The 230th national meeting of the American Chemical Society was held in Washington, D.C. (28 August to 1 September 2005). The society's headquarters are in Washington, of course, which makes national meetings held here unique for all the participants. The heat and humidity of summer didn't dampen the spirits of more than 15,000 chemical scientists, exhibitors, and guests in Washington, D.C. More than 7,400 technical papers and posters were presented at the meeting and 313 exhibitors staffed 504 booths.
At the Chemjobs Career Center, 1,917 job seekers were scheduled for 1,678 interviews for 289 positions posted. The technical sessions started on 28 August 05 morning and the parallel sessions were distributed in many halls of Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt.Vernon Sq., and surrounding hotels (the Grand Hyatt, the Renaissance etc). Several symposia spanned the broad gamut that is chemistry.
The technical sessions of Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry, which are the backbones of chemistry, attracted most of the crowds in several halls of the Convention Center. Other than this sessions, the world-wide lineup of scientists featured presentations on research in health, medicine, food, agriculture, energy, materials, nanotechnology, biotechnology, green chemistry and the environment.
The technical sessions were organized under the following divisions:
(1) Agricultural & food chemistry
(2) agrochemicals
(3) analytical chemistry
(4) biological chemistry
(5) business development & management
(6) carbohydrate chemistry
(7) cellulose and renewable materials
(8)chemical education
(9) chemical health & safety
(10) chemical information
(11) chemical technicians
(12) chemical toxicology
(13) chemistry & the Law
(14) colloid & surface chemistry
(15) computers in chemistry
(16) environmental chemistry
(17) fluorine chemistry
(18) fuel chemistry
(19) geochemistry
(20)history of chemistry
(21)industrial & engineering chemistry
(22) inorganic chemistry
(23)medicinal chemistry
(24)nuclear chemistry & technology
(25)organic chemistry
(26)petroleum chemistry
(27)physical chemistry
(28)polymer chemistry
(29)polymeric materials: science and engineering &
(30)small chemical business.
Student programme. For the almost 2,000 undergraduate students at the meeting, this was an exciting and fulfilling activity. Many student participants were busy with the oral & poster presentations, job interviews and various other activities in the exposition booths. A noteworthy event at the Washington meeting was the second Academic Employment Initiative (AEI) poster session, which was held at Sci-Mix on Monday, Aug. 29.
About 170 prospective faculty job candidates described their research for academic recruiters at the AEI event. The AEI program was proposed in 2004 by then-ACS president Charles P. Casey and is being supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Its goal is to broaden the academic hiring process by making it easier for faculty recruiters to meet and interact with several job candidates in a short time and in a relatively informal setting.
The AEI poster session was designed to open up the faculty hiring process by providing a forum for relatively informal interaction between job applicants and representatives of departments seeking new faculty. With personal interaction before invitations for formal campus visits and interviews, universities do not have to rely solely on paper portfolios and letters of recommendation.
Special Prize and Awards Ceremonies. An important feature of the technical sessions were the special lectures dedicated to Professor Koji Nakanishi the recipient of Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry for 2004, sponsored by Elsevier. Professor Nakanishi was awarded the Tetrahedron Prize for his pioneering research in the use of spectroscopic and chemical methods in determining the chemical structure of natural products, research which has led to the characterization of over 200 bioactive compounds, many of which are endogenous and/or the first member of a new class.
His studies with retinal analogs and retinal proteins have made seminal contributions in understanding the structural and mechanistic basis of animal vision and phototaxis. The Tetrahedron Prize was presented to Professor Nakanishi by Professor Bruce Ganem on Monday, 29thAugust 2005, at the Ballroom of Washington Convention Center. Many eminent chemists presented award lectures including an introductory remark on Koji Nakanishi by C.-H. Wong, editor of Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry. Nobel Laureate Professor K. B. Sharpless honored Nakanishi with a special lecture on "Azides and Alkynes: Tigers in a Cage".
