- Outstanding Ph.D. students help shape the future of chemical information

COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), the world's authority for chemical information, announced today the selection of 15 Ph.D. students in the chemical sciences for the 2012 SciFinder Future Leaders in Chemistry program. Each of these students demonstrated academic excellence, a commitment to research and an appreciation of chemical information, as evidenced through their exceptional essays and impressive letters of recommendation, distinguishing them among the hundreds of students who applied.

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Since 2010, the SciFinder Future Leaders in Chemistry program, formerly the SciFinder Academic Exchange Program, has served as an intensive mini-university where graduate students from around the world exchange ideas and experiences in chemistry and informatics. In only the third year of the program, applications were received from 32 countries around the world and more than doubled in number from last year, resulting in an acceptance rate of just over four percent. This year's class joins an elite group of scientists who have unique perspectives on how chemical information is vital to the advancement of research.

The following Ph.D. students have been selected:

• Anna Arkhypchuk, Uppsala University, Sweden
• Noemie Elgrishi, Pierre and Marie Curie University, France
• Hajira Faki, University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom
• Ryo Fukazawa, Tohoku University, Japan
• Laura Hoch, University of Toronto, Canada
• Pradeep Jadhavar, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, India
• Piper Klemm, University of California, Berkeley, United States
• Helen Rachel Lagiakos, Monash University, Australia
• Nicholas Njuguna, University of Cape Town, South Africa
• Jordan Page, The Ohio State University, United States
• Constantin V. Rabong, Vienna University of Technology, Austria
• Cristina Santos, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Qing-Feng Wu, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, China
• Jingyang Xu, Tsinghua University, China
• Vikramaditya Yadav, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States

Participants in the 2012 SciFinder Future Leaders in Chemistry program have the unique opportunity to share their insights on chemical information and learn from their peers. During their visit to the CAS campus in Columbus, Ohio, participants get a behind-the-scenes look at how CAS builds and maintains the most authoritative chemistry databases as they meet and exchange ideas with the CAS scientists and engineers responsible for SciFinder, the world's best chemical information research tool. As in past years, participants will also visit prestigious Central Ohio research organizations such as The Ohio State University, Battelle Memorial Institute and TechColumbus.

In addition, participants will join an expected 12,000 chemical professionals in Philadelphia, Penn., to attend the 244th ACS National Meeting & Exposition and listen to scientists present new research, hear the latest information in their areas of interest, and network with other chemists.

"This will be the third year we've welcomed students to our campus to share an exclusive look inside the world's premier organization for chemical information," said Christine McCue, vice president of marketing at CAS. "The program is an invaluable experience, providing the students and CAS a better understanding of the trends in chemical information and a fresh perspective on the needs of researchers around the world. We expect this year's program to be no different - but with a new name to reflect the remarkable accomplishments and leadership of these students, the future leaders in chemistry."

About SciFinder

SciFinder is the leading information research tool for chemistry and related disciplines. SciFinder provides scientists the essential content and proven results to increase productivity and make faster breakthroughs. The intuitive Web interface offers instant access to the CAS content collection, including CAS REGISTRY(SM)—the gold standard of chemical substance and other related information. Fortune 500 corporations, more than 1,900 universities and major government agencies around the world rely on SciFinder to fuel R&D initiatives and foster innovation.

About CAS

Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), a division of the American Chemical Society, is the world's authority for chemical information. Our databases are curated and quality-controlled by CAS scientists and recognized by chemical and pharmaceutical companies, universities, government organizations and patent offices around the world as authoritative. By combining these databases with advanced search and analysis technologies (SciFinder® and STN®), CAS delivers the most current, complete and cross-linked secure digital information environment for scientific discovery. Learn more at www.cas.org.

SOURCE CAS