ACS NEWS
Reports from the Board of Directors Meeting June 3, 1967 Minutes T h e Board of Directors of the American Chemical Society met in Columbus, Ohio, at 9 A.M. on June 3, 1967. Milton Harris, Chairman, presided. The following directors were present: Robert W. Cairns, Milton Harris, Robert F . Marschner, William A. Mosher, John H. Nair, W . Albert Noyes, Jr., Charles G. Overberger, Byron Riegel, John C. Sheehan, William J. Sparks, and Charles L. Thomas. Arthur M. Bueche and Herbert E. Carter were unable to attend. The following persons were present by invitation for the morning session: Dale B. Baker, Gordon H. Bixler, Boris E. Cherney, David E. Gushee, Rodney N. Hader, E. G. Harris, Jr., R. E. Henze, R. K. K. Jones, Richard L. Kenyon, Joseph H. Kuney, Robert V. Mellefont, Stephen T. Quigley, James H. Stack, B. R. Stanerson, Fred A. Tate, and R. M. Warren. 1. The minutes of the meeting of April 9, 1967, were approved (see C&EN, June 5, page 6 0 ) . Ad interim
actions
2. V O T E D that the following ad interim action of the Board of Directors be confirmed: V O T E D to approve the draft of minutes of the meeting of the Board of Directors on April 9, 1967. 3. V O T E D that the following ad interim actions of the Executive Committee be ratified: V O T E D that the Executive Committee, acting for the Board of Directors, authorize the President of the Society to send the following letter to the Honorable John L. McClellan, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Patents, Trademarks and Copyright of the United States Senate: May 5, 1967 Honorable John L. McClellan, Chairman Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Patents, Trademarks and Copyright Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. Dear Mr. Chairman: The American Chemical Society is the largest membership organization devoted to a single science in the entire world. Membership consists of more than 106,000 chemists and chemical engineers. The Society is a non-profit
organization originally incorporated in New York State in 1876 and reincorporated by an Act of Congress in 1937. It should be noted that the American Chemical Society was chartered by the Congress of the United States under Public Law No. 358, 75th Congress, Chapter 762, 1st Session, which was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 25, 1937. Our interest in S. 597, a bill providing for the general revision of the copyright laws, Title 17, United States Code, which is now being considered by the Subcommittee, is self-evident from a reading of the objects of the Society, as set forth in Sec. 2 of its Congressional charter which provides as follows: Sec. 2. That the objects of the incorporation shall be to encourage in the broadest and most liberal manner the advancement of chemistry in all its branches; the promotion of research in chemical science and industry; the improvement of the qualifications and usefulness of chemists through high standards of professional ethics, education, and attainments; the increase and diffusion of chemical knowledge; and by its meetings, professional contacts, reports, papers, discussions, and publications, to promote scientific interests and inquiry, thereby fostering public welfare and education, aiding the development of our country's industries, and adding to the material prosperity and happiness of our people. A vital part of the Society's activities by which it seeks to realize its purpose to encourage in the broadest and most liberal manner the advancement of chemistry in all its branches is its publications program, the largest of its kind in the world. The Society's publications program now includes 18 journals varying from scholarly journals containing reports of original research from such fields as medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, and agricultural and food chemistry, to a weekly newsmagazine designed to keep chemists and chemical engineers abreast of the latest developments affecting their science and related industries. In addition, the Society is the publisher of CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS, one of the world's most comprehensive abstracting and indexing services. In its 1966 budget the Society provided $16 million in support of its publications program. This money will be
derived chiefly from subscriptions. The journals and other published writings of the Society serve two important functions, namely: First, they accomplish the increase and diffusion of chemical knowledge and related purposes of the Society. Secondly, they generate revenue, without which the Society could not support and continue its publications program in furtherance of its Congressional charter. The protection of copyright has proved an important factor in the growth and development of the scientific publishing program of the Society. For these and related reasons, the Society has followed with great interest the studies and activities of the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress and of the committees of the House and Senate which have now culminated in your Subcommittee's consideration of S. 597 relative to the general revision of the present copyright laws set forth in Title 17, United States Code. Although we have noted with great interest the many substantial changes in the copyright law which will result from the enactment of S. 597, we will limit our comment at this time to the deeply troublesome issues related to the doctrine of "fair use," and the photocopying or other means by which machines are being widely used today to reproduce written and printed matter of every description. Section 107 of the pending bill mentions what lawyers refer to as the doctrine of fair use and defines it in part. Under this doctrine, which we are informed is merely a codification of what is in all likelihood the present law in the United States, it is not an infringement of copyright to reproduce excerpts of a copyrighted work for certain restricted and qualified purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. Looking elsewhere in the Bill we note other limitations imposed upon the otherwise exclusive rights of a copyright proprietor to reproduce or copy his copyrighted material, and to permit or deny that privilege to others. We are also aware that certain interests have been quite active in their efforts to persuade the Copyright Office and the Congress that still other uses should be permitted without the necessity for securing the permission of the copyright proprietor. These provisions of the Bill and the pressures being exerted to secure still further concessions which will further limit the right of copyright proprietors to protect their material JULY 31, 1967 C&EN
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HIGHLIGHTS OF OFFICIAL REPORTS Awards
Grants
Dr. Donald F, Hornig, Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, has been named recipient of the Parsons Award for 1967 (C&EN, June 19, page 68). (Minute 9) Priestley Medalist for 1968 is Dr. William G. Young, vice-chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles (C&EN, July 24, page 56). (Minute 8) A single new annual award for local sections, recognizing outstanding activities and performance, will replace the present member relations and public relations awards. (Minute 10 and committee report)
