FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | February 3, 2009

American Chemical Society announces 2009 officers

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2009 — The American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society, has announced its officers for 2009.


Judith L. Benham


Thomas H. Lane


Joseph S. Francisco


Bruce E. Bursten

    Chair, ACS Board of Directors
    Judith L. Benham, Ph.D.
    , a former business director at 3M Co., St. Paul, Minn., and now retired, has been re-elected to a one-year term (2009) as chair of the board of directors. She also is serving her second three-year term as director from ACS’s District V. That term runs through 2009.

    ACS President
    Thomas H. Lane, Ph.D.
    , a chemist and director of global science and technology outreach, Dow Corning Corp., Midland, Mich., is 2009 president and will serve on the board of directors through 2010.

    ACS President-Elect
    Joseph S. Francisco, Ph.D.
    , William E. Moore Distinguished Professor at Purdue University, will serve as president-elect until becoming ACS president on Jan. 1, 2010.

    Immediate Past President
    Bruce E. Bursten, Ph.D.
    , dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and distinguished professor of chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, served as 2008 president and remains an ex officio member of the board of directors through 2009.

    Directors
    Eric C. Bigham, Ph.D.
    , retired, a chemist and former manager for discovery research and development at GlaxoSmithKline, Chapel Hill, N.C.

    Pat N. Confalone, Ph.D., vice president, Global Research & Development, Crop Protection, Agriculture and Nutrition Platform, with DuPont in Wilmington, Del.

    William F. Carroll, Jr., Ph.D., vice president at Occidental Chemical Corp. in Dallas, Texas

    Dennis Chamot, Ph.D., an associate executive director of the National Research Council’s Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, Washington, D.C.

    Bonnie A. Charpentier, Ph.D., vice president, regulatory affairs, Metabolex, Inc., Hayward, Calif

    Janan M. Hayes, Ph.D., retired chemist faculty member and administrator at Merced College, Merced, Calif., and former chemical educator and administrator at Cosumnes River College and American River College in Sacramento.

    Valerie J. Kuck, a chemist and former staff member at Lucent Technologies – AT&T Bell Labs.

    Anne T. O’Brien, Ph.D., a Tarrytown, N.Y., chemist and former manager at Wyeth-Ayerst Research.

    Diane Grob Schmidt, Ph.D., a chemist and section head at Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio.

    Kent. J. Voorhees, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden.

    Marinda Li Wu, Ph.D., a chemist and founder and president of the Science is Fun! Company in Orinda, Calif.

    Other top officers include:

    Executive Director
    Madeleine Jacobs
    , of Gaithersburg, Md., is the ACS executive director and CEO and an ex officio member of the Board of Directors.  She is the former editor-in-chief of the Society’s weekly newsmagazine, Chemical & Engineering News.

    Secretary
    Flint Lewis
    , of Centreville, Va., is the secretary of the Society, its Board of Directors and Council and serves as the Society’s General Counsel.

    Treasurer
    Brian A. Bernstein
    , of Alexandria, Va., is the treasurer and chief financial officer of the American Chemical Society.

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The American Chemical Society — the world’s largest scientific society — is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Copyright ©2009 American Chemical Society