president's
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CHALLENGES IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM Daryle H. Busch ACS president
T
he year 2000 fills and completes the second millennium of the Christian Era. For much of the developed world, this era has brought to closure the principle that it is the responsibility of government to protect the civil rights of the individual. From a history that accepted distinctions like peasants, patriarchs, monarchs, and dictators— and imposed constraints on slaves, wives, and citizens by masters, husbands, and dictators—the sacred rights of the individual have come to dominate our concept of interhuman relationships. If that were the only big accomplishment in the millennium it would be reason enough to celebrate. But the growth of knowledge also generated the technically based professions and made people masters of their world in the simple materialistic sense. Today, the knowledge and understanding exist to provide longer, healthier, more fulfilling lives for most people, again, in the developed world. I believe the year 2000 brings closure to the understanding and the promise, but the delivery of those benefits to everyone throughout the world remains among the challenges for the next millennium. The forces working against that Utopian dream are enormous and they operate everywhere, even in the Land of the Free, the United States of America. As a teacher and researcher, I see a great need for freedom of thought and the freedom to learn, and this is where new challenges are appearing. Our nation was founded with the mission of preserving religious freedom for all of its citizens. When any group— religious, political, or whatever—attacks the freedom of thought, or freedom to learn, of individuals, that sacred principle is violated. All free people should rally to stop attempts by any self-interest group to limit the intellectual content of the education of our children. For chemists, this is particu2
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larly true when it comes to the teaching of science. The content of science is the accumulated knowledge and understanding of our material universe. Attempts to discredit the truth accumulated in science are efforts to create a new dark age and threaten eventual attack on all of the basic individual freedoms. The response to such threats must always be quick, open, and direct. You and ACS can help protect the individual rights of all persons. You and I are members of the American Chemical Society. What is that society? The next few sentences are those most often uttered by officers, governance members, and staff in describing our Society. The American Chemical Society is the largest scientific society in the world with almost 159,000 members. It is organized around 34 technical areas that we call divisions. It has 188 local sections, one just about anyplace in the country where there are a number of chemists, and two international chapters. Each
year ACS runs two national meetings and nine to 12 regional meetings and hundreds of local section meetings. ACS publishes more than 30 journals and magazines, operates an outstanding online service, and maintains a database of indexed abstracts covering the entire chemical literature, monitoring all articles in about 1,400 journals and some articles in a total of 8,000 sources. ACS employs about 1,760 people, two-thirds of them in Columbus, Ohio, located at the Chemical Abstracts Service site, and most of the remainder in Washington, D.C Who owns ACS? Fiduciary responsibility resides with the board of directors, but board membership is determined by an elective process. Six of the 16 members are elected according to geopolitical districts, six are elected from within the ACS Council (whose members are elected by local sections and divisions), and the remaining three belong to the popularly elected succession of officers: president, presidentelect, and immediate past-president. The board also includes the executive director of the society, appointed by the board. Finally, the board elects its chair. Through the elective process, you and the rest of the members own ACS. But legal and financial responsibility rest in the hands of your elected board of directors. Why is the number of ACS members important? There are at least three reasons. Because of its exceptional size, ACS can accomplish important missions that might otherwise be relatively difficult. The membership represents voter power from the perspective of members of government. Size is accompanied by resources, and the relatively great resources of ACS also have a great enabling effect. Finally, a large membership simply means that a large number of chemists give ACS their vote of confidence when they pay their dues! This high level of support validates the actions that the organization takes on behalf of its members. What is the value of ACS? The answer depends on where the question is focused. Asset value. The asset value of ACS is the dollar value of all of its holdings. This crass view is, in my opinion, the least appropriate way to judge its value. However, even from this standpoint, the society is pretty impressive, with an asset
