The activities of the New York Section for 2006 were outstanding and a testament to the dedicated efforts of the many ACS members that actively support the New York Section. Program events are driven both by ACS Strategic Thrusts reflected in the Section’s Strategic Plan and by immediate goals of the 2006 Section Chair. The many exciting activities of the New York Section in 2006 were announced in The Indicator - the Section’s newsletter, and increasingly on the Section’s website (www.NewYorkACS.org) and by e-mail.

The Brooklyn Subsection (Chair: Dr. John Halpin). The Twentieth Annual NCW Brooklyn High School Day was held at Brooklyn College on October 26th, involving approximately 150 high school students, chemistry student affiliates and faculty. The program included chemical demonstrations, a tour of the laboratories, an awards program, refreshments and the Twenty-Second Annual H. Martin Friedman Lecture featuring Nobel Laureate and MIT Chemistry Professor Dr. Richard R. Shrock. On October 28th, Girl Scouts from Brooklyn participated in the Expanding Your Horizons by attending the NCW events at the New York Hall of Science. In recognition of NCW, the 12th High School Research Poster Session was held at St. Joseph's College in Brooklyn on October 29th. The event was organized jointly with the Chemical Education Committee under the leadership of S. Mary Maier. The Subsection also co-sponsored the NCW activities at the New York Hall of Science with the New York Section.

The Hudson-Bergen Subsection (HBCS) (Chair: Dr. Mihaela Leonida). 2006 was a year rich in activities including six monthly meetings featuring invited speakers and a career fair. HBCS also brings chemistry and community together by organizing events where high schools from the area are invited and their students are introduced to chemistry. During the National Chemistry Week students were invited to FDU where they were told about careers in chemistry and participated in hands-on activities. Other outreach programs included “the Magic of Chemistry” by Dr Ariel Fenster from McGill University, which was presented both in February and December. Over 600 high school students attended these events. Student achievements and research were acknowledged at the Student Achievement Award Night on April 28th. Students involved in research presented their results in an Undergraduate Research Symposium held the same day.

The Long Island Subsection (Chair: Dr. Richard J. Rosso) continues to host section meetings covering a wide range of chemical topics that draw 50 to 150 attendees each month. In 2006 there were 8 scheduled meetings and Hofstra University and Nassau Community College. Other events of note include the Seventh Annual Chemistry Challenge, which was again held at Queensborough Community College. About 100 students from Hofstra, St. John’s, Nassau Community College, and Queensborough Community College competed this year, dinner was provided and gift certificates from Barnes and Noble Booksellers were presented to all participants. The Seventeenth Annual High School Awards was a resounding success with 87 awardees from 65 different high schools in the Long Island area. The dinner and event, held on June 1, 2006 at St. John’s University, featured a presentation by Dr. Ged Parkin from Columbia University and also honored the Nichols 2005 High School Teacher awardee. The Environmental Committee hosted the Tenth Annual Francis S. Sterrett Environmental Chemistry Symposium on May 25, 2006 discussed below in the Public Affairs section.

The Staten Island Subsection (Chair: Dr. Maria Gelabert). The Outstanding High School Student Award Nightwas held on November 15. The featured speaker was Richard Stanley, a part-time instructor of chemistry and consultant, who gave a seminar entitled “Trans-Fats and Oils”. After the seminar and presentation of awards, Ms. Kimberly Farrell, chemistry major at Wagner College, conducted a tour of some of the research chemistry laboratories at Wagner. About 50 people were in attendance.

