The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a

scientific society A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to a ...

based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

. Founded in 1876 at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all degree levels and in all fields of chemistry,

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

, and related fields. It is one of the world's largest scientific societies by membership. The ACS is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

non-profit organization and holds a

congressional charter A congressional charter is a law passed by the United States Congress that states the mission, authority, and activities of a group. Congress has issued corporate charters since 1791 and the laws that issue them are codified in Title 36 of the ...

under

Title 36 of the United States Code The United States Code is the official compilation of the Federal laws of a general and permanent nature that are currently in force. Title 36 covers "Patriotic and National Observances, Ceremonies, and Organizations." Parts Subtitle I: Patrio ...

. Its headquarters are located in Washington, D.C., and it has a large concentration of staff in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. The ACS is a leading source of scientific information through its peer-reviewed scientific journals, national conferences, and the

Chemical Abstracts Service Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) is a division of the American Chemical Society. It is a source of chemical information and is located in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Print periodicals ''Chemical Abstracts'' is a periodical index that provid ...

. Its publications division produces over 80

scholarly journals An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the dissemination, scr ...

including the prestigious ''

Journal of the American Chemical Society The ''Journal of the American Chemical Society'' (also known as JACS) is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1879 by the American Chemical Society. The journal has absorbed two other publications in its history, the ...

'', as well as the weekly trade magazine ''

Chemical & Engineering News ''Chemical & Engineering News'' (''C&EN'') is a weekly news magazine published by the American Chemical Society (ACS), providing professional and technical news and analysis in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering.Chemical Abstracts Service Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) is a division of the American Chemical Society. It is a source of chemical information and is located in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Print periodicals ''Chemical Abstracts'' is a periodical index that provid ...

, a provider of chemical databases worldwide. The ACS has student chapters in virtually every major university in the United States and outside the United States as well. These student chapters mainly focus on volunteering opportunities, career development, and the discussion of student and faculty research. The organization also publishes textbooks, administers several national chemistry awards, provides grants for scientific research, and supports various educational and outreach activities. The ACS has been criticized for predatory pricing of its products (

SciFinder Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) is a division of the American Chemical Society. It is a source of chemical information and is located in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Print periodicals ''Chemical Abstracts'' is a periodical index that provid ...

, journals and other publications), for opposing

open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...

publishing, as well as for initiating numerous copyright enforcement litigations despite its non-profit status and its chartered commitment to dissemination of chemical information.

History

Creation

In 1874, a group of American

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

s gathered at the Joseph Priestley House to mark the 100th anniversary of Priestley's discovery of

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

. Although there was an American scientific society at that time (the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, founded in 1848), the growth of

in the U.S. prompted those assembled to consider founding a new society that would focus more directly on theoretical and applied chemistry. Two years later, on April 6, 1876, during a meeting of chemists at the University of the City of New York (now

) the American Chemical Society was founded. The society received its charter of incorporation from the State of New York in 1877. Charles F. Chandler, a professor of chemistry at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

who was instrumental in organizing the society said that such a body would "prove a powerful and healthy stimulus to original research, ... would awaken and develop much talent now wasting in isolation, ...

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

members of the association into closer union, and ensure a better appreciation of our science and its students on the part of the general public." Although Chandler was a likely choice to become the society's first president because of his role in organizing the society,

chemistry professor

John William Draper John William Draper (May 5, 1811 – January 4, 1882) was an English polymath: a scientist, philosopher, physician, chemist, historian and photographer. He is credited with pioneering portrait photography (1839–40) and producing the first deta ...

was elected as the first president of the society because of his national reputation. Draper was a photochemist and pioneering photographer who had produced one of the first photographic portraits in 1840. Chandler would later serve as president in 1881 and 1889. In the ACS logo, originally designed in the early 20th century by Tiffany's Jewelers and used since 1909, a stylized symbol of a

kaliapparat A kaliapparat is a laboratory device invented in 1831 by Justus von Liebig (1803–1873) for the analysis of carbon in organic compounds. The device, made of glass, consists of a series of five bulbs connected and arranged in a triangular shape. ...

is used.

