Attila E. Pavlath, Ph.D., a chemist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Albany, Calif., has been named president-elect of the world's largest scientific society, the American Chemical Society. He was elected by a ballot vote of the Society's membership and will assume office on Jan. 1, 2000. Pavlath will automatically become president of the Society in 2001 and serve as a member of the ACS Board of Directors from 2000-2002.
An accomplished researcher and long-time advocate for the chemical community, Pavlath plans to improve ACS by focusing on member concerns. "Our goal must be to address the challenges facing our profession and to make ACS a home equally attractive to chemical professionals from the youngest member to the most respected Nobel Laureate," he says.
Among his major initiatives, Pavlath pledges to improve chemistry education by strengthening the relationship between academe and industry, bring younger members into positions of leadership in ACS, and increase interaction with foreign chemical societies.
Pavlath is currently a scientist in the Process Chemistry & Engineering Research Unit of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service at the Western Regional Research Center in Albany. Winner of numerous awards, he has published more than 100 journal articles, authored 25 patents, and written several books and book chapters.
Born in Hungary, Pavlath earned his doctorate from the Hungarian Academy of Science, Budapest, in 1955. He graduated with an engineering diploma from the Technical University of Budapest in 1952. He resides in Walnut Creek, Calif.
A nonprofit organization with a membership of nearly 159,000 chemists and chemical engineers, the American Chemical Society publishes scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences, and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. ( http://www.acs.org)