| Search |
a division of the American
Chemical Society
Division of Polymer
Chemistry, Inc.
Advancing the world through polymer chemistry
2017 Committee Reports:
2017 Fall ACS National Meeting in Washington DC, August 20-24, 2017
By G. Tew, M. A. Meador, R. Moore, & J. Mabry
The 254th American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition held August 20-August 24 in Washington, DC with a theme of Chemistry’s Impact on the Global Economy, had over 12,900 registered attendees. The ACS Council at its August 23 meeting took the following actions:
- By electronic ballot, the Council elected new members to the Council Policy Committee, the Committee on Nominations and Elections, and the Committee on Committees.
- The Council defeated a proposal from the Committee on Divisional Activities that it establish a probationary Division of Space Chemistry, effective January 1, 2018.
- On the recommendation of the Committee on Local Section Activities, the Council approved a petition from the South Jersey Local Section to annex the unassigned and adjacent territory of Ocean County, New Jersey.
- A recommendation by the Committee on Membership Affairs that Council approve the Petition on International Chemical Sciences Chapters narrowly failed to achieve the two-thirds majority required to amend the Bylaws. The proposal would have amended Bylaw IX, Section 4, to permit financial support for International Chemical Sciences Chapters and to remove language from the Bylaws prohibiting Chapters from having representation on Council.
The Society’s 2017 Probable 1 Projection calls for a Net from Operations of $25.3 million. This is $2.1 million favorable to the Approved Budget and $1.6 million higher than 2016. Total revenues are projected to be $553.0 million, which is $2.4 million unfavorable to the budget, but 5.0% higher than the prior year. Total expenses are projected at $527.6 million, which is $4.5 million favorable to the budget, and 4.9% higher than 2016. The Budget and Finance Committee considered several program funding requests for 2018, and on its recommendations, the Board subsequently approved funding for the ACS Online Course in Laboratory Safety and the New Faculty Workshop Series for inclusion in the 2018 Proposed Budget and the 2019-2020 Forecast. Additional information can be found at www.acs.org, at the bottom of the page, click ‘About ACS’, then ‘Financial’.
The Meetings and Expositions Committee (M&E) announced that as an experiment, there would be NO Thursday programming for the 262nd ACS National Meeting (August 22-26, 2021). Although this is a bit far out, it was the first meeting for which contracts have not yet been signed. They are still developing metrics in order to attempt to measure the success of this experiment so if you have suggestions, please send to POLY or M&E.
Divisional Activities Committee (Mary Ann Meador, Robert Moore): The DAC is forming a task force to come up with ways to change the allocation formula to award divisions for engagement on the international and regional levels. Suggestions on the table include counting number of sessions organized by divisions at regional meetings or awarding funding after the fact for internationally sponsored events.
In the Sunday morning DAC meeting in Washington, DC, the committee voted down a proposal to form a probationary Materials Chemistry Division. DAC also made plans to host a Division row at Sci-Mix starting in New Orleans where divisions can have posters that display what the division does and/or feature successful IPG grants. DAC continues to work with ACS staff to raise the profile of divisions on the ACS website and to enhance communication among divisions. ACS Staff is working on a site within the ACS Network for divisions to share information such as best practices and future programming.
In membership committee news, Professor Colleen Scott has been appointed as the newest member of the Membership Committee. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Mississippi State University. We look forward to her contributions.
Special thanks to Dominik Konkolewicz (Miami University), for organizing the POLY/PMSE Student Happy Hour held during the ACS National Meeting in Washington D.C. This event provides an excellent opportunity for students and faculty to network in a small group setting with polymer scientist peers and develop relationships which can develop future support and career opportunities. The POLY/PMSE Student Happy Hour is held during each ACS National Meeting on Monday evening. Come by the POLY booth during the next ACS National Meeting to learn about this.
The Division continues to offer free POLY membership to new members or if you have not been a member for three years. Sign up on-line at http://polyacs.net/Membership/memberapp.htm. While Division officers and the membership committee strive to recruit new members at the national meetings, there are plenty of other opportunities to recruit including regional and local section ACS meetings or other polymer-focused conferences. Anyone interested in running a membership drive for POLY, please contact Kevin Cavicchi (kac58@uakron.edu) or Kathy Mitchem (kathyl@vt.edu) to receive a simple, easy to use, recruiting packet.
It has been an exciting time for the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry’s Industrial Advisory Board (IAB). Founded in 1979, the IAB is presently celebrating its 38th anniversary, and the IAB has accomplished many successes year after year. This past year has been no exception.