The Westchester Subsection (Co-Chairs: Ms. Jean Delfiner, Ms. Joan Laredo-Liddell). The Westchester Chemical Society had four excellent meetings in 2006 at Polytechnic University and Pace Pleasantville. Topics included “The Production of Pharmaceuticals in Africa” by the CEO of AIDSfree Africa, Dr. Rolande Hodel. The Westchester Chemical Society presented its annual Distinguished Scientist Award to Dr. Richard M. Goodman, President of Richard M. Goodman Consulting LLC who delivered a presentation on lithographic processes. For high school students, Student Achievement Awards for Excellence in Chemistry were presented and a Dinner was held at Pace Pleasantville. Salute to Excellence Awards were awarded to Dan DeLuca of Pace Pleasantville and Dr. John Weisburger, who has been a member of ACS for over 55 years. Achievement Award for Outstanding Scholastic Performance in First Year College Chemistry are presented to first year college chemistry students from 12 local colleges who were presented with an ACS certificate and a CD of the Encyclopedia of Chemistry and Physics.

The Rockland Subsection (Chair: Dr. Steven Carlo). Dr. Steven Carlo, Program Manager New Technology, Global Research and Development, at Avon Products Inc. is in the process of reactivating this subsection. Funding for activities has been budgeted for 2007 and meeting plans are currently underway.

In addition to the outstanding events offered by the Biochemistry Topical Group (discussed in the Top Ten), the New York Section’s other topical groups also provided outstanding scientific programs.

The Analytical Topical Group (Chair: Dr. Robert Nolan) held three seminars this year at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, two of which focused on analytical chemistry used in forensic investigations. The group also invited the participation of the students from John Jay School of Criminal Justice to attend our seminars and Dr. Thomas Kubic, a John Jay faculty member, has joined our Board of Directors. The Group’s re-organizational effort has resulted in an increase in the average seminar attendance to over 20.

The Chemical Marketing and Economics Topical Group (Chair: Mr. Regis Schultis) held 10 monthly luncheon meetings on the first Thursday of each month at the Chemists Club. The luncheon and presentation are preceded by an informal social hour for networking and renewing and/or maintaining professional contacts. Average attendance is in excess of 30 people per meeting, most of whom are major figures at industrial firms or consultants, and overall membership in the group increased to 53 in 2006. Also, the CM&E Group co-sponsored a full day conference on Alternative Energy with the New York Academy of Sciences and the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. The conference was held November 30th, 2006 at the new headquarters of the NYAS and was very well attended. We expect to co-sponsor this conference in 2008.

The High School Teachers Topical Group (Co-Chairs: Mrs. Jean Delfiner and Mrs. Joan Laredo-Liddell) held 8 meetings in 2006 providing opportunities for networking and discussions of education standards for teachers in the New York area. The dinner meetings held in Manhattan featured a wide range of topics for teachers including, “Macromolecules for Sustainable, Safe and Healthy World”, the search for natural sweeteners, practical applications of mathematical forms, prevention of HIV/AIDS, use of video in the science classroom, and energy for the future. The “Demo Derby”, an evening of non-stop demonstrations suitable for the science classroom, was this years most popular event.

The Inorganic Topical Group (Co-Chairs: Drs. Robert Beer and Lynn Francesconi) typically holds events co-sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) at their location. This year the NYAS underwent a number of changes, including moving to a new location. As a result, for this year only, we suspended our activities though we are very positive about continuing our relationship with the NYAS and are in the process of planning a mini-symposium featuring prominent bioinorganic chemists and their work.

The Metrowomen Chemists Topical Group (MWCC) (Chair Dr. Nancy M. Tooney) co-sponsored the Annual Awards Ceremony for Outstanding Women Scientists, with the North Jersey Sections of the ACS, (MWCC), the Women Investigator’s Network (WIN) of the New York Academy of Sciences, and the Metropolitan New York Chapter of the Association for Women in Science (Metro AWIS). The event was held at the NY Academy of Sciences on Tuesday April 25th, 2006 and honored two chemists - Sr. Mary Maier and Prof. Karen Goldberg. Nearly 60 attended the event, including about 15 students. In addition, Valerie Kuck gave a talk on techniques for writing effective resumes at a December 4th 2006 joint networking meeting for working chemists and College of St Elizabeth Student Affiliates. The meeting was attended by an estimated 30 to 35.

