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New ACS President
C&EN reports that the new American Chemical Society (ACS) president for 2011 will be Nancy Jackson. Jackson has a PhD in chemical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and is currently the manager of the International Chemical Threat Reduction Department at Sandia National Laboratories, as well as a research professor at The University of New Mexico. Jackson has received numerous honors and awards and has demonstrated a long-term commitment to excellence in chemistry. Jackson’s vision for her role as President of the ACS in 2011 includes a desire to improve the image of chemistry around the world and, towards that end, she wants to launch a public relations campaign with the United Nations entitled “The International Year of Chemistry.” Our favorite excerpt from her position statement, which can be read here in its entirety, is as follows:
Chemistry is essential to the developments we need to make in energy, sustainability, health, and security. But science in general and the central science of chemistry in particular are not adequately valued by the public. The chemical sciences are the lowest funded of the physical sciences at NSF. Discover Magazine, a popular science magazine, covers eight categories of science – none of which are chemistry. This is not just a U.S. problem. Chemistry suffers an image problem everywhere. Concern about this image problem led chemical societies around the world to launch the idea for the UN to designate 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry.I will take ACS to a leadership position in the International Year of Chemistry, partnering with our sister societies around the world to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve the image of the chemical sciences. I will use the International Year of Chemistry to demonstrate chemistry’s value and the need for chemistry to address society’s most challenging issues.
As chemists, we couldn’t agree more that our field needs some help in the image department. Unfortunately, ignorance is rampant in our society regarding chemistry and people tend to think of any “chemical” as bad. The truth is, however, that chemistry does indeed improve the lives of humans everyday and in huge ways. In fact it is so much a part of our lives, that most people don’t realize just how dependent we are upon chemistry. Irrational fears that exist within the public can only be erased through education.
Jackson plans to do everything in her power to increase the education of the public on all issues concerning chemistry. We are very pleased that she was elected and look forward to watching her in 2011.
November 27th, 2009 at 12:37 am
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