HISTORY OF THE VIRGINIA SECTION The first compilation of the history of the Virginia Section covered the period Subsequent additions were made for the periods and In 1988, Dr. W. Allan Powell began to compile the history of the Section from 1960 through Dr. Powell edited the previous historical accounts and combined them with his summary of the period. In 1993, he completed The Virginia of the American Chemical Society: The First Seventy-Five Years. This was published in book form in 1996 under the leadership of the 1995 Section Chair, Mr. Larry H. White. A series of photographs were added to Dr. Powell’s text. Copies of the completed history were made available to ACS members, schools, libraries, and organizations. Larry White and Jim Beck are now working on an update to cover the period 1991 through 2015.

IMPORTANT DATES IN THE HISTORY OF THE VIRGINIA SECTION  The formation of the Virginia Chemists Club  The ACS granted a charter to the Virginia Section which had 31 charter members 1923  The publication of the first issue of the Virginia Section newsletter, The Bulletin 1927  The Section hosted the 73rd national meeting of the American Chemical Society 1930  “Chemical Education by Radio” programs were broadcast in Richmond and Roanoke 1931  Twelve counties in southwest Virginia were ceded to the new Virginia Blue Ridge Section 1937  The Virginia Section hosted the National Organic Chemistry Symposium 1938  The Virginia Section hosted the national meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), held in Richmond 1944  Thirteen counties in eastern Virginia were ceded to the new Hampton Roads Section  Section member Lloyd C. Bird elected to Virginia State Senate 1948  The first Distinguished Service Award was presented to Wortley F. Rudd  The first award for high school chemistry teaching was presented to Lawrence W. Jarman 1957  The Section broadcast its first series of TV programs and the “Ask Me an Atom” quiz show 1959  The Virginia Section hosted the Southeastern Regional Meeting of the ACS in Richmond registrants 1965  The Section celebrated its 50th anniversary; ACS President Charles Price addressed the Section 1969  The Section held its first Operation Interface for college chemistry teachers  the Virginia Section hosted the Southeastern Regional Meeting of the ACS in Richmond - 1,150 registrants  The Section earned an ACS award for “Outstanding Performance by a Local Section” 1971  The Section initiated an awards program for college and university chemistry students 1979  The first meeting of student affiliate chapters in the Section was held 1985  The Section participated in the Chemistry Olympiad competition for the first time 1986  The Section held its first Vendor Show as part of a Section meeting 1987  The Section held its first poster session for college student research - 21 papers were presented  The Section participated in the first National Chemistry Day  The Section received an ACS award for the “Outstanding Section in the Medium-Large Category” 1989  The first National Chemistry Week celebration was held at the Science Museum of Virginia 1990  The first award for middle school science teaching was presented to Jeannie Bishop  The Section celebrated its 75 th anniversary with Dr. Russell Rowlett presenting a talk on “The First Seventy-Five Years of the Virginia Section” 1991  The Virginia Section hosted the Southeastern Regional Meeting, SERMACS-91, in Richmond - 1,349 registrants

1993  The Virginia Section received a Phoenix Award from the national ACS for the “Best National Chemistry Week Activity at a Museum or Library”  Dr. W. Allan Powell completed a history of the Section, titled The Virginia Section of the American Chemical Society: The First Seventy-Five Years 1994  Nicholas Loehr from Chesterfield County was selected to be on the United States team that competed in the International Chemistry Olympiad in Oslo, Norway  the Virginia Section was given a Phoenix Award from the national ACS for “Outstanding National Chemistry Week Activities”  The Section membership exceeded 1300  the Virginia Section received a Phoenix Award from the national ACS for the “Best National Chemistry Week Activity with High Schools” 1997  The Section presented its first set of industrial awards 2000  The Section launched its website 2001  The Virginia Section received a ChemLuminary Award from the national ACS for its activities in  Section member John B. Fenn of Virginia Commonwealth University shared the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on electrospray ionization mass spectrometry 2006  Sydney Creutz of Albemarle County was selected as an alternate for the United States team that competed in the International Chemistry Olympiad in Gyeonsan, South Korea  the Section began involvement in the ACS program “Chemists Celebrate Earth Day”(CCED) 2007  The Virginia Section received a ChemLuminary Award from the national ACS for the “Greatest Community Involvement in Chemists Celebrate Earth Day” 2008  The national ACS presented a ChemLuminary Award to the Section for “Creative and Innovative Use of the Chemists Celebrate Earth Day Theme.”  The Women Chemists Committee of the Section held its first networking luncheon  The Section held its first Science Café  The Section received a Third Place Hospitality Award from the ACS for demonstrating outstanding service to visiting tour speakers  The Section boundaries were adjusted by the ACS, removing Loudoun County and adding the counties of Amelia, Fauquier, and Prince William 2009  The Women Chemists Committee sponsored their first Chemistry Career Panel  The Virginia Section received a national ChemLuminary Award for “Chemists with Disabilities Inclusion” 2010  The first award for elementary school science teaching was presented to Judy Fitzpatrick 2011  The Virginia Section hosted the Southeastern Regional Meeting of the ACS, SERMACS 2011, in Richmond - 1,250 registrants  The Section began electronic distribution of The Bulletin with posting on the section website 2013  The Virginia Section received a record number of five national ACS ChemLuminary Awards: “Outstanding Program Aimed at Retaining Women in the Chemical Enterprise”; “Chemists with Disabilities Inclusion Award”; “Creative & Innovative Use of Chemists Celebrate Earth Day Theme“; “Outstanding NCW Event for a Specific Audience”; “Outstanding On-going NCW Event” 2015  Two ACS ChemLuminary Awards were presented to the Section: “Outstanding New Local Section Younger Chemists Committee” and “Creative & Innovative Use of Chemists Celebrate Earth Day Theme”  The Virginia Section celebrates its 100 th Anniversary

