Services

Year        Date        Meeting        Location                Speaker                        Topic
2003        Nov. 18        AIChE            San Francisco, CA    David Hackleman              Role of Chemical Engineers in the Information
Technology
2003        Sep. 8        ACS 226th       New York, NY            Sunney Chan                    Opprotunities for Chemists in the Post-genomic
Era
2003        Mar. 31        AIChE             New Orleans, LA        Theo Lee                        Nano - A New Outlook
2003        Mar. 24        ACS 225th       New Orleans, LA        Sunney Chan                 Opprotunities for Chemists in the Post-genomic
Era
2002        Nov. 4         AIChE               Indianapolis, IN        James T. Hsu                  Chemical Engineering in the Life Sciences
2002        Aug. 19       ACS 224th        Boston, MA              Hai-Lung Dai                 Professionalism and Scientific Development in
Chinese vs.                                                                                                                               American and Other Societies
2002        Apr. 8        ACS 223rd        Orlando, FL                Xumu Zhang              Developing Asymmetric Catalysts for Making Fine
Chemicals
2002        Mar. 11        AIChE             New Orleans, LA          Yunfeng Lu                    Overview of Nano Materials
2001        Nov. 5        AIChE               Reno, NV                   Winston Ho                    Fuel Cell and Membrane Technology: An Overview
2001        Apr. 23        AIChE            Houston, TX                 Yue Kuo                        Semiconductor Technology
2001        Apr. 2        ACS 221st        San Diego, CA             Jane P. Chang                    Inorganic Membranes: Applications and
Challenges
2000        Nov. 13        AIChE             Los Angeles, CA            Ralph Yang                           Future Adsortion Science and Technology
2000        Aug. 21        ACS 220th        Washington, DC        James Wei                    Personal Recollections: Trying to Make It in
America
2000        Mar. 27        ACS 219th        San Francisco, CA      Chi-Wen Hung                    Some Thoughts about Petrochemicals Future
1999        Nov. 13        AIChE              Dallas, TX                    Fu-Ming Lee                    My View on the Future of Separation
Technology
1999        Aug. 23        ACS 218th        New Orleans, LA        Xiao-Xiong Lu              Pilot Plants for Research, Scale-up and Bottom
Line
1999        Mar. 22        ACS 217th        Anaheim, CA              James C. Liao                       Life as a Chemical Factory
1999        Mr. 15          AIChE               Houston, TX             Chen-Hwa Chiu                       New Development in Liquefied Natural Gas
(NLG)
1998        Aug. 24        ACS 216th        Boston, MA               Yi Hua Ma                               Inorganic Membranes for Energy
Applications
1998        Mar. 31        ACS 215th        Dallas, TX                 Chien M. Wai                           Superfluid Technology for Chinese Herbs

June 23, 2003
Volume 81, Number 25
CENEAR 81 25 pp. 46-47
ISSN 0009-2347

CHINESE-AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
CACS meeting focuses on fellowship and professional development
ACS President Elsa Reichmanis headlined the Chinese-American Chemical Society's (CACS) Tristate Chapter One-Day Symposium on Modern Chemical Technology &
Business. About 150 chemists gathered at the Schering-Plough Research Institute in Kenilworth, N.J., on June 7 for the program.

It was an impressive turnout for the society, which boasts about 300 members nationwide, says Kuangnan Qian, an analytical chemist at ExxonMobil Research &
Engineering, Annandale, N.J. CACS's largest chapter--which is composed of about 120 members--is the Tristate Chapter.

CACS holds mini-symposia frequently. This year, the focus was on celebrating the society's more than 20 years of service to scientific communities in the U.S.; promoting
fellowship among Chinese-American chemists and chemical engineers; and providing opportunities for networking, professional enhancement, and career development,
says Yunsheng (Tony) Hsieh, a principal scientist at Schering-Plough Research Institute and the meeting's program chair. Hsieh is also the society's 2003 Tristate Chapter
president.

Reichmanis kicked off the day's events with a keynote presentation titled "Achieving Technological Advances--The 21st-Century Approach." On the way to outlining the
history of microelectronics and the issues it faces in the coming decades, Reichmanis touched on her own research at Bell Laboratories.

Her speech was followed by a second keynote address by John Piwinski, vice president of chemical research at Schering-Plough Research Institute. His speech, "Discovering
New Medicines with Chemistry," focused on the vital role of medicinal chemistry in the drug discovery and design process. As an example, he traced the history of
antihistamine drugs, describing how new levels of molecular understanding changed drug discovery from the days of purely pharmacological evaluation.