The allotment of $1.4 million for 78 Petroleum Research Fund grants and awards has been approved. (Minute 4 and committee report) ACS will continue administration of Asia Foundation grants on a basis similar to the present. (Minute 4) ACS will contribute $50,000 toward a new auditorium at the National Academy of Sciences headquarters (C&EN, July 17, page 48). (Minute 19)
Board of Directors An increase in the number of Board members to 15 from the present 13 is being sought to help reduce the work load on each member. (Minute 11)
Meetings Cancellation of the 1968 winter meeting in New Orleans and a switch in sites for the 1971 and 1972 spring meetings, already voted by the Council, have been approved. (Minutes 14-16) ACS will serve as Secretariat for the meeting of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry in Boston in 1971. (Minute 18)
Chemical Abstracts Service
Membership
A $1 million increase in the 1967 CAS budget deficit has been approved to cover deviations from earlier estimates. (Minute 12 and committee reports)
Free ACS pins for new ACS members are now a reality. (Minute 21) Public affairs
Clinical chemistry A recent ACS policy statement on clinical chemistry has been changed to make clear the opinion that qualified physicians are competent to direct clinical laboratories. (Minute 20 and committee report)
An expression of ACS support of a selective service policy permitting deferment of graduate students in the sciences (C&EN, June 5, page 95), and the sending of a letter giving the Society's views on a Senate bill to revise the copyright laws (C&EN, May 22, page 60) have been ratified. (Minute 3 and committee report)
Expositions Scientific-educational expositions at most ACS national meetings will be managed by the Society, with sponsorship to be shared with host local sections. (Minute 17)
against unauthorized uses are of genuine concern to the American Chemical Society. The American Chemical Society disseminates more scientific information in the field of chemistry than any other organization. Our accomplishments in this area have been recognized both by Congress and by other branches of Government. Our investments are great from the standpoint of both manpower and dollars. We believe that our service program is a vital service which must be continued. The Society is deeply concerned, however, that the unauthorized use of materials under an increasingly liberalized "fair use" doctrine could impair or even destroy our ability to generate, publish and disseminate such scientific information in the future. While the Society in no way seeks to hamper or restrict either the learning process or the use of techno60 C&EN JULY 31, 1967
Publications Volume discounts on sales of "Handbook for Authors" have been approved (C&EN, June 5, page 63). (Minute 13 and committee reports)
logical developments and equipment needed to improve the exchange of information, it cannot be oblivious to the effects of these developments on the essential financial support needed to continue the publishing function which generates the basic materials. Accordingly, we would urge that this Subcommittee weigh carefully the wisdom of adopting any new proposals which are either designed to permit, or will necessarily result in the further impairment or destruction of these sources of scientific writings. The Society conducts research and experimentation on the use of computers and allied electronic devices for the handling and dissemination of scientific information. Based on our own experience and observations of the work of others doing research in this area, we see that such developments are leading us toward systems where a single orig-
inal work will be used to disseminate multiple copies as well as a variety of subcollections of information derived from the original work. In effect, we are in the process of enhancing the distribution of an author's works by replacing the printing plate with the capability of electronic processing. We urge that the proposed bill be aware of the impact of such developments on the role of copyright protection and follow a course which will in no way prove confining in terms of future technological progress. If the present Bill is enacted, it will be the first time the United States statutes on copyright laws have ever mentioned the doctrine of fair use. While the purposes of doing so are laudatory, we are concerned that the language in Section 107 will be misinterpreted by some and deliberately distorted by others for the purpose of making un-
authorized uses of copyrighted material not intended by the Congress. For these reasons, we think it would be wiser to delete Section 107 from the Bill in its entirety so that persons will be encouraged to inquire before reproducing copyrighted materials. The American Chemical Society is actively engaged in a continuing program of development and study relative to the photocopying problem, the use of computerized technology and the question of fair use, in an effort to find solutions which are compatible with the best interests of both copyright producers and users. We are vigorously pursuing a long-standing program to provide interested persons with copies of materials copyrighted by the Society at the lowest possible cost, and to license others to reproduce such materials. Despite these efforts, it is an accepted fact that photocopying of complete articles and other copyrighted materials is as widely practiced among scientists as in other lines of endeavor. Although we have no figures to indicate precisely the volume of such copying, in terms of subscription losses, it does appear that the amount of photocopying of chemical publications is considerably higher than in other fields of science. In a study of the copying of technical journals from the New York Public Library, five American Chemical Society journals appeared on the list of 22 most copied journals, and ranked 2, 3, 5, 12, and 13, respectively. Bonn, George S., "Science Technology Periodicals," Library Journal, 88(5), 954-8, March 1, 1963. The American Chemical Society will continue to explore these problems in an effort to find solutions on a private level and we are willing to participate with others in any studies concerning this general problem. While these efforts are being made by private interests, we urge that this Subcommittee carefully scrutinize any proposals it may receive relative to the imposition of further limitations upon the rights of copyright proprietors. Respectfully submitted, (Signed) C. G. Overberger (Three suggested changes in wording were approved orally and are included in the above letter.)
V O T E D that the Executive Committee, acting for the Board of Directors, authorize Dr. W. B. Mason to discuss before the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives the American Chemical Society principles of legislation for regulation of the practice of clinical chemistry as they relate to certain sections of H.R. 6418, cited as the "Partnership for Health Amendments of 1967." V O T E D that the Executive Committee, acting for the Board of Directors and on recommendation of the Committee on Clinical Chemistry, nominate Joseph H. Bout well for membership on the Board of Directors of the National Registiy in Clinical Chemistry for a three-year term starting January 1, 1968.
V O T E D that the Executive Committee, acting for the Board of Directors and on recommendation of the Committee on Chemistry and Public Affairs, authorize the President of the Society to express to appropriate Government officials that the Society favors a selective service policy that permits deferment of persons such as graduate students in the sciences who, in the best judgment of the nation, can make a unique and specialized contribution to the well-being of our country. 4. V O T E D that the following ad interim actions of the Committee on Grants and Fellowships be ratified: V O T E D that the Committee on Grants and Fellowships, acting for the Board of Directors, on recommendation of The Petroleum Research Fund Advisory Board, approve the allotment of funds for the PRF grants and awards listed in Tables I through VI (see C&EN, July 17, page 4 4 ) . V O T E D that the Committee on Grants and Fellowships, acting for the Board of Directors, on advice of the Committee on Frasch Foundation Awards, recommend to the Trustee of the Herman Frasch Foundation that the grant to Professor E. P. Odum of the University of Georgia for research in agricultural chemistry be continued for a second year. V O T E D that the Committee on Grants and Fellowships, acting for the Board of Directors, endorse the Society's continued administration of grants from The Asia Foundation, provided such grants are received for purposes and under conditions comparable to those of previous grants. Reports 5. V O T E D to receive the reports of the officers of the Society. 6. V O T E D to receive the reports of the following committees and boards: Awards and Recognitions; Chemical Abstracts Service; Finance; Grants and Fellowships; Public, Professional, and Member Relations; Publications; Board of Trustees for Administering the Group Life Insurance Plan for ACS Members; Chemistry and Public Affairs; Corporation Associates; Investments; Clinical Chemistry; Petroleum Research Fund Advisory Board; Patent Matters and Related Legislation (joint with Council); and Profession-Wide Pension Plan (joint with Council). Those reporting more than progress are printed on pages 62-65 and should be consulted for explanations of certain actions recommended by the various committees. 7. V O T E D to receive the reports of the chairman of the Committee on Investments and of the Controller including the comparison with budgets of the 1967 financial performance to date. Awards
and
Recognitions
8. V O T E D that the Priestley Medal for 1968 be awarded to William G. Young. 9. V O T E D that the Charles Lathrop Parsons Award for 1967 be awarded to Donald F . Hornig. 10. On recommendation of the Committee on Awards and Recognitions, concurring in a recommendation of the Council Committee on Local Section Activities, V O T E D to create a new single
award to recognize outstanding activities and performance by local sections and to discontinue the present ACS Local Section Member Relations and Public Relations Awards. Board
Size
11. V O T E D that the Board of Directors recommend to the Council Policy Committee that, because of the increasing work load on members of the Board, consideration be given to increasing its membership from 13 to 15. Chemical
Abstracts
Service-Finance
12. On recommendation of the Committees on Chemical Abstracts Service and on Finance, V O T E D to amend the 1967 budget to permit an increase in the deficit for Chemical Abstracts Service by $1 million to cover deviations from normally predictable estimates, mainly an abnormal increase in the number of abstracts processed and fewer subscriptions than budgeted. 13. On recommendation of the Committees on Finance and on Publications, V O T E D to authorize volume discounts on sales of the ACS Handbook for Authors in the amount of 10% on 2 to 25 copies, 2 0 % on 26 to 50 copies, and 4 0 % on 51 copies or more, the base price being $2.00 per copy. Meetings 14. On recommendation of the Council, V O T E D that the 1968 winter meeting scheduled for New Orleans, La., Jan. 7-12, be canceled. 15. On recommendation of the Council, V O T E D that the dates and location of the 1971 spring meeting be changed from Boston, Mass., April 4 - 9 , to Los Angeles, Calif., March 28 to April 2. ( T h e date of the Boston meeting was erroneously listed as April 9-14 in Council Minute 14, C&EN, June 5, page 80.) 16. On recommendation of the Council, V O T E D that the location of the 1972 spring meeting to be held April 9-14 be changed from Los Angeles, Calif, to Boston, Mass. Scientific-Educational
Expositions
17. On recommendation of the Committee on Public, Professional, and Member Relations, V O T E D that scientific-educational expositions at future national meetings of the American Chemical Society be coordinated and managed by the Society and that sponsorship be jointly shared with the host local section with suitable financial arrangements and previous local section commitments to be considered and negotiated by the Executive Secretary and the local section. IUPAC 18. On recommendation of the Committee on Public, Professional, and Member Relations, V O T E D to approve the request that the American Chemical Society act as Secretariat for the XXIIIrd International Congress of Pure and ApJULY 31, 1967 C&EN
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plied Chemistry to be held in Boston, Mass., July 25-30, 1971, and that subject to approval of the National Academy of Sciences, ACS staff b e authorized to implement the assignments and responsibilities in principle as outlined in a letter of May 5, 1967, from Martin A. Paul to B. R. Stanerson. NAS
Auditorium
19. V O T E D that the American Chemical Society contribute $50,000 to a fund for the construction of a new meeting room or auditorium of the National Academy of Sciences, half the sum to be contributed in 1967 and the other half in 1968; that the 1967 budget b e amended to provide the 1967 portion and the 1968 budget include the remaining portion. Clinical
Chemistry
20. On recommendation of the Committees on Clinical Chemistry and on Public, Professional, and Member Relations, V O T E D to modify Section 7.a. of the ACS policy statement entitled "Principles of Legislation for Regulation of the Practice of Clinical Chemistry" (Revision of September 1966) by addition of the words "or a doctorate in medicine" after which it will read as follows: a. Director: ( 1 ) an earned doctorate from an accredited institution with a major in some branch of chemical science or a doctorate in medicine; and ( 2 ) certification by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry, or, subsequent to receiving the doctorate, the acquisition of four or more years of pertinent laboratory training and experience, no less than two of which should b e principally in clinical chemistry. ACS
Emblems
21. On recommendation of the Committee on Public, Professional, and Member Relations, V O T E D to amend Regulation IV, 3 by deletion of the present provision and by substitution of the following: Emblems. T h e Executive Secretary with advice from appropriate Council and Board Committees, is authorized to procure, fix rules for distributing, and make available to members of the S O CIETY the emblem of the ACS in such sizes and forms as seem desirable and for which there is reasonable demand. The meeting adjourned at 4 P.M. B. R. STANERSON,
Secretary
Comments Please Your views on matters reported by Board committees will be welcomed by the respective chairmen. Letters addressed to B. R. Stanerson, 1155 Sixteenth St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, will be forwarded promptly.
