Inviting more people in

Mary K. Carroll is the 2024 American Chemical Society president. She recently spoke with C&EN about her plans to strengthen ACS’s connections with its members as well as the public. This interview was edited for length and clarity. What initially piqued your interest in chemistry? And why analytical chemistry in particular? I liked lots of different subjects, but when I took chemistry in high school, I really enjoyed it—especially the experimental aspect of it. I had a teacher who made the subject interesting. She did a lot of demonstrations. They didn’t always work, but when she was setting up a demonstration again, she’d tell us what it should have done. It was clearly something where you didn’t always have to get it right the first time. You could iterate. You could try different approaches. I entered college thinking I’d major in math or chemistry and then go to law school. © 2024 Chemical & Engineering News.