Careers, Entrepreneurship, and Diversity ─ Challenges and Opportunities in the Global Chemistry Enterprise

Careers, Entrepreneurship, and Diversity: Challenges and Opportunities in the Global Chemistry Enterprise is the result of three Presidential Symposia held at the 246th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Indianapolis in September 2013. These symposia focused on: 1) Career Advancement Opportunities, 2) Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and 3) Impact of Diversity and Inclusion. The speakers at the symposia were all accomplished leaders of the global chemistry enterprise, and their talks were very well received. Subsequently, the speakers were invited to contribute chapters to this book. Most of them did, and this book is the result of their hard work.

This book is intended to be useful for all scientists and engineers in general, and particularly chemists, biochemists, chemical engineers, biochemical engineers, and others in chemistry-related fields. People interested in exploring various jobs and careers may find Chapters 1-12 especially useful, scientists and engineers interested in starting their own businesses may find useful insights in Chapters 13-18, and readers interested in learning more about diversity and inclusion in the scientific workplace may find helpful information and case histories in Chapters 19-25. Indeed the global chemistry enterprise is changing, and it is important for chemistry professionals and students alike to be aware of the challenges and the opportunities available today in order to manage their careers accordingly. Careers, Entrepreneurship, and Diversity: Challenges and Opportunities in the GlobalChemistry Enterprise will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in enriching his or her knowledge of the chemical profession and various career paths and opportunities.

H. N. Cheng (Ph.D., University of Illinois) is currently a research chemist at Southern Regional Research Center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in New Orleans, where he works on projects involving improved utilization of commodity agricultural materials, green chemistry, and polymer reactions. Prior to 2009 he was with Hercules Incorporated where he was involved (at various times) with new product development, team and project leadership, new business evaluation, pioneering research, and supervision of analytical research. Over the years, his research interests have included NMR spectroscopy, polymer characterization, biocatalysis and enzymatic reactions, functional foods, pulp and paper technology, and green polymer chemistry. He is an ACS Fellow and a POLY Fellow and has authored or co-authored 186 papers, 24 patent publications, co-edited 10 books, and organized or co-organized 24 symposia at national ACS meetings since 2003.

Sadiq Shah (Ph.D., Washington University, St. Louis) is the Vice Provost for Research at the University of Texas - Pan American with responsibilities for managing, directing, and growing the research, scholarship, and creative activities as well as technology transfer efforts on campus. Earlier Dr. Shah served successively as Associate Vice President for Research at California State University Channel Islands, Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Western Kentucky University, Director of the Western Illinois Entrepreneurship Center and the Office of Technology Transfer at Western Illinois University, Manager, Product & Technology Development for Health Care markets at STERIS, BMS and Merck, and senior research chemist at Petrolite Corporation. He is an ACS Fellow and has been responsible for guiding the development of 20 new products from concept to launch and 7 technology platforms. He has 15 patents, has edited and co-edited two books, written book chapter, and published 30 research articles and other articles related to technology transfer.

Marinda Li Wu (Ph.D., University of Illinois) is the 2013 President of the American Chemical Society (ACS). She has over thirty years of industrial experience at Dow Chemical R&D and Dow Plastics Marketing and additional entrepreneurial experience with various small chemical companies and startups including "Science is Fun!" which she founded to engage young students in science and enhance public awareness. She has served in many leadership roles at local and national ACS levels. She was elected to the ACS Board of Directors in 2006 and served as Director-at-Large until 2011. In 2011, she was elected to the ACS Presidential succession, where she was invited to give plenary lectures worldwide and was made an honorary member of both the Romanian Chemical Society and the Polish Chemical Society. She also serves on the University of Illinois Chemistry Alumni Advisory Board, the International Advisory Board for the 45th IUPAC World Chemistry Congress 2015, and the Board of Directors for the Chinese-American Chemical Society. She holds 7 U.S. patents and has published a polymer textbook chapter and numerous articles in a variety of journals and magazines.