SAN FRANCISCO, March 26 -- A White House science official will join educators, science leaders and a San Francisco Chronicle editor to discuss science policy, research and development and their effect on the next generation in a panel discussion at the 219th national meeting of the American Chemical Society March 26 in San Francisco. The ACS, with 161,000 members, is the world's largest scientific society and its theme for this meeting -- the first ever to have a theme -- is "Chemistry in the 21st Century." Presiding will be Dr. Daryle H. Busch, president of the ACS and a professor of chemistry at the University of Kansas, Lawrence.

WHO: Arthur Bienenstock, associate director of science, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Ronald Breslow, Columbia University chemistry professor and former president of the American Chemical Society

Mary Lowe Good, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and former undersecretary of Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce

David Perlman, science editor, San Francisco Chronicle

WHAT: Panel on "Chemistry in the 21st Century: The Partnership Between Education, Industry, the Media and Science Policy"

WHEN: 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., Sunday, March 26

WHERE: Moscone Convention Center, 747 Howard Street Room 300

REPORTERS COVERING THIS EVENT MUST FIRST CONTACT THE ACS PRESS OFFICE AT 415-923-7510.

A nonprofit organization with a membership of 161,000 chemists and chemical engineers, the American Chemical Society publishes scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences, and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. http://www.acs.org