Growth

The ''

'' was founded in 1879 to publish original chemical research. It was the first journal published by ACS and is still the society's flagship peer-reviewed publication. In 1907, Chemical Abstracts was established as a separate journal (it previously appeared within JACS), which later became the

, a division of ACS that provides chemical information to researchers and others worldwide. ''

Chemical & Engineering News ''Chemical & Engineering News'' (''C&EN'') is a weekly news magazine published by the American Chemical Society (ACS), providing professional and technical news and analysis in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering. The society adopted a new constitution aimed at nationalizing the organization in 1890. In 1905, the American Chemical Society moved from New York City to Washington, D.C. ACS was reincorporated under a

in 1937. It was granted by the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

and signed by president

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. ACS's headquarters moved to its current location in downtown Washington in 1941.

Organization

Divisions

ACS first established technical divisions in 1908 to foster the exchange of information among scientists who work in particular fields of chemistry or professional interests. Divisional activities include organizing technical sessions at ACS meetings, publishing books and resources, administering awards and lectureships, and conducting other events. The original five divisions were 1) organic chemistry, 2) industrial chemists and chemical engineers, 3) agricultural and food chemistry, 4) fertilizer chemistry, and 5) physical and inorganic chemistry. there are 32 technical divisions of ACS. *

Agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

and

food chemistry Food chemistry is the study of chemical processes and interactions of all biological and non-biological components of foods. The biological substances include such items as meat, poultry, lettuce, beer, milk as examples. It is similar to biochemi ...

Agrochemicals An agrochemical or agrichemical, a contraction of ''agricultural chemical'', is a chemical product used in industrial agriculture. Agrichemical typically refers to biocides (pesticides including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and nematicid ...

Analytical chemistry Analytical skill, Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to Separation process, separate, identify, and Quantification (science), quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute t ...

* Biochemical technology * Biological chemistry * Business development & management * Carbohydrate chemistry *

Catalysis Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

science & technology *

Cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important s ...

and renewable materials *

Chemical education Chemistry education (or chemical education) is the study of teaching and learning chemistry. It is one subset of STEM education or discipline-based education research (DBER). Topics in chemistry education include understanding how students learn ...

* Chemical health & safety * Chemical information * Chemical

toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating ex ...

* Chemistry & the law *

Colloid A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a liquid, while others exte ...

surface chemistry Surface science is the study of physics, physical and chemistry, chemical phenomena that occur at the interface (chemistry), interface of two phase (matter), phases, including solid–liquid interfaces, solid–gas interfaces, solid–vacuum int ...

* Computers in chemistry * Energy &

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

s *

Environmental chemistry Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at its source. It can be defined as ...

Fluorine Fluorine is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen and exists at Standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions as pale yellow Diatomic molecule, diatomic gas. Fluorine is extre ...

chemistry *

Geochemistry Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the e ...

History of chemistry The history of chemistry represents a time span from ancient history to the present. By 1000 BC, civilizations used technologies that would eventually form the basis of the various branches of chemistry. Examples include the discovery of fire, ex ...

* Industrial & engineering chemistry *

Inorganic chemistry Inorganic chemistry deals with chemical synthesis, synthesis and behavior of inorganic compound, inorganic and organometallic chemistry, organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subj ...

Medicinal chemistry Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with drug design, designing and developing pharmaceutical medication, drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, ...

Nuclear chemistry Nuclear chemistry is the sub-field of chemistry dealing with radioactivity, nuclear processes, and transformations in the nuclei of atoms, such as nuclear transmutation and nuclear properties. It is the chemistry of radioactive elements such as t ...

and Technology *

Organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

Physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

Polymer chemistry Polymer chemistry is a sub-discipline of chemistry that focuses on the structures, chemical synthesis, and chemical and physical properties of polymers and macromolecules. The principles and methods used within polymer chemistry are also applic ...