Among the other presentations at the full-day event were technical presentations, such as discussions of combinatorial catalysts for cross-coupling reactions and metals in
macromolecular separations; discussions of business opportunities, including speeches on making the transition from chemist to entrepreneur and on the state of the
pharmaceutical industry in the current economy; and practical seminars, such as a primer on successful interviewing. Ming-Daw Tsai, a professor of chemistry at Ohio State
University and 2003 CACS president, gave the third presentation of the day, "Opportunities for Chemists in the Post-Genomic Era."

"The most important things that CACS offers are enhanced communication and professional interaction among its members and financial support," Hsieh said. "And we
have established the CACS Young Chemist's Award to recognize and support outstanding high school students in developing careers in chemistry-related fields upon
entering college."

Jesse C. H. Hwa, CACS's founder and first president, agrees. "Our most important goal is to provide communication channels for the Chinese-American community through
recognition of academic achievements, models, examples, and social and professional fellowship," he says.

As an example, he points to the problems Chinese-American chemists face in moving up the corporate ladder. "We want an equal opportunity to move up the ladder," he
says. "Chemists should not be viewed as good at science but not at management. They should be viewed as equal resources."

It's something that Reichmanis touched on as well. Asian Americans are more likely to be employed in the chemical sciences but less likely to be promoted to
management, she said. Misconceptions about the Asian American community and over style differences can lead to inaccurate perceptions of ability, she said, but meetings
like this increase awareness and understanding. "It's not a problem that's going to be solved overnight," she added.

ACS and CACS have a close working relationship: CACS holds a social hour, dinner, and featured speech at every ACS national meeting, and it was officially created during
the spring 1981 ACS national meeting in Atlanta, "with the blessing and support of the ACS president and executive director," Hwa said.

The idea for a society focusing on Chinese American chemists had been gestating long before then. Hwa attributes CACS's creation partly to the 1972 breakthrough in
relations between China and the U.S. In the years that followed, Hwa was involved in a number of bilateral visits between Chinese and American scientists, and, as an ACS
councilor and a member of the Joint Council/Board Committee on International Activities, he was deeply involved in communication between ACS and Chinese chemists. He
was also one of the first Chinese American chemists of the era to return to China and lecture.

In 1979, a delegation of Chinese chemists, along with Li Su, secretary-general of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the first Pacific Basin Chemical Congress in
Honolulu. Hwa organized a luncheon in honor of the guests, which 80 people attended. Its success prompted him to organize similar luncheons at the next two ACS
meetings.

"At many meetings, I would see the faces of Chinese chemists," Hwa said. "But we would only make eye contact--we would never talk to each other." The luncheons
changed all that.

Hsieh thought that this year's program was outstanding--especially the keynote addresses--and has high hopes that its next iteration will be even better. Among the
society's big plans for the future: It is working on raising its profile by cosponsoring a First International Chinese Chemical Symposium to be held either in Taiwan or China.

Silver Anniversary for Chinese Society

Chinese-American Chemical Society celebrates 25 years of good food and good friendships

There's a saying by the ancient Chinese philosopher Lu Yu: "Born to the earth are three kinds of creatures. Some are winged and fly. Some are furred and run. Still others
stretch their mouths and talk. All must eat and drink to survive."Since 1981, the Chinese-American Chemical Society (CACS) has been bringing Chinese chemists and
chemical engineers together to eat, drink, talk, and make lasting connections. These get-togethers, in the form of a banquet and keynote lecture, are held four times a
year during American Chemical Society and American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) spring and fall national meetings.

Feast With Friends This year's banquet was buffet-style, with dishes such as squid with pickled Chinese cabbage and curried chicken.

This year's gathering at the ACS spring national meeting in Atlanta provided even more reason to celebrate, as it marked CACS's 25th anniversary. In fact, it was in Atlanta
at an ACS spring national meeting 25 years ago that CACS was born.CACS celebrated its anniversary with a special symposium, "Sustainable Contributions by Chemical
Professionals," which ACS President E. Ann Nalley included in her presidential event lineup. The session was cosponsored by the ACS Division of the History of Chemistry. "I
congratulate you on your 25th anniversary," Nalley said during her remarks. "Over the years, I've had the opportunity to work with many of you in a number of capacities,
and I do appreciate the role that you play in the American Chemical Society."Other speakers included John C. Chen, professor of chemical engineering at Lehigh University
and AIChE president, who emphasized the role Chinese Americans play in the chemical industry, and Arnold Thackray, president of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, who
talked about the Chinese history and tradition in chemistry.Norman N. Li, president of NL Chemical Technology, in Mount Prospect, Ill., gave a keynote lecture on water
treatment and reuse by membrane technology; Hai-Lung Dai, professor of chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, provided the perspective of an immigrant research
scientist and teacher; and Liang-Shih Fan, professor of engineering at Ohio State University and winner of the 2006 E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial & Engineering
Chemistry, spoke about clean fossil energy conversion systems.Following the symposium was a banquet attended by about 100 people, both Chinese and non-Chinese.
Chris Hobson, senior vice president of research and environmental affairs at Southern Co. in Atlanta, delivered a keynote address on environmental controls and advanced
power generation.

