Greetings from the Division of Analytical Chemistry! It is my honor to serve as Chair for 2023 and I look forward to leading a great and diverse group of volunteers and spearheading new initiatives for the Division in the year to come. The Division is well positioned to move forward thanks to the dedicated leadership of Chair Rebecca Zangmeister, who has worked relentlessly in expanding the volunteer basis and promoting connections with other Divisions. We welcome new officers Mark Hayes as Chair Elect, Adam Wooley as he continues in the Treasurer’s role and Kimberly Agnew-Heard and Joel Harris as new Alternate Councilors. A special thanks to Past Chair Paul Bohn for his leadership during some of the most challenging times of the COVID pandemic. Through his vision and dedication, the Division was able to remain active by implementing virtual programs that continue to engage members even after the pandemic.
The mission of the Division of Analytical Chemistry is to promote analytical chemistry globally by enhancing professional opportunities, educating members and society, and fostering collaborations. I believe our mission can be fulfilled only if we create a diverse and inclusive community where our members feel welcomed and empowered to participate in programs and activities.  In the past two years we have greatly expanded our volunteer basis and continue to look for anyone who wants to become involved.
After two rollercoaster years we were delighted to return to in person meetings! In 2022 the Division held very successful meetings in San Diego in spring and Chicago in fall. Thanks to the availability of hybrid and virtual formats, we were able to organize sessions that accommodated both in person and virtual speakers, widening the reach to place-bound members, including our international members. Between the San Diego and Chicago meetings, more than 1000 abstracts were presented in 42 symposia and poster sessions, highlighting cutting edge research in areas of portable sensing, mass spectrometry, ion mobility and microfluidics, to mention a few. Such strong and diverse technical programs were only possible because of the efforts of our Long-Range Program Planning Committee which helps planning symposia and identifying organizers. I appreciate the hard work of Amanda Hummon who finished her tenure as Committee Chair and welcome Liangliang Sun who took over in July along with all the LRPP committee members. The committee has already lined up 13 symposia for the 2023 spring meeting in Indianapolis and is now starting to plan for the fall meeting in San Francisco. Please contact Mirlinda Biba, Program Chair (mirlinda_biba@merck.com) or Liangliang Sun (lsun@chemistry.msu.edu) if you are interested in proposing ideas for future symposia.
Because of the efforts of Councilor Bryant Nelson to coordinate the recruitment of new volunteers, we have a stronger committee structure that supports new and continuing initiatives. I would like to recognize Joel Harris for leading the Award Canvassing Committee and Roland Hirsch and Kevin Cheung for their efforts to ensure communication with our members. This past year, under the guidance of Ben Garcia, Chair of the DEI&R committee, the Division strengthened efforts to reach out to and highlight black, brown and indigenous chemists. A full-day symposium celebrating the accomplishments of Dr. Marie Daly, the first African American woman to receive a PhD in Chemistry in the United States, was organized at the fall meeting in partnership with the Division of Biological Chemistry and the Minority Affair Committee. The symposium was made possible by a grant from Merck which also supported a symposium on ‘A Diverse Path to Success in Analytical Chemistry’. In addition, the Division received an Innovative Project Grant from ACS to fund travel awards (up to $1,000) for younger chemists to present their research at a technical meeting. Individuals from Underrepresented Minorities (URMs), First-Generation Younger Professionals or other diverse scientists who may not have previously been able to participate in professional meetings are particularly encouraged to apply. The next deadline is November 1, 2022. For application details please go to https://acsanalytical.org/ycctravel/
Our Education Committee led by Michelle Kovarik has been very active in supporting efforts that promote undergraduate and graduate education. The Committee coordinates undergraduate awards (Kolthoff award and Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry) and the Graduate Students Fellowships made possible by generous support from Agilent, Eli Lilly, and Pittcon. The Committee also organized several virtual workshops, roundtable discussions on topics of interest to educators and virtual networking events. If you would like to get involved, I encourage you to reach out to Committee Chair, Michelle Kovarik.
Having worked at a small, public institution in rural eastern Oregon for thirty years, I am very passionate about educating and supporting students as they prepare for a successful and fulfilling career. Therefore, my primary goal as Chair will be to support any efforts that contribute to the education of a well-prepared and diverse workforce. To that extent, I am organizing a Presidential Symposium at the 2023 Spring Meeting co-sponsored by the Division of Business Development and Management and the ACS Committee on Corporation Associates. The symposium will provide a forum for government labs, industrial leaders and academics to discuss best practices to educate analytical chemists for industrial jobs. I will also continue to strengthen connections with other divisions and international chapters, and ensure that a diversity of voices and perspectives reflecting the composition of our membership be represented in our committees. I am aware that the Division continues to face challenges to retain members and I will work closely with Mark Hayes to establish a Membership Committee to identify strategies and immediate actions to improve member recruitment and retention. I encourage you to reach out to me with ideas and suggestions on how to continue to make your membership to the Division of Analytical Chemistry worthwhile.
Best wishes
Anna
Anna G. Cavinato, Ph.D.
Chair, ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry