An Update on International Activities at the ACS - American Chemical

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An Update on International Activities at the ACS Bradley D. Miller* Office of International Activities, American Chemical Society, 1155 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036, United States *E-mail: [email protected]

ACS Office of International Activities aims to build global networks for ACS members that enable the broader chemistry community to engage in international research and education, especially targeting areas where chemistry provides solutions to global challenges. The Office works closely with the ACS Committee on International Activities and others to organize a large number of systematic and impactful activities in order to advance the global chemistry enterprise. Some of the activities summarized here include ACS global alliances, international chapters, science and human rights, ACS International Center, ACS-Pittcon collaboration, ethics workshops and Global Innovation Imperatives.

Introduction Virtually three decades ago, the American Chemical Society (ACS) amended its constitution to include a provision to guide its global presence and activities. Article II, Section 3 establishes that ACS shall “cooperate with scientists internationally and shall be concerned with the worldwide application of chemistry to the needs of humanity.” It is under these principles that ACS International Activities operates today. In 1977, the ACS Board of Directors established the Office of International Activities (OIA) for the following purposes.

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To administer cooperative international projects in chemical education, research, and development funded by government agencies and other organizations. To handle member service projects relating to international matters. To provide liaison for international matters within the ACS and between the ACS and other organizations. To serve as staff liaison to the Committee on International Activities and to assist it in implementing programs for which it has secured funding.

OIA’s first director was Mr. Gordon H. Bixler, former editor-in-chief of C&EN. As director, he shaped the Society’s early exchange and research collaboration programs with the Soviet Union, China, India and Egypt. Dr. John M. Malin served as OIA Director for 18 years and was instrumental in the establishment of the ACS International Initiatives Program, Project Bookshare, ACS Environmental Chemistry Workshops in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, ACS exchanges with Latin America, and early chemistry collaboration with Cuba. From 2005-2007, Dr. Tamara Nameroff served as OIA Director and furthered the German –American Frontiers of Chemistry Program (which later became Transatlantic Frontiers of Chemistry) and ACS sustainable science-based interactions with chemistry communities in Europe, Asia and Africa. For the past 10 years, Dr. Bradley Miller has been ACS Director of International Activities, notably leading ACS contributions to the 2011 International Year of Chemistry, the development of international research experiences for undergraduate students, global research collaboration, training, and science diplomacy programs, and growing ACS International Chapters establishment and ACS Alliances. The ACS Office of International Activities has carried out its functions and service to member volunteers in several divisions of the Society, including Office of the Secretary, the Education Division, Membership and Scientific Advancement, and most recently in the newly created ACS External Affairs and Communications of the Office of the Secretary and General Counsel. In this new context, ACS International Activities is responsible for building international recognition of, and collaboration with, ACS through alliance partners, international conferences, professional exchange/research programs and global networks to foster international research and scientific exchange. IA continues to develop activities which are science driven and focused on advancing the interests and priorities of ACS member-volunteers with global interests.

ACS Global Alliances ACS believes that chemistry’s contributions toward global concerns, such as education, environment, and health and safety, should be extensive. In order to make significant progress on these issues, ACS partners with organizations around the globe to leverage our resources and capabilities along with those of 96 Cheng et al.; Stereochemistry and Global Connectivity: The Legacy of Ernest L. Eliel Volume 1 ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.


our partners. International alliances and partnerships support the ACS Strategic Plan by engaging members and scientific professionals to advance the Society’s mission and address, through chemistry, many challenges facing the world. With well-defined key performance indicators, ACS currently maintains international alliances with the following organizations (1). • • • • • • • • • •

Chinese Chemical Society (CCS) Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) French Chemical Society (SCF) German Chemical Society (GDCh) Federation of Asian Chemical Societies (FACS) South African Chemical Institute (SACI) Latin American Federation of Chemical Associations (FLAQ) Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) Mexican Chemical Society (SQM) European Chemical Sciences (EuCheMS)

International Chemical Sciences Chapters ACS works to advance the field of chemistry around the world. Scientists outside the United States have formed International Chemical Sciences Chapters (ICSCs) to allow chemists within a geographic area to connect with one another, as well as with ACS members around the world. More than 27,000 ACS members are located outside of the United States. International Chemical Sciences Chapters provide a means for these ACS members to socialize, exchange technical information, and gain international recognition. ACS Bylaws provide for the establishment of overseas chapters of the American Chemical Society.With the ACS Board approving three new ACS Chapters at its December 2016 meeting, the number of ACS Chapters now stands at 19, with the additions of Greater Beijing / Tianjin, Southwest China and Iraq. Other active chapters include the following (2). • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Australia Brazil Hong Kong Hungary India Malaysia Nigeria Peru Romania Saudi Arabia Shanghai South Africa South Korea 97

