Chemical & Enaineerina
NEWS DECEMBER 9, 1968
BYRON RIEGELPRESIDENT-ELECT FOR 1969 Dr. Byron Riegel Let's take the Society to the members
Dr. Byron Riegel, director of chemical research at G. D. Searle & Co., has been elected President-Elect of the American Chemical Society for 1969. In the same balloting Dr. Charles G. Overberger, head of the chemistry department at the University of Michigan, was returned to the Board of Directors as Director, Region II, and Dr. C. Harold Fisher was elected Director, Region IV. Dr. Fisher is director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Southern Utilization Research & Development Division in New Orleans. Dr. Riegel can be expected to push hard to achieve portable pensions for ACS members as one goal of his tour of duty as ACS President. Both members and industry alike would profit by implementation of such a plan, he believes. He also feels strongly that ACS committee members should be representative of a broader age distribution, with younger members— from 26 to 40—being given a greater voice. In his travels and talks with Society members before the voting, Dr. Riegel says he was struck by the growing awareness and interest of members in the Society's activities. He views this as part of the whole ferment that society at large is going through at present. Accordingly, Dr. Riegel believes ACS must become more involved in public affairs than it is. "But," he
says, we must proceed with caution." For example, the 1969 President-Elect says ACS should not express itself as a Society on politics, race, or religion, nor should ACS lobby for special interests of any group of members. ACS does have a responsibility, however, to explain to the public and Dr. C. H. Fisher Dr. C. G. Overberger particularly to legisDirector, Region IV Director, Region II lators the uses and abuses of chemical '• , : ·' —· ' •• · and chemical engineering discoveries, Dr. Riegel beers, in Dr. Riegel's opinion, and he lieves. believes this expertise should be put to work in helping the disadvantaged. "Chemists have stakes in many Project SEED, he says, is a good type social problems," he notes, "including of program to have. pollution, nutrition, housing, populaTurning to other areas of ACS action explosion, and education. ACS tivity, Dr. Riegel notes that the Socihas to become more aware of such ety's primary publications program problems because they are arising so faces very pressing problems. Citing fast they will engulf us if we don't." President Cairns' Presidential Address Everyone will profit in the effort to reto last fall's national meeting (C&EN, solve these public questions, Dr. RieNov. 11, page 48), Dr. Riegel stresses gel says, by more airing of controthe importance of the membership's versial issues, as long as all sides are accepting and encouraging experimenfairly presented. "Public discussion of tation within the publications. controversial subjects is a must," he adds. The format of national meetings could also be profitably altered, Dr. Chemists and chemical engineers Riegel says. He would like to see are by and large natural-born teachDEC. 9, 1968 C&EN
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THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK most original papers given at regional meetings, with national meetings concentrating on review papers, invited papers, award presentation papers, and the like. The Searle chemical research director sums up his view of ACS's role in promoting the professional status of chemists in one sentence. "Nothing beats competence," he says. Salary and status will follow, he says, if a chemist demonstrates excellence in his performance. Dr. Riegel was recently awarded the 24th Midwest Award by the St. Louis Section of ACS for his research in vitamin K, cancer chemotherapy, saxitoxin, antimalarials, and steroid hormones (C&EN, Nov. 18, page 71). His career spans 14 years at Northwestern University and 17 with Searle in Skokie, 111. He follows Dr. Wallace R. Brode as the second consecutive ACS President-Elect who studied for his Ph.D. under Dr. Roger Adams at the University of Illinois. Dr. Overberger, as newly elected Director for Region II, will continue a relationship with the Board of Directors which began in 1962. He was a director through 1965, and an ex officio director 1966-68 during his years as President-Elect, President, and Past-President of ACS. Thus he brings with him what is very much an "insider's" view of the problems and challenges which face ACS. Among these, he says, is the need for increased member participation in Society decision-making, including an expanded role for the Council, the need for better cooperation