NEWS OF THE WEEK ACS
ELECTIONS
NALLEY IS 2005 ACS PRESIDENT-ELECT Cameron University professor says election is 'greatest tribute5
Ε
ANN NALLEY, PROFESSOR
of chemistry at Cameron • University Lawton, Okla., is 2005 ACS president-elect. Nal ley who campaigned as a petition candidate, defeated F. Sherwood Rowland, Bren Research Profes sor of Chemistry & Earth System Science at the University of Cali-
Nalley was both exhilarated and overwhelmed when C&EN caught up with her two days after the results had been finalized. "I am so appreciative. My colleagues in chemistry have paid me the greatest tribute," she said. "To be walking in the footsteps of Linus Pauling, Glenn Seaborg, John
RESULTS Voting breakdown for fall 2004 ACS elections FIRST SECONO TOTAL CHOICE CHOICE VOTE
PRESIDENT-ELECT* E. Ann Nalley F. Sherwood Rowland Isiah M. Warner
8,525 7,229 5,925
3,712 12,237 1,624 8,853
DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE Howard M. Peters Judith C. Giordan David F. Eaton David N. Rahni
170 130 64 21
TOTAL VOTE
DISTRICT II DIRECTOR Diane Grob Schmidt Thomas H. Lane
2,130 1,172
DISTRICT IV DIRECTOR* Eric C. Bigham Paul R.Jones John L. Massinqill Jr. Robert L. Lichter
1,066 807 799 724
a Warner's second-choice votes were added to the totals of the top two vote recipients, Nally and Rowland, per ACS bylaws, b Since no candidate received greater than 50% of the votes cast, the top two vote recipients. Bigham and Jones, will now be on the ballot in a runoff election.
fornia, Irvine, and Isiah M. War ner, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives at Louisiana State Univ ersity. Nalleywill serve a three-year term (2005-07) as a member of the presidential succession.
Bailar, and Carl Marvel just blows my mind." All of those chemistry luminaries served as ACS presi dent at some point in their careers. Howard M. Peters of Peters, Verny, Jones & Schmitt, Palo Al
BANKRUPTCY
Grace Files Reorganization Plan
A
bankruptcy reorganization plan filed by W.R. Grace with the U.S. Bank ruptcy Court in Delaware caps as bestos liabilities at $1.6 billion, would pay all other claims in full, and allows current shareholders to retain a stake in the firm. Grace filed the plan after a one-month deadline extension during which it failed to reach an agreement with creditors. The firm is seeking a December court hearing for the plan, which needs ap
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C & E N / NOVEMBER 2 2 , 2004
proval from the court and committees representing asbestos claimants and oth er creditors. Grace filed for bankruptcy in 2001 under the weight of about 118,000 asbestos-related personal injury claims. The firm's plan calls for the court to establish a trust to pay asbestos personal injury claims, about 4,300 asbestos prop erty damage claims, and administrative costs. Grace would fund the trust through a contribution of cash and stock that, with
to, Calif., also a petition candi date, was elected director-atlarge, receiving more councilor votes than David F. Eaton of Light Insights, Wilmington, Del, or petition candidates Judith C. Giordan, a senior vice president at Visions in Education, Pitts burgh, and David N. Rahni, pro fessor of chemistry at Pace Uni versity, Pleasantville, Ν. Υ. Peters will serve on the ACS Board for three years (2005-07). For 2005-07 District II di rector, incumbent Diane Grob Schmidt, R&D section head at Procter & Gamble, will retain her seat, having received more votes thanThomas H. Lane, a senior re search scientist at Dow Corning. In the 2005-07 District IV director race, the top two vote recipients —Eric C. Bigham, manager of discovery R&D at GlaxoSmithKline, Research Tri angle Park, N.C., and incumbent Paul R. Jones, professor of chem istry at the University of North Texas, Denton—will be in a runoff election, per ACS bylaws. Other candidates in the District IV race were Robert L. Lichter of Merrimack Consultants, At lanta; and petition candidateJohn L. Massingilljr., grant director at Southwest Texas State Universi ty, San Marcos. ACS constitutional amend ments related to electronic balloting were ratified. The vote was 18,329 for and 2,036 against.—LINDA RABER
interest, could provide more than $2 bil lion for asbestos-related costs. Proposed trust payments could be as little as $250, based on minimal require ments, but could be as high as $71,215 for a victim of mesothelioma, a fatal lung tumor caused by asbestos exposure. Grace also faces $1.7 billion in other claims, including bank debt, environmen tal liabilities, pension claims, and tax lia bilities. The firm expects to pay these claims in full with cash on hand, new debt, proceeds from product liability in surance, and stock.—MARC REISCH
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