American Chemical Society Division of Organic Chemistry Records

The American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Organic Chemistry (ORGN) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster and promote the advancement of the field of organic chemistry.

The first meeting of the Division of Organic Chemistry took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in December 1904 under the chairmanship of James F. Norris. On December 31, 1908, the Division was given a temporary organization status by ACS with the election for one year of a chairman, Richard S. Curtiss, and a vice chairman and secretary, Ralph H. McKee. In 1909, the Division Bylaws were approved, and in 1910, the Division was officially chartered.

In 1921, the Division of Organic Chemistry began publication of Organic Syntheses, which has provided the chemistry community with annual collections of detailed, reliable, and carefully checked procedures for the synthesis of organic compounds. The Division held the First National Symposium on Organic Chemistry (NOS) in Detroit, Michigan in December 1925 with one hundred seventy-five people in attendance. At the 1949 Symposium in Madison, Wisconsin, attendance had reached over one thousand. The NOS is a premier event sponsored by the Division and is held in the summer of odd-numbered years. The goal of NOS is to highlight recent advances in organic chemistry with a schedule that provides for open discussion of the science of organic chemistry. In 1936, the Division sponsored the creation of the Journal of Organic Chemistry. By 1952, the Division of Organic Chemistry was one of the largest divisions of the ACS.

The Division of Organic Chemistry has created several professional, student, and publication awards regarding organic chemistry research. The Roger Adams Award was established in 1959 to recognize and encourage outstanding contributions to research in organic chemistry defined in its broadest sense. In 1973, the Arthur C. Cope Award was established to recognize outstanding achievement in the field of organic chemistry. The Division began creating scholarships and fellowships in the 1980s: the Graduate Fellowship Program in 1981 and Arthur C. Cope Scholar Awards Program in 1986.

The Division of Organic Chemistry has received several recognitions and awards from the ACS. In 1990, the Division received the ACS Award for Outstanding Performance by Divisions in recognition of its service to its members and its contributions to the profession and the public understanding of chemistry. In 2009, forty-three members of the Division of Organic Chemistry, were selected as Inaugural ACS Fellows. In 2010, the Division held its First Graduate Research Symposium (GRS) at Boston College. The Division has been the recipient of the ChemLuminary Award for Activities eight times between 2000 and 2015.

Sources

American Chemical Society Division of Organic Chemistry. “History of the Division.” About Us. https://www.organicdivision.org/history/.

Browne, Charles Albert and Mary Elvira Weeks. A History of the American Chemical Society, Seventy-Five Eventful Years. Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society, 1952.

American Chemical Society Division of Organic Chemistry Records, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.