Division of Organic Chemistry Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Mission of the Organic Division?
What are the benefits of ORGN membership?
How can I Join the Division? (Including as an Affiliate)
How does DOC support members that are unemployed, family care providers, or dealing with other hardships?
How can I keep abreast of the activities of the organic division?
Who sets the schedule of organic chemistry talks/posters at the ACS National Meetings?
What does ORGN do at the ACS National Meetings?
What activities does ORGN support for undergraduate students?
What activities does ORGN support for graduate students?
What activities does ORGN support for faculty?
What activities does ORGN support for industrial chemists?
What other meetings does ORGN support?
Does the DOC adhere to a code of conduct?
How can a person report an incident of harassment or breach of the ACS Code of Conduct?
What is the NOS?
What is the difference between ORGN and DOC?
How can I get involved in ORGN?
What are the duties of a DOC Member-at-Large?
What are the duties of the DOC Councilors and Alternate Councilors?
How and why would I want to Login to the DOC Website?
Why does the DOC use a steroid for its logo? Who can use the Logo?
Does the DOC have a Slogan?
Is the Organic Division a Nonprofit?

What is the Mission of the Organic Division (ORGN)?

To foster and promote the advancement of the field of organic chemistry.

What are the benefits of ORGN membership?

  • You join the premier society that supports, educates, networks, and advocates for organic chemists.
  • Some of the ways we achieve these objectives are shown below:
    • You will receive an annual Newsletter containing information about divisional and joint programs at National ACS Meetings, details about presenting papers/posters at these meetings, deadlines for paper submissions, and notices of other meetings of interest.
    • You will be able to access videos of many of the presentations from recent National Organic Symposia.
    • You can view the completed Abstract Booklet in electronic form for papers presented at National Meetings by the Organic Division, including those cosponsored with other divisions.
    • You can Access the Members only portion of the website and view a clear presentation of your Membership Profile.
    • Through the process of nomination, you can participate in selection of speakers at the National Organic Symposia.
    • Through yearly input by nomination and voting, you can assist in selecting the Officers of the Division.
    • By further individual or group involvement, you can contribute to enhancing the stature of the field of organic chemistry in and outside of the ACS.

How can I join the Division?

Membership in the Organic Division is open to all members of ACS who pay the Division’s annual dues ($20 regular member, $5 student). Additionally, the Organic Division Bylaws (II. Section 5) allow for individuals to become Division Affiliates without being a member of ACS provided they pay the required division dues. Affiliates have the same privileges as the regular members of the Division except that they cannot vote on matters of the Division nor hold an elective position.

  • Call ACS Membership Services at 800-333-9511 or 614-447-3776. You will be given Organic Division member status instantly and can pay for your membership while on the phone. This typically takes about 15 minutes, but it can only be completed during normal business hours.
  • Complete the ORGN New Member Form. You will be given Organic Division member status in under 2 business days and you will be billed as a new member to the Division.
  • Access and complete the ACS Division Membership PDF form then send it along with your check or credit card information via U.S. mail. Alternatively, you can fax the form with your credit card information to the number listed on the form. The turnaround for this method will take anywhere from 2 business days to a couple weeks to process depending on how you submit the form.
  • Add Organic Division Membership when you renew your ACS dues.

How does DOC support members that are unemployed, family care providers, or dealing with other hardships?

The DOC offers a one-year dues waiver to members experiencing hardship. Waiver requests should be submitted via the Contact Us Form to the DOC Secretary, who will evaluate them on a case-by-case basis.

How can I keep abreast of the activities of the organic division?

  1. Join (See above)
  2. Watch for the Division’s monthly email. See the DOC Email Archive Page
  3. Look for the annual newsletter sent out in the fall
  4. Visit the ORGN home page, which provides up to date information on the important activities of the Division. (Also see the various useful Resources Available in the Navigation Bar on the website.
  5. Join the Organic Division’s Linkedin Group , follow us on Twitter (@ACSorganic), or Like our Facebook Group
  6. Subscribe to the Division’s RSS Feed and/or Calendar)

Who sets the schedule of organic chemistry talks/posters at the ACS National Meetings?

The ORGN Program Officer and Program Officer-Elect take the 800-1000 abstracts submitted and divide them into the various symposia and posters session, including selecting posters for the special Sci-Mix and ORGN/MEDI joint poster sessions. They work with ACS National to ensure that rooms and audiovisual equipment are lined up for all the session and that the final ORGN program is included in the Technical Program on-line and printed versions. They also line up volunteers to preside over each symposium; these presiders introduce the speakers and report on the attendance.

What does ORGN do at the ACS National Meetings?

ORGN volunteers organize the program for all the 800-1000 abstracts submitted. ORGN organizes a special joint poster session with MEDI on Wednesday nights, which includes supporting the costs for beverages, food, and live music. ORGN organizes several special symposia for the meetings.

