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The Division of Agrochemicals (AGRO) of the American Chemical Society began in 1951 as the Pesticides Subdivision in the Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. This Subdivision gained probationary divisional status in 1969 as the Division of Pesticide Chemistry, and full status was approved in 1970. In 1985 the name was officially changed to the Division of Agrochemicals to encompass new approaches to pest control including biotechnology in addition to behavior and growth modifying chemicals.

The Division's activities are primarily focused on the subject areas of chemistry that are the most relevant to pest management and to other methods for enhancing or modifying agricultural productivity including analytical chemistry, synthetic organic and inorganic chemistry, formulation chemistry, biological chemistry, natural product chemistry, environmental chemistry, toxicology (including human and environmental risk assessment factors), biotechnology, and now, fertilizers. In 2000 the Fertilizer Division was officially dissolved at the ACS Council, and all their members were welcomed to join the Agrochemicals Division, forming a Fertilizers Subdivision. Governance The Division operates under a set of by-laws. In Spring 1999 a revised set of by-laws were discussed and approved at the general governance meeting. In Fall 1999 these were accepted for submission to the ACS Committee on By-laws and subsequently approved. The governing structure has remained essentially the same since 1976. The divisional officers include a chair, chair elect, secretary and treasurer; the vice chair, secretary and treasurer are elected annually. Traditionally the secretary and treasurer are re-nominated and thus usually serve several terms. The vice chair becomes chair elect the following year, and the year after that, becomes chair, thus serving one year in each of these offices. The chair elect serves as program chair. Until ACS instituted the current on-line program development management system for national meetings, the program chair position was the true test of fire for survival to the office of chair. Currently three individuals and three alternates are elected in staggered succession to the ACS Council, each for a three-year term.

There is an executive committee composed of the officers, the immediate past chair, councilors, and fifteen elected members. When the Fertilizers Subdivision is officially formed, their officers will become part of the executive committee. As of Spring 2001, the executive committee has been expanded twice since 1976. In 1984 it was increased from eight to twelve elected members, each having a three-year term. In 1990 it was expanded to fifteen elected members. Job descriptions have been developed for all the officers, councilors as well as the executive committee.

Until Spring 1989 the Division held separate meetings for the program committee, executive committee and the general business meetings. These all took place during the national meeting and consumed a great deal of time with a great deal of repetition from one meeting to the other. In 1989 a proposal passed that these three meeting would run sequentially on the Sunday at the beginning of the national meeting. Thus, what is called the combined governance meeting was initiated at the Fall 1989 meeting, and this meeting structure has been followed since that time. Membership The Division of Pesticides was organized to bring together persons interested in the chemistry of pesticides and provide a forum for consideration of all aspects of pest management chemicals. This has been expanded somewhat with the change in the name of the Division as well as the addition of membership from the former Fertilizer Division. The 2000 membership of the Division reflected the diverse interest in this area with 69% holding degrees (bachelor, masters and doctorate) in chemistry and 31% in non-chemistry fields. In Spring 2000 the composition of the membership was: 45% in manufacturing (chemical industry) 16% in independent contracting/consulting 16% in academia 10% in government 13% in other areas, retired, or unemployed In Fall 1981, the composition of the division was reported as: 47% in manufacturing (industry) 21% in academia 20% in government 12% in other areas, retired, or unemployed

Membership in the Division showed steady increases from 1976 to 1993. In 1976 it was approximately 1000; by 1993 it was 2084. A decline in membership began at that time and has continued to the present so that in Spring 2000 there were 1630 members. The Division stands to gain about 250 members from the former Fertilizer Division; however, there is still concern about an overall decline. This trend undoubtedly reflects trends in the agrochemical industry. Sales have been somewhat flat, companies have consolidated, and overall employment in this field has been reduced. In addition, there are also fewer scientists in academia and government that view agricultural chemistry, particularly pest management chemistry, as their primary area of endeavor. Programming

The Division has participated in all the national meetings beginning in 1976 with the exception of Spring 1980 when the Division held a special conference in June. In Fall of 1980 the Division voted to participate in all national meetings in the future, and there have been no exceptions. Typical national meetings are composed of general sessions, symposia, and award symposia. The first poster session was in Spring 1986. Starting in Fall 1990, the Division’s poster presentations have usually been included in the ACS Sci-Mix in addition to the Division’s program. Programs at the national meeting are very diverse, reflecting the wide variety of topics in the area of agrochemicals. The membership, working through the program committee, has been very active in developing symposia beyond those associated with awards. The Division published a set of guidelines on planning a holding a symposium. Based on information from minutes, the newsletter, and previous history accounts, there will have been 230 such symposia from Spring 1976 through Spring 2001. In addition there will have been approximately 55 symposia associated with awards. This represents an incredible amount of work on the part of the Division’s members to bring topics of current interest to the forefront. Certain of these symposia pertain to general topics that are of continuing interest. For example, the topic of synthesis became what is called a “standing symposium” in Fall 1984 and a symposium on synthesis is held at every national meeting. Other topics such as metabolism and residues have had symposia at regular intervals.

