Dr. Colin F. Baxter, Professor Emeritus of History, East Tennessee State University, was born in Harrow, England. He earned his B.Sc., degree from East Tennessee State University, and his M.A., and Ph.D., degrees from the University of Georgia. His first teaching post was at Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, where he taught British and European history. He is the author of 5 books: The Normandy Campaign, 1944: A Selected Bibliography (1992); The War in North Africa, 1940-1943: A Selected Bibliography (1996); Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1887-1976: A Selected Bibliography (1999): Co-author and contributor to The American Military Tradition from Colonial Times to the Present. 2nd edition (2007). He is the author of the Montgomery entry in the online Oxford Military Bibliographies series. Baxter’s most recent book, The Secret History of RDX: The Super-Explosive that Helped Win World War II was published in 2018 by the University Press of Kentucky.
A narrative History of the section has been uploaded here thanks to our NETS-ACS Historian, Bob Maleski. Check out the narrative history at the link above or head over to the History page to learn more about the history of the section.
On April 21, 2021 at 6:00-7:30 PM EDT the Northeast Tennessee Section of the American Chemical Society will hold its annual awards ceremony virtually via Zoom. Section members should watch their e-mail for a link to the Zoom meeting.
Awards to be presented at this year’s annual awards ceremony include ACS Member Service Awards, the NETS-ACS Salutes to Excellence Award, the National Chemistry Week Recognition Award, The NETS-ACS Chemical Technician Award, NETS-ACS Outstanding Chemistry Student Awards, and the NETS-ACS Distinguished Member Award.
ACS Membership Awards are awarded annually to 40-, 50-, 60- and 70-year members of the ACS, recognizing them for their long service to the ACS and to science in general. This recognition is a small token of appreciation to many people who have dedicated their lives to science.
Salutes to Excellence is an outreach program that gives ACS local sections, international chemical sciences chapters, technical divisions, regional meetings, and national committees an opportunity to underscore outstanding accomplishments or achievements of service by external partners who have made a positive impact on everyday life or who have helped contribute to greater public awareness of chemistry.
NETS-ACS Outstanding Chemistry Student Awards are given to outstanding chemistry students from area institutions. Selection is based on overall grade point scores and excellence in their academic achievements.
NETS-ACS Distinguished Member Award is given in recognition of a section member, selected by the Executive Committee, for their technical contribution and achievement in the field of chemistry, and outstanding contributions to chemistry education and/or perception of chemistry with the community.
NETS-ACS Chemical Technician Award is presented annually to a chemical technician who has demonstrated an extremely high degree of professionalism. Criteria used to judge the award include technical skills, communication skills, safety, reliability, leadership, teamwork, publications, and presentations. Additional professional and community activities are also considered.
For more information on section awards the criteria for selection please visit the Resources page of the NETS-ACS website.
Please enjoy the great videos sponsored by Eastman Chemical Company, American Chemical Society (ACS), Museum of Science, Boston (MOS), National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE Net) and National Science Foundation.
On October 22nd and 23rd, the Northeast Tennessee Local Section of American Chemical Society (NETS-ACS) and Eastman Chemical Company will host the 29th annual award-winning National Chemistry Week (NCW) celebration. Over 36,000 children had participated in this event since its inception in 1991. For the past eleven years we’ve successfully had T-shirt artwork design contests and received numerous inspiring drawings from local artists as young as 10 years old. The NCW T-shirt committee is having a contest again to design an artwork to be printed on the T-shirts that over 1,300 local 4th graders will be wearing at the event!!! Design suggestions:
Artwork will be printed on white T-shirts
The design reflects this year’s theme, “MARVELOUS METALS” Rewards to the winner:
YOUR DESIGN AND YOUR NAME will be printed on 1300 T-shirts
1300 4th grade students from the region will be wearing your design at the event
Winner certificate signed by the president of NETS-ACS
Two free T-shirts
An Eastman TritanTM water bottle Please submit your designs to Liu Deng (ldeng@eastman.com, 423-229-4677) by September 20th. Multiple entries are welcome. For questions or designs from previous years, please contact Liu Deng as well. Thank you!
