American Chemical Society
Division of Physical Chemistry (PHYS)

• Officers
• Remarks from the Chair
• Notes from the Secretary
• Election Information
• New Officers
• Theoretical Subdivision
• Biophysical Subdivision
• Technical Program - 217th Annual Meeting - Anaheim, CA
• Call for Papers - 218th Annual Meeting - New Orleans, LA
• New Information on Submission of Abstracts
• General Information for Contributed Papers
• Future ACS Meetings
• Request for Symposia Topics and Speakers
• Recent Symposia Topics
• Membership Information
• Membership Application

As I move into my role as Chair of the Division of Physical Chemistry I would like to share some of my thoughts with you about the Division. I am indeed honored to assume this position, following in the footsteps of a number of very dedicated individuals who have made major contributions to the vitality of the Division. In particular, I am indebted to Ellen Stechel for her work and guidance as Chair of the Division in 1998, George Flynn who preceded her and Mark Gordon, Secretary-Treasurer. The Division of Physical Chemistry is comprised of members who span a broad range of interests in the general area of physical chemistry. This breadth is reflected in the range of symposia topics sponsored in recent years by the Division which includes polymeric materials and thin films, combustion processes, structure and reactivity in supercritical fluids, complex metal oxide surfaces, large scale electronic structure methods, high resolution spectroscopy, nanoscale materials, electron transfer, ultra fast protein responses, water at surfaces and education in physical chemistry. It is invigorating to attend many of these symposia and see what an important role the discipline of physical chemistry plays in so many existing and emerging fields of science today. It is the depth of knowledge and the breadth of application of this knowledge that makes and will continue to keep physical chemistry as a central discipline in the physical sciences. It is currently training some of the best and brightest minds in the field of chemistry and we welcome their participation in the Division, and their future contributions to the scientific discipline.

I encourage all to attend and participate in the Division symposia at the two upcoming National ACS meetings to learn more about the exciting science currently being conducted in the field. Attendance at these symposia generates revenue for the Division, revenue that is critical to supporting many of the important functions of the Division including travel awards for graduate students to ACS meetings. George Schatz is the 1999 Program Chair for the Division. George has put together a very rich series of symposia for the next two National ACS Meetings at Anaheim and New Orleans. These include topics such as the physical chemistry of sol-gel materials, unimolecular reactions and state resolved photodis-sociation dynamics, structure at electrochemical interfaces, chromophores aggregates, molecular beam imaging experiments, electronically non adiabatic processes, chemical wave fronts and patterns and free radicals in condensed phase dynamics. These symposia are timely and again celebrate some of the most recent advances in the areas highlighted. In addition to the invited talks, there will be a Divisional poster session held on Wednesday night that we encourage you to attend. A subset of these posters will also be presented at the SciMix poster session held on Monday nights at the national meetings. SciMix is a society wide event that includes papers from all ACS divisions (as well as FREE liquid refreshment) and is certainly worth attending.

The Spring National ACS meeting is traditionally the one that we honor physical chemists who have won prestigious ACS awards. The awards symposium will be held on Tuesday afternoon and will honor the 1999 awardees which include Richard Zare who has won the E. Bright Wilson Award, Douglas Henderson, winner of the Joel Henry Hildebrand Award, Ben Widom who is recipient of the ACS Theoretical Chemistry Award, James N. Spencer, winner of the ACS Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution and Jack Beauchamp who is being awarded the Peter Debye Award. We congratulate all of these individuals and look forward to their award addresses.

We strongly encourage all interested to become members of the Division and to maintain this membership. If you know of others with interests in this area who are not members please encourage them to join as we need all the members we can get! Revenue generated by the membership dues goes towards many valuable activities of the Division. Membership application forms can be found on the Division web page (see below). The Physical Division has two vigorous subdivisions for theoretical and biophysical chemistry. Richard Stratt and Robin Hochstrasser are the respective Chairs of these subdivisions. Membership in the subdivisions is free for anyone who is already a member of the Division of Physical Chemistry. We particularly encourage graduate students to join ACS and the Division while they are students. The cost of membership is low for students and the benefits are significant. One of the most important ways that all members can contribute to the Division is in playing a role in programming of future symposia at National ACS meetings. With your suggestions you can take an active role in guaranteeing the breadth and depth of these symposia. Current members can forward their suggestions to Division Secretary Mark Gordon (mark@si.fi.ameslab.gov). Please include the names of potential organizers as well as possible speakers with your suggestions. Remember that the Program Chairs for the Division operate with a 1-2 year lead-time for most symposia. In making your suggestions, consider topics timely for the years 2000 and 2001. So join up and join in helping us to provide the best programs for the future.