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Taiwan Thailand United Arab Emirates


ACS Science and Human Rights In 1978, ACS began to investigate cases of alleged violations of the scientific freedom or human rights of chemists and chemical engineers in other countries. An ACS International Activities Committee (IAC) subcommittee investigated such cases in Argentina, China, Czechoslovakia, Iran, Korea, the Philippines, Russia, the Soviet Union and Turkey. The IAC Subcommittee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights, led by Prof. Zafra Lerman, organized these investigations and ACS response to human rights abridgements. They also organized symposia at ACS national meetings. Individuals honored at these events were Yuri Tornapolsky (USSR), Feng Li Zhi (China), Vil Mirzayanoff (Russia) and Aleksandr Nikitin (Russia). In 2010 the ACS Board of Directors revised the procedures for the Society’s response to questions of human rights and scientific mobility. Participation in this updated process is open to any ACS member, committee, technical division, local section, chapter and external human rights groups and networks to bring to the ACS Board’s attention reports of violations of human rights and scientific mobility related to chemists and practitioners in allied sciences. ACS International Activities is tasked with working with the IAC regional subcommittees, ACS members, U.S. Department of State, foreign embassies and other professional societies and organizations active in human rights to monitor and seek information on reported threats to human rights of practitioners in chemistry and closely allied science and engineering areas. In 2011, OIA, in conjunction with AAAS Coalition’s Welfare of Scientists’ Working Group, developed a human rights best practices primer, which focuses on equipping scientific and engineering societies, as well as other scientifically oriented organizations, with the tools to effectively develop processes and procedures to address human rights issues, particularly responding to allegations of human rights violations. ACS International Activities also organizes and delivers webinars in the ACS Science and Human Rights Webinar Series, which explores the connection between science, specifically chemistry, and human rights. Webinars in this series have included the Malta Conferences, SESAME, Scholars at Risk, and OPCW, winner of the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. OIA continues to further cultivation the Society’s science and human rights networks and their activation, including Scholars At Risk, AAAS Human Rights Coalition (including ACS participation / leadership on the Coalition Steering Committee and the Welfare of Scientists Working Group), NEAR, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the National Academies Committee on Human Rights, the State Department’s Office of Multilateral and Global Affairs, in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Physicians for Human Rights, and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) 98 Cheng et al.; Stereochemistry and Global Connectivity: The Legacy of Ernest L. Eliel Volume 1 ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.


and our sister societies. Over the years, many of the cases ACS has assisted with were initiated from these groups. In an effort to increase member engagement, ACS Science and Human Rights has established an alert network to notify members of changes to ACS monitored human rights cases. Over 200 ACS members have registered for this email list and receive links to partner petitions, notifications for ACS science & human rights events such as webinars and symposia, and other relevant information. ACS Science and Human Rights also maintains relationships with UNESCO, Scholars at Risk,

ACS International Center In 2009, then-president elect Joe Francisco appointed a task force and working group to brainstorm the concept and viability and to set plans for establishing an ACS International Center (IC). The IC was envisioned to serve as a mechanism to encourage U.S. talent to go abroad to engage in international research experiences, learn about innovation in the chemical enterprise, and transfer the knowledge into the U.S. marketplace. At the same time, the Center could sponsor topflight international talent to come to the U.S. After analyzing the results of informant interviews with academic and industrial chemists active in international exchange, reviewing trends in the S&T exchange literature and considering models for existing international centers in the US and abroad, IC planners found the concept of an ACS International Center workable, its activity needed to be science driven and characterized by a clearinghouse / network development function; its success judged by productive partnerships and alliances, research collaborations, transnational journal co-authorship and proposal development, and sustained student and researcher exchange. The ACS International Center encourages, engages and support international exchange of scientific information at all levels. Authorized by the Board’s Committee of Budget and Finance in 2012, the ACS International Center (IC) aims to facilitate the exchange of resources and opportunities for the globally curious STEM practitioner. The ACS International Center has information on nearly 600 programs across 16 geographic regions (including one for ‘global’) and six career experience levels. To assist in connecting the ACS community with global providers, the IC currently works with 29 organizations that serve as ACS International Center Affiliates. Affiliates work with the IC to promote their opportunities and resources and participate in the community by organizing webinars or other outreach events. The International Center hosts quarterly webinar series dedicated to providing the STEM community with information relevant to upcoming opportunities and trends in global education. The ACS International Center (IC) closed 2016 with a strong showing of traffic and unique visitors to the site. The IC completed the year with 36,521 unique visitors, 42,444 daily unique visitors and 110,805 page views. All figures exceeded established targets for 2016. The site also now features videos from industry leaders on 99 Cheng et al.; Stereochemistry and Global Connectivity: The Legacy of Ernest L. Eliel Volume 1 ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.

the important role of international science mobility and collaboration as well as article from leading science journals such as Nature and other resources (3).


