Dayton Section, American Chemical Society Records (MS-328)

The Dayton Section of the American Chemical Society collection documents how the organization conducts business. When it formed in 1929, the ACS in Dayton allowed members to network within the local area, as well as bring chemistry to the public, both young and old. This collection includes their administrative and financial records, as well as awards and public relations. The collection is organized into seven series and four subseries.

Series I, Administrative, 1960-2017, this series contains records regarding the administration side of the Dayton Section of the American Chemical Society. It is divided into four subseries.

Subseries IA, General, 1960-2017, contains general information about the Dayton Section of the American Chemical Society. This subseries includes board meeting minutes from board meetings between the years of 1966-2004. Also included are Dayton section bulletins, council agendas, election information, rosters, and technicalendars. Rosters from 1979-2003 show the members of the Dayton Section of the American Chemical Society over the years and include various Patterson-Crane Awardees and prominent chemists including Benjamin Wiswiser and Bruno Zwolinski. Also in the administrative series are lists of local section officers from 1977-2009. These papers list the section’s officers over the years and demonstrates the changing and dynamic nature of the American Chemistry Society.

Subseries IB, Board Meeting Minutes, 1966-2004, includes decisions made and topics discussed at board meetings that were held twice a month at various locations in Dayton.

Subseries IC, Bulletins from 1960-2017, the bulletins contain a variety of information including locations, dates, and times of meetings, award ceremonies, and local chapter news.

Subseries ID, Rules and Bylaws from 1973-2007, contains rules and bylaws for members and officers of the Dayton ACS.

Series II, Workshops, 1989-2005, contains information about the various workshops that the Dayton Section of the American Chemical Society’s members have attended over the years. The workshops consisted of Benchmarks in 2005; Creating Our Future in 1989; Government Affairs which was learning how to work with the local government in 1999; The National Chemistry Week Planning Workshop in 1996; The Science Reporter’s Workshop that discussed issues in science journalism in 1998; and lastly the Sparkle Workshop in 1995.

Series III, Financial, 1958-2008, contains information about reports on spending and expenses of the Dayton Section of the American Chemical Society. This series includes the annual treasurer’s reports from 1970-2004. Included bank statements and investments from various bank accounts, including Merrill Lynch and Gem City Savings. Included is the budget pertaining to different events, banquets, and expenses by the Dayton Section. There is information about the Patterson Crane Award Fund from 1967-2001. This series has shareholder reports from 1984-1995. There is the Society’s Treasurer’s Notebook from 1996. There are several folders of correspondence regarding the Dayton Section’s finances.

Series IV, Public Relations, 1953-2015, contains information about events in which the Dayton Section of the American Chemical Society participated. This includes newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and complete magazines. Included is information about poster sessions held around the Dayton area, fliers for TechFest, and information pertaining to National Chemistry Day and Week. These events often took place at museums such as the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery (formerly the Dayton Museum of Natural History) and the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The events were mostly geared toward children in an effort to get them interested in the sciences, especially chemistry, and were held once a year from 1996-2010.

Series V, Awards, General, 1915-2010, contains five different awards that the Dayton Section of the American Chemical Society has sponsored over the years. This includes the ChemLuminary Awards, High School Chemistry Awards, Non-Major Awards, and Patterson College Awards. The ChemLuminary Awards allows members to be recognized for their work in chemistry. The High School Chemistry Awards brings attention to high school students who have taken an interest in chemistry and gives prizes to the winners. The collection has information from 1979-2011. There are a several awards that are mentioned, such as the Phoenix Awards, but there is not enough documentation on them. Next is the Patterson College Awards. Similar to the High School Chemistry Awards, the Patterson College Awards are given to chemistry majors that show outstanding work in the field. It pertains only to the Dayton Section.

Series VI, Patterson Crane Award, 1915-2007, started in 1949, bulk years 1967-1997, with the first winner being Austin M. Patterson. Held biannually ever since, this international award demonstrates which chemist is most deserving of peer recognition. This is the largest awards in the series. This series contains correspondence between members, nominations, public relations announcing who won the award. There is also a Procedures Manual from 1994.

Series VII, Audio-Visual, 1957-2001, with undated material, contains the audio-visual materials for the collection. There are pictures from various award ceremonies, videocassettes featuring different topics, such as recordings from Patterson-Crane awards in 1993, 1995, and 1997. These showcase the winner of those years. One video is about how to conduct a successful interview, 1996. There is also one undated cassette tape that is labeled “Sounds Local.”