Abstract
It has been my honor and privilege to serve as the 2013 president of the Society of Applied Spectroscopy. Being elected to this post by peers is daunting, and I hope that I have been able to live up to expectations during my service. Thanks to the work of our other elected and appointed Executive Committee members, our Governing board, and SAS Office Staff for all of their hard work, dedication, and patience as we have undertaken initiatives to move the Society forward.
In this year, I have worked to continue the work taken up by my predecessors to continue to help our Society evolve to best serve our member community in the face of financial challenges brought about by declining revenue. Our journal continues to publish world-class articles with an increasing number of Open Access Focal Point Review articles. The journal team, under the able leadership of Professor Mike Blades, is working to explore ways that we can keep abreast of the trend toward Open Access, and away from print publication. The decreased budgets of many institutions are affecting subscription renewal of the journal, while the number of article submissions continues to rise, especially from non-Anglophone nations.
We look forward to moving toward more electronic communication in 2014 and beyond, beginning with a true electronic newsletter format, and options for the e-publication of the journal. The SAS LinkedIn page is a growing area of discussion for our members, and carries announcements about Society activities and news. Our membership chair, Karla McCain, is working with her committee and in conjunction with other SAS committees to increase member services and overall membership. We are working to provide access to virtual chapter meetings and recordings of tour speakers in the next year, expanding the learning opportunities of members.
We have undergone evaluation of the SAS website, and thanks to the efforts of Francis Esmonde-White, Web Editor, and his web committee, we have been able to increase the security of the website. The committee continues to work to identify more cost-effective means for SAS to continue the development of our website, facilitate membership renewal services, and increase overall member services and benefits.
This year we have continued to have a strong and growing relationship with FACSS, of which we are one of the founding members. SAS' contributions to SciX, our national meeting in 2013 strongly supported sessions on Women in Science, chemometrics, process analytical technology, LIBS, and a special session on “Bioanalysis and Bioimaging with Quantum Dots” based on the Focal Point article published in Applied Spectroscopy in March 2013 by Eleonora Petrayeva, W. Russ Algar, and Igor L. Medintz. In addition to the sessions, SAS sponsored the SAS student posters on Sunday evening, awarded undergraduate student travel grants (a program initiated under the leadership of Mary Kate Donais, with Ryan Schmeling, SAS Student representative), and a new program of funding for early career researchers, providing support for eight ECR to attend SciX in Milwaukee this year. Thanks to the generous support of many member companies, and some of our SAS members, we were able to provide student memberships to over 50 students at the SciX opening reception on Monday evening. We hope that the students will see the benefits of membership and continue to actively participate in SAS for many years to come.
I would like to thank all those who have served with me on the executive committee, especially those whose terms end in 2013. This includes Paul Bourrasa, who has served as our treasurer for six years and has been an active and avid supporter of SAS over his many years of membership. Thanks also to Dave Butcher who has brought us, without fail, a monthly newsletter over the past six years. Thanks to David Heaps for his service as chair of the Regional, Technical, and Student Sections in getting interest in SAS sections in other parts of the world, and helping to launch the UK section.
Our Society continues to be a great hub, giving our members the opportunity to network, socialize, and enjoy the benefits of our great organization. Through our journal and conference, we disseminate information in all areas of applied spectroscopy, invaluable to many practitioners across many industries and academic fields. SAS membership is of great value to members from these benefits alone. The value of networking is further enhanced by our annual Society events including SAS Day, the Wine & Cheese Awards Reception at SciX, and the student events at Pittcon and SciX.
I look forward to continuing to serve the Society next year and in years to come. I welcome Ian Lewis in as our President for 2014, who will be assisted by Bruce Chase as Treasurer, Gloria Story as Secretary, and Diane Parry as President-elect. I am sure that the Society is in good hands with this new leadership team at the helm.