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE VIRGINIA SECTION E. W. Magruder Although the original territory of the Section included most of the Commonwealth, the Section is now much smaller, having lost territory to the Virginia Blue Ridge Section in 1931 and to the Hampton Roads Section in The Section is now comprised of 54 counties and 16 cities in central and southern Virginia and has more than 1300 members. The Section was initially assigned one member of the national ACS Council. There are now three councilors for the Section who participate in ACS governance at the national level. An Executive Committee, which includes the Section officers, councilors, alternate councilors, trustees, and committee chairs, along with some at-large members, determines the Section’s program and sets the budget. Currently, there are fifteen committees operating as part of the Section. The Virginia Chemists Club, organized in 1907, was the forerunner of the Virginia Section. Dr. E. W. Magruder was the first president of the Club which had 57 members by the end of The Club functioned for nearly eight years, until a petition to establish a local ACS section in the state of Virginia was approved by the ACS Council. On April 9, 1915, the Virginia Section was issued a charter by the American Chemical Society. The new Virginia Section, with 31 charter members, was the 49th local section of the ACS. The first chairman was J. Bernard Robb. In 1923, the Section published the first issue of its newsletter, The Bulletin, a publication that continues today. Nine issues were published in The Section has maintained an official website since the year 2000 and now has a Facebook page. In April, 1927, the Section hosted the 74th meeting of the American Chemical Society in Richmond with over 1,300 persons attending. The Section has also hosted Southeastern Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) that was held in Richmond in December, At the time, this was described as the “largest and most important meeting of scientists ever held in the South.” Regional meetings in 1959, 1969, 1991, and 2011, all in Richmond. The 1991 regional meeting set an attendance record for a chemistry event in Virginia, with 1,349 registrants. The Section also hosted the national meeting of the American

Service has always been an important part of the Virginia Section. Members of the Section were active in many scientific projects during both World War I and World War II. The Section has served chemists in various career functions, including holding employment clearinghouses and workshops. The Section has held hundreds of meeting over the years, including eight in Education has been a major emphasis of the Section, which has conducted numerous workshops and programs for high school and college students and teachers. An award has been presented to an outstanding chemistry teacher annually since Middle school science teachers have been recognized since 1990 and elementary school teachers since Outstanding chemistry students in colleges and universities have been honored every year for the past 44 years. The Section has presented a Distinguished Service Award to one of its members every year since 1948, and in 1997 began a series of industrial and special awards. For over 15 years, grants have been provided to schools for the enhancement of science instruction. Public relations for the profession and the science of chemistry has long been an important focus of the Section. In 1927 the Section began producing and broadcasting a series of radio programs on chemistry. Broadcasts continued into the 1970s. The Section began televising programs in The Virginia Section has participated in the Chemistry Olympiad since 1985, in National Chemistry Week since 1989, and in Chemists Celebrate Earth Day since Current activities include programs for younger chemists, women chemists, minority chemists, and student affiliate members. An annual poster session featuring undergraduate student research has been sponsored by the Section since The Section has received numerous national awards for its programs and activities. It was recognized by the ACS for outstanding performance in 1969 and again in The Section has received three Phoenix awards and thirteen ChemLuminary awards for its outreach programs that have related chemistry to students, young chemists, women, special-need persons, job seekers, and the general public. After 100 years of success in serving its members, the chemical profession, and the community at large, the Virginia Section continues as a vibrant organization with both new and continuing programs that will preserve its legacy of service and achievement.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAMS Virginia Chemistry participated in that first celebration of chemistry and again in In 1989, the ACS began National Chemistry Week. The Virginia Section was there in 1989 and has been involved in every National Chemistry Week since then. The Section has received several Phoenix and ChemLuminary awards for its National Chemistry Week programs. The Virginia Section participates in a number of Community Outreach programs. The two most significant are National Chemistry Week (NCW) and Chemists Celebrate Earth Week (CCED). National Chemistry Week began as National Chemistry Day back in The The Earth Day events began in The Virginia Section has participated every year and has been awarded several ChemLuminary awards for its CCED programs. Dr. Kristine Smetana is the Chair of the Section’s Committee on Community Activities which is responsible for both NCW and CCED.