* Polymeric materials: science and engineering * Professional relations *

Rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

* Small chemical businesses

Division of Organic Chemistry

This is the largest division of the Society. It marked its 100th anniversary in 2008. The first Chair of the Division was Edward Curtis Franklin. The Organic Division played a part in establishing

Organic Syntheses ''Organic Syntheses'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1921. It publishes detailed and checked procedures for the synthesis of organic compounds. A unique feature of the review process is that all of the data and expe ...

, Inc. and Organic Reactions, Inc. and it maintains close ties to both organizations. The Division's best known activities include organizing symposia (talks and poster sessions) at the biannual ACS National Meetings, for the purpose of recognizing promising Assistant Professors, talented young researchers, outstanding technical contributions from junior-level chemists, in the field of

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

. The symposia also honor national award winners, including the Arthur C. Cope Award, Cope Scholar Award, James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry, Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods. The Division helps to organize symposia at the international meeting called Pacifichem and it organizes the biennial National Organic Chemistry Symposium (NOS) which highlights recent advances in organic chemistry and hosts the Roger Adams Award address. The Division also organizes corporate sponsorships to provide fellowships for PhD students and undergraduates. It also organizes the Graduate Research Symposium and manages award and travel grant programs for undergraduates.

Local sections

Local sections were authorized in 1890 and are autonomous units of the American Chemical Society. They elect their own officers and select representatives to the national ACS organization. Local sections also provide professional development opportunities for members, organize community outreach events, offer awards, and conduct other business. The Rhode Island Section was the first local section of ACS, organized in 1891. There are currently 186 local sections of the American Chemical Society in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

International Chemical Sciences Chapters

International Chemical Sciences Chapters allow ACS members outside of the U.S. to organize locally for professional and scientific exchange. There are currently 24 International Chemical Sciences Chapters. * Australia * Brazil *

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

* Hong Kong *

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

Republic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

* Shanghai * South Africa *

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

* Southwestern China *

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

Educational activities and programs

Chemical education and outreach

ACS states that it offers teacher training to support the professional development of science teachers so they can better present chemistry in the classroom, foster the scientific curiosity of our nation's youth and encourage future generations to pursue scientific careers. As of 2009, Clifford and Kathryn Hach donated $33 million to ACS, to continue the work of the Hach Scientific Foundation in supporting high school chemistry teaching. The Society sponsors the United States National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO), a contest used to select the four-member team that represents the United States at the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO). The ACS Division of

Chemical Education Chemistry education (or chemical education) is the study of teaching and learning chemistry. It is one subset of STEM education or discipline-based education research (DBER). Topics in chemistry education include understanding how students learn ...

provides standardized tests for various subfields of chemistry. The two most commonly used tests are the undergraduate-level tests for general and organic chemistry. Each of these tests consists of 70 multiple-choice questions, and gives students 110 minutes to complete the exam. The ACS also approves certified undergraduate programs in chemistry. A student who completes the required laboratory and course work—sometimes in excess of what a particular college may require for its

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

—is considered by the Society to be well trained for professional work. The ACS coordinates two annual public awareness campaigns, National Chemistry Week and Chemists Celebrate Earth Week, as part of its educational outreach. Since 1978 and 2003 respectively, the campaigns have been celebrated with a yearly theme, such as "Chemistry Colors Our World" (2015) and "Energy: Now and Forever!" (2013).

Green Chemistry Institute

The Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) supports the "implementation of

green chemistry Green chemistry, similar to sustainable chemistry or circular chemistry, is an area of chemistry and chemical engineering focused on the design of products and processes that minimize or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Wh ...

and engineering throughout the global chemistry enterprise." The GCI organizes an annual conference, the Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference, provides research grants, administers awards, and provides information and support for green chemistry practices to educators, researchers, and industry. The GCI was founded in 1997 as an independent non-profit organization, by chemists Joe Breen and Dennis Hjeresen in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency. In 2001, the GCI became a part of the American Chemical Societ

Petroleum Research Fund

The Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) is an endowment fund administered by the ACS that supports advanced education and fundamental research in the petroleum and fossil fuel fields at non-profit institutions. Several categories of grants are offered for various career levels and institutions. The fund awarded more than $25 million in grants in 2007. The PRF traces its origins to the acquisition of the UOP LLC, Universal Oil Products laboratory by a consortium of oil companies in 1931. The companies established a trust fund, The Petroleum Research Fund, in 1944 to prevent antitrust litigation tied to their UOP assets. The ACS was named the beneficiary of the trust. The first grants from the PRF were awarded in 1954. In 2000, the trust was transferred to the ACS. The ACS established The American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund and the previous trust was dissolved. The PRF trust was valued at $144.7 million in December 2014.

