ACS logo briefing starts at 3 PM ET today. 1,200+ have signed. Please show up and ask the hard questions.
A quick update for everyone in r/chemistry who has been following the ACS logo controversy. More than 1,200 people have now signed the petition to restore the historic ACS logo, and ACS is holding its “Brand Evolution: Member Briefing” today, August 18, from 3:00 to 4:00 PM ET.
Registration is here:
https://events.zoom.us/e/view/2QJAJDWdRLqzxp0birrfXg
Thank you to everyone here who has signed, shared the petition, commented, or helped keep the discussion going. The fact that ACS is now holding a member briefing and taking questions is at least movement in the right direction, even if many of us believe this conversation should have happened before the historic logo was replaced.
ACS says it will discuss the research behind the brand evolution and how stakeholder feedback informed the final decision. Those claims deserve serious questions. How many ACS members actually participated? How were they selected? What were they asked about the logo? What alternatives did they see? Were they shown the final design? Were they specifically asked whether the phoenix, Liebig bulb, and cobalt-blue-and-gold identity should remain the primary ACS logo? If member research was important enough to support the decision, members should be able to see what that research actually found.
Transparency and accountability have been part of this issue from the beginning. There are also legitimate questions about who authorized the logo change, what process was followed, how the new logo fits the current ACS Governing Documents, and what the development and implementation of the change cost.
One argument we may hear is that the historic insignia has not really gone away because ACS will continue using it for important, ceremonial, or “elevated” occasions. That does not resolve the problem people are raising. The controversy is about ACS replacing its primary everyday logo, the mark that will appear routinely on websites, communications, publications, meetings, digital materials, and member-facing content.
Keeping the phoenix and Liebig-bulb insignia for selected special occasions is not equivalent to keeping it as the public face of ACS. The fact that something continues to exist does not mean it continues to serve the same function. In the same way, saying that stakeholders participated in research does not establish that they supported the final logo, and explaining the intended symbolism of the new design does not establish that replacing the historic one was necessary.
If you are joining the briefing today, please do not be afraid to ask difficult questions. Scientists question methodology, evidence, assumptions, and conclusions for a living. There is no reason to apply a lower standard when the institution making the claim is our own professional society. Be respectful, but ask for specifics and do not be satisfied with answers that simply restate that research was conducted or that the old insignia will still appear occasionally.
The registration form also allows current members, past members, and future members to participate. So if you are a student, early-career chemist, former ACS member, or someone who may join ACS in the future, your perspective is welcome too.
Please also keep the petition moving:
https://www.change.org/p/restore-the-historic-american-chemical-society-logo
If you have already signed, share it personally with 5 to 10 people in the chemistry community and keep sharing it on LinkedIn, Bluesky, X, Facebook, professional groups, chemistry forums, and other relevant spaces. We have reached more than 1,200 signatures because people have kept passing it along, and there is no reason for that momentum to stop now.
ACS Fall 2026 begins in a few days. If you are going to Chicago, keep this conversation going there too. Talk to other members, Councilors, committee members, Local Section and Division leaders, and ACS leadership. Ask the questions in person and make sure the concerns around the logo, transparency, accountability, governance, and member involvement are heard.
ACS is giving members a microphone today. We should use it.