored the 2013 ACS

past president, Bassam Shakhashiri ofthe University of Wisconsin-Madison,for his decades of effort in promoting

public unders tanding of science bynaming him the recipient of its presti-gious Carl Sagan Award for PublicUnderstanding of Science.

Shakhashiri is the William T.Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wis-consin Idea. His most recent effort infostering the public understanding ofscience has been in leading the devel-opment of the ACS Climate ScienceToolkit, , which provides objectivescientific facts about global climatechange for scientists to use in theircommunications with the public.

Dr. Shakhashiri has long been astaunch advocate on the importance ofscience and scientific literacy for all

people and all ages, and has a very dis-tinguished career in promoting scienceand science education internationally,said Dr. Patricia Simmons, 2013 CSSPchair-elect. He continues to serve asa dynamic advocate for policies thatserve our society through advances inscience and technology.

The award cites Shakhashiri forOutstanding contributions and accom-

plishments as a recognized magnifierof the publics understanding of sci-ence. Established in 1993, it wasnamed for the late astronomer CarlSagan, who was also the first recipient.Shakhashiri presents annually thePhyllis Brauner Memorial Lecture dur-ing National Chemistry Week at theBoston Museum of Science, and is anhonorary member of NESACS.

Among the past winners of theSagan Award are Thomas Friedman(New York Times), Bill Nye (The Sci-

Shakhashiri receives

science communicationsaward

ence Guy), Richard Harris and Ira Fla-tow (NPR), Alan Alda (TV science

programs), and Edward Wilson (Har-vard University). u

Bassam Shakhashiri performs during his annualOnce Upon a Christmas Cheery In the Lab of

Shakhashiri chemistry demonstration programin 2009.

Photo: Bryce Richter,University of Wisconsin-Madison


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Call for

NominationsThe Gustavus John EsselenAward for Chemistry in thePublic Interest

The Northeastern Section of the Amer-ican Chemical Society (NESACS) isinviting nominations for its prestigiousGustavus John Esselen Award forChemistry in the Public Interest. Thisaward is given annually to a chemicalscientist, whose scientific and techni-cal work has contributed to the public

well-being and has thereby communi-cated the positive values of the chemi-cal profession. The significance of thiswork should have become apparentwithin the five years preceding nomi-nation. The awardee shall be a livingresident of the United States or Canadaat the time of the nomination.

There is no limitation to the fieldof chemistry. The selection committeefocuses on the general public recogni-tion of the work, as well as its scien-tific/technical significance.

The Award consists of a bronzemedal and the sum of $5,000. Travelexpenses incidental to the conferringof the award will be reimbursed. Theaward will be presented at the April2014 meeting of the Section. TheAwardee is expected to deliver anaddress on the subject of the work forwhich the honor is conferred, or forwork in progress which is also directedtoward chemistry in the public interest.

Nominations should be submittedas a single pdf file including: 1) a letter

signed by the primary sponsor with adescription of the nominees work rec-ognized as making a major contribu-tion to the public welfare and ascommunicating positive values of thechemical profession, plus the names oftwo co-sponsors; 2) short supportingco-sponsor statements; 3) the nomi-nees professional biography includinga list of no more than ten of the nomi-nees publications selected for their

pertinence to the work nominated forrecognition; and 4) copies of popular

and technical press news or feature

articles indicative of public benefit andinterest. Further information is avail-able at www.nesacs.org.

Nominations Are Due October

15, 2013 to [email protected] cc to [email protected] recipients will be notified byFebruary 1, 2014.

Inquiries may be directed to theabove or to Dr. Mukund Chorghade,Tel. (508) 651-7809 or Karen Piper,Tel. (978) 456-8622. Address: 19 Mill

Rd., Harvard, MA 01451. u

Historical

NoteLeon Mir 19382013Dr. Leon Mir was born inKrystynopol, Poland on July 13, 1938.He died on Saturday, February 23,2013 in Brookline, MA of liver cancer.

He emigrated to Canada in 1948and later to New York. He obtained hisB.A. and B.S. from the ColumbiaSchool of Engineering in 1959 and hisM.S. and Sc.D. in Chemical Engineer-ing from MIT in 1961. He was a fifty-year member of the American

Chemical Society.Mirs expertise was in the fields of

membrane and chromatographic sepa-ration technologies. He worked atAbcor, Millipore, Ionics and Protientand for a long time was a consultant inseparation processes.

In 2005 Mir co-invented single-pa ss tangent ia l- fl ow fil tr at ion , animportant innovation in ultra-filtration

processes, for which he obtained sev-eral patents. In 2006 he co-foundedSPF Innovations to develop and com-

mercialize the technology.He was the husband of Judith

Bedrick Mir, father of Jonathan PhilipMir of New York and Lisa Tova Mirof San Diego, CA. He had two grand-sons, Nicholas David Mir and Alexan-der Grounds Mir. u

Submitted by Judith Mir /mss


tion on Why should I join the ACS?