For additional information about the Division symposia for this year and future years, as well as other information about the Physical Division, please consult the Division web page at http://hackberry.chem.niu.edu/PHYS. This is actively maintained by Steve Bachrach with the assistance of Mark Gordon and his administrative staff person Kristin Hinders.

We look forward to seeing you in Anaheim!

This newsletter contains information about the ACS national meetings and any other items of interest to significant numbers of PHYS division members. All members of the PHYS division are welcome and encouraged to submit items for inclusion in the newsletter. The deadlines are generally around December 1 and May 1 for the newsletters appearing before the Spring and Fall ACS meetings, respectively. Feel free to submit information to Kristin Hinders, Iowa State University, 231 Spedding Hall, Ames, IA 50011; ksmith@ameslab.gov; fax - (515) 294-5204.

The Secretary-Treasurer is required to announce the slate of candidates in the fall newsletter (which is part of the abstract separates for the fall meeting).

To increase the input of the members in this nominating process and to broaden the pool of candidates, the executive committee seeks input directly from members for use by the nominating committee. Any member may suggest nominees to any of the officers of the PHYS division in writing. The nominee must agree to serve.

Additional nominations can come from the membership in the following fashion: A petition candidate must be supported by the signatures of not fewer than 4% of the members of the PHYS division in good standing (presently approximately 3,200). No signature shall be valid if it appears on more than one nominating petition for the same vacancy during the same calendar year.

A letter shall be submitted from each petition nominee stating willingness to be a candidate for election and to serve the Division for a full term if elected. No nominee may be a candidate for more than one vacancy. If nominated for more than one vacancy, the nominee must choose which nomination to accept.

Four weeks from the date of the mailing of the fall newsletter shall be allowed for additional nominations to be received by the Secretary-Treasurer. All valid nominations received within that period shall be accepted, and no others.

If no valid nominations are forthcoming from the membership, the nominees submitted by the Nominating Committee for Vice-Chair-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer and membership on the Executive Committee are declared elected.

Regardless of whether petition nominees are validated or not, the Bylaws require the Secretary-Treasurer to mail to every PHYS division member a ballot that bears at a minimum the names and biographical sketches of the single candidates for each Councilor and Alternate Councilor vacancy submitted by the Nominating Committee.

The first six physical chemists assumed their respective offices at the close of the national ACS meeting in Boston, MA (August 1998). The last two began their terms of service on January 1, 1999. The PHYS division thanks outgoing officers Ellen B. Stechel (Chair), Geraldine Richmond (Chair-Elect), George Schatz (Vice-Chair), Daniel Neumark (Vice Chair-Elect), Anne Meyers (Executive Committee), Krishnan Raghavachari (Executive Committee), Michael Bowers (Councilor), and Gil Nathanson (Alternate Councilor) for their service to the Division.

Subdivision membership is free to dues-paying members or affiliates of the Division of Physical Chemistry. To join the Theoretical Subdivision notify the secretary, Michael Page, at the address in the table of officers. Indicate that you wish to join and mention that you belong to the PHYS division. If you do not belong to the Division, you may join both the Division and the Theoretical Chemistry Subdivision by completing the application form at the end of this newsletter.

• Unimolecular Reactions & Intramolecular Dynamics, Stephen J. Klippenstein, Case Western Reserve University and David S. Perry, University of Akron.
• Linear Conjugated Polyenes: A Celebration of the Scientific Career of Bryan Earl Kohler, Bruce S. Hudson, Syracuse University.
• Structure at Electrochemical Interfaces by New Spectroscopic Probes and Approaches, Andrzej Wieckowski, University of Illinois and Joseph T. Hupp, Northwestern University.
• Physical Chemistry of Sol-gel Materials, Jeffrey I. Zink and Bruce S. Dunn, UCLA.
• Free Radicals in Condensed Phases, David Bartels, Argonne National Laboratory and Gregory K. Schenter, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
• Frontiers of Statistical Mechanics: in Honor of Ben Widom, A. D. J. Haymet, University of Houston.
• Liquids and Interfaces (in Honor of Doug Henderson), Randall B. Shirts, Brigham Young University.

