Leadership Nominations

If you have been considering getting more active in the American Chemical Society’s Division of Chemical Information (CINF), now is a great time to volunteer! Each year, we hold an election for division officers and make new appointments to committees for the following calendar year. 

Leadership nominees must be division members in good standing (join CINF today!), but have no other prerequisites. Brief descriptions of elected officer responsibilities and the charges for each committee are available at further down on this page. 

We are currently seeking nominations for the following elected offices with terms beginning January 1, 2026. These positions serve as members of the CINF Executive Committee and play a crucial role in the functioning of the division. Nominees for elected offices must be current members of the Division. For elected officer positions, we also request a brief biography and candidate statement (about 1 paragraph) for the CINF election ballot. 

• Chair-Elect (3 year term: Chair-Elect 2026, Chair 2027, Past-Chair 2028)

• Secretary (2 year term: 2026-2027)

• Councilor (3 year term: 2026-2028)*

• Alternate Councilor (3 year term: 2026-2028)*

*For the offices of Councilor and Alternate Councilor, the candidate with the highest share of votes will be elected Councilor and the candidate with the second highest share of votes will be elected Alternate Councilor. 

We are also inviting nominations for appointed positions in CINF Committees with terms beginning in January 2026. Committee appointments serve a 1 year term that is renewable (up to 3 years) if you wish to continue serving. If you indicate interest in a committee appointment, a member of the CINF leadership team will follow up with you to discuss joining the team. No prior volunteer experience with CINF is required to serve — committees are a great way to get involved for both new and experienced volunteers! 

• Awards Committee - Member

• Career Committee - Member

• Communications and Publications Committee - Assistant Chair, Member

• Education Committee - Member

• Finance Committee - Member 

• Fundraising Committee - Member

• Membership Committee - Member

• Program Committee - Assistant Program Chair, Member

To nominate yourself for one or more of the above positions, please fill out the following form no later than September 1, 2025: CINF Leadership Nominations 2025

Please reach out to Michelle Nolan (CINF Past-Chair and Nominations Committee Chair, michelle.nolan@acscinf.org) or Nick Ruhs (CINF Chair, nick.ruhs@acscinf.org) with any questions about these leadership opportunities. We are looking forward to receiving your nominations! 

Elected Positions

CINF Chair-Elect (3 year term sequence, 2026-2028)

• Serves as the Chair-Elect (2026), Chair (2027), Past-Chair (2028).

• Learns about the Division and gets to know division members personally.

• Attends the ACS Leadership Institute (typically held in January or February) to learn about the greater ACS organization, including its structure, mission, vision, and upcoming large initiatives.

• Networks with other ACS Division leaders and considers future plans for CINF within ACS. 

• Assists the Chair and Program Committee Chairs with planning social events for the executive committee and for greater membership at ACS Meetings.

• Meets with committee chairs to develop plans for the following year.

• Near the end of the Chair-Elect term, proposes a budget for the Chair term to the CINF executive committee and presents a plan for their Chair agenda. 

• Generally assists the Chair as needed.

• Attends CINF Executive Committee meetings as a voting member

Councilor/Alternate Councilor (3 year term, 2026-2028)

• Councilors represent CINF at ACS Council Meetings. Alternate Councilors represent CINF at ACS Council Meetings if Councilors cannot attend.

• Ideally, Councilors and Alternate Councilors should have a thorough knowledge of Division affairs, and at least some acquaintance and experience in ACS affairs.

• Report matters arising at Council meetings to CINF, particularly those relevant to the Division.  

• Obtain recommendations or instructions from the Executive Committee in regard to representing the Division on the Council.

• Attend CINF Executive Committee meetings as a voting member.

Secretary (2 year term, 2026-2027)

• Records and distributes minutes of CINF Executive Committee meetings.

• In consultation with the Chair, schedules meetings for the CINF Executive Committee and distributes meeting invitations. 

• Verifies the attendance of Councilors at ACS Meetings and arranges for the attendance of Alternate Councilors if necessary.

• Assists in the preparation of the CINF Annual Report (typically due to ACS in January) with other members of the Executive Committee. 

• Attends CINF Executive Committee meetings as a voting member.

Treasurer (next elected for the 2027-2028 term)

• Manage the funds of the Division, including maintaining banking accounts. 

• Keeps accurate records of all financial transactions, including purchasing receipts, reimbursements to members conducting CINF business, and more.

• Works with the Awards Committee Chair to coordinate payment of awards honoraria and scholarships. 

• Works with the Fundraising Committee Chair to coordinate sponsor invoices and fund transfers. 

• Works with the Program Committee Chair to verify and pay expenses related to ACS Meetings. 

• File the annual Federal Income Tax return forms.

• Assists in the preparation of the CINF Annual Report (typically due to ACS in January) with other members of the Executive Committee. 

• Attends CINF Executive Committee meetings as a voting member.

Committees

Awards Committee

This committee oversees the awards, scholarships, and recognitions made by CINF, including the Herman Skolnik Award, the Lucille Wert Student Scholarship, the Val Metanomski Meritorious Service Award, the Scholarship for Scientific Excellence, and more. The primary responsibilities of this committee include solicitation of applications, review of nominee materials, selection of award winners by vote, and preparation of award announcements. In the case of awards for posters or presentations, the committee also coordinates judging and selecting of winners at ACS Meetings. The committee assists the Chair, Program Committee Chair, and Fundraising Committee Chair in preparation for the awards symposia through writing press releases about the award winners and ordering awards plaques/certificates.

Career Committee

This committee works on professional development opportunities for CINF members with special emphasis on students. In the past, the committee has planned workshops and panel discussions at ACS Meetings and has also facilitated networking connections between students and professionals. This committee has been mostly inactive since the pandemic – however, we intend to revitalize this committee and develop new opportunities for students and professionals to network and grow professionally. 

Communication and Publications Committee

This committee manages communication to CINF membership and the greater chemical sciences community, including publishing the Chemical Information Bulletin (CIB), managing social media presence, ensuring the website is up-to-date, and other communications projects. Committee members include members of the CIB, social media managers, marketing developers, and others who want to improve communication to the membership.

Education Committee

This committee develops educational materials, webinars, workshops, and short courses on topics relevant to chemical information. In the past, this committee has hosted training sessions related to information literacy, FAIR data practices, cheminformatics, and other topics. 

Finance Committee

This committee works at the direction of the Treasurer to assist with the financial management of CINF and conducts an annual finances audit. 

Fundraising Committee

This committee is primarily charged with bringing in sponsorship funds from industry partners. The committee communicates with new and recurring sponsors to develop relationships, designs sponsorship benefits that CINF can offer to partners, and works closely with the Treasurer to manage transfer of funds. The largest project each year is fundraising for the Herman Skolnik Award Symposium reception each August. If other leaders in CINF have proposals for events that require sponsorship funding, the Fundraising Committee coordinates to develop a plan. 

Membership Committee

This committee is charged with growing CINF membership, communicating with potential members, and informing the CINF Executive Committee about the issues or concerns of the members. This committee has been largely inactive since the pandemic, but we aim to restart membership work. 

Program Committee

This committee manages the logistics of all technical programming at ACS Meetings, including selecting proposed symposium topics, communicating with symposium organizers, setting the symposia schedule, entering logistical information in ACS Meetings systems, and announcing calls for symposia/abstracts to CINF members. This committee meets regularly to plan programs several meetings in advance. Representatives from the committee attend larger ACS Program Chair meetings for updates relevant to CINF. 

See contact information for the current Executive Committee.