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C&EN JULY 31, 1967
BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS Standing Committees Awards and Recognitions The committee met in Columbus on June 2. Slates of screened candidates for the 1967 Charles Lathrop Parsons Award and the 1968 Priestley Medal were reviewed and recommendations were made to the Board (see Minutes 8 and 9 ) . The committee considered the proposal of the Committee on Local Section Activities recommending discontinuance of the ACS Local Section Member Relations and Public Relations Awards and substitution of a new single award recognizing outstanding activities and performance by local sections. T h e committee recommended approval of the proposal (see Minute 1 0 ) . Staff plans for the revision of the 1968 edition of Bulletin 7 (describing awards to b e presented in 1969) were approved. The goal for distribution of the 1968 Bulletin is early September 1967. ROBERT F . MARSCHNER,
Chairman
Chemical Abstracts Service The committee had a full schedule of activities between April and June. On May 5, the AIChE-ACS Liaison Committee met with representatives of AIChE and Engineering Index to discuss policy and operating programs to meet the information requirements of the chemical engineering community. Also on May 5, the Tripartite Committee of the United Engineering Information System met with the committee to discuss details of interrelationships on actions as set forth in the recommendations of their Nov. 7, 1966, report. On May 6, the committee met in Columbus to consider the following: ( 1 ) the April Information Management, Inc. ( I M I ) , report on "System Development Plan for National Chemical Information System," ( 2 ) CAS marketing activities, and ( 3 ) CAS building needs and program. A position statement on the I M I report has been developed and presented to the Board of Directors. Further work and studies are under way on CAS marketing activities and on the building program. Work is progressing on the following programs: interaction with sister scientific societies (primary and secondary publication programs); international concerns and relationships for CAS (including I C S U - U N E S C O ) ; interaction with commercial publishers; governmental activities. A report has been prepared and presented by the committee on the status of financing CAS programs in 1967. T h e Five-Year Forecast on CAS finances has been reviewed and discussed. A status report was made on the Systems Development Corporation report, "A System Study of Abstracting and Indexing in the United States" (TM-WD-394, Dec. 16, 1966), submitted to the Committee on Scientific and Technical Infor-
mation ( C O S A T I ) of the Federal Council for Science and Technology. SATCOM met in Chicago, April 21-22, to consider the demands and opportunities facing research libraries in disseminating scientific and technical information. T h e discussion was led by librarians of the University of Chicago, Harvard University, UCLA, and John Crerar Library. The SATCOM Task Group ( N A S / NAE) on Toxicological Information has been assigned responsibilities in three problem areas in which contributions can be made to assist the National Library of Medicine: ( 1 ) identification of user classes and their characteristic needs, ( 2 ) identification of information service resources potentially useful to the prospective system, and ( 3 ) the search for criteria ( o n disciplinary, functional, and mission-oriented grounds) for determining the scope and substructure of the body of information whose management the prospective system is to span. A joint meeting was held on May 26 between the Task Group and N I M representatives to develop further an analysis of the toxicological information program. The SATCOM Task Group on Secondary Information Services met with representatives of Abstracting and Indexing Services on May 27 in N e w York City. The relationship of the National Federation of Scientific Abstracting and Indexing Services ( N F S A I S ) to SATCOM was discussed. The federation (NFSAIS) was strongly encouraged to continue their projects on ( 1 ) research and development, ( 2 ) training n e w people, and ( 3 ) ascertaining precise costs of the A and I services. Several of the problems arising from computer-based information systems were delineated. BYRON RIEGEL,
Chairman
Finance The Committee on Finance met with the Committee on Publications in Columbus on June 2. The committee reviewed the reports of the Treasurer, the chairman of the Committee on Investments, and the Controller, found them in order, and recommended to the Board of Directors that these reports be received (see Minutes 5 and 7 ) . The committee reviewed performance vs. budget through April 1967 a n d found it satisfactory except for the problems in Chemical Abstracts Service which are reported in Minute 12. The current status of the Building and Land Funds in Columbus and Washington was reviewed as a preliminary step in considering the future office space requirements for Chemical Abstracts Service and the headquarters staff. It a p pears that the properties in both locations will back u p the external financing needed for any reasonable additions to the existing buildings. A review of the highlights of an u p dated 1968-72 financial forecast was presented by the Controller to aid staff planning and the preparation of their 1968 budget requests.