Co-sponsored Symposium

Heavy Element Complexes: The Convergence of Theory and Experiment (joint with NUCL), James V. Beitz, Argonne National Laboratory and David L. Clark, Los Alamos National LaboratoryAs is now customary, Program Chair Schatz has arranged for the presentation of contributed talks in each of the topical symposia. The contributed talks have been selected by the individual symposium organizers, from among abstracts submitted for the poster sessions that explicitly requested consideration for oral presentation. The criterion for selection was close connection with the topics addressed in the symposia. Abstracts not selected for oral presentation were assigned to the poster sessions, unless the authors requested otherwise.

Awards Symposium

The Physical Chemistry Awards Symposium will be held Tuesday afternoon, March 23, 1999. The award recipients who have chosen to present their work in the Physical Chemistry Program are:
• Jack Beauchamp, Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry (sponsored by E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Company, Inc.)
• Richard Zare, E. Bright Wilson Award in Spectroscopy (sponsored by Rohm and Haas Company)
• Douglas Henderson, Joel Henry Hildebrand Award in the Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry of Liquids (sponsored by Exxon Research & Engineering Company and Exxon Chemical Company)
• Benjamin Widom, ACS Award in Theoretical Chemistry (sponsored by IBM Corporation)
• James N. Spencer, ACS Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution (sponsored by Research Corporation)
 

Very Important Notice A significant portion of the Division's annual income comes from the ACS and is based, in part, on Division members’ attendance at the national meetings. On the advance meeting registration form you will see a question such as that given below. If you list the Physical Division, you will contribute to our income and allow the Division to offer better symposia.  "Please list ALL of the division(s) to which you belong: "

 

Call for Papers

Beginning with the National Meeting to be held in New Orleans, ACS will offer on-line submission of abstracts. Authors are encouraged to utilize this new system for the convenience and efficiency of all involved. Instructions will given in the January 25 issue of C&E News and at the ACS Web-site, http://www.acs.org/meetings. On-line submission begins March 8, 1999, and closes April 15, 1999. Authors should note that the April 15 deadline is a true deadline. The program will not be accessible after that day. The deadline for paper abstracts is April 1, 1999.

The 218th American Chemical Society National Meeting will take place in New Orleans, LA during the week of August 22-26, 1999. Dr. George Schatz, 1999 Physical Chemistry Division Program Chair, has arranged a technical program consisting of 6 topical symposia and a general poster session. The topical symposia and their organizers are:

• Chromophore Aggregates, Shaul Mukamel, Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, River Station, Rochester, NY 14627-0216, (716) 275 3080, fax (716) 473-6889, mukamel@chem.rochester.edu; Graham Fleming, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, fleming@cchem.berkeley.edu; Daniel Chemla, Material Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, (510) 486-4999, fax (510) 486-7768.
• Molecular Beam Imaging Experiments, Arthur Suits, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, (510) 486-4754, fax (510) 486-5311, agsuits@lbl.gov; Bob Continetti, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Calif., San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093-0314, (619) 534-5999, fax (619) 534-7042, rcontinetti@ucsd.edu.
• Electronically Nonadiabatic Processes in Gaseous, Cluster and Condensed Media, Laurie Butler, Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, (773) 702-7206, fax (773) 702-5863, ljb4@midway.uchicago.edu; Donald Truhlar, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, (612) 624-7555, fax (612) 626-9390, truhlar@umn.edu.
• Water Clusters, Liquid Water and Ice: Water in Biological Systems & Heterogeneous Atmospheric Processes, Mark Johnson, Department of Chemistry, Yale Univ., 225 Prospect St., New Haven, CT 06520-8107, (203) 432-3916, fax (203) 432-6144, johnson@cluster.chem.yale.edu; Richard Saykally, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, (510) 642-8269, fax (510) 642-8369, saykally@cchem.berkeley.edu.
• Chemical Waves, Fronts and Patterns, John Pojman, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Univ. of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-5043, (601) 266-5035, fax (601) 266-6075, john.pojman@usm.edu; Irving Epstein, Department of Chemistry, Brandeis Univ., Mailstop 134, Waltham, MA 02254-9110, (781) 736-2101, fax (781) 736-3457, epstein2@binah.cc.brandeis.edu; Vitaly Volpert, Laboratoire d'analyse numirique, University Lyon I, Batiment 101, 43, bd du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeubanne Cedex, France, 33-472-448317, fax 33-472-448053, volpert@lan1.univ-lyon1.fr.
• Theoretical Modeling of Electronic and NLO Materials, Shashi Karna, Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Electronics Branch, Bldg. 914, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5776, (505) 853-3158, fax (505) 846-2290, karnas@plk.af.mil.