For the Spring Meeting, there are symposia for many of the National Award Winners include the ACS Award for Creative Work in Organic Synthetic Chemistry, Ernst Guenther Award, E.J. Corey Award, etc. For the Fall Meeting, there is the Cope Scholar Symposium, Young Academic Investigators, Young Investigators, and Technical Achievements in Organic Chemistry, Journal of Organic Chemistry and Organic Letters Award Symposium. ORGN also provides competitive travel awards for undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty at predominantly undergraduate institutions. Many of these activities require an application and a large number of volunteers from ORGN work to gather and evaluate these applications as well as to organize the symposia. ORGN also pays for various audiovisual fees in support of ORGN presentations.

What activities does ORGN support for undergraduate students?

What activities does ORGN support for graduate students?

What activities does ORGN support for faculty?

What activities does ORGN support for industrial chemists?

What other meetings does ORGN support?

Does the DOC adhere to a code of conduct?

Yes. Attendees at DOC events and all officers must adhere to the ACS code of conduct

How can a person report an incident of harassment or breach of the ACS Code of Conduct?

See the Reporting Section of the Division’s Anti-Harrassment Policy page.

What is the NOS?

The National Organic Chemistry Symposium (NOS) is the premier meeting in organic chemistry held in the summer of odd-numbered years. You can find the history of the symposium here.

What is the difference between ORGN and DOC?

They are common acronyms used to describe the ACS Division of Organic Chemistry. ACS refers to our Division by the acronym ORGN whereas the Executive Committee often uses the DOC acronym for historical reasons and because it is easier to say.

How can I get involved in ORGN?

There are numerous ways to get involved with the Division:

There are also many volunteer positions available with the Division. See our Volunteer page for more details.

What are the duties of a DOC Member-at-Large?

They 1) serve as a member of the Executive Committee and take on other duties as requested or designated by the Chair; 2) attend both of the semiannual Executive Committee meetings of the Organic Division; 3) typically serves as the Chair of at least one Organic Division committee and serve as a contributing member on others. Committee chairs are responsible for recruiting additional non-Executive Committee members to assist with these activities. 4) typically organize at least one of the Award Symposia at a National ACS meeting per year.

What are the duties of the DOC Councilors and Alternate Councilors?

Councilors represent the Organic Division at Council Meetings of the ACS and, whenever possible, on Council and/or Joint Board/Council Committees. Alternate Councilors serve as temporary substitutes who cannot attend a particular ACS meeting. Additionally, they 1) serve as a member of the DOC Executive Committee and take on other duties as requested or designated by the Chair; 2) attend, participate, and vote at ACS Council Meetings; 3) represent the Division, whenever possible, on ACS Council, Board, and/or Joint Board/Council Committees or on matters pertaining to Council that are appropriate; 4) Notify the Chair and Secretary well in advance if a National Council meeting cannot be attended so that an Alternate Councilor may be certified by the Secretary to attend; 5) prior to the National Meeting, Councilors discuss the upcoming agenda for the ACS Council Meeting to identify issues and items that are of importance to the Division and to its members; 6) attend the semiannual Executive Committee meeting of the Organic Division and report on matters of interest that are scheduled to be considered or acted on at National Council meetings and other administrative ACS meetings; 7) typically organizes (especially Alternate Councilors) at least one of the Award Symposia at a National ACS meeting per year.

How and why would I want to Login to the DOC Website?

To login to the Organic Division’s website, select “Members Only: Member Login” in the website’s navigation bar on any page of the site. Type in your ACS username and password (note in some web browsers, cutting and pasting username/password info can cause problems with login). Alternatively, any members only resource will take you directly to the login page. We use the same login information as the ACS website (Click “Log In” on the tab at the top right). In fact when you login (or nightly), we pull in your most up to date contact information. Thus, you do not need to remember a new password and you never need to contact the division with a new/updated address. If you forgot your username/password, you can retrieve it using ACS password reset.

Login to the Division website gives members access to a members exclusive area that includes a database of members who have elected to share their profiles publicly, access to videos from various NOS, videos of the virtual symposia, and the ability to apply for certain programs and/or make nominations for certain awards.

Why does the DOC use a steroid for its logo? Who can use the Logo?

While many people assume the logo used by the ACS Organic Division is just a truncated steroid, it is actually a moniker to spell DOC (See the Blog by See Arr Oh). During the period of 1981-1982, the Division leadership sought to design a new logo. The logo selected was one of the ones designed by Walter Trahanovsky who was serving as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Division at that time.

The DOC Logo cannot be used without the express permission of the Division. If you have a need to use the Division Logo (to recognize support), please use the Contact Us Form with your intended use and we will send you authorization and a high-resolution version (as needed). Persons presenting posters within the Organic Division’s sessions at ACS meetings do not need to acknowledge the division unless financial support was provided by the DOC for travel to the meeting or for the laboratory work (i.e. through the Travel Award or SURF programs.

Does the DOC have a Slogan?

Yes! It is “Improving the world one molecule at a time”. This slogan was adopted in 2019, after the DOC solicited the public for a slogan for the Division. The contest resulted in 28 people submitting 86 slogans. After discussion and voting by the DOC Executive Committee, the winning submission by Kevin Gahan, Ph.D. was selected.

Is the Organic Division a Nonprofit?

Yes, it is a nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status. In 2013, the Division was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under the District Columbia Code Title 29 Chapter 4.