EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE聽|聽January 01, 2011

American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 greets the New Year with launch of the International Year of Chemistry calendar: Virtual 鈥渢ime machine鈥� for 2011

WASHINGTON, Jan. 1, 2011 鈥� The American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 (ACS) today began a global, year-long observance of the International Year of Chemistry 2011 (IYC 2011) by launching an online calendar that serves as a virtual time machine, transporting the public back to some of the epic events and great intellects that shaped modern society through the magic of chemistry.

Called 365: Chemistry for Life, the calendar links almost 250 days of the year to events triumphal and trivial in chemistry, health, medicine, energy, the environment and related fields. They range from Jan. 1 鈥� which in 1907 saw the debut of the database that has fostered unprecedented scientific discovery 鈥� to Dec. 31 and a scientific law about those New Year鈥檚 toasts with champagne. A mouse-click on the days in between revisits Joseph Priestley鈥檚 discovery of oxygen; the first successful treatment of diabetes with insulin; George Washington Carver鈥檚 discovery of hundreds of new uses for crops like peanuts; Marie Curie鈥檚 landmark research on radioactivity and much more. 365: Chemistry for Life certainly doesn鈥檛 neglect the fun and fanciful side of chemistry. The calendar highlights the debut of Silly Putty, for instance, the invention of instant mashed potatoes and the chemistry of hand warmers.

鈥淭his calendar is a wonderful way to spotlight chemistry鈥檚 contributions to everyday life,鈥� said Nancy B. Jackson, Ph.D., who serves as ACS President during the IYC. Jackson is with the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico. 鈥淐hemistry plays a role in almost every other scientific discipline across the globe, quite literally from astronomy to zoology. All-too-often, those contributions and the ways chemistry improves everyday life are not readily apparent to the public. The IYC calendar brings chemistry鈥檚 contributions, products and personalities to the fore. It will make a perfect home page, especially for students and teachers seeking to gain more knowledge about this key science.鈥�

And what about the other days in 2011? ACS is launching 365: Chemistry for Life with those days grayed out. In the spirit of engaging its audience, the 中国365bet中文官网 will hold a contest during the first quarter of 2011 in which visitors to the site can suggest topics for grayed-out dates 鈥� or better topics for active dates. The contents of filled-in dates are mere suggestions and not necessarily the final word. Individuals whose topics are accepted for inclusion in the calendar will be eligible for a drawing with prizes that include an iPad, an iPod Touch and an iPod nano. Watch the 365: Chemistry for Life website for details of the competition.

The 63rd General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry, envisioning a worldwide celebration of the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind. Also being celebrated in 2011 is the centennial of the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Marie Curie for her work on radioactivity, and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the International Association of Chemical Societies.