Other programs

The ACS International Activities is the birthplace of the ACS International Center, an online resource for scientists and engineers looking to study abroad or explore an international career or internship. The site houses information on hundreds of scholarships and grants related to all levels of experience to promote scientific mobility of researchers and practitioners in STEM fields. The Society grants membership to undergraduates as student members provided they can pay the $25 yearly dues. Any university may start its own ACS Student Chapter and receive benefits of undergraduate participation in regional conferences and discounts on ACS publications.

Awards

National awards

The American Chemical Society administers 64 national awards, medals and prizes based on scientific contributions at various career levels that promote achievement across the chemical sciences. The ACS national awards program began in 1922 with the establishment of the Priestley Medal, the highest award offered by the ACS, which is given for distinguished services to chemistry. The 2019 recipient of the Priestley Medal is K. Barry Sharpless.

Other awards

Additional awards are offered by divisions, local sections and other bodies of ACS. The William H. Nichols Medal Award was the first ACS award to honor outstanding researchers in the field of chemistry. It was established in 1903 by the ACS New York Section and is named for William H. Nichols, an American chemist and businessman and one of the original founders of ACS. Of the over 100 Nichols Medalists, 16 have subsequently been awarded the

Nobel Prize in Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...

. The

Willard Gibbs Award The Willard Gibbs Award, presented by thChicago Sectionof the American Chemical Society, was established in 1910 by William A. Converse (1862–1940), a former Chairman and Secretary of the Chicago Section of the society and named for Professor Jo ...

, granted by the ACS Chicago Section, was established in 1910 in honor of

Josiah Willard Gibbs Josiah Willard Gibbs (; February 11, 1839 – April 28, 1903) was an American mechanical engineer and scientist who made fundamental theoretical contributions to physics, chemistry, and mathematics. His work on the applications of thermodynami ...

, the

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

professor who formulated the phase rule. The Georgia Local Section of ACS has awarded the Herty Medal since 1933 recognizing outstanding chemists who have significantly contributed to their chosen fields. All chemists in academic, government, or industrial laboratories who have been residing in the southeastern United States for at least 10 years are eligible. The New York Section of ACS also gives Leadership Awards. The Leadership Awards are the highest honors given by the Chemical Marketing and Economic Group of ACS NY since December 6, 2012. They are presented to leaders of industry, investments, and other sectors, for their contributions to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiatives. Honorees include Andrew N. Liveris (Dow Chemical), P. Roy Vagelos (Regeneron, Merck), Thomas M. Connelly (DuPont) and Juan Pablo del Valle (Mexichem). The ACS also administers regional awards presented annually at regional meetings. This includes the E. Ann Nalley Regional Award for Volunteer Service to the American Chemical Society, Regional Awards for Excellence in High School Teaching, and the Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences.

Journals and magazines

ACS Publications is the publishing division of the ACS. It is a nonprofit

academic publisher Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or theses. The part of academic written output that is not formally publi ...

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...

s covering various fields of chemistry and related sciences. As of 2021, ACS Publications published the following peer-reviewed journals: * ''

Accounts of Chemical Research Account (abbreviated a/c) may refer to: * Account (bookkeeping) * A report * A bank account ** Deposit account ** Personal account ** Sweep account ** Transaction account * User account, the means by which a user can access a computer syst ...

