DED UN 18 O 98 F http://www.nesacs.org N Y O T R E I T H C E N O A E S S S L T A E A C R C I N S M S E E H C C T N May 2021 Vol. XCIX, No. 7 IO CA N • AMERI 2021 NESACS Election Candidate Statements Olaplex v. L’Oréal Problems with pharmaceutical and consumer product formulation claims ACS Scholar’s Experiences An ACS Scholar at M.I.T. Strem Chemicals Acquired Ascensus is new owner Bill Carroll, 2005 ACS President Strem Chemicals Acquired - Ascensus is new owner By Craig Sergeant It was with great surprise that I recently learned that long-time company. Thereafter, Alfa Products was sold to Johnson entrepreneur and local Massachusetts resident, Mike Strem, Matthey to merge with their Aesar chemical catalog business, had sold Strem Chemicals, Inc. During my time at Alfa Aesar and become Alfa Aesar, Inc., which was then sold to Thermo and Thermo Fisher Scientific, we always thought of Strem Fisher Scientific in 2015. Chemicals as an excellent and high quality provider of spe- Sodium borohydride production continued with Morton In- cialty chemicals, especially inorganics and organometallics. ternational when Rohm and Haas (remember them?) acquired I even had the chance to visit its facility in 2018 in Newbury- Morton in 1999. It was after Dow had acquired Rohm and port with some of my colleagues. We all were very impressed Haas in 2009, what is now Ascensus bought the sodium boro- with the excellent staff and manufacturing equipment. As any- hydride production business in 2015 from Dow. one who has been in the fine chemicals business knows, it is a very small world, and often a competitor is also a vendor. At this point, we need to bring Strem Chemicals back into this As much as we competed with Strem Chemicals, we also story. As long-time and recently retired Purchasing Manager would purchase reagents as needed to satisfy our customer’s for Alfa Aesar, Patti Ranta, recently related to me, in 1964, requirements. Mike Strem started out in Danvers producing reagents in the same building off Route 114 in Danvers as the Metal Hydrides Speaking of a small world, the acquiring company, Ascensus business, and would put the product in the truck before driving Specialties LLC, also has a very interesting history that starts around the building to deliver to the Alfa Products chemical back in 1957 here in New England, in Danvers, MA, when catalog business. Alfa was purchasing from Strem from the sodium borohydride was first commercially produced at a fa- very beginning! cility owned by Metal Hydrides, Inc. (Metal Hydrides itself has a fascinating history. Founded in the mid-1930s, it pur- It is only fair that I quote a bit from the press release about chased land in Beverly, MA, in 1939 to become a major re- the acquisition of Strem Chemicals. Mike Strem, the Founder finer of uranium-238 for the Manhattan Project during World of Strem Chemicals, related, “We thoughtfully chose Ascen- War II. I still have a set of Organic Syntheses published by sus as the partner for the next phase of Strem’s growth. Our Wiley with stamps for the Metal Hydrides company library.) employees’ interests and well-being have been my top priority, It is here where things get interesting for me personally. In and the strong cultural fit will provide opportunities for our 1962, Alfred Bader, founder of Aldrich Chemicals, entered his team. The additional resources and global reach of Ascensus company into a 50:50 joint venture with Metal Hydrides for will deliver Strem’s strong capabilities to an even broader au- the production of smaller catalog quantities of inorganic fine dience of customers.” chemicals. This led to the establishment of Alfa Inorganics Another well-known aspect of Strem Chemicals has been the (yes, Alfa, not Alpha due to Alfred Bader’s influence). In excellent morale of its employees. When I met them at trade 1965, Metal Hydrides became the Ventron Corporation, shows, or during that visit years ago in Newburyport, I could which, in turn, was purchased by the Thiokol Corporation and easily see that Mike Strem had made employee well-being a then became Morton Thiokol, Inc., in the early 1980s after high priority. I therefore, indeed, believe Mike Strem when merging with Morton International. This is, indeed, the same he says that his employees’ interests are a top priority. Having Morton Salt that you can buy today in your local supermar- been through an acquisition myself, I can truly understand the ket. anxiety that comes with it. I certainly wish all the best for the It was until about 1989 that Alfa Products and the large pro- employees in the Newburyport facility and much success to duction facility for sodium borohydride existed in the same Ascensus Specialties. u 2 The Nucleus May 2021 The Northeastern Section of the