(net book) value approaching $1 billion— and that without including the money that might be raised (liquidation value) by selling such units as CAS or the Publications Division (journals, magazines including Chemical & Engineering News, and books). This astounding value includes the two buildings owned by ACS in the heart of Washington, D.C.; the buildings and acreage in Columbus, Ohio, where Chemical Abstracts Service is located; the endowment known as the Petroleum Research Fund; and holdings related to insurance and retirement programs. Professional value. The charter requires ACS to serve chemists and the chemical enterprise, so the society is both a membership organization and a professional organization. Historically, I believe the greatest value of ACS has been in its service to the profession. ACSowned and -operated Chemical Abstracts Service has performed the formidable task of making the vast and ever-expanding literature of chemistry available to the global profession, and strong efforts make the products available to essentially all potential users. ACS journals have set the international standard for the publication of the results of chemical research. ACS meetings provide what is almost certainly the world's largest forum for the discussion of new scientific results in essentially all aspects of chemistry. Both nationally and internationally, ACS provides guidance for education in the profession through the Committee on Professional Training, the Society Committee on Education, and the Division of Chemical Education. Representation of the profession in all pertinent matters is critical. With the support of staff in the Office of Legislative & Government Affairs, and in liaison with other scientific organizations, officers of ACS represent the society in communications with the federal government, especially on matters of core significance to the profession. It has become increasingly clear that constant vigilance must be maintained and timely actions must be taken in support of critical issues. The defense of freedom of information is a classic, but paradoxical, example because of the absolute necessity for freedom of scientific information and the contrasting need for temporary confidentiality of intellectual properties in order to preserve their value in the marketplace. Long term, the federal funding of research and development is critically important to the chemical enterprise and
to the well-being of the U.S. and its citizens. It is the responsibility of scientists, individually and through their professional organizations, to keep their representatives in government informed of the state of the research enterprise and its needs. Repeatedly, government representatives and high-level government employees have exhorted members of the scientific community to communicate the needs of their professions to their government, offering assurance that the input would be most welcome and would have positive impacts. Such activities have habitually been modest at best. This urgent and enduring need is for active citizens, not activists. As your ACS president, I urge you to join the ACS Legislative Action Network (http://www.acs.org/government/ action). ACS members participating in the network receive timely alerts via email urging them to contact their members of Congress on issues of concern to the profession. Your contribution is extremely important. The Office of Industry Relations is an ACS unit with well-honed sensitivity to the needs of chemists employed in industry. ACS governance and staff members are eager to do all they can to continue to increase the value of the society to industrial leaders and industrial employees. Through Industry Relations programs such as Heroes of Chemistry—which annually honors industrial chemists and chemical engineers, their companies, and their leaders for outstanding achievements with commercially successful products—ACS continues to recognize the important role industry plays in the chemical enterprise. Industry Central, another program of Industry Relations, provides industry professionals with a forum to interact with key leaders from industry, explore important trends affecting the industrial sector, and develop skills for succeeding in the industrial work environment. ACS also provides support to the efforts of local sections and regions to increase industrial participation in their respective areas. Value to members. The last item above illustrates how difficult it is to distinguish service to the profession from service to ACS members. The major benefit of ACS to you as a member is access to exceptional resources that will help you work smarter, advance your career, and enhance your professional standing: firstclass professional publications available at reasonable costs; access to ready-made networks in local sections and technical
divisions as well as technical meetings; and unique professional and career services that help members manage their careers—employment services, various insurance programs, and supplementary retirement programs, to name a few. In addition, groups such as the Women Chemists' Committee and the Office of Minority Affairs serve the membership as the society strives for a diversity that reflects the national population. Other activities include improving the public image of chemists and chemistry and contributing to the public's scientific literacy. Each of these activities contributes positively to the quality of life of professional chemists. It is because of my personal belief that ACS has served me so well as a member for almost 48 years that I have become your president and am writing this message to you. Value to society at large. Beyond these subjects and perhaps less directly, ACS has value to all of society and more directly to many of the other institutions of our culture, such as other scientific societies, health professions, engineering professions, and government at all levels. ACS's