The following summary is provided to help Councilors report
to their Local Sections and Divisions on key actions of the ACS
Council meeting held April 3, and Board of Directors meetings held March 29-31,
at the 2019 spring
national meeting in Orlando, Florida.
Actions of the Council
Election Results
Candidates
for President-Elect, 2020
The
Committee on Nominations and Elections presented to the Council the following
nominees for selection as candidates for President-Elect, 2020: Magid
Abou-Gharbia, H.N. Cheng, Carol A. Duane, and Christopher J. Welch. By electronic ballot, the Council selected H.N. Cheng and Carol A. Duane as candidates
for 2020 President-Elect. These two
candidates, along with any candidates selected via petitions, will stand for
election in the Fall National Election.
President-Elect,
2020a
Nominee
1st Round
2nd Round
Magid
Abou-Gharbia
72
*H.N.
Cheng
145
191
*Carol
A. Duane
125
177
Christopher
J. Welch
82
a424 valid electronic ballots were cast,
with 213 being the majority. The results of the first preference
vote totals are shown in the 1st round column. No nominee attained a majority.
Following the procedures approved by Council, second-preference votes were
distributed in the subsequent round. Those marked with an asterisk (*) were
declared elected as candidates.
Candidates
for Districts II and IV
The
Committee on Nominations and Elections announced the results of the election held
prior to the Orlando meeting to select candidates
from the list of nominees for
Directors from District II and District IV on the Board of Directors for the
term 2020-2022. By internet ballot, the
Councilors from these districts selected
Christina C. Bodurow and Dawn Mason
as District II candidates; and Rigoberto Hernandez and Lisa Houston as District IV candidates. Ballots will be distributed on or before October
1 to all ACS members in District II and District IV for election of a Director
from each District.
DISTRICT IIa
Nominee
1st Round
2nd Round
3rd Round
*Christina
C. Bodurow
39
Mark
E. Jones
2
12
*Dawn
Mason
12
24
29
Angela
K. Wilson
3
15
22
DISTRICT IVa
Nominee
1st
Round
2nd
Round
3rd
Round
Lissa
A. Dulany
12
14
James
C. Carver
9
*Rigoberto
Hernandez
27
30
35
*Lisa
Houston
22
26
35
a The results of the first preference
vote totals are shown in the 1st round column. No nominee attained a
majority. Following the procedures approved by Council, second-preference votes
were distributed in two subsequent rounds. Those marked with an asterisk (*) were
declared elected as candidates.
Candidates
for Directors-at-Large
The Committee on Nominations and Elections
announced the selection of the following candidates
for Directors-at-Large for 2020-2022 terms: Harmon B. Abrahamson, G. Bryan
Balazs, D. Richard Cobb, and Dorothy J. Phillips. The election of two Directors-at-Large from
among these four candidates and any selected via petition will be conducted in
the fall. Ballots will be distributed to
the Council on or before October 1, 2019.
Other Council Actions
Amendment to the ACS Constitution and Bylaws
The Council approved the Petition to Streamline the ACS Governing
Documents [Constitution Articles I-XIX, Bylaws I-XIV, and Standing Rules I-IX],
which will reorganize the fundamental governing documents of the Society: the
Constitution and Bylaws, and create a third document: Standing Rules. These
three documents will function as a hierarchy. The Constitution should define;
the Bylaws should authorize; and the Standing Rules should operationalize. Additionally,
an Amendment was voted upon, and passed by recorded vote:
That language proposed as Standing Rule II,
Sections 2 a, 2 b, and 2 g be moved to the Bylaws as new Sections 2 a, 2 b, and
2 c of proposed Bylaw III with appropriate renumbering of the other sections of
Bylaw III and Standing Rule II.
The
Petition will become effective if and when the proposed changes to the
Constitution are approved by the Membership of the Society, and if and when the
Board of Directors approves the Petition. Because the changes to the ACS
Governing Documents are substantial, the Council authorized the ACS Secretary
and General Counsel and the Committee on Constitution & Bylaws to correct
minor technical mistakes in the Petition.