'' * '' Accounts of Materials Research'' * '' ACS Agricultural Science & Technology'' * '' ACS Applied Bio Materials'' * '' ACS Applied Electronic Materials'' * '' ACS Applied Energy Materials'' * '' ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces'' * '' ACS Applied Nano Materials'' * '' ACS Applied Polymer Materials'' * '' ACS Bio & Med Chem Au'' * '' ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering'' * '' ACS Catalysis'' * '' ACS Central Science'' * '' ACS Chemical Biology'' * '' ACS Chemical Health & Safety'' * '' ACS Chemical Neuroscience'' * '' ACS Combinatorial Science'' * '' ACS Earth and Space Chemistry'' * '' ACS Energy Letters'' * '' ACS Engineering Au'' * '' ACS Environmental Au'' * '' ACS ES&T Engineering'' * '' ACS ES&T Water'' * '' ACS Food Science & Technology'' * '' ACS Infectious Diseases'' * '' ACS Macro Letters'' * '' ACS Materials Au'' * '' ACS Materials Letters'' * '' ACS Measurement Science Au'' * '' ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters'' * '' ACS Nano'' * '' ACS Nanoscience Au'' * '' ACS Omega'' * '' ACS Organic & Inorganic Au'' * '' ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science'' * '' ACS Photonics'' * '' ACS Physical Chem Au'' * '' ACS Polymers Au'' * '' ACS Sensors'' * '' ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering'' * '' ACS Synthetic Biology'' * ''

Analytical Chemistry Analytical skill, Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to Separation process, separate, identify, and Quantification (science), quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute t ...

'' * ''

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

'' * '' Bioconjugate Chemistry'' * '' Biomacromolecules'' * '' Bulletin for the History of Chemistry'' * '' Biotechnology Progress'' * '' Chemical Research in Toxicology'' * ''

Chemical Reviews ''Chemical Reviews'' is peer-reviewed scientific journal published twice per month by the American Chemical Society. It publishes review articles on all aspects of chemistry. It was established in 1924 by William Albert Noyes (University of Illino ...

'' * '' Chemistry of Materials'' * '' Crystal Growth & Design'' * '' Energy & Fuels'' * ''

Environmental Science & Technology ''Environmental Science & Technology'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published since 1967 by the American Chemical Society. It covers research in environmental science and environmental technology, including environmental policy. ...

'' * '' Environmental Science & Technology Letters'' * '' Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research'' * ''

Inorganic Chemistry Inorganic chemistry deals with chemical synthesis, synthesis and behavior of inorganic compound, inorganic and organometallic chemistry, organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subj ...

'' * '' JACS Au'' * ''

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry The ''Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry'' is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 1953 by the American Chemical Society. Since 2015, Thomas Hofmann (Technical University of Munich) has been the editor-in-chief. The jo ...

'' * ''

Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data The Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, published since 1956 by the American Chemical Society. ''JCED'' is currently indexed in: Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), SCOPUS, EBSCOhost, ProQuest, British Libra ...

'' * ''

Journal of Chemical Education The ''Journal of Chemical Education'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal available in both print and electronic versions. It is published by the Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society The American Chemical S ...

'' * ''

Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling The ''Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Chemical Society. It was established in 1961 as the ''Journal of Chemical Documentation'', renamed in 1975 to ''Journal of Chemical ...

'' * '' Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation'' * '' Journal of Medicinal Chemistry'' * '' Journal of Natural Products'' * '' Journal of Organic Chemistry'' * '' Journal of Proteome Research'' * ''

'' * '' Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry'' * '' Langmuir'' * ''

Macromolecules A macromolecule is a "molecule of high relative molecular mass, the structure of which essentially comprises the multiple repetition of units derived, actually or conceptually, from molecules of low relative molecular mass." Polymers are physi ...

'' * '' Molecular Pharmaceutics'' * '' Nano Letters'' * '' Organic Letters'' * '' Organic Process Research & Development'' * ''

Organometallics ''Organometallics'' is a biweekly journal published by the American Chemical Society. Its area of focus is organometallic and organometalloid chemistry. This peer-reviewed journal has an impact factor of 3.837 as reported by the 2021 Journal Citat ...