In his memorable lecture, Sharpless has highlighted the versatile reactive intermediates azides and alkynes as potential building blocks for various heterocyclic compounds. The session was concluded with the award address of Nakanishi with a special topic on "Biorganic Studies on Ginkgolides". In his address he mentioned that research activities on the natural products have changed tremendously since those days when he started research during 1950s.
The 80-year-old scientist, still active in research said, "I continue to be strongly attracted to Ginkgo biloba, the ginkgolides and bilobalide because of their enigmatic biological effects. With the development of new instrumentation facilities and application of newer techniques of biotechnology research in natural products is more fascinating. The awards symposium was instructive, inspiring, and, in the case of K. B. Sharpless's presentation, explosive.
On Tuesday, August 30, another award winner's symposium on Arthur C. Kope was held at the same hall. Professor K. C. Nicolaou of the Scripps Research Institute and University of California, San Diego was selected as the 2005, A. C. Cope award recipient. Arthur C. Cope Award and Cope Scholar Awards, administered by the ACS, aim to recognize and encourage excellence in organic chemistry.
Tom Peters, international bestselling author, consultant, columnist and stage performer, gave the keynote address at the award ceremony. K.C. Nicolaou on his award address explained the art and science of total synthesis and for expanding its frontiers into new domains of molecular complexity and diversity.
It was followed by the award addresses of this year ten Cope Scholars. Huw M. L. Davies, Brent L. Iverson, Steven M. Weinreb, James D. Wuest, Benjamin F. Cravatt, Rustom F. Ismaigilov, Weston T. Borden, Frederich D. Lewis, Paul Knochel, Donna G. Blackmond are the Cope scholar awardees of this year. Rustem F. Ismagilov,s lecture on physical organic approach to complex reaction networks highlighted the development of new microfluidic technology, which can be used to study time-dependent processes in chemistry, biochemistry, and biophysics, as well as the dynamics of complex chemical systems.
Paul Knochel ended the morning session with an interesting talk on design, synthesis and characterization of magnesium and zinc organometallics. Knochel's research interests focus on the development of novel organometallic reagents and methods for organic synthesis and asymmetric catalysis.
Heroes of Chemistry Award Ceremonies. Eighteen research chemists from five companies were named Heroes of Chemistry by the ACS for improving health and well-being by creating new drugs or other products and inventing environmentally friendly and more effective technologies.
The awards specifically honor "chemical innovators whose work has led to the welfare and progress of humanity" in a significant way in the past decade. Revolutionary treatments for psychosis, myeloid leukemia and dental disease; a process that yields cleaner gasoline; and materials to make smaller denser computer chips and microprocessors are the accomplishments of the 2005 Heroes of Chemistry, who were honored on Sept. 28 during the 230th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Colgate-Palmolive Co., Piscataway, NJ, developed Colgate toothpaste, the first toothpaste approved by the Food and Drug Administration to fight cavities, gingivitis, plaque and tarter, and to fight bad breath for up to 12 hours. The Colgate-Palmolive Co. winner: Abdul Gaffar, Ph.D., is vice president, growth technology development, Colgate-Palmolive, Piscataway, N.J.
ExxonMobil and Albemarle developed SCANfining and SCANfining II - gasoline sulfur reduction processes that significantly lower the amount of sulfur in gasoline and, in conjunction with advanced treatment of vehicle exhaust emissions, will lead to improved air quality.
The ExxonMobil and Albemarle winners are: (1) Garland B. Brignac (2) Bruce R. Cook (3) Richard A. Demmin, (4)John P. Greeley (5)Thomas R. Halbert, (6) Jeffrey L. Kaufman (7) Mark Lapinski (8) Steve Mayo (9) Craig A. McKnight (10) Kenneth L. Riley.
IBM developed chemically improved materials that are now the "gold standard" for creating smaller, denser computer chips and microprocessors. The IBM winners: (1) Hiroshi Ito (2) C. Grant Willson.
Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development developed RISPERDAL®, considered a standard in the treatment of psychosis, which helped revolutionize anti-psychotic therapies.The Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development winner: Ludo Kennis, Ing.
Novartis developed Gleevec®, a new class of "molecular medicines" that specifically targets an enzyme responsible for the uncontrollable growth of cancer cells in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia.The Novartis winners: (1) Peter Graf (2) Ulrike B. Pfaar (3) Peter M. Traxler (4) Jürg Zimmermann.
Applied Chemistry. Most of the interesting applied chemistry symposiums were held in the Grand Hyatt Hotel Constitution D-E. On Tuesday, Aug. 30, and Wednesday, August 31, a symposium on "Cosmetic Nanotechnology: Polymers and Colloids in Personal Care" was presented. The symposium highlighted various industrial methods of cosmetic material preparations incorporating nanoparticles and how these particles are being used, as well as potential regulatory implications of their use in light of growing evidence that some particles might pose health hazards.
Today, consumers are looking for added benefits from traditional "beauty" products such as moisturization and sun protection. Many researchers offered solutions to the problem of incorporating nanoparticle sunscreens into water for silicone liquid makeup. The Division of Polymer Chemistry hosted the symposium.
Also on Tuesday, a symposium on "Tobacco Carcinogens," highlighted the latest findings on how tobacco carcinogens cause cancer. A key objective was to learn more about how tobacco-related cancers may be prevented. It was concluded with a panel discussion on ways to decrease the cancer risk for the 1 billion tobacco users across the globe.
Women's Chemist Committee. The mission of this committee is to attract women to careers in the chemical sciences; provide resources for career development; and to promote the acknowledgement of the accomplishments of women chemists and chemical engineers. There had been a series of articles/interviews with women scientists.
One good topic entitled "Leadership Styles" by Madeline Jacobs; the editor-in-chief of Chemical & Engineering News drew the attention of many women delegates towards the positive ways of leadership qualities.
The committee hosted a presidential symposium titled "Women in Industrial Chemistry: Trends and Transitions" on Monday, August 29 at the Renaissances, grand Ballroom South. The symposium highlighted the challenges, positive influences and personal aspirations of successful women in science and engineering.
Entertainment. Victoria Bragin, a chemist-pianist, gave a recital that included a scherzo by chemist-composer Alexander Borodin. The program drew about 400 people and was sponsored by the ACS Division of the History of Chemistry and the Chemical Heritage Foundation. ACS President William F. Carroll sponsored 11 presidential sessions.
On Monday, Aug. 29, a Presidential Symposium on "The Future of Chemical Plant Security: Where Will We Be in 2015?" featured a presentation by Charles E. McQueary, Under Secretary for Science & Technology, Department of Homeland Security, on what the U.S. Government was doing to combat chemical threats nationally.
The program was one of a series of symposia related to "Enterprise 2015," a society-wide effort led by Carroll to identify potential changes in the chemical enterprise in the next decade. The successive sessions included a wide-ranging discussion in which audience members gave their predictions of the state of the chemical sciences 10 years from now.
Quite a good number of participants from India in different divisions of the technical sessions were found. Most of them were found to be young chemists working either as post-doctoral or undergoing their graduate courses (PhD) in different universities of USA.
Many of the research papers reported results of newer synthetic methodologies for novel organic and inorganic compounds. The posters displayed ranging from small heterocyclic compounds with profound biological activities to large supramolecules self-assembled with proper angles and definite shapes. Nevertheless, their contributions in oral and poster presentations were excellent.
Reference:
1.OMSingh has published the technical reports in the journal "CURRENT SCIENCE" India, issue 25Nov 2005(available free online: http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/).
2. The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization, chartered by the U.S. Congress, with a multidisciplinary membership of more than 158,000 chemists and chemical engineers. It publishes numerous scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. Website: http://www.chemistry.org/acs
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