CACS was founded on April 1, 1981, by the late Jesse C. H. Hwa and other CACS leaders. While attending ACS meetings in the 1970s, Hwa would see many Chinese faces
but didn't have an opportunity to meet these scientists. He decided to organize a regular dinner where Chinese chemists and chemical engineers could meet and discuss
issues of mutual interest. ACS, and later AIChE, gave him the green light to hold the banquets during their national meetings. Since then, the format has not changed:
The events begin with a social hour, followed by a banquet and keynote lecture.

Another Perk Nalley (left), who attended the Chinese-American Chemical Society banquet, autographs Feng's program book after dinner.

Among CACS's objectives are to promote fellowship among Chinese-American chemists, chemical engineers, and those working in related professions; to create
opportunities for members to share their professional experiences and to participate in joint research and business opportunities; to provide career counseling for young
people who are interested in science and engineering careers; and to recognize those individuals who have made outstanding contributions to chemical science and
technology and have served the chemical profession.During the anniversary symposium, Nalley reminded the audience of the importance of peer recognition. "I would like
to encourage you and remind you to nominate your colleagues, to identify their accomplishments, and to recognize them. Please don't forget to nominate. Every year, you
all should be nominating someone for awards. You have a lot of very, very accomplished colleagues."Despite its achievements, CACS is still striving to increase its visibility
among Chinese chemists and chemical engineers. Currently, CACS has around 300 members, but that number is small compared with the number of Chinese chemists and
chemical engineers who attend ACS and AIChE meetings each year. "I think there's a lot of work to do to spread the word about CACS," says Yi Hua (Ed) Ma, professor of
chemical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Massachusetts, and president of CACS. "If you look at the number of Chinese members in either ACS or AIChE,
it's amazing. Really amazing."

Ma's goal is to get younger chemists and chemical engineers involved, such as Lianmei Feng, a chemistry Ph.D. candidate at the University of Georgia. Feng attended the
CACS banquet for the first time this year, having heard about the dinner through a friend. She admits that it's difficult for Chinese students to network because they tend
to be reserved. For her, the banquet provided a casual atmosphere where she could meet other chemists with cultural backgrounds similar to hers. She said that speaking
in her native language, Mandarin, made it easier for her to communicate with her peers.Ma says he hopes that CACS will encourage Chinese chemists and chemical
engineers to become more active in their communities and to voice their opinions. "I hope CACS can make them realize that we have got to do something," he says.
"We've got to participate; we've got to speak up on things."Yunsheng (Tony) Hsieh, principal scientist at Schering-Plough Research Institute, CACS's second vice president,
and coorganizer of the 25th anniversary symposium, agrees. For him, participation in CACS has boosted his confidence and improved his leadership skills.

W. S. Winston Ho, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Ohio State University, chairman of the CACS board of directors, and coorganizer of the
symposium, says he tries to meet everyone who comes to the banquets. It's a good opportunity, he says, to renew his fellowship with old friends and also to meet new
people. "If you know each other, it's much easier to work together and resolve common issues," he says. He emphasizes that CACS welcomes both Chinese and
non-Chinese.

Over the years, CACS has grown to include five local chapters: Great Lakes, New England, Northern California, Pittsburgh, and Tristate (New Jersey, New York, and
Pennsylvania). These chapters offer chemists and chemical engineers more opportunities to network on the local level, and they often advertise job openings both in the
U.S. and overseas. Some of the chapters even offer scholarships and mentoring programs for students. The Great Lakes Chapter is holding its 10th annual conference in
Evanston, Ill., on Saturday, May 13.

At the end of the 25th-anniversary celebration, some graduate students stayed around to mingle, exchange contact information, and walk over to the Sci-Mix poster
session together. They laughed, joked, and talked chemistry. It certainly was a night for making new friends and lasting impressions.