The Nanotechnology Topical Group (Chair: Dr. James Canary), meeting jointly with NYU’s Nanoscience Discussion Group held four events in 2006, two in the fall semester and two in the spring semester, at New York University. Each consists of three speakers, one each from chemistry/chemical engineering, physics/applied math, and biology/medicine, who give 25-minute presentations. This year’s speakers hailed from Columbia, Hunter, NYU, Rutgers, Polytechnic University, and the University of Minnesota. The events are promoted to an ever-growing list of scientists (over 100) in the tri-state area, as well as the 150 members of the NYU Department of Chemistry.

The Organic Chemistry Topical Group (Chair: Virginia Cornish), meeting jointly with the Chemical Biology Discussion Group at the New York Academy of Science had an exciting year holding 5 afternoon/evening meetings at the NYAS. Topics included the relationship between structure and function in biological molecules, sulfur biochemistry, imaging and treatment for neurodegenerative disease, disrupting protein?protein interactions with small molecules, and other topics at the interface of chemistry and biology.

The Retired Chemists Topical Group (Chair: Dr. Ralph Stephani) honored Fifty-year ACS NY Section members, Dr. David Schuster, Ms. Sarah Mook, Dr. Grace Borowitz and Dr. Robert Shapiro and their spouses on Friday, November 17th at a special luncheon at Le Biarritz Restaurant at 325 West 57th St. in Manhattan. The 50-year members were presented with a beautiful certificate from ACS and each member spoke about his or her life as a chemist. Several board members and the section chair attended and everyone enjoyed the event.

Five of the section’s Top Ten activities this year fall in the educational activities category. These include: Chemagination, Project SEED, the Olympiad, the Fifty Fourth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, and National Chemistry Week at the New York Hall of Sciences. Some of the National Chemistry Activities are also incorporated into the subsection reports.

The Chemical Education Committee (Chair: Dr. Mary Maier) held its "Expanding your Horizons" program at the New York Hall of Science for NCW, encouraging middle school girls in the selection of future careers. The committee also sponsored the 12th Annual High School Poster Session held on October 21st. Alexander Greer, Ph.D., of Brooklyn College’s Chemistry Department introduced the students to his research on tunicates and answered many related questions. Also discussed under the Brooklyn Subsection.

The Continuing Education Committee (Chair: Dr. Donald Clarke) held a program at St. John's University on November 1 titled Nanotechnology in the Curriculum which consisted of six talks. The Committee worked with the Co-sponsors, the Department of Chemistry and the Student Affiliates of St. John's , in organizing this successful program.

The Nichols Foundation High School Chemistry Teachers Award (Co-Chairs Ms. Joan Laredo-Liddell and Ms. Jean Delfiner) was awarded to Sara Henry McCoy, a chemistry teacher at the Collegiate School in Manhattan. Mrs. McCoy received the award at the 2007 Section-Wide Conference held on January 20th at St. John’s University. She has been nominated for the ACS James Bryant Conant Award in High School Teaching.

The History of the New York Section Committees major event was discussed in the Top Ten. The New York Section’s Member Affairs committees also had many activities this year.

The Awards Committee (Chair: Dr. Stephen Goldberg) sent letters to 200 high schools in Manhattan and Bronx to nominate their most outstanding student in Chemistry. Of these, 22 high schools requested certificates for 34 outstanding students. The committee also sent certificates for a number of other section events.

The Employment and Professional Relations Committee (Chair: Dr. Hessy Taft) continued to post jobs available and wanted on the section web site. The committee is investigating the possibility of charging for ads posted since there is such a charge for posting ads in the Indicator.

The History of the New York Section Committee (Co-Chairs: Dr. John Sharkey and Dr. Ron D’Amelia), in addition to the award presented at the Chemists’ Club discussed in the top 10, is currently involved in performing background research on the IBM in Westchester for a possible designation as a Chemical Landmark.

The Outstanding Service Award Committee (Chair: Dr. Yorke Rhodes) selected Mr. Frank Romano of Agilent Technologies Inc. who was recognized at the Sectionwide Meeting on January 20, 2007 at St. Johns University.

The Membership Committee (Chair: Neil Jespersen) continued its faithful work, welcoming each new member to the section with a welcoming e-mail.

The Indicator Committee (Chairs: Neil Jespersen and Stephen Goldberg) met and continued to address issues associated with the rising costs of publishing the Indicator. The Indicator can be viewed at www.TheIndicator.org

The Environmental Chemistry Committee (Chair: Dr. Barbara Hillery) in collaboration with the Long Island Subsection hosted the Tenth Annual Francis S. Sterrett Environmental Chemistry Symposium on May 25, 2006, dedicated to presenting the public with up-to-date, factual scientific information on environmental topics. The event was held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY with the theme NPS POLLUTION WHAT’S IN YOUR SUMP? The symposium included 6 speakers and approximately 70 people attended. The annual environmental conference continues the committee’s tradition of education and service to the communities of Long Island. The Environmental Committee and the Chair, Barbara Hillery of SUNY/Old Westbury, did a terrific job organizing this worthwhile event.

The Community Relations and Publicity Committee (Co-Chairs: Dr. Grace Borowitz and Dr. Irving Borowitz) covered two major events in 2006 including the Section-Wide Conference, the Nichols Distinguished Symposium and Medal Award dinner, as well as several meetings of the Hudson-Bergen Subsection. Photographs and articles were published in the indicator.

The Speakers Bureau (Chair: Dr. Christian Rojas) facilitates ACS tour speakers visits to the NY Section. In addition, a list of available local speakers is posted on the section web site at http://www.newyorkacs.org/speakers.html. This list is in the progress of being developed.

The Fundraising Committee (Chair: Frank Romano), in addition to annual budgeting duties, worked on long term plans to increase programming to attract increased industrial interest in the section.

The Information Technology Committee (Chairs: Dr. Anne O’Brien and Frank Romano) is confident that the technology allowing members and committees to meet electronically is and will be useful in the Section. The Section is pleased that they have the opportunity to experiment in the use of WebEx, and that ease in the use of the technology is growing in the Section.

The Audit Committee (Chair: Dr. Phil Mark) reviewed the Section's financial information and books and reported that all is in order.

The Councilor Coordinating Committee (Chair: Dr. Ronald D’Amelia) reported that there was full representation of the New York Section Councilors at both the spring and the Fall National ACS meetings. Reports from the councilors were presented at the New York Section Board Meeting following the National ACS Meeting.

The Eastern Analytical Symposium (Chair for New York Section: Frank Romano) co-sponsored by the New York Section, ACS, was held on November 13-15, 2006 in Somerset, NJ. Approximately 4000 people attended the four-day meeting and over 500 research papers were presented. 12 members of the New York Section belong to the Board of Directors of the EAS. Many students from colleges attended, as in this photo of St. John's University students preparing to leave for the Symposium.

The Long-Range Planning Committee (Chair: Dr. Hiroko Karan) held three meetings in 2006. The committee has reviewed the Strategic Thrusts of the New York Section and determined that our activities are consistent with these goals and that we must continue to develop programs that will involve industrial, younger and minority chemists. A draft of National ACS Strategic plan was compared to the NY-ACS strategic thrusts and the Thrusts were found to be in line with national plan. On recommendation of the Committee, the board passed the following motion: The Board encourages the chair-elect to rotate chairs of committees as necessary and as suggested in the bylaws.

The MARM 2008 Committee (Chair: Dr. Paris Svoronos, Program Chair: Dr. Yorke Rhodes) met several times this year and have made significant progress planning the meeting entitled “Chemistry and Health”. The Committee has recruited many volunteers including 19 executive chairs (4 positions are unfilled) as well as most of the chairs needed to organize and lead the 29 technical sections. Peggy Smith, the Regional Meeting Planner for the ACS, visited the host institution, Queensborough Community College, and was impressed with the facilities. MARM Business Card

The Committee Advisory Group (Co-Chairs: Neil Jespersen, Jim Canary). This new committee, established by the Chair in 2005, has been updating the section's job descriptions manual.