Council Special Discussion
§ ACS President Bonnie Charpentier led
a special discussion on ACS Relevance to Current and Future Members: Challenges
and Opportunities. Councilors had been asked prior to Orlando to discuss the
ACS value proposition with their local sections or divisions and bring that
input to Council. Councilors provided many recommendations and suggestions
including increased support for local sections and industry members, helping
student members transition into their professional careers, and implementing a
monthly payment tool for ACS dues. These, and all the other ideas and input
submitted, will be shared with the Committee on Membership Affairs and the ACS
Membership Division for further research or implementation.
2020 Member Dues
The Council voted on the recommendation
of the Committee on Budget and Finance (B&F) to set the member dues for
2020 at the 2019 rate of $175.
Continuation of Committees
The Council approved the recommendation of the
Committee on Committees that the Committee on Nomenclature, Terminology &
Symbols be continued; and that the Committee on Senior Chemists be continued, contingent
on approval by the Board of Directors.
International Chemical Sciences
Chapter
On
the recommendation of the Committee on International Activities, the Council
approved the establishment of ACS Pakistan International Chemical Sciences
Chapter, subject to confirmation by the Board of Directors.
Resolutions
The
Council passed several resolutions:
in
memory of deceased Councilors;
in
gratitude for the officers and members of the Orlando Section, host for the 257th
National Meeting, the divisional program chairs, symposium organizers, and ACS
staff for the planning and execution of the meeting.
Highlights from Committee Reports
Councilor Divisor
As required by the Society’s Bylaws, the Council Policy Committee has
set the divisors for allocation of Councilor seats among Local Sections and
Divisions for 2020 to 2023. Official
notification of the Councilor divisors and the number of Councilors permitted
for each Local Section and Division will be sent to the respective Local
Sections and Divisions prior to May 1st as required in the Bylaws.
Online Preference Forms for
Councilors
All Councilors, including new Councilors, were reminded to complete
their online committee preference form for 2020 committee assignments. The
committee preference form is open through June 7, 2019. The online form may be
found at https://www.yellowbook.acs.org
(log in required).
Nominations and Elections
The Committee on Nominations and
Elections solicits Councilors’ input regarding qualified individuals for
President-Elect and/or Directors for future consideration. Suggestions may be sent to nomelect@acs.org.
Budget and Finance
In 2018, ACS generated a net from operations of $41.1 million, which
was $13.3 million higher than 2017.
Total revenues were $571.6 million, increasing 6.4% – or $34.2 million –
over 2017. Expenses ended the year at $530.5
million, which was $20.8 million or 4.1% higher than the prior year. These results were attributable to strong
performance from the Society’s Information Service units (CAS and ACS
Publications) and a continued emphasis on expense management across the ACS.
Additional information can be
found at www.acs.org. At the bottom of the page, click ‘About ACS’,
then ‘ACS Financial Information.’ There
you will find several years of the Society’s audited financial statements and
IRS 990 filings.
Membership
The ACS ended 2018 with 151,012
members, a net membership growth of one-tenth-of-one-percent. This is the first
membership growth ACS has recorded in the better part of a decade. Of the 25,000
new members who joined in 2018, about 20% were incentivized by market testing
initiatives. Without these new members, ACS would have seen continued declines.
Council voted to extend the provision of the international dues
discount test based on World Bank country income levels for an additional three
years (August 2019 – August 2022).
Orlando Meeting Attendance
As of Tuesday, April 2:
Attendees 7,887
Students
6,019
Exhibitors 869
Expo
only 404
Guests 426
Total 15,605
Actions of the
Board of Directors
The Board’s
Executive Session
The ACS Board of Directors met in Executive Session
March 29-30, and considered and responded to a variety of key strategic issues
facing ACS, ACS members, and the global chemistry enterprise.
The
Board’s Committees and Task Forces
The
Board received and discussed reports from its committees on Executive
Compensation, Professional and Member Relations, the Joint Board-Council
Committee on Publications, the ACS Governing Board for Publishing, and the Next
Generation ACS Leadership Program Task Force.