T h e items concerning Chemical Abstracts Service and other ACS publications which were acted upon jointly with this committee appear in the reports of these committees. CHARLES L. T H O M A S ,
Chairman
Grants and Fellowships The committee met in Columbus on June 2 with all members present. After a brief status report from the PRF Program Administrator indicating that authorized amounts for n e w grants in 1967 have been committed except for those set aside for the Type " G " Starter Grants, the committee considered the grant and award recommendations stemming from the May PRF Advisory Board meeting. T h e action taken is recorded in Minute 4. The committee received the following report from Dr. Philip K. Bates, chairman of the ACS Committee on Frasch Foundation Awards: After consideration of appropriate reports, the Frasch Foundation Committee has voted that the research project, "Radionuclide tracer studies of nutrient cycling; a comparison of the movement of calcium in agricultural and fallow fields," being conducted by Professor E . P. Odum of the University of Georgia, b e continued for a second year. Dr. Bates pointed out that funds for the above two-year grant to Prof. Odum come from the balance of an earlier five-year grant made to another project b u t canceled at the end of the third year. After a brief discussion, the committee voted to recommend continuation of the grant for a second year (see Minute 4 ) . The committee next considered the Society's administration of grants from T h e Asia Foundation to assist Asian chemists and chemical engineers with ACS membership, journal subscriptions, and travel to ACS meetings. Dr. Henze reported that funds in the Asian grant account were nearly exhausted. It was agreed that these activities should b e continued but that an effort should b e made to make the grants more uniform so as to minimize the cost of administering the program (see Minute 4 ) . The committee considered potential nominees for appointment to the P R F Advisory Board. The terms of seven current members will expire at t h e end of 1967. A list of nominees was developed and will be forwarded to the Chairman of the ACS Board of Directors for consideration. Saturday, Oct. 2 1 , has been set tentatively for a special one-day meeting of the committee for reviewing the P R F grant and award program. The P R F staff has been asked to assemble relevant summary data; details of the agenda for this meeting will be finalized in September. JOHN C. SHEEHAN,
Chairman
Public, Professional, and Member Relations The committee met at Columbus on June 1 with all members present. Also in attendance was D r . William J. Sparks,
member of t h e Board of Directors and a past chairman of the committee. A proposal that the Board adopt a policy for coordination, cosponsorship, and management by the Society of educational-scientific expositions at future national ACS meetings was considered. The proposal, developed by staff, stipulated that proper facilities and adequate interest would b e essential for an exposition to be conducted at any specific meeting. Sponsorship would b e shared jointly with the host local section in each instance, with suitable arrangements and previous local section commitments to b e considered and negotiated by the Executive Secretary and the local section. T h e committee voted to recommend Board approval of such a policy (see Minute 17). At the Miami Beach meeting in April, the Board approved in principle a proposal from the National Academy of Sciences that ACS act as the Secretariat for the XXIIIrd International Congress of Pure and Applied Chemistry to be held in Boston in 1971. Subsequently, ACS and NAS staff members agreed upon a schedule of specific assignments and responsibilities. T h e committee endorsed this schedule a n d recommended that the Board formally approve ACS acceptance of the proposal (see Minute 1 8 ) . Last fall, the ACS Committee on Clinical Chemistry recommended, and t h e Board approved, a policy statement entitled "Principles of Legislation for Regulation of the Practice of Clinical Chemistry" (C&EN, Oct. 17, 1966, page 8 8 ) . These principles have been widely accepted as the most current reflection of chemists' attitudes toward clinical laboratory licensure. It has been suggested, however, that the policy should specifically recognize the competence of qualified physicians to b e laboratory directors. (Qualified physicians in this sense are those who are diplomates of the American Board of Clinical Chemistry or who have four years of pertinent experience and training in some branch of chemical science.) The Committee on Clinical Chemistry agreed that clarification of the policy statement in this regard was desirable and offered an appropriate modification of the statement's language. The PP&MR Committee concurred and recommended approval of the revision b y the Board (see Minute 2 0 ) . In recent years, considerable interest has developed among members of ACS and other technical societies in the concept of a pension plan available to all chemists and chemical engineers which would vest early, if not immediately, and would be completely portable among participating employers. In ACS, attention was first directed to this idea through the activities of the Council Committee on Professional Relations. As a result, a Joint Board-Council Committee on Profession-Wide Pension Plan was set u p to study the subject. Preliminary discussions and inquiries led the joint committee to believe that successful completion of its task would require the assistance of consultants experienced in pension funding matters.