among the Society's divisions, constant reassessment of Chemical Abstracts Service's financial structure and its relationship to ACS, and the need for modernization of the primary journal system. Dr. Fisher's term as Director, Region IV, will be his first on the Board. In one respect, Dr. Fisher's election to the Board exemplifies democracy at work within ACS—he was nominated not by the Council Committee on Nominations and Elections but instead by petition. The New Orleans-based scientist has served ACS in a wide variety of other positions, however, including chairman of the Philadelphia Section, councilor, on the Council Policy Committee, and Committee Advisory to the President. He has also been president of the American Institute of Chemists (1962-63). As well as continuing and improving the valuable services of ACS to chemistry and chemical research, Dr. Fisher says, the Society should expand and strengthen its interest in the impact of science and technology on society and world affairs. 14 C&EN DEC. 9, 1968
Commonwealth Oil's petrochemical plant in Puerto Rico Chemical firms stick to project timetables
PUERTO RICO:
Business As Usual The rules for doing business in Puerto Rico aren't expected to change much as a result of the election of Luis A. Ferré as governor of the island commonwealth. At least this is the hope and the opinion of U.S. chemical executives whose companies plan large investments on the island. U.S. firms with investments in Puerto Rico were concerned over two issues in the election which saw Mr. Ferré defeat Luis Munoz. These were: the tax exemption status of industry and statehood. Puerto Rico has been a commonwealth since 1952. New investments are greeted in Puerto Rico with 10-, 12-, or 17-year tax holidays, depending on location. Since the island isn't a state, no federal taxes are paid. Mr. Ferré, on taking residence on Jan. 2 in La Fortaleza, the 400-year-old Governor's mansion in San Juan, may modify the tax exemption inducement but the consensus is that any change will be minor and will not affect projects now completed or those already committed. U.S. chemical executives say that Mr. Ferré, an MIT graduate with degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering, is a realist who appreciates Puerto Rico's need for more industry. "He is foremost a businessman," comments one such executive. A vital but latent issue for Puerto Rico is statehood. Mr. Ferré says that he will ask for repeated référendums to build popular support among his people for becoming the 51st state. This issue didn't fire the imagination of the electorate in the campaign. Again, U.S. chemical executives believe that statehood is a generation away. "Puerto Ricans have the best of both worlds right now," explains one. "They receive federal aid without having to pay income or excise taxes." Chemical firms with major projeets
scheduled for Puerto Rico are sticking to their timetables. PPG Industries says it will soon break ground on its six-plant petrochemical complex. Robinson Barker, chairman and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh-based firm, says the bulk of the $150 million PPG will spend in 1969 is earmarked for Puerto Rico. The election will not affect Union Carbide's plans either. The firm says that by 1970 its total investment in the island will reach $250 million. Sun Oil also is sticking to plans to spend $125 million for a refinery and $11 to $12 million on harbor improvement at Yabucoa. The refinery would contain both crude and lube oil units. Commonwealth Oil Co. has its expansion program well under way, according to president Sam H. Casey. A second aromatics plant and a 50% expansion of the Hercor p-xylene plant are now being constructed. Scheduled are oxo-alcohols and phthalic anhydride plants to be owned jointly by Corco and W. R. Grace and Co., and a large olefins plant, a joint venture of Corco and PPG Industries. By the end of 1968, Corco's investment in its Penuelas complex will exceed $200 million. This figure will rise to $300 million by 1970, according to the firm. But one investment scheduled by Corco for Puerto Rico has been scratched. Foster Grant's decision to build its own styrene plant at Baton Rouge, La., means that Corco will not build a merchant facility at Penuelas. Corco, however, will supply Foster Grant benzene feedstock. Loss of the styrene plant is partially balanced by the formation by Corco and TRW, Inc., of HYSTL Development Co., a firm which plans product and market development of thermosetting plastic resin systems based on high vinyl polybutadiene glycol. Eventual commercialization could result in a polybutadienes plant for Puerto Rico.
