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American Chemical Society

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American Chemical Society
Formation1876
HeadquartersWashington, DC
Location
Membership
160,000
Official language
English
President
Thomas H. Lane
Key people
Madeline Jacobs (CEO)
Websitehttp://www.acs.org/

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 is sent to all members. The ACS membership is organized into 189 geographical Local Sections and 33 Technical Divisions.

The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code.

Origins

The American Chemical Society had its origins in 35 chemists who met on 6 April 1876, at the University Building in the New York University (titled "University of the City of New York" at that time; its name was officially changed in 1896). [1] 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, which would focus more directly on theoretical and applied chemistry. 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 had 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 provided they can pay the $70 yearly dues. 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.

The ACS also approves certified undergraduate programs in chemistry. A student who completes the required laboratory and course work--sometimes in excess of what a particular college may require for its Bachelor's degree--is considered by the Society to be well trained for professional work.[2]

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 should not seek to become a taxpayer supported publisher. By collecting, organizing, and disseminating small molecule information whose creation it has not 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 to halt the open access movement.[1] Scientific American later reported that ACS had spent over $200,000 to hire Wexler & Walker Public Policy Association to lobby against open access.[2]

Excessive Salaries

As the Executive Director and CEO of ACS Ms. Madeline Jacobs is reported by Guidestar.org to receive a compensation of over $800,000 US per year. This compensation meets or exceeds that of many for profit firms with a similar revenue to ACS ($500M). It is thus perceived that ACS has essentially become a for-profit organization, taking the copyrights of scientists for free and selling their work back to them via their abstract search services.

The controversial high compensation rates at ACS have been widely reported and have stirred controversy. The IRS form 990 shows the high compensation of several indivdiduals. With a free login, the 990 form can be obtained at guidestar.org. [3]. A watchdog group, idontcare.com has also reported on the issue. [4] In response, Ms. Jacobs promised to lower executive compensation at ACS in 2004, but since then has only raised the salaries. [5].

Journals and magazines

See also

References

  1. ^ The American Chemical Society
  2. ^ Undergraduate Professional Education in Chemistry 2008
  3. ^ 990 at Guidestar.org (free registration required)
  4. ^ IDon'tCare.com
  5. ^ Sourcewatch.org
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