Plans are under way to provide such assistance. At Miami Beach the committee voted to recommend revision of Regulation IV, 3, concerning the sale of ACS emblems, to enable the Executive Secretary to present free ACS pins to new members. T h e specific wording of the revision was included in the agenda for the Columbus Board meeting and the committee recommended approval of the new provision (see Minute 2 1 ) . Early in 1966, officials of HemisFair '68, a world's fair to b e held in San Antonio, asked the Society to consider ways in which it might participate in the exposition. No suitable method of participation developed, however, and at Columbus the committee agreed that the matter should be dropped. The committee heard a preliminary report from Dr. Robert F . Marschner and Dr. William A. Mosher, who had been appointed as a subcommittee to consider the broad question of whether the Society is doing all it can and should for its members, particularly those in the early stages of their careers. T h e report stressed the importance to the young chemist or chemical engineer of finding the type of work best suited to his interests and abilities, and of enjoying a reasonable hope of advancement once h e is suitably employed. The subcommittee will continue its study of this area of Society concern and will report again at a future meeting of the committee. JOHN H . NAIR,
Chairman
Publications The committee met in Columbus on June 2. Finance-publications matters were considered jointly with t h e Committee on Finance. Copyright law revision. The chairman reported that an official letter, signed by the President of the Society, was sent on May 5 to Sen. John L. McClellan, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Patents, Trademarks and Copyright. T h e letter expressed the Society's general support for the Senate bill (S. 597) relative to general revision of the copy-r right laws, b u t suggested that the bill's Section 107, dealing with the doctrine of fair use, b e deleted (see Minute 3 ) . Progress on new and proposed journals. Staff reported that Environmental Science and Technology was mailed to nearly 11,000 subscribers in April, that editorial development has been quite satisfactory, and that the journal is expected to complete its first year of publication near t h e financial break-even point. Excellent progress was reported also for Accounts of Chemical Research, with design of physical makeup well advanced and many commitments in hand from authors w h o will prepare brief review articles for p u b lication in early issues. Staff work has begun on preliminary design for t h e Society's new journal in t h e macromolecular field, but more detailed planning must await appointment of a n editor. Informal information sources. Several types of informal sources of technical inJULY 31, 1967 C&EN 63
formation (as distinguished from the formal literature) play significant roles in communication among scientists and engineers. Significant in recent years have been scientific meetings, preprints of meeting papers, information exchange groups (IEG's), and others. Committee members agreed that the subject of ACS activities in informal communication needs study in depth and in detail, and that such study should be pursued actively by the committee and the Board together with staff. ACS Handbook for Authors. Optimum print order for the new ACS Handbook for Authors, scheduled to appear about Aug. 1, has been placed at 100,000. To encourage wide distribution and use of the handbook, the committees recommended volume discounts on multiple copy sales (see Minute 1 3 ) . CHARLES G. OVERBERGER, Chairman
Special Committees Chemistry and Public Affairs The committee held its quarterly meeting in Washington on May 5. A feature article, "The Synthesis of Living Systems," based on the symposium on the "Organization, Structure, and Synthesis of Living Systems" at the 1966 fall national meeting, has been prepared by Dr. Price and submitted fbr publication to C&EN. The article is scheduled to appear in the Aug. 7 issue. Nearly all ACS divisions have responded to the committee's request for suggestions for possible future symposium topics and many of the topics seem worthy of serious consideration by the committee. All suggestions will be evaluated for broad public interest and plans will be made to cosponsor a symposium on one of the subject areas with one or more divisions. Dr. Lloyd M. Cooke, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Science and Technology of Environmental Improvement, reported that additional information is needed in order to meet the specific objectives of the ACS study as originally envisioned. A special ad hoc subcommittee was named to work with Dr. Cooke on the evaluation of this material. This added effort will cause some delay in the publication of a report on the study. The first meeting of the task force committee for the "Chemistry in Industry" study was held in Washington on April 20-21 under the chairmanship of Dr. Robert L. Hershey. After considerable discussion, the committee tentatively agreed on a set of basic purposes and objectives for the study. It is expected that the report will document the input of chemistry into the nation's economy and the overall importance of the science of chemistry to society in general. Consideration also was given to the organization of the study and it was generally felt that the report should use a format of panel reports on a number of topics, such as health, food, shelter, and communication, demonstrating ways in which chemistry supplies the needs of man. The committee agreed that this approach would be more effective than one using 64
C&EN JULY 31, 1967
the classical industrial segments of the economy as the basis for panel reports. Thus far, the following persons have agreed to serve on the task force committee: Dr. Vladimir Haensel, Dr. William S. Johnson, Dr. Donald L. Katz, Dr. Glenn A. Nesty, Dr. Stuart A. Rice, Dr. Eugene G. Rochow, Dr. C. Guy Suits, and Dr. Max Tishler. The committee considered certain provisions of the Military Selective Service Act of 1967 pending before the U.S. Congress. In a message to Congress on the bill, President Johnson had recommended that all graduate student deferments be discontinued except for students in medicine and dentistry. The committee recommended to the Executive Committee of the ACS Board of Directors that President Overberger be authorized to send a letter to the appropriate government officials expressing ACS support for "a selective service policy that permits deferment of persons such as graduate students in the sciences who, in the best judgment of the nation, can make a unique and specialized contribution to the well-being of the country." (See Minute 3.) In the bill as finally passed by the Congress, provision was made for deferment of graduate students, not only in medicine and dentistry but also in other research studies considered to be in the interest of national health, welfare, and safety. Several other topics were discussed briefly by the committee as matters of potential concern for future consideration. These included: a proposal for a National Academy of Technology, the C&EN publication policy on matters involving public affairs, the level of support for chemistry research programs by the National Institutes of Health, and drug safety policies. The next meeting of the committee was scheduled for Aug. 24-25.