[email protected] email address forthe Committee on Nominations andElections

www.acs.org then click on AboutUs and scroll down to ACS FinancialInformation for information on theSocietys finances

[email protected] email address forcomments and suggestions aboutchemical safety to the Committee onChemical Safety

www.acs.org/bulletin5 - ACS govern-ing documents including information

on petitions and certified bylaws for allunits

[email protected] email to send peti-tions (deadline May 22)

www.acs.org/ei - information on theACS Entrepreneurial Initiative

www.acs.org/sequester - location forcompleting the survey on sequestration

www.acs.org/supportfedscience -information on ACS materials relatedto federal S&T funding

www.acs.org/ethics - information onthe ACS Committee on Ethics

http://nationalethicscenter.org Ethics CORE web address and thechemistry landing page which links tochemistry related ethics content (clickresources by discipline then clickchemistry)

Local Section Resources

www.acs.org/getinvolved - grant infor-mation, important deadlines and officerresources

www.acs.org/forms - submit annualreports, record meetings, activities and

events year [email protected] nominate speakersfor Online Speaker Directory

[email protected] information onCelebrating Chemistry for 4th 6 th

graders u

Governancecontinued from page 12

Your one-stop source to career-relatedlinks in the Chemical Sciences

WWW.NESACS.ORG/CAREERS


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While we got off to a chilly start onSaturday at the Science Festival, wewere quickly surrounded by plenty ofkids ready to learn some chemistry.We started the afternoon off with pH

pape r ex pe rimen ts of co mmon lyencountered chemicals table vine-gar, orange juice, cranberry juice,lemonade and window cleaner.

For the older students, we had pHmeters to determine how accurate the

pH paper actually was. A pH scale witha hamburger on the acid side and broc-coli on the basic side is a favorite ofthe children. Over 100 children

be tween the ages of 4 and 16 weretaught about the effect that acids and

bases have on the body and how scien-tists use pH to learn about chemicalsand liquids around us. We were con-veniently located next to the NEAquariums table explaining the effectof pH on the ocean, so this provided anadditional level of understanding with

children who participated at our table.

NESACS Climate Science Caf atthe Cambridge Science Festivalscheduled for April 15, 2013 was post-

poned due to the tragic events occur-ring at the Boston Marathon. Efforts toreschedule are underway.

Northeast Student ChemistryResearch Conference and CareerSymposium scheduled for April 21,2013 was cancelled due to city-wideinvestigations and concerns for public

safety related to the Boston Marathontragedy.

April 28, 2013-(12-4PM)-Earth Dayat the Boston Museum of Science

(originally scheduled for April 21,2013 and was postponed due to city-wide investigations and concerns for

publ ic safe ty re la ted to the BostonMarathon tragedy).Prepared by: Jayashree Ranga,

NESACS CCED Coordinator

The Chemists Celebrate Earth Dayevent was a very busy and productivetime with a wide range of activities atthe Suit Cabot Lab - MoS. Our effortshere in NESACS and MoS reachedmore than 400 visitors with positive

messages about green chemistry andthe environment! The volunteers wereabsolutely great and enthusiastic. Inspite of change in CCED event sched-ule and finals weeks, we had more than50 volunteers at the event. This eventwould have been impossible withoutyou all, great job volunteers! DavidSittenfeld was great in reschedulingthis whole event in such a shortnotice. Thank you David! CCED-2013was a fun and joyful celebration ofChemistry at MoS! u

Science Outreachcontinued from page 5

The Commissions charge certainlyincludes masters level education.The distinctive role that the M.A.degree level fulfills in our societysuggests that there is room for fulleruse of it in the development of the

professional workforce. The mastersdegree needs to be reconsidered asthe diversity of opportunities in thechemical sciences increases.

The Commission also understandsthat progress on several of the dimen-sions addressed among its conclu-sions and recommendations will

require modifications to the rewardstructure for faculty members partici-pating in doctoral programs.

The Commission has focused on thegoal, rather than the path towardimproving graduate education in thechemical sciences. The emphasis onexperimentation is an acknowledge-ment that many new paths will needto be explored as progress is soughtalong various dimensions of graduateeducation.

In the effort to improve and reform,

the Commission expects that therewill be successes and successivestages. Pioneering departments and

practices will emerge and becomeexemplars. Subsequent commissionsand task forces will be needed toaddress topics in greater depth or

broader imagination than was possi-ble now, or to revisit strategies in thelight of results from actual trials. Itsmost earnest hope is that our fieldwill brilliantly renew its vigor andintellectual strength. u

Graduate Educationcontinued from page 7

Photo of green chemistry in action pro-vided by Beyond Benign.

Whats Yours?Many local employers post positions

on the NESACS job board.

