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NOVEMBER 3, 2008<br />
CYBERANXIETY<br />
Preparing for anything<br />
and everything P.18<br />
PRESERVATION<br />
Testing new chemistry<br />
in museum exhibits P.25<br />
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK<br />
Long view is uncertain amid downturn P.43<br />
PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
© 2007 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. All rights reserved.<br />
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Moving science forward<br />
Learn more at www.thermo.com/LSR.<br />
Part of Thermo Fisher Scientific
VOLUME 86, NUMBER 44<br />
NOVEMBER 3, 2008<br />
Serving the chemical,<br />
life sciences,<br />
and laboratory worlds<br />
COVER STORY<br />
EMPLOYMENT<br />
OUTLOOK<br />
Future job market<br />
is uncertain; an<br />
entrepreneurial spirit, an<br />
internship abroad, or a love<br />
of adventure may give job<br />
seekers an edge. PAGE 43<br />
GOVERNMENT & POLICY<br />
17 CONCENTRATES<br />
18 CHEMISTRY CYBERSECURITY<br />
Companies and DHS consider how best to protect<br />
information in their computer networks.<br />
21 STANDARDIZING BIOLOGY<br />
NIST is leading efforts to develop standards for<br />
bioscience measurements.<br />
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY<br />
22 CONCENTRATES<br />
25 WELL PRESERVED<br />
Smithsonian Institution partners with 3M to test<br />
storage fluid for animal specimens.<br />
QUOTE<br />
OF THE WEEK<br />
“I think a lot of<br />
chemists are<br />
extroverts and<br />
they enjoy going<br />
out into the<br />
world and doing<br />
things. We’re<br />
explorers at<br />
heart.”<br />
SAMUEL P. KOUNAVES,<br />
PROFESSOR OF<br />
CHEMISTRY, TUFTS<br />
UNIVERSITY PAGE 55<br />
25<br />
NEWS OF THE WEEK<br />
8 THIRD-QUARTER EARNINGS<br />
Hurricanes and high costs are factors in mixed<br />
results; some firms fear a recession.<br />
9 QUANTIFYING NF 3<br />
Atmosphere has more of the potent greenhouse<br />
gas than industry estimated.<br />
9 DOW TO SUE CANADA OVER 2,4-D<br />
Quebec’s provincewide ban of pesticide violates<br />
terms of trade treaty, company says.<br />
10 GATES FOUNDATION AWARDS<br />
Grants will support novel approaches to health<br />
problems.<br />
10 CO 2 CAPTURE, SEQUESTRATION<br />
Groups urge faster at-scale testing of technology<br />
at coal-fired power plants.<br />
11 NEW SPIN ON DATA STORAGE<br />
Spin-transition compounds may be the future of<br />
high-density data storage.<br />
11 HUNTSMAN-HEXION DEAL OFF AGAIN<br />
Banks that were to finance merger deal won’t<br />
provide loans to make it happen.<br />
12 MICROFLUIDIC ANALYSIS<br />
New device designs improve speed, spatial<br />
resolution of plug-based systems.<br />
12 RISKS OF BISPHENOL A<br />
FDA’s draft assessment of the controversial<br />
chemical is inadequate, a new report says.<br />
30<br />
30 ESTHER TAKEUCHI<br />
C&EN talks with battery expert and former<br />
industry executive about her move to academia.<br />
31 ACADEMIC R&D SPENDING<br />
Chemistry funding rose 4.3% in 2006, as did<br />
overall science and engineering funding.<br />
THE DEPARTMENTS<br />
3 EDITOR’S PAGE<br />
4 LETTERS<br />
36 ACS COMMENT<br />
COVER: Shutterstock<br />
37 ACS NEWS<br />
62 EMPLOYMENT<br />
72 NEWSCRIPTS<br />
THIS WEEK ON<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG<br />
BUSINESS<br />
13 CONCENTRATES<br />
15 R&D IN ASIA<br />
Lilly establishes scientific cadre in China to<br />
coordinate work with local research firms.<br />
16 INSIGHTS<br />
Entertainment industry initiative Stand Up<br />
To Cancer funds collaborations among drug<br />
companies and research centers.<br />
TO THE EXTREME<br />
See how extreme<br />
chemists collect<br />
data from the<br />
deep sea.<br />
PLUS: Take a look at more<br />
statistics on academic<br />
R&D spending in 2006.<br />
WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INST.<br />
CENEAR 86 (44) 1–72 • ISSN 0009-2347
Winner of the<br />
2008 Glenn T.<br />
Seaborg Medal<br />
ACS Publications and the UCLA Department of Chemistry &<br />
Biochemistry are pleased to announce that Accounts of <strong>Chemical</strong><br />
Research, Editor-in-Chief Joan S. Valentine has been selected as<br />
the recipient of the 2008 Glenn T. Seaborg Medal.<br />
The Glenn T. Seaborg Medal was established in 1987 by the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry to<br />
honor individuals for their significant contributions to chemistry and biochemistry. The medal is awarded<br />
annually. All recipients are chosen by the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Executive Committee.<br />
Joan S. Valentine is Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA and is a leading figure working at the interface<br />
of inorganic chemistry and biology. Having published over 200 research papers and several books, she pioneered the<br />
chemistry of the superoxide anion, and her discoveries have been fundamental to our understanding of the biological<br />
reactions of dioxygen and its interactions with metalloenzymes. Dr. Valentine is a recipient of several awards,<br />
including the John C. Bailar, Jr. Medal for Research in Coordination Chemistry, and has held numerous distinguished<br />
lectureships in the United States and abroad. Dr. Valentine was also recently elected to membership<br />
in the National Academy of Science.<br />
Please join us in congratulating Editor-in-Chief Joan S. Valentine<br />
on this tremendous achievement!
CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS<br />
1155—16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036<br />
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Rudy M. Baum<br />
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MANAGING EDITOR: Ivan Amato<br />
DESIGN DIRECTOR: Nathan Becker<br />
SENIOR ART DIRECTOR: Robin L. Braverman<br />
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STAFF ARTIST: Monica C. Gilbert<br />
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BUSINESS<br />
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(202) 872-4406. Melody Voith (Senior Editor)<br />
GOVERNMENT & POLICY<br />
Susan R. Morrissey, Assistant Managing Editor<br />
Rochelle F. H. Bohaty (Assistant Editor), Britt E.<br />
Erickson (Associate Editor), David J. Hanson (Senior<br />
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BEIJING: 150 1138 8372. Jessie Jiang (Contributing Editor)<br />
ACS NEWS & SPECIAL FEATURES<br />
Linda Raber, Assistant Managing Editor<br />
Susan J. Ainsworth (Senior Editor), Corinne A. Marasco<br />
(Senior Editor), Linda Wang (Associate Editor)<br />
EDITING & PRODUCTION<br />
Robin M. Giroux, Managing Editor for Production<br />
Alicia J. Chambers (Assistant Editor), Arlene Goldberg-<br />
Gist (Senior Editor), Faith Hayden (Assistant Editor),<br />
Kenneth J. Moore (Assistant Editor), Tonia E. Moore<br />
(Assistant Editor), Kimberly R. Twambly (Associate<br />
Editor), Lauren K. Wolf (Assistant Editor)<br />
C&EN ONLINE<br />
Rachel Sheremeta Pepling, Editor<br />
Tchad K. Blair (Visual Designer), Luis A. Carrillo<br />
(Production Manager), Ty A. Finocchiaro (Web Assistant),<br />
William B. Shepherd (Manager, Online Recruitment),<br />
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Daryl W. Ditz, Michael P. Doyle, Arthur B. Ellis, Robin L.<br />
Garrell, James R. Heath, Rebecca Hoye, Nancy B.<br />
Jackson, Harry Kroto, Roger LaForce, Aslam Malik,<br />
Andrew D. Maynard, Eli Pearce, Marquita M. Qualls,<br />
Sara J. Risch, Alan Shaw, Rakesh (Ricky) S. Sikand,<br />
Thomas R. Tritton, Pratibha Varma-Nelson,<br />
Paul A. Wender, George Whitesides, Frank Wicks<br />
Published by the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY<br />
Madeleine Jacobs, Executive Director & CEO<br />
Brian Crawford, President, Publications Division<br />
EDITORIAL BOARD: John N. Russell Jr. (Chair);<br />
ACS Board of Directors Chair: Judith L. Benham;<br />
ACS President: Bruce E. Bursten; Ned D. Heindel,<br />
Madeleine M. Joullié, Leah Solla, Peter J. Stang<br />
Copyright 2008, American <strong>Chemical</strong> Society<br />
Canadian GST Reg. No. R127571347<br />
Volume 86, Number 44<br />
THIS WEEK’S SUITE of cover stories is<br />
C&EN’s annual “Employment Outlook”<br />
feature. The stories were coordinated and<br />
edited by Senior Editor Corinne Marasco,<br />
who also wrote the lead story.<br />
Not surprisingly, Marasco’s interviews<br />
with numerous company representatives<br />
and university department heads revealed<br />
that the economic chaos of recent weeks<br />
has turned the outlook for jobs for chemists<br />
somewhat cloudy. “Although industrial<br />
representatives who spoke with C&EN this<br />
year report that their companies are hiring,”<br />
Marasco reports, “they are doing so<br />
with a ‘wait and see’ attitude toward a possibly<br />
weaker job market in 2009. The exception<br />
is chemical engineers, who continue to<br />
be in high demand at all degree levels.”<br />
Indeed, one hard truth that comes<br />
through in Marasco’s story is that, if your<br />
passion is chemistry and you want a job in<br />
industry, you’d better plan on getting that<br />
Ph.D.—or develop a passion for chemical<br />
engineering. For example, Cary W. Wilkins,<br />
director of recruitment for the Americas<br />
at Shell <strong>Chemical</strong>s, told Marasco that the<br />
overall market is very good for chemical<br />
engineers at all degree levels and for Ph.D.<br />
chemists, groups that Shell is recruiting.<br />
Eastman <strong>Chemical</strong> workforce planning<br />
and staffing manager Sharon Cooper says<br />
Eastman is looking to hire B.S., M.S., and<br />
Ph.D. chemical engineers and Ph.D. chemists.<br />
Sue Sun-LaSovage, global university<br />
relations leader for Dow <strong>Chemical</strong>, calls the<br />
competition for engineering graduates in<br />
the U.S. and Europe “fierce.” Dow is recruiting<br />
for bachelor’s- and master’s-level chemical,<br />
mechanical, and electrical engineers<br />
and Ph.D. chemists with experience.<br />
Marasco also learned that companies are<br />
looking for well-rounded candidates, those<br />
who possess excellent technical proficiency<br />
along with good communication skills<br />
and the ability to work in teams.<br />
The importance of being well-rounded to<br />
career success was echoed by one of the students<br />
interviewed by Assistant Editor Kenneth<br />
Moore for his story on international<br />
internships. Aanchal Raj, a second-year electrical<br />
and computer engineering student at<br />
Carnegie Mellon University who participated<br />
in Rice University’s NanoJapan internship<br />
program, told Moore: “To be a leader in<br />
FROM THE EDITOR<br />
Employment Outlook 2009<br />
science requires much more than just technical<br />
expertise. It requires entrepreneurship<br />
and skills in leadership, communication,<br />
and, most of all, cultural awareness with the<br />
ever-increasing global collaboration.”<br />
Like Moore’s story on international internships,<br />
the other two stories in the “Employment<br />
Outlook” package emphasize the<br />
need for flexibility, daring, and following<br />
your passion in building a successful scientific<br />
career.<br />
Senior Editor Susan Ainsworth’s story<br />
on “Entrepreneurial Trailblazers” profiles<br />
nine women scientists who, for a variety of<br />
reasons, started their own small businesses.<br />
All of the women Ainsworth interviewed<br />
stated that starting a business is not always<br />
easy, but each also expressed deep satisfaction<br />
with their chosen career paths.<br />
Pamela G. Marrone, who founded two<br />
companies focused on pest management—<br />
AgraQuest and Marrone Organic Innovations—eloquently<br />
captured that passion. “I<br />
was driven by a vision and a dream of what<br />
I wanted to accomplish—to change the<br />
world through pesticide products that are<br />
safer and effective,” she told Ainsworth. “I<br />
didn’t think about the barriers or the problems<br />
or challenges. I only thought about the<br />
possibilities and visualized the end game<br />
and the success.”<br />
Associate Editor Linda Wang’s story,<br />
“Extreme Chemistry,” looks at chemists<br />
doing research in exotic locales, like the dry<br />
valleys of Antarctica, in the deep ocean, and<br />
on the rims of volcanoes. George W. Luther,<br />
a chemist who is a professor of oceanography<br />
at the University of Delaware,<br />
told Wang: “Just because you’re a chemist<br />
doesn’t mean you’re limited to doing exactly<br />
what chemists are supposed to be doing.<br />
What’s critical is finding a scientific topic<br />
that you’re passionate about.”<br />
The employment outlook for 2009 is,<br />
without doubt, unsettled, but passion for<br />
your science and flexibility about your career<br />
path can make a world of difference in<br />
a job search.<br />
Thanks for reading.<br />
Editor-in-chief<br />
Views expressed on this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACS.<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 3 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
LETTERS<br />
COFFEE, OLÉ<br />
I ENJOYED reading the article on instant<br />
coffee (C&EN, Sept. 29, page 42). I prefer<br />
fresh-brewed myself and especially my dark<br />
espresso. It would be interesting to compare<br />
the amount of caffeine in dark roasted<br />
coffee and espresso. Is such information<br />
available? Thanks, and have another cup!<br />
Jose M. Sentmanat<br />
Conroe, Texas<br />
I ENJOYED Kenneth Moore’s article on instant<br />
coffee but want to correct one important<br />
fact. General Foods in White Plains,<br />
N.Y., not Kraft or Philip Morris, developed<br />
and introduced freeze-dried Maxim instant<br />
coffee to the marketplace in 1963 as part<br />
of its Maxwell House product line. I know<br />
this as a fact because I was a chemical engineering<br />
co-op student from Northeastern<br />
University working at the General Foods<br />
Technical Center in Tarrytown, N.Y., in<br />
1963. At that time, we were General Foods<br />
and not Kraft or Philip Morris. As my first<br />
co-op assignment, I helped operate the<br />
pilot-plant freeze drier that manufactured<br />
the coffee and also managed the packaging<br />
line where we filled single-serving tins,<br />
under vacuum, that were mailed out for the<br />
initial market tests.<br />
The lineage of General Foods, Kraft, and<br />
Philip Morris is shown below from Wikipedia:<br />
“General Foods Corp. was a company<br />
whose direct predecessor was established in<br />
the U.S. by Charles William Post (Oct. 26,<br />
1854–May 9, 1914) as the Postum Cereal Co.<br />
in 1895. The name General Foods was adopted<br />
in 1929 after several corporate acquisitions. In<br />
November 1985, General Foods was acquired<br />
by Philip Morris Companies (now Altria<br />
Group) for $5.6 billion, the largest non-oil<br />
acquisition to that time. In December 1988,<br />
Philip Morris acquired Kraft and in 1990 combined<br />
the two food companies as Kraft General<br />
Foods (KGF).”<br />
Steven Cohen<br />
Dublin, Ohio<br />
ENERGY’S BEST BETS<br />
RUDY BAUM is rightly concerned about<br />
the lack of consensus on where we go next<br />
in tackling the problems of energy (C&EN,<br />
Oct. 6, page 2). Forming a consensus may<br />
be helped by reviewing the options for<br />
achieving self-sufficiency and, at the same<br />
time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.<br />
The U.S. electrical utilities have about<br />
1,600 plants, 70% of which are fired by<br />
fossil fuels, each with a power of about<br />
1,000–1,500 MW. Two highly publicized<br />
renewable power sources are wind and<br />
solar photovoltaics, which generate electricity<br />
only when the wind blows or the sun<br />
shines. Their inherent limitation is the lack<br />
of a method to bank electricity on a multithousand-megawatt<br />
scale. For the passive<br />
periods, these methods require conventional<br />
generators for back-up.<br />
Clean coal by carbon capture and storage<br />
is also highly publicized but hasn’t yet<br />
been tried. Its limitation is that there is no<br />
practical method to store CO 2 at the required<br />
volumes, which are huge. Geothermal<br />
and hydroelectric energy work well but<br />
only at specific locations.<br />
Two promising green technologies for<br />
electricity generation are solar heat and<br />
nuclear power. In modern solar heat technology,<br />
the sun’s rays are concentrated by<br />
mirrors and provide heat-exchange fluid at<br />
about 1,000 o F. This fluid is a continuous<br />
source of steam for power generation even<br />
after sundown. More engineering development<br />
is needed, but nuclear technology<br />
is mature. For more extended use, the<br />
treatment of nuclear waste as practiced in<br />
France should be transferred to the U.S.<br />
Three highly publicized but questionable<br />
green technologies for cars are hydrogen,<br />
natural gas, and ethanol. Their<br />
common shortcoming is the difficulty of<br />
creating an infrastructure for distribution.<br />
Gases must be stored under pressure, and<br />
natural gas supplies are limited. Hydrogen<br />
can now be generated only by involving<br />
CO 2 emissions, and ethanol is a relatively<br />
inefficient source of energy.<br />
The electric car is the technology of the<br />
future. Even with electricity based 70% on<br />
fossil fuels, the plug-in motor causes less<br />
CO 2 emissions than the gasoline engine<br />
and provides much lower operating cost<br />
per mile. Although a gasoline engine is necessary<br />
to charge batteries for long-range<br />
driving, extensive use of plug-in/hybrid<br />
cars will allow spectacular reduction of oil<br />
consumption.<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 4 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
The new Administration will have limited<br />
financial resources. It should support<br />
with ample developmental funds and tax<br />
subsidies only those few green technologies<br />
that will provide the greatest beneficial<br />
impact during the next one to two decades.<br />
John L. Gardon<br />
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.<br />
MELAMINE-CONTAMINATED MILK<br />
technical specialist on the auditing team at<br />
Gasser Associates, a nuclear energy consulting<br />
group now known as Fire Prevention<br />
Inc. The team would audit the laboratories<br />
that did the alcohol and drug abuse<br />
testing for employees at nuclear facilities.<br />
As the technical specialist, I would audit<br />
the site where the urine specimens were<br />
collected and follow through the chain of<br />
custody to the laboratory. There, I would<br />
audit the laboratory testing procedures.<br />
The specimen was tested by gas chromatography.<br />
If the test was negative, the<br />
person was cleared. If it tested positive, the<br />
specimen was then tested by mass spectrometry.<br />
If the specimen tested positive<br />
by MS, the employee would then be sent to<br />
the medical review officer (MRO). I would<br />
EVERY ARTICLE I’VE READ about the<br />
milk products from China that contain intentionally<br />
added melamine uses the term<br />
“tainted” as if it is equivalent to flavor going<br />
bad because of mold growth or a minor<br />
unintended impurity (C&EN, Sept. 29, page<br />
18). The addition of melamine to fool food<br />
quality control tests of watered-down milk<br />
is intentional and criminal adulteration with<br />
no regard to health consequences. There is<br />
nothing accidental or minor about it.<br />
“Tainted” doesn’t begin to describe<br />
this unforgivable act. C&EN and all other<br />
publications should stop using this descriptor.<br />
After the pet-food scare, people<br />
who continued the use of melamine were<br />
knowingly poisoning human food. The perpetrators<br />
should be held criminally liable<br />
for recklessly causing serious illness and<br />
death in children.<br />
Where melamine or other contaminants<br />
are indeed unintentional contaminants<br />
at levels that are exceedingly low<br />
and not reasonably expected to cause<br />
adverse health effects, the term tainted is<br />
an overstatement. Given enough analytical<br />
power, myriad natural and man-made<br />
chemicals can be found in foods. The question<br />
for such impurities should be, “What<br />
is the scientifically determined level of risk<br />
compared to the cost and benefits of their<br />
removal?” C&EN should make clear the<br />
difference between unintended low-level<br />
contamination and the active adulteration<br />
of food products with the intent to<br />
deceive. Tainted is inappropriate for both<br />
extremes.<br />
Georjean Adams<br />
Woodbury, Minn.<br />
FOILING CHEATERS<br />
“TO CATCH A CHEAT” by Melody Voith<br />
was very interesting (C&EN, Sept. 8, page<br />
23). My experience with drug testing involved<br />
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s<br />
Fitness for Duty program. I was the<br />
more than chemistry<br />
Drug Substance development:<br />
Phasing forward with PCAS<br />
• PCAS is a world-class integrated provider of exclusive synthesis solutions<br />
for pharmaceutical NCEs in all phases of development.<br />
• Full service for drug substance production for clinical trials (INDA, IMPD)<br />
through to launch.<br />
• Differenciated technology toolbox to develop innovative synthesis<br />
routes (chiral synthesis, biocatalysis, organometallics,<br />
selective reductions...).<br />
Visit our web site www.pcas.fr<br />
• Scale-up capabilities from laboratory to commercial-scale<br />
production (4 FDA-inspected sites).<br />
• Comprehensive range of analytical development<br />
and regulatory services for development and dossier filing.<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 5 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
LETTERS<br />
also audit the duties of the MRO. The Fitness<br />
for Duty program was carried out in<br />
compliance with federal law.<br />
My experience along these lines showed<br />
that testing at laboratories for nuclear personnel<br />
was rigidly controlled. The laboratory<br />
would take every possible precaution<br />
to see that a drug user would not get past<br />
the controls set up by the laboratory.<br />
An abuser will try any means to beat<br />
the system, but again, my experience has<br />
shown that the laboratories took every precaution<br />
they could to avoid this.<br />
William Gasser<br />
Quincy, Ill.<br />
BENEFITS OF BREAST MILK<br />
I WAS SURPRISED and delighted to see<br />
the beautiful photograph of a nursing baby<br />
on the cover of your Sept. 29 issue. This is<br />
especially impressive because I still recall<br />
the first controversial breast-feeding photographs<br />
on the cover of magazines about<br />
parenting just a few years ago. As a nursing<br />
mother myself, I was further delighted to<br />
read the insightful and educational cover<br />
story.<br />
I not only learned more facts to support<br />
my gut feeling that “breast is best,” but I<br />
was able to proudly show the issue to my<br />
La Leche League support group, so they<br />
will see the cutting-edge scientific studies<br />
as well. I am an active member of my ACS<br />
local section, and one of my challenges as<br />
a councilor and National Chemistry Week<br />
coordinator has been to involve younger<br />
chemists. This article, which specifically<br />
applies to our younger members who<br />
are now growing their families, is a great<br />
step toward reaching out to this elusive<br />
population of our membership. Kudos to<br />
C&EN!<br />
Abby Kennedy<br />
Oakland, Calif.<br />
I TYPICALLY GLANCE quickly at the cover<br />
picture when I get my new issue of C&EN,<br />
but I admit that rarely does it entice me to<br />
immediately read the related story. This<br />
was not the case with your issue featuring<br />
the science of breast milk. Although you<br />
may be getting notes from readers who find<br />
your photo distasteful or worse, I applaud<br />
you for being willing to boldly feature a<br />
photo that tactfully and beautifully highlights<br />
what is literally one of the most natural<br />
things known to humanity.<br />
As a mother of a beautiful seven-monthold<br />
daughter, I read all the books, took the<br />
prenatal classes, and easily reached the<br />
conclusion that nothing could be better<br />
for my child than the food that I could<br />
provide for her. Science may never be able<br />
to equal the complex advantages of true<br />
mother’s milk (not only providing basic<br />
nutrients but also passing on antibodies<br />
to a child’s developing immune system,<br />
as well as accustoming children to some<br />
chemical components of an adult diet).<br />
Nevertheless, I am happy to hear that<br />
research is ongoing to better understand<br />
how breast milk is able to give so many<br />
benefits both immediately and later in a<br />
child’s life.<br />
Many mothers are unable to provide<br />
milk (or enough milk) to their babies, and<br />
this understanding could be critical in allowing<br />
these children to receive the best<br />
nutritional balance possible. I wonder also<br />
if such research has been conducted on<br />
colostrum, the “pre-milk” substance produced<br />
by new mothers in the first few days<br />
after birth before the actual milk “comes<br />
in.” Colostrum is known to be highly beneficial<br />
to newborns and especially preemies,<br />
so any way to synthetically emulate this for<br />
mothers who are medically unable to provide<br />
it themselves could prove extremely<br />
useful.<br />
Thank you so much for featuring this issue<br />
in such a positive manner. Society has<br />
come a long way in its acceptance of breastfeeding,<br />
but there are still many who shun<br />
this wonderful act and do not understand<br />
its benefits. I hope that your story makes a<br />
few people reconsider such opinions.<br />
Leanna Shuster<br />
Havertown, Pa.<br />
AS AN ACS MEMBER and a lifelong professional<br />
in the field of milk and lactation, I<br />
was delighted to find and read your article<br />
on mother’s milk. An important part of the<br />
story seems to be missing, however.<br />
In contrast to your rather nebulous<br />
characterization of the fat globule surface,<br />
it is known to be covered with projecting<br />
filaments—like whiskers, if you will. This<br />
was shown by the elegant freeze-etch elec-<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 6 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
tron microscopy of Wolfgang Buchheim<br />
as long ago as 1982 and was confirmed<br />
by transmission electron microscopy. In<br />
subsequent studies, the filaments were<br />
isolated and shown to consist of two mucins.<br />
These mucins are both genetically<br />
polymorphic: two alleles, one from each<br />
parent, provide a unique personal signature<br />
that each mother puts on her milk-fat<br />
globules.<br />
I discuss the discovery of these mucins<br />
and their possible health effects in my book,<br />
“Milk: Its Remarkable Contribution to Human<br />
Health and Well-Being” (Transaction<br />
Publishers, 2004, pages 72–73 and 243–245).<br />
Stuart Patton<br />
La Jolla, Calif.<br />
AS A LACTATION consultant practicing<br />
at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia,<br />
I found your article an extraordinary approach<br />
to a favorite remark: “Babies are<br />
born to be breast-fed.” How wonderful<br />
it would be if all the fabulous facts being<br />
discovered and documented by your investigation<br />
team could be directed to the<br />
promotion of breast-feeding rather than to<br />
the improvement of formula.<br />
Engineers, thanks for all you do in a profession<br />
that thinks its way past today to a<br />
better future, bringing changes that benefit<br />
humankind.<br />
Susan J. Gerhardt<br />
Philadelphia<br />
EXPRESSING POLITICAL VIEWS<br />
“NOBEL LAUREATES Support Obama”<br />
points out that 62 Nobel Laureates (14 of<br />
whom are chemistry Nobel Laureates),<br />
support Sen. Barack Obama for president<br />
(C&EN, Oct. 6, page 10). All of these Laureates<br />
are outstanding in their fields of science<br />
and all deserve honor and respect for<br />
their accomplishments.<br />
Their political views, however, are nothing<br />
more than their personal preferences.<br />
Their professional standing lends no additional<br />
significance to their political views;<br />
their views are no more valid than yours<br />
or mine.<br />
Because we live in a democracy, all of<br />
our views have equal weight at the ballot<br />
box. Many eminent scientists can be found<br />
who support Sen. John McCain. Political<br />
attractiveness, like beauty, is in the eye<br />
of the beholder. It is interesting to note<br />
that all 14 chemistry Nobel Laureates are<br />
university professors. It’s well established<br />
that university faculties are politically<br />
quite liberal, and high percentages of these<br />
faculties support Democratic candidates.<br />
Therefore, it is not surprising that these 14<br />
professors support Obama.<br />
Certainly, supporting science is a special<br />
interest of C&EN’s readers. However,<br />
the best candidate is the one that does the<br />
most for our country as a whole, rather<br />
than for any special interest, including<br />
our own.<br />
Michael J. Watkins<br />
Cypress, Texas<br />
HOW TO REACH US<br />
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WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 7 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
news of the week<br />
NOVEMBER 3, 2008 EDITED BY WILLIAM G. SCHULZ & LAUREN K. WOLF<br />
A MIXED<br />
THIRD QUARTER<br />
EARNINGS: <strong>Chemical</strong> makers struggle<br />
with high costs and hurricanes<br />
HURRICANES TOOK the wind out of thirdquarter<br />
profits for many chemical companies.<br />
But even more daunting is a looming recession<br />
and its likely effects on<br />
earnings for the rest of<br />
this year and next.<br />
Liveris<br />
DOW CHEMICAL<br />
Companies affected by<br />
September’s Gulf Coast<br />
hurricanes handled storm<br />
effects differently in<br />
their quarterly financial<br />
results, which complicated<br />
the mixed earnings<br />
picture. While DuPont<br />
took a charge of $146 million<br />
on earnings and Dow<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> excluded $81<br />
million, Celanese included<br />
$15 million of costs<br />
related to Hurricane Ike<br />
in its adjusted earnings.<br />
Even without the hurricane impact, Dow reported<br />
earnings 31.1% lower than the same period one year<br />
ago. Net sales increased 13.4%, but the company saw<br />
feedstock and energy costs surge 48% to $2.6 billion,<br />
THIRD-QUARTER CHEMICAL RESULTS<br />
Accelerating raw material costs and lower volumes hurt earnings<br />
SALES EARNINGS a CHANGE FROM 2007 PROFIT MARGIN b<br />
($ MILLIONS) SALES EARNINGS 2008 2007<br />
Air Products & <strong>Chemical</strong>s $2,715 $273 14.5% 6.6% 10.1% 10.8%<br />
Albemarle 660 56 13.0 -5.1 8.5 10.1<br />
Dow <strong>Chemical</strong> 15,411 554 13.4 -31.1 3.6 5.9<br />
DuPont 7,297 513 9.3 -7.1 7.0 8.3<br />
Eastman <strong>Chemical</strong> 1,819 102 7.5 -4.7 5.6 6.3<br />
FMC Corp. 821 86 30.9 62.3 10.5 8.5<br />
Hercules 606 42 11.4 -20.8 6.9 9.7<br />
Mosaic 4,323 1,185 115.8 287.3 27.4 15.3<br />
Nalco 1,116 57 11.8 54.1 5.1 3.7<br />
Praxair 2,852 355 20.2 16.4 12.4 12.9<br />
Rohm and Haas 2,471 176 12.1 -4.3 7.1 8.3<br />
Terra Industries 790 171 36.2 216.7 21.6 9.3<br />
a After-tax earnings from continuing operations, excluding significant extraordinary and nonrecurring<br />
items. b After-tax earnings as a percentage of sales.<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 8 NOVEMBER 3, 2008<br />
the largest year-over-year increase in its history. Although<br />
the company implemented price increases<br />
totaling 22%, the higher prices and weak demand lowered<br />
sales volumes by 5%.<br />
Last quarter, Dow’s geographic diversity —70%<br />
of its sales come from outside the U.S.—offset lower<br />
domestic demand. But in a report to investors, Dow<br />
Chief Executive Officer Andrew N. Liveris warned that<br />
weakness is spreading to the rest of the world. “In our<br />
view, we will likely see a global recession through most<br />
of 2009,” he writes.<br />
Specialty chemical makers such as Albemarle and<br />
Rohm and Haas also struggled with unexpected high<br />
costs. “What’s rescuing them from lack of volume<br />
growth is pricing, but clearly, most are behind the<br />
curve. They try to predict the future by looking at last<br />
quarter,” says Dmitry Silversteyn, senior research<br />
analyst for specialty chemicals at the investment firm<br />
Longbow Research.<br />
Despite the pressure, there were spots of good<br />
news. The agriculture sector continued to benefit from<br />
strong pricing power due to high commodity prices.<br />
Fertilizer makers Mosaic and Terra Industries both<br />
had profit margins above 20% for the quarter.<br />
In specialty chemicals, FMC Corp. and Nalco<br />
bucked the industry trend of decreasing margins. William<br />
G. Walter, CEO of FMC, attributed his company’s<br />
62.3% increase in earnings to strong demand for agricultural<br />
products in Brazil and increased sales of biopolymer<br />
and lithium specialties.<br />
Nalco saw sales increase in all regions, led by a<br />
28.2% jump in Latin America. Overall, earnings at the<br />
company were up 54.1%. Nalco CEO J. Erik Fyrwald<br />
attributed the increase to high demand “in the many<br />
areas where we help customers<br />
to drive energy,<br />
water, maintenance, and<br />
other savings.”<br />
Industrial gas suppliers<br />
Praxair and Air Products &<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong>s continued their<br />
solid sales and earnings<br />
growth, although margins<br />
tightened. In a report to<br />
investors, Praxair CEO<br />
Stephen F. Angel echoes<br />
Liveris, predicting tough<br />
times ahead. “We expect to<br />
see a contraction in manufacturing<br />
output in the<br />
U.S. and Europe, combined<br />
with slowing growth in Asia<br />
and South America for the<br />
next several quarters,” he<br />
writes.—MELODY VOITH
NF 3 MEASURED<br />
IN AIR<br />
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY:<br />
Levels of the greenhouse gas<br />
exceed industry’s estimates<br />
THE FIRST ATMOSPHERIC measurements of<br />
nitrogen trifluoride, a potent greenhouse gas,<br />
indicate that the man-made gas, which is used<br />
in manufacturing electronics, is much more prevalent<br />
in the atmosphere than industry estimated, according<br />
to researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography<br />
(Geophys. Res. Lett. 2008, 35, L20821).<br />
Electronics manufacturers apply NF 3 to clean chambers<br />
used for chemical vapor deposition of key compounds<br />
onto glass or silicon wafers. Laboratory studies<br />
indicate that the process destroys roughly 98% of NF 3 .<br />
NF 3 is considered 17,000 times more potent as a<br />
global-warming agent than an equal mass of CO 2 . NF 3 ’s<br />
warming potential was not evaluated until 2001, so<br />
it is not monitored under the Kyoto protocol. Earlier<br />
this year, atmospheric chemists Michael J. Prather<br />
and Juno Hsu of the University of California, Irvine,<br />
predicted that emissions of NF 3 are likely greater than<br />
industry’s estimates. In addition, production of the<br />
gas has increased with growing demand for electronics<br />
products such as flat-panel displays. Prather and Hsu<br />
therefore called for atmospheric measurements of the<br />
gas (C&EN, July 14, page 6).<br />
Heeding the call, the Scripps researchers used gas<br />
chromatography and mass spectrometry to quantify<br />
NF 3 in archived air samples collected from around the<br />
world over three decades.<br />
NF 3 is notoriously difficult to separate from similarly<br />
volatile atmospheric gases, says Ray F. Weiss,<br />
a geochemistry professor who led the study. To get<br />
around the problem, his team prepared samples by<br />
using a chemical absorbent to remove carbon dioxide<br />
and low-temperature fractional distillation to separate<br />
other gases prior to analysis. Their results show that atmospheric<br />
NF 3 has increased globally from about 0.02<br />
ppt in 1978 to 0.454 ppt in July 2008.<br />
Atmospheric measurements provide an essential<br />
check on emissions estimates, which may have substantial<br />
errors because leakage rates during production<br />
and use are difficult to estimate, says Stephen A.<br />
Montzka, an atmospheric chemist at the National Oceanic<br />
& Atmospheric Administration, in Boulder, Colo.<br />
Mack McFarland, an atmospheric chemist at Du-<br />
Pont, says industry must now determine whether estimates<br />
of total NF 3 use are correct and whether there<br />
are unaccounted emissions such as during production,<br />
transport, or use.<br />
Industrial groups welcomed the Scripps study. “Such<br />
measurement gives us a baseline for gauging our progress<br />
in further reducing NF 3 emissions,” says Robert F.<br />
Brown, spokesman for Air Products & <strong>Chemical</strong>s, the<br />
world’s largest producer of the gas.—RACHEL PETKEWICH<br />
SCRIPPS INST. OF OCEANOGRAPHY/UC SAN DIEGO<br />
Weiss (left),<br />
coauthor Jens<br />
Mühle, and<br />
colleagues<br />
measured NF 3<br />
levels in air<br />
samples.<br />
DOW CONTESTS<br />
PESTICIDE BAN<br />
TRADE LAW: Company accuses<br />
Quebec of prohibiting 2,4-D<br />
without scientific basis<br />
DOW AGROSCIENCES is challenging Quebec’s<br />
provincewide ban on the residential use of<br />
weed-killing chemicals as a violation of the<br />
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and<br />
is seeking at least $2 million in compensation from the<br />
Canadian government.<br />
The company, whose 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic<br />
acid (2,4-D) herbicide is widely used to control broadleaf<br />
weeds, contends that the prohibition on lawn and<br />
garden chemicals is inconsistent with the investorprotection<br />
provisions of the trade agreement among<br />
Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. Quebec instituted its<br />
pesticide ban two years ago.<br />
Dow maintains that Canada has breached its obligations<br />
under Chapter 11 of NAFTA, which allows corporations<br />
to sue the federal government of any of the<br />
three countries for enacting laws or regulations that<br />
they believe harm their investments.<br />
Dow alleges that Quebec began a campaign<br />
against 2,4-D in 2002 without any<br />
O OH<br />
scientific basis for a ban. The company<br />
notes that a unit of the governmental<br />
O<br />
agency Health Canada concluded earlier<br />
Cl<br />
this year that 2,4-D can be used safely according<br />
to label directions for a variety of<br />
lawn, turf, and agricultural applications.<br />
“The actions of the government of<br />
Cl<br />
Quebec are tantamount to a blanket<br />
2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid<br />
ban based on nonscientific criteria, and<br />
we are of the view that this is in breach<br />
to certain provisions of NAFTA,” says Jim Wispinski,<br />
president and CEO of Dow AgroSciences Canada.<br />
The company is seeking compensation of not less than<br />
$2 million, plus legal costs and unspecified damages.<br />
“This action by Dow is a blatant assault on the democratic<br />
process by a vested interest,” says Rick Smith,<br />
executive director of Environmental Defence Canada, a<br />
nonprofit group. “It’s also a boneheaded move from the<br />
company’s own [public relations] point of view. Parents<br />
are not going to look kindly on a corporation that<br />
tries to force pesticides down their children’s throats.”<br />
Pesticide bans are spreading in Canada. In June, Ontario<br />
passed legislation that will prohibit the sale and<br />
use of pesticides for cosmetic use on lawns and gardens<br />
throughout Canada’s most populous province when it<br />
takes effect next spring.—GLENN HESS<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 9 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
NEWS OF THE WEEK<br />
BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION<br />
Melinda and Bill<br />
Gates visit a young<br />
patient suffering<br />
from malaria in<br />
Mozambique.<br />
GATES SUPPORTS<br />
HEALTH EXPLORERS<br />
RESEARCH FUNDING: Foundation<br />
awards novel approaches<br />
to health problems<br />
THE BILL & MELINDA GATES Foundation has<br />
handed out the first grants under its Grand<br />
Challenges Explorations program. Launched in<br />
late 2007, the $100 million, five-year program extends<br />
the organization’s Grand Challenges in Global Health<br />
initiative started in 2003 by targeting smaller,<br />
earlier stage projects that explore novel<br />
ways to improve global health.<br />
Phase I awards of $100,000 each were<br />
given to 104 researchers in diverse disciplines<br />
spread across 22 countries. What they<br />
have in common is a focus on drug resistance<br />
or the prevention and cure of infectious diseases,<br />
such as HIV and tuberculosis. About<br />
two-thirds of those selected—from among<br />
4,000 proposals—are university researchers;<br />
others are employed by nonprofit organizations,<br />
government agencies, and companies.<br />
“The quality of the applications exceeded<br />
all of our expectations,” Tadataka Yamada, president<br />