will be distributed to all representatives of the ACS Corporation Associates, the Board of Directors, and other interested persons. The committee directed its attention first to intercommunication between industry and the academic community. The academic-industry interface will be of continuing interest to this committee as well as to the committee on Chemistry and Public Affairs. A subcommittee headed by Dr. William J. Sparks was appointed to explore ways to improve mutual understanding in these areas. Working with Dr. Sparks will be Dr. Herbert I. Fusfeld, Dr. John A. Leermakers, Dr. Howard Reiss, and Dr. N. Beverley Tucker. The second subject for discussion concerned the development of modern information systems. The committee hopes to help in defining the kinds of information services most needed by industry and how such services may be financed. For this, a subcommittee on scientific information systems will be established. The committee also is interested in the improvement of communication with government agencies. Dr. M. Kent Wilson, head of the Chemistry Section, National Science Foundation, was invited to attend and participate in committee discussions. Dr. Wilson encouraged the committee to present industrial viewpoints to the foundation on subjects of mutual interest. Plans are being made for the second annual meeting of the Corporation Associates representatives next November. The program for this meeting will be developed by a subcommittee consisting of Dr. Robert N. D u Puis (chairman), Dr. Fusfeld, Dr. N. Bruce Hannay, and Dr. Arthur W. Weston. This subcommittee will welcome suggestions for program topics. R. W. CAIRNS, Chairman
CHARLES C. PRICE, Chairman
Corporation
Associates
The committee, which was re-established as a special committee and enlarged earlier this year, held its first meeting under its new organization on May 25-26 in Washington. The vigor and enthusiasm with which these extremely able members approached and discussed ACS problems augur well for accomplishments of great value to the Society. A report on the meeting is being prepared and
Group Life Insurance Plan for ACS Members The final accounting for the first year's experience of the ACS Group Insurance Plan is summarized below: The retrospective rate reduction amounting to $92,797 was deposited in the Trust and $90,000 invested in a Certificate of Deposit @ 47*% which will mature April 1, 1968. Because the plan experience was favor-
First year Accounting of Group Life Insurance
Billed premium Paid claims Pending claims Accrued claim liability Conversion charges @ $65 per $1000 Return % Retrospective rate reduction Total return % Taxes, administration, etc. Postage Total charges
Life $447,047 270,000 10,000 34,423 — $314,423 70.3
Death and dismemberment $54,409 10,000 10,000 5,441 — $25,441 46.S
Combined $501,456 280,000 20,000 39,864 — $339,864 67.8 $ 92,797 432,661 86.3 $ 52,971 15,824 $501,456
able, the benefits were increased 10% as of April 1, 1967, at no change in t h e schedule of premium rates. T h e next open enrollment has been approved for the period Aug. 1 to Sept. 2, 1967. R. V. M E L L E F O N T ,
Chairman
Other Committee Clinical
Chemistry
The tide of state legislation directed at the licensure of clinical laboratories has quickened perceptibly in recent months. As of mid-April, some 17 states were known to have contemplated or approved bills on this subject. Of particular interest were the states of Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, a n d Tennessee where bills were introduced that seem likely to b e enacted this year. I n each of these states, an effort has been made to cooperate with state legislators a n d to make them aware of existing ACS policy on this subject (C&EN, Oct. 17, 1966, page 8 8 ) . I n certain other states, such as Georgia a n d Maine, legislation was introduced which would restrict the direction of a clinical laboratory to physicians. A key problem faced by the committee has been that of developing sufficient local interest b y chemists in keeping t h e Society informed of developments within their own state a n d conferring with t h e appropriate individuals when legislation is contemplated. Efforts are under way to improve this situation. T h e committee has studied Congressional bills introduced by Senators Hill and Javits a n d Representative Staggers concerning the regulation of clinical laboratories engaged in interstate commerce. As a result, the committee recommended that the Society officially record its support for the need of this type of legislation and that ACS lend its assistance to Congress in any way which may b e deemed helpful. ACS participation in legislative activities of the type described above has been aided considerably by the policy statement entitled "Principles of Legislation for Regulation of the Practice of Clinical Chemistry." This has been held to b e generally representative of chemists' views in these matters a n d has been widely accepted as the most current a n d farsighted approach to the regulation of clinical laboratories a n d their personnel. It has been pointed out, however, that the "Principles" should make some provisions for recognizing physicians who are quali-
fied in clinical chemistiy a n d who serve as laboratory directors. T h e committee has recommended clarifying language to the Board to accomplish this (see Minute 20). The committee nominated Dr. Robert S. Melville, Dr. W . B. Mason, Dr. Joseph H. BoutwelL and Dr. Adrian Hainline to membership on the American Board of Clinical Chemistry. Subsequently, it was learned that Dr. Melville a n d Dr. Mason had been elected to three-year terms b e ginning July 1, 1968. Similarly, the committee has renominated Dr. Boutwell to a three-year term on the Board of Directors for the National Registry in Clinical Chemistry beginning Jan. 1, 1968 (see Minute 3 ) . RICHARD J. H E N R Y ,
Joint Board-Council Committee Profession-Wide
Next Official Report: Report of 154th national meeting in the Nov. 6, 1967, issue.
Pension Plan
The committee was established in 1966 by the Board a n d Council to determine the feasibility of a profession-wide pension plan for chemists a n d chemical engineers which would vest early and which would be completely portable among participating employers. T h e committee is composed of the chairmen of two Council standing committees, the chairman of a Board standing committee, a member of the Council Policy Committee, a n d a member of the Council Committee on Professional Relations. The committee met at the 1967 spring national meeting for the first time a n d concluded that its responsibilities could be carried out most efficiently b y drawing upon the experience of professional consultants competent in pension funding matters. Estimates of t h e cost involved in conducting a feasibility study are now being obtained. It is hoped to get t h e project under way before the end of the current year. Discussions also are being held with sister societies to determine their interest in a universal-type pension program for scientists and engineers. The committee also was asked to con-
Table A.