In particular, the Board received an extensive briefing and approved
several recommendations from its Committee on Executive Compensation. The compensation of the Society’s executive
staff continues to receive regular review from the Board.
On
the recommendation of the Joint Board-Council Committee on Publications, the
Board voted to approve the reappointments of Editors-in-Chief for several ACS
journals. Those reappointments will be
announced in C&EN once the appointed individuals have been notified and
arrangements for their continued service have been made.
On
the recommendation of the Committee on Professional and Member Relations, the
Board approved screened lists of nominees for the 2020 Priestley Medal and the
ACS Award for Volunteer Service. The Board will select the recipients of these
latter two awards from these screened lists.
The
co-chair of the Next Generation ACS Leadership Program Task Force gave an
update on the efforts of the task force. The task force has reviewed and
considered the history of ACS leadership efforts since 1965 in preparation for
offering key considerations and principles for providing ACS members with the
means to develop as individuals, professionals and ACS volunteers. Next steps
include continuing to gather feedback from various ACS entities and
constituencies, and to develop a framework for professional development that is
reflective of the ACS core values (focus on members; professionalism;
diversity, inclusion and respect; and safety and ethics).
The
Executive Director/CEO Report
The Executive Director and CEO briefed the Board on
issues relating to the Focus on Members as a core value of the Society as well
on ACS financial performance, Operational Excellence, and upcoming events and
activities. His direct reports then
engaged in strategic discussions with the Board relevant to the activities,
opportunities, and challenges of the Membership and Society Services Division,
the ACS Publications Division, and Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS).
Other
Society Business
As is customary, the Board heard reports from the
Presidential Succession on their current and planned activities for 2019. The Board also reviewed a proposed schedule
for the Board retreat, meeting, and related activities in conjunction with the
Central Regional Meeting in Midland, Michigan, June 3-9, 2019.
The Board’s
Regular Session
The Board held a regular
session on March 31, which featured a presentation from Dr. Susan Butts, Chair
of the Working Group on Immigration and Work Visas, entitled Workforce
Immigration and its Relationship to the U.S. Economy, Innovation, and Global
Competitiveness.
Prior to the presentation, the Board Chair gave a report on Board
actions and issues from its Executive Session. Members of the presidential
succession and the Executive Director & CEO also offered brief reports on
their activities. The officers provided
more extensive reports on their activities and/or future plans as part of their
written and oral reports to the Council.
Contact the Board
Your Board of Directors is elected by and acts in
the best interests of the members of the Society. Please contact them with your comments,
concerns, ideas, and suggestions at secretary@acs.org.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FOR COUNCILORS
The following is a list of URLs and
email addresses for supplemental information offered in oral reports at the Council
meeting.
Councilor – Summary of Governance Issues and Actions
Actions of the Council
Election Results
Candidates for President-Elect, 2018
§ The Committee on Nominations and Elections presented to the Council the following nominees for selection as candidates for President-Elect, 2018: Bonnie A. Charpentier, Mark D. Frishberg, Anne M. Gaffney, and Willie E. May. By electronic ballot, the Council selected Bonnie A. Charpentier and Willie E. May as candidates for 2018 President-Elect. These two candidates, along with any candidates selected via petitions, will stand for election in the Fall National Election.
President-Elect, 2018a
Nominee
1st Round
2nd Round
3rd Round
*Bonnie Charpentier
200
210
242
Mark D. Frishberg
73
80
–
Anne M. Gaffney
26
–
–
*Willie E. May
132
141
158
a431 valid electronic ballots were cast, with 216 being the majority. The results of the first preference vote totals are shown in the 1st round column. No nominee attained a majority. Following the procedures approved by Council, second-preference votes were distributed in two subsequent rounds. Those marked with an * were declared elected as candidates.
Candidates for Directors-at-Large
§ The Committee on Nominations and Elections announced the selection of the following candidates for Directors-at-Large for 2018-2020 terms: Kenneth P. Fivizzani, Wayne E. Jones, Bonnie A. Lawlor, and Barbara A. Sawrey. The election of two Directors-at-Large from among those candidates and any selected via petition will be conducted in the fall. Ballots will be distributed to the Council on or before October 1, 2017.