of global health at the Gates Foundation, said last<br />
week when announcing the awards. “It was so hard for<br />
reviewers to champion just one great idea that we selected<br />
almost twice as many projects for funding as we<br />
had initially planned.”<br />
The Explorations initiative uses a streamlined process<br />
that limits applications to just two pages. To be<br />
selected, applicants need to show how their projects<br />
fall outside current scientific thinking and might offer<br />
significant advances, but they don’t have to supply any<br />
preliminary data. Foundation and outside experts reviewed<br />
applications over about three months without<br />
knowing any scientist’s credentials, geographic location,<br />
or affiliation.<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> and biomolecular engineering professor<br />
Yen Wah Tong of the National University of Singapore<br />
received a grant for his work on developing molecularly<br />
imprinted polymeric nanoparticles to capture viruses.<br />
“We are grateful that the foundation is providing us<br />
with this opportunity to pursue an unconventional approach,<br />
which other funding agencies may have been<br />
reluctant to support due to the uncertainty in getting<br />
the desired results,” he said after receiving the grant.<br />
Projects that show promise in their first year may<br />
be eligible for another $1 million or more in funding.<br />
The Gates Foundation accepted proposals for a second<br />
round of Phase I grants through Nov. 2. Topics for a third<br />
round will be announced in early 2009.—ANN THAYER<br />
At the Sleipner field<br />
in the North Sea,<br />
CO 2 from natural<br />
gas production gets<br />
injected deep under<br />
the seabed in one of<br />
the world’s largest<br />
sequestration<br />
projects.<br />
SEQUESTERING CO 2<br />
POWER PLANTS: Pressure grows<br />
for greater haste in setting up trial<br />
projects at coal-fired facilities<br />
THE INTERNATIONAL Energy Agency (IEA)<br />
and the nonprofit think tank World Resources<br />
Institute (WRI) have recently issued proposals<br />
and pleas to speed up R&D projects that capture and sequester<br />
carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power<br />
plants. Coal-burning power plants generate more than<br />
20% of the world’s CO 2 and a growing percentage of its<br />
electricity, and they are increasingly becoming targets of<br />
efforts to cut global CO 2 emissions.<br />
The two organizations released<br />
separate comprehensive reports<br />
that offer overviews and provide<br />
guidelines to spur development of<br />
technologies that capture CO 2 at a<br />
power plant, transport it, and inject<br />
it deep underground. The reports<br />
address project financing, regulation,<br />
environmental impacts, monitoring,<br />
liability, and public input.<br />
ØYUIND HAGEN/STATOILHYDRO<br />
IEA notes that globally only four full-scale carbon<br />
capture and sequestration (CCS) projects exist today,<br />
and none of them captures CO 2 from a coal-fired power<br />
plant. To combat climate change due to CO 2 emissions,<br />
the agency recommends that 20 large-scale CCS projects<br />
at coal-fired power plants be in planning by 2010<br />
and in operation by 2020.<br />
Similarly, Sarah Forbes, lead author of the guidelines<br />
from WRI, says, “We need at-scale, 250-MW or larger<br />
demonstration projects now.” WRI developed its<br />
guidelines through workshops and information from<br />
88 stakeholders representing government, business,<br />
community groups, and academia. WRI is now drawing<br />
up similar CCS guidelines specific to China.<br />
The two reports stress that delay will cause CCS to<br />
cost more and be harder to implement while allowing<br />
more coal-fired power plants to be built without CCS<br />
technologies.<br />
Forbes and Nobuo Tanaka, executive director of<br />
IEA—which is a part of the Organization for Economic<br />
Cooperation & Development—also emphasize the<br />
need to create a global solution.<br />
“The window of opportunity is closing for the global<br />
community to cost-effectively address climate change,”<br />
Tanaka says in a statement. “CCS technologies must play<br />
a key role, but they must be proven in the next decade.”<br />
The reports are available at www.wri.org and www.<br />
iea.org.—JEFF JOHNSON<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 10 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
NEWS OF THE WEEK<br />
NEW MATERIAL FOR<br />
DATA STORAGE<br />
MATERIALS SCIENCE: Spin-transition<br />
compounds prove amenable<br />
to nanoscale processing<br />
AFAMILY OF COMPOUNDS endowed with a<br />
property that enables them to be switched<br />
between two magnetic states may form the<br />
basis of future high-density data-storage technologies,<br />
according to researchers in Italy and Germany. Their investigation<br />
demonstrates that molecular spin-transition<br />
compounds can be fashioned into robust micro- and<br />
nanometer-scale structures for data-storage devices<br />
(Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 8596).<br />
In the push to increase the data-storage capacity of<br />
electronic devices, manufacturers have steadily shrunk<br />
the size of the elements that make up the patterns that<br />
represent data. For magnetic hard drives in computers,<br />
the “elements” are magnetic domains—microscopic<br />
regions of the disk surface—which are magnetized during<br />
the data-writing process in specific orientations.<br />
Hard-drive manufacturers continue to pack more<br />
information on disks by “writing smaller,” that is, by<br />
shrinking the domains. But that approach, which has led<br />
to today’s nanoscale domains, cannot be continued much<br />
longer. Smaller domains are known to spontaneously lose<br />
their magnetic orientation, which would lead to data loss.<br />
Faced with that impending size limit, researchers<br />
in various labs are pursuing alternative data-storage<br />
strategies based on the properties of much smaller<br />
entities—individual or small numbers of molecules.<br />
Spin-transition (ST) compounds, such as those based<br />
on Fe(II) species, have been proposed<br />
as candidates for such applications because<br />
their molecules can be triggered by<br />
temperature and other stimuli to switch<br />
between a diamagnetic (or low spin) and<br />
a paramagnetic (or high spin) state.<br />
Until now, however, only limited progress<br />
has been made in developing methods<br />
for processing these compounds and<br />
“drawing” microscopic patterns with<br />
them. In addition, some of those procedures<br />
were found to adversely alter the<br />
materials’ properties.<br />
Now, Massimiliano Cavallini of the Institute of<br />
Nanostructured Materials, in Bologna, Italy; Mario Ruben<br />
of the Karlsruhe Research Center, in Germany; and<br />
coworkers have shown that an Fe(II) phenanthroline<br />
ST compound can be used to form well-ordered and<br />
durable nanoscale patterns and that the material retains<br />
its spin-flipping quality after processing.<br />
Demonstrating the Fe(II) compound’s usefulness<br />
as a nanoscale “ink,” the team employed lithographic<br />
stamping methods to draw a replica of the data-storage<br />
pattern encoded on a compact disc, which consists of<br />
nanometer-thick dots and lines. On the basis of<br />
microscopy, X-ray measurements, and Raman<br />
spectroscopy, the team reports that after patterning,<br />
the material is highly crystalline and can<br />
be induced to switch between magnetic states by<br />
altering the temperature.<br />
“This is a nice piece of work,” says Daniel Ruiz-<br />
Molina of the Center for Investigation in Nanoscience<br />
& Nanotechnology, in Bellaterra, Spain.<br />
In addition to advancing fundamental science,<br />
“this pioneering work will open the door to the<br />
development of a new generation of moleculebased<br />
storage systems,” he says.—MITCH JACOBY<br />
“Written” with an<br />
Fe(II) “ink,” this<br />
CD data pattern<br />
features lines of<br />
submicrometerscale<br />
length and<br />
width (blue, optical<br />
micrograph) and<br />
up to 80-nm height<br />
(orange, AFM<br />
image).<br />
N<br />
N<br />
N<br />
Fe<br />
N<br />
NCS<br />
NCS<br />
Fe(II) phenanthroline<br />
MASSIMILIANO CAVALLINI/<br />
INST. OF NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS<br />
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS Banks balk at funding Hexion-Huntsman deal<br />
Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank have<br />
scuttled Hexion Specialty <strong>Chemical</strong>s’<br />
attempt to close its $10.6 billion acquisition<br />
of Huntsman Corp. on Oct. 28.<br />
The banks told the two companies<br />
they would not provide the necessary<br />
loans because they deemed the solvency<br />
certificate provided by Huntsman Chief<br />
Financial Officer J. Kimo Esplin and<br />
the solvency opinion retained from the<br />
independent financial evaluation firm<br />
American Appraisal unsatisfactory. These<br />
documents assert that the combined<br />
company would be able to pay its debts.<br />
Hexion has been seeking a way out of<br />
the deal since June, when it filed suit in<br />
the Delaware Court of Chancery arguing<br />
that deterioration in Huntsman’s<br />
performance would make the combined<br />
companies insolvent. Huntsman won<br />
court backing for the deal in September<br />
in that suit and has also received rulings<br />
in Texas against the two financing banks,<br />
preventing them from filing suits alleging<br />
insolvency.<br />
By denying the financing, the banks<br />
are rejecting the American Appraisal<br />
opinion that the merged companies<br />
would, as Huntsman has described it,<br />
satisfy “solvency tests commonly used<br />
in transactions of this nature.” Huntsman<br />
points out that Credit Suisse has testified<br />
that it would provide financing as<br />
long as it received an “independent opinion<br />
in which no reasonable lender, acting<br />
in good faith, could object.”<br />
Following the banks’ decision, Hexion<br />
filed a lawsuit in New York City against<br />
Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse asking<br />
the court to compel them to fund<br />
the merger. “Both Hexion and Huntsman<br />
are ready, willing, and able to complete<br />
the merger immediately but have been<br />
prevented from doing so by the banks’<br />
breach,” Hexion CEO Craig O. Morrison<br />
said in a statement.<br />
Should the merger fail to close, Apollo<br />
and the banks face a trial in Texas, set<br />
to begin in February, in which Huntsman<br />
is seeking more than $3 billion in<br />
damages.—ALEX TULLO<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 11 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
NEWS OF THE WEEK<br />
COURTESY OF RUSTEM ISMAGILOV<br />
DROPLETS The chemistrode<br />
delivers (top) and picks up<br />
(bottom) solvent plugs at a surface.<br />
PLUGGING ALONG<br />
MICROFLUIDICS: Design advances<br />
improve spatial and temporal<br />
resolution of plug-based devices<br />
TWO RESEARCH GROUPS report new device<br />
designs that improve the speed and spatial resolution<br />
of plug-based microfluidic analysis.<br />
Plug-based microfluidic devices use aqueous solvent<br />
droplets, or plugs, in an oil stream to deliver reagents<br />
and transport samples. In these devices, samples<br />
contained in plugs do not easily disperse or mix with<br />
adjacent samples, but the new designs improve the performance<br />
of such systems still further.<br />
In one of the studies, Rustem<br />
F. Ismagilov and coworkers at the<br />
University of Chicago report a new<br />
plug-based microfluidic device<br />
that they call a “chemistrode”<br />
(Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, DOI:<br />
10.1073/pnas.0807916105).<br />
The chemistrode, which is V-<br />
shaped polymeric tubing threaded<br />
through a microfabricated holder,<br />
can deliver reagents in aqueous<br />
plugs to a precisely defined location<br />
on a surface and capture plugs<br />
of molecular signals generated in<br />
response to those reagents. Reagent<br />
plugs travel through one arm of the<br />
V, and response plugs are picked up<br />
by the other. The response plugs<br />
can be split and diverted for parallel<br />
analysis by multiple methods. And<br />
with a single device, one can see what<br />
happens at different positions on a<br />
surface; for example, the researchers<br />
constructed a device with two chemistrodes<br />
spaced 15 μm apart.<br />
“We can essentially stick this device onto a point on a<br />
surface and say ‘I want these chemicals to be delivered to<br />
this spot in this sequence’ and then read out the responses,”<br />
Ismagilov says. His team demonstrated the device by<br />
detecting insulin secretion from pancreatic islet cells in<br />
response to changes in glucose concentration.<br />
The work is a “clever and elegant application of<br />
droplet microfluidics” says Daniel T. Chiu, a chemistry<br />
professor at the University of Washington who also<br />
works with droplet microfluidics. “This method will<br />
find broad use in studying secretions from cells.”<br />
Separately, Robert T. Kennedy and coworkers at the<br />
University of Michigan enhance microfluidic analysis<br />
with a new device that uses a “virtual wall”—an interface<br />
between parallel streams of aqueous buffer and a<br />
fluorocarbon oil—to collect aqueous sample droplets<br />
for analysis (Anal. Chem., DOI: 10.1021/ac801317t).<br />
The oil medium transports the droplets from a sample<br />
source. At a point of contact, sample droplets transfer<br />
from the oil stream to the aqueous stream, where they<br />
can be analyzed electrophoretically.<br />
The design makes possible two types of “injectors”<br />
for sample transfer prior to electrophoresis: a “discrete<br />
injector” and a “desegmenting injector.” The discrete<br />
injector extracts sample from individual plugs as they<br />
pass, enabling sampling of more than 800 individual<br />
plugs in a row. With the desegmenting injector, the<br />
plugs recombine into a continuous stream that can be<br />
monitored by up to 1,000 sequential injections into an<br />
electrophoresis channel.<br />
The discrete injector is useful for applications such<br />
as high-throughput screening, in which each droplet<br />
is treated as a separate sample. And the desegmenting<br />
injector works well for applications that don’t require<br />
every droplet to be analyzed, such as microdialysis.<br />
“Kennedy’s team has introduced two powerful tools<br />
for analyzing the contents of individual droplets in segmented<br />
flows,” says Robin L. Garrell, who studies microfluidics<br />
at UCLA. “By being able to desegment the<br />
flow, it’s now possible to examine the composition of<br />
droplets over time, a valuable tool for monitoring reactions<br />
and for microdialysis sampling.”—CELIA ARNAUD<br />
RISK ASSESSMENT FDA advisory panel finds agency’s review of bisphenol A inadequate<br />
An FDA draft safety assessment of bisphenol<br />
A (BPA) is inadequate according to<br />
a report released on Oct. 29 from a subcommittee<br />
of the agency’s Science Board.<br />
The report finds that FDA excluded numerous<br />
credible scientific studies and<br />
recommends that FDA reassess the risks<br />
of the controversial plastics chemical with<br />
new methods.<br />
The safety of BPA, a known endocrine<br />
disrupter found in polycarbonate plastic<br />
bottles and canned food linings, has<br />
been at the center of a congressional<br />
investigation and media firestorm since<br />
concerns about its health effects at low<br />
doses came to the forefront in April.<br />
FDA responded to the report with a<br />
statement saying that it agrees “additional<br />
research would be valuable” and<br />
that it “is already moving forward with<br />
planned research to address the potential<br />
low dose effects of bisphenol A.”<br />
Environmental groups and some members<br />
of Congress applauded the report.<br />
“Unlike FDA, the Science Board had the<br />
sense to recognize that the totality of scientific<br />
evidence should be evaluated when<br />
determining the safety of a potentially<br />
hazardous chemical,” Rep. John D. Dingell<br />
(D-Mich.), chairman of the House Committee<br />
on Energy & Commerce, said in a<br />
statement. The American Chemistry Council,<br />
an industry group, urged FDA to finalize<br />
its BPA assessment promptly and said it<br />
“and its member companies will comply<br />
with FDA’s direction.”—BRITT ERICKSON<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 12 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
BUSINESS CONCENTRATES<br />
BLAST AT CANADIAN<br />
CELANESE PLANT<br />
Celanese’s AT Plastics unit has declared<br />
force majeure for specialty plastics made<br />
at its Edmonton, Alberta, site, after an explosion<br />
and fire on Oct. 24. Nine workers<br />
were injured in the incident, treated, and<br />
released from the hospital. AT Plastics was<br />
part of Celanese’s 2005 purchase of Acetex<br />
and generated some $225 million in sales<br />
for Celanese in 2007. Celanese has yet to<br />
determine the cause or financial impact of<br />
the explosion.—AHT<br />
ALBEMARLE UNVEILS<br />
CATALYST TECHNOLOGY<br />
MERCK SLASHES JOBS,<br />
CLOSES RESEARCH SITES<br />
Merck & Co. said late last month that it will cut its workforce by about<br />
12%, eliminating approximately 7,200 positions across the company’s<br />
worldwide operations. The firm expects to complete the cuts by the end<br />
of 2011. The company also disclosed that it will shutter research facilities<br />
in Seattle; Tsukuba, Japan; and Pomezia, Italy. Merck, which now has approximately<br />
57,000 employees worldwide, expects the current job cuts to<br />
yield cumulative pretax savings of $3.8 billion to $4.2 billion from 2008<br />
to 2013. The company anticipates a pretax restructuring cost of between<br />
$250 million and $450 million in the fourth quarter of this year. Like most<br />
major drug companies, Merck faces many pressures, including a dropoff<br />
in new drugs, impending patent expirations, and declining revenue<br />
for products in its portfolio. The firm has in recent years closed five of its<br />
manufacturing facilities around the world.—RM<br />
Albemarle researchers have developed a<br />
proprietary catalyst activator that doubles<br />
productivity and lowers costs compared<br />
with conventional single-site polypropylene<br />
and polyethylene<br />
metallocene<br />
catalyst systems. Albemarle’s<br />
ActivCat<br />
technology, which<br />
Polypropylene<br />
is based on aluminoxane<br />
cocatalysts,<br />
produces resins with properties similar<br />
to those made with standard methylaluminoxane/silica-type<br />
catalysts, according<br />
to the company.—MSR<br />
EVONIK ADDS MORE<br />
PEROXIDES<br />
Evonik Industries will spend just more<br />
than $60 million to build a hydrogen peroxide<br />
plant at the Triunfo petrochemical<br />
complex near Porto Alegre, in southern<br />
Brazil, primarily to serve the paper and<br />
pulp industry. Construction is planned to<br />
start in mid-2009, and the plant should<br />
come onstream in early 2011. The new facility<br />
will have capacity of 40,000 metric tons<br />
per year.—PLLS<br />
DC CHEMICAL FORCED<br />
OFF SODIFF BOARD<br />
South Korea’s DC <strong>Chemical</strong> has issued a series<br />
of angry protests after Sodiff Advanced<br />
Materials, a company in which it is the largest<br />
shareholder, booted DCC’s representative<br />
off the board. Sodiff, a manufacturer<br />
of specialty gases used in the electronics<br />
BASF<br />
industry, alleges that DCC was stealing its<br />
technology. But DCC, a manufacturer of<br />
industrial chemicals and polysilicon<br />
used in solar cells, says it<br />
helped Sodiff survive a financial<br />
crisis and claims that Young Kyun<br />
Lee, the second-largest shareholder<br />
in Sodiff, is attempting<br />
to seize control of Sodiff. DCC<br />
currently owns 26% of Sodiff; its stake will<br />
increase to 37% when its convertible bonds<br />
come due on Dec. 1.—JFT<br />
BASF COLORS<br />
CONCEPT CAR<br />
Automaker Mazda unveiled an environmentally<br />
friendly urban concept car at the<br />
Paris International Motor show last month.<br />
Dubbed Kiyora, which in Japanese means<br />
clean and pure, the light, fuel-efficient car<br />
is designed to appeal to young European<br />
drivers. It features transparent polycarbonate<br />
doors and a paint finish developed<br />
by BASF Coatings.—MSR<br />
GLAXO TO BUY GENELABS<br />
TECHNOLOGIES<br />
GlaxoSmithKline has reached a definitive<br />
agreement to buy Genelabs Technologies<br />
for $57 million. Genelabs is a Redwood City,<br />
Calif.-based drug discovery firm now focusing<br />
on novel compounds that selectively<br />
inhibit replication of the hepatitis C virus.<br />
The two firms already have a partnership to<br />
develop a vaccine against hepatitis E.—MSR<br />
LINDE EXPANDS IN<br />
CHINA, SWITZERLAND<br />
Industrial gases supplier Linde will undertake<br />
projects to expand supplies to customers<br />
in China at a cost of $22 million and in<br />
Switzerland at a cost of $56 million. Linde<br />
plans to build a third air separation<br />
plant in Ningbo, in eastern China,<br />
to supply Ningbo Steel beginning in<br />
2009. Also in Ningbo, Linde will construct<br />
a pipeline by 2010 to supply<br />
oxygen and nitrogen to a polyvinyl<br />
chloride factory now under construction<br />
by Korea’s Hanwha <strong>Chemical</strong>.<br />
In Muttenz, Switzerland, the<br />
firm will construct a 500-ton-per-day<br />
liquefied nitrogen, oxygen, and argon<br />
plant by late 2010 to supply chemical<br />
and pharmaceutical customers in the<br />
area in which the Swiss, German, and<br />
French borders meet.—MSR<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 13 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
BUSINESS CONCENTRATES<br />
MAXYGEN CUTS COSTS<br />
AND SHIFTS STRATEGY<br />
Maxygen is cutting costs while exploring<br />
options for selling assets, partnering,<br />
or making other business arrangements.<br />
The Redwood City, Calif.-based firm will<br />
eliminate about 30% of its workforce in<br />
early 2009 and retain about 65 employees.<br />
Remaining staff will focus primarily on the<br />
MAXY-4 program with Astellas Pharma<br />
to treat immune disorders; a small team<br />
will continue other protein drug discovery<br />
efforts for autoimmune diseases. The<br />
company won’t advance its MAXY-G34<br />
product, now in Phase II development for<br />
chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, unless<br />
it finds a collaborative partner to share<br />
costs. Maxygen says it will end 2008 with<br />
about $200 million in cash, no debt, and a<br />
25% stake in biocatalyst technology developer<br />
Codexis.—AMT<br />
CEPHALON LICENSES<br />
ACUSPHERE PRODUCT<br />
Cephalon is paying $20 million in up-front<br />
financing to Acusphere for an exclusive<br />
worldwide license to AI-525, a preclinicalstage<br />
injectable form of the anti-inflammatory<br />
drug celecoxib, which is the active<br />
ingredient in Pfizer’s Celebrex. The formulation<br />
uses Acusphere’s drug delivery technology<br />
for hydrophobic drugs. The deal<br />
includes a $15 million milestone payment<br />
and royalties on sales if AI-525, which targets<br />
postoperative pain relief, is approved.<br />
Cephalon also has an option to license Acusphere’s<br />
Imagify, a cardiovascular imaging<br />
agent based on perflubutane-containing<br />
polymer microspheres. If exercised, Cephalon<br />
would pay Acusphere $40 million<br />
upon FDA approval of Imagify, as well as<br />
royalties.—AMT<br />
GERMANY’S MERCK<br />
SETS NEW LICENSES<br />
Merck kGaA has taken two new licenses<br />
to beef up its pharmaceuticals pipeline.<br />
It has obtained an exclusive worldwide<br />
license from San Diego-based Lpath Inc.<br />
to develop and commercialize Asonep,<br />
a monoclonal antibody now undergoing<br />
Phase I clinical trials for various types of<br />
cancer. Merck Serono will provide Lpath<br />
up to $23 million in up-front payments<br />
and R&D funding to support Lpath’s<br />
completion of the Phase I evaluation.<br />
Further payments could amount to another<br />
$450 million if Asonep is approved<br />
in multiple indications. The other licensing<br />
agreement, with Montreal-based<br />
Theratechnologies, covers U.S. rights to<br />
tesamorelin, a growth hormone-releasing<br />
factor analog being investigated in the<br />
U.S. for the treatment of excess abdominal<br />
fat in HIV patients with lipodystrophy.<br />
Theratechnologies will receive $30 million,<br />
which includes a license fee of<br />
$22 million and an equity investment of<br />
$8 million. Total payments could reach<br />
$215 million.—PLLS<br />
METHYLGENE<br />
WILL RECLAIM<br />
CANCER THERAPIES<br />
MethylGene says that Celgene has terminated<br />
its licensing deal for oncology<br />
histone deacetylase inhibitors, including<br />
MGCD0103, and that it will reacquire the<br />
rights to these development programs.<br />
Celgene picked up the development rights<br />
to several MethylGene drug candidates<br />
when it acquired Pharmion earlier this<br />
year. MethylGene also plans a reorganization<br />
in which it will discontinue discovery<br />
research in order to focus resources on development<br />
of its proprietary drug pipeline.<br />
A phased workforce reduction could eliminate<br />
half of the company’s 109 full-time<br />
jobs by the end of next year. “By streamlining<br />
the organization to focus on development,<br />
we expect to extend our current cash<br />
resources and progress our clinical pipeline<br />
toward nearer-term value-enhancing<br />
milestones,” says Donald F. Corcoran, CEO<br />
of MethylGene.—RM<br />
BUSINESS<br />
ROUNDUP<br />
LANXESS will invest<br />
nearly $50 million to<br />
expand its aromatics<br />
network in Leverkusen,<br />
Germany. The specialty<br />
chemical producer will<br />
increase by 60% production<br />
of cresols, cresol<br />
derivatives, and monochlorobenzene<br />
to support<br />
growing customer demand.<br />
The new capacity<br />
is scheduled for completion<br />
by the beginning of<br />
2010.<br />
MATHESON TRI-GAS,<br />
the U.S. subsidiary of<br />
Taiyo Nippon Sanso, has<br />
opened a helium distribution<br />
center in Irwindale,<br />
Calif., to service both<br />
Asian and local customers<br />
and will shortly open<br />
a second distribution<br />
point in Newark, Calif. The<br />
firm and its partner, Air<br />
Products & <strong>Chemical</strong>s,<br />
are building a helium<br />
plant that will start up in<br />
2010 in Big Piney, Wyo.,<br />
to boost quantities of the<br />
gas that is in chronically<br />
short supply and is used<br />
in research, medical, and<br />
other applications.<br />
POTASH CORP. of Saskatchewan<br />
is investing<br />
$150 million to increase<br />
its stake in Israel <strong>Chemical</strong>s<br />
by 1%, to 11%. The<br />
company says offshore<br />
investments, including<br />
its stake in Israel <strong>Chemical</strong>s<br />
and in Chile’s SQM,<br />
China’s Sinofert, and Jordan’s<br />
Arab Potash, are<br />
worth $4.9 billion and<br />
added nearly $140 million<br />
to its third-quarter<br />
earnings.<br />
VIETNAM will invest<br />
$1.5 billion in a fertilizer<br />
complex on Russia’s Caspian<br />
coast. The plant will<br />
produce 850,000 metric<br />
tons of ammonia and<br />
750,000 metric tons of<br />
nitrogen fertilizer per year.<br />
The deal is one of 12 new<br />
projects, including joint<br />
ventures for oil and gas<br />
exploration, between the<br />
two countries, according<br />
to the Russian <strong>News</strong> &<br />
Information Agency.<br />
ALBEMARLE has begun<br />
worker consultations regarding<br />
sale of its Port de<br />
Bouc, France, brominated<br />
and fine chemicals site<br />
to International <strong>Chemical</strong><br />
Investors group, a private<br />
equity fund that has acquired<br />
14 independent<br />
chemical businesses<br />
since 2004. Albemarle<br />
expects to take a pretax<br />
charge of $25 million to<br />
$30 million on the sale.<br />
LAUREATE PHARMA, in<br />
Princeton, N.J., has landed<br />
a cGMP manufacturing<br />
contract with Tolera Therapeutics,<br />
a biotechnology<br />
company that develops<br />
and markets targeted<br />
therapies for immune<br />
modulation. Under the<br />
agreement, Laureate will<br />
produce Tolera’s TOL101<br />
monoclonal antibody for<br />
use in clinical trials.<br />
ARGONNE NATIONAL<br />
Laboratory; the University<br />
of Illinois, Urbana-<br />
Champaign; the University<br />
of Illinois, Chicago; and<br />
Northwestern University<br />
have formed the Illinois<br />
Center for Advanced<br />
Tribology. The center will<br />
solicit funds from public<br />
and industrial sources<br />
to research lubrication<br />
problems in extreme<br />
medical and transportation<br />
environments.<br />
DANISCO has agreed to<br />
acquire Agtech Products,<br />
a U.S.-based maker of<br />
microbial additives for<br />
animal digestion and livestock<br />
waste treatment for<br />
$42 million. Agtech has<br />
47 employees and annual<br />
sales of $12 million, and<br />
its acquisition is expected<br />
to help the Danish enzymes<br />
maker expand its<br />
animal nutrition business.<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 14 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
BUSINESS<br />
CHEMEXPLORER<br />
LILLY DROPS AN<br />
ANCHOR IN SHANGHAI<br />
Senior scientists staff new office COORDINATING R&D in China<br />
JEAN-FRANÇOIS TREMBLAY, C&EN HONG KONG<br />
LAST MONTH, a group of senior scientists<br />
from Eli Lilly & Co. started working out of<br />
an office in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang Hi-Tech<br />
Park. Rather than do research themselves,<br />
they are there to provide scientific leadership<br />
to the Chinese firms that Lilly has<br />
tasked with a steadily expanding range of<br />
R&D activities.<br />
“Large multinational drug companies<br />
conduct research in China either by building<br />
their own brick-and-mortar R&D<br />
centers or by building relationships with<br />
contract research organizations,” says<br />
Robert W. Armstrong, a Lilly vice president<br />
in charge of global external R&D. “We are<br />
in the second camp.”<br />
Non-U.S. pharmaceutical companies,<br />
including Novartis, AstraZeneca, Roche,<br />
and GlaxoSmithKline, have built or are in<br />
the process of building their own R&D centers<br />
in China. U.S. drug firms such as Lilly,<br />
Pfizer, and Merck & Co. have generally opted<br />
to take advantage of China’s scientists<br />
by collaborating with third parties there.<br />
Armstrong does not see the new coordination<br />
facility in Shanghai as contradicting<br />
Lilly’s aversion to brick-and-mortar investments<br />
in Chinese research. As the range<br />
and complexity of the R&D services Lilly<br />
purchased in China expanded, the need for<br />
a permanent scientific presence became<br />
clear. For one thing, Lilly can now better<br />
respond when a research partner in China<br />
comes up with lab results that are at odds<br />
with what scientists at the firm’s Indianapolis<br />
headquarters had expected.<br />
More important, the presence of experienced<br />
Lilly scientists in China improves the<br />
firm’s ability to identify promising research<br />
partners. “If we stay in Indiana, we’re going<br />
to be closing ourselves to the ideas that are<br />
elsewhere,” says William W. Chin, the Indianapolis-based<br />
vice president in charge of<br />
discovery research and clinical investigation.<br />
Lilly was motivated to come to China,<br />
Armstrong points out, because both patients<br />
and shareholders are demanding<br />
improvements in Lilly’s ability to bring innovative<br />
drugs to the market in a cost-efficient<br />
way. “We see partnerships as a mechanism<br />
to learn how to do things differently,<br />
not as a substitute for the things that we do<br />
right now” in the U.S., Armstrong says.<br />
Important for Lilly is that the availability<br />
of drug development services in China<br />
is steadily expanding. The same week that<br />
Lilly inaugurated its R&D center, three<br />
others opened biology service facilities in<br />
Shanghai: the U.S. firm Charles River; the<br />
Chinese company PharmaLegacy Laboratories;<br />
and Medicilon-MPI, a joint venture<br />
between China’s Shanghai Medicilon and<br />
Michigan-based MPI Research. Darren Ji,<br />
chief executive of PharmaLegacy, says his<br />
REACHING OUT<br />
In China, Lilly<br />
collaborates with<br />
local research<br />
companies such<br />
as Shanghai<br />
ChemExplorer,<br />
an employee of<br />
which is pictured<br />
here.<br />
company provides preclinical<br />
specialty pharmacology<br />
services.<br />
For the five years<br />
beginning in 2007 and<br />
running until 2011,<br />
Lilly will spend a minimum<br />
of $100 million<br />
on third-party research<br />
in China, says Tony Y.<br />
Zhang, the managing<br />
director of the new Shanghai center who<br />
relocated to China from the U.S. earlier<br />
this year.<br />
THROUGH ITS LOCAL PARTNERS, Lilly<br />
already employs 300 scientists in China, the<br />
majority of them chemists, Zhang points<br />
out. Shanghai ChemExplorer, a member<br />
of the Shangpharma contract research and<br />
manufacturing group, works exclusively on<br />
Lilly projects. About a year ago, Lilly set up<br />
a profit-sharing research collaboration with<br />
Shanghai-based Hutchison MediPharma<br />
(C&EN, Oct. 22, 2007, page 39).<br />
Lilly’s investment in the coordination<br />
center is modest, Zhang acknowledges. It<br />
consists of 5,500 sq ft of office space essentially<br />
devoid of scientific instruments.<br />
Zhang says Lilly’s scientists will make use<br />
of data and instrumentation supplied by<br />
the company’s Chinese partners. There are<br />
10 Lilly senior scientists from Indianapolis<br />
in China now, and Zhang expects that number<br />
could increase to 30.<br />
The group that Lilly has established<br />
in China may be small in number, but it<br />
is staffed with “drug hunters,” Chin says.<br />
These are scientists who over the years<br />
have demonstrated the ability to tease<br />
promising drug candidates out of the<br />
reams of data that discovery labs generate<br />
every day. For example, before Peter A.<br />
Lander relocated to Shanghai to become<br />
Lilly’s head of discovery chemistry in Asia,<br />
he was in charge of drug lead generation at<br />
the firm’s headquarters.<br />
Armstrong insists that Lilly employees<br />
in the U.S. don’t feel threatened by the company’s<br />
expansion in China. In response to<br />
cost pressure, “we have been challenged to<br />
do things differently,” he says. “China is part<br />
of a transformation agenda for our R&D.”<br />
According to Armstrong’s colleague<br />
Chin, merely cutting expenses and employees<br />
is not a smart way to contain the cost of<br />
bringing new drugs to market. “We have to<br />
have an innovation engine,” he says. “We<br />
cannot save our way into the new drugs for<br />
our patients of the future.” ■<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 15 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
BUSINESS INSIGHTS<br />
Come Together<br />
A funding initiative for CANCER RESEARCH taps into a game-shifting trend toward collaboration<br />
RICK MULLIN, C&EN NORTHEAST NEWS BUREAU<br />
CBS EVENING NEWS anchor Katie<br />
Couric is no stranger to the fight<br />
against cancer. Couric, whose husband<br />
died of colon cancer in 1998,<br />
has since advocated vigorously for<br />
early detection, famously broadcasting<br />
her own colonoscopy when<br />
she hosted the “Today Show.”<br />
Earlier this year, she broadened her<br />
target, spearheading an effort to<br />
raise philanthropic dollars for general<br />
cancer research.<br />
She was not alone. ABC’s<br />
Charles Gibson and NBC’s Brian<br />
Williams, Couric’s counterparts at the other major networks,<br />
stood with her for the launch of Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) last<br />
May. With film producer Laura Ziskin and television producer<br />
Noreen Fraser, both cancer survivors, on its board of directors,<br />
SU2C is essentially an entertainment industry initiative. It is also<br />
very much in tune with an important trend in cancer research, one<br />
highlighted by the participation of all three major network news<br />
anchors—the trend toward collaboration.<br />
According to Marge Foti, chief executive officer of the American<br />
Association for Cancer Research, SU2C’s scientific partner, 70%<br />
of SU2C’s approximately $100 million in available money will go<br />
only to partnerships—collaborative research efforts undertaken<br />
by groups of commercial or institutional laboratories that have<br />
traditionally competed against each other. Foti says this is, in part,<br />
meant to foster translational research, the practice of linking clinical<br />
development directly to drug discovery. But mostly, she says,<br />
it reflects a realization that cancer will not be cured within the<br />
walls of disjointed, competitive research labs. “Team science is<br />
something the scientific community says needs to be done going<br />
forward,” Foti says.<br />
LATELY, there is palpable enthusiasm in the cancer research<br />
community. The greater understanding of the genetic nature of<br />
the disease, fostered by the flood of data unleashed in the decoding<br />
of the human genome, has set every major drug company and<br />
research institute to work on new compounds to better target<br />
the disease and work toward a cure. Therapies such as Herceptin,<br />
a breast cancer drug that targets the HER2 receptor, are at the<br />
forefront of a personalized medicine approach,<br />
one that generates drugs catered to individual patients<br />
based on genetic information about their<br />
cancers. And researchers are beginning to explore<br />
the development of combination therapies,<br />
an approach of administering multiple drugs, or<br />
cocktails, that has proven effective in the treatment<br />
of HIV.<br />
It is clear, however, that a new level of collaboration<br />
must be reached in order for researchers<br />
STAND UP TO CANCER<br />
Network news anchors<br />
Gibson (from left), Couric,<br />
and Williams team up for<br />
Stand Up To Cancer.<br />
“When there is<br />
money available to<br />
put collaborations<br />
together, groups<br />
that viewed each<br />
other as competitors<br />
get excited.”<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 16 NOVEMBER 3, 2008<br />
to crunch the numbers, design the<br />
clinical trials, and get access to all<br />
of the available compounds needed<br />
to move the most promising drugs<br />
and combinations of drugs to the<br />
market. Connections need to be<br />
made between the traditional islands<br />
of research. Data will need<br />
to be shared by big cancer centers,<br />
and big drug companies will have<br />
to work together in exploring combination<br />
therapies—levels of collaboration<br />
generally thought of as<br />
beyond the pale.<br />
Yet the seeds of such collaboration<br />
are sown in exactly the kind<br />
of partnerships that SU2C seeks to<br />
fund. According to Jeff Hanke, vice<br />
president for cancer research at<br />
AstraZeneca, the major cancer centers with which large drug companies<br />
develop emerging cancer therapies are gaining access to a<br />
wide range of preclinical compounds with leeway to investigate<br />
how they might work together.<br />
With new science comes a new research culture, Hanke says.<br />
“Up until the 2000s, I don’t think people understood how complex<br />
cancer would be. There were no deep insights into the number of<br />
mechanisms involved and how adaptable they are,” he says. “We<br />
have to reach across walls to do things effectively. There is a lot<br />
more dialogue and openness at the major cancer centers. Scientists<br />
are really excited about getting together.”<br />
Thomas J. Lynch, chief of the division of hematology and oncology<br />
at Massachusetts General Hospital, agrees that researchers are<br />
anxious to get together and work across the traditional competitive<br />
boundary lines. And the SU2C grant system will help provide<br />
funding needed to make this happen. “When there is money available<br />
to put collaborations together, groups that viewed each other<br />
as competitors get excited—they can get it done, make it real time,<br />
and help everybody,” Lynch says.<br />
SU2C may be the new kid on the block in cancer research fundraising.<br />
It is likely to get some public attention given its entertainment<br />
industry front office. And public attention, as was shown in<br />
HIV/AIDS research in the 1980s and 1990s, is a powerful force. Its<br />
scientific advisory committee, headed by Nobel<br />
Laureate Phillip A. Sharp of Massachusetts Institute<br />
of Technology and comprising 18 scientists<br />
and two patient advocates, is formidable. Much<br />
about the organization is emblematic of the changes<br />
that are positioning the pharmaceutical enterprise<br />
for breakthroughs in cancer research.<br />
Views expressed on this page are those of the<br />
author and not necessarily those of ACS.