In looking at the 230 non-award associated symposia presented 1976 - Spring 2001, they may be broken down as follows (recognizing that there are frequently overlaps as well as a degree of subjectivity in making such assignments):

Category Number of Symposia

Synthesis 33

Residues 17

Metabolism 20

Analytical 16

Environmental 35

Mode of Action/Toxicology 17

Biotechnology 4

Resistance (Pest and Host) 7

Formulations/Delivery 8

Regulation/Reg. Procedures/Risk Assessment 18

Informational/Other 53 The informational/other category includes a broad array of topics such as”Bioregulators and Natural Products,” “Chemical Sensitivity: Problems for Scientists and Society,” and “Applications of Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing in Pest Management.” In addition to the programs at national meetings, The Division has held special conferences based on topics that are not only of special interest to the members but are also likely to attract interests outside our membership. During the period from 1976 - 2001 the following special Conferences have been held: •	The Pesticide Chemist and Modern Toxicology, 1980, Downingtown, PA •	New Concepts in Pesticide Chemistry, 1984, Snowbird, UT •	Biotechnology of Crop Protection, 1987, Snowbird, UT •	Food Safety and Pesticide Residues, 1990, Point Clear, AL •	Natural and Derived Pest Management Agents, 1992, Snowbird, UT •	Molecular Genetics and Evolution of Pesticide Resistance, 1995, Big Sky, MT The Division has been active in support of and participation in international meetings including the Ninth International Congress of Plant Protection in Washington, DC, several Pacific Basin conferences, and the 1997 North American Chemical Congress in Cancun, Mexico. In 1999 the Division jointly sponsored with the Japan Pesticide Society the Second Pan-Pacific Conference on Pesticide Science in Honolulu, HI.. The 1994 IUPAC Eighth International Congress of Pesticide Chemistry, held in Washington, DC, was organized and run in close collaboration with the Division and with the Meetings Department of ACS. This Congress was a great success, and the surplus funds that resulted from a large attendance and a well-run meeting came to the Division and served as the basis of an Educational Endowment Fund. Awards Continuing a practice that began at the time the Division was organized, the International Award for Research in Agrochemicals has been presented at national meetings in recognition of outstanding contributions to research in the field of agrochemicals. From 1976 - 1986, this award, presented at the Fall national meeting, was sponsored by Burdick and Jackson. In the Fall of 1987, the sponsorship expanded to Baxter, Burdick and Jackson. At the Fall 1993 meeting, the sponsorship changed to Dupont, and in 1994, presentation of this award was added to the Spring meeting as well with sponsorship by American Cyanamid, which has now become BASF. Thus there is now an International Award for Research in Agrochemicals given at each national meeting. Another award, that of Fellow, initiated early in the history of the Division has also continued. Since 1976 the Division has recognized 30 members as Fellows in recognition of their contributions to the Division, the ACS and agrochemical science. Beginning with the Fall 1988 national meeting the Division has sponsored the Sterling B. Hendricks Memorial Lectureship Award at each Fall meeting. This award is given by the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to honor the memory of Dr. Hendricks and to recognize scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the chemical science of agriculture. At the Fall 1985 national meeting an announcement was made of an award to recognize young scientists. This award applies to predoctoral students or graduates of less than one year and is given at the Spring meeting. A Young Scientists Recognition Symposium is held at the Spring meeting in association with the award. Beginning in 1998, the Division’s Educational Endowment Fund has provided travel awards to graduate students to make presentations at Fall national meetings. It also presents an award for the development of educational material promoting public awareness of the benefits of agrochemical research. Publications Picogram. The “Picogram” is the Division’s newsletter, published semi-annually. At the Division’s Fall ‘91 combined governance meeting, the motion was passed that the abstracts of the upcoming national meeting be included as part of the “Picogram.” This enhanced an already valuable publication that gave information to members on upcoming programs, news and administrative structure. Books. Since 1976 the publication of books resulting from symposia, special conferences, and other meetings have been an important aspect of the Division’s activities. The majority of these books was published in the ACS Symposium Series. A number of others were published by ACS as reference books, and some were in an ACS series that was considered popular press. Other publishers handled a small number. Royalties from these books has come to the Division and served as an important resource to fund future symposia. Available information is incomplete, but there are numbers for some years between 1976 - 2001. From 1983 - 1985, 15 books were published; from 1990 - 1992, 16 books were published; and from 1994 - February 2001, 28 were published with 6 under contract as of the closing date. Thus, for the data available, there have been 59 books published. Some of these books have been very popular. Those on Good Laboratory Practices, resulting from two symposia, have gone into second printing. The most recent information indicates that the Division’s rate of publication and royalties are diminishing. This is undoubtedly related to the agricultural economy and the number of scientists in the field of agrochemicals. Social Interactions The concept of patrons that help support a number of Divisional activities such as programs and hospitality at national meetings has crystallized during the 1976 -2001 period. Patrons consist of argochemical industries as well as contract laboratories and consulting groups. Patron support is vital in sustaining the high quality of our Division’s scientific, professional, and related activities each year.

A hospitality table has become a vital part of our Division’s presence at national meetings. One to three Division members are present and can provide information and recruit new members. The Division’s books published through ACS have been present on the table and serve to stimulate sales. In addition there is information about upcoming meetings of interest to members and additional copies of the “Picogram.”