Everything about The American Chemical Society totally explained
The
American Chemical Society (
ACS) is a
learned society (
professional association) based in the
United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of
chemistry. Founded in
1876 at
New York University, the ACS currently has over 160,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry,
chemical engineering and related fields.
The ACS is a
501(c)3 non-profit organization. The ACS holds national meetings twice a year covering the complete field of chemistry, plus dozens of smaller conferences in specific fields. Its publications division produces several scholarly
journals including the
Journal of the American Chemical Society. The primary source of income of the ACS is the
Chemical Abstracts Service and its publications.
Chemical & Engineering News is the weekly news magazine published by the American Chemical Society and sent to all members. The ACS membership is organized into 189 geographical Local Sections and 33 Technical Divisions.
Origins
The American Chemical Society had it origins in a small group of 35 chemists that met on April 6, 1876, at the University Building in the present day
New York University.
(External Link
) Although at that time there was an American science society (
American Association for the Advancement of Science), the growth of chemistry prompted those assembled, including
William H. Nichols, under the direction of Professor
Charles F. Chandler of the
Columbia School of Mines, to found the American Chemical Society. The society, Chandler said, would “prove a powerful and healthy stimulus to original research, … would awaken and develop much talent now wasting in isolation, … [bring] members of the association into closer union, and ensure a better appreciation of our science and its students on the part of the general public.”
A formal vote for organization was taken, a constitution was adopted, and officers were selected. Chandler was an obvious choice as president since he'd been instrumental in establishing the society, however, he felt that New York University Professor
John William Draper had the reputation as a scientist to lead a national organization. At the age of 65, Draper was elected as the first president of the American Chemical Society and the headquarters was located in
New York. Draper’s presidency was important more due to his name and reputation than his active participation in the society.
Educational activities
The American Chemical Society sponsors the
United States National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO), a contest used to select the four-member team that represents the United States at the
International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO). The ACS
Division of Chemical Education provides standardized tests for various subfields of chemistry. The two most commonly-used tests are the undergraduate-level tests for general and organic chemistry. Each of these tests consists of 70 multiple-choice questions, and gives students 120 minutes to complete the exam.
The American Chemical Society grants membership to undergraduates as student affiliates. Any university may start its own chapter of the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS) and receive benefits of undergraduate participation in regional conferences and discounts on ACS publications.
PubChem controversy
Since the inception of
National Center for Biotechnology Information's
open access PubChem chemical compound database initiative, ACS has actively lobbied NCBI and its supervising agencies to stop the database development effort. ACS markets its own subscription- and pay-based
Chemical Abstracts Service. In a
May 23,
2005, press release, the ACS stated:
» The ACS believes strongly that the Federal Government shouldn't seek to become a taxpayer supported publisher. By collecting, organizing, and disseminating small molecule information whose creation it hasn't funded and which duplicates CAS services, NIH has started ominously, down the path to unfettered scientific publishing...
The journal
Nature reported that ACS had hired a public relations firm, Dezenhall Resources, to try and halt the open access movement.
(External Link) Scientific American later reported that ACS had spent over $200,000 to hire Wexler & Walker Public Policy Association to lobby against open access.
(External Link)
Journals and magazines
ACS presidents since 2002
2008 Bruce Bersten (current)
2007 Catherine "Katie" Hunt
2006 E. Ann Nalley
2005 Bill Carrol
2004 Charles P. Casey
2003 Elsa Reichmanis
2002 Eli M. PierceFurther Information
Get more info on 'American Chemical Society'.
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