“Global Partnerships to Strengthen Scientific Value“

Dorothy J. Phillips is the 2025 President of the American Chemical Society (ACS). At the Science Forum Chemistry in Karlsruhe, she spoke with Nachrichten aus der Chemie about the role of the ACS in challenging times and the advice she would give to young chemists.

You are President of the American Chemical Society during a very turbulent time. To what extent is the ACS affected by political decisions?

Our focus is on advocating for chemistry, supporting our members, and promoting research and advancement. Some of our members may be impacted by events such as reduced funding.

And to which extent is ACS directly impacted by political decisions?

Overall, we are not directly impacted. As a nonprofit organization, we cannot engage in direct politics or align with any party. ACS does have an advocacy group, and we focus on securing funding for federal agencies and supporting education bills that impact our students and workforce. We educate those who vote to ensure they are well-informed about chemistry-related issues.

There has been a long-standing cooperation between the GDCh and the ACS. How do you think international cooperation can be improved?

The ACS now has 25 percent international members who will also be members of other local organizations. Forming closer relationships with organizations that share our objectives and plans will lead to growth for both organizations. Currently, we have about a dozen memorandums of understanding with different organizations at various levels, including consortia and other chemical societies.

What can the GDCh learn from the ACS?

Our strength lies in collaboration and networking. We pick areas like sustainability, examine the programs we have, and support those programs. I think that, internationally, we’re going to collaborate more to further our core values. We also attend each other’s conferences. Last year, Tom Kinzel came to our Leadership Institute, where we bring all our leaders together for a weekend of training – he was impressed.

How important is public perception of chemistry to the ACS, and what are you doing to increase it?

We‘re going to talk about trust in science. Trust in science is very important. Our goal is to transform people‘s vaguely negative feelings about science into positive ones. We see communication as the key to achieving this goal. We start communicating with people at a young age so that, as they grow up, they begin to see the value and truth in chemistry. Of course, we have more to deal with, such as the past pandemic and other issues that affect science. However, as scientists, it’s our job to communicate with people in a language they understand. Your neighbors and friends don’t need to know the names of chemical compounds; they just need to know that chemistry keeps their families healthy.

Having read your CV, we imagine that you have often served as a role model for others. Has this been a driving force in your life?

I grew up during an era when segregation was still prevalent in the southern United States. My involvement with the idea of integration – and the conviction that we should strive for it – began with the civil rights movement, at the time, Martin Luther King Jr. was giving his speeches. I experienced the movement firsthand, my family was helping to integrate a neighborhood. My parents supported the idea of me applying when Vanderbilt University began accepting and providing scholarships to African-American students. It was the most challenging time for me because I had never been in an integrated environment before. Later, in my industrial career, I found similar circumstances. I worked for Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan, and during that time the company was just beginning to diversify. I later joined Waters and the company‘s history of retaining African-Americans in research and development was poor. However, since I had already worked at Vanderbilt University and Dow Chemical, I thought, “Okay, this is another challenge.“ Though it wasn‘t always easy, I progressed and became a director.

What advice would you give to young chemists who want to pursue research careers?

When I’m invited to give lectures at colleges, I tell young people that they can achieve their goals and have fulfilling careers in chemistry. That’s my message to them: Be resilient, have faith, work hard, focus on your goals, and seek the support from mentors.

How would you advise a young person to find a good mentor?

The success of the relationship depends on how you work with them, and vice versa. Sometimes, a mentor emerges simply from interacting with someone. They show interest in you, and you follow up. Sometimes, people have approached me after a lecture and asked, “Will you be my mentor?“ I honestly tell them that I can’t be their mentor every day or frequently. But when there‘s a point where they really need to talk to someone: let‘s connect!

Christian Remenyi, editor-in-chief of Nachrichten aus der Chemie, and Vera Köster from Chemistry Views, the magazine of Chemistry Europe, met Dorothy Phillips at last year‘s Science Forum Chemistry in Karlsruhe. See also the video version of the interview: chemistryviews.org/set-your-goal-and-work-hard-to-achieve-it

International partnership: ACS and GDCh

Thinking across borders – that was the motto of the Science Forum Chemistry conference in Karlsruhe. For Dorothy Phillips, it means “building relationships, it means being present. This was one of my priorities when I was working in chemical industry. For example, I once took on a new customer abroad, and it was difficult to make progress. But it finally worked after I visited that person. The building of a relationship across borders means crossing that border to interact with people in a broader area than just at home.“Handshake between two presidents: Dorothy Phillips and Stefanie Dehnen (GDCh) have just re-signed the memorandum of understanding between ACS and GDCh. Photo: Christian Augustin

At Science Forum Chemistry Katharina Käfer (Nachrichten aus der Chemie) and Vera Köster (Chemistry Views) spoke with several conference participants about crossing borders. The recorded short videos reflect the vibrancy and diversity of the community: chemistryviews.org/crossing-borders-voices-from-the-community

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