ACS-Pittcon Collaboration With support from the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP), the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (PITTCON) and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, ACS International Activities works with Pittcon to organize delegations of early-career scientists to attend PITTCON meetings. The regions are selected each year through application peer review by IAC. The program recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.

ACS U.S. Department of State Workshops on Ethics With support from the US Department of State, OIA plans, organizes and implements Global Chemists’ Code of Ethics (GCCoE) workshops and institutes worldwide. Using its network of leaders in chemistry around the world, ACS works with the Federation of Asian Chemists (FACS), OPCW, PNNL, Sandia, partner chemical societies and Cooperative Threat Reduction priority nation representatives to organize these events (4). In Malaysia, Morocco, Kenya ACS International Activities organizes five-day training programs for participants from multiple countries in in the region in a variety of presentations and activities. The participants are trained in the background and intricacies of the GCCE as well as topics related to the Code, including Safety and Security, Publishing, and Communicating Science. Following the event, participants conduct a workshop/event in their home institution using the presentation materials from the initial workshop. They are encouraged to make form and content modifications if necessary to cater to the needs of their audience. To help with the delivery of this event, modest grants are competitively awarded.

Global Innovation Imperatives (Gii) Global Innovation Imperatives (Gii) is an ACS International Activities program that was originally started and implemented in collaboration with the U.K.-based Society of Chemical Industry. The Gii program fosters creative solutions to imperatives of global significance (e.g., clean water, food and health, etc.) (5). Gii’s goal is to stimulate significant action among ACS members, who include: • • • •

Innovation leaders Business executives Academia/education leaders Multinational businesses 100

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Non-government organizations Governments


The 2016 Global Innovation Imperative project’s white paper was recently completed and is titled “Green Chemistry Experiments for Remote Locations.” The 2016 project was submitted in partnership with the ACS International Chemical Sciences Chapter in Brazil and focused on green chemistry in rural areas. The event was held in the beginning of November 2016 in Belem, Brazil. A final draft of the 2016 Brazil Gii White Paper, as well as others from earlier programs, is available at https://www.acs.org/intrernational.

ACS International Activities’ Interactions with Cuba Since 1998 when the first delegation of twelve ACS members and staff visited Cuba to as recently as April 2017, ACS International Activities has cultivated a robust and sustained relationship with the chemistry community in Cuba, despite impediments to scientific mobility and exchange. These efforts were inspired by Professor Ernest Eliel and his volunteer service and leadership to the ACS and have culminated in contributions to the literature (6, 7) as well as elements of abiding trust and cooperation between and among chemists, chemical engineers and chemistry educators in both countries.

Lessons Learned With its many years of service, ACS International Activities works to amplify ACS member-volunteer global networks, communities and interests. It works with the ACS Board of Directors and Committee on International Activities to apply and build international recognition of the ACS, its brand and the Society’s relevant programs and activities—finding creative ways to apply ACS services to local needs around the world - targeting areas where chemistry provides solutions to global challenges. Successful programs are those which are driven by and remain true to the Society’s scientific mission and principles. As ACS International Activities – with guidance and direction from the ACS Committee on International Activities – refines and elaborates its global efforts in the decades to come, we are indebted to and inspired by the volunteer contribution of time, talent and energy of many, many ACS members with global interests. Among them is Professor Ernest Eliel who motivated us in our international pursuits to work hard with honesty, be resilient and never succumb to failure (8).

References 1. 2.

ACS Global Alliances. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/global/ international/alliances.htmlACS (accessed on April 29, 2017). International Chapters. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/global/ international/chapters.html (accessed on April 29, 2017). 101 Cheng et al.; Stereochemistry and Global Connectivity: The Legacy of Ernest L. Eliel Volume 1 ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.

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7. 8.

ACS International Center. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/global/ international/international-center.html (accessed on April 29, 2017). ACS Science and Human Rights and Global Chemists Code of Ethics. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/global/international/science-andhuman-rights.html (accessed on April 29, 2017). Global Innovations Imperatives. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/global/ international/gii.html?_ga=1.17006905.1607391587.1467043829 (accessed on April 29, 2017). Chemistry without Borders: Careers, Research and Entrepreneurship; Cheng, H. N., Rimando, A. M., Miller, B. D., Schmidt, D. G., Eds.; ACS Symposium Series 1219; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2016. Cheng, H. N.; Rimando, A. M.; Miller, B. D.; Schmidt, D. G. Chemistry without Borders: An Overview. ACS Symp Ser. 2016, 1219, 1–13. Eliel, E. L. From Cologne to Chapel Hill; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1990.

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An Update on International Activities at the ACS - American Chemical

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