GOVERNMENT & POLICY CONCENTRATES<br />
FDA’S FOREIGN<br />
INSPECTION PROGRAM<br />
NEEDS OVERHAUL<br />
Better data management and more inspections<br />
are needed to strengthen FDA’s<br />
foreign drug facility inspection program,<br />
according to congressional investigators.<br />
The Government Accountability Office<br />
says the agency isn’t sure how many foreign<br />
establishments produce drugs for<br />
the U.S. market (GAO-08-970). Using a<br />
list of 3,249 plants FDA developed in 2007<br />
to prioritize foreign inspections, GAO<br />
estimates that FDA inspects only about<br />
8% of facilities outside the U.S. each year.<br />
“At this rate, it would take FDA more than<br />
13 years to inspect these establishments<br />
once,” GAO notes. Pharmaceutical plants<br />
in the U.S. are inspected on average every<br />
2.7 years. “This report confirms that we<br />
have reason to be concerned about the<br />
safety of imported drugs,” says House<br />
Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman<br />
John D. Dingell (D-Mich.). “Foreign<br />
inspections are alarmingly low.” The<br />
report also indicates that FDA is failing to<br />
promptly conduct follow-up inspections<br />
after serious violations—such as product<br />
impurities or record-keeping problems—<br />
are found in foreign facilities. From 2002<br />
through 2007, FDA issued 15 warning<br />
letters to foreign drug producers but reinspected<br />
only four of the facilities, the<br />
report notes.—GH<br />
SENATORS ASK EPA<br />
NOT TO ISSUE AIR RULE<br />
EU LISTS CHEMICALS OF CONCERN<br />
Following submissions from various European Union member countries,<br />
the European <strong>Chemical</strong>s Agency (ECHA) has put 15 chemicals on its candidate<br />
list of “substances of very high concern.” The list is part of the EU’s<br />
new regulatory program under the Registration, Evaluation & Authorization<br />
of <strong>Chemical</strong>s (REACH). “The inclusion of the substances in the list<br />
generates immediate new legal obligations” for companies producing,<br />
marketing, and using them, ECHA Executive Director Geert Dancet says.<br />
As of Dec. 1, 2011, a producer has to notify ECHA when a product contains<br />
more than 0.1% by weight of a substance on the candidate list, or when<br />
use totals more than 1 metric ton per year. Companies must also provide<br />
sufficient information on the safe use of the chemical or product to customers<br />
and consumers who request it. Inclusion on this list, some project,<br />
will encourage producers to develop more benign replacement chemicals.<br />
Publication of the list is “a welcome start, but a drop in the ocean,” given<br />
“the hundreds of well-known dangerous substances present in products<br />
used every day across Europe,” according to a statement released by a coalition<br />
of environmental and consumer public interest groups.—PLLS<br />
Because a federal court recently overturned<br />
a key Clean Air Act regulation, two powerful<br />
Senate Democrats are asking EPA not<br />
to issue a pending related rule that would<br />
relax some emissions controls on power<br />
plants. The pending rule, which the Bush<br />
Administration says it will finalize in coming<br />
weeks, is expected to boost air pollution<br />
from coal-fired power plants. This in turn<br />
is likely to pressure state environmental<br />
regulators to impose more stringent emissions<br />
controls on other industries, possibly<br />
including chemical plants, to maintain air<br />
quality. Proposed in 2005, the pending rule<br />
would allow utilities to renovate and expand<br />
the operating capacity of older power plants<br />
without having to install modern air pollution<br />
controls. EPA said any increase in annual<br />
pollution from power plants due to these<br />
proposed changes would be offset by another<br />
regulation called the Clean Air Interstate<br />
Rule (CAIR). But in July, a federal appeals<br />
court threw out CAIR (C&EN, July 21, page<br />
12). EPA needs to withdraw the pending rule<br />
because CAIR no longer exists, say Sens.<br />
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who chairs the<br />
Senate Environment & Public Works Committee,<br />
and Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), who<br />
chairs the panel’s Subcommittee on Clean<br />
Air & Nuclear Safety.—CH<br />
DOE UPGRADES USER<br />
FACILITIES’ CONTRACTS<br />
On Oct. 27, the Department of Energy announced<br />
that it has streamlined access<br />
to user facilities, which offer researchers<br />
access to unique and expensive equipment<br />
and expertise, by making changes to<br />
technology transfer contracts. The new<br />
contracts clarify wording and provide a<br />
universal document that all DOE user facilities<br />
can employ. The two standardized<br />
contracts are designed to make it easier<br />
for university and industry scientists to<br />
use DOE’s research facilities. Under the<br />
proprietary agreement, users pay full cost<br />
for lab equipment use, and with limited<br />
exceptions, the researchers will retain<br />
all rights to the data and new inventions.<br />
For noncommercial and precompetitive<br />
research, researchers can use DOE’s equipment<br />
and collaborate with lab scientists<br />
under the nonproprietary agreement, but<br />
all data would be publicly available. The department<br />
hopes these contracts will speed<br />
up processing time, get researchers on-site,<br />
and increase collaborations. Researchers<br />
who already have contracts to use DOE<br />
facilities can expect the agreements to be<br />
executed as originally written.—RFHB<br />
GROUP PROMOTES USE<br />
OF GREENER CHEMICALS<br />
Executives from the electronics, health<br />
care, retail, and building sectors are<br />
joining with health and environmental<br />
advocates to promote the development<br />
and use of safer chemicals. On Oct. 29,<br />
the Business-NGO Working Group for<br />
Safer <strong>Chemical</strong>s & Sustainable Materials<br />
unveiled principles designed to encourage<br />
chemical producers to supply compounds<br />
with low to no toxicity and which degrade<br />
into innocuous substances. The principles<br />
call for manufacturers to identify the<br />
chemicals that are used to make or are<br />
contained in a product and for buyers to<br />
request chemical data from their suppliers.<br />
In addition, they call for manufacturers<br />
to determine the hazards of substances<br />
in their products; use chemicals with<br />
inherently low hazard potential; and target<br />
persistent, bioaccumulative, or toxic<br />
compounds for elimination. Roger McFadden,<br />
vice president of product science and<br />
technology for Corporate Express, an arm<br />
of office products retailer Staples, explains<br />
that the principles “mark a significant step<br />
toward incorporating green chemistry into<br />
consumer goods.” —CH<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 17 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
SHUTTERSTOCK<br />
GOVERNMENT & POLICY<br />
CYBERSECURITY<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> sector FACES UNCERTAINTY about<br />
how to protect critical information<br />
ROCHELLE F. H. BOHATY, C&EN WASHINGTON<br />
PERHAPS YOU KNOW all too well the casualties<br />
of cyber war—loss of time, money,<br />
and maybe even your identity. In what<br />
seems to be a pandemic, cyber attacks on<br />
both individuals and organizations are increasing<br />
in frequency, sophistication, and<br />
the collateral damage they cause.<br />
Cybersecurity is of particular interest<br />
to the chemical industry not only because<br />
a cyber attack on a company could directly<br />
affect its business operations, but the possibility<br />
of an attack also places the company<br />
under heightened scrutiny by federal<br />
regulators who will consider such threats,<br />
among other factors, in assessing chemical<br />
facilities’ vulnerability to a terrorist attack.<br />
For these reasons, chemical industry trade<br />
associations have developed cybersecurity<br />
programs to help their members comply<br />
with federal regulations and mitigate vulnerabilities<br />
to cyber attacks.<br />
Despite these programs, however, companies<br />
will be seriously challenged in deciding<br />
what steps to take because of the ever-changing<br />
tactics of cyber attackers, the cost of cybersecurity,<br />
and the fact that the Department<br />
of Homeland Security will decide companies’<br />
cybersecurity on a case-by-case basis.<br />
“The chemical sector is not alone in being<br />
vulnerable to cyber attacks,” says Sue<br />
Armstrong, acting director of DHS’s Infrastructure<br />
Security Compliance Division.<br />
But an attack has the potential to cause<br />
more direct physical damage and injury to<br />
the chemical sector than to other sectors<br />
such as banking and finance, she adds.<br />
“An attack on a chemical facility could<br />
have devastating consequences regardless of<br />
the type of attack,” Armstrong notes. Types<br />
of scenarios could range from cyber attacks<br />
such as hacking to physical actions such as<br />
bombing. For this reason, she explains, DHS<br />
is implementing a regulatory program now.<br />
DHS’s cybersecurity efforts are part<br />
of its role in assessing and ensuring that<br />
chemical installations are secure, thereby<br />
decreasing the possibility that terrorists<br />
will exploit them in an attack. Under a set<br />
of rules known as the <strong>Chemical</strong> Facility<br />
Anti-terrorism Standards (CFATS), DHS<br />
has preliminarily ranked more than 7,000<br />
facilities into four tiers according to risk of<br />
a terrorist attack (C&EN, July 7, page 7).<br />
Ranked facilities are in the process of<br />
submitting additional security and vul-<br />
“If someone decides specifically to go after<br />
your organization, it is going to be very<br />
difficult to prevent them from breaking in.”<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 18 NOVEMBER 3, 2008<br />
nerability information to DHS that the<br />
department will use to determine each<br />
facility’s final ranking. DHS has identified<br />
18 criteria, including cybersecurity and<br />
perimeter security, that companies must<br />
address for this assessment.<br />
The additional data from preliminarily<br />
ranked facilities are due to DHS by the end<br />
of the year. This means that DHS expects<br />
to collect thousands of assessments from<br />
the chemical industry—assessments that<br />
not only include details about each company’s<br />
cybersecurity problems but that also<br />
become cybersecurity risks themselves.<br />
The security risk of information submitted<br />
by the chemical industry through<br />
DHS’s online system is something DHS<br />
takes very seriously.<br />
“The systems that collect all this information<br />
from industry under the CFATS<br />
program are hosted at federally owned<br />
sites, on dedicated subnetworks that<br />
have been hardened to meet or exceed”<br />
stringent federal security and encryption<br />
standards for information processing,<br />
Armstrong tells C&EN.<br />
Even so, some cybersecurity experts<br />
question just how secure these data really<br />
will be. The method that DHS uses to “encrypt<br />
communications with the chemical<br />
industry does not in itself provide much<br />
insight into the overall security of the<br />
information exchange,” says Ronald W.<br />
Ritchey, a cyber associate with consulting<br />
group Booz Allen Hamilton. He adds that<br />
attackers would tend not to focus on the<br />
encryption systems—because they are<br />
hard targets—but instead would focus on<br />
attacking elements such as workstations<br />
or servers used to create, store, process, or<br />
transmit the information.<br />
For classified government systems such<br />
as DHS’s, the “risk is low” for a cyber attack,<br />
says Andy Singer, a principal cyber<br />
campaign and intelligence consultant with<br />
Booz Allen Hamilton. But the system may<br />
be a prime target for espionage because of<br />
its “aggregate value,” he adds.<br />
For example, hacking into a single site that<br />
houses a database of chemical companies’<br />
information has more bang for the buck than<br />
hacking into a single company’s website.<br />
But, Ritchey points out, any network can
e exploited, even those considered lowrisk.<br />
“If someone decides specifically to go<br />
after your organization, it is going to be very<br />
difficult to prevent them from breaking<br />
in,” he says. This gives the chemical sector<br />
reason to be concerned that DHS’s system<br />
could be breeched, resulting in an unintended<br />
dissemination of high-risk facilities’<br />
security and vulnerability information.<br />
Although DHS requires high-risk facilities<br />
to address cybersecurity challenges,<br />
including cybersecurity in a plant’s overall<br />
security profile is a good business practice,<br />
says Christine Adams, director of the<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> Sector Cyber Security Program<br />
for industry trade group American Chemistry<br />
Council (ACC) and a senior information<br />
systems manager at Dow <strong>Chemical</strong>.<br />
The fact that much of the chemical industry<br />
is made up of automated processing<br />
plants that handle large quantities of dangerous<br />
materials not only makes it a target<br />
for terrorist attacks but for cyber attacks,<br />
too, according to Ritchey and Singer.<br />
And adding to industry’s vulnerability<br />
are the sector’s extensive computer networks,<br />
which circle the globe and provide<br />
FUELING CONCERN is the fact that the<br />
Federal Bureau of Investigation is currently<br />
examining thousands of cyber attacks.<br />
Already, the FBI has noticed that the usual<br />
suspects are evolving, changing tactics, and<br />
increasing the sophistication of their attacks.<br />
For example, in the past, cyber assailants<br />
did not associate with each other, but now<br />
virtual gangs are a growing threat, according<br />
to Shawn Henry, assistant director of the<br />
FBI’s Cyber Division. Hackers are banding<br />
together to pool their expertise and carry<br />
out coordinated attacks, he said at a briefing<br />
in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17.<br />
Cyber experts with Booz Allen Hamilton<br />
also agree that attackers’ tactics are changing<br />
to become more sophisticated and,<br />
they say, more prevalent.<br />
When it comes to breeching a system,<br />
Ritchey says targeting an individual who<br />
has broad access within an organization<br />
with the intention of stealthily extracting<br />
information or waging an attack is the<br />
simplest way for a cyber assailant to affect<br />
companies in the chemical industry. He<br />
says the industry is extremely vulnerable to<br />
such “targeted phishing attacks.”<br />
For example, Ritchey explains, a company<br />
employee could receive an e-mail that<br />
says: “Hey Joe, I saw you talking on such and<br />
such a topic. The attached report might interest<br />
to you.” The attached file may in fact<br />
be interesting, relevant, and appear completely<br />
authentic, Ritchey says, but when Joe<br />
opens the file, his user profile, computer, or<br />
network could be compromised without Joe<br />
even knowing. “At this point the attackers<br />
have control,” Ritchey tells C&EN.<br />
This scenario could cause problems for a<br />
company and for its employees, who could<br />
become suspects if information such as<br />
user names and passwords were used by<br />
perpetrators to coordinate an attack.<br />
The fear of what terrorists might do<br />
if they had access to valuable business<br />
information or learned how to remotely<br />
control a manufacturing process is one of<br />
the reasons that DHS has included cybersecurity<br />
when evaluating a chemical facility’s<br />
risk of attack, agency officials note.<br />
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www.ssi.shimadzu.com/FTIR<br />
Shimadzu Scientific Instruments Inc., 7102 Riverwood Dr., Columbia, MD 21046, U.S.A.<br />
Order consumables and accessories on-line at http://store.shimadzu.com<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 19 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
more access points for intruders to hack.<br />
“Networks are meant to be open,”<br />
Singer says. This makes them perhaps<br />
impossible to secure unless a “fortune” is<br />
invested to secure them, he adds. Software<br />
companies are working to alleviate some of<br />
the security vulnerabilities that arise from<br />
developing open-source systems, he says.<br />
For the chemical industry, an attack such<br />
as a virus or worm could have far-reaching<br />
implications. Illegal tapping of a company’s<br />
internal networks could allow unintentional<br />
access to highly valued trade secrets<br />
and other intellectual property, personnel<br />
and financial information, and inventory<br />
data. In addition, a computer malfunction<br />
could cause a manufacturing or control<br />
process to go wrong, according to Singer.<br />
Over time these attacks could degrade<br />
their business, Singer says. A single attack<br />
may not appear to be catastrophic, but it<br />
could cause a company to go out of business<br />
if the problem becomes repetitive, he adds.<br />
Unintended access to manufacturing<br />
and control processes is what probably<br />
keeps industry representatives up at night,<br />
Ritchey notes.<br />
A cyber attack targeting manufacturing<br />
and control processes could limit product<br />
output or cause chemical reactions to go<br />
bad, according to Eric C. Cosman, a member<br />
of ACC’s <strong>Chemical</strong> Sector Cyber Security<br />
Program Steering Team and an engineering<br />
solutions architect at Dow.<br />
PURAC helps companies reach sustainability<br />
goals and manage green initiatives<br />
with naturally derived bio-based solutions.<br />
Replace or reduce the amount of<br />
petrochemicals in your product or formula<br />
using PURAC’s natural lactic acid and<br />
derivatives. Take the first step towards<br />
managing your future. For assistance and<br />
proven solutions, call 888-899-8016<br />
or visit purac.com/biobased<br />
PURAC has offices in:<br />
Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands,<br />
Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom and USA.<br />
Call 888-899-8016 or visit purac.com/biobased<br />
TO HELP chemical companies combat<br />
some of these threats, ACC and the Synthetic<br />
Organic <strong>Chemical</strong> Manufacturers<br />
Association (SOCMA) have each developed<br />
programs. These programs focus on<br />
the business and information technology<br />
aspects of cybersecurity along with manufacturing<br />
and control processes.<br />
Adams tells C&EN that the first thing<br />
members of the chemical sector should<br />
do is a risk analysis of their cyber infrastructure.<br />
She encourages industry to take<br />
a holistic approach when thinking about<br />
threats, rather than focusing on one type of<br />
cyber assailant or attack.<br />
To help companies, ACC’s cybersecurity<br />
program offers guidance about educating<br />
employees on cybersecurity issues, computerizing<br />
inventory control processes,<br />
and segregating networks such as manufacturing<br />
control and business.<br />
Although the ACC and SOCMA programs<br />
do represent good business practices<br />
for cybersecurity, DHS’s Armstrong says<br />
the agency does not endorse either program.<br />
She adds that trade groups’ cybersecurity<br />
programs instituted by companies<br />
may or may not meet CFATS standards.<br />
She underscores that high-risk chemical<br />
facilities will be looked at on an individual<br />
basis and that DHS will not provide prescriptive<br />
cybersecurity measures.<br />
For its part, ACC says it is committed to<br />
working with DHS to make sure its program<br />
will meet the needs of the chemical sector<br />
so that it can comply with DHS regulations.<br />
ACC is working “to develop the right information-sharing<br />
mechanisms and to understand<br />
the relevant information that needs to<br />
be shared with DHS,” Adams says. This, in<br />
turn, should help DHS complete the national<br />
threat analysis and understand the state of<br />
the chemical industry, Adams notes. ■<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 20 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
GOVERNMENT & POLICY<br />
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES<br />
STANDARDS<br />
NIST LOOKS TO HELP make biosciences measurements uniform<br />
NEW DISCOVERIES in the biological sciences<br />
and biotechnology have the potential<br />
to transform health care, energy, national<br />
security, the environment, manufacturing,<br />
agriculture, and many more areas that impact<br />
society. But measurement standards<br />
haven’t kept up with the rate of discovery,<br />
making it difficult for research to move beyond<br />
the laboratory.<br />
The National Institute of Standards &<br />
Technology (NIST), well-known for its<br />
metrology expertise in an expansive array<br />
of physical science and engineering disciplines,<br />
is taking the situation seriously and<br />
beefing up its efforts in the biosciences<br />
area. To that end, NIST joined forces with<br />
the University of Maryland Biotechnology<br />
Institute (UMBI) and held a meeting in<br />
October to address the measurement challenges<br />
faced by the biosciences.<br />
The three-day meeting included heads<br />
of metrology institutes from around the<br />
world and people with an interest in providing<br />
confidence in measurements in<br />
complex biological systems. The goal of the<br />
gathering was to help NIST prioritize its<br />
efforts.<br />
“We are sitting at a perfect storm between<br />
the rapid pace of discovery in the<br />
biosciences and the impact that it’s having<br />
on all of the fields of science,” Patrick D.<br />
Gallagher, acting director of NIST, said in<br />
his introductory remarks at the meeting.<br />
NIST has a specific mission “to promote<br />
U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness<br />
by advancing measurement science,<br />
standards, and technology in ways<br />
that enhance economic security and improve<br />
our quality of life,” Gallagher said.<br />
“It’s simply impossible to touch any one<br />
of the major societal areas and not realize<br />
that the biosciences and biotechnology will<br />
be a major player.”<br />
“We are sitting between the rapid pace of<br />
discovery in the biosciences and the impact<br />
it’s having on all of the fields of science.”<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 21 NOVEMBER 3, 2008<br />
The measurement challenges posed by<br />
the biosciences are immense, and overcoming<br />
them will likely require international<br />
collaboration. “Biology or biotech is<br />
global today. If we could leverage both human<br />
resources and financial resources to<br />
go after many of these desires for new measurement<br />
tools, it would benefit the global<br />
market,” said Jennie C. Hunter-Cevera,<br />
president of UMBI.<br />
Because of the global nature of this area,<br />
NIST is looking to its counterparts around<br />
the world for input regarding the development<br />
of standards and measurement tools<br />
for the biosciences.<br />
At the meeting, Alejandro Herrero Molina,<br />
director of the European Commission’s<br />
Joint Research Centre Institute for Reference<br />
Materials & Measurements, offered his<br />
views on what are likely to be important metrology<br />
issues in the biosciences in Europe<br />
over the next five to 10 years. He provided<br />
examples such as confirming the authenticity<br />
of food products or detecting fraud,<br />
distinguishing organically grown crops from<br />
conventional ones, and characterizing allergens<br />
both before and after food processing.<br />
Genetic testing, personalized medicine,<br />
and genetically modified crops for nonfood<br />
industrial applications are also important<br />
areas that need standards, he noted.<br />
In general, meeting participants raised<br />
concerns about the lack of access to appropriate<br />
information technology databases,<br />
the inability to transfer data from one type<br />
of measurement platform to another, and<br />
the need for dynamic, real-time measurements.<br />
By creating universal standards,<br />
NIST could help ensure that databases are<br />
connected and can talk to each other, meeting<br />
participants suggested.<br />
Attendees also pointed out that there<br />
are few standards with respect to how genetics<br />
and protein data are assessed. They<br />
specifically noted the areas of synthetic<br />
biology and systems medicine. Developing<br />
such assessment standards is one place<br />
where NIST should focus its efforts, attendees<br />
said.<br />
One important example of the need for<br />
standards in medicine that was raised by<br />
several people at the meeting is the reliability<br />
of routine health-related measurements.<br />
For example, a test as common as<br />
the one for the risk of prostate cancer can<br />
be unreliable because a universal standard<br />
does not exist. “The value you get for<br />
prostate-specific antigen depends on what<br />
calibrator was used. You can go from being<br />
at risk to being so healthy that you can<br />
be ignored on the basis of not a change in<br />
you, but a difference in the standard that<br />
is used,” Craig Jackson, a consultant and<br />
retired biochemistry professor from Washington<br />
University with experience in the<br />
in vitro diagnostics industry, explained to<br />
C&EN after the meeting.<br />
TWO AREAS that NIST is currently thinking<br />
about are standards for medical imaging<br />
and protein measurement science,<br />
according to Willie E. May, director of<br />
NIST’s <strong>Chemical</strong> Science & Technology<br />
Laboratory. Optical and chemical imaging<br />
tools could allow rapid, real-time measurements,<br />
he added.<br />
Funding this effort will require some<br />
tough decisions. NIST does not have the<br />
staffing and the core competencies needed<br />
to address those areas and so would need<br />
to ask Congress for additional financing,<br />
May noted.<br />
Getting such additional funding may not<br />
be possible in the current budget crunch.<br />
As a result, the agency is also taking a close<br />
look at all of its units, including the chemical<br />
sciences, to see whether some of those<br />
resources can be reallocated to the biosciences.<br />
In fact, NIST already has redirected<br />
funds to get started on developing biosciences<br />
standards.<br />
“NIST has about $6 million specifically<br />
for work in the biosciences,” May said. “We<br />
are doing more than we’ve been appropriated.<br />
So each of the major organizational<br />
units has made decisions to reprogram<br />
some of their existing resources to support<br />
activities in the biosciences.”<br />
The October meeting undoubtedly gave<br />
NIST more ideas to think about as it prioritizes<br />
its next formal request to Congress<br />
for additional money in biosciences.—<br />
BRITT ERICKSON
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CONCENTRATES<br />
DENDRIMERS SHOW<br />
ANTIBIOTIC ACTIVITY<br />
A new class of dendrimers has promising<br />
antibiotic activity, killing prokaryotic bacteria<br />
cells while remaining largely nontoxic<br />
to eukaryotic human cells (J. Am. Chem.<br />
Soc., DOI: 10.1021/ja806912a). Chemistry<br />
and biomedical engineering professor<br />
Mark W. Grinstaff, postdoc Steven R. Meyers,<br />
and colleagues at Boston University<br />
synthesized two anionic amphiphilic dendrimers,<br />
based in part on past evidence<br />
that dendrimers with anionic charges are<br />
relatively nontoxic to animals. The group<br />
patched the dendrimers together from<br />
succinic acid, glycerol, and myristic acid,<br />
and then tested the resulting molecules’<br />
toxicity. One dendrimer in particular was<br />
36 times more toxic to a strain of the grampositive<br />
bacterium Bacillus subtilis than to<br />
human umbilical vein endothelial cells.<br />
The dendrimers form supramolecular<br />
structures in solution, which appear to be<br />
correlated with their toxicity, Grinstaff<br />
says. The researchers believe the dendrimers<br />
could prove to be useful leads in the<br />
search for more effective antibiotics.—EKW<br />
DOUBLE METALLOCENES<br />
Transition-metal cyclopentadienyl sandwich complexes, better known as<br />
metallocenes, have given organometallic chemists a rich assortment of<br />
electronic and magnetic properties to explore ever since ferrocene was<br />
discovered a half-century ago. Jennifer C. Green, Dermot O’Hare, and colleagues<br />
at the University of Oxford have now doubled chemists’ pleasure<br />
by conducting the first comprehensive<br />
study of double metallocenes across a<br />
periodic row (J. Am. Chem. Soc., DOI:<br />
10.1021/ja8057138). Double metallocenes,<br />
M 2 (C 8 H 6 ) 2 , which were first reported<br />
in the 1970s, consist of two metal<br />
atoms flanked by pentalene ligands<br />
(fused cyclopentadienyls). The Oxford<br />
team worked through what proved to be<br />
V V Ni Ni<br />
difficult syntheses to make V, Cr, Mn, Co, and Ni permethylpentalene complexes<br />
and extensively studied their electronic, magnetic, and structural<br />
trends. Structurally, the vanadium complex (shown) displays the classic<br />
metallocene fivefold bonding interaction between the metal and ligand.<br />
It also forges an unusual V≡V bond. At the other extreme, nickel (shown)<br />
exhibits only a threefold bonding interaction with the pentalenes and does<br />
not appear to form a metal-metal bond. Iron surprisingly doesn’t form a<br />
double ferrocene, the researchers found, which is ironic because ferrocene<br />
is the prototypical metallocene and its study gave birth to modern<br />
organometallic chemistry.—SR<br />
NATURAL ENZYME<br />
DEGRADES NANOTUBES<br />
Electron<br />
micrographs<br />
reveal the<br />
enzymatic<br />
breakdown<br />
of carbon<br />
nanotubes.<br />
The potential environmental toxicity of<br />
single-walled carbon nanotubes could<br />
be abated by biodegrading the materials<br />
via enzymatic catalysis using horseradish<br />
peroxidase (HRP) and hydrogen peroxide,<br />
according to a study by Alexander Star and<br />
coworkers at the University of Pittsburgh<br />
(Nano Lett., DOI: 10.1021/nl802315h). Environmental<br />
toxicity is a<br />
potential problem that<br />
could come with the likely<br />
widespread use of carbon<br />
nanotubes and other nanomaterials.<br />
The researchers<br />
incubated carbon nanotubes<br />
with HRP and H 2 O 2 at 4 ºC under<br />
static conditions for 16 weeks. They suggest<br />
that a reactive intermediate produced by interaction<br />
of the enzyme and H 2 O 2 oxidizes<br />
the nanotubes, leading to their breakdown.<br />
The researchers monitored the degradation<br />
with several analytical methods, including<br />
transmission electron microscopy, dynamic<br />
light scattering, gel electrophoresis,<br />
and optical spectroscopy. The nanotubes<br />
became progressively shorter over time,<br />
and globular material appeared within<br />
eight weeks. After 12 weeks, the nanotubes<br />
degraded enough that most of the material<br />
was globular, with very little apparent<br />
nanotube structure. “These results mark a<br />
promising possibility for carbon nanotubes<br />
NANO LETT.<br />
to be degraded by HRP in environmentally<br />
relevant settings,” the authors write. The<br />
toxicity of the resulting breakdown products<br />
remains unknown.—CHA<br />
PEPTIDES INFLUENCE<br />
‘PALEOTHERMOMETER’<br />
An aspartate-rich peptide enhances magnesium<br />
uptake into calcite, a calcium carbonate<br />
mineral, a finding that raises questions<br />
about factors influencing estimates of ocean<br />
temperatures during prehistoric times (Science<br />
2008, 322, 724). Levels of magnesium in<br />
fossil calcites such as those in seashells have<br />
fluctuated over geologic history. Because<br />
more magnesium goes into calcite at higher<br />
temperatures, scientists use the magnesium<br />
content of calcite as a “paleothermometer.”<br />
But calcites of biological origin can contain<br />
levels of magnesium and other impurities<br />
that can’t be accounted for by temperature<br />
alone. To better understand the factors in<br />
play, a multi-institution team led by Virginia<br />
Polytechnic Institiute & State University<br />
geoscientist Patricia M. Dove measured<br />
calcite growth within a chamber in an<br />
atomic force microscope and determined<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 22 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CONCENTRATES<br />
© 2008 SCIENCE<br />
J. AM. CHEM. SOC.<br />
the magnesium content<br />
by mass spectrometry.<br />
In the presence of a carboxyl-rich peptide<br />
similar to ones associated with calcification<br />
in relevant marine organisms, calcite<br />
grew 25 to 50% faster and had up to 3 mol<br />
% higher magnesium content, which helps<br />
account for the discrepancies. A difference<br />
this large corresponds to an offset in temperature<br />
of 7 to 14 ºC.—CD<br />
REDEFINING A PROTEIN<br />
Despite its short length, a molecule consisting<br />
of 10 amino acids designed by a<br />
Japan-based team more closely resembles<br />
a protein than a peptide in structural and<br />
theoretical studies. In<br />
light of examining the<br />
tiny protein, the researchers<br />
propose<br />
that specific<br />
biophysical<br />
properties<br />
based upon<br />
how a molecule<br />
folds should be<br />
the measure<br />
of whether<br />
that molecule<br />
is considered a<br />
Ensemble of<br />
NMR structural<br />
conformations of<br />
the 10-amino acid<br />
protein CLN025.<br />
AFM images reveal<br />
different “steps”<br />
growing from a<br />
dislocation in calcite<br />
in the absence (top)<br />
and presence (bottom)<br />
of magnesium and<br />
carboxyl-rich peptides.<br />
protein, without<br />
any rigid cutoffs with<br />
respect to size (J.<br />
Am. Chem. Soc., DOI:<br />
10.1021/ja8030533).<br />
By rule, the cutoff between<br />
peptides and proteins is currently 50<br />
amino acids. Shinya Honda and colleagues<br />
at the National Institute of Advanced<br />
Industrial Science & Technology (AIST),<br />
in Tsukuba, synthesized the 10-residue<br />
molecule, called CLN025. X-ray crystal<br />
structure information was consistent with<br />
NMR studies in solution, showing that<br />
CLN025 has a well-defined 3-D structure.<br />
In addition, molecular dynamics simulations<br />
of CLN025’s folding process indicate<br />
that the structure the AIST team observed<br />
is considerably more stable than other possible<br />
conformations. CLN025 may prove<br />
valuable for studying microscopic events<br />
in protein folding, says theoretical chemist<br />
Peter G. Wolynes of the University of California,<br />
San Diego.—CD<br />
PROBING HEAT IN<br />
MOLECULAR JUNCTIONS<br />
Israeli researchers have directly measured<br />
the effective temperature of current-carrying<br />
molecular junctions in an electronic<br />
device by using surface-enhanced Raman<br />
spectroscopy (SERS) (Nat. Nanotechnol.,<br />
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2008.304). Molecular<br />
junctions, which are circuit structures that<br />
consist of a few or even just one molecule<br />
straddling a pair of electrodes, offer extreme<br />
miniaturization advantages for electronic<br />
device designers. But these junctions are<br />
fragile and sensitive to temperature, which<br />
varies with current flow. Only indirect<br />
methods for gauging junction temperatures<br />
have been reported so<br />
far. For example, some methods<br />
are based on measuring the rate at<br />
which chains of metal atoms rupture.<br />
Tel Aviv University chemists<br />
Ori Cheshnovsky, Yoram Selzer,<br />
and coworkers have now prepared<br />
temperature-probe devices in which<br />
4,4'-biphenyldithiol molecules form<br />
junctions with silver electrodes.<br />
The team used a SERS microscope<br />
to measure Raman scattering while<br />
current flowed through those junctions.<br />
Then from the intensity of the measured<br />
Raman signals, which are associated with<br />
molecular vibrations, the group determined<br />
the junction temperature as a function of<br />
applied voltage.—MJ<br />
NEW LEADS FOUND FOR<br />
ALZHEIMER’S THERAPIES<br />
Two research groups have independently<br />
published findings related to Alzheimer’s<br />
disease treatments. Both experimental<br />
therapies target amyloid β, the protein believed<br />
to cause the disease. Weihong Song<br />
of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver,<br />
and colleagues treated mice with<br />
valproic acid, a compound already used as<br />
an anticonvulsant and mood stabilizer for<br />
patients with epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and<br />
other conditions. They found that valproic<br />
acid reduced enzymatic production of amyloid<br />
β by γ-secretase. The treatment prevented<br />
brain cell death and axon damage<br />
and improved memory in mice that were<br />
in early stages of Alzheimer’s (J. Exp. Med.,<br />
DOI: 10.1084/jem.20081588). Li Gan of the<br />
University of California, San Francisco, and<br />
coworkers took another approach. Instead<br />
of limiting the formation of amyloid β, they<br />
opted to increase its degradation in mice.<br />
The researchers boosted the activity of<br />
cathepsin B—an enzyme that breaks down<br />
amyloid β—by reducing levels of cystatin<br />
C, an enzyme that inhibits cathepsin B activity.<br />
The mice in the experiment showed<br />
improvements in learning and memory<br />
(Neuron 2008, 60, 247).—SLR<br />
HYDROGEL-FORMING<br />
PRODRUG AIDS DELIVERY<br />
A water-loving drug modified with a hydrophobic<br />
