5:30 p.m.      Executive Committee Meeting

6:30 p.m.     Dinner and Poster Session:

7:30 p.m.     Lecture:

8:45 p.m.     Awards Presentation:

Reservations: Reply by Wednesday, April 12th, 2006 to MyraCrumley@furman.edu , or phone at 864-294-2056

About 16 million Americans have diabetes. And about one-third of them don't even know it! American Diabetes Association estimates predict that a million more individuals will become diabetic every year. Many biochemists contribute to understanding this disease and many clinical chemists are involved with its diagnosis. Many pharmaceutical chemists contribute to its treatment, and many chemists of all kinds provide the novel self-testing reagents and instrumentation used by diabetics to monitor their own blood glucose levels. BUT the best attack against diabetes is prevention and this is entirely up to each individual with the help of his/her medical team. Statistics, risk factors and recommended lifestyle changes will be discussed, and blood glucose testing will be available.

Helen M. Free holds a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the College of Wooster, a master's degree in management in the health care field from Central Michigan University, and honorary doctorates of science from both schools. She joined Miles Laboratories (now Bayer Healthcare) in 1944, and her career includes wide experience in laboratory work, management, growth and development, manufacturing, and marketing related to her main interests in the field of clinical chemistry and medical devices, and in management in the health care area. She holds several patents and has published over 200 papers. She has also held many elected positions in scientific societies, including president of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry in 1990 and president of the American Chemical Society in 1993. Among her national awards are: the ACS Garvan medal, the Hall of Excellence of the Ohio Foundation of Small Colleges, and the Kilby Foundation Award. She and her husband were married for 53 years when he died in 2000 (9 children). Together they were honored by Medical Economics Press and the Laboratory Public Service National Leadership Award. They were inducted into the Science and Engineering Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame for their work on the development of urinalysis reagent strips and self tests for blood glucose used worldwide by persons with diabetes.

The American Chemical Society ACS Directory of Graduate Research 2005 is the most comprehensive source of information on faculty and their research at departments of chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemistry, polymers and materials science, marine science, toxicology, medicinal/pharmaceutical chemistry, and environmental science in the U.S. and Canada. It lists faculty member biographical information, area of specialization, titles of all papers published within the last two years as well as faculty and department contact information. Published in odd-numbered years by the ACS Committee on Professional Training, the 2005 edition of the Directory contains current faculty information for the 2005-2006 academic year. The DGR 2005 (item 39753, US $89 each) can be ordered from the ACS Office of Society Services or the ACS Online Store. For more information, call 1-800-227-5558 or 1-202-872-4600, or send e-mail to help@acs.org

DGRweb, the searchable, online version of the DGR, is now available free of charge at http://chemistry.org/education/DGRweb. Also new to DGRweb 2005 are the upgraded interface and functionality which allow advanced searches for both faculty and institutions. Search for faculty includes specific research area, academic rank, gender, and state, and the search results produce complete contact information for faculty including direct links to faculty email addresses and web pages. Institutional searches provide all departmental contact information along with statistical data on the number of faculty and students in the department and a complete list of faculty active in graduate research. DGRweb 2005 also includes access to the complete 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003 databases.

The ACS Committee on Professional Training (CPT), among many other activities in postsecondary education, administers the ACS approval process for undergraduate programs in chemistry. All graduates of an ACS-approved program who have completed the requirements for certification described in the ACS guidelines are certified annually to the Society by each program chair. Every certified graduate is eligible to receive a certificate from ACS that recognizes that the graduate has completed a bachelor?s degree that meets the Society?s criteria for professional education and membership. Faculty members and graduates can request certificates from the Office of Professional Training by sending an email to cpt@acs.org. Upon certification, every graduate is eligible for full membership in the ACS by applying online at http://www.chemistry.org/membership or by contacting Debora Fillinich at d_fillinich@acs.org in the ACS Membership Activities Office.

The Committee on Professional conducted a workshop focused on increasing participation of African American undergraduates in chemistry and understanding the barriers to obtaining ACS approval of chemistry programs at HBCUs and African American-serving institutions. The primary focus of this workshop was how to better utilize the ACS approval process for undergraduate chemistry programs to both increase the number of HBCUs and other African American- serving institutions holding ACS approval and to aid in the recruitment and retention of African-American undergraduate students in chemistry. The workshop generated many insightful recommendations for specific actions that could be taken either by CPT or by other governance groups within the ACS to advance undergraduate education of African Americans in chemistry. The report from this workshop can be downloaded from the CPT website at http://chemistry.org/education/cpt or ordered at no charge from the Office on Professional Training at cpt@acs.org or (202) 872-4589.

Three 20-foot sea freight containers filled with 20 tons of chemistry/scientific publications – one each to overseas institutions were sent in Autumn 2005 from the ACS Project Bookshare Center in Canton, Mississippi to: (1) Cuttington University College in Monrovia, Liberia, (2) Ministry of National Education in Jakarta, Indonesia, and (3) Sana University in Sana, Yemen.

Asia: The donation to Indonesia included k-12 science, mathematics, and education/teaching publications to be used in the national program for training k-12 science and math teachers to replace those lost in the December 26, 2004 tsunami wave disaster in Aceh and Nias, Indonesia. As part of the ACS Tsunami Relief Campaign, ACS members attending the 229th National Meeting in San Diego (March 13-17, 2005) contributed money and a variety of educational materials to help Indonesia rebuild its science and mathematics education infrastructure, which was devastated by the December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami. The money collected at the meeting was used to purchase selected teacher training materials developed by the ACS Education Division. Additionally, donated k-12 educational materials in good condition and published within the last five years were included in the shipment to Jakarta.

Africa: The president of Cuttington University College in Monrovia, Liberia thanked the American Chemical Society for the donation and noted "We are very grateful to the American Chemical Society for this donation, which is very timely, as our next semester starts on October 17, 2005."

Middle East: A science professor from Sana University in Sana, Yemen advised the ACS Project Bookshare office that the shipment reached Yemen on October 29, 2005. He expressed the University's appreciation for the donation and noted "I wish you were here while we celebrate the event of unpacking the books and distributing them to our Sana University library and share with other universities here in Yemen."

The Experiential Programs in Chemistry (EPiC) activity has released two updated career-related resources for chemical science undergraduates.

The first is the release of the 2006 Directory of Experience Opportunities. The Directory of Experience Opportunities lists co-op, fellowship, internship, work abroad, and study abroad opportunities which are meant specifically for students of the chemical sciences. These opportunities can greatly enhance undergraduate education by allowing students to learn and practice science in an applied context. ACS Student Affiliates may receive a print copy of the publication at no cost by contacting the Experiential Programs in Chemistry administrator via e-mail at epic@acs.org. Both Student Affiliates and non-Student Affiliates may view the Directory online at http://www.chemistry.org/education/epic. The online database is searchable by area of interest, geographic region, and type of experience desired.

Second, as part of the Chemical Careers in Brief series, the ACS Education Division has translated four career briefs into Spanish. The career briefs are two- or four-page overviews of different occupations within the chemical sciences, and include information on the educational requirements, employment outlook, salaries, and skills necessary to pursue a career in a given field. The four career briefs currently available in Spanish are: Environmental Chemistry, Food & Flavor Chemistry, Forensic Chemistry, and Oil and Petroleum Chemistry. The entire series of chemical briefs is available online at http://www.chemistry.org/vc2.

The YCC newsletter will only be sent electronically. Sign up for our e-mail notification system! It?s easy—just visit our Web site and follow the signup link! Even if you choose not to receive our e-mails, you can always read the newsletter on our Web site, http://www.chemistry.org/ycc

See you on the Internet!

You can demonstrate your commitment to chemistry and our next generation of scientists by contributing to programs that directly impact individual lives. Your contribution to one or more of the following programs will spare the interest and support the academic achievement of aspiring young chemists and improve our world for the better through chemistry.

For more information on these programs or to make a gift, please contact Mary Bet Dobson or Kathy Fleming, ACS Development Office, 1155 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036, 1-800-227-5558, ext 6210 or visit http://www.chemistry.org/gifts

ACS's Webcast Short Courses Team the Technology and Convenience of Internet Learning with the Dynamism of Live, In-Person Training—

ACS now offers Internet-based training courses to help you quickly learn the information that you need to succeed in your job. In the convenience of your home or office, you can learn new techniques, improve your lab skills, and hone your leadership and communication skills.

Class size is limited and averages 10 students per course. This ensures that you will receive individual attention and can communicate easily with the instructor and other course attendees.

To obtain more information or to register online for a course, go to http://chemistry.org/elearning! Or call (800) 227-5558, ext. 4508, or (202) 872-4508.

Calling all male and female duffers and pros and everyone in between! The 3rd annual WCC benefit golf tournament will be on Wednesday, March 29, 2006, in conjunction with the American Chemical Society's (ACS) National Meeting in Atlanta, GA, at the beautiful recently revamped Bobby Jones Golf Course. Tee time is 1:30 PM. Plan now to sign up and play! $75 Registration by March 1 reserves your spot for: 18-holes of golf (team scramble format - it's early in the season); cart; box lunch; 1 free Mole-i-gan; and transportation to/from the course from the ACS Host Hotel. Go to the WCC Web site for additional information. Various WCC programs, including travel awards and the Overcoming Challenges Award for women students in the chemical sciences, will benefit from the proceeds of the tournament. Registration may be accessed from the ACS Meeting Registration website. A backup form may also be directly found on the WCC website.

Contact Janet Bryant at janetlbryant@pnl.gov for additional information.

The Local Section Activities Committee (LSAC) invites all local sections to submit proposals by Wednesday, March 1, for the first 2006 review cycle to receive an Innovative Projects Grant. These grants support local sections undertaking innovative programs or activities—projects which are either new to the section or creative enhancements to an existing program. In particular, activities that promote local section and division interaction or interaction between multiple local sections are encouraged. Local sections may request funding up to $3,000, but funding cannot be used for hardware purchases or major equipment, honoraria, stipends, alcoholic beverages, or food (except for snacks). Approved projects will receive funding by June in order for sections to initiate projects in the first half of 2006. Only one project per local section will be funded per fiscal year.

To apply for an Innovative Projects Grant, visit the Office of Local Section Activities website at http://chemistry.org/localsections. where complete instructions and a template for the brief proposal (limited to 2 pages) are available (just select "Innovative Grants Program" listed under "Improve Your Finances"). The website also includes a link to a list of some previously funded projects to help stimulate your thinking.

Those of you who work with undergraduate research students should be aware of a special opportunity for your students to participate in an annual research conference for undergraduate chemistry students. The 38th Annual Southeast Undergraduate Research Conference (SURC-2006) will be held at the Georgia Institute of Technology on Saturday, March 25, 2006, just prior to the National ACS meeting beginning on Sunday, March 26, 2006 in Atlanta. Although all interested students and faculty are encouraged to attend, all presentations must be made by undergraduate students. The deadline for abstracts is February 25, 2006. Please submit abstracts to: normans@georgiasouthern.edu.

The American Chemical Society and the Western Carolinas Section are honoring those who have been members of the Society for fifty years. This year there are 862 new fifty-year members and seven of these are from the Western Carolinas Section. Each member will receive a certificate, a special pin and a permanent badge entitling the member to free registration at all ACS national and regional meetings. The fifty-year members will be recognized at our September meeting.

After four years of negotiating with the ACS Committee on Constitution and Bylaws, our Local Section has finally won their tentative approval for new bylaws. On February 19, 2004, during our regular meeting, the revisions as proposed were approved by the members present. The revised bylaws are available through the links below for your review. The changes, which incorporate both the comments of the WCACS Section's Executive Committee and the comments of the ACS Committee on Constitution and Bylaws, are in red. There also has been reformatting suggested by the Committee.

The original document is the WCACS official bylaws on file with ACS and can be found at http://membership.acs.org/w/wca/Business/Bylaws.html on this site. Current ByLaws are approved as amended effective July 7, 1978; Committee on Constitution and Bylaws final approval on 12/29/1978.

Would you like to visit one ACS web page and access links to current chemistry news headlines, journal article briefs, and features on chemical patents, research advances, historical events, and meeting updates from the American Chemical Society?

* A new online feature on chemistry.org, "Chemistry Headlines", serves up all this and more. "Chemistry Headlines" is a compilation of headlines from external news sources and a variety of ACS magazines and journals, including C&EN Online, as well as headlines from Heart Cut, Patent Watch, Today in Chemical History, chemistry.org feature articles and other ACS products and resources. Staff members from chemistry.org, C&EN and ACS Publications have collaborated to help make a wide range of content available in this forum. Go to: www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/newscenter.html, the same URL that was used previously for the first generation of the chemistry.org Newscenter.

* Have questions or comments concerning "Chemistry Headlines", Email webmaster@acs.org and include "Chemistry Headlines" in the subject line of your message.

Community Outreach Coordinator

* Recruits coordinators for community outreach programs (e.g. National Chemistry Week, Chemists Celebrate Earth Day, Chemag-ination, etc).

* Determines overall outreach budget, including soliciting funding.

* Facilitates or coordinates correspondence with schools and other partner organizations to ensure program consistencies.

* Coordinates with Public Relations Chair to ensure media coverage of local section outreach events.

* Serves as liaison and point person for Local Section Executive Committee.

* Schedules Program Coordinator meetings.

* Keeps lines of communication open to all Program Coordinators

* Reduces duplication of effort by volunteers by identifying redundancies in programming.

Programs supported by the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Office of Community Activities (OCA) are designed to assist volunteers in becoming more involved in their local section, division(s), and community by providing reliable resources that can be easily used for promoting the contributions of chemistry. Participation in community activities provides opportunities for ACS members to increase media and public awareness of the importance of chemistry in our daily lives.

Chemagination is a creative innovation and writing contest for high school science students In the contest, students are asked to imagine that they are living 25 years in the future and have been invited to write an article for ChemMatters, a magazine for high school students that focuses on the role of chemistry in everyday life. The subject of the article is:

"Describe a recent breakthrough or innovation in chemistry (and/or its applications) and how it has improved the quality of people's lives today."

In addition to the article, students are asked to design a cover for the magazine.

Finalists are named at three levels - local, regional and national. For more information visit chemistry.org/chemagination.

For advice on these or other community activity programs available through ACS, contact the Office of Community Activities at 800-227-5558 x 6097, or 202-872-6097.

In 1984, the American Chemical Society launched an initiative to assist institutions that have a need for scientific publications. Project Bookshare, as the program has come to be known, is charged with collecting chemistry textbooks and back numbers of journals from donors and making these materials available to libraries in selected small U.S. colleges and to university libraries in mostly developing countries. Donated books and journals from Project Bookshare have reached across the United States (Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, South Dakota, and Tennessee, among others) and around the world to help improve the educations of chemists and chemical engineers in Africa (Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leon, Sudan), Asia (China, Kazakhstan, Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand), Europe (Albania, Armenia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Turkey), and Latin America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, and Venezuela). If you are interested in making a donation to Project Bookshare, you are asked to submit a list of publications to be donated to the ACS Office of International Activities, listing each book by title, author, and date, and journals and magazines by title and issue date. Books should be no more than ten years old, except for "classic" titles. Donors are asked to cover the costs of shipping to U.S. addresses. Whenever possible, Project Bookshare staff try to match donors and recipient institutions to save time, money, repacking, and excessive handling. Project Bookshare is intended to bring U.S. chemists closer to colleagues in less advantaged situations worldwide. The generosity of ACS members, U.S. corporations, institutions of higher learning and others has made Project Bookshare a true national and international success. Send your list of publications to: Dr. J.C. Torio, ACS Office of International Activities, American Chemical Society, 1155 16th St., NW, Washington, DC 20036 USA; phone: (202) 872-4548 or (800) 227-5558, x 4548; fax: (202) 872-6317; email: j_torio@acs.org

ChemunityNews is a bimonthly electronic newsletter that connects chemistry educators to the activities of the ACS Education Division. It provides updates on newly published resources and materials, programs for students and educators, and upcoming workshops and meetings. You may view a recent issues by visiting the ChemunityNews Archives at chemistry.org. To subscribe, simply email education@acs.org.

