Thank you for presenting these
books to me. They have special meaning to me because
I am a collector of antiquarian
science books. One of the most important books in my
collection is the 1680 edition of the Skeptical Chymist
by Robert Boyle, which marked the transition from alchemy
to chemistry – from metaphysical interpretations
to experimental proof.
I am particularly honored
with this award because I knew Arno Heyn so well
and was impressed with his commitment
and dedication to publishing The Nucleus for many
years. I worked closely with him when he was Chair
of the Board of Publications, and I participated
as the webmaster of the Northeastern Section website.
I thought you would be interested
in how the website got started. Especially the young
people in the audience probably do not realize what
the internet was like less than 15 years ago.
As volunteers, my assistant,
Betty Solbjor, and I, in the 1990s, initiated the
websites of many nonprofit organizations.
In 1996, we suggested starting a Northeastern Section
website. In those days, we only had dial-up connections
and were pleased that the faster, 28.8 kilobyte per
second modems were available to replace the 14.4
ones. The website was almost all text because of
the long download times for any graphics. Internet
access cost about $1/hour, and the newest and best
browser was Netscape, which was an exciting new development
because it could include graphics.
The Northeastern Section website
initially was at the URL: http://www. tiac.net/users/obermayr/nesacs/.
There was no Northeastern Section internet budget
to purchase a domain and pay for hosting service.
It wasn’t until 2000 that the Northeastern
Section got its own URL.
Before we started the website
in 1996, we contacted the national ACS to enlist
their help. However, they had not yet decided how
to deal with local sections, and it wasn’t
clear when they would decide. As a true entrepreneur,
I decided we should just plunge ahead on our own.
It was good that I took the initiative because the
national ACS converted what I considered a routine
request, a no brainer, into a major undertaking.
I could not get them to provide a constructive response
for two years, and then the response was to send
me a ten-page legal agreement. The document was drawn
up by lawyers whose purpose was to provide every
possible protection to the national ACS institution
and not consider
the reasonable and appropriate needs of local sections
to take responsible actions without first getting
approval from the national organization. As a result,
our website to this day is not under the jurisdiction
of the national organization.
I have enjoyed describing how
the website got started and especially appreciate
being recognized for my effort. Over the years I
have initiated dozens of websites for nonprofit organizations
just to be helpful, but this is the first time I
have been honored for it. |