fatty acid tail has been found to selfassemble<br />
into a hydrogel that can enmesh a<br />
Enzyme<br />
catalysis<br />
BREAKING UP Acetaminophen (blue)<br />
with a fatty acid tail forms a hydrogel that<br />
can carry a second agent, curcumin (red);<br />
an enzyme can release the drugs.<br />
second agent. The hydrogel can then be dissolved<br />
enzymatically, enabling it to serve as<br />
a two-agent delivery vehicle (Biomaterials,<br />
DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2008.09.045).<br />
“To the best of our knowledge, there are<br />
no previous reports on developing single<br />
and multiple drug-delivery vehicles from<br />
self-assembled prodrugs,” note Jeffrey M.<br />
Karp of Brigham & Women’s Hospital, in<br />
Boston; George John of the City College of<br />
New York; and coworkers, who carried out<br />
the study. The researchers derivatized acetaminophen<br />
with a fatty acid. This turns the<br />
drug into an amphiphilic prodrug that selfassembles<br />
into a hydrogel. The researchers<br />
showed that the hydrogel can encapsulate a<br />
second agent, the anti-inflammatory agent<br />
curcumin. Exposure to lipase degrades<br />
the hydrogel, releasing the two agents; the<br />
nontoxic fatty acid is a by-product. “This<br />
approach has an advantage over polymerbased<br />
prodrugs that generate polymer fragments<br />
with heterogeneous chain lengths<br />
upon degradation that may present complex<br />
toxicity profiles,” the researchers write.—SB<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 23 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
www.acs.org<br />
PLAN NOW TO ATTEND<br />
THE 237TH SPRING NATIONAL MEETING IN<br />
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, MARCH 22-25, 2009<br />
For the first time Salt Lake City will host the 236th Spring National Meeting<br />
p Hotel rates range between $90 - $229 a night and includes in-room internet access.<br />
p All the hotels are within 7 blocks of the convention center.<br />
p A free city light rail is available that travels through all of downtown including<br />
the convention center area.<br />
NEW PRESIDENTIAL KEYNOTE ADDRESS<br />
Sunday, March 22nd from 5:00pm – 6:00pm<br />
Professor Angela Belcher from MIT will deliver the meeting Keynote Address sponsored<br />
by ACS President – Elect Dr. Tom Lane<br />
PLENARY SESSION<br />
Monday, March 23rd from 4:00pm – 7:00pm<br />
Professors Vicki Colvin (Rice University), Jim Hutchinson (University of Oregon),<br />
George Whitesides (Harvard University), and Grant Willson (University of Texas, Austin)<br />
will deliver their perspectives on the future of nanoscience in the Plenary Session<br />
sponsored by The Kavli Foundation.<br />
In addition to the Keynote Address and Plenary Session, there will be seven in-depth<br />
symposia organized by leading researchers in nanoscience and sponsored by the ACS<br />
Technical Divisions.<br />
NEW EXHIBITION HOURS<br />
The Exhibition will now open on Sunday, March 22nd from 6:00pm-8:30pm<br />
with a Welcome Reception for all attendees immediately following the Keynote Address.<br />
The Exhibition hours have been extended on Wednesday, March 25th from<br />
9:00am-2:00pm.<br />
American <strong>Chemical</strong> Society
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY<br />
3M<br />
SEEKING AN<br />
ETERNAL SOLUTION<br />
Fluorinated fluid is the protagonist of an ongoing<br />
experiment in PRESERVING BIOLOGICAL SPECIMENS<br />
CARMEN DRAHL, C&EN WASHINGTON<br />
AT THE CENTER of the Smithsonian Institution’s<br />
National Museum of Natural<br />
History’s gleaming new Sant Ocean Hall<br />
lies a preserved giant female squid—the<br />
arresting, spineless star among the vibrant<br />
exhibition’s animal specimens. Tentacles<br />
menacingly outstretched and seemingly<br />
frozen in time, the 24-foot squid embodies<br />
humans’ fascination with the briny deep.<br />
But this squid also symbolizes something<br />
else: an ongoing experiment in the chemistry<br />
of preservation, without which the<br />
Smithsonian’s new exhibition would not<br />
have been possible.<br />
The fluids most widely used for longterm<br />
museum conservation are solutions<br />
of alcohols, such as ethanol, and formalin,<br />
a dilute solution of formaldehyde. Museums<br />
worldwide have been preparing and<br />
displaying soft-bodied animals such as<br />
squid in much the same way for centuries,<br />
despite the fire and health risks these fluids<br />
pose. But the Smithsonian was forced to<br />
try a new approach after the Sept. 11, 2001,<br />
attacks, when the Washington, D.C., fire<br />
marshal drastically limited the amount of<br />
flammable preservatives allowed in public<br />
buildings.<br />
Museum curators partnered with Minnesota-based<br />
3M to apply a very different<br />
type of fluid to the task—3M Novec 7100<br />
engineered fluid, a safe, nonflammable<br />
hydrofluoroether originally developed for<br />
silicon-chip cleaning and other electronics<br />
industry applications. Although Novec<br />
comes with its own set of challenges, preservation<br />
experts looking for alternatives to<br />
MORE ONLINE<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 25 NOVEMBER 3, 2008<br />
the status quo are<br />
eagerly watching<br />
the Smithsonian’s<br />
experiment to see<br />
what happens.<br />
Alcohol-based<br />
preservatives dehydrate<br />
specimens<br />
while also slowing<br />
EXHIBIT A<br />
The Smithsonian’s<br />
24-foot giant female<br />
squid is preserved in<br />
dilute formaldehyde<br />
and stored in a 3M<br />
hydrofluoroether<br />
fluid.<br />
the rate of decay by killing bacteria. The<br />
only widespread alternative to alcohol<br />
solutions is formalin, a dilute, buffered<br />
solution of formaldehyde that came into<br />
use as a preservative near the end of the<br />
19th century. Formaldehyde is a fixative,<br />
which means that it permeates tissue,<br />
hardening and preventing the specimen<br />
from decomposing. <strong>Chemical</strong>ly speaking,<br />
formalin makes cross-links between certain<br />
functional groups, such as basic amino<br />
acid residues.<br />
Unfortunately, these established preservatives<br />
have disadvantages. For example,<br />
museums using flammable fluids have<br />
long had to take extra precautions to reduce<br />
the risk of a blaze. Even in 1858, the<br />
founding donor of Philadelphia’s Mütter<br />
Museum stipulated that his collection of<br />
fluid-preserved human tissues and organs<br />
To learn more about Novec, visit C&EN’s blog, “C&ENtral<br />
Science,” at www.cenblog.org.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY<br />
CHEMICAL PRINCIPLES<br />
A Hero Preserved In Brandy<br />
An important lesson in tissue<br />
conservation chemistry<br />
emerged from the death of<br />
Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson,<br />
one of Britain’s most revered<br />
military heroes. Nelson was<br />
fatally shot at sea on Oct. 21,<br />
1805, while leading the Royal<br />
Navy to a decisive triumph in<br />
the Battle of Trafalgar during<br />
the Napoleonic Wars. Suspecting<br />
that a state funeral<br />
would be in order for the<br />
adored commander, William<br />
Beatty, the surgeon aboard<br />
Nelson’s vessel, the H.M.S.<br />
Victory, opted to preserve<br />
Nelson’s remains for the trip<br />
back to England instead of<br />
conducting the customary<br />
burial at sea. Beatty later<br />
published the book “The<br />
Death of Lord Nelson,” an<br />
account of the event that explained<br />
his procedure and his<br />
observations in detail.<br />
By the early 1800s, preservation<br />
in liquor was a<br />
well-recognized practice, so<br />
Beatty decided to place Nelson’s<br />
remains in a large cask<br />
filled with brandy. The cask<br />
was lashed to the deck and<br />
placed under guard. Throughout<br />
the voyage to England,<br />
Beatty refreshed the brandy<br />
because the corpse absorbed<br />
a significant quantity of fluid.<br />
He sometimes used defined<br />
ratios of brandy and “spirit<br />
of wine,” a distilled ethanol,<br />
which he obtained at port in<br />
Gibraltar.<br />
Once back home, the British<br />
press roundly criticized<br />
Beatty for failing to preserve<br />
Nelson in rum, which at the<br />
time was believed to be superior<br />
to brandy as a preservative,<br />
says John E. Simmons,<br />
an independent museum<br />
consultant. “The reason<br />
everyone thought rum was<br />
a better preservative was because<br />
it was commonly used,<br />
but rum was commonly used<br />
IN SPIRIT AND STONE A<br />
statue of Lord Nelson adorns<br />
the column at the center of<br />
Trafalgar Square, in the heart<br />
of London.<br />
because it was cheap,” Simmons<br />
explains.<br />
Beatty defended his actions<br />
in “The Death of Lord<br />
Nelson” and laid out the<br />
chemical principle underpinning<br />
good preservation—ethanol<br />
concentration. He wrote:<br />
SHUTTERSTOCK<br />
“There are several kinds of<br />
spirit much better for [preservation]<br />
than rum; and as<br />
their appropriateness in this<br />
respect arises from their<br />
degree of strength, on which<br />
alone their antiseptic quality<br />
depends, brandy is superior.<br />
Spirit of wine, however, is certainly<br />
by far the best, when it<br />
can be procured.”<br />
When Beatty examined the<br />
preserved body weeks after<br />
Nelson’s death, he found<br />
that “it exhibited a state of<br />
perfect preservation, without<br />
being in the smallest degree<br />
offensive.” Beatty’s careful<br />
attention to chemical detail<br />
was vindicated when the<br />
Victory’s officers and other<br />
public figures saw Nelson’s<br />
body for the first time. Beatty<br />
wrote, “All the Officers<br />
of the ship … witnessed its<br />
undecayed state after a lapse<br />
of two months since death,<br />
which excited the surprise of<br />
all who beheld it.” Nelson was<br />
given a state funeral and was<br />
entombed in St. Paul’s Cathedral,<br />
in London.<br />
be housed in a fireproof building, says Anna<br />
Dhody, the Mütter’s curator.<br />
Formalin is less flammable than ethanol<br />
and isn’t as restricted by the fire code in<br />
Washington, D.C., says Brian F. Spatola,<br />
collections manager at the Washingtonbased<br />
National Museum of Health & Medicine,<br />
part of the Armed Forces Institute of<br />
Pathology (AFIP). Most of that museum’s<br />
collection is stored and displayed in formalin.<br />
However, flammability isn’t the only<br />
concern associated with the fluid.<br />
Besides its distinctively unpleasant<br />
odor, formalin is an irritant and has been<br />
linked to certain cancers through animal<br />
tests, which is why some museums are<br />
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phasing it out. Unlike AFIP, the Smithsonian<br />
does not store specimens in jars<br />
of formalin, and the Mütter Museum has<br />
nearly finished moving its specimens out<br />
of formalin and into ethanol.<br />
Safety concerns aside, the aesthetic<br />
qualities of traditionally preserved specimens<br />
leave something to be desired. Ethanol<br />
leaches color from specimens, so “first<br />
they turn brown and then a dingy white,”<br />
while the fluid itself turns yellow, observes<br />
Elizabeth Musteen, the Sant Ocean Hall’s<br />
project manager. Ethanol is less dense<br />
than the specimens, which collapse at the<br />
bottom of storage jars. “For an exhibition,<br />
we put brackets in the jars to raise specimens<br />
up,” Musteen explains. Formalin<br />
also tends to discolor specimens over the<br />
long term, and neither preservative faithfully<br />
retains a specimen’s true texture,<br />
Dhody says.<br />
A more recent goal for museums has<br />
been the ability to preserve DNA, which<br />
comes in handy for classification and other<br />
studies. Ethanol preserves DNA, but form-<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 26 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
CHIP CLARK/SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION<br />
alin’s cross-linking mechanism may hinder<br />
its DNA-preserving ability.<br />
Perhaps the most significant drawback<br />
of traditional preservatives is a dearth of<br />
scientific records about them, making it<br />
tough to rationally develop safer, better<br />
alternatives, argues John E. Simmons, an<br />
independent museum consultant and former<br />
collections manager at the University<br />
of Kansas’ Natural History Museum. AFIP<br />
keeps records on the formulas of its preservatives,<br />
and researchers there were engaged<br />
in an active research program in preservation<br />
during the 1940s and ’50s, Spatola says.<br />
However, collections donated to AFIP from<br />
elsewhere are less stringently cataloged.<br />
Simmons contends that research programs<br />
like AFIP’s have historically been<br />
the exception rather than the rule. “In fluid<br />
preservation the tradition has always been<br />
to just try something out,” he says. Many<br />
published preservative formulas reflect<br />
traditions handed down in a given lab,<br />
without much testing of specific variables<br />
to look for improvements, Simmons says.<br />
“There is a general preservation procedure<br />
in place, but the people who prepared specimens”<br />
in the past “often had their own<br />
way of doing things,”<br />
Dhody adds.<br />
PICKLED Millions<br />
of specimens are<br />
kept in alcohol at<br />
the Smithsonian’s<br />
National Museum<br />
of Natural History’s<br />
storage area near<br />
Washington, D.C.<br />
The Smithsonian’s<br />
giant squid<br />
bucks that tradition—it<br />
is a model of<br />
meticulous record<br />
keeping. Photographs<br />
and extensive<br />
documentation chronicle how the squid’s<br />
soft body tissue was injected with formalin<br />
by experts in northern Spain, where the<br />
squid was caught. They also describe the<br />
squid’s journey stateside, where it was<br />
submerged in Novec and where the record<br />
keeping continues apace.<br />
NOVEC 7100 comprises two inseparable<br />
isomeric hydrofluoroethers, methyl<br />
nonafluorobutyl ether, CF 3 (CF 2 ) 3 OCH 3 ,<br />
and methyl nonafluoroisobutyl ether,<br />
(CF 3 ) 2 CFCF 2 OCH 3 . The fluid differs from<br />
both formalin and ethanol in that it’s neither<br />
a cross-linking agent nor a preservative, says<br />
David A. Hesselroth, a 3M chemist. Instead,<br />
Novec is a nonflammable, nontoxic, and<br />
ozone-friendly storage medium for alreadypreserved<br />
specimens, he says. Novec products<br />
have been in use since the mid-1990s,<br />
when they were developed to replace ozonedepleting<br />
chlorofluorocarbons in applications<br />
such as cleaning electronics.<br />
Novec works by forming a chemical<br />
envelope around preserved specimens,<br />
explains Joseph Koch, marketing manager<br />
for 3M’s electronics materials division. The<br />
fluid has very low surface tension, so “it<br />
completely spreads around a specimen’s<br />
surface, displacing water in all the nooks<br />
and crannies,” he says. Novec’s low water<br />
solubility keeps the fluid from getting<br />
cloudy over time, and it doesn’t leach color<br />
from specimens the way alcohol does.<br />
Musteen can vouch for that. “You can<br />
still see the squid’s brick-red skin as clearly<br />
as on the day it was caught, and the fluid<br />
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WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 27 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY<br />
COURTESY OF JOHN SIMMONS<br />
POSTERITY’S PRICE<br />
A drastic change in color<br />
is evident in this small<br />
tree frog, shown before<br />
(left) and after it was<br />
fixed with formalin and<br />
stored in 70% ethanol.<br />
itself is crystal<br />
clear,” she says.<br />
Smithsonian<br />
preservation<br />
experts knew<br />
exactly how to<br />
prep the squid<br />
for its Novecfilled<br />
resting place because of the tests<br />
3M scientists and museum veterans performed<br />
beforehand. For their earliest tests<br />
on whether Novec might fit the preservation<br />
bill, 3M scientists started small. “We<br />
went to a bait shop and picked up a dozen<br />
night crawlers,” which are earthworms<br />
primarily used for fishing, Hesselroth<br />
recalls. Worms in Novec degraded significantly<br />
after 10 weeks, leading the teams<br />
to conclude that Novec itself couldn’t be<br />
used as a preservative. After follow-up<br />
tests on fish, shrimp, and small squid, they<br />
found that the best results came from first<br />
fixing specimens in formalin and then<br />
moving the fixed specimens into Novec—<br />
a procedure ultimately carried out for the<br />
giant squid.<br />
Unfortunately, Novec isn’t a perfect<br />
solution. The fluid is denser than water,<br />
and unrestrained specimens will float to<br />
the tops of tanks, where they could decompose.<br />
Restraining a specimen to keep<br />
it submerged in the fluid could cause tension<br />
damage to it over the long term. To<br />
H 3 CO<br />
O<br />
OH<br />
NH 2<br />
O O<br />
B<br />
H 3 CO NHBoc<br />
H 3 CO<br />
O<br />
H<br />
NHBoc<br />
N<br />
2-546<br />
N<br />
2-550<br />
N<br />
2-531<br />
CH 3<br />
H 3 CO OH H 3 CO NHBoc H 3 CO<br />
I N I N<br />
H 3 CO<br />
N<br />
OCH 3<br />
OCH 3<br />
2-579<br />
2-524<br />
2-613<br />
H 3 CO<br />
I<br />
N<br />
NH 2<br />
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CN<br />
N<br />
NH 2<br />
Br<br />
N<br />
OCH 3<br />
H<br />
O<br />
2-536<br />
2-545<br />
2-571<br />
H 3 CO<br />
OH<br />
NH 2<br />
H 3 CO<br />
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WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 28 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
minimize that risk, Smithsonian scientists<br />
used a metal screen to reinforce the part of<br />
the squid attached to the main restraining<br />
bracket and broad transparent straps to<br />
better distribute tension on the tentacles,<br />
says Michael Vecchione, a zoologist and<br />
Sant Ocean Hall curator. “The edges of the<br />
straps could still cut into the tissue,” he<br />
admits. To avoid these challenges, “ideally,<br />
you’d want a storage fluid that has the same<br />
density as seawater,” he comments.<br />
IN ADDITION, because Novec has a high<br />
vapor pressure and boils at a lower temperature<br />
than ethanol, museum staff had to<br />
take extra precautions to minimize evaporation,<br />
including using specially designed<br />
jars that could keep an extra-tight seal on<br />
the specimen and lighting that does not<br />
give off a lot of heat, Musteen says.<br />
“Will we ever abandon alcohol entirely?”<br />
Musteen asks. “No, mostly because we<br />
don’t have 200 years to test new things<br />
out.” For all the flaws of the established<br />
technology, museum experts know that<br />
formalin and ethanol keep specimens preserved<br />
for the long haul, Musteen says. For<br />
“Will we ever abandon alcohol entirely?<br />
No, mostly because we don’t have<br />
200 years to test new things out.”<br />
that reason, the Smithsonian doesn’t currently<br />
store one-of-a-kind or other highly<br />
valuable specimens in Novec. “People<br />
know that if they put a specimen into formalin<br />
or ethanol it’ll still be there” for years<br />
to come, Spatola says.<br />
Despite the challenges that come with<br />
using Novec, Simmons emphasizes that<br />
it offers some improvements over established<br />
fluids. For one thing, he notes, it remains<br />
clear while preserving a specimen’s<br />
color. And Novec’s nonflammability is a<br />
significant plus, he says.<br />
Tests on the giant squid and Novec continue,<br />
even while the animal is on display.<br />
Every organization that donated specimens<br />
for the new exhibition had the same<br />
request: “They wanted us to get lots of data<br />
on Novec fluid,” Musteen says. “They are<br />
looking for alternatives to alcohol, just like<br />
we are.” Specially designed needle ports<br />
in the squid’s display case permit periodic<br />
sampling of the squid’s tissue and the surrounding<br />
fluid. The sampling is “similar<br />
to the sort of biopsy a person might get to<br />
test for cancer,” Musteen explains. Smithsonian<br />
experts will test the Novec fluid to<br />
see whether any compounds are leaching<br />
from the squid and examine the squid’s<br />
tissue under the microscope to check for<br />
changes to cellular structure.<br />
“I’m excited to see the Smithsonian’s<br />
staff tackle fundamental issues in fluid<br />
preservation,” Simmons says, but he cautions<br />
that it will take a long time to build<br />
a reliable knowledge base about Novec or<br />
any new fluid that might come along. “This<br />
is very much an experiment,” Vecchione<br />
says. “We’re very interested in seeing how<br />
it will all turn out.” ■<br />
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WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 29 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
C&EN TALKS WITH<br />
ESTHER S. TAKEUCHI<br />
Industrial battery CHEMIST-TURNED-PROFESSOR conveys lessons learned<br />
RACHEL PETKEWICH, C&EN WEST COAST NEW BUREAU<br />
WHEN THE TEENAGER, call her Nancy, felt what she thought must<br />
have been a smack in her back by her little brother, she whipped<br />
around to retaliate. But he wasn’t there. That’s when she realized<br />
that the defibrillator implanted in her chest had fired a punch of<br />
electricity to counter a life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia.<br />
Esther S. Takeuchi has met a lot of people whose chests harbor implanted<br />
cardiac defibrillators powered by the lithium/silver vanadium<br />
oxide batteries she helped design during her 22-year tenure at the<br />
medical technology firm Greatbatch, in Clarence, N.Y. Takeuchi says<br />
that stories like Nancy’s exemplify why she initially chose a career in<br />
industry: to make a tangible difference in people’s lives.<br />
Last year, she thought about other ways of making differences.<br />
That’s when Takeuchi, then the company’s chief scientist, met the<br />
provost of the nearby University at Buffalo (UB), part of the State<br />
University of New York system. He praised her vast knowledge of<br />
intellectual property and experience with product launches and<br />
asked whether she had considered becoming a professor. “And I<br />
thought, well, maybe I can make a contribution in different ways<br />
than I did at Greatbatch,” Takeuchi recalls.<br />
On Sept. 1, 2007, she switched jobs from company executive to<br />
university professor, ready to share wisdom built during her decades<br />
in industry and to encourage students, in particular women,<br />
to give science and engineering careers a go.<br />
The mild-mannered scientist left Greatbatch on excellent<br />
terms. The company offered the UB Foundation $500,000 to endow<br />
Takeuchi for five years, with no strings attached.<br />
As result, Takeuchi is the Greatbatch Professor of Advanced Power<br />
Sources at UB, and she holds appointments in the departments of<br />
chemical and biological engineering, chemistry, and electrical engineering.<br />
At the moment, she is advising five graduate students.<br />
The chemist is no stranger to UB. After she completed a doctorate<br />
in organic chemistry at Ohio State University, she did two<br />
postdocs in electrochemistry: first at the University of North<br />
Carolina, Chapel Hill, and then at UB when her husband, Kenneth<br />
J. Takeuchi, accepted an assistant professorship there in the chemistry<br />
department. A year later, she took a job as a bench chemist at<br />
Greatbatch. She rose to battery research group leader and then to<br />
the top ranks of company leadership.<br />
TAKEUCHI HAS ALREADY had a distinguished career. She was<br />
elected to the National Academy of <strong>Engineering</strong> in 2004. She holds<br />
more than 140 patents, which some say means she has more patents<br />
than any living woman in the U.S., but available patent statistics<br />
make that claim difficult to confirm.<br />
As Takeuchi reflects on what she hopes to accomplish during<br />
her transition from company executive to academic professor, she<br />
notes overarching differences between industry and academia<br />
with respect to research freedom and infrastructure.<br />
“I think people need to realize in an academic setting just how<br />
lucky they are that when they find something interesting or when<br />
a project breaks a certain way, they can go in that direction,” she<br />
says. That freedom, however, often comes without the extensive<br />
assistance of support services and personnel common in industry.<br />
“If you need pencils in the lab, you’ve got to go buy them,” she says.<br />
This did not stop her from bringing some corporate mentality<br />
into her university setting. In less than six months, her small UB<br />
research group transformed rooms filled with rusted benches and<br />
broken copy machines into state-of-the-art laboratories. “Everyone<br />
in the academic world said, ‘Wow—that is really fast.’ And I<br />
thought, are you kidding? I wanted it yesterday!”<br />
Takeuchi is still getting used to working with students rather than<br />
with seasoned industry professionals. For example, she says, she has<br />
to remind herself that even though the principles underlying various<br />
battery technologies are thoroughly familiar to her, they are foreign<br />
to her students. “It is fun to be able to explain things to students and<br />
have them understand for the first time,” she says. In the spring, she<br />
will tackle her first teaching assignment—an undergraduate class on<br />
energy storage and electrochemistry.<br />
Takeuchi is also excited about the new opportunities her UB<br />
position will open to her for encouraging other women in the science<br />
and engineering community. Before her appointment, there<br />
was just one other woman professor in her departments. “My view<br />
is that being around, even walking around the building is pretty<br />
significant,” Takeuchi says.<br />
From the time she arrived at UB, she has participated in lunches<br />
and coffee hours set up by female graduate students to “just kind of<br />
talk about what life is like” beyond graduate school, she says.<br />
“Women in particular need to understand that nobody really<br />
does it on their own,” she says, noting by way of example that “the<br />
majority of executives that I came across usually had spouses that<br />
didn’t work outside the home.” She credits her success in juggling<br />
industry and a home life with her husband’s pep talks on tough<br />
days and his flexible hours as a professor.<br />
Takeuchi doesn’t regret her the switch to academics. She has<br />
begun thinking holistically about energy storage, energy transfer,<br />
and new sources of energy. In addition, she recently started collaborations<br />
with colleagues in UB’s medical school to develop new<br />
implantable medical devices.<br />
With Takeuchi involved, chances are those fledgling ideas may<br />
end up boosting a female graduate student’s career or eventually<br />
saving more people’s lives. ■<br />
DOUG LEVERE<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 30 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY<br />
GARY MEEK/GEORGIA TECH<br />
ACADEMIC R&D<br />
SPENDING TRENDS<br />
Spending on chemical research and on science and<br />
engineering as a whole ROSE A MODERATE 4.3% in 2006<br />
SOPHIE L. ROVNER, C&EN WASHINGTON<br />
ENTHUSIASM FOR INVESTMENT in<br />
research and development in academe appears<br />
to be waning. Funding continued to<br />
expand in fiscal 2006, the most recent year<br />
for which data are available from the National<br />
Science Foundation, but the outlook<br />
is troubling, particularly in light of the current<br />
economic climate.<br />
Overall university and college spending<br />
on science and engineering R&D rose<br />
just 4.3% to $47.8 billion in 2006. That year<br />
marked the fourth in a row in which spending<br />
rose less than the prior year. Average<br />
annual growth from 1996 to 2006 was 7.6%,<br />
but that strong performance owed a lot to<br />
the 9.1 to 10.9% annual increases that occurred<br />
in the first four years of the current<br />
decade. Growth slipped to 7.9% in 2004<br />
and 5.9% the following year. The 2006 expansion<br />
was the smallest since 1996.<br />
Removing inflation from the statistics<br />
shows that total R&D spending by universities<br />
and colleges edged up 1.0% in terms of<br />
constant dollars between 2005 and 2006.<br />
From 1996 to 2006, spending grew a total<br />
of 67.2% in constant dollars, compared<br />
with 107.2% in current dollars.<br />
For many years, basic research has<br />
soaked up three-fourths of the total outlay<br />
on academic R&D. In 2006, $36.0 billion<br />
was funneled into basic research, a rise of<br />
4.9% in current dollars versus 2005. That<br />
growth pales beside the robust 8.8% annual<br />
average increase during the prior decade.<br />
Applied R&D spending rose a mere 2.5%<br />
to $11.7 billion in 2006, well off the 10-year<br />
annual average increase of 4.5%.<br />
Much of academe’s total R&D budget<br />
is supplied by the federal government. In<br />
2006, the federal sector’s $30.0 billion outlay—which<br />
represented an increase of 2.9%<br />
over the prior year—accounted for 62.9%<br />
of total funding. Institutions provided just<br />
19.0% of the total, followed by state and<br />
local governments, with a 6.3% stake, and<br />
industry, with a 5.1% share.<br />
Each year, science absorbs far more academic<br />
R&D dollars than does engineering,<br />
and 2006 was no different, with 85.2% of<br />
the budget directed to science. The $40.7<br />
TUBULAR <strong>Chemical</strong><br />
engineers Sankar<br />
Nair (right) and<br />
Suchitra Konduri of<br />
Georgia Tech—one of<br />
the top investors in<br />
chemical engineering<br />
R&D—study<br />
nanotubes made<br />
from metal oxides.<br />
billion investment<br />
in science was<br />
4.2% higher than<br />
in 2005. The largest<br />
sector by far<br />
continued to be the<br />
life sciences, accounting<br />
for 60.4%<br />
of the total academic<br />
R&D budget.<br />
Spending on the<br />
sector rose 4.4% to $28.8 billion in 2006.<br />
The physical sciences, among them<br />
chemistry, physics, and astronomy, were<br />
allotted just 8.0% of total R&D funding<br />
in 2006. Academe invested $3.8 billion<br />
in this category, an increase of 3.2% over<br />
2005. Investment in chemistry rose 4.3%<br />
to $1.4 billion in 2006. That growth maintained<br />
chemistry’s share at 3.0% of the<br />
total R&D budget.<br />
On a constant-dollar basis, chemistry<br />
spending rose a mere 1.0% between 2005<br />
and 2006. From 1996 to 2006, chemical<br />
R&D spending grew a total of 43.3% in<br />
constant dollars, compared with 77.6% in<br />
current dollars.<br />
From 2005 to 2006, engineering spending<br />
grew at a faster rate than science spending,<br />
rising 5.0% in current dollars to reach<br />
$7.1 billion. <strong>Engineering</strong>’s 14.8% portion<br />
of the total budget was a smidgeon higher<br />
than the prior year’s share.<br />
Materials engineering spending, which<br />
accounted for 1.3% of the total R&D budget<br />
in 2006, grew 5.2% compared with the previous<br />
year to reach $644 million. <strong>Chemical</strong><br />
engineering beat that growth rate, rising<br />
a healthy 8.1% to $547 million, for a 1.1%<br />
share of the total budget.<br />
FEDERAL SUPPORT for chemical engineering<br />
rose more than usual. Between<br />
2005 and 2006, investment in the sector<br />
expanded 6.1% to $313 million. Federally<br />
financed materials engineering spending<br />
grew 4.9% to $387 million. Federal investment<br />
in engineering as a whole rose only<br />
2.7% to $4.2 billion in 2006.<br />
Federal support for science R&D in<br />
academe increased just 2.9% to $25.8 billion<br />
between 2005 and 2006. Within the<br />
science sector, the life sciences gained 3.2%<br />
in funding to reach $18.3 billion in 2006.<br />
Chemistry’s pickings were slim, with federal<br />
R&D backing edging up just 2.6% to<br />
$974 million.<br />
MORE ONLINE<br />
For tables on postdocs and grad students; the source of academic funds; and spending on basic and<br />
applied R&D, chemical engineering, and research equipment, visit www.cen-online.org.<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 31 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY<br />
For the second year in a row, California<br />
Institute of Technology spent more than<br />
any other school on chemical R&D. Its investment<br />
shot up 16.1% to $34.3 million in<br />
2006. Harvard University’s outlay surged<br />
27.7% to $33.9 million, maintaining its<br />
second-place rank for a second consecutive<br />
year.<br />
The University of California, Berkeley,<br />
climbed from fifth to third place by hiking<br />
its spending to $27.3 million in 2006. UC<br />
San Francisco slipped down one spot to<br />
take fourth as its expenditure shrank to<br />
$25.7 million. Meanwhile, the University of<br />
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, moved from<br />
seventh to fifth with a $25.0 million outlay.<br />
The University of Texas, Austin; Rutgers,<br />
State University of New Jersey; Georgia<br />
Institute of Technology; Pennsylvania<br />
State University; and Texas A&M University<br />
rounded out the list of the 10 biggest<br />
spenders. Georgia Tech and Penn State<br />
were the only newcomers in this top tier<br />
in 2006; they displaced UC San Diego and<br />
Cornell University.<br />
Harvard benefited from the largest<br />
federal allocation for chemical R&D in<br />
2006. Its $31.7 million allotment marked a<br />
31.4% surge over its share in the previous<br />
year. Second-place Caltech pulled in $28.7<br />
million. The federal government provided<br />
less than $20 million each to the next three<br />
schools, UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley,<br />
and Rutgers.<br />
An outlay of $18.9 million boosted Massachusetts<br />
Institute of Technology into<br />
first place in terms of chemical engineering<br />
R&D spending in 2006. The school’s investment<br />
was 37.2% higher compared with<br />
FIELDS OF ACADEMIC R&D SPENDING<br />
On average, annual growth in spending for chemistry has lagged that for life sciences since 1996<br />
ANNUAL CHANGE<br />
$ MILLIONS 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2005–06 1996–2006<br />
ALL SCIENCES $19,341 $20,534 $21,789 $23,273 $25,518 $27,792 $30,872 $34,094 $36,933 $39,039 $40,684 4.2% 7.7%<br />
Life a 12,717 13,593 14,598 15,632 17,471 19,229 21,439 23,757 25,948 27,604 28,831 4.4 8.5<br />
Physical b 2,259 2,372 2,484 2,606 2,713 2,805 3,017 3,276 3,546 3,704 3,823 3.2 5.4<br />
Physics 988 1,059 1,079 1,149 1,208 1,241 1,287 1,418 1,522 1,604 1,608 0.2 5.0<br />
Chemistry 802 821 877 920 962 1,008 1,129 1,226 1,318 1,365 1,424 4.3 5.9<br />
Environmental 1,489 1,533 1,625 1,692 1,765 1,829 2,017 2,194 2,353 2,551 2,602 2.0 5.7<br />
Psychology & social 1,479 1,522 1,576 1,717 1,816 2,027 2,269 2,444 2,458 2,511 2,578 2.7 5.7<br />
Computer 690 710 747 861 876 956 1,125 1,305 1,404 1,406 1,438 2.3 7.6<br />
Mathematical 289 290 311 314 342 360 388 428 448 495 530 7.1 6.3<br />
Other 419 515 449 452 535 585 616 690 774 769 882 14.7 7.7<br />
ALL ENGINEERING $3,708 $3,839 $4,070 $4,261 $4,555 $5,019 $5,522 $5,993 $6,310 $6,738 $7,076 5.0% 6.7%<br />
Materials 349 389 391 384 399 453 468 548 565 612 644 5.2 6.3<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> 317 317 327 349 376 414 431 453 493 506 547 8.1 5.6<br />
TOTAL $23,049 $24,373 $25,859 $27,534 $30,073 $32,811 $36,394 $40,087 $43,242 $45,777 $47,760 4.3% 7.6%<br />
NOTE: Institutional fiscal years. Totals may not add because of rounding. a Includes agricultural, biological, medical, and other life sciences. b Includes astronomy, chemistry,<br />
physics, and other physical sciences. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, WebCASPAR Database System<br />
FEDERALLY FINANCED R&D SPENDING AT UNIVERSITIES<br />
Growth in chemistry spending in 2006 was less than half the average annual increase of the prior decade<br />
ANNUAL CHANGE<br />
$ MILLIONS 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2005–06 1996–2006<br />
ALL SCIENCES $11,609 $12,060 $12,799 $13,656 $14,959 $16,382 $18,634 $21,149 $23,728 $25,067 $25,797 2.9% 8.3%<br />
Life a 7,406 7,765 8,334 8,959 10,069 11,201 12,856 14,652 16,667 17,693 18,268 3.2 9.4<br />
Physical b 1,630 1,684 1,762 1,864 1,916 1,974 2,132 2,356 2,569 2,675 2,705 1.1 5.2<br />
Physics 757 803 818 869 902 927 975 1,088 1,169 1,233 1,213 -1.6 4.8<br />
Chemistry 554 552 587 617 631 660 737 819 921 949 974 2.6 5.8<br />
Environmental 1,007 1,013 1,077 1,103 1,134 1,187 1,291 1,446 1,596 1,727 1,763 2.1 5.8<br />
Psychology & social 682 680 725 782 842 947 1,094 1,222 1,284 1,309 1,340 2.4 7.0<br />
Computer 502 506 514 583 584 644 770 937 1,025 1,022 1,015 -0.7 7.3<br />
Mathematical 208 202 214 210 230 242 269 295 318 346 373 7.8 6.0<br />
Other 174 210 173 156 184 187 222 241 269 295 334 13.2 6.7<br />
ALL ENGINEERING $2,232 $2,256 $2,354 $2,447 $2,579 $2,851 $3,230 $3,610 $3,903 $4,125 $4,236 2.7% 6.6%<br />
Materials 190 222 222 218 227 241 263 314 352 369 387 4.9 7.4<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> 174 166 169 180 196 215 230 248 268 295 313 6.1 6.0<br />
TOTAL $13,842 $14,316 $15,153 $16,103 $17,538 $19,233 $21,864 $24,759 $27,631 $29,191 $30,033 2.9% 8.1%<br />
ANNUAL CHANGE 3.8% 3.4% 5.8% 6.3% 8.9% 9.7% 13.7% 13.2% 11.6% 5.6% 2.9%<br />
NOTE: Institutional fiscal years. Totals may not add because of rounding. a Includes agricultural, biological, medical, and other life sciences. b Includes astronomy, chemistry,<br />
physics, and other physical sciences. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, WebCASPAR Database System<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 32 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