Co-sponsored Symposia

• First Accomplishments of Environmental Management Science Program (Cosponsored with NUCL), P. G. Eller, MS C436, Los Alamos National Lab, Los Alamos, NM 87545, (505) 667-7111, fax (505) 665-4459, p_gary_eller@lanl.gov.
• Quantum Chemistry at the Forefront: A Celebration of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (Cosponsored with COMP), Organizers to be announced.
The individual organizers of each of the topical symposia will select contributions from those that specifically request an oral presentation. The criterion for selection will be a close connection with the topics addressed in the symposium. Since the organizers will not be able to accommodate all requests, the poster sessions will be specifically organized to group posters by symposium topic. While the symposia do cover a wide range of topics, they cannot cover the full depth and breadth of physical chemistry. The division welcomes general contributions to the poster sessions, which will be grouped by subject area.

Abstracts should be submitted on-line (http://www.acs.org/meetings) from March 8 to April 15, 1999. On-line submission is preferred, however, paper abstracts will be accepted for the New Orleans meeting and may be submitted directly to the appropriate symposium organizer. The organizers should receive paper abstracts no later than April 1, 1999. Authors are strongly encouraged to submit their abstracts on-line.
 

Submission of Abstracts

Important notes for all contributed papers for presentation at the New Orleans meeting, in either the topical symposia or the general poster session  

New abstract submission alternatives  Beginning with the New Orleans meeting, the ACS is offering a web-based submission format, in addition to the traditional paper format that has been used for years.  A description of the requirements for paper submission is given below.  Instructions concerning the web-based format are given in the January 25 issue of C&E News, and at the ACS Web site (http://www.acs.org/meetings).  Web-based submission is preferred for the New Orleans meeting, and will be required for future ACS meetings.
Web-based submission opens:  March 8, 1999  Information and submission:  http://www.acs.org/meetings  Abstract deadline (for Web submissions):  April 15, 1999 This is an ABSOLUTE deadline. The submission program will close April 15, 1999.  More Details available at the website and in the January 25 edition of C&E News.	Send Paper Abstract to:  The symposium organizer listed after the appropriate symposium title on the Call for Papers.  Abstract form and information can be found:  http://www.acs.org/meetings/abstract/abinfo.html  Call 1-800-227-5558  abstract@acs.org  Abstract deadline (for paper abstracts):  April 1, 1999
Abstract requirements: Submit 150 word abstract via the ACS web-based submission form. Web submission is encouraged, however, paper abstracts will be accepted for the New Orleans meeting. One camera-ready original, on an ACS abstract form should be sent to the symposium organizer, or, for general posters, to the Program Chair (Professor George Schatz, Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3113, schatz@chem.nwu.edu). Abstracts sent via FAX cannot be accepted. Additional information on abstract requirements can be found in the January 25th issue of C&E News and at the ACS Web site (http://www.acs.org/meetings).

Request for oral presentation: Authors who send their contribution to the program but wish their abstracts to be considered for possible oral presentation in a topical symposium must attach a note to the abstract submission so indicating, and identify the symposium in which oral presentation is desired. They must also submit a copy of the abstract to the organizer of the symposium in which they wish to make their presentation. Such abstracts are due one week prior to the deadline.

Restrictions on Speakers for PHYS Symposiums

A speaker may give, at most, one invited talk in the PHYS division in any one calendar year. Note that these rules do not apply to contributed talks and posters, so there is still plenty of opportunity for all physical chemists to present their research results in the PHYS division.