Effective January 1, 2005, the ACS Member Insurance Program welcomes New York Life Insurance Company as the new underwriter for the following ACS Member Insurance Plans:

* Term Life

* Hospital Indemnity

* Disability Income

* Accidental Death and Dismemberment

New York Life will also underwrite two new plans now being offered through the ACS Member Insurance Program. ACS members are encouraged to take advantage of our 10 and 20 - year Group Level Term plans. Applying for Group Level Term through ACS offers convenience and flexibility, with up to $2,000,000 in coverage designed especially for ACS members. The plan allows members to lock in already competitive rates for specific time periods, providing valuable and affordable coverage. And best of all, the plans are portable – coverage continues even if you change jobs. The ACS Member Insurance Program is keeping you covered by expanding its portfolio and providing you with plans designed to help meet your needs and give you peace of mind. To receive more information about the ACS 10 and 20 - year Group Level Term plans please call the plan administrator at 1-800-752-0179. If you have questions regarding the ACS Member Insurance Program, please contact 1-800-227-5558 ext. 2119. Sponsored by the Board of Trustees, Group Insurance Plans for ACS Members - Your colleagues working for you!

At its meeting in early December 2004, the ACS Board of Directors voted to provide funding of $250,000 for a Matching Gift Fund (MGF) Program for 2005. The MGF matches contributions to eligible Society Programs. Through the MGF Program, the Society will add one dollar for every two dollars donated to support the following programs:

* Project SEED

* Scholars Program

* World Reach Fund

* National Chemistry Week

* Teacher Training

* National Historic Chemical Landmarks

* Women Chemists Committee Programs

* PROGRESS (a pilot project aimed at facilitating participation and advancement of women chemists and chemical engineers)

* Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences

The minimum donation that will be matched by the MGF Program is $3,000, which must be given by an individual, foundation, company, or organization. The funding authorized by the ACS Board is for 2005 only. Gifts and pledges will be matched per the program stipulations throughout the year or until the fund has been committed in its entirety, whichever comes first. Gifts may be paid over a three-year period, 2005-2007. All gifts made to the ACS are tax-deductible. For more information, contact Mary Bet Dobson in the ACS Development Office by mail (1155 Sixteenth St., NW, Washington, DC 20036) or phone (202-872-4094).

This year (2005) will be the last year for the Matching Gift Fund. The ACS Board also voted at the December meeting to expand the Development Office and to redirect the resources, formerly dedicated to the Matching Gift Fund, to achieve annual fundraising targets.

The highly popular ACS Video Course, Starting with Safety, has been adapted for delivery via the Internet. The Internet version includes all of the materials from the original Video Course including the video scenes and the Teacher's Guide. As an added bonus, the complete ACS Video Course, Seeing the Light, Eye and Face Protection, is also included in this ACS Internet Course.

Now you and your students can access this valuable training program from any computer connected to the Internet at any time, day or night. (We do recommend a relatively high-speed connection, such as a DSL, cable modem or higher. And you will need to install the Flash 6 player to view the videos).

This program is designed to be used as part of a standard high school or introductory college chemistry curriculum that is taught by an experienced chemistry teacher. The program is NOT meant to be a stand-alone training course. Students should only use this program under the supervision of a qualified teacher.

For complete details about this program, visit the American Chemical Society website at http://chemistry.org/elearning and click on the link to Starting with Safety.

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In October, the Technology, Tools and Operations Subcommittee of the Local Section Activities Committee and the Office of Local Section Activities launched a new HTML newsletter for local section leaders! The quarterly newsletter is sent via email to all current local section officers. The goal of the newsletter is to provide officers with timely information, tools and tips for success, and innovative ideas and activities that local sections may find of interest. The newsletter is available online at http://membership.acs.org/l/localsections/leading_together. If you wish to subscribe to future issues of this newsletter please send an email to olsa@acs.org and indicate your subscription request.

Editor's Note:All requests for address changes should be sent directly to National ACS headquarters in Washington, DC and not to the Editors of The Periodic News. Address labels are supplied to the Editors on a monthly basis by the American Chemical Society and are determined by the current active membership. The Editors cannot be held responsible for incorrect mailing labels.