'' * '' The Journal of Organic Chemistry'' * ''

The Journal of Physical Chemistry A ''The Journal of Physical Chemistry A'' is a scientific journal which reports research on the chemistry of molecules - including their dynamics, spectroscopy, kinetics, structure, chemical bond, bonding, and quantum chemistry. It is published wee ...

'' * '' The Journal of Physical Chemistry B'' * '' The Journal of Physical Chemistry C'' * ''

The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters ''The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Chemical Society. The editor-in-chief is Gregory D. Scholes at Princeton University. The ''Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters'' cove ...

'' In addition to academic journals, ACS Publications also publishes ''

preprint In academic publishing, a preprint is a version of a scholarly or scientific paper that precedes formal peer review and publication in a peer-reviewed scholarly or scientific journal. The preprint may be available, often as a non-typeset versi ...

repository Repository may refer to: Archives and online databases * Content repository, a database with an associated set of data management tools, allowing application-independent access to the content * Disciplinary repository (or subject repository), an ...

for the chemical sciences, co-owned, and collaboratively managed by the American Chemical Society (ACS), German Chemical Society (GDCh), Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the chemistry community, other societies, funders, and non-profits; open for submissions and available for all readers at ChemRxiv.

Controversies

Open access

In debates about free access to scientific information, the ACS has been described as "in an interesting dilemma, with some of its representatives pushing for open access and others hating the very thought." The ACS has generally opposed legislation that would mandate free access to scientific journal articles and chemical information. However it has recently launched new

open access journal Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...

s and provided authors with open access publishing options. Nevertheless, the actual percentage of open-access publications in ACS journals is the lowest among the 8 major scientific journal publishers (see figure below): Open Access by year according to Web of Science

Open Access by year according to Web of Science

Journals

The mid-2000s saw a debate between some research funders (including the federal government), which argued that research they funded should be presented freely to the public, and some publishers (including the ACS), which argued that the costs of peer-review and publishing justified their subscription prices. In 2006, Congress debated legislation that would have instructed the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

(NIH) to require all investigators it funded to submit copies of final, peer-reviewed journal articles to

PubMed Central PubMed Central (PMC) is a free digital repository that archives open access full-text scholarly articles that have been published in biomedical and life sciences journals. As one of the major research databases developed by the National Cente ...

, a free-access digital repository it operates, within 12 months of publication. At the time the American Association of Publishers (of which ACS is a member) hired a public relations firm to counter the open access movement. In spite of publishers' opposition, the PubMed Central legislation was passed in December 2007 and became effective in 2008. As the open access issue has continued to evolve, so too has the ACS's position. In response to a 2013 White House Office of Science and Technology Policy directive that instructed federal agencies to provide greater access to federally funded research, the ACS joined other scholarly publishers in establishing the Clearinghouse for the Open Research of the United States (Chorus) to allow free access to published articles. The ACS has also introduced several open access publishing options for its journals, including providing authors the option to pay an upfront fee to enable free online access to their articles. In 2015, the ACS launched the first fully open access journal in the society's history, ''ACS Central Science''. The ACS states that the journal offers the same peer-review standards as its subscription journals, but without publishing charges to either authors or readers. A second open access title, ''ACS Omega'', an interdisciplinary mega journal, launched in 2016. In December 2020, the ACS launched a series of 9 open access journals under the name ''ACS Au'' (chemical symbol for gold) which include ''ACS Bio & Med Chem Au'', ''ACS Engineering Au'', ''ACS Environmental Au'', ''ACS Materials Au'', ''ACS Measurement Science Au'', ''ACS Nanoscience Au'', ''ACS Organic & Inorganic Au'', ''ACS Physical Chem Au'' and ''ACS Polymers Au''.

Databases

In 2005, the ACS was criticized for opposing the creation of

PubChem PubChem is a database of Chemistry, chemical molecules and their activities against biological assays. The system is maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), a component of the National Library of Medicine, which ...