SCHOOL SPENDING ON CHEMICAL R&D<br />
Growth in 2006 among top 50 schools came close to average annual growth of the prior decade<br />
RANK<br />
% FEDERAL ANNUAL CHANGE<br />
2006 2005 $ THOUSANDS 1996 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 FUNDS, 2006 a 2005–06 1996–2006<br />
1 1 California Inst. of Technology $15,599 $15,590 $18,099 $22,968 $29,563 $34,322 83.5% 16.1% 8.2%<br />
2 2 Harvard U 11,362 15,549 19,456 22,135 26,572 33,943 93.3 27.7 11.6<br />
3 5 U of California, Berkeley 14,277 21,787 24,907 25,984 25,666 27,315 72.8 6.4 6.7<br />
4 3 U of California, San Francisco na 27,256 28,798 29,609 26,041 25,664 77.8 -1.4 nm<br />
5 7 U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 12,956 20,962 20,949 21,217 22,603 25,034 65.9 10.8 6.8<br />
6 4 U of Texas, Austin 11,393 22,782 23,382 24,154 25,818 24,247 62.5 -6.1 7.8<br />
7 9 Rutgers, State U of New Jersey 7,523 16,891 15,552 16,416 21,049 23,629 74.9 12.3 12.1<br />
8 18 Georgia Inst. of Technology 8,302 8,948 9,652 14,528 17,930 22,837 45.4 27.4 10.6<br />
9 11 Pennsylvania State U 12,670 17,070 18,214 22,330 20,711 22,652 53.3 9.4 6.0<br />
10 8 Texas A&M U 12,478 18,587 19,703 19,475 21,739 22,448 45.0 3.3 6.0<br />
Total, first 10 institutions $106,560 $185,422 $198,712 $218,816 $237,692 $262,091 69.5% 10.3% 9.4%<br />
11 6 U of California, San Diego 9,683 14,593 17,530 19,638 23,028 21,789 80.1 -5.4 8.4<br />
12 13 U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 7,492 13,446 16,045 16,186 18,521 21,280 74.0 14.9 11.0<br />
13 10 Cornell U 11,712 13,340 20,804 20,600 20,770 21,090 68.9 1.5 6.1<br />
14 37 Indiana U 9,081 13,737 14,701 15,642 11,734 19,684 33.0 67.8 8.0<br />
15 15 U of Colorado 12,701 15,623 15,164 14,960 18,251 19,274 87.4 5.6 4.3<br />
16 16 U of Washington, Seattle b 6,914 13,934 16,947 19,354 18,154 18,716 81.4 3.1 10.5<br />
17 22 U of Michigan 6,007 11,623 15,191 14,901 16,435 18,472 70.2 12.4 11.9<br />
18 14 U of California, Los Angeles 10,859 17,758 19,607 20,453 18,377 18,381 73.4 0.0 5.4<br />
19 25 U of Wisconsin, Madison 12,910 15,214 15,546 17,115 15,710 18,348 63.4 16.8 3.6<br />
20 20 U of Massachusetts, Amherst 9,322 13,387 15,688 18,074 17,088 18,146 61.3 6.2 6.9<br />
Total, first 20 institutions $203,241 $328,077 $365,935 $395,739 $415,760 $457,271 69.5% 10.0% 8.4%<br />
21 17 Massachusetts Inst. of Technology 14,856 18,352 20,184 20,926 17,984 18,142 88.2 0.9 2.0<br />
22 19 Northwestern U 7,476 13,776 16,108 17,704 17,825 17,258 79.8 -3.2 8.7<br />
23 26 U of Pennsylvania 12,855 11,107 11,165 12,435 14,751 16,459 90.5 11.6 2.5<br />
24 21 Stanford U 12,010 17,856 18,097 18,863 16,781 16,283 79.7 -3.0 3.1<br />
25 30 U of California, Irvine 10,127 9,949 10,856 11,315 14,192 16,186 67.3 14.1 4.8<br />
26 12 Louisiana State U 4,761 11,104 14,200 13,409 19,134 15,988 52.2 -16.4 12.9<br />
27 27 U of Utah 6,371 10,349 12,247 13,477 14,251 15,136 66.9 6.2 9.0<br />
28 28 U of Minnesota 7,468 9,372 9,569 12,018 14,222 14,204 70.5 -0.1 6.6<br />
29 34 U of Arizona 5,601 9,253 10,874 11,312 13,046 13,734 74.5 5.3 9.4<br />
30 33 Purdue U 10,927 13,553 13,268 12,776 13,070 13,723 70.0 5.0 2.3<br />
Total, first 30 institutions $295,693 $452,748 $502,503 $539,974 $571,016 $614,384 70.7% 7.6% 7.6%<br />
31 35 U of Chicago 7,791 7,387 8,802 10,083 12,108 13,261 58.8 9.5 5.5<br />
32 32 Michigan State U 6,007 14,142 13,230 13,234 13,692 12,927 63.7 -5.6 8.0<br />
33 29 Arizona State U, Tempe 9,087 8,244 10,162 11,376 14,196 12,840 69.2 -9.6 3.5<br />
34 24 U of Florida 8,182 12,154 11,594 13,011 16,153 12,828 72.0 -20.6 4.6<br />
35 36 Johns Hopkins U c 5,581 10,512 11,330 11,890 12,038 12,693 93.6 5.4 8.6<br />
36 50 U of South Carolina 6,321 12,358 8,911 10,515 8,801 12,627 46.7 43.5 7.2<br />
37 23 Ohio State U 10,784 14,174 15,512 14,423 16,378 12,574 63.0 -23.2 1.5<br />
38 31 U of Pittsburgh 5,904 7,668 9,630 13,025 14,031 12,524 80.1 -10.7 7.8<br />
39 41 U of Akron 7,483 10,091 11,260 10,299 10,618 11,645 32.6 9.7 4.5<br />
40 39 State U of New York, Buffalo 5,630 10,407 12,382 11,898 11,158 11,625 50.3 4.2 7.5<br />
Total, first 40 institutions $368,463 $559,885 $615,316 $659,728 $700,189 $739,928 69.5% 5.7% 7.2%<br />
41 88 U of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras 1,775 1,445 2,439 3,244 5,011 10,843 99.4 116.4 19.8<br />
42 38 Virginia Polytechnic Inst. &<br />
6,737 9,524 11,694 11,332 11,382 10,828 55.6 -4.9 4.9<br />
State U<br />
43 46 Florida State U 5,273 13,709 13,321 13,841 9,351 10,825 41.1 15.8 7.5<br />
44 48 U of Texas M. D. Anderson<br />
na na na 8,465 9,041 10,790 53.7 19.3 nm<br />
Cancer Center<br />
45 54 U of Georgia 6,332 6,735 7,521 8,349 8,511 10,437 32.0 22.6 5.1<br />
46 53 U of Notre Dame 8,030 11,252 10,657 11,325 8,591 9,731 90.1 13.3 1.9<br />
47 42 State U of New York, Stony Brook 6,291 8,203 9,007 10,656 10,191 9,388 64.9 -7.9 4.1<br />
48 58 Washington U 3,856 5,993 6,547 7,473 7,910 9,323 74.2 17.9 9.2<br />
49 56 Emory U 5,031 7,526 10,667 7,734 8,223 9,290 87.5 13.0 6.3<br />
50 61 U of California, Davis 3,589 6,249 7,526 8,455 7,692 9,218 74.9 19.8 9.9<br />
Total, first 50 institutions $415,377 $630,521 $694,695 $750,602 $786,092 $840,601 69.1% 6.9% 7.3%<br />
TOTAL, ALL INSTITUTIONS $802,219 $1,128,859 $1,225,607 $1,317,727 $1,365,306 $1,424,307 68.4% 4.3% 5.9%<br />
NOTE: Institutional fiscal years. a Share of total expenditures funded by the federal government. b Corrected data for 2005 provided to C&EN by the university. c Includes funding<br />
for the Applied Physics Lab. na = not available. nm = not meaningful. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, WebCASPAR Database System<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 33 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY<br />
SCHOOLS WITH MOST FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR CHEMICAL R&D<br />
Top 10 schools’ growth in 2006 funding was more than twice that of the top 50<br />
RANK<br />
ANNUAL CHANGE<br />
2006 2005 $ THOUSANDS 1996 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2005–06 1996–2006<br />
1 2 Harvard U $10,608 $13,637 $17,490 $19,617 $24,109 $31,683 31.4% 11.6%<br />
2 1 California Inst. of Technology 12,478 12,135 15,279 19,685 25,171 28,662 13.9 8.7<br />
3 3 U of California, San Francisco na 20,915 22,787 22,215 19,621 19,962 1.7 nm<br />
4 4 U of California, Berkeley 12,050 15,867 17,078 19,988 19,200 19,891 3.6 5.1<br />
5 6 Rutgers, State U of New Jersey 5,467 11,031 10,992 12,276 16,893 17,695 4.7 12.5<br />
6 5 U of California, San Diego 8,118 11,311 12,749 14,648 18,133 17,451 -3.8 8.0<br />
7 9 U of Colorado 9,442 13,602 13,251 12,843 15,716 16,842 7.2 6.0<br />
8 10 U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 7,616 12,266 12,336 14,295 15,694 16,496 5.1 8.0<br />
9 8 Massachusetts Inst. of Technology 13,735 16,357 17,551 18,774 16,149 16,004 -0.9 1.5<br />
10 12 U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 6,285 9,294 12,455 12,753 14,707 15,757 7.1 9.6<br />
Total, first 10 institutions $85,799 $136,415 $151,968 $167,094 $185,393 $200,443 8.1% 8.9%<br />
11 11 U of Washington, Seattle a 4,847 8,656 12,522 17,900 15,212 15,243 0.2 12.1<br />
12 7 U of Texas, Austin 6,294 14,104 15,122 16,136 16,523 15,163 -8.2 9.2<br />
13 19 U of Pennsylvania 12,181 10,158 9,505 10,852 12,352 14,892 20.6 2.0<br />
14 16 Cornell U 8,805 8,944 15,897 15,350 13,398 14,528 8.4 5.1<br />
15 14 Northwestern U 5,266 10,134 11,484 13,631 14,549 13,767 -5.4 10.1<br />
16 13 U of California, Los Angeles 9,338 13,074 14,598 15,453 14,666 13,491 -8.0 3.7<br />
17 15 Stanford U 10,509 14,844 15,496 16,668 14,250 12,970 -9.0 2.1<br />
18 18 U of Michigan 4,449 9,041 11,202 11,701 12,628 12,962 2.6 11.3<br />
19 17 Pennsylvania State U 8,294 10,312 11,001 14,573 13,227 12,082 -8.7 3.8<br />
20 22 Johns Hopkins U b 5,293 10,090 10,753 11,028 11,316 11,875 4.9 8.4<br />
Total, first 20 institutions $161,075 $245,772 $279,548 $310,386 $323,514 $337,416 4.3% 7.7%<br />
21 29 U of Wisconsin, Madison 9,318 8,053 9,174 10,830 9,696 11,624 19.9 2.2<br />
22 28 U of Massachusetts, Amherst 5,320 7,103 8,567 10,315 9,857 11,123 12.8 7.7<br />
23 26 U of California, Irvine 7,529 7,196 7,175 6,931 10,281 10,901 6.0 3.8<br />
24 59 U of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras 1,662 1,079 2,380 3,117 4,951 10,779 117.7 20.6<br />
25 27 Georgia Inst. of Technology 4,274 4,356 4,934 8,500 10,201 10,360 1.6 9.3<br />
26 31 U of Arizona 3,912 6,853 8,174 8,758 9,587 10,235 6.8 10.1<br />
27 32 U of Utah 5,949 7,186 7,902 9,164 9,421 10,130 7.5 5.5<br />
28 21 Texas A&M U 7,518 8,450 8,532 8,652 11,642 10,098 -13.3 3.0<br />
29 20 U of Pittsburgh 5,234 6,628 8,516 11,283 11,800 10,037 -14.9 6.7<br />
30 23 U of Minnesota 5,864 6,866 7,051 8,956 11,026 10,014 -9.2 5.5<br />
Total, first 30 institutions $217,655 $309,542 $351,953 $396,892 $421,976 $442,717 4.9% 7.4%<br />
31 33 Purdue U 7,657 8,496 8,219 8,419 8,931 9,604 7.5 2.3<br />
32 24 U of Florida 4,197 7,901 7,262 9,667 10,427 9,237 -11.4 8.2<br />
33 34 Arizona State U, Tempe 4,426 4,401 5,513 6,259 8,430 8,886 5.4 7.2<br />
34 40 U of Notre Dame 7,100 8,886 9,559 10,204 7,730 8,768 13.4 2.1<br />
35 25 Louisiana State U 2,511 7,005 7,470 8,454 10,293 8,344 -18.9 12.8<br />
36 36 Michigan State U 3,839 6,186 7,452 8,358 8,112 8,235 1.5 7.9<br />
37 42 Emory U 3,821 4,615 5,729 6,764 7,345 8,127 10.6 7.8<br />
38 30 Ohio State U 7,827 7,691 8,271 9,461 9,612 7,916 -17.6 0.1<br />
39 35 U of Chicago 6,938 6,020 6,775 7,315 8,213 7,792 -5.1 1.2<br />
40 43 Columbia U 6,475 6,145 7,341 6,655 7,253 7,167 -1.2 1.0<br />
Total, first 40 institutions $272,446 $376,888 $425,544 $478,448 $508,322 $526,793 3.6% 6.8%<br />
41 39 U of Southern Mississippi 3,523 4,597 5,636 5,861 7,741 6,991 -9.7 7.1<br />
42 54 Washington U 3,134 4,470 4,744 5,401 5,625 6,918 23.0 8.2<br />
43 52 U of California, Davis 3,371 4,783 5,488 6,628 6,004 6,908 15.1 7.4<br />
44 49 Colorado State U 4,830 5,705 5,372 6,005 6,531 6,624 1.4 3.2<br />
45 45 Indiana U 6,648 5,584 6,503 6,920 6,766 6,494 -4.0 -0.2<br />
46 48 Yale U 4,848 5,199 5,991 6,348 6,534 6,456 -1.2 2.9<br />
47 57 U of California, Santa Cruz 4,564 4,464 5,055 6,108 5,114 6,443 26.0 3.5<br />
48 38 U of Virginia 4,413 6,498 7,234 8,036 7,748 6,216 -19.8 3.5<br />
49 44 Princeton U 5,979 7,920 7,397 8,271 7,065 6,158 -12.8 0.3<br />
50 50 State U of New York, Stony Brook 4,068 5,735 6,287 7,060 6,486 6,094 -6.0 4.1<br />
Total, first 50 institutions $317,824 $431,843 $485,251 $545,086 $573,936 $592,095 3.2% 6.4%<br />
TOTAL, ALL INSTITUTIONS $553,784 $736,953 $819,409 $920,990 $948,640 $973,740 2.6% 5.8%<br />
NOTE: Institutional fiscal years. a Corrected data for 2005 provided to C&EN by the university. b Includes funding for the Applied Physics Lab. na = not available.<br />
nm = not meaningful. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, WebCASPAR Database System<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 34 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
TOP 25 UNIVERSITIES IN 2006 R&D SPENDING<br />
Top schools invested only 2.5% of their R&D funds in chemistry<br />
RANK<br />
LIFE<br />
PHYSICAL<br />
ENVIRON-<br />
MENTAL<br />
MATH &<br />
COMPUTER OTHER<br />
2006 2005 $ MILLIONS SCIENCES a ENGINEERING SCIENCES b CHEMISTRY c SCIENCES SCIENCES SCIENCES TOTAL<br />
1 1 Johns Hopkins U d $702 $467 $140 $13 $40 $97 $53 $1,500<br />
2 3 U of Wisconsin, Madison 508 93 56 18 83 21 72 832<br />
3 4 U of California, Los Angeles 610 52 59 18 11 23 57 811<br />
4 2 U of Michigan 481 152 41 18 11 12 103 800<br />
5 5 U of California, San Francisco 770 0 26 26 0 0 0 796<br />
6 8 U of Washington, Seattle 542 75 34 19 92 7 29 778<br />
7 6 U of California, San Diego 404 83 50 22 127 68 22 755<br />
8 7 Stanford U 389 149 73 16 20 30 19 679<br />
9 9 U of Pennsylvania 547 33 33 16 1 11 52 676<br />
10 10 Duke U 554 35 18 6 14 11 26 657<br />
11 12 Ohio State U 373 135 28 13 9 47 60 652<br />
12 13 Cornell U 411 77 90 21 6 32 33 649<br />
13 11 Pennsylvania State U 201 236 64 23 53 43 48 644<br />
14 14 Massachusetts Inst. of<br />
173 220 98 18 27 54 29 601<br />
Technology<br />
15 17 U of Minnesota 435 55 28 14 14 24 38 595<br />
16 18 U of California, Davis 426 59 24 9 26 12 26 573<br />
17 16 Texas A&M U 263 162 38 22 71 16 18 569<br />
18 21 U of Florida 390 93 34 13 10 10 28 565<br />
19 20 Washington U 491 15 17 9 5 8 12 548<br />
20 15 U of California, Berkeley 181 148 106 27 10 9 93 546<br />
21 22 U of Arizona 253 80 149 14 11 12 31 536<br />
22 23 U of Pittsburgh 459 21 19 13 1 7 23 530<br />
23 19 Columbia U 368 38 34 8 58 11 22 530<br />
24 24 U of Colorado 288 37 64 19 91 10 24 513<br />
25 25 U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 129 125 57 25 42 85 39 476<br />
Total, listed institutions $10,347 $2,641 $1,379 $421 $834 $658 $953 $16,812<br />
TOTAL, ALL INSTITUTIONS $28,831 $7,076 $3,823 $1,424 $2,602 $1,968 $3,460 $47,760<br />
NOTE: Institutional fiscal years. Totals may not add because of rounding. a Includes agricultural, biological, medical, and other life sciences. b Includes astronomy, chemistry,<br />
physics, and other physical sciences. c Included in physical sciences. d Includes Applied Physics Lab expenditures.<br />
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, WebCASPAR Database System<br />
spending in 2005. North Carolina State<br />
University placed second, with $16.5 million<br />
in spending. Penn State, Georgia Tech,<br />
and UT Austin rounded out the top five.<br />
MIT also topped the list of schools with<br />
the most federal support for chemical<br />
engineering R&D in 2006. The government’s<br />
$13.2 million contribution to MIT<br />
dwarfed the $8.9 million given to secondplace<br />
Arizona State University, Tempe. The<br />
other top five schools—Penn State, Johns<br />
Hopkins, and the University of Michigan—<br />
received slightly less than Arizona State.<br />
After three years of declines, school<br />
spending on chemical research equipment<br />
rebounded in 2006. Universities and colleges<br />
poured $120.7 million into these assets,<br />
some 7.8% more than in 2005. Meanwhile,<br />
the top 25 schools spent a whopping<br />
57.0% more than they did in the prior year,<br />
bringing their 2006 total to $50.9 million.<br />
Indiana University’s $5.1 million outlay<br />
put it in first place on the 2006 list. The<br />
University of Colorado came in second,<br />
with a $3.8 million investment, followed by<br />
UC San Diego, with $3.6 million in spending.<br />
Harvard and Rutgers placed fourth and<br />
fifth, respectively.<br />
Total federal support for chemical<br />
research equipment slipped modestly in<br />
2006. The government provided universities<br />
and colleges with $79.3 million, or<br />
1.4% less than in 2005. Almost half went to<br />
the top 25 schools, which collected $35.8<br />
million. The largest federal grants went to<br />
the University of Colorado, UC San Diego,<br />
Harvard, UC San Francisco, and Rutgers.<br />
THE NUMBER of students seeking graduate<br />
degrees in chemistry continued a longterm<br />
growth trend in 2006. The year’s 1.2%<br />
rise brought the total to 21,351. The population<br />
of chemical engineering grad students<br />
rose the same percentage, to 7,261 in 2006.<br />
As is usual, about half the chemical engineering<br />
students were foreign, whereas<br />
more than one-third of the chemists were<br />
from outside the U.S.<br />
The number of postdoctoral appointments<br />
for chemists shrank for the second<br />
year in a row, slipping 4.1% to 4,044. <strong>Chemical</strong><br />
engineering postdocs fared better:<br />
Their numbers rose 2.8% to 722 in 2006.<br />
Data for this article were drawn primarily<br />
from NSF’s WebCASPAR database of academic<br />
science and engineering statistics,<br />
which can be accessed online at caspar.nsf.<br />
gov. Further information came from NSF’s<br />
annual Academic Research & Development<br />
Expenditures Report, which can be viewed<br />
at www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf08300.<br />
Note that numbers from different tables<br />
may not match because of rounding. ■<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 35 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
ACS COMMENT<br />
Putting A Human Face On Chemistry:<br />
Presidential Call To Arms<br />
THOMAS H. LANE, PRESIDENT-ELECT, AND WAYNE E. JONES JR., CHAIR, COMMITTEE ON LOCAL SECTION ACTIVITIES<br />
WE BELIEVE STRONGLY in the ACS vision,<br />
“Improving people’s lives through the<br />
transforming power of chemistry.” It is a<br />
powerful and direct statement that truly<br />
underscores what we as chemists do for<br />
society: help people.<br />
Unfortunately, not everyone understands<br />
or believes that this is what chemists<br />
do. A more common perception is that<br />
chemists “mix things” or “blow stuff up.”<br />
To be successful, to make a dent in the<br />
misperceptions surrounding chemistry,<br />
chemists, and chemicals, ACS needs your<br />
help. Will you commit to helping put a<br />
human face on chemistry by building new<br />
relationships within your communities<br />
and across the globe? If so, the society<br />
needs you to create and provide educational<br />
opportunities and experiences to<br />
help the general public better understand<br />
that anything they can see, touch, taste,<br />
or smell—anything they can perceive—is<br />
composed of chemicals, the raw materials<br />
we use to create substances which improve<br />
people’s lives.<br />
In an effort to help ACS local sections<br />
educate their communities about what<br />
chemists do professionally and the role<br />
chemistry plays in everyday life, the society<br />
has created the Local Section Partnership<br />
Project. Each local section has received a<br />
“presidential call to arms” to start conversations<br />
with people, service groups, and organizations<br />
that might fall outside its usual<br />
interactions. Specifically, ACS wants local<br />
sections to partner, to develop a relationship<br />
with a non-sciencebased<br />
service or community<br />
organization, and to<br />
cosponsor an event that<br />
educates the public about<br />
chemistry. Partnership<br />
examples could include,<br />
but certainly are not limited<br />
to, Big Brothers Big<br />
Sisters of America, Girl<br />
& Boy Scouts of America,<br />
local fire stations, community youth centers,<br />
or nature parks.<br />
Venues like these are rife with people who<br />
are experts at mentoring young people, and<br />
are constantly looking for ways to productively<br />
interact with children. It’s fine to take<br />
youngsters to ball games<br />
or help them conduct car<br />
washes and other such activities,<br />
but why not help them<br />
discover chemistry and how<br />
it improves our daily lives?<br />
Many of these organizations<br />
are looking for innovative<br />
programs and activities for<br />
kids to do, so why not make<br />
them chemistry-based?<br />
Perhaps your student affiliates<br />
chapter could make<br />
contact with some of these<br />
service organizations and<br />
Will you commit to<br />
helping put a human<br />
face on chemistry<br />
by building new<br />
relationships within<br />
your communities and<br />
across the globe?<br />
Jones<br />
discuss how you might team up and do some<br />
chemistry demonstrations for the children.<br />
And while you’re at it, let them know that<br />
as chemists, we create things that improve<br />
lives and we help people.<br />
ACS CHALLENGES YOU to use technology<br />
in creative ways so that your message<br />
will be received and understood by Generations<br />
X, Y, and, most important, Z. It is essential<br />
that we help our youth understand<br />
that the issues facing the planet today are<br />
extremely complicated but that they can<br />
contribute to the solutions by studying<br />
math and science. Give them permission<br />
to be anything that they<br />
choose and help them<br />
understand the tremendous<br />
contributions that<br />
are made today through<br />
chemistry.<br />
Measuring the success<br />
of collaborations such<br />
as these is no easy task.<br />
However, it’s central<br />
to everything we do as<br />
Lane<br />
scientists and engineers. It is imperative<br />
that chemists measure the outcomes of<br />
our work, no matter how hard it might be.<br />
We also believe that we need to measure<br />
perceptions, which is another very difficult<br />
thing to do. If we hope to have a positive influence,<br />
we must understand the attitudes<br />
of people—especially students—toward<br />
science, technology, engineering, and<br />
math. This will require an investment of<br />
time, money, and personal commitment. It<br />
is an investment that we firmly believe will<br />
pay off in the long run for all of society.<br />
Grants of up to $500 are available<br />
through the Committee on Local Section<br />
Activities. More information and application<br />
forms are available on www.acs.org/<br />
getinvolved. What outreach or community<br />
activity would be most effective at putting<br />
a human face on chemistry and how can we<br />
make it happen? We invite you to send us<br />
your comments, thoughts, or suggestions<br />
to maingeek1@gmail.com, tom.lane@<br />
charter. net, or wjones@binghamton.edu.<br />
We really do want to hear from you.<br />
Being connected with your community<br />
is central to spreading the word about the<br />
contributions of chemists and chemistry<br />
to the lives of all citizens. Together, chemists<br />
can extend our hands in friendship and<br />
work to create a better understanding of<br />
the transforming power of chemistry. ■<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 36 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
ACS NEWS<br />
OFFICIAL REPORTS<br />
FROM THE<br />
PHILADELPHIA MEETING<br />
The major actions taken by the American<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> Society Board and Council during<br />
the national meeting in Philadelphia were<br />
reported in C&EN, Sept. 15, page 48. Following<br />
is the last installment of official committee<br />
reports from that meeting. The first group was<br />
published in the Oct. 27 issue.<br />
BOARD COMMITTEE<br />
REPORTS<br />
OTHER BOARD STANDING AND<br />
JOINT BOARD-COUNCIL<br />
COMMITTEES<br />
CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS SERVICE<br />
The committee met in executive session on<br />
Aug. 15 and in open session with the Joint<br />
Board-Council Committee on Publications<br />
and the Division of <strong>Chemical</strong> Information<br />
on Aug. 18. <strong>Chemical</strong> Abstracts Service<br />
(CAS) management reported on a number<br />
of new CAplus and Registry content developments<br />
including record timeliness of<br />
Asian patent coverage and a significant increase<br />
in the number of experimental and<br />
predicted physical properties.<br />
The Web version of SciFinder was discussed<br />
along with an announcement that<br />
SciFinder provides the largest collection of<br />
disclosed chemical synthesis information,<br />
with more than 29 million preparations including<br />
single- and multistep reactions.<br />
During the committee session, Sabine<br />
Brünger-Weilandt, the president and chief<br />
executive officer of FIZ-Karlsruhe, gave an<br />
overview of the STN Partnership and the<br />
FIZ-Karlsruhe business. FIZ-Karlsruhe is<br />
a nonprofit service institution within the<br />
German government, and their task is to<br />
make science and technology information<br />
publicly available worldwide and to provide<br />
related services. CAS and FIZ-Karlsruhe<br />
are partners for STN International. In<br />
related discussion, committee members<br />
learned about new enhancements to the<br />
STN family of products.<br />
The committee continues to fulfill its<br />
responsibilities to provide a conduit for<br />
communication from members to CAS<br />
management. Members relay questions,<br />
concerns, and suggestions from colleagues,<br />
as well as from their own academic or<br />
industrial perspective. CAS management<br />
reports on the response and progress to<br />
committee feedback at each meeting.—<br />
PATRICIA L. DEDERT, CHAIR<br />
CHEMICAL SAFETY<br />
At its meeting in Philadelphia, the Committee<br />
on <strong>Chemical</strong> Safety (CCS) reviewed the<br />
progress of 2008 activities, which mainly<br />
focused on organization. CCS discussed<br />
final changes to the “Operations Manual,”<br />
a document designed to familiarize committee<br />
members as well as the society with<br />
CCS’s work and what is expected of members,<br />
associates, consultants, and liaisons.<br />
A number of new appointments were<br />
made, including recording secretary and<br />
liaisons to Occupational Safety & Health<br />
Administration (for the Process Safety<br />
Alliance), to the Women Chemists Committee,<br />
to the Academy of Hazardous<br />
Material Managers, to the Local Section<br />
Activities Committee (LSAC), and to the<br />
International Activities Committee (IAC).<br />
The LSAC appointment is in support of the<br />
ACS partnership with the Environmental<br />
Protection Agency on the School <strong>Chemical</strong><br />
Cleanout Campaign (SC3). The committee<br />
serves as the ACS representative on the<br />
SC3 campaign and will continue to assist<br />
ACS members who would like to help their<br />
local school districts with chemical management<br />
and disposal.<br />
CCS has numerous publications in print<br />
and works continuously to keep these<br />
updated. The committee discussed final<br />
edits to two publications to be released this<br />
year, “<strong>Chemical</strong> Safety for Small <strong>Chemical</strong><br />
Businesses” and an add-on to “Safety in<br />
Academic Chemistry Laboratories,” which<br />
consisted of a narrated PowerPoint CD on<br />
eye protection.<br />
In late June, the committee completed<br />
a two-year process of developing a list of<br />
chemicals that should not be in secondary<br />
school inventories. This list, along with<br />
recommendations on safe use of chemicals<br />
in secondary schools, has been published<br />
in the document titled “Reducing Risks to<br />
Students and Educators from Hazardous<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong>s in a Secondary School <strong>Chemical</strong><br />
Inventory.” This new resource is available<br />
at the committee website, membership.<br />
acs.org/c/ccs. The committee also continues<br />
to monitor current studies on nanotechnology<br />
safety.<br />
The committee also reviewed the “ACS<br />
Strategic Plan 2008 and Beyond” for additional<br />
projects within the overall scope of<br />
the society’s strategic thrusts.—RUSSELL W.<br />
PHIFER, CHAIR<br />
CHEMISTRY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS<br />
The Committee on Chemistry & Public Affairs<br />
(CCPA) advises and recommends ACS<br />
action on public policy matters involving<br />
the chemical sciences and technologies.<br />
This spring, CCPA partnered with the<br />
Divisional Activities Committee to invite<br />
divisions’ comments on the ACS research<br />
funding policy statements to better engage<br />
the expertise of ACS members.<br />
At the Philadelphia meeting, CCPA<br />
members continued the effort by speaking<br />
at the Division of Polymer Chemistry, the<br />
Division of Agricultural & Food Chemistry,<br />
and the Division of <strong>Chemical</strong> Education<br />
meetings about the areas of research funding<br />
important to division members.<br />
In March, CCPA members visited members<br />
of Congress to advocate for increased<br />
science and technology support. Our message<br />
focused on the America Competes<br />
Act, passed last year, which authorizes<br />
doubling research funding at the National<br />
Science Foundation, the Department<br />
of Energy, and the National Institute of<br />
Standards & Technology. CCPA members<br />
visited more than 20 congressional offices,<br />
joining forces with more than 200 scientists<br />
from other scientific organizations,<br />
universities, and business groups to highlight<br />
the importance of research funding to<br />
our nation’s future competitiveness.<br />
Annually, we select two congressional<br />
fellows from ACS member applicants to<br />
work in a congressional office for one year.<br />
These fellows bring informed scientific<br />
perspectives to the issues on the congressional<br />
agenda. Recent graduates as well as<br />
more seasoned midcareer applicants are<br />
encouraged to apply.<br />
Additionally, CCPA is working to involve<br />
the local sections more in advocacy at the<br />
state level, working with the government<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 37 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
ACS NEWS<br />
affairs staff to recruit a government affairs<br />
committee for each local section, and supporting<br />
a pilot program to rejuvenate advocacy<br />
efforts focusing on science education<br />
at the state level.—KRISTIN M. OMBERG,<br />
CHAIR<br />
CHEMISTS WITH DISABILITIES<br />
The Committee on Chemists with Disabilities<br />
(CWD) met at the 236th ACS national<br />
meeting in Philadelphia on Monday, Aug.<br />
18, and set up a working group to develop<br />
a “CWD User’s Manual” as a guide to new<br />
committee members.<br />
The details of the planned reprint of<br />
“Teaching Chemistry to Students with<br />
Disabilities: A Manual for High Schools,<br />
Colleges & Graduate Programs” were finalized<br />
and a public book release luncheon<br />
is planned for the spring meeting in Salt<br />
Lake City. The committee is developing<br />
ideas to contribute to a symposium as part<br />
of the Joint Subcommittee on Diversity in<br />
support of the thematic program at the fall<br />
2009 meeting in Washington, D.C.<br />
As part of the committee’s ongoing<br />
efforts to improve ACS programs for<br />
chemists with disabilities, the committee<br />
reviewed its collaborations with other<br />
committees including <strong>Chemical</strong> Safety,<br />
Meetings & Expositions, Community Activities,<br />
Women Chemists, and Economic<br />
& Professional Affairs.—JAMES M. LANDIS<br />
JR., CHAIR<br />
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES<br />
The Committee on Community Activities<br />
(CCA) is thrilled to report another successful<br />
Chemists Celebrate Earth Day celebration.<br />
This year’s theme was “Streaming<br />
Chemistry,” which focused on bodies of<br />
water.<br />
More than 130 local sections participated<br />
along with numerous student affiliate<br />
chapters and high school chemistry clubs.<br />
The K–12 students’ illustrated haiku contest<br />
received hundreds of entries. Winners were<br />
awarded cash prizes for their creativity and<br />
artistry with the year’s theme. The celebration<br />
reached more than 13 million people<br />
through various media outlets. Developments<br />
are under way for the 2009 theme,<br />
“Air—The Sky’s the Limit.” In addition,<br />
CCA is exploring ways to integrate sustainability<br />
into its Earth Day theme topics.<br />
On Tuesday evening, CCA presented<br />
ChemLuminary Awards to local sections<br />
that have demonstrated exemplary performance<br />
in the development and implementation<br />
of activities conducted safely<br />
in support of National Chemistry Week<br />
(NCW). Additionally, for the first time, local<br />
sections were recognized with a Chem-<br />
Luminary for their outstanding Chemists<br />
Celebrate Earth Day activities.<br />
Local sections recognized for the excellent<br />
achievements were Cincinnati,<br />
Delaware, Erie, Florida, Illinois Heartland,<br />
Kalamazoo, Midland, Puerto Rico, and<br />
Virginia.<br />
NCW will be celebrated on Oct. 19–25<br />
with its theme, “Having a Ball with Chemistry!”<br />
The theme will focus on the chemistry<br />
of sports. The free publication Celebrating<br />
Chemistry, which is geared toward elementary<br />
school children, features hands-on<br />
activities and articles. The American<br />
Chemistry Council will partner to provide<br />
resources and help promote NCW to its<br />
member companies. CCA approved the<br />
2010 theme title, “Behind the Scenes with<br />
Chemistry,” which will focus on the chemistry<br />
behind movies and television shows.<br />
To finish off the year, CCA will host a<br />
“webinar” for first-year community outreach<br />
coordinators. Selected local sections<br />
will be asked to collect postevent data as<br />
part of evaluating the efficacy of public<br />
outreach efforts.—INGRID MONTES, CHAIR<br />
CORPORATION ASSOCIATES<br />
The Committee on Corporation Associates<br />
(CCA) advises and influences ACS to<br />
ensure that its products and services are<br />
of value to industrial members and their<br />
companies.<br />
The Educational Outreach Subcommittee<br />
reviewed CCA activities with the Undergraduate<br />
Student Roundtable and the<br />
Graduate Student Roundtable, activities<br />
with the Division of <strong>Chemical</strong> Technicians<br />
and the Committee on Technician Affairs,<br />
mentoring programs from the Committee<br />
on Minority Affairs, and the Preparing for<br />
Life after Graduate School program.<br />
The subcommittee suggested the collection<br />
of a list of best mentoring and<br />
outreach programs at CCA member institutions<br />
to promote chemistry to the<br />
general public using short videos of chemists<br />
in industry and collaborating with the<br />
Department of Career Management &<br />
Development and the Office of Continuing<br />
Education on programs for midcareer<br />
chemists.<br />
The Awards/Finance & Grants Subcommittee<br />
reported that CCA received<br />
one funding proposal totaling $10,000.<br />
Funding was provided for the the ACS<br />
Undergraduate Office ($5,000 for the<br />
CCA Undergraduate Roundtable with an<br />
additional $15 for each additional student<br />
after 100 students for up to $8,250). The<br />
Programs Subcommittee was disbanded<br />
in favor of programming through the<br />
Public Policy and Educational Outreach<br />
Subcommittees.<br />
The Public Policy Subcommittee will<br />
coordinate with the Committee on Chemistry<br />
& Public Affairs on a statement for the<br />
reauthorization of the Toxic Substances<br />
Control Act and will coordinate with other<br />
scientific societies, such as the Council<br />
for <strong>Chemical</strong> Research, on identifying all<br />
chemical research in the various federal<br />
agencies. The subcommittee will also host<br />
a Science & the Congress briefing in November<br />
on the innovation pipeline, which<br />
will be coordinated with CCA fly-in congressional<br />
visits in support of 2009 science<br />
funding legislation.<br />
CCA will be meeting on Oct. 10–11 in<br />
Washington, D.C., to formulate its strategic<br />
plan for 2009–10, evaluate its ongoing activities,<br />
and initiate new activities. CCA approved<br />
the Global Innovations Imperatives<br />
(Gii)-Water Advisory Group.<br />
Staff reported on the Department of<br />
Industry Member Programs’ activities<br />
since the New Orleans meeting. The report<br />
covered Heroes of Chemistry and Regional<br />
Industrial Innovation Awards programs;<br />
the ACS/Pharma Leaders Meeting (October<br />
2008); Gii programming in New Delhi,<br />
Philadelphia, and Shanghai; and activities<br />
in industrial biotechnology. —ROSLYN L.<br />
WHITE, CHAIR<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT<br />
The Committee on Environmental Improvement<br />
(CEI) has engaged with the<br />
board of directors to lay out an imperative<br />
for ACS leadership in sustainability within<br />
the context of ACS strategic goal three on<br />
empowering chemists to address global<br />
challenges.<br />
CEI worked with the ACS Green Chemistry<br />
Institute (GCI), the Committee on<br />
Science, and others to delineate principles,<br />
policies, and programs in this area. The<br />
committee is now addressing the board<br />
request to refine the proposal and more<br />
clearly define activities and outcomes.<br />
At the spring meeting, CEI and the<br />
Committee on Corporation Associates<br />
led a symposium and workshop to identify<br />
incentives and barriers to the industrial<br />
adoption of sustainable chemistry. The<br />
project was an opportunity to cooperate<br />
with GCI, several ACS technical divisions,<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 38 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
and several units of the American Institute<br />
of <strong>Chemical</strong> Engineers. CEI now is working<br />
to disseminate the outcomes of the discussion<br />
and update the ACS public policy<br />
statement on sustainability.<br />
CEI worked with the Local Section<br />
Activities Committee to host a successful<br />
Science Café at the Philadelphia meeting<br />
highlighting issues related to drinking<br />
water. CEI also continues work with the<br />
Society Committee on Education to include<br />
sustainable chemistry concepts more<br />
completely in curricular materials for undergraduates<br />
and graduate students.<br />
In other public policy activities, CEI is<br />
working on a statement draft on endocrine<br />
disruptors and with the Committee on<br />
Chemistry & Public Affairs to update the<br />
ACS position on energy.—CHARLES E. KOLB<br />
JR., CHAIR<br />
INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES<br />
The International Activities Committee<br />
(IAC) was established in 1962 in recognition<br />
of the need for ACS to cooperate with<br />
scientists internationally and to highlight<br />
the application of chemistry to the worldwide<br />
needs of humanity.<br />
At its meeting in Philadelphia, IAC approved<br />
a new charter in culmination of its<br />
April 2008 summit in New Orleans and an<br />
earlier IAC report on reforming its mission,<br />
goals, and structure to explore opportunities<br />
to refine its alignment with the 2008<br />
ACS Strategic Plan and the international<br />
interests of the ACS Board of Directors.<br />
The new IAC Charter, quoted below,<br />
reflects committee interests in developing<br />
mechanisms to activate its collective<br />