Find yours atwww.nesacs.org/jobs

For late breaking news, job postings

and the latest meeting and event

information please visit us at

WWW.NESACS.ORG

The NESACS websiteUpdated frequently Late-breaking news position postings

Back issues of the Nucleus archived Career-related Links Awards and Scholarships

WWW.NESACS.org


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NESACS

2013ElectionChair-Elect Total Winner

Katherine Lee 264 xxJames Phillips 65

Trustee

Dorothy Phillips 169 xxCharles Kolb 140

Councilor (c) /Alternate Councilor (a)

Michael Singer 232 c

Mary Shultz 230 cRobert Lichter 223 cHeidi Teng 222 cMarietta Schwartz 221 cSophia Su 203 aLeland Johnson 202 aMary Mahaney 196 aAndrew Scholte 194 aRaj Rajur 193 aKenneth Mattes 192Sonia Strah-Playnet 189Wilton Virgo 182

Director-at-Large

David Harris 168 xxJohn Neumeyer 162 xxGary Weisman 148Mukund Chorghade 101

Nominating Committee

Raj Rajur 165 xxHeidi Teng 149 xxMarietta Schwartz 139Sophia Su 130

Esselen Award Committee

Karl Hansen 189 xxJeffrey Steinfeld 168 xx

Eric Jacobsen 133Vinod Patel 116

Richards Award Committee

Jerry Jasinski 180 xxMorton Hoffman 153 xxHoward Mayne 145James Morken 98

Tellers

Ruth Tanner (chair), Mike Filosa,Doris Lewis, Martin Isaks, JennyLi, Christine Jaworek-Lopes,

Nancy Spicer, Michael Singer

Total Ballots 335u

David Sittenfeld of the Museum of Science(MOS) and Jayashree Ranga, NESACS organ-izer of Earth Day at the MOS on April 28, 2013.

Participants in Earth Day events at MOS April28, 2013

Heidi Teng, NSYCC Chair, and friend at FenwayPark, May 10, 201

Dr. and Mrs. Tom Gilbert

Dorothy Phillips and Sandy Hoffman James Phillips and Morton Z. Hoffman

Summerthing at FenwayPark 2013 Photos by Doris LewisA great evening on May 10 with 70 NESACS members and friends, perfectweather, Jon Lester pitching a one-hitter, and of course the Red Sox winning!

Earth Day Photos Photos by Doris LewisEven though Earth Day was rescheduled to April 28, enthusiastic volunteers andattendees turned out for Earth Day 2013 at the Museum of Science.


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B U S I N E S S D I R E C T O R Y

SERVICESSERVICESSERVICES


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CAREER SERVICESCAREER SERVICES

B U S I N E S S D I R E C T O R Y

SERVICES

Index of AdvertisersAsisChem, Inc. ...................17

Boston College ...................18

Eastern Scientific Co. ...........4

Front Run OrganX, Inc.......17

Mass-Vac, Inc......................20

Micron Inc. .........................17

New Era Enterprises, Inc....17

Northeastern University ..2,19NuMega Resonance Labs...17

Organix, Inc........................17

PCI Synthesis........................7

PolyOrg, Inc........................18

Rilas Technologies, Inc. .....16

Robertson Microlit Labs.....17

VACUUBRAND ................16

Waters Corporation.............18


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NONPROFITO

RG.

U.S.POSTAGE

PAID

NORTHEASTERN

SECTION

AMERICANCHE

MICAL

SOCIETY

19MillRoad

Harvard,MA01451

Join NESACSon facebook

www.facebook.com/nesacs

NESACSArchivesMoveThe NESACS Archives were movedfrom their location of many years in

the basement of the Regis CollegeLibrary to a new temporary location atSigma-Aldrich Corporation in Natick,MA. A more permanent long-termstorage location is desired.

NESACS expresses great appreci-ation to Regis College for allowing

NESACS to store its archives in i tslibrary. NESACS is further apprecia-tive of Michael Singer and Sigma-Aldrich for making storage spaceavailable while a more permanentsolution is sought. u

New MembersInvitation to attend a meeting

You are cordially invited to attend oneof our upcoming Section meetings as aguest of the Section at the social hourand dinner preceding the meeting.

Please call Anna Singer at 781-272-1966, 508-653-6329 or email: sec-retary(at)nesacs.org by noon of thefirst Thursday of the month, letting her

Daniel Nocera (Harvard University) withMarinda Wu (ACS President) at his Kavli Foun-dation Innovations in Chemisry Lecture, "The

Artificial Leaf."

Liming Shao (NESACS Chair) with the certifi-cate of appreciation from ACS for the Section's50-year sponsorship of the James Flack Norris

Presentation of the James Flack Norris Awardin Physical Organic Chemistry to Ned Porter(Vanderbilt University), flanked by Liming Shao(NESACS Chair), at right, and Marinda Wu(ACS President).

National Meeting PhotosPhotos by Morton Z. Hoffman

nesacs summer issue of the nucleus

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