educational activities provide leadership in the teaching of chemistry and science in general. Many activities have been stimulated by the desire either to improve the public image of chemistry or to enhance the scientific literacy of the public. There are compelling reasons for increasing these efforts. Needed—more activities in which constituents participate. Through its members as volunteers, its staff, and other resources, our society pursues a wide range of activities and we may identify some particular target audience or constituency with almost all of these activities. That constituency might be the membership, the leaders of industries that hire chemists, the people who purchase primary and secondary publications for libraries, the researchers of the chemistry profession, the volunteers in ACS governance, the youth of America, or the members of the U.S. Congress. While these activities can be viewed in various ways, I want to focus on the difference between two kinds of ACS activities—those that recognize contributions to the profession and in the process contribute to enhanced appreciation and understanding of chemistry, and those that engage the target audience in a participatory manner. Examples of the former include the Heroes of Chemistry program; the ACS Awards program, which recognizes sciJANUARY3,2000C&EN
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entific accomplishments by conferring that science and chemistry are part of evmore than 50 national awards annually; eryday living, that science and scientists and the National Historic Chemical make important contributions to everyLandmarks program, which confers day life, and that chemists are people like landmark status to sites, artifacts, and you. The ACS Education Division produccollections closely linked to seminal es curriculum materials to better educate achievements in the history of chemis- students and promote their interest in science from kindergarten through univertry and chemical technology. My focus, however, is on those activ- sity. While these are wonderful proities that engage the target audience in grams, we need to be on the lookout for a participatory manner. Now of course new ways of bringing the microcosm of there are participatory activities that re- chemistry and the laboratory into the late to researchers—journals, meetings, lives of children. It's great to show chilChemical Abstracts Service, and Petro- dren neat experiments that they can do, leum Research Fund grants. The re- but we must also teach them to think of search community of chemistry has pro- the molecules that make up gases, liqfound respect for the products of these uids, and solids. activities and, I believe, ACS members I share with many peers the quiet feel much pride of ownership with re- hope that someday chemistry will be recspect to ACS publications and meetings. ognized by the general public for what it Viewing member services as separate is—and appreciated accordingly. Through from research-related programs, partici- chemistry, essentially all aspects of our patory activities are again readily appar- lives have been improved: health, life ent—insurance programs, job placement span, food, housing, transportation, and services, and supplementary retirement communications. Whatever we do is posprograms. As the career paths of ACS sible because of the new chemistry that members change with the times, it will be we understand and put to use. necessary to redesign, perhaps add to or Interestingly, our society has profited remove from, the portfolio of member- from most of the benefits of chemistry service programs. Today, one wonders with one glaring exception. The general what fraction of the membership would public has been denied the excitement of be well served by making ACS the per- the vision of their universe on the molecmanent home of some of their essential ular level, where chemistry can be underbenefits and convenient services. stood in terms of simple relationships But apart from these activities, I want and models that even children can easily to issue a call to action for more activi- perceive. The opportunity to share in this ties in which constituents participate. exciting view may be blurred by the misParticipatory activities engage audienc- conception that chemistry is hopelessly eses and create a sense of involvement, otenc or by some prejudice against "chemeven ownership. ACS has a number of icals" or science. activities that engage target audiences Many of us in chemistry fear that such as children or the general public. these kinds of mind-sets limit the pubThe most notable of these is National lic's understanding of our work. At the Chemistry Week (NCW), a community- same time we feel that the public has based program designed to enhance positive views of chemists and scientists. public awareness of the importance of But in fact, existing data are out of date chemistry to the quality of our daily and don't provide a sound basis for eilives. In 1999, all 188 local sections par- ther view. The last time the society meaticipated in NCW, carrying out events in sured public opinion about chemistry venues ranging from football fields to and chemists was about 13 years ago— hospitals to shopping malls. Tens of the same year that the Chernobyl reacthousands of children and adults partici- tor and Challenger space shuttle accipated in activities that highlighted the dents occurred. Even then, the public importance of chemistry to their lives. held chemists in high regard. To be sure that our efforts to reach National Chemistry Week is just one week out of the year, but there are other and engage the public in chemistry are programs and products that ACS has de- targeted appropriately, this year ACS veloped for any time of the year. For ex- will begin new measurements of public ample, Kids & Chemistry was developed opinion with a special three-year initiato give chemical scientists the resources tive. This project is designed to provide and training necessary to share hands-on us with a baseline of data, as well as science with schoolchildren ages nine to trends and changes in public opinion 12. Through this program, children learn about chemists, chemicals, and chemis4 JANUARY 3,2000 C&EN