, which is an

chemical database A chemical database is a database specifically designed to store chemical information. This information is about chemical and crystal structures, spectra, reactions and syntheses, and thermophysical data. Types of chemical databases Bioactiv ...

developed by the NIH's

National Center for Biotechnology Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The NCBI is lo ...

. The ACS raised concerns that the publicly supported PubChem database would duplicate and unfairly compete with their existing fee-based

and argued that the database should only present data created by the Molecular Libraries Screening Center initiative of the NIH. The ACS lobbied members of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

to rein in PubChemDavid Kestenbaum
"Chemical Society: NIH Database Hurts Business"
, ''All Things Considered'', June 12, 2005. and hired outside lobbying firms to try to persuade congressional members, the NIH, and the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

(OMB) against establishing a publicly funded database. The ACS was unsuccessful, and as of 2012 PubChem is the world's largest free chemical database. The ACS is also the only provider of a major scientific publication database (

) that imposes a restriction on the number of records that can be exported. None of the competing products, such as

Web of Science The Web of Science (WoS; previously known as Web of Knowledge) is a paid-access platform that provides (typically via the internet) access to multiple databases that provide reference and citation data from academic journals, conference proceedi ...

(owned by

Clarivate Clarivate Plc is a British-American Public company, publicly traded analytics company that operates a collection of subscription business model, subscription-based services, in the areas of bibliometrics and scientometrics; business intelligenc ...

Scopus Scopus is a scientific abstract and citation database, launched by the academic publisher Elsevier as a competitor to older Web of Science in 2004. The ensuing competition between the two databases has been characterized as "intense" and is c ...

(owned by

Elsevier Elsevier ( ) is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as ''The Lancet'', ''Cell (journal), Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, ...

) and

The Lens The Lens (formerly Patent Lens) is a free, searcheable online database of patents and scholarly literature, provided by Cambia, a non-profit organization based in Australia. The Lens functions as an aggregation platform, drawing bibliometric data ...

(owned by

Cambia Cambia is an Australian-based global non-profit social enterprise focusing on open science, biology, innovation system reform and intellectual property. Its projects include The Lens, formerly known as Patent Lens, and the Biological Innovat ...

) has similar restrictions.

Litigations

The ACS has been involved in numerous lawsuits regarding access to its databases, trademark rights, and copyrighted material. In many of these cases, the ACS lost or ended up with an unenforceable judgement. These include: * ''Dialog'' ''v. American Chemical Society'', a suit claiming antitrust violations in access to ACS databases, settled out of court in 1993; *''American Chemical Society v. Google'', a suit claiming trademark violation, settled out of court in 2006; *''American Chemical Society v. Leadscope'', a suit alleging stolen trade secrets, concluded in 2012 with ACS losing its trade secrets claim and Leadscope losing its counterclaim of defamation; *A suit against

ResearchGate ResearchGate is a European commercial social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a 2014 study by ''Nature'' and a 2016 article in ''Times Higher Education' ...

, where a German court refused to award monetary compensation to the ACS and

; *A suit against

Sci-Hub Sci-Hub is a library website that provides free access to millions of research papers, regardless of copyright, by bypassing publishers' paywalls in various ways. Unlike Library Genesis, it does not provide access to books. Sci-Hub was found ...

, which resulted in a non-enforceable judgement. The ACS was also found guilty in several lawsuits brought against the Society by its employees.

Executive compensation

In 2004, a group of ACS members criticized the compensation of former executive director and chief executive officer John Crum, whose total salary, expenses, and bonuses for 2002 was reported to be $767,834. The ACS defended the figure, saying that it was in line with that of comparable organizations, including for-profit publishers. , two employees were reported to have a total compensation exceeding $900,000, while 694 had a compensation exceeding $100,000.

History

Creation

Growth

Organization

Divisions

Division of Organic Chemistry

Local sections

International Chemical Sciences Chapters

Educational activities and programs

Chemical education and outreach

Green Chemistry Institute

Petroleum Research Fund

Other programs

Awards

National awards

Other awards

Journals and magazines

Controversies

Open access

Journals

Databases

Litigations

Executive compensation

See also

Footnotes

References

Further reading

External links

Archives