Partial Core Support for the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology

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This project provides some support to the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council's Board on Chemical Sciences & Technology (BCST). The activities of the Board benefit the chemical sciences where continued health is a major concern of the NSF Divisions of Chemistry (MPS) and Chemical and Thermal Systems (Engineering). The Board, in the past, managed the studies on "Separation & Purification" and "Frontiers in Chemical Engineering" for the CTS Division and, before that, the "Opportunities in Chemistry" for the Chemistry Division. Co-funding of the BCST by NSF helps it continue its tradition of service to the discipline of chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical engineering by planning studies on important issues and by providing the means by which study recommendations can be disseminated and acted upon. Over the next three years, the Board hopes to formulate a number of major initiatives, including the following: o stimulating the development of an improved introductory chemistry curriculum; o improving the management of chemical laboratory safety in academic institutions; o providing guidance on optimal strategies for the design, construction, and renovation of chemical laboratory facilities; o continuing coordinated dissemination efforts for the chemistry and chemical engineering survey reports; and o initiating a series of short, highly visible reports/symposia to highlight especially promising chemical research frontiers. One such report was recently started on "Catalyst Science and Technology" under the chairmanship of Alexis Bell of the University of California-Berkeley, Department of Chemical Engineering.