try. In addition, this investigation will reveal to us the public's views on a few specific, fast-moving issues in science so that we can better serve our membership and profession. I encourage all members to look for updates on this project and to incorporate its findings into their efforts to reach the public with messages about chemistry. We may find that the new century calls for a new approach. In the meantime, there is no better way for members to contribute to the public understanding of our science than to participate in our local section and division public relations programs, which are managed by the Office of Communications. Special training is provided to enhance the abilities of members to serve their divisions or local sections by providing a bridge between chemistry and the public or the media. As increasing numbers of chemists articulate their work beyond the borders of their laboratories and lecture halls, our communities willfindit increasingly easy to share the wonders of chemistry. I want to close this subject with a simple thought. Chemists understand the substances that compose this Earth and everything therein or thereon. This understanding has many highly sophisticated aspects, but it also has many mundane aspects. There is a need for much practical knowledge, and this touches the lives of everyone—for example, data on medicines or toxins, cautions relating to familiar substances, the contents of commonly occurring substances, and procedures for accomplishing many routine tasks involving substances. We should find ways to deliver to everyone, at negligible cost, useful chemical information from the vast database of chemical knowledge. The Internet and databases are at the heart of the matter. We need to cherish and support participatory engagements and expand them to new constituencies. Maintaining the leadership position in the digital age. Today, we live in the Digital Information Age, and the dynamic evolution of information and knowledge management and of communication continues to cascade along. No one knows precisely how scholarly information will be treated when this process of change finally stabilizes. It is entirely possible that the new world of primary and secondary publications will demand products that are much different from those provided by ACS. In this changing world, two broad-ranging facts are at the Continued on page 38
SDVASDVSDHVDHADG Continued from page 4 center of the relationship of the American Chemical Society to publications: • ACS has accepted responsibility for establishing global standards for research publication in chemistry and for providing reliable and thorough access to all research publications concerned with chemistry. As a matter of responsibility, these roles will not be relinquished easily by the society—the need is too great and the risks to the profession of abandoning this leadership position are too great. In view of the enormous changes that are occurring, a critically important question is: "How can we ensure that we retain our traditional leadership role?" • To fulfill this role, ACS operates a large enterprise for both primary and secondary publications—the Chemical Abstracts Service and the Publications Division—with more than 1,400 talented employees and a fortune invested in property and facilities. These operations are recognized as pillars of the chemical information sectors. In a rapidly changing world, however, all business operations face risks. So even though the ACS units have a proven track record of success in this decade—and, I am confident, will continue that trend—a second question arises: "How can we ensure continuing financial success if a most challenging scenario unfolds in the Electronic Age?" The obvious answer to both of these questions is that ACS must reliably contain within itself the intellectual capability always to lead in this evolving scenario. We must not be content to be just another player; we must be the leader during the entire process. There is no question about our leadership at this moment, but we must always invest the resources we need to continue that leadership. Thank you for making me your president. These are exciting times to be a member of the chemical profession. Our science is in many ways mature, and in many ways chemical technology is taken for granted. That simply guarantees the position of chemistry in the world today. Furthermore, new realms of chemistry are unfolding and the boundaries of the field are verdant with growth, as chemistry merges with, among others, biology, materials science, and the environmental realm. The ultimate understanding of the intricate interactions between diverse molecules is a door wide open for exploration, and the details of molecular change are subject to study as never before. It is a great pleasure to share these exciting times with you.^
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