American- Chemical Society, Inc. Contents Office: Anna Singer, 12 Corcoran Road, Burlington, MA 01803 (Voice or FAX) (781) 272-1966. Strem Chemicals Acquired - Ascensus is new owner ___________2 e-mail: [email protected] By Craig Sergeant NESACS Homepage: http://www.NESACS.org New ACS Membership Options Coming in 2022 ______________4 Officers 2021 Chair Raj (SB) Rajur May Monthly Meeting ___________________________________5 Creagen Inc. Bill Carroll, 2005 ACS President, will speak at the Education Night Meeting 299 Washington St, Woburn, MA 01801 (781)-938-1122 MedChem Meeting______________________________________6 [email protected] Chair-Elect Matt Clark of XChem will be the speaker Carol Mulrooney GSK NESACS Election _______________________________________7 200 Cambridgepark Drive, 6th floor, Candidate Biographies and Statements Cambridge, MA 02140 [email protected] The Federal Circuit Adds Color to Formulation Claims in Olaplex v. Immediate Past Chair Anna W. Sromek L’Oréal ______________________________________________25 115 Mill Street By Philip J. Hamzik Belmont, MA 02478 [email protected] Secretary Call for Nominations for Richards Medal ___________________25 Michael Singer Millipore-Sigma ACS Scholar Discusses Her Experiences and Goals___________26 400 Summit Drive, Burlington, MA 01803 By Eleane Lema (781)-229-7037 [email protected] From the High School Classroom 26 Treasurer _________________________ Ashis Saha By Steve Lantos 67 Bow St. Arlington, MA 02474-2744 2020 ACS National Awards Ceremony _____________________28 (978)-212-5462 Archivist Spring 2021 Virtual Regional Meetings ____________________29 Ken Mattes Trustees Dorothy J. Phillips, Ruth Tanner, Catherine E. ACS Member-Get-A-Member _____________________________29 Costello Directors-at-Large ACS Webinars ________________________________________30 John M. Burke, David Harris, Mark Tebbe, James U. Piper, John Neumeyer Cover: Bill Carroll, 2005 ACS President, presenting at the May Monthly Councilors/Alternate Councilors Meeting. Term Ends 12/31/2021 Dr. Catherine Costello Dr. Daljit Matharu Editorial Deadlines: September 2021 Issue: August 1, 2021 Dr. Ruth Tanner Dr. Raj (SB) Rajur Dr. Andrew Scholte Dr. Stephen Canham October 2021 Issue: September 1, 2021 Dr. Kenneth Mattes Dr. Ray Lam Dr. Morton Z. Hoffman VACANT Term Ends 12/31/2022 Dr. Lisa Marcaurelle Dr. Mary A. Mahaney Dr. Mary Jane Shultz Dr. Jens Breffke Dr. Malika Jeffries-El Dr. Kap-Sun Yeung The Nucleus is published monthly, except June and August, by the Northeastern Section of the American Dr. Sofia Santos Dr. Hicham Fenniri Chemical Society, Inc. Forms close for advertising on the 1st of the month of the preceding issue. Text Dr. Sonia Strah-Pleynet Dr. Ashis Saha must be received by the Editor four weeks before the date of issue. Dr. Thomas R. Gilbert Dr. Natalie LaFranzo Term Ends 12/31/2023 Editor: Craig D. Sergeant, 11 Dearborn Road, Peabody, MA 01960 Dr. Carol Mulrooney Dr. Patrick Gordon Email: [email protected]; Tel: 978-536-2266 Dr. Patricia A. Mabrouk Ms. Meredith Ward Michael P. Filosa, 18 Tamarack Road, Medfield, MA 02052 Ms. Caitlyn Mills Dr. Katherine Rubino Associate Editors: Dr. Anna Sromek Dr. Mariam Ismail Morton Z. Hoffman, 23 Williams Rd., Norton, MA 02766 Dr. Michael Singer Dr. Lori Ferrins Board of Publications: Katherine Lee (Chair), Ajay Purohit, Mary Mahaney, Brian D’Amico, Kather- ine Rubino, Craig Sergeant, Leeanne Minali All Chairs of standing Committees, the editor Business Manager: Vacant: contact Craig D. Sergeant at [email protected] of THE NUCLEUS, and Advertising Manager: Vacant: contact Craig D. Sergeant at [email protected] the Trustees of Section Funds are members of the Calendar Coordinator: Samurdhi Wijesundera, Email: [email protected] Board of Directors. Any Photographers: Brian D’Amico, Morton Z. Hoffman Coun cilor of the American Chemical Society residing within the section area is an ex officio Proofreaders: Michael P. Filosa, Morton Z. Hoffman, Joseph Billo member of the Board of Directors. Copyright 2021, Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society, Inc. z The Nucleus May 2021 3 New ACS Register NESACS Sponsors Platinum $5000+ Membership Now for the Biogen Options Green Pfizer Sanofi Coming in Chemistry & Gold $3000 up to $5000 AstraZeneca 2022 Engineering Sigma-Aldrich Starting on January 1, 2022, current and Silver $1500 up to $3000 prospective ACS members will be able Conference Bristol-Myers Squibb to choose from new membership pack- th ages that feature different levels of ben- Registration is open for the 25 Green Celgene Chemistry & Engineering (GC&E) efits. No matter where you are in your Jnana Therapeutics academic or professional life, these new Conference. 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