The IAB continues to keep POLY relevant for its industrial membership by creating and supporting opportunities for networking, programming, education, and awards. Highlights from just this fall include:
• Three IAB members received IAB support to attend a POLY workshop.
• The inaugural Young Industrial Polymer Scientist Award was bestowed upon Jamie Garcia (IBM).
• The IAB Vice Chair Michael Hunt (MPD Chemicals) developed the “DC ACS Industry Spotlight” to help its industrial members stay informed of ACS National Meeting deadlines, awards, and events.
• Strong programming continued at the Fall ACS National Meeting with the seventh “Industrial Innovations in Polymer Science” (IIPS) symposium installment, “Plastic Packaging Science: Reducing Food Waste to Improving Recyclability.”
• The IAB sponsored the Graduate Student Travel Awards, which were presented to Adrian Figg (University of Florida) and Jacob Lockhart (Vanderbilt University).
• The IAB co-hosted its biannual networking reception, in collaboration with the American Chemical Society Industry Member Programs and Corporation Associates.
Planning and development is already in progress for 2018 and beyond. At next spring’s ACS National Meeting in New Orleans, the eighth IIPS symposium, co-organized by Erin Murphy and Hayley Brown, will offer talks on industrially relevant research focused on the ACS theme of Food, Energy, & Water. IAB will also support the 2018 National Graduate Research Polymer Conference next June, which will be held at the University of Minnesota.
We owe a great deal of thanks to our industrial pioneers and their supporting companies who have created and sustained this board and our industrial community for so long. As Chair of the IAB, I am honored to be included with the likes of individuals such as E. Vandenberg, R.S. Moore, A. Salamone, and D. Gerbi. I joined IAB in 2010, co-chaired the board with Diana Gerbi starting in 2011, and then began my tenure as chair in the fall of 2015. During this time, we have enhanced communication through bulletins and e-announcements, developed ACS National Meeting programming relevant to industry, maintained and created new industry-specific awards, and been a leading voice in a conversation to endow IAB awards to ensure their existence for many years to come. I am very proud of all of this and the IAB’s many other accomplishments including participation in student panels, supporting graduate and undergraduate research symposia, and organizing industry networking opportunities. The Industrial Advisory Board of the Division of Polymer Chemistry is making every effort to positively impact all its members and the Division of Polymer Chemistry at large.
As always, I want to thank you for your active participation in the board and encourage you to reach out to Vice Chair Michael Hunt (MPD Chemicals) or me if you have any suggestions or questions. IAB always welcomes the participation of new members. It will be your energy and ideas that keep IAB relevant and dynamic in the years to come. We look forward to working with you!
Annual Treasurer's Report
This table is a summary of the 2016 activity, the 2017 approved budget, and the 2017 income and expenditures for POLY as of July 31, 2017. POLY is a non-profit organization and as such, the Executive Committee is challenged to provide excellent services and growing benefits for its members, while keeping up with inflation, decreased income, and maintain a balanced annual budget.
In recent years, it has become challenging to find committed long-term sponsors to support the key POLY awards. After much discussion and consideration, the Executive Committee voted to fund its major awards including the Carl Marvel-Creative Polymer Chemistry Award, Herman Mark-Polymer Chemistry Award, Paul Flory-Polymer Education Award, and the Industrial Polymer Science Award though the POLY investment fund. This change will take effect starting in 2018. As of January 1, 2017, POLY has 900k in investments which continues to support the budget annually.
The Executive Committee has recognized that the cost have grown significantly over the last 10 years for committee meetings, receptions, and other activities during the ACS National Meeting. As such, each committee chair was asked to reduce AV use, if possible. During 2017, POLY also reduced the poster session reception costs and changed the POLY Program Committee Meeting luncheon to a coffee session.
The POLY Elections process costs approximately $4,500 last year. A portion of this expense supports printing and postage for post-cards mailed to members with inactive e-mail addresses. The POLY Executive Committee has chose to post the election announcement and directions in the Fall Newsletter, which is circulated during the election period, and discontinue the post-card mailing. This change should reduce the Election cost by 1/3 of the budgeted expense for 2017.
POLY continues to seek sponsors for receptions, coffee sessions, awards, newsletters, and workshops to help offset growing expenses. Please contact Derek Patton, derek.patton@usm.edu, or Kathy Mitchem, kathyL@vt.edu for further information about these opportunities.
The 2018 POLY budget is developed during December 2017 and approved during the POLY Executive Committee Meeting in January 2018. Please submit requests for funding for committee activity, symposium support, and other POLY related activity directed to the POLY Treasurer, Derek Patton, derek.patton@usm.edu, by December 1, 2017.