expertise and networks to use chemistry<br />
to solve global challenges. It also helps the<br />
society be more welcoming to international<br />
members and appropriately extend<br />
its international networks and its global<br />
partnerships and alliances for the benefit<br />
of society members.<br />
The International Activities Committee<br />
is a resource for proactively advocating,<br />
catalyzing, initiating, and implementing ACS<br />
international activities, conferences, and initiatives<br />
pertaining to education and research &<br />
development of broad scientific understanding,<br />
appreciation of chemistry, and promotion of<br />
the image of chemistry. This will happen in<br />
collaboration with other national and international<br />
organizations.<br />
Specifically, the committee will<br />
■ Study ongoing initiatives and inform<br />
ACS entities on effective practices and projects<br />
related to international activities;<br />
■ Proactively advise and make recommendations<br />
to the board on the science and engineering<br />
policies that transcend national<br />
boundaries;<br />
■ Ensure implementation of board policies<br />
and activities pertaining to global strategies;<br />
■ Catalyze, support, and maintain liaisons<br />
and collaborations between national and international<br />
science and engineering organizations<br />
in concert with other efforts within the<br />
ACS structure;<br />
■ Enable ACS to advocate for scientific freedom<br />
and human rights as they relate to practitioners<br />
of chemical and related sciences; and<br />
■ Identify ways in which ACS can raise the<br />
profile of, and meaningfully and appropriately<br />
be more welcoming to, the global community of<br />
chemical scientists and engineers.<br />
IAC also heard and approved ACS Strategic<br />
Plan-driven charters and operational<br />
priorities from its new subcommittees:<br />
Subcommittee I: Americas, Africa, and the<br />
Middle East; Subcommittee II: Europe;<br />
Subcommittee III: Asia Pacific Rim; and<br />
Subcommittee IV: Scientific Freedom/Human<br />
Rights.<br />
IAC reaffirmed its support of the principles<br />
embodied in the Malta series and looks<br />
forward to receiving information on plans<br />
for Malta 4, which has been scheduled for<br />
November 2009 in Jordan.<br />
Our IAC luncheon speaker was Sharon<br />
Shoemaker of the University of California,<br />
Davis; she presented on and challenged<br />
IAC to think about its role in sustainability,<br />
energy, and food.<br />
IAC welcomed visiting international<br />
dignitaries from the International Union<br />
of Pure & Applied Chemistry, the German<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> Society, and the European Association<br />
for <strong>Chemical</strong> & Molecular Sciences.<br />
IAC Philadelphia meeting participants also<br />
heard updates on its recently catalyzed activities<br />
in Asia, Latin America, and Europe,<br />
including a new 2008 ACS International<br />
Research Experience for Undergraduates<br />
program; in a partnership with PITTCON,<br />
plans to help organize an IAC-facilitated<br />
delegation of analytical chemists from<br />
southern Mexico and Central America to<br />
attend PITTCON 2009 in Chicago; the<br />
ACS Transatlantic Frontiers of Chemistry<br />
Symposium this summer in the U.K.; outcomes<br />
from ACS-contributed technical<br />
content to the 2008 Latin American Federation<br />
of <strong>Chemical</strong> Associations Congress<br />
in Puerto Rico; and plans for the International<br />
Year of Chemistry in 2011.<br />
IAC received a report on an ACS Visa<br />
Policy Statement expiring in 2008 and<br />
agreed to establish a working group on<br />
the topic in collaboration with the Society<br />
Committee on Education. Finally, IAC discussed<br />
and implemented 2007 CPC guidelines<br />
on optimizing its liaison relationships<br />
with other ACS committees.—NINA I.<br />
MCCLELLAND, CHAIR<br />
MINORITY AFFAIRS<br />
During its meeting in Philadelphia, the<br />
Committee on Minority Affairs (CMA) restated<br />
its mission: To increase the participation<br />
of minority chemical scientists and<br />
influence policy on behalf of minorities in<br />
the ACS and the chemical enterprise.<br />
CMA worked to align its strategic plan<br />
with the ACS 2008 Strategic Plan, focusing<br />
on goal two, as related to involving all<br />
members and scientific professionals in<br />
advancing science education and research.<br />
CMA collaborated with the Joint Subcommittee<br />
on Diversity in providing nominees<br />
for the Diversity Partner Program<br />
pilot developed by the respective subcommittee<br />
of the ACS Board Committee on<br />
Professional & Member Relations (P&MR).<br />
The selected candidates include representatives<br />
from four communities: African<br />
American, Hispanic, Native American,<br />
and Asian. CMA will support the work of<br />
the Diversity Partners as they develop and<br />
implement the program.<br />
CMA received a record number of<br />
nominations for the Stanley C. Israel Regional<br />
Award for Advancing Diversity in<br />
the <strong>Chemical</strong> Sciences for 2008. To date,<br />
four awards have been presented at the<br />
spring regional meetings and three more<br />
are planned for the fall.<br />
CMA also hosted the reception and luncheon<br />
in Philadelphia honoring the 40th<br />
Anniversary of Project SEED, with sellout<br />
attendance of more than 220 including<br />
more than 100 Project SEED students, ACS<br />
Scholars, coordinators, mentors, and major<br />
supporters.<br />
For the 2009 spring meeting, CMA plans<br />
a symposium on Educational Innovations<br />
for Two-Year Colleges.—LINETTE M.<br />
WATKINS, CHAIR; MARIA G. V. ROSENTHAL,<br />
ACTING CHAIR<br />
PATENTS & RELATED MATTERS<br />
The Committee on Patents & Related Matters<br />
(CPRM) focuses its efforts in three<br />
main areas: providing ACS members and<br />
the general public with information about<br />
patents and other intellectual property issues<br />
important within the chemical enterprise,<br />
nominating notable chemist-inven-<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 39 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
ACS NEWS<br />
tors for national awards that recognize the<br />
innovations and contributions of chemists<br />
to society, and monitoring legislative and<br />
regulatory developments influencing intellectual<br />
property in ways that impact the<br />
chemical enterprise.<br />
At this meeting, CPRM discussed proposed<br />
legislative and regulatory changes to<br />
the U.S. patent system and the potential effects<br />
such matters might have on industry<br />
and academia as well as on ACS. CPRM also<br />
continued its work on several new educational<br />
tools to assist and inform members<br />
on patent issues and other intellectual<br />
property matters important to a successful<br />
career in the chemical enterprise. Many of<br />
these tools are now available on the committee’s<br />
expanded website, membership.<br />
acs.org/C/CPRM.<br />
Finally, CPRM continued its work with<br />
respect to nominating deserving scientists<br />
for inclusion in the National Inventors<br />
Hall of Fame and for the National Medal<br />
of Technology & Innovation.—ANDREW G.<br />
GILICINSKI, CHAIR<br />
PLANNING<br />
The committee focused on supporting<br />
the ongoing implementation of the “ACS<br />
Strategic Plan for 2008 and Beyond” and<br />
preparing for the plan’s annual revision.<br />
Representatives of the Council Policy<br />
Committee, Divisional Activities Committee,<br />
and Local Section Activities Committee<br />
provided reports on their activities to<br />
engage their important communities.<br />
The committee continued its engagement<br />
with other ACS committees through<br />
consideration of the broad range of strategies<br />
and metrics developed in support of<br />
the plan and began a process for selecting<br />
top priorities to recommend to the board.<br />
Committee members took time to carefully<br />
review each of the goals and the strategies<br />
and metrics proposed to support them.<br />
To ensure that the plan remains responsive<br />
to emerging trends, an environmental<br />
scan was undertaken this summer, and an<br />
interim report was reviewed in Philadelphia.<br />
The committee has also taken into<br />
consideration its continued role in shaping<br />
the plan and the creation of initiatives that<br />
support it.<br />
To reinforce strategic goal number four,<br />
“ACS will be a leader in communicating to<br />
the general public the nature and value of<br />
chemistry and related sciences,” the committee<br />
suggests a key message: “I am proud<br />
to be a chemist because I improve people’s<br />
lives through chemistry.” This should<br />
provide a gateway to discussions on how<br />
chemistry and chemists improve our daily<br />
lives. The meeting concluded with a review<br />
of the progress the society has made in<br />
2008 operations so far this year.—JUDITH L.<br />
BENHAM, CHAIR<br />
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING<br />
At the August 2008 meeting, the Committee<br />
on Professional Training (CPT) discussed<br />
three updates and two site visit reports.<br />
With the approval of two new schools, the<br />
total number of colleges and universities<br />
offering ACS-approved bachelor’s degree<br />
programs in chemistry is now 647.<br />
The committee devoted a substantial<br />
portion of its August meeting to refining<br />
the policies for evaluating chemistry<br />
programs under the newly adopted ACS<br />
Guidelines. Departments interested in<br />
obtaining ACS approval will be able to begin<br />
this process under the new guidelines<br />
beginning on Oct. 1. The committee also<br />
updated the content of several topical and<br />
disciplinary supplements to support the<br />
new guidelines, and they will be published<br />
on the ACS website later this fall.<br />
As part of CPT’s efforts to encourage<br />
diversity within the chemistry profession,<br />
a joint subcommittee of CPT and the Committee<br />
on Minority Affairs will hold a workshop<br />
in September with Tribal Colleges<br />
and Native American-serving institutions<br />
that will include participants from 25 colleges<br />
and universities and ACS President<br />
Bruce E. Bursten. Another workshop<br />
will be held in November with Hispanicserving<br />
institutions that will include more<br />
than 40 participants. The structure of these<br />
workshops will parallel that of CPT’s 2004<br />
workshop with Historically Black Colleges<br />
& Universities and other African American-serving<br />
institutions.<br />
The committee has published a report<br />
on its Survey of Ph.D. Programs in Chemistry<br />
in the latest CPT <strong>News</strong>letter, which compares<br />
the current characteristics of Ph.D.<br />
programs with those of a decade ago. A<br />
similar survey of master’s degree programs<br />
is under way.—WILLIAM F. POLIK, CHAIR<br />
PUBLICATIONS<br />
The committee discussed its strategic plan,<br />
which has two focal points: regularly monitoring<br />
the quality of ACS journals to help<br />
ensure that they remain among the most<br />
important information resources for scientific<br />
communities worldwide, and expanding<br />
communication with ACS members<br />
about the committee’s activities, C&EN<br />
procedures, and scholarly communication<br />
issues.<br />
ACS <strong>Chemical</strong> Biology, Journal of Medicinal<br />
Chemistry, and Nano Letters were<br />
monitored. The next publications to be<br />
monitored are Crystal Growth & Design and<br />
the Journal of Physical Chemistry A, B, and C.<br />
Editor-in-chief reappointments for several<br />
journals were recommended.<br />
The Sales & Marketing Group is working<br />
closely with the Publications Editorial Development<br />
unit to launch the new journal,<br />
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, in early<br />
2009 as well as to revitalize the Journal<br />
of the American <strong>Chemical</strong> Society (JACS),<br />
including the launch of the new JACS Beta<br />
site and the redesign of the JACS cover and<br />
Web presence in 2009.<br />
C&EN continues to fulfill its mission of<br />
providing readers with news, events, and<br />
trends in the chemical enterprise. A C&EN<br />
special issue on sustainability appeared in<br />
the Aug. 18 issue. Reader satisfaction survey<br />
results remain high, with 93% reporting high<br />
satisfaction in 2008, versus 91% in 2007.<br />
The Subcommittee on Copyright presented<br />
an update on cases and legislation<br />
affecting copyright and intellectual property.<br />
The ACS Publications Division has instituted<br />
a National Institutes of Health (NIH)<br />
Policy Addendum to the ACS Copyright<br />
Form. The revised NIH Addendum pubs.<br />
acs.org/copyright/nih/nih_addendum. pdf<br />
and additional information pubs.acs.org/<br />
copyright/nih are available on the ACS<br />
Publications website.—JOHN N. RUSSELL<br />
JR., CHAIR<br />
PUBLIC RELATIONS<br />
& COMMUNICATIONS<br />
The Committee on Public Relations &<br />
Communications (CPRC) participated in<br />
a pilot workshop for the ACS Communications<br />
Strategic Plan, which will introduce<br />
phase one of the plan to ACS members<br />
later this year and next year at the Salt Lake<br />
City meeting.<br />
Specifically, the workshop discusses<br />
the new look and feel of society materials<br />
and the new tagline, “Chemistry for Life.”<br />
CPRC responded favorably to the workshop<br />
and to new graphic designs introduced with<br />
the tagline for local section newsletters and<br />
other society materials. They asked that<br />
templates using the new look also be developed<br />
for local section websites.<br />
In the area of local section public relations,<br />
the committee had discussions with<br />
the chair of the Committee on Public Affairs<br />
& Public Relations and with the director of<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 40 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
the Office of Public Affairs. One idea that<br />
emerged was possibly closer collaboration<br />
at the local section level between committees<br />
focused on public relations and those<br />
working on government affairs. CPRC is<br />
also looking at opportunities to partner<br />
with the Committee on Chemistry & Public<br />
Affairs. More thought will be given to tools,<br />
training, and other areas where leveraging of<br />
resources could be mutually beneficial.<br />
CPRC presented public relations awards<br />
to the Kentucky Lake Local Section for<br />
outstanding new efforts and to the Illinois<br />
Heartland Local Section for excellent ongoing<br />
programs. In addition, Mickey Sarquis<br />
was honored with the committee’s 2008<br />
Helen M. Free Award for Public Outreach.<br />
In Salt Lake City, CPRC will partner<br />
with the <strong>Chemical</strong> Education Division to<br />
present the symposium “Outstanding Outreach<br />
is Elemental.”—RUSSELL W. JOHN-<br />
SON, CHAIR<br />
SCIENCE<br />
The Committee on Science (ComSci)<br />
received an invitation from the ACS president<br />
and board chair to become more<br />
involved in activities supporting goal three<br />
of the ACS strategic plan, which states<br />
“ACS will be a global leader in enlisting the<br />
world’s scientific professionals to address,<br />
through chemistry, the challenges facing<br />
our world.”<br />
Specifically, ComSci was invited to focus<br />
on the issue of sustainability. The committee<br />
was asked to think about what it could<br />
do on this subject, working with others<br />
inside and perhaps outside of the society,<br />
that would permit ACS to make a unique<br />
and important contribution on global sustainability<br />
matters. ComSci will develop<br />
a proposal responding to this request and<br />
submit it no later than Dec. 1 to the board<br />
for its consideration.<br />
The committee was briefed on the recent<br />
activities of the International Strategy<br />
Implementation Task Force. The sense of<br />
the committee was that Member Network<br />
success will hinge on rapidly increasing the<br />
number of participants within the network<br />
and quickly adding the more advanced<br />
functionalities users expect and value.<br />
The committee was briefed by members<br />
of the Presidential Task Force on ACS Fellows.<br />
Although the committee supports<br />
generally the concept of an ACS Fellows<br />
Program, it has some concerns about the<br />
definition and development of the program.<br />
At the 2009 Salt Lake City national<br />
meeting, ComSci will present a full-day<br />
program, along with a lunchtime session,<br />
on the subject of chemical synthetic<br />
biology.—CAROLYN RIBES, CHAIR<br />
WOMEN CHEMISTS<br />
At the meeting in Philadelphia, the Women<br />
Chemists Committee (WCC) focused on<br />
its goal of attracting women into the chemical<br />
sciences through several established<br />
student award programs.<br />
The committee recognized the five<br />
recipients of the Merck Index Women in<br />
Chemistry 2008 scholarships, seven WCC/<br />
Eli Lilly & Co. Travel awardees, and the<br />
2008 Overcoming Challenges Award winner.<br />
WCC was also delighted to announce<br />
the inaugural recipient of the scholarship<br />
in memory of Priscilla Carney Jones. Additional<br />
committee programming included a<br />
very successful technical session, “Chemist<br />
& Consumer: Women in the Pharmaceutical<br />
Industry.”<br />
WCC would like to thank the Philadelphia<br />
Section for its collaboration on a very<br />
successful local section WCC networking<br />
event, which celebrated the memory of past<br />
section chair Deb Kilmartin. This event was<br />
also cosponsored by the <strong>Chemical</strong> Heritage<br />
Foundation to launch its new oral history<br />
project on women in chemistry, for which<br />
they are actively seeking suggestions for<br />
eminent women chemists to interview.<br />
With increased focus at the local and<br />
regional levels, WCC is able to reach more<br />
members and increase the relevance of the<br />
society for them. There are now more than<br />
30 local section WCCs, and the number of<br />
WCC activities at regional meetings continues<br />
to grow. To facilitate this growth,<br />
the committee has developed a framework<br />
for planning WCC events, including presentations<br />
on mentoring and networking.<br />
These and other resources are available<br />
to all members on the WCC website and<br />
information will be included in the regional<br />
meeting planning kits.—AMBER S. HINKLE,<br />
CHAIR<br />
YOUNGER CHEMISTS<br />
The Younger Chemists Committee (YCC)<br />
continues to promote its vision to lead<br />
younger chemists into successful careers<br />
and active roles in ACS and the profession.<br />
Our mission is to advocate for and provide<br />
resources to early-career chemists and<br />
professionals in the chemical sciences and<br />
related fields.<br />
YCC continues to develop programming<br />
of interest to younger chemists. In Philadelphia,<br />
programs included “Getting Your<br />
First Industrial Job,” “From Test-Tube to<br />
Start-Up Companies,” and “Opportunities<br />
and Challenges for Non-Tenure-Track<br />
Faculty.” These were recorded so that the<br />
content could be repurposed on the ACS<br />
website for our constituents. YCC also<br />
hosted the 6th Annual YCC Fun Run presented<br />
by ACS Publications at Fairmont<br />
Park and raised $1,500 for the ACS Scholars<br />
program. Looking forward to Salt Lake<br />
City, we are planning symposia on graduate<br />
school challenges, alternative careers in<br />
chemistry, and the chemistry of cooking.<br />
YCC is always looking for new ways to<br />
get younger chemists involved in ACS.<br />
We accomplished this in 2008 through<br />
outreach activities, which include involvement<br />
with the Graduate Education<br />
Advisory Board, committee and divisional<br />
liaisons, and our Leadership Development<br />
Workshop. In addition, we facilitate<br />
online communication with our members<br />
by using tools such as Facebook, MySpace,<br />
Google groups, discussion threads, and<br />
blogs. More information can be found<br />
on the YCC website, www.acsycc.org.—<br />
MICHAEL HURREY, CHAIR<br />
An exciting new option for<br />
authors from ACS Publications<br />
ACS AuthorChoice facilitates unrestricted web<br />
access to your published ACS article—at the time of<br />
publication—for a one-time fixed payment, provided<br />
by you or your funding agency. Contributing authors<br />
who are ACS members and/or are affiliated with an ACS<br />
subscribing institution receive significant discounts.<br />
This policy also allows you to post copies of published<br />
articles on your personal web site and institutional<br />
repositories for non-commercial scholarly purposes.<br />
As a part of the ACS Cycle of Excellence, we are<br />
committed to providing the highest level of support<br />
for our authors. ACS AuthorChoice is one of many<br />
unique benefits offered to authors who contribute to<br />
ACS journals along with the ACS Paragon Plus System,<br />
Citation Manager Functionality, and ACS Articles on<br />
Request to name a few. For more information, go to<br />
http://pubs.acs.org<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 41 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
SOCMA<br />
You Are Invited!<br />
Treat your VIP guests to dinner and entertainment<br />
by comedian Kathleen Madigan!<br />
Monday, December 8, 2008 • 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM • New York Marriott Marquis Times Square<br />
SOCMA’s 87th Annual Dinner<br />
More than 500 industry leaders and their VIP customers attend to celebrate the past year’s<br />
successes, and network with the industry’s best.<br />
The evening’s highlights also include honoring the winners of SOCMA’s 2008 Performance<br />
Improvement Awards sponsored by ChemStewards ® .<br />
Sponsor/s:<br />
For nearly a hundred years, SOCMA members have gathered annually in New York for this<br />
event. Join us for networking and dinner featuring entertainment by one of today’s most<br />
popular headliners, Kathleen Madigan. Her hilarious stand-up is a must-see!<br />
For more details, and to register online, visit www.socma.com. Dinner Registration is $315<br />
per person and $3,150 per table of 10. If you have questions, please contact Alicia Massey<br />
at masseya@socma.com or call (202) 721-4165.<br />
Sponsorships are available. Contact Marketing at (202) 721-4185.<br />
SOCMA<br />
®<br />
For more information on becoming a SOCMA member, contact our Membership Department at (202) 721-4100.<br />
1850 M St NW, Ste 700, Washington, DC 20036-5810 • (202) 721-4100 • Fx (202) 296-8120 • www.socma.com
employment outlook<br />
OPPORTUNITIES FOR 2009 AND BEYOND<br />
BIG STOCK PHOTO<br />
THINKING CREATIVELY<br />
ABOUT WORK<br />
Economic turmoil points to a HAZY OUTLOOK; a little imagination can open up job opportunities<br />
MEMBERS OF THE CLASS of 2009 who<br />
will be looking for jobs in the coming year<br />
better get busy. Although it’s too early to<br />
say how the current financial crisis will affect<br />
employment<br />
in the coming<br />
months, job seekers<br />
should do all<br />
they can now to<br />
increase their marketability,<br />
such as<br />
building up their<br />
professional networks<br />
and making<br />
contacts with recruiters<br />
who visit<br />
their campuses.<br />
For our annual<br />
story on employment<br />
prospects,<br />
CONTENTS<br />
A TOUGH JOB MARKET LOOMS 44<br />
It’s business as usual; future is less certain.<br />
BLAZING ENTREPRENEURIAL PATHS 50<br />
Women build businesses on their passion<br />
for science.<br />
EXTREME CHEMISTRY 55<br />
Science mixes with adventure in extreme<br />
environments.<br />
INTERNATIONAL INTERNSHIPS 57<br />
Research abroad offers unique<br />
opportunities for students.<br />
Senior Editor Corinne A. Marasco spoke<br />
with company representatives and university<br />
department heads about their impressions<br />
of hiring for the coming year. All of<br />
the company reps<br />
reported they are<br />
hiring, and department<br />
reps reported<br />
that recruiting<br />
is going forward,<br />
but everyone has<br />
adopted a “wait<br />
and see” position<br />
for next year.<br />
The good news<br />
is that chemistry<br />
is a big field with<br />
numerous applications,<br />
if you let<br />
your imagination<br />
work for you. In this issue, C&EN examines<br />
how chemists are thinking creatively about<br />
work. First, Senior Editor Susan J. Ainsworth<br />
profiles women entrepreneurs who<br />
are building their businesses around their<br />
passion for science. Their experiences<br />
demonstrate the many paths that entrepreneurs<br />
can follow.<br />
Next, Associate Editor Linda Wang profiles<br />
three chemists whose work has taken<br />
them from the heights of the Chilean Andes<br />
to the depths of oceans. What their work<br />
shows is that chemists aren’t limited by preconceived<br />
notions of “what chemists do.”<br />
Finally, Assistant Editor Kenneth J. Moore<br />
surveys research opportunities abroad<br />
for chemistry and chemical engineering<br />
students. These experiences can be useful<br />
talking points on a résumé as the chemical<br />
industry becomes more globalized. ■<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 43 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK<br />
SHUTTERSTOCK<br />
A TOUGH JOB<br />
MARKET LOOMS<br />
It’s business as usual for now; THE FUTURE is less certain<br />
CORINNE A. MARASCO, C&EN WASHINGTON<br />
THIS YEAR’S employment outlook ought<br />
to be labeled, “Caution: Unpredictable<br />
market ahead.”<br />
Last year, when C&EN assessed the job<br />
prospects for graduates looking for jobs in<br />
2008, the consensus among employers was<br />
that hiring was going to be up and the signs<br />
for job seekers were positive. “<strong>Chemical</strong><br />
scientists and engineers looking for jobs<br />
in 2008 will be greeted with a job market<br />
that is stronger than it has been in years,”<br />
C&EN reported.<br />
What a difference a year makes. Although<br />
the industrial representatives who<br />
spoke with C&EN this year report that<br />
their companies are hiring, they are doing<br />
so with a “wait and see” attitude toward a<br />
possibly weaker job market in 2009. The<br />
exception is chemical engineers, who continue<br />
to be in high demand at all degree<br />
levels.<br />
The chemical industry isn’t immune<br />
to economic downturns (C&EN, Oct. 6,<br />
pages 7 and 9), but it could take weeks,<br />
even months, for the Wall Street chaos to<br />
have a measurable impact on employment.<br />
Take, for example, the number of jobs<br />
posted on the ACS Careers website (www.<br />
acs.org/careers) as one proxy measure. For<br />
the period Jan. 1 to Oct. 10, 1,033 jobs were<br />
posted. That’s only slightly fewer than the<br />
1,045 jobs posted for the same time period<br />
in 2007, so the economic downturn is not<br />
yet affecting industry hiring.<br />
This year also saw significant business<br />
deals, such as Dow’s announcement that it<br />
will acquire Rohm and Haas and Ashland’s<br />
pending acquisition of Hercules (C&EN,<br />
Aug. 25, page 23), as well as major R&D realignments,<br />
for example, at Pfizer (C&EN,<br />
Sept. 1, page 27). The full impact of those<br />
changes on hiring probably won’t show for<br />
some time, either.<br />
RETIREMENT may be one likely casualty<br />
of the distressed economy. As C&EN reported<br />
in last year’s outlook, companies<br />
plan for generational turnover in their hiring<br />
projections, and that remains a factor<br />
this year. With drops in the stock market<br />
corroding the value of pension<br />
plans, however, more workers<br />
may opt to delay retirement to<br />
attempt to recoup those losses.<br />
“Which way are we going to<br />
move forward?” asks Nick Nikolaides,<br />
manager of doctoral recruiting<br />
and university relations<br />
for Procter & Gamble. “If lots of<br />
baby boomers retire, we’ll need<br />
an incredible influx of new talent.<br />
If they’re not ready to retire<br />
given the economy, then we keep<br />
moving forward and prepare for<br />
whichever way things go.”<br />
For now, Nikolaides doesn’t<br />
see a change in recruiting needs.<br />
The goal, he says, is to “maintain<br />
equilibrium despite the rocky<br />
economy.” Analytical chemistry<br />
remains a focus for P&G when<br />
recruiting Ph.D. chemists; however,<br />
Ph.D. engineers—chemical,<br />
mechanical, materials science,<br />
and electrical—are being recruited in<br />
greater numbers at P&G across the board,<br />
from upstream R&D through manufacturing,<br />
he says.<br />
Nikolaides adds that P&G’s sustainability<br />
focus helps attract talented candidates.<br />
“Scientists can have pretty challenging<br />
technical careers, particularly<br />
when you throw in the challenges that<br />
sustainability can provide. In addition,<br />
we’re looking for more well-rounded individuals<br />
these days,” he says. “Not just<br />
solid technical skills but communication,<br />
collaboration, and similar skills people<br />
need to succeed.”<br />
Troy L. Vincent, vice president of global<br />
staffing and recruiting at W.R. Grace,<br />
agrees that the demand for technically<br />
skilled people is high, especially for chemists<br />
and chemical engineers, even though<br />
there might be “a slight softening” in the<br />
number of companies recruiting.<br />
“Grace will be recruiting chemists and<br />
chemical engineers this year,” he says. “The<br />
chemists will be more at the Ph.D. and master’s<br />
levels, while the chemical engineering<br />
hires will be at the bachelor’s level.” As for<br />
specific fields, Grace is focused on inorganic<br />
chemistry, followed by specialized areas<br />
tied to its businesses.<br />
Grace’s recruiting is directed by the<br />
company’s strategic plans for growth as it<br />
prepares to emerge from Chapter 11 reorganization.<br />
Vincent says that although the<br />
company’s needs this year are the same as<br />
last year’s, the timing and number of hires<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 44 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
will be adjusted according to the economic<br />
climate. “The main thing to watch in the<br />
coming months is consolidation within the<br />
chemical industry and what that means for<br />
available talent as deals from the summer<br />
are finalized,” he says.<br />
Meanwhile, business conditions have<br />
already affected the job market in the<br />
pharmaceutical industry, where<br />
hiring is down from historic<br />
norms, according to Steven D.<br />
Young, vice president of basic<br />
research at Merck Research<br />
Laboratories. Although Merck<br />
has just announced elimination<br />
of 12% of its positions worldwide<br />
(C&EN Online Latest<br />
<strong>News</strong>, Oct. 27), the company<br />
is recruiting for chemists at all<br />
degree levels at its West Point,<br />
Pa., and Rahway, N.J., research<br />
sites, in part due to Merck’s<br />
continuing interest in RNA<br />
interference. Merck will also be<br />
hiring B.S. and M.S. chemical<br />
and biochemical engineers in<br />
vaccines, therapeutic proteins,<br />
and sterile processing.<br />
“Last year, our chemistry<br />
hiring was largely limited to<br />
replacement hires due to attrition,”<br />
Young says. “This year,<br />
we’re looking for organic chemists<br />
who have a background in<br />
synthesis and bioorganic chemistry,<br />
as well as chemists with<br />
biopolymer expertise. We’re<br />
also interested in people with a chemical<br />
engineering or molecular biology background<br />
who have experience in expressing,<br />
purifying, or characterizing recombinant<br />
proteins.”<br />
Young adds that hiring in small-molecule<br />
development and manufacturing<br />
during the past few years has been to fill<br />
critical gaps and has consisted mostly of<br />
experienced people. He anticipates that<br />
new skill sets will help drive new areas of<br />
therapeutic research in proteins, small<br />
molecules, and vaccines.<br />
GlycoFi, a Merck subsidiary in New<br />
Hampshire, is recruiting fermentation and<br />
bioprocess engineers, molecular biologists,<br />
and protein and analytical biochemists at<br />
all degree levels this year, according to Senior<br />
Director Natarajan Sethuraman.<br />
Despite recent economic challenges,<br />
many opportunities still require chemists<br />
and chemical engineers, says Robin Lysek,<br />
a human resources central staffing manager<br />
for Air Products & <strong>Chemical</strong>s.<br />
STIFF COMPETITION<br />
Job seekers still outnumber job openings<br />
at the ACS Career Fair<br />
TOTAL<br />
CANDIDATES<br />
POTENTIAL<br />
OPENINGS<br />
The company’s needs this year are very<br />
similar to last year’s, she says, and in some<br />
areas, “the need is greater due to growth in<br />
several business areas and due to the anticipated<br />
demographic changes.”<br />
Lysek says Air Products is recruiting<br />
both chemists and chemical engineers at<br />
all degree levels for projects in materials<br />
science, physical chemistry, energy, electrochemistry,<br />
and process engineering.<br />
At the Ph.D. level the company traditionally<br />
recruits both chemists and chemical<br />
engineers, but because of business needs,<br />
they’re recruiting more Ph.D. chemical<br />
engineers this year. She adds that 90% of its<br />
job offers among new hires are accepted.<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> engineers will be “aggressively<br />
recruited” at Occidental <strong>Chemical</strong> in 2009, as<br />
well as mechanical and electrical engineers,<br />
according to company spokeswoman Stacey<br />
Crews. Students with strong academic performance<br />
and intern or co-op experience will<br />
be in demand as employers like OxyChem<br />
plan for the turnover associated with an aging<br />
workforce, she says.<br />
“OxyChem’s recruiting<br />
needs are indicative of a changing<br />
workforce within the<br />
chemical industry as a whole,”<br />
INTERVIEWS<br />
SCHEDULED<br />
EMPLOYERS<br />
2003<br />
New Orleans 1,151 96 305 1,751<br />
New York City 1,374 97 291 1,673<br />
2004<br />
Anaheim 1,281 121 271 1,605<br />
Philadelphia a 1,494 107 303 1,602<br />
2005<br />
San Diego 1,296 88 189 1,291<br />
Washington, D.C . 1,927 97 289 1,685<br />
2006<br />
Atlanta 1,256 72 197 1,199<br />
San Francisco 1,213 104 290 1,499<br />
2007<br />
Chicago 1,456 73 683 1,139<br />
Boston 1,526 126 913 1,839<br />
2008<br />
New Orleans b 942 104 805 1,305<br />
Philadelphia 1,276 85 515 1,210<br />
a The National Employment Clearing House became Chemjobs Career Center beginning<br />
with the Philadelphia national meeting. b Chemjobs Career Center became the<br />
ACS Career Fair beginning with the New Orleans national meeting. SOURCE: American<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> Society, Department of Career Management & Development<br />
she says. “As the baby boomers<br />
reach retirement age, the workforce<br />
is transitioning to a new<br />
generation.<br />
“THE CHALLENGE for higher<br />
education is to graduate people<br />
who want to learn how to operate<br />
complex chemical plants<br />
safely, responsibly, and ethically.<br />
Our challenge is to locate and<br />
retain them in order to develop<br />
the next generation of experts<br />
and leaders,” she continues.<br />
The petrochemical industry<br />
is also assessing the competition<br />
for qualified chemical<br />
engineers. “<strong>Chemical</strong> engineers<br />
are being snapped up by lots of<br />
different companies,” says Cary<br />
W. Wilkins, director of recruitment<br />
for the Americas at Shell<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong>s. “Even within Shell<br />
they are very versatile and can<br />
fit into many different slots, given their excellent<br />
educational backgrounds.”<br />
Wilkins characterizes the overall market<br />
as very good for chemical engineers at<br />
all degree levels and for Ph.D. chemists,<br />
groups that Shell is recruiting. He says<br />
candidates with a strong foundation in catalysis<br />
and nanotechnology are “the most<br />
sought after.” For chemists at the B.S. and<br />
M.S. levels, however, things are looking flat<br />
and are possibly declining, he adds.<br />
Wilkins says Shell prefers to call the<br />
spots its candidates fill “talent positions”<br />
because “what we’re looking for always<br />
goes beyond just their technical knowledge<br />
and aptitudes” to broader achievements.<br />
“The main thing to watch in the coming months<br />
is consolidation within the chemical industry<br />
and what that means for available talent.”<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 45 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK<br />
“As the baby boomers reach<br />
retirement age, the workforce is<br />
transitioning to a new generation.”<br />
For example, is a candidate good at working<br />
in groups? Can the candidate look at a<br />
task or a challenge with a broad perspective,<br />
beyond the specifics?<br />
Sue Sun-LaSovage, global university<br />
relations leader for Dow <strong>Chemical</strong>, also<br />
observes that competition is “fierce” for<br />
engineering graduates in the U.S. and Europe.<br />
“The competition remains strong<br />
in the entry-level job market because of<br />
the smaller pool of candidates,” she says.<br />
“There is a more abundant supply in China<br />
and India.”<br />
Dow is recruiting this year for bachelor’s-<br />
and master’s-level chemical, mechanical,<br />
and electrical engineers. The<br />
company is also recruiting Ph.D. chemists<br />
with expertise in analytical, inorganic,<br />
organic, and polymer chemistry, as well<br />
as materials science. Sun-LaSovage says<br />