JOSEPH STEWART,
Chairman
BOARD Petroleum Research Fund
Advisory
Table A presents the amounts encumbered as of May 1 for P R F grants a n d awards by type of grant for 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1970. These figures include all outstanding prior year commitments, plus those recommended at the November 1966 a n d February 1967 meetings of t h e P R F Advisory Board. To date $2,482,478 of the $4,350,000 authorized for 1967 commitment has been recommended b y the P R F Advisory Board a n d approved by the ACS Board of Directors. On hand for consideration at the May 4 a n d 5 meeting of the P R F Advisory Board were 164 proposals requesting a total of $3,972,988. Recommendations from this meeting were presented to the Board of Directors at its June meeting through the Committee on Grants a n d Fellowships (see Minute 4 ) . The 11th Annual Report on Research Under Sponsorship of T h e Petroleum Research F u n d Administered by the American Chemical Society has been completed. This report covers t h e annual grant period ending Aug. 3 1 , 1966. As in the past, the report includes brief a b stracts of the research supported a n d indices of active grants alphabetically b y names of principal investigators a n d b y institution. T h e report also provides certain background material regarding PRF, describes the various types of grants and awards currently available, a n d lists the names of P R F Advisory Board members for 1966 a n d 1967. ARTHUR L. L Y M A N ,
Chairman
Payment schedule of PRF funds encumbered for grants and awards by year and type of grant (ncimber of grants in parentheses) (Prepared May 1, 1967)
Type A.
Copies of the Reports from the June Board of Directors Meeting are available on request to the Office of the Executive Secretary.
Chairman
sider the desirability of developing a policy statement for the Society concerning the relationship of pension plans to the professional a n d economic welfare of chemists a n d chemical engineers. While the Society has accumulated substantial information on private retirement programs, it was felt that development of such a statement should b e deferred for the time being.
1967 $1 ,833 ,735 (264) 377,778(75) 390,500(35) 55 ,470 (6) 15,650(1) 204,000 (95) 5,650(2) $2 ,882 ,783 (478)
B C D E G X Totals Page charges 20 ,000 (Est.) Total $2 ,902 ,783 committed Total committed for all years (1967, 1968, 1969, 1970) (1967, 1968, Total committed for future years (1968, 1969, 1970)
1968
1969
1970
$1,123,317(173) 152 ,038 (37) 267,667(28)
$369 ,593 (56) 6,960(2) 136,167(16)
$56,666(7)
$1 ,543 ,022 (238)
$512 ,720 (74)
$56 ,666 (7)
$1 ,543 ,022
$512 ,720
$56 ,666
$5 ,015,,191 $2,112 ; ,408 JULY 31, 1967 C&EN 65
New local section officers MISSISSIPPI. Dr. Donald W . Emerich, chairman of the chemistry department at Mississippi State University, is the new chairman of the Mississippi Section. Serving with Dr. Emerich are Dr. Charles L. Dodgen, chairmanelect; William W . Correll, 2639 Pine Tree Drive, Jackson, Miss. 39204, secretary; and Dr. Roy Alfred Berry, Jr., treasurer. CORNELL. Dr. Gordon G. Hammes, professor of chemistry at the university, is the new chairman of the Cornell Section. Serving with Dr. Hammes are Dr. Robert C. Fay, vice-chairman, and Dr. E d ward S. Kostiner, Baker Laboratory of Chemistry, Cornell University, Ithaca, JN.Y. 1485U, secretary-treasurer.
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED
UNIVERSITY
on the way to our five-year plan. The new products we have in mind are for somebody we haven't met. So now we are searching for conversation. Chemically speaking, SunOlin finds itself right in the middle of a 300-mile ring containing one-third of the nation's population and roughly 100 billion dollars of annual expendable income. By serving the specific and growing needs of other chemical companies who thrive in this rich, compact market, SunOlin has also grown. Namely, a unique pipeline system available for "door-to-door" delivery of ethylene, propylene, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen. And these products being delivered : liquid ethylene via cryogenic trailer; ethylene oxide via tank car; carbon monoxide via major gas distributors; hydrogen via tube trailer. Completion of current expansion will make us the largest ethylene producer in the East. Now that we've opened this conversation, maybe you have something to say. Possibly our five-year plan has something in common with your five-year plan. Let's talk. Call us at Claymont, Delaware, 302-798-6801. Ask for A. W. Willis, President, or W. E. Keegan, Vice President.
SUNOLIN 66 C&EN JULY 31, 1967
CHEMICAL
COMPANY
OF ARKANSAS.
Dr.
Richard N . Porter, associate professor at the university, is the new chairman of the University of Arkansas Section. Serving with Dr. Porter are Dr. Dale A. Johnson, chairman-elect, and Dr. Donald E. Gwynn, Department of Chemistry, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark. 72701, secretary-treasurer. SOUTH CAROLINA. John Miglarese, Fellow Engineer in the MICARTA division of Westinghouse Electric Corp., is the new chairman of the South Carolina Section. Other officers are Dr. Joseph R. Wilkinson, chairman-elect; Ira A. Stine, Jr., 117 Rutledge St., Charleston, S.C. 29401, secretary-treasurer. OREGON. Dr. Richard M. Noyes of the chemistry department at the University of Oregon is the new chairman of the Oregon Section. Serving with Dr. Noyes are Dr. Elliot N. Marvell, chairman-elect; Dr. Donald L. MacDonald, Science Research Institute, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore. 97331, secretary; and Dr. LeRoy H. Klemm, treasurer.
