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Photo by M.Z. Hoffman |
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The Senior
Chemists Task Force (SCTF) was established
in 2009 and is currently composed of 21 members.
Its purpose is to serve as the focal point
of programming and representation for senior
chemists over the age of 50 within the ACS
and the chemistry enterprise at large. Its
mission, broadly stated, is to encourage
and serve as a conduit for senior members
to volunteer and contribute their energy
and talent to the ACS, including governance,
education, mentoring, and community projects;
to provide useful services and information
to seniors, such as retirement and estate
planning, consulting and part-time opportunities,
and travels/tours; to foster networking opportunities
among seniors, both nationally and locally;
and to represent senior chemists in their
interaction with other elements of ACS governance,
bringing awareness of their needs, fostering
collaborations, and creating synergies.
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The age demographics
of the ACS demonstrate the need for institutional
interest in senior chemists; of its approximately
160,000 members, at least 50% are 50 years
of age or older, and about 30% are over 60.
SCTF is needed in order to provide services
to this continually growing segment of the
membership, to encourage seniors to stay
involved with ACS, to coordinate local
section activities that involve seniors,
and to make the rest of the Society aware
of the needs of seniors. From a programming
standpoint, SCTF is in a position to organize,
sponsor, and co-sponsor symposia and events
at ACS national meetings, and provide guidance
for communications with seniors at regional
meetings and within local sections. It can
also pro- vide information at its link on
the ACS website, through the SCTF connections
on the ACS Network, and with articles in
local section newsletters, the Councilor
Bulletin, and Committee News.
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With regard
to SCTF program- ming at ACS national meetings,
the most enduring has been the Senior Chemists
Breakfasts, which have attracted sell-out
crowds. Since 2009, the speakers have included
Peter Stang, University of Utah (Salt Lake
City, 2009); Luis Echegoyen, NSF (Washington,
2009); Robert Grubbs, CalTech (San Francisco,
2010); Roald Hoffmann, Cornell University
(Boston, 2010); Harry Gray, CalTech (Anaheim,
2011). A Senior Chemists Breakfast to be
held in Denver on Tuesday, August 30, will
feature Dr. Bassam Shakhashiri, current ACS
President-Elect, as the guest speaker; he
will speak on “Chemistry and Society:
Looking Back, Looking Around, Looking Ahead.”
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SCTF
has organized, co-sponsored, or co-listed
the following symposia on topics important
to seniors and other attendees at the national
meetings: being a consultant, volunteerism
(Washington, 2009); the consulting business
(San Francisco, 2010); governmental interface,
connections to Germany and Europe, Medicare
supplement workshop (Boston, 2010); aging
and the ACS, diverse workforces in small
businesses (Anaheim, 2011). In Denver (Fall
2011), SCTF will co- sponsor a symposium
on interactions between the Younger Chemists
Committee of ACS and the European Young
Chemists Network of EuCheMS (European Association
for Chemical and Molecular Sciences), as
well as symposia on entrepreneurial- ism,
health care reform and its impact on seniors,
and the globalization of the chemistry
profession.
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SCTF is in the
process of planning future activities for
seniors, including assistance with consultancies,
employment, income tax issues, and retirement
and estate planning. It anticipates organizing
trips for seniors to universities for educational
visits, and to local governmental bodies
for legislative visits. Seniors with
academic or industrial backgrounds will
become part of the “Chemistry
Ambassadors” to interact with students
and teachers at the K-12, undergraduate,
and graduate levels. SCTF plans to work
with local sections toward the establishment
of their own senior chemists committees
for the promotion of relevant activities
of interest to their members in the areas
of education, governmental affairs, and
environmental improvement.
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| Later in 2011,
the ACS Committee on Committees (ConC)
will evaluate the programs and activities
of SCTF with an eye toward the establishment
of a national Senior Chemists Committee
(SCC) that would be analogous to the current
Younger Chemists Committee (YCC) and
Women Chemists Committee (WCC). |
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Photo
by Linda Wang, C&EN |
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