This website is dedicated to the history of the Midland, Michigan, Section of the American Chemical Society, which celebrated 100 years since its charter in 1919.
It is also intended to feature “A Century of Science and Service,” a traveling historical exhibit associated with that centennial and related events.
Members and some programming will be featured here, but a more complete source of Midland Section news can be found at www.midlandacs.org.
You can access the Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Centennial Exhibit here. You can virtually visit the 2019 version of the (Doan Center) version here; for a guided tour of the CMU Rowe Hall version of the display, click here.
Institutions interested in becoming the next host of “A Century of Science and Service” can learn more through our Traveling Exhibit Packet.
Section News
Check out the new National Chemistry Week edition of Celebrating Chemistry below!
Dr. John C. Saam, a well-known Dow Corning Scientist and Midland ACS member held in high regard passed away on July 10, 2022, at the age of nearly 93. John held many patents on subjects from esterification via biphasic catalysis, emulsion polymerization, and enzymatic hydrolysis of silicones to hydrophobing silica, filler treatment for silicone polymers, manufacture of nitrogen-containing polysiloxanes and the development of storage-stable silicones with micro-encapsulated catalyst.
John earned a BS in Chemistry from St. Thomas University (St. Paul, MN) and his master’s and PhD degrees at the University of Iowa. He worked at the Dow Corning Corporation as a silicone scientist from 1956 to 1991. He was a visiting professor at the University of MN (1982-83) and also worked at the Michigan Molecular Institute (now MSU-St. Andrews) in Midland. John and his wife raised five children; he enjoyed cross-country skiing, and painting (see “Let It Snow” (below.) He was an ACS member for almost 69 years.