Dow’s needs remain as strong as they have<br />
been during the past few years.<br />
Since October, Dow recruiters have<br />
been interviewing on campuses of what<br />
the firm considers to be global strategic<br />
universities, Sun-LaSovage says. “The financial<br />
situation may be reflected more in<br />
next year’s hiring than this year’s, but it’s<br />
too early to tell,” she says. “We review our<br />
implementation plan on an annual basis<br />
to reflect the business condition and economic<br />
environment.” She adds that hiring<br />
plans are typically finalized in May or June<br />
and executed between September and December<br />
each year.<br />
Last year was a successful recruiting<br />
year for Eastman <strong>Chemical</strong>, workforce<br />
CHEMISTRY DEGREES<br />
Most recent data show increases in<br />
number of all degrees awarded<br />
No. of degrees<br />
11,000<br />
9,000<br />
7,000<br />
5,000<br />
3,000<br />
1,000<br />
1986 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06<br />
Bachelor’s Master’s Ph.D.<br />
NOTE: Data for 1998–99 were imputed using alternative<br />
procedures. Y-axis label is end of academic year;<br />
for example, 1986 is the academic year 1985–86.<br />
Data were collected from degree-granting institutions.<br />
SOURCES: National Center for Education Statistics,<br />
National Science Foundation<br />
planning and staffing manager Sharon<br />
Cooper reports. She characterizes the<br />
market this year as “still good but not as<br />
strong” as in 2007. “We had many positions<br />
to fill last year due to growth, and<br />
we did very well on campus due to the<br />
high demand for technical talent. Because<br />
we were able to hire in advance of the<br />
need, our focus is on a few entry-level<br />
positions and positions with specialized<br />
needs,” she says.<br />
Eastman is looking to hire B.S., M.S., and<br />
Ph.D. chemical engineers and Ph.D. chemists,<br />
Cooper says, particularly in analytical<br />
and organic chemistry. Although the primary<br />
focus is on recruiting chemical engineers,<br />
Eastman continues to have needs for<br />
mechanical and electrical engineers. She<br />
believes there is still a “significant demand<br />
for chemical engineers,” perhaps not so<br />
much in the pure chemical industry as in<br />
the oil and gas industry.<br />
Cooper notes that the number of people<br />
retiring has been lower than Eastman’s<br />
workforce-planning models had predicted,<br />
“which is good from a knowledge management<br />
perspective.” She adds that she feels<br />
good about the firm’s ability to attract the<br />
talent it needs as evidenced by its recruiting<br />
in recent years.<br />
John A. Larock, staffing manager for engineering<br />
and operations, and Emily Niu,<br />
Ph.D. and science staffing manager, both at<br />
DuPont, agree that the job market continues<br />
to look good for new graduates. Larock<br />
says the company’s needs have increased<br />
overall for the past few years, primarily<br />
<br />
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WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG NOVEMBER 3, 2008
CHEMICAL ENGINEERS<br />
Downward trend continues in number<br />
of bachelor’s degrees while Ph.D.s<br />
increase<br />
No. of degrees<br />
7,000<br />
6,000<br />
5,000<br />
4,000<br />
3,000<br />
2,000<br />
1,000<br />
0<br />
1986 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06<br />
Bachelor’s Master’s Ph.D.<br />
NOTE: Data for 1998–99 were imputed using<br />
alternative procedures. Y-axis label is end of academic<br />
year; for example, 1986 is the academic year<br />
1985–86. Data were collected from degree-granting<br />
institutions. SOURCES: National Center for Education<br />
Statistics, National Science Foundation<br />
However, in comparison with their actual<br />
hires from the class of 2008, respondents<br />
expect to hire about 1.3% more graduates<br />
from the class of 2009.<br />
“Overall, hiring looks flat for now, and<br />
some employers are indicating some movement<br />
to cut back,” says Marilyn Mackes,<br />
NACE executive director. “In August, approximately<br />
one-third of employers said<br />
they were going to trim their college hiring;<br />
in our current poll, however, 52% said they<br />
were going to adjust their college hiring<br />
downward.”<br />
“Turnout was small, compared to years<br />
past,” says Chris Smith, who handles recruiting<br />
for the chemistry and chemical<br />
engineering division at California Institute<br />
of Technology. “This year, about five<br />
because of company growth and employee<br />
retirements. Together, those constitute the<br />
majority of positions that DuPont is trying<br />
to fill.<br />
DuPont is actively looking for chemists<br />
and chemical engineers at all degree levels.<br />
Within R&D, the company is looking for<br />
expertise in polymer and organic chemistry,<br />
materials science, and biosciences,<br />
according to Niu. DuPont is also recruiting<br />
bachelor’s and master’s degree chemists<br />
and biologists.<br />
According to Larock, bachelor’s and<br />
master’s degree engineers are being recruited<br />
in process engineering, process<br />
development, and project engineering. “Innovation<br />
drives us and our products,” he<br />
says. “Each year, a large percentage of our<br />
products are new, and we need that technological<br />
understanding and capability.”<br />
Niu adds that in addition to technical skills,<br />
DuPont looks for inventiveness and a drive<br />
for innovation.<br />
How the economic challenges will play<br />
out is yet to be determined, but Larock says<br />
of the firm, “We’re moving ahead.”<br />
THOSE ECONOMIC challenges, however,<br />
are starting to affect university chemical<br />
sciences departments. In light of volatile<br />
financial markets this past month, the National<br />
Association of Colleges & Employers<br />
(NACE) recently re-polled employers that<br />
had provided hiring projections in August.<br />
The result: Compared with their earlier<br />
projections, responding employers expect<br />
to decrease their hiring levels by 1.6%.<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG NOVEMBER 3, 2008
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK<br />
HUMAN CAPITAL<br />
Talent Management Is Critical To Recruiting<br />
A Sept. 19 story on Business<br />
Week’s website declared that<br />
“a talent strategy is now as<br />
important as a marketing or<br />
finance strategy for corporations<br />
operating in today’s<br />
multi-polar world.” That<br />
strategy must encompass recruiting<br />
and retaining not just<br />
high performers but the entire<br />
workforce. The corporate<br />
recruiters who talked with<br />
C&EN shared some strategies<br />
their companies use to<br />
enhance the overall success<br />
of their recruiting programs.<br />
Recruiters visit campuses<br />
throughout the year, sometimes<br />
making multiple trips.<br />
“We spend a lot of time on<br />
college campuses—career<br />
fairs, company presentations,<br />
meeting with student<br />
organizations—because new<br />
graduates feed our talent<br />
pipeline,” says Robin Lysek<br />
of Air Products & <strong>Chemical</strong>s.<br />
She says the company visited<br />
about 40 campuses in North<br />
America this year. The company’s<br />
corporate headquarters<br />
is in Lehigh Valley, Pa., and<br />
the company recruits in California,<br />
Texas, Louisiana, and<br />
Florida, close to its locations.<br />
Emily Niu of DuPont<br />
says the company’s particular<br />
needs determine<br />
which schools its recruiters<br />
visit. “The mix of schools may<br />
change, and we cast our nets<br />
far and wide,” she says. “We<br />
also post our positions in<br />
schools that we may not visit.”<br />
Companies recognize<br />
the need for sustainable<br />
programs on campus, Dow’s<br />
Sue Sun-LaSovage says. “Our<br />
leadership realized that if we<br />
have a strong pipeline, we<br />
can get the best talent who<br />
can fill more experiencedlevel<br />
jobs in the future. We’ve<br />
made a commitment to hire<br />
the best people from universities<br />
and to create an employer<br />
brand on campuses.<br />
We try to go not only when<br />
we need to hire.”<br />
Internships play a major<br />
part in a company’s recruiting<br />
program, and it’s easy to<br />
see why. “Intern relationships<br />
help us attract and retain<br />
new college graduates,” as<br />
well as help students learn<br />
about and adjust to working<br />
in industry, Occidental<br />
spokeswoman Stacey Crews<br />
says. The company plans to<br />
increase intern recruitment<br />
for 2009.<br />
Air Products has a robust<br />
co-op and intern program<br />
that employs 100 to 150 students,<br />
Lysek says. “We hope<br />
that exposure to our culture<br />
will encourage them to work<br />
for us after they graduate.”<br />
Converting co-ops and<br />
interns to full-time employees<br />
has been a successful<br />
strategy, Eastman’s Sharon<br />
Cooper says. She says the<br />
company also sends alumni<br />
to campuses to recruit, which<br />
has proven to be a great way<br />
to attract new employees.<br />
A primary challenge for<br />
any company is retaining<br />
talent. Companies such as<br />
Shell, DuPont, Air Products,<br />
and Procter & Gamble have<br />
various career development<br />
opportunities to help new<br />
hires succeed. At Air Products,<br />
for example, new graduates<br />
have the opportunity to<br />
try different assignments in a<br />
rotational program. The program<br />
offers three one-year<br />
assignments in various areas<br />
to help young graduates decide<br />
where they would like to<br />
work within the company.<br />
“We have a learning and<br />
development culture at Shell,<br />
so a new hire will actually continue<br />
growing with us,” Cary<br />
W. Wilkins says. When someone<br />
is assigned to a first position,<br />
the company has already<br />
assessed areas for improvement,<br />
and that information<br />
is used in the first year’s development<br />
plan crafted with<br />
that person’s supervisor. A<br />
new hire may have even been<br />
signed up for a course before<br />
the first day at work.<br />
With 120 scientific disciplines<br />
represented at Procter<br />
& Gamble, the company has<br />
set up Communities of Practice<br />
(CoPs) that are designed<br />
to leverage core competencies<br />
across its businesses.<br />
The mission of CoPs is to<br />
make connections for problem<br />
solving, exploit technological<br />
innovations more easily<br />
across business units and<br />
R&D, stay on top of emerging<br />
technologies, and advance<br />
both individual and collective<br />
technical knowledge. In all,<br />
P&G has 22 CoPs in areas<br />
ranging from analytical science<br />
to wipes and substrate<br />
products.<br />
“CoPs are a really effective<br />
tool to link up the organization,”<br />
says Nick Nikolaides,<br />
manager of doctoral recruiting<br />
and university relations<br />
for P&G. He adds that some<br />
CoPs have seminar series<br />
to bring in speakers or hold<br />
problem-solving and poster<br />
sessions to bring people together,<br />
including people from<br />
P&G locations overseas.<br />
Hiring today means keeping<br />
one eye on the future,<br />
according to recruiters. It<br />
means aligning hiring projections<br />
with business needs<br />
and being dynamic enough<br />
to change as processes and<br />
technology do.<br />
“These are not just jobs<br />
we’re filling,” Shell’s Wilkins<br />
says. “These are employees<br />
who will develop and grow to<br />
fill our business needs beyond<br />
just their first few years,<br />
and, we hope, become leaders<br />
down the line.”<br />
companies came to recruit, which is fewer<br />
than the last several years.” Last year, most<br />
people who interviewed were able to find<br />
employment with the company they were<br />
interested in, she says.<br />
Patricia L. Blum, director of career counseling<br />
and placement services in the School<br />
of <strong>Chemical</strong> Sciences at the University of<br />
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, says that although<br />
several companies have scheduled<br />
campus interviews that have not done so in<br />
the past, the number of companies interviewing<br />
is down about one-third, and the<br />
number of students signing up for interviews<br />
is also down in some areas.<br />
Last year, she says, “hiring was strong<br />
early in the fall and then tapered off. During<br />
that time, a few Ph.D. students decided<br />
to take postdocs instead of entering industry,<br />
but those who waited out the lag did<br />
eventually land good positions.”<br />
Both Blum and Smith attribute some<br />
of that decline to the economy. Smith<br />
says many of the companies that usually<br />
come through are not hiring this year. She<br />
adds that the division is short four faculty<br />
members in organic and inorganic chemistry,<br />
which affects how many students<br />
are available on the job market. In Blum’s<br />
experience, several of the companies that<br />
normally recruit are in the middle of hiring<br />
freezes, are lowering hiring numbers,<br />
or are sending fewer recruiters than initially<br />
planned.<br />
Alix Lamia, chemistry program manager<br />
at Columbia University, has also<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 48 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
noticed that recruiters are fewer than<br />
usual this year, even though recruiting<br />
and interviewing are progressing as usual.<br />
“The recruiters who did not participate<br />
mentioned they will not have job openings<br />
this year,” she says. “For example, one<br />
firm scheduled a visit and then canceled<br />
due to a major restructuring.”<br />
At Columbia, 12 recruiters signed up this<br />
year, compared with an average of 19 in previous<br />
years. Lamia attributes the changes<br />
she sees to the economy, which affects the<br />
number of available jobs, and low turnover,<br />
which further limits the number of job<br />
openings.<br />
At the University of North Carolina,<br />
Chapel Hill, Michael T. Crimmins, chairman<br />
of the chemistry department, reports<br />
that campus recruiting seems “about normal”<br />
but that the number of jobs is lower<br />
and more are available in smaller, start-up<br />
companies.<br />
The changes, he says, are a result of the<br />
“entire pharmaceutical industry in a period<br />
of major reorganization and general<br />
downsizing. A significant amount of their<br />
functions have been outsourced to China<br />
and India, creating many new jobs in those<br />
developing countries but reducing the opportunities<br />
in the U.S. and Europe.”<br />
IN CONTRAST, Timothy B. Luzader of<br />
Purdue University offers some better<br />
news. Luzader, director of the Center for<br />
Career Opportunities, reports that campus<br />
interviewing appears “as robust as it was<br />
this time last year. Our interview space is<br />
booked solid through late October. Early<br />
job fairs on campus were sold out,” and<br />
there were waiting lists of companies that<br />
wanted to participate.<br />
In 2007–08, the number of employers<br />
recruiting on campus was steady compared<br />
with the previous year, whereas the<br />
number of interviews was slightly down,<br />
Luzader says. He attributes the decrease in<br />
interviews more to student selectivity than<br />
economic softening. “Many students feel<br />
that accepting a full-time offer from a company<br />
where they interned is a reasonable<br />
option, so they’re likely to restrict their<br />
interviews only to companies that most<br />
strongly interest them,” he says.<br />
In a May 2007 survey of all of Purdue’s<br />
bachelor’s degree recipients, Luzader<br />
reports that 94% had confirmed postgraduate<br />
plans for employment, further study,<br />
or other plans such as the Peace Corps.<br />
Among chemical engineering graduates,<br />
96% had confirmed postgraduate plans.<br />
For now, “campus recruiting belies<br />
concerns in the economy,” he says. “But<br />
history has shown on-campus recruitment<br />
does not taper off until six to nine<br />
months after an economic downturn. If<br />
that trend holds true, then the outlook<br />
will be a bit gloomier than it has been in<br />
the recent past.”<br />
In any job market—down markets<br />
included—the advice to graduates never<br />
changes. Be more flexible in the job search.<br />
Use resources and contacts that are available<br />
on campus. Employers are still hiring,<br />
even if they aren’t coming on campus, so<br />
networking and direct contact are important.<br />
Know yourself well enough to find a<br />
company that is aligned with your goals<br />
and values. ■<br />
CORPORATION<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 49 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK<br />
MARRONE ORGANIC INNOVATIONS<br />
CREATIVE THINKER<br />
Marrone studies<br />
grape plants<br />
treated during a<br />
bioherbicide trial.<br />
compared with 9%<br />
for all privately held<br />
firms, according to<br />
estimates released<br />
in September by the<br />
center for Women’s<br />
Business Research.<br />
Currently, there are 10.1 million firms in<br />
the U.S. that are at least 50% owned by a<br />
woman, the center says, adding that these<br />
firms represent 40% of all privately held<br />
firms. The center, which reports the data<br />
on women-owned businesses by major<br />
industry categories only, estimates that<br />
women own a majority stake in 1.4 million<br />
businesses in the professional, scientific,<br />
and technical services segment alone, says<br />
Sharon G. Hadary, the center’s executive<br />
director.<br />
ENTREPRENEURIAL<br />
TRAILBLAZERS<br />
Women build businesses around their PASSION FOR SCIENCE<br />
SUSAN J. AINSWORTH, C&EN DALLAS<br />
WHILE LAUNCHING the biopesticides<br />
firm Entotech for Novo Nordisk in 1990,<br />
Pamela G. Marrone got a taste of what it<br />
would be like to run her own company. Although<br />
she disliked the corporate politics<br />
and the bureaucracy that surrounded her<br />
role as Entotech president, she found she<br />
loved charting the course of a business in<br />
her dream field.<br />
So five years later, when Entotech was<br />
sold, Marrone took the leap of faith to start<br />
AgraQuest, a company focused on discovering,<br />
developing, manufacturing, and marketing<br />
natural pest management products.<br />
And two years ago, she founded Marrone<br />
Organic Innovations, in Davis, Calif., to<br />
create a new pipeline of products aimed at<br />
the pest management market.<br />
From the start, “I was driven by a vision<br />
and a dream of what I wanted to<br />
accomplish—to change the world through<br />
pesticide products that are safer and effective,”<br />
she says. “I didn’t think about the<br />
barriers or the problems or challenges. I<br />
only thought about the possibilities and visualized<br />
the end game and the success.”<br />
That kind of determination and passion<br />
is something common to many successful<br />
women entrepreneurs, including the<br />
nine contacted by C&EN. Each of them<br />
cites different motivations for delving into<br />
entrepreneurship. Some were looking for<br />
alternatives to unsatisfying careers, while<br />
others sought a means to better balance<br />
work and family responsibilities or a way to<br />
transfer promising technology from the lab<br />
to the marketplace.<br />
Having started businesses in diverse<br />
areas, from biofuels to instrumentation to<br />
pharmaceutical consulting, these women<br />
share their experiences and highlight the<br />
many paths to entrepreneurship that others<br />
like them are increasingly carving out.<br />
Between 2002 and 2008, the number of<br />
women-owned firms grew by 10% per year<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 50 NOVEMBER 3, 2008<br />
STILL, starting and sustaining a business<br />
is not always easy for women. To overcome<br />
the many challenges of entrepreneurship,<br />
women need to have a support system of<br />
contacts, employees, and advisers; solid<br />
business fundamentals; confidence in<br />
themselves; and a motivating vision, according<br />
to those profiled here.<br />
Karen K. Gleason, an associate dean of<br />
engineering for research at Massachusetts<br />
Institute of Technology, says her entrepreneurial<br />
spirit was sparked by a desire<br />
to commercialize coating technology developed<br />
in her lab. To accomplish that, she<br />
cofounded GVD Corp., which stands for<br />
Gleason Vapor Deposition, six years ago in<br />
Cambridge, Mass.<br />
The company is built around technology<br />
that enables ultrathin layers of<br />
polytetrafluoroethylene (trademarked as<br />
Teflon by DuPont) to be coated on microand<br />
nanosized substrates. Because the<br />
technology allows coatings to be applied<br />
at cooler temperatures, it can be used on<br />
organic materials such as polymers rather<br />
than only on inorganic materials such as<br />
silicon. The technology is poised to meet<br />
growing demand in markets for medical<br />
devices, membranes, and textiles.<br />
By starting GVD, Gleason says she has<br />
been able to see the technology transformed<br />
from “a novelty” to something that<br />
can really make a difference in more ap-<br />
“You have to be able to creatively<br />
knock down barriers that get in your<br />
way. You can’t just wilt or give up.”
TARGETED GENETICS CORP.<br />
plications than she had imagined. Gleason<br />
benefited from the support of MIT, which<br />
encourages its faculty members to remain<br />
involved in the development of their own<br />
technology, she says.<br />
Given her responsibilities at MIT, Gleason<br />
must play a somewhat limited role in<br />
GVD. The company’s cofounder and president,<br />
Hilton G. Pryce Lewis, who earned a<br />
Ph.D. in Gleason’s MIT lab, runs the company’s<br />
day-to-day operations. That leaves<br />
Gleason free to “ask the bigger questions<br />
and think about the more long-term issues,”<br />
she says.<br />
Like Gleason, BioTools President Rina<br />
K. Dukor cofounded her company to commercialize<br />
a technology that originated<br />
in an academic lab. Studying vibrational<br />
circular dichroism (VCD) as a graduate<br />
student in chemistry at the University of<br />
Illinois, Chicago, she came to appreciate<br />
the technique’s potential use for solving<br />
stereochemical problems, especially in the<br />
pharmaceutical industry. VCD is a measure<br />
of the differential absorption of circularly<br />
polarized infrared radiation by a chiral<br />
molecule, such as a small pharmaceutical<br />
or any biological, including a protein, sugar,<br />
or nucleic acid, Dukor says.<br />
Parker<br />
DOUGLAS LOCKARD<br />
Armour<br />
WHILE LISTENING to lectures on VCD<br />
at a conference, “I realized that everyone<br />
who had worked on the technology was<br />
on the verge of retiring, and if I didn’t<br />
commercialize it, it might never happen,”<br />
Dukor says. She immediately began creating<br />
a business plan for the formation of<br />
BioTools, which she would later cofound<br />
with Laurence A. Nafie, a chemistry professor<br />
at Syracuse University (C&EN,<br />
July 18, 2005, page 32). Today, Jupiter,<br />
Fla.-based BioTools sells VCD spectrometers<br />
and provides services related to the<br />
conformational analysis and absolute configuration<br />
of chiral-organic and proteinbased<br />
drugs to pharmaceutical and biotechnology<br />
companies. In the beginning,<br />
“I wanted very much to see this technology<br />
commercialized, knowing that it would<br />
be extremely powerful later on. It was my<br />
calling. It drove me,” Dukor says.<br />
Entrepreneur Pamela R. Contag sees<br />
starting a business as “one way to translate<br />
basic science into an<br />
application I believe<br />
in.” She founded<br />
the first of two companies,<br />
Xenogen in<br />
1995 to pioneer biophotonic<br />
imaging<br />
systems that expedite<br />
drug discovery<br />
and development.<br />
Contag, who has a<br />
Ph.D. in microbiology,<br />
sold the company<br />
to Caliper Life<br />
Sciences in 2006.<br />
In 2005, Contag<br />
founded Cobalt<br />
Technologies, in<br />
Mountain View,<br />
Calif., to develop<br />
biobutanol as a nextgeneration<br />
biofuel.<br />
By combining novel<br />
and patented microbiology, bioprocessing,<br />
and separation technologies, Cobalt aims<br />
to maximize the production of biobutanol,<br />
she says.<br />
As Cobalt’s president and chief executive<br />
officer, “I generally invent and develop<br />
technology and then take on investors<br />
who ultimately direct the company. I put<br />
all my energy into the demonstration of<br />
the technology and business model,” she<br />
says. For Contag, “Entrepreneurial spirit<br />
has to do with necessity,” she says. “The<br />
job needed to be done, and I<br />
was in the right place at the<br />
right time.”<br />
Serendipity also played a<br />
part in H. Stewart Parker’s<br />
move to found Targeted<br />
Genetics, a publicly traded<br />
Seattle biotechnology<br />
company spun off from Immunex<br />
in 1992 to develop<br />
gene-based treatments<br />
for acquired and inherited<br />
disease. But there was more<br />
behind her decision to<br />
found Targeted Genetics,<br />
says the firm’s president<br />
COURTESY OF J. CHEN<br />
and CEO. “I was very passionate about the<br />
work, which is a requirement for anyone<br />
founding a company,” she says.<br />
As one of Immunex’ first employees<br />
in 1981, Parker remembers that she “really<br />
loved the early days at the company<br />
when we were so excited about taking<br />
on these new opportunities and curing<br />
so many diseases.” She had also learned<br />
that her strengths<br />
lie “in looking at a<br />
scenario that is early<br />
and unformed and<br />
making order out of<br />
it.” When she was<br />
considering the offer<br />
to head Targeted Genetics,<br />
she knew that<br />
GROUND-BREAKING<br />
Chen started a<br />
pharma consulting<br />
firm to avoid<br />
relocating her<br />
family, shown here<br />
during a recent<br />
vacation in China<br />
having that role “would restore the passion<br />
I needed to do the job and the passion I felt<br />
for the whole program and for biotech.”<br />
Unlike Parker, other women entrepreneurs<br />
have started businesses to escape<br />
from unsatisfying careers. That was the<br />
case for Rita R. Boggs, CEO of American Research<br />
& Testing, the Gardena, Calif., consulting<br />
company she started 25 years ago. A<br />
former nun, Boggs left the convent in 1973 at<br />
the age of 35 after finishing a Ph.D. in chemistry,<br />
opting to exchange her beloved role of<br />
teacher for a position that might compensate<br />
her for the many years in which she did<br />
not get paid. She accepted industrial positions,<br />
first at Colgate Palmolive’s Research<br />
Center and then at the United States Testing<br />
Co. “Neither was satisfactory to me,” Boggs<br />
says. At a dead end, she followed the sug-<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 51 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK<br />
gestion of friends and opened American<br />
Research & Testing, which provides services<br />
including product development, custom<br />
chemical analysis, materials testing, and<br />
contract research. “We consider ourselves<br />
consultants with a laboratory,” she says.<br />
Elizabeth A. Armour, founder and president<br />
of the 15-year-old specialty chemical<br />
consulting firm Armour Associates, also<br />
started working in the chemical industry<br />
at a time when women’s opportunities in<br />
industry were even more limited than they<br />
are today. Having earned bachelor’s and<br />
master’s degrees in biology and an M.B.A. in<br />
marketing and finance, Armour entered the<br />
workforce in the early 1980s and observed<br />
that “few women were being targeted for<br />
upper management roles,” she says.<br />
Although Armour particularly loved her<br />
eight-year stint working in Europe, which<br />
included being part of Rhône-Poulenc’s<br />
specialty chemicals strategic planning<br />
team, “in the back of my mind, I knew that<br />
I would probably not continue in this largecompany<br />
mentality forever,” she says.<br />
Forming Armour Associates, an international<br />
consulting firm with offices in<br />
Hendersonville, N.C., and Paris, allowed<br />
her to make that shift. “I always knew that I<br />
would find something that would allow me<br />
to better use my creativity and networking<br />
skills. I had a strong desire for more flexibility<br />
and to determine my own way.”<br />
Finding a new career path was a necessity<br />
for Sharon V. Vercellotti, who was forced<br />
to leave a university research laboratory<br />
position when “the dean thought my presence<br />
in the same department as my husband<br />
might be problematic.” Vercellotti,<br />
who had already earned a master’s degree<br />
in chemistry, enrolled in business classes<br />
and began to ponder starting her own business,<br />
she says. Shortly thereafter, in 1979,<br />
she and her husband founded V-Labs, a<br />
Covington, La.-based company that continues<br />
to provide consulting, custom manufacturing,<br />
and analytical services focused<br />
on carbohydrates and<br />
polysaccharides. In<br />
addition to carving<br />
out a new career, she<br />
also gained control<br />
over her schedule,<br />
which included her<br />
two small children,<br />
ages 10 and four at<br />
the time of V-Lab’s<br />
inception.<br />
FRESH APPROACH<br />
Gleason (back row,<br />
second from left)<br />
cofounded GVD<br />
Corp., which now<br />
boasts a reactor<br />
that is used for<br />
small-volume<br />
manufacture of<br />
commercial parts.<br />
Balancing work and family responsibilities<br />
was the primary impetus behind Jinling<br />
Chen’s move to start Pharm Expedia, a<br />
pharmaceutical technology development<br />
and consulting firm, in August 2007 in<br />
Houston. After working for major drug<br />
companies including AstraZeneca and<br />
Bristol-Myers Squibb for 15 years in positions<br />
she found both “interesting and enjoyable,”<br />
she opted to follow her husband’s<br />
GVD CORP.<br />
job transfer from New Jersey to Texas. She<br />
then worked for a smaller pharmaceutical<br />
company, Encysive Pharmaceuticals, for<br />
five years, during which time she rose to the<br />
role of senior director of pharmaceutical<br />
sciences.<br />
When Encysive closed its R&D facility<br />
as part of its acquisition by Pfizer, Chen<br />
was without a job. Instead of splitting her<br />
family and uprooting her 15- and 10-year<br />
old sons in a move to the East Coast where<br />
pharma jobs are plentiful, she decided to<br />
start Pharm Expedia.<br />
With a Ph.D. in physical chemistry and<br />
broad project management experience, she<br />
says she has been able to address the challenging<br />
drug development needs of clients.<br />
She has also developed and patented innovative<br />
enabling technologies to enhance<br />
drug delivery and to improve the palatability<br />
of certain medicines, she says. Forming<br />
Pharm Expedia “has been a great way to<br />
take care of my career and take care of my<br />
family at the same time.”<br />
WORK-LIFE FLEXIBILITY is especially<br />
important to many women. Dukor, who<br />
has two children, says she has benefited<br />
from the ability to set her own schedule.<br />
“Even with all my travels, I think I have not<br />
missed anything critical in my children’s<br />
lives. I volunteer for my children’s schools.<br />
I have done science demonstrations. I can<br />
even take time during the day to watch my<br />
son’s high school tennis matches.”<br />
As head of her own company, Boggs was<br />
free to care for her parents before they died<br />
in the early 1990s, she says. “Shortly after<br />
that, I developed breast cancer. Fortunately,<br />
because I had the business and the help<br />
of Barbara Belmont (now the firm’s president)<br />
I was able to manage all of this.”<br />
Despite the benefits, entrepreneurship<br />
brings many challenges. Some entrepreneurs<br />
report that they must wear many<br />
hats—from janitor to salesperson—and<br />
log extensive hours to meet customer<br />
needs. And there’s a huge learning curve,<br />
says Chen, who had to figure out how to<br />
apply for grants and handle tax issues,<br />
for example.<br />
Would-be entrepreneurs must be mentally<br />
prepared to take on the many risks<br />
that accompany this kind of work, Chen<br />
says. In smaller firms, in particular, the uncertainty<br />
of income can be a drawback. As a<br />
consultant or a contractor, “you may have<br />
good contracts for several months or even<br />
several years and then you may have nothing<br />
for a while.”<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 52 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
“Responsibility can be the most exhilarating thing<br />
in the world or it can keep you up at night. I find<br />
both to be true, depending on the week.”<br />
To stay afloat in lean times, entrepreneurs<br />
must start with a good business plan,<br />
Boggs says. “I sometimes look at the original<br />
business plan I put together and see a<br />
number of inadequacies. Thank God we<br />
succeeded anyway.”<br />
Boning up on the financial side of business<br />
is equally critical for those entrepreneurs<br />
with degrees in science. Knowing<br />
that entrepreneurship might be in her<br />
future, Marrone, who has a Ph.D. in entomology,<br />
took in-house management<br />
training and business courses offered<br />
by employers earlier in her career.<br />
Others have opted to hire people with<br />
that expertise. Help is also available<br />
through the U.S. Small Business Administration,<br />
which administers the<br />
Small Business Innovation Research<br />
grant program that encourages small<br />
businesses to explore their technological<br />
potential.<br />
For her part, Dukor worked for<br />
roughly 10 years for a medical diagnostics<br />
division of Amoco until she<br />
could save enough to start BioTools.<br />
She and Nafie then raised about<br />
$200,000, partly through the sale of<br />
Dukor’s home, giving them enough to<br />
get started.<br />
Looking back, however, Dukor<br />
says she regrets that she didn’t raise<br />
capital, something she didn’t understand<br />
how to do at the time. “Raising<br />
capital would have given us the funds<br />
not only to make the first prototype<br />
spectrometer, but also to educate<br />
the market,” she says. “Money from an<br />
angel investor would have given us a muchneeded<br />
jump-start and would have put less<br />
strain on family finances.”<br />
When approaching investors, Contag<br />
advises would-be women entrepreneurs<br />
to “choose your venture investors based<br />
on their track record with other female<br />
founders and their treatment of founders<br />
in general.”<br />
In addition, it’s important to “build a personal<br />
board of directors or board of advisers<br />
to advise you over the life cycle of your<br />
company,” Contag says. “Your company<br />
will go through many stages. Plan how you<br />
want your role to develop so that it fits you<br />
V-LABS INC.<br />
and sustains the success of the company.”<br />
At least in the earliest stages of starting<br />
a business, an entrepreneur’s job is to<br />
remain optimistic in the face of the many<br />
challenges that will arise, Marrone says.<br />
“You have to be able to creatively knock<br />
down barriers that get in your way. You<br />
can’t just wilt or give up. That attitude is<br />
really critical.”<br />
When Marrone started AgraQuest,<br />
she says, “I was ahead of the market; the<br />
biopesticides products I<br />
was developing were seen<br />
as snake oils, and I had to<br />
work to change the market<br />
perception.” For example,<br />
the company integrated<br />
biopesticides into conventional<br />
pest management<br />
programs and went<br />
to farms to show growers<br />
that they could get good or<br />
better results compared<br />
with conventional programs, she says.<br />
In another barrier-busting move, Marrone<br />
says she helped start a biopesticide<br />
industry alliance of small biopesticide firms<br />
ONE-STOP SHOP<br />
Vercellotti assaying<br />
samples of<br />
polysaccharides<br />
at V-Labs, the<br />
company she<br />
and her husband<br />
started to provide<br />
consulting, custom<br />
manufacturing, and<br />
analytical services.<br />
that joined with larger companies to support<br />
the passage of the Pesticide Registration<br />
Improvement Act. That piece of legislation<br />
makes the Environmental Protection Agency’s<br />
approval process more predictable, she<br />
says, thereby making it easier for companies<br />
to raise money through investors.<br />
SUBTLE GENDER BIAS from customers,<br />
investors, or potential collaborators is another<br />
hindrance with which some women<br />
entrepreneurs have had to contend.<br />
“Sometimes I feel like people are<br />
surprised when they meet me,” Gleason<br />
says. “They have not necessarily<br />
clued in to the fact that I am going to<br />
be female, and they sometimes assume<br />
that I am somebody’s secretary.<br />
You realize that you are always still<br />
overcoming other people’s perceptions<br />
of you before they are going to<br />
listen to what you have to say. But I<br />
try not to dwell on that so that I don’t<br />
end up with a chip on my shoulder.”<br />
Instead, she adds, “I focus on communicating<br />
my ideas to make sure<br />
that they are taken seriously.”<br />
That can be a challenge, she concedes,<br />
as women are not well represented<br />
in venture capital firms or<br />
in the companies to which Gleason<br />
pitches her technology. “Most of the<br />
people judging you are not women,<br />