Other Council Actions
Amendments to the ACS Bylaws
§ A recommendation by the Council Policy Committee to approve the Petition for the Removal of Officers and Councilors (Bylaw III, Sec. 1, i; Bylaw VII, Sec. 1, c; Bylaw VIII, Sec. 4, d) failed. The wording was too vague.
§ The Council approved the Petition on the Rights of Affiliates (Bylaw II, Sec. 1, a, 2, a, 3, b, (3) and (4)).
Procedures for Removal of a Councilor or
Alternate Councilor
§ The Council voted to approve the Procedures for Removal of a Councilor or Alternate Councilor, contingent upon approval of the Petition for the Removal of Officers and Councilors. As the petition subsequently failed, given the interdependence of the petition and related procedures, the procedures will not take effect.
2018 Member Dues
§ The Council voted on the recommendation of the Committee on Budget and Finance to set the member dues for 2018 at the fully escalated rate of $171. This rate is established pursuant to an inflation-adjustment formula in the ACS Constitution and Bylaws.
Distribution Formula for Division Funding
§ On the recommendation of the Committee
on Divisional Activities, the Council approved a formula for allocating dues
funds to divisions, effective with allocations for 2017 division performance.
Extension of Market Data Collection Test:
International Chemical Sciences Chapters
§ On the recommendation of the Committee on Membership Affairs, the Council voted to extend the provision of $15 commissions to International Chemical Sciences Chapters which recruit new members.
Continuation of Committees
§ The Council approved the recommendation
of the Committee on Committees that the Committee on Project SEED be continued;
and that the committees on Chemists with Disabilities, on Public Relations and
Communications, and on Women Chemists be continued contingent on approval of
the Board of Directors.
Resolutions
§ The Council passed resolutions in memory of deceased Councilors; in gratitude for the officers and members of the California and Santa Clara Local Sections, hosts for the 253rd National Meeting; the divisional program chairs, symposium organizers, and ACS staff, for the planning and execution of the meeting.
Special Discussion
The Council conducted a special
discussion, “ACS Yesterday and Today: Paving the Way to Tomorrow,” to gather
input for the Joint Board-CPC Task Force on Governance Design. Forty Councilors
approached the floor microphones to share observations, comments, and
suggestions to assist the task force in identifying opportunities and issues
for governance improvement. The task force offered three questions to guide the
discussion: What should the Society and its governance do differently to
achieve its objects? If you could change one thing about ACS governance, what
would it be? What should the task force leave “as is”? A poll conducted at the
conclusion of the discussion revealed that 57% (222) of the Councilors
disagreed that the current governance structure, processes and procedures are
already optimal to achieving the objects of ACS in the 21st century, 16% (54)
agreed, and 27% (104) needed more information. Three-hundred and six (84%) said
they would be willing to provide additional input and feedback to the task
force. They will be contacted by the task force in the coming weeks.
Nominations and Elections
The Committee on Nominations and
Elections solicits Councilors’ input of qualified individuals for
President-Elect and/or Directors for future consideration. Suggestions may be
sent to nomelect@acs.org.
Membership
As of December 31, 2016, the ACS
membership was 156,129, which is 0.5% less than on the same date in 2015. The
number of new members who joined in 2016 is 23,700. The Society’s overall
retention rate is 83.5%. The Committee on Membership Affairs also reported that
the number of international members has increased to 27,388, exceeding the
committee’s target by 5%. Retention of graduate students increased by 2% to
76.2%.
San Francisco Meeting Attendance
As of Tuesday, April 4:
Category
Attendees
Attendees
9,797
Students
6,914
Exhibitors
1,198
Expo only
475
Guest
466
Total
18,850
Petitions to Amend Constitution and
Bylaws
New petitions to amend the Constitution or Bylaws must be received by the Executive Director no later than May 3 to be included in the Council agenda for consideration at the fall 2017 meeting in Washington, DC. Contact C&B with any questions or requests for information at bylaws@acs.org.
Tennessee-Virginia Highlands Section of the American Chemical Society 