Professor elected president of ACS

Adjunct Chemistry Professor William Carroll has been elected president of the American Chemical Society. \nThe ACS, founded in 1876, is the world's largest scientific association, boasting more than 163,000 members.\nCarroll earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from IU in 1978, and is currently the vice president of Dallas-based Occidental Chemical Corp. His one-year term as president of the ACS will begin Jan. 1, 2005.\n"I'd like to re-introduce the public to the benefits of chemistry and its essential role in products from plastics to medicines," Carroll said in a press release Wednesday. "The science and the people who practice it make a huge contribution to modern life."\nDespite his new responsibilities as ACS president, Carroll will continue as adjunct professor at IU for at least another four years, visiting at least once annually to share his expertise in polymers.\nThe IU chemistry department was pleased with Carroll's election.\n"This is a big deal," department chairman David Clemmer said. "The ACS is by far the largest organization in chemistry. The chemists over here think it's just fantastic. We were all rooting for him."\nThe election was an especially pleasant surprise for professor Dennis Peters, under whom Carroll studied as a graduate student.\n"I don't think you ever really expect something like (being elected ACS president)," Peters said. "But he was always a bright, interesting guy."\nCarroll is especially concerned with chemistry education.\n"Sixty percent of high school students now take chemistry, but few will see a teacher with a background in the field," Carrol said in a press release. "We need to encourage more experienced chemists to consider teaching."\nCarroll may follow up this plan by recruiting retired chemists.\n"One thing he's definitely concerned about is that ACS should be playing a stronger role in chemistry education in high school," Peters said. "He had mentioned to me some time ago about maybe getting some retired chemists from industry involved in high school chemistry classes."\nClemmer is looking forward to how Carroll will improve chemistry's public image.\n"When you think about chemistry in the U.S. you realize it drives a very large part of the economy," Clemmer said. "This gives him the opportunity to influence the way chemistry is viewed at large as well as the path the organization takes. It's great for IU to be associated with someone in this position."\n-- Contact senior writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.