Contributed by Dennis Chamot, CSW President
New Years is a time to both reflect on the past and plan for the future. The
Chemical Society of Washington is a very large and vibrant local section of
the American Chemical Society, with a wide variety of activities to serve our
diverse membership. I am grateful to immediate past president Alan Anderson and the other officers and members of the Board of Managers for their dedicated (and continuing) service that has helped to maintain the robustness of the section.
To begin the process of looking ahead, a couple of months ago I sent out a
questionnaire to the CSW membership, asking for your comments on the monthly membership meetings, CSW committees, and more. Not unexpectedly, alas, the return was from a relatively small portion of the section’s membership. Still, all are valuable, and I would be very happy to receive your further comments and suggestions at any time. Send them to [email protected], using the subject line, “message for Dennis Chamot.”
I would also like to call your attention to the first membership meeting of the new year, to be held on January 6 (see details elsewhere in this issue). Appropriate for looking to the future, we have invited Dr. Cathy Covert, point person for the National Science Foundation’s Centers for Chemical Innovation program, to discuss Grand Challenges for Chemistry. Dr. Covert’s presentation will include some brief but neat videos, as well as interaction with the audience. So bring your own ideas to share at what should be an enjoyable and stimulating event.
The traditional cartoon symbols for the beginning and end of a year are a fresh, cheerful baby and a tired old man, weathered by the experiences and cares of the previous 12 months. Each year has its ups and downs, and the continuing problems with research support and diminished job opportunities for chemical professionals are still of concern. But we can hope that the good will far outweigh the bad. I look forward to my year as CSW president and invite you to share with me the experiences of CSW and the future of chemistry.