General Information for Contributed Papers

General Papers—Members are cordially invited to present papers at the poster sessions. Abstracts should be submitted as instructed on the preceding page, C&E News or the ACS Meetings web page, http://www.acs.org/meetings. The deadline, as published in C&E News and in the Newsletter, must be observed to allow the ACS to compile the program and to print and to circulate the abstracts.

Classification By Subject Area (Paper abstracts only)—Authors are asked please to list, on the paper abstract form, those of the following areas with which they prefer to see their poster papers classified or they can list a specific topical symposium that is part of the program.
 

Dynamics and Relaxation  Kinetics  Materials and Macromolecules  Thermodynamics and Condensed Matter

Spectroscopy, Clusters and Molecular Beams  Theoretical Chemistry  Interfaces  Biophysical

Information and Rules Applying to All Contributed Poster Papers

1. No paper will be accepted unless an author expects to be present.
2. ACS Bylaws 3(a) require that "papers by American Chemists or chemical engineers not members of the Society shall not appear on the program unless they be joint with one or more Society members."
3. Prospective poster presenters who also submit papers to other Divisions should inform the Chairman-Elect as to the Division, titles of papers and co-authors by the deadline date.
4. Each poster paper will have a poster board measuring 4’x8’.
5. All illustrations, charts, and textual material to be posted must be prepared in advance since materials for these purposes will not be available at the meeting.
6. Posters should be mounted prior to the opening of the session and left in place until the close. Authors are encouraged to be present the entire session.
7. There must be a heading (with lettering at least 1_" height) giving the title of the papers, the author(s), their affiliation(s), and the number assigned to it in the program.
8. Illustrative material will be read by attendees from a distance of 3’ or more, so lettering on illustrations should be at least 3/8" high.
9. There should be a logical sequence (introduction, development and conclusion) to the display and each sheet should be numbered.
10. Mounting the sheets on colored construction paper and using other techniques for improving graphic impact will enhance the presentation's effectiveness. Ease of reading is far more important than artistic flair. Certain color combinations, for instance, may look beautiful but may be almost impossible to read, especially in the absence of optimum lighting.
11. Do NOT mount illustrations on heavy stock, which is difficult to mount on the poster boards.
12. Each author is responsible for mounting his or her material at least 1/2 hour prior to the opening of the assigned poster session and removing it within 1/2 hour after the close of the session. ACS cannot assume any responsibility for materials beyond those time limits.
13. Do provide sign-up sheets to record names and addresses of attendees who wish more information.
14. Do bring duplicates of data and conclusions. Duplicating facilities are unavailable through ACS.
15. ACS provides a modest supply of pushpins, masking tape and felt-tipped pens but it is wise to bring your own. Upon advance request, ACS will arrange for blackboards to be available in the room.
16. Admission to poster sessions will be by ACS meeting badge only.
17. A poster paper submitted to the Program Chair (before the deadline) for presentation at a national meeting should be considered accepted unless the author is specifically notified to the contrary by the Division of Physical Chemistry Program Chairman.

Program Chair: Daniel Neumark, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, (510) 642-3502, FAX (510) 642-6262, dan@radon.cchem.berkeley.edu.
 

Physical Chemistry in the 21st Century  A special symposium to mark the turn of the century will be organized by the 2000 Program Chair, Daniel M. Neumark, University of California, Berkeley. The symposium will consist of invited presentations, contributed abstracts are not requested at this time.

San Diego, CA, April 1-6, 2001

Chicago, IL, August 26-31, 2001

Division of Physical Chemistry
American Chemical Society
Membership Application

Name

Address

City, State, Zip

Country, Postal Code

Telephone (w) ___________________ (h)

ACS member? NO YES ACS member #

Membership Categories: (qualification) (CIRCLE ONE)

Member (current ACS member) $12.00

Student (current Student ACS member) $3.00

Division Affiliate (Non-ACS member) $12.00

National Affiliate (current National Affiliate ACS member) $12.00

Subdivision Membership:

Theoretical Chemistry (no additional fee at this time)

Biophysical Chemistry (no additional fee at this time)

Total $ _____________

Payment: (please check one)

Check Enclosed (make checks payable to "American Chemical Society")

VISA/Mastercard American Express

Card Number:

Expiration Date: