Henry F. Whalen, Jr., vice president of PQ Corporation, Valley Forge, Pa., has been re-elected chair of the Board of Directors of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Whalen begins his second, one-year term as chair in January 2000. He is currently serving a three-year term (1998-2000) on the Board.
A Philadelphia native, Whalen received a B.S. in chemistry from Villanova University in 1958 and pursued graduate studies in marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School from 1959-61. During this same period, he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy.
During his 24 years at PQ Corporation, an international producer of silicates and derivative products, Whalen has been part of the management team that grew the company from $50 million to more than $500 million in sales through acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing and new product development - domestically and abroad. Prior to joining PQ Corporation, he was a vice president at the First National Bank of Chicago and held various business development positions at Rohm and Haas Co.
Whalen serves as president and a director of the Chemical Management and Resources Association, where he received its Award for Executive Excellence in 1988 and its Distinguished Service Award in 1991. He has also been active in the Commercial Development Association and received its Golden C award in 1998. A liaison to the European Association for Business Research, Planning & Development in the Chemical Industry and the Asian Chemical Management and Research Association, he also participates in the Industrial Research Institute, the Council for Chemical Research, several international business associations and the National Association of Corporate Directors.
A resident of Berwyn, Pa., Whalen has been a member of the American Chemical Society since 1960 and has taken an active role in the Society's governance, serving on such committees as Budget and Finance, Public Affairs and Public Relations, the Committee on Science and the Council Policy Committee, for which he was vice-chairman for five years.
A nonprofit organization with a membership of nearly 159,000 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 )