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In 2015, during my president-elect year, I appointed a task force to investigate chemical employment in the U.S. We invited input from ACS officials, students, and members—both employed and unemployed—from different demographic backgrounds. I detailed the composition and charge of the task force in an earlier Comment (CE (2) many

With the new Trump Administration entering office, conventional political wisdom is changing, and it is still too early to know exactly what that means. Nevertheless, many scientists are asking what the implications for science will be as a result of the changes in Washington, D.C. What will ACS’s priorities be, and how will the society interact with the new Administration? President-elect Trump has been appointing his cabinet, and he is reportedly seeking counsel, studying areas of concern, and evaluating various ideas in making his decisions. The President-elect has shown that he changes his mind about people, policies, and ideas, so initial or previous discussions about topics should not be considered final. The above activities do little to clarify his positions or thoughts on science. On Dec. 1, 2016, ACS hosted the webinar, “Looking into the Crystal Ball: Government, Politics, and the Chemistry Enterprise.” Although we cannot know future science policy

Being a member of ACS is one of the best professional investments a chemist can make, often opening doors to opportunities. Like me, many members may recall being told, when they were students, “If you want to be a REAL chemist, you must join ACS.” Although it was decades ago, the words were spoken so emphatically that I still hear them today, and I give students the same message. In fact, most of us, as chemists, can’t imagine a professional life without ACS. It is in members’ best interests that ACS remains healthy and strong. To ensure a bright future for the society, we regularly update the goals of the ACS Strategic Plan, which focuses on members. ACS must also ensure the financial strength of the organization, information technology (IT) security for ACS publication platforms, an adequate number of ACS members, and career development for ACS staff. It may be

I was scheduled to visit Paris just one week after the deadly Nov. 13 attacks. My plan was to stop on the way back from a conference in Morocco to see members of the French chemistry community. Because of the dreadful events in Paris, it seemed more crucial to meet with them and offer my support, even though the French borders had been closed. So I refused to omit the Paris portion of my trip. While in Morocco, I had been attending the conference “Malta VII, Frontiers of Science: Research & Education in the Middle East, a Bridge to Peace.” This biennial gathering convened scientists from 15 countries representing the Middle East and Morocco and for many provided their only opportunity to exchange scientific ideas, build collaborations and international partnerships, and discuss common problems in the region. The conference mood and discussions, juxtaposed with the news from Paris, confused expectations: ...