something I am used to dealing with<br />
in the environment we have at MIT.”<br />
Marrone says she faces a similar<br />
situation in the agrochemical business,<br />
where relatively few women<br />
hold management positions. The<br />
dynamics of a meeting change dramatically<br />
when there is more than<br />
one woman in a room, however.<br />
“Generally, in a group made up of no<br />
more than one woman, the men will<br />
defer to the most powerful man in<br />
the room, and then you can’t get a lot<br />
of things done,” she says. “But when<br />
you have at least two or three women<br />
in a group, you can actually get down<br />
to work.” In response, Marrone says she<br />
strives to build diversity into her management<br />
team, which is made up of more<br />
women than men.<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 53 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
Women entrepreneurs need to constantly<br />
demonstrate their competency<br />
and capabilities, Contag says. Although it’s<br />
critical for women entrepreneurs to have<br />
“a differentiated technology and commercialization<br />
strategy and the ability to execute<br />
on a plan, that’s usually not enough. I<br />
do think that women need to have a betterthan-the-average<br />
skill set to receive the<br />
same considerations as men.<br />
“Most investors like to move to their<br />
comfort zone of an experienced management<br />
team whether you are doing a good<br />
job or not,” Contag adds. “It’s not much<br />
different for men, except that they are often<br />
given the benefit of the doubt—something<br />
from which I don’t think women benefit.”<br />
DUKOR ECHOES this point. She believes<br />
there is still a stigma against women scientists<br />
who want to enter into business.<br />
“People don’t seem to doubt that I am a<br />
good scientist, but I think it is still harder<br />
for women to be taken seriously in the<br />
business world.” It appears that men don’t<br />
face the same biases in business, she says.<br />
Still, women entrepreneurs believe that<br />
gender biases are not as prevalent as they<br />
once were. It is “much easier for women to<br />
be taken seriously now than it was 15 years<br />
ago in what has traditionally been a heavily<br />
male industry,” Armour says. “In addition<br />
to having a good number of women working<br />
in our industry today, we also have<br />
the input of women at strategic levels of<br />
decision-making. That’s a really important<br />
difference right now.”<br />
As a result, it’s easier to find role models<br />
who can be a valuable resource for women<br />
entrepreneurs. Armour, for example, feels<br />
“an obligation to mentor other women and<br />
help them avoid some of the things I encountered.”<br />
And Dukor encourages women<br />
to reach out to male and female CEOs,<br />
many of whom are eager to help those who<br />
want to follow in their footsteps.<br />
Although building networks comes<br />
naturally to community-oriented women,<br />
developing and maintaining a business<br />
network is not a skill that we all have,”<br />
Contag says. However, “it is crucial to our<br />
business.” Vercellotti, for<br />
example, has benefited<br />
from being a member of<br />
the American <strong>Chemical</strong><br />
Society’s Division of Small<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> Businesses.<br />
Building good relationships<br />
with employees is<br />
equally important, Dukor<br />
says. “I’ve learned to be<br />
totally open and honest<br />
with my employees,” sharing<br />
successes and communicating<br />
problems such<br />
as a temporary need for a<br />
delayed payroll, says Dukor,<br />
who adds that she feels accountable<br />
“for the lives of<br />
every employee.”<br />
At the same time, Dukor<br />
says she has always taken<br />
on “responsibility for the<br />
success of every single<br />
customer who has put their<br />
trust in me.” Especially when BioTools was<br />
new, she wanted to make sure that clients<br />
benefited immediately by applying the<br />
company’s technology to their targeted<br />
applications. “Their success became my<br />
success,” she says.<br />
Even as head of a publicly traded company,<br />
Parker admits that she feels the weight<br />
of increased responsibility to employees,<br />
other shareholders, clients, and patients<br />
who take the drugs developed by Targeted<br />
Genetics. “That responsibility can be the<br />
most exhilarating thing in the world or it<br />
can keep you up at night. I find both to be<br />
true, depending on the week,” she says. “I<br />
don’t mind telling people that it tears me up<br />
when we have had to do layoffs here. And<br />
we had a patient death on a clinical trial last<br />
year that turned out to be unrelated to one<br />
BALANCING ACT<br />
As cofounder of an<br />
instrumentation<br />
business, Dukor<br />
is able to manage<br />
work and family<br />
life, which includes<br />
a 5-K run with<br />
her son, Alan, and<br />
daughter, Anna.<br />
of our drugs, but it<br />
was a horrible event<br />
and a very emotional<br />
event for me.”<br />
Other entrepreneurs<br />
are particularly<br />
burdened by their<br />
responsibility to investors—something<br />
that Marrone counts<br />
as “the biggest downside<br />
to founding a business,” she says. “As<br />
soon as you take investors’ money, you<br />
become beholden to them, so it is naïve to<br />
think that you are still calling the shots.”<br />
Still, Marrone says she is happy to be<br />
divorced from the politics and the bureaucracy<br />
associated with a large corporation.<br />
She finds it “freeing” to be able to “really<br />
set a company’s direction and see my ideas<br />
come to fruition more quickly.”<br />
Dukor, too, embraces the flexibility of<br />
owning her own business. “Basically, I can<br />
commercialize anything I want. There is no<br />
boss to shoot down my ideas. So if I have an<br />
idea in the middle of the night, I can come<br />
in the next morning and put people on it<br />
and try it. I really love that.” ■<br />
COURTESY OF RINA DUKOR<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 54 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK<br />
COURTESY OF PHOENIX IPY TEAM<br />
EXTREME CHEMISTRY<br />
Chemists working in extreme environments<br />
mix SCIENCE WITH ADVENTURE<br />
LINDA WANG, C&EN WASHINGTON<br />
SHIVERING INSIDE a tent in an isolated<br />
area of Antarctica, Tufts University professor<br />
of chemistry Samuel P. Kounaves could<br />
barely feel his fingers as he tried to keep the<br />
solution in his pipette from freezing. Outside<br />
the tent, the temperature was −30 ºC.<br />
The barren, cracked land in these so-called<br />
dry valleys looked eerily like Mars.<br />
In fact, that’s the reason Kounaves and<br />
colleagues embarked on this three-week<br />
expedition in December 2007. They wanted<br />
to do a trial run of analytical instruments<br />
that would be taken to Mars by the Phoenix<br />
Lander, and these dry valleys in Antarctica<br />
are similar to some regions of the red planet.<br />
“In chemistry, you think a lot of us just<br />
want to be in the lab, but, in reality, I think<br />
a lot of chemists are extroverts and they<br />
enjoy going out into the world and doing<br />
things,” Kounaves says. “We’re explorers<br />
at heart.”<br />
Kounaves isn’t alone in seeking answers<br />
to scientific questions in such<br />
extreme environments. As chemistry<br />
becomes increasingly interdisciplinary,<br />
chemists are finding more opportunities<br />
to do fieldwork, which has traditionally<br />
been the domain of researchers in the<br />
natural sciences, in areas such as oceanography<br />
and vulcanology. In this stormy job<br />
market, the ability to work at the intersection<br />
of multiple scientific disciplines and<br />
to be imaginative about how chemistry<br />
is applied to big-picture problems could<br />
provide a safe haven.<br />
Fieldwork can take many forms, from a<br />
local half-day trip to a monthlong excursion<br />
to the other side of the world. The<br />
example of Kounaves and two other chemists<br />
working on the far end of the spectrum<br />
demonstrates that there’s no limit to what<br />
chemists can do.<br />
Tamsin A. Mather, an academic fellow<br />
in the earth sciences department at the<br />
University of Oxford, understands the<br />
trials and tribulations of doing fieldwork<br />
in extreme environments. She studies the<br />
atmospheric chemistry of volcanic plumes<br />
and their effects on the environment.<br />
Mather says that the most extreme place<br />
she’s worked in is Lascar Volcano, in the<br />
Chilean Andes. What made it so challenging<br />
for her team is the high altitude, which<br />
MORE ONLINE<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 55 NOVEMBER 3, 2008<br />
COLD ROOM<br />
Inside a tent<br />
in Antarctica,<br />
Kounaves<br />
analyzes<br />
data on soil<br />
samples.<br />
made the climb to the<br />
summit—while carrying<br />
all their equipment—that<br />
much more difficult. Not<br />
only that, but the remotesensing<br />
device they<br />
had brought with them<br />
stopped working. “You always<br />
try to anticipate problems,” she says.<br />
“But of course, things always occur that<br />
you can’t anticipate.”<br />
At the same time, Mather says she<br />
wouldn’t trade the experience for the<br />
world. “I feel privileged to be able to work<br />
in some really beautiful places,” she says.<br />
Mather has also studied the gas geochemistry<br />
of volcanoes in Hawaii, Nicaragua,<br />
and Italy.<br />
IF RESEARCH atop volcanoes isn’t exciting<br />
enough, imagine spending an entire<br />
day in a tiny closet with two other people.<br />
That’s what it feels like in the deep-sea<br />
submersible Alvin, says George W. Luther<br />
III, the Maxwell P. & Mildred H. Harrington<br />
Professor of Oceanography at<br />
the University of Delaware, who studies<br />
sulfur and iron biogeochemistry at hydrothermal<br />
vents.<br />
Alvin’s chamber, essentially a titanium<br />
ball that’s seven feet in diameter, is so small<br />
that only one person can stand at a time.<br />
The other two people have to be lying flat<br />
in the ball, and sometimes their legs get<br />
tangled, Luther says. What’s more, there<br />
are no bathrooms, heating, or air conditioning.<br />
“It’s exhausting going down in Alvin,”<br />
says Luther of the daylong dives. “It’s<br />
one of the most intense days of science<br />
you’ll ever have in your life.”<br />
Inside Alvin, a pilot navigates the submarine<br />
to areas where hot chemicals are spewing<br />
out of hydrothermal vents or farther<br />
down the chimney where all the organisms<br />
are. Using laptops that are wired through<br />
the hull, Luther and the other scientists<br />
collect data from sensors attached to the<br />
outside of Alvin.<br />
“Our goal is to try to understand the<br />
chemistry that these organisms are living in<br />
so we can better understand why they live<br />
in the ecological niches that they live in,”<br />
Luther says. “There’s an awful lot that we<br />
don’t know about how they uptake chemicals<br />
and perform their chemosynthesis.”<br />
Luther’s research cruises have included<br />
deep-sea expeditions in the Mediterranean<br />
Experience what it feels like to sit in the passenger seat of<br />
Alvin, a deep-sea submersible, at www.cen-online.org.
DAVID PYLE<br />
Sea, the Black Sea, and the Arabian Sea. So<br />
far, he’s done 14 dives in Alvin.<br />
As exciting as their jobs sound, these<br />
chemists are not primarily after the thrill of<br />
adventure. Instead, they say, they’re driven<br />
by the science. “I’m not somebody who<br />
goes out to find tough places to get samples<br />
from just for the sake of it,” Mather says.<br />
“But if the science justifies it, then that’s<br />
very exciting.”<br />
Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that these<br />
chemists are all explorers at heart. Kounaves<br />
says that when he was a child, he<br />
wanted to be an astronaut because he was<br />
fascinated with space exploration. As an<br />
undergraduate at California State University,<br />
San Diego, Kounaves couldn’t decide<br />
between physics, biology, and engineering,<br />
so he ended up majoring in chemistry.<br />
In graduate school at the University<br />
of Geneva, in Switzerland, he focused on<br />
environmental chemistry and immersed<br />
himself in fieldwork. As he studied the environment<br />
on Earth, he began to wonder,<br />
“What about environments on other planets?”<br />
Little by little, he gravitated back to<br />
his childhood dream of space exploration.<br />
Today, Kounaves is the science lead for the<br />
Phoenix Mars mission’s<br />
wet chemistry<br />
lab.<br />
Unlike Kounaves,<br />
Luther<br />
considers himself a<br />
late bloomer in the<br />
world of extreme<br />
chemistry. He<br />
ON THE EDGE<br />
Wearing a gas<br />
mask, Mather sits<br />
on the crater rim of<br />
Villarrica Volcano, in<br />
Chile, after collecting<br />
gas and aerosol<br />
samples.<br />
earned a Ph.D. in physical inorganic chemistry<br />
from the University of Pittsburgh in<br />
1972 and taught chemistry and physics at<br />
Kean College of New Jersey for 14 years.<br />
While attending scientific meetings, Luther<br />
found himself engaging in conversation<br />
with many oceanographers who were<br />
doing extensive fieldwork. “The next thing<br />
I knew, I found that this was kind of interesting,”<br />
he says.<br />
In 1986, he joined the University of<br />
Delaware’s College of Marine Studies. The<br />
following year, Luther took his first major<br />
MUSTAFA YUCEL<br />
DEEP-SEA EXPLORER<br />
Luther (right) and<br />
Alvin pilot Mark O.<br />
Spear prepare for a<br />
deep-sea dive.<br />
expedition to the<br />
Mediterranean Sea<br />
to study hypersaline<br />
and anoxic<br />
brines at the bottom<br />
of the sea. The<br />
next year, he went<br />
on a research expedition to study chemical<br />
reactions in the Black Sea. After that, he<br />
was hooked. “It’s possible at almost any<br />
part of your career to get involved in this<br />
kind of work,” he says.<br />
At age 31, Mather is the youngest of the<br />
extreme chemists C&EN interviewed. She<br />
says that after receiving an M.S. degree in<br />
chemistry, she decided to pursue research<br />
with a more environmental angle. She also<br />
knew she didn’t want to be in the lab all<br />
the time. She found the perfect match with<br />
her Ph.D. work on volcanic atmospheric<br />
chemistry.<br />
Mather says that doing fieldwork allows<br />
her to stay in touch with the big picture of<br />
what she’s doing. “In my line of science,<br />
if you don’t go out some of the time, you<br />
sort of lose touch a little bit with how the<br />
samples are being collected, and it’s good<br />
to see something through from collection<br />
to analysis to writing the paper. That way,<br />
you get a very thorough understanding of<br />
the science.”<br />
DOING EXTREME chemistry doesn’t have<br />
to interfere with your work-life balance.<br />
The chemists point out that their time in<br />
the field encompasses only a small percentage<br />
of their jobs. Mather says she spends<br />
only about four weeks a year doing fieldwork.<br />
Luther spends one to two months a<br />
year doing fieldwork. And Kounaves is out<br />
in the field for about five weeks every two<br />
years. The rest of the time, the researchers<br />
are back at their universities analyzing data<br />
and writing their papers. Mather says that’s<br />
actually the part of her job she finds most<br />
exciting because “that’s when you start<br />
making sense of the results you pulled in.”<br />
As Kounavis, Luther, and Mather show,<br />
chemists can decide to go extreme at any<br />
point in their career. “The important thing<br />
is to realize that you have the ability to enable<br />
yourself to do these things,” Kounaves<br />
says. “Just because you’re a chemist doesn’t<br />
mean you’re limited to doing exactly what<br />
chemists are supposed to be doing.” What’s<br />
critical is finding a scientific topic that<br />
you’re passionate about, Luther says.<br />
Mather agrees. “You have to enjoy the<br />
science,” she says; otherwise, the fun stops<br />
at the end of the adventure. ■<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 56 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK<br />
BENJAMIN LU<br />
INTERNATIONAL<br />
INTERNSHIPS<br />
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES ABROAD offer students<br />
unique opportunities for career development,<br />
personal growth, and intercultural exchange<br />
KENNETH J. MOORE, C&EN WASHINGTON<br />
INCORPORATING an internship into<br />
a student’s educational program isn’t a<br />
new idea, but international internships<br />
have been few and far between. Cheryl A.<br />
Matherly, associate dean for global education<br />
at the University of Tulsa, says that<br />
many science students write off going<br />
abroad because they think that they won’t<br />
be able to find the time. Chemistry and<br />
engineering students do, however, have<br />
opportunities to gain international experiences,<br />
which are increasingly important<br />
in the workplace as the chemical industry<br />
becomes more globalized.<br />
According to students C&EN interviewed,<br />
the cultural and educational challenges<br />
posed by international experiences<br />
gave them a sense of personal accomplishment<br />
and independence and helped them<br />
plan their career paths. Employers say they<br />
value students’ ability to survive and thrive<br />
in challenging situations such as adjusting<br />
to life in a foreign country.<br />
During an internship abroad, students<br />
have to be more self-reliant than those<br />
who are merely studying abroad, Matherly<br />
says. When “studying, you have all the cultural<br />
challenges, but you know how to be a<br />
student. When interning, you have to be a<br />
scientist, and you have to cook for yourself<br />
and wash your clothes but also do this in a<br />
place where you can’t read the names on<br />
the bottles to figure out what goes in the<br />
washing machine.”<br />
Matherly is a co-principal investigator<br />
(co-PI) on the National Science Foundation<br />
grant that funds Rice University’s Nano-<br />
Japan program and was previously director<br />
of Rice’s Career & International Education<br />
center before moving to Tulsa. The threeyear-old<br />
program offers a 10-week research<br />
experience in Japan to first- and secondyear<br />
undergraduate engineering students.<br />
The program includes culture and language<br />
courses in addition to academic research.<br />
“There are few programs for freshmen<br />
and sophomore science and engineering<br />
students,” Matherly says, “and there are<br />
GETTING ORIENTED During orientation,<br />
NanoJapan participants traveled to<br />
Mount Nantai, in Nikko. From left, Raj,<br />
O’Connell, Amal El-Ghazaly, Andrea Barrett,<br />
Daryl Spencer Jr., Tiffany Kuo, Tolulope<br />
Ogubekun, Shiv Gaglani, Norman Pai, and<br />
Keiko Packard, the culture instructor for<br />
the orientation.<br />
few programs to attract them to graduate<br />
studies in physical sciences.” NanoJapan<br />
specifically targets students who are interested<br />
in nanotechnology, she says, “to give<br />
them a meaningful and substantial research<br />
experience and to do it at a time when they<br />
still have an opportunity to do something<br />
about it—select courses, have more research<br />
experiences, or study a language. We<br />
built the program as a career catalyst.”<br />
This past summer’s NanoJapan had 80<br />
applicants from universities across the<br />
U.S., but only 16 students were selected for<br />
the program. “We are looking for students<br />
with a strong interest in a relatively narrow<br />
field of research”—carbon nanotubes,<br />
nanoscale semiconductor devices, and<br />
nanophotonics—says Sarah R. Phillips, the<br />
co-PI on the grant who deals with recruitment,<br />
applications, and program planning<br />
for NanoJapan. “We are also looking for<br />
students with a strong interest in Japan,<br />
living there and learning the culture and<br />
language,” she says.<br />
“The grant funding required a heavy<br />
educational component and a strong commitment<br />
to international science to develop<br />
globally savvy scientists and engineers,”<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 57 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK<br />
CULTURAL CONFUSION<br />
Working Abroad Is Fraught With Difficulties, But It Is Also Rewarding<br />
“There were a lot of things that were<br />
really shocking about my experience in<br />
Thailand,” says Marguerite (Meg) Desko,<br />
who had an international research experience<br />
at Mahidol University in 2002.<br />
Many people who go abroad experience<br />
culture shock and not just while out in<br />
public. In Desko’s lab, “it was the ambient<br />
temperature of the outdoors,” which<br />
was about 90 ºF, she says. “We had to<br />
run a lot of columns using methylene<br />
chloride, but it evaporated and cracked<br />
our columns. So we had to spray down<br />
the outside of the column with methanol<br />
to keep it cool.”<br />
Because of the temperatures, Desko<br />
initially wore shorts. “They weren’t short<br />
shorts,” she says, but “I was just stared<br />
at; it’s unacceptable for women in Thailand<br />
to wear shorts, so I decided to buy<br />
pants. I had so much trouble because<br />
everyone would say, ‘No, too fat.’ In Thailand,<br />
I’m huge, but in the U.S. I’m considered<br />
petite.”<br />
To adhere to another flustering fashion<br />
fad, Aanchal Raj, a participant in Nano-<br />
Japan 2008 who is studying electrical and<br />
computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon<br />
University, says she tried “to assimilate<br />
to the culture of women riding bikes while<br />
wearing 3-inch heels.” In Japan, she says,<br />
people are generally dressier than in the<br />
U.S.; it’s part of their culture. Almost every<br />
woman wears big heels, and people use<br />
bikes a lot, she adds. “The women look like<br />
they’re going to a party, but they’re riding<br />
bikes to get there,” she says. “I had to try<br />
it—it’s not as difficult as it may seem, but I<br />
prefer my sneakers.”<br />
Raj also experienced her first earthquake<br />
while in Japan and several others<br />
after that. She knew earthquakes<br />
happened in Japan, she says, and she<br />
got used to them but was still scared.<br />
“I went to the beach one day, and there<br />
was an oceanside earthquake,” Raj says.<br />
“They made us come out of the water for<br />
a possible tsunami. Everyone was just<br />
sitting around eating lunch, but there<br />
were helicopters and news crews.” Even<br />
the Japanese friends she was with said<br />
they had never been to the<br />
beach during an earthquake,<br />
Raj relays. Although there was<br />
a slight decrease in water level,<br />
no tsunami hit the beach that<br />
day, she adds.<br />
Benjamin Y. Lu, who is studying<br />
bioengineering at Rice University<br />
and was a NanoJapan<br />
2008 participant, had a different<br />
kind of cultural difficulty in<br />
Japan. He had been to Japan<br />
several times before because he<br />
has family in Taiwan and Japan,<br />
so it was easy for him to adapt<br />
to life in Japan, he says. “But it<br />
was difficult for me to tell people<br />
that I don’t speak Japanese<br />
that well. People assumed I did,”<br />
Lu says. Although he was familiar<br />
with Japanese culture before<br />
the NanoJapan program, Lu had never<br />
been in Japan by himself and says he really<br />
enjoyed the cultural opportunities he<br />
was able to experience. “I went to a sumo<br />
wrestling tournament,” he says. “It was a<br />
lot of fun.”<br />
At the end of the internships, the<br />
NanoJapan students climb Mount Fuji together<br />
as “a metaphor of ‘I survived—I did<br />
this,’ ” says University of Tulsa’s Cheryl A.<br />
COURTESY OF BENJAMIN LU<br />
Matherly, who is involved in running the<br />
program. “It’s quite exciting to see students<br />
who, at the beginning of the summer,<br />
were having difficulty finding their<br />
way around the subway” finish climbing<br />
Mount Fuji by the end of the internship.<br />
Despite the rain and cold they experienced<br />
while climbing Mount Fuji, some<br />
students said the ascent was the defining<br />
moment of their lives so far, Lu says. The<br />
SUMMER SUMO While in Japan for their internships,<br />
Norman Pai (left), Shiv Gaglani (center), and Lu<br />
(right) took in one of Japan’s traditional cultural<br />
experiences: sumo wrestling.<br />
students climbed the mountain at night<br />
to watch the sun rise the day before leaving<br />
Japan. “It was an unforgettable experience,<br />
seeing the sun come up above the<br />
clouds,” Lu relates.<br />
Solongo H. Wilson, who participated in<br />
the German Academic Exchange Service’s<br />
Research Internships in Science & <strong>Engineering</strong><br />
Professional program in 2007 and<br />
started a full-time contract position at her<br />
Matherly says. NanoJapan requires a threeweek<br />
orientation in Tokyo that includes an<br />
introduction to nanotechnology. “Students<br />
have varying levels of experience in courses<br />
and research, and for many this is their first<br />
opportunity to study nanotechnology,”<br />
Phillips says.<br />
THE FIRST TIME in a research environment<br />
might be difficult for some students,<br />
but moving to a country in which English<br />
is not the primary language can be much<br />
harder. English is spoken in the more than<br />
a dozen participating university labs that<br />
host the students, Matherly says. And the<br />
NanoJapan program includes Japanese<br />
culture and language courses during orientation<br />
to aid interns in their work and<br />
personal lives while they are in Japan.<br />
However, NanoJapan participant Christopher<br />
O’Connell, a mechanical engineering<br />
student at the University of Rhode Island<br />
who studied ink-jet printing of carbon<br />
nanomaterials at Tohoku University, in<br />
Sendai, says even his prior two years of<br />
Japanese courses were “not nearly enough<br />
for fluent conversation. But the challenge<br />
of the language barrier made the experience<br />
more exciting.”<br />
“The difficulty in communicating is<br />
what I missed the most” after returning<br />
from Japan, says NanoJapan participant<br />
Aanchal Raj, a second-year electrical and<br />
computer engineering student at Carnegie<br />
Mellon University who studied quantum<br />
tunneling in nanomagnets at Tohoku. “It<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 58 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
internship placement company, Hydac<br />
International, in Sulzbach, says: “The<br />
stereo types of Germans as unfriendly<br />
and harsh couldn’t be further from the<br />
truth. The culture is easy to adapt to,<br />
and the people are friendly and helpful.<br />
People want you to be comfortable.”<br />
There are, however, some differences<br />
that are difficult to get used to. Grocery<br />
stores don’t have baggers, Wilson<br />
says, “and if you don’t pack your bags<br />
quickly enough, you get mean looks.”<br />
Also, Germans are energy conscious,<br />
she says. “People freak out if you idle<br />
your car, leave a light on, or leave water<br />
on while washing dishes.” The people<br />
care about recycling and the environment,<br />
she adds.<br />
The hardest thing to adjust to when<br />
she returns from Germany, Wilson says,<br />
will be going from six weeks of vacation<br />
per year to only two weeks.<br />
Sarah R. Phillips, who is involved<br />
in running the NanoJapan program,<br />
says, “Reentry culture shock occurs<br />
for almost everyone who has spent a<br />
significant period of time outside of<br />
their home country.” So much about<br />
the person has changed, she says, “but<br />
their family, friends, and everything<br />
back home really haven’t. That can be a<br />
huge disconnect, and you reach a moment<br />
when it’s difficult to convey all the<br />
changes you’ve gone through.”<br />
“It’s a lot more interesting to be in”<br />
another country, Matherly says, “where<br />
everything is new and novel, rather than<br />
to be back in the U.S.”<br />
Desko agrees. “Something I discovered<br />
throughout my experiences in<br />
Thailand and grad school is that I’m<br />
not going to be satisfied in the lab all<br />
the time. I need more variety,” she says.<br />
“Just living in Thailand gave me that variety<br />
every day.”<br />
was a fun challenge.” For her, the language<br />
barrier and cultural differences allowed<br />
her to understand the difficulties foreign<br />
students face in the U.S.<br />
Many students express that same<br />
sentiment, Matherly says. “The students<br />
remember what a fish out of water they felt<br />
like when they arrived,” she says, and so<br />
they are more sensitive to the experience<br />
of foreign students.<br />
One of Raj’s main reasons for applying<br />
for a NanoJapan internship was the international<br />
aspect of the research experience.<br />
“To be a leader in science requires much<br />
more than just technical expertise,” she<br />
says. “It requires entrepreneurship and<br />
skills in leadership, communication, and,<br />
most of all, cultural awareness with the<br />
ever-increasing global collaboration. And<br />
that’s what NanoJapan offers.”<br />
Indeed, global collaboration is the goal<br />
of the German Academic Exchange Service’s<br />
(DAAD’s) Research Internships in<br />
Science & <strong>Engineering</strong> (RISE) and RISE<br />
Professional programs. The RISE program<br />
brings Canadian and American undergraduate<br />
science and engineering students to<br />
German university labs to do research with<br />
a doctoral student adviser. And the RISE<br />
Professional program places recent bachelor’s<br />
graduates and current master’s and<br />
Ph.D. students at research facilities within<br />
German chemical companies such as BASF.<br />
Each research experience is conducted<br />
in English, lasts about three months, and<br />
includes a stipend for living expenses.<br />
This past summer, DAAD initiated a pilot<br />
language grant program for a number of its<br />
RISE students to take German-language<br />
courses before starting their internships.<br />
Funded by a variety of government<br />
sources, DAAD offers many opportunities<br />
for educational exchange to and from<br />
Germany. The RISE programs were created<br />
to help balance the exchange figures, says<br />
Martina Ludwig, whose role in the North<br />
American department at DAAD’s headquarters,<br />
in Bonn, includes working with<br />
RISE program participants.<br />
Since the initiation of RISE in 2004,<br />
the number of applications has increased<br />
dramatically, says Peter Kerrigan, deputy<br />
director of DAAD’s office in New York City.<br />
“RISE is probably the most popular of our<br />
grant programs,” he says. Students at the<br />
RISE Professional level have many choices<br />
for practical research experiences, he adds.<br />
“Our goal is to make this the most attractive<br />
option for practical experience,” he says.<br />
RISE was certainly attractive enough<br />
to turn heads at NSF and the American<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> Society. NSF was interested<br />
in establishing a multisite International<br />
Research Experience for Undergraduates<br />
(IREU) program that would send U.S. students<br />
abroad and bring foreign students to<br />
the U.S., ACS Committee on International<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 59 NOVEMBER 3, 2008<br />
Activities Chair Nina I.<br />
McClelland says. “Both<br />
the U.S. and Europe<br />
are suffering from<br />
the same syndrome:<br />
Only a small number<br />
of university-bound<br />
students are electing<br />
careers in science. The<br />
EYE-OPENER<br />
Desko, pictured<br />
here at Wat Arun,<br />
in Bangkok,<br />
Thailand, gained<br />
insight into the<br />
country’s culture<br />
during her IREU.<br />
prospect to promote international collaborations<br />
is very appealing to all ends,”<br />
she says.<br />
When Christian Schaffer, director of the<br />
RISE programs, attended the 2006 ACS<br />
fall national meeting in San Francisco, the<br />
idea for an ACS/NSF/DAAD collaboration<br />
was presented to him, McClelland says.<br />
The pilot program ran in the summer of<br />
2007, with 10 students from the U.S. and 10<br />
students from Germany (C&EN, April 23,<br />
2007, page 62).<br />
“THE SUCCESS of the program led to its<br />
expansion,” McClelland says. With reciprocity<br />
from DAAD, NSF provided three<br />
more years of funding for 2008–10. For this<br />
past summer, the program also received<br />
funding from the German <strong>Chemical</strong> Society<br />
and the European Chemistry Thematic<br />
Network. The extra funding allowed 15 U.S.<br />
students to travel to Germany this summer,<br />
and an additional three U.S. students<br />
“U.S. participants, without exception, have<br />
considered this the experience of a lifetime.”<br />
COURTESY OF MARGUERITE DESKO
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK<br />
COURTESY OF AANCHAL RAJ<br />
went to schools elsewhere in Europe: one<br />
each to the University of Strathclyde, in<br />
Scotland; the University of Perugia, in Italy;<br />
and CPE Lyon, in France. Eighteen European<br />
students express placed at universities<br />
in the U.S., as well. Most students presented<br />
their summer research at the recent fall<br />
ACS national meeting in Philadelphia.<br />
“Feedback from participants, organizations,<br />
and advisers has been overwhelmingly<br />
positive,” McClelland says. “U.S.<br />
participants, without exception, have considered<br />
this the experience of a lifetime.”<br />
DAAD’s Ludwig says most other RISE<br />
students express the same thing. “Feedback<br />
has been very enthusiastic so far,” she says.<br />
Solongo H. Wilson, who participated in<br />
the first year of the RISE Professional program<br />
in 2007 after receiving a bachelor’s<br />
degree in chemistry from the University of<br />
Toronto, says she loved her experience that<br />
summer. “I knew doing research in academia<br />
was not for me because I need to see<br />
a result in a short period of time,” she says.<br />
Studying water saturation behavior of<br />
industrial oils for Hydac International,<br />
in Sulzbach, Germany, she had to deal<br />
with customers and run experiments on a<br />
deadline. “It’s not like writing a report for<br />
school,” she says. “It’s a big step from theoretical<br />
chemistry.”<br />
After her 2007 internship, Wilson returned<br />
to Canada but kept in touch with<br />
her coworkers at Hydac. Her Hydac adviser<br />
eventually offered her a position, and she<br />
returned to Germany to start a two-year<br />
contract that began in January.<br />
Like Wilson, some students use such<br />
internships as a way to get their foot in the<br />
door of a specific company, and the companies<br />
welcome that tactic as prerecruitment.<br />
“BASF’s strategy is to form the best<br />
team in industry,” says Dagmar Klinge, a<br />
scientist and engineer recruiter who deals<br />
with BASF’s interns at the company’s<br />
headquarters, in Ludwigshafen, Germany.<br />
“BASF attempts to keep in contact with<br />
excellent interns; the intent, of course, is to<br />
recruit them for BASF.”<br />
Klinge says the company has about 700<br />
to 800 interns at its headquarters and at<br />
a nearby agricultural research facility in<br />
Limburgerhof. That is up from about 600<br />
to 700 in 2006, and, she adds, the number<br />
is increasing. About two-thirds of the interns<br />
are science or engineering students,<br />
and 1 to 2% are from the U.S. BASF offers<br />
internships on its careers website, but it<br />
also collaborates with DAAD as part of the<br />
DEADLINES LOOM<br />
NanoJapan<br />
nanojapan.rice.edu<br />
Applications open on Nov. 15<br />
Deadline is Jan. 12, 2009<br />
RISE<br />
www.daad.de/rise/en<br />
Applications open on Dec. 8<br />
Deadline is Jan. 31, 2009<br />
RISE Professional<br />
www.daad.de/rise-pro/en<br />
Applications opened on Nov. 1<br />
Deadline is Jan. 25, 2009<br />
ACS IREU<br />
www.acs.org/ireu<br />
Applications open in November 2008<br />
Deadline is Jan. 31 or March 1, 2009<br />
MOUNTAINEERS<br />
Raj climbed Mount<br />
Fuji at night with<br />
other NanoJapan<br />
participants. During<br />
their descent,<br />
they walked down<br />
through the clouds.<br />
RISE Professional<br />
program. “We are<br />
quite pleased with<br />
RISE Professional,”<br />
Klinge says. This<br />
past summer, the<br />
second summer of<br />
RISE Professional,<br />
BASF doubled the<br />
number of internships it offered to students<br />
in the program.<br />
The nature of the project offered determines<br />
the degree level that BASF looks for,<br />
Klinge says. The company prefers master’s<br />
students for its science internships, she<br />
adds, but BASF also considers undergraduates<br />
in their last year. Academic excellence<br />
is most important to the company, she says.<br />
WHEN STUDENTS enter the job market,<br />
having an international research experience<br />
can tip the scales in favor of a candidate<br />
vying for a certain position, Klinge<br />
says. “Sometimes the experience to survive<br />
in a new environment is more important<br />
than the subject” the applicant researched<br />
during an internship, she says.<br />
John Cherkauskas, vice president and<br />
director of Rhodia’s Center for Research &<br />
Technology, in Bristol, Pa., agrees, saying<br />
that having international research experiences<br />
“can be the deciding factor in candidate<br />
selection,” although it is just one facet<br />
in considering a candidate for a position.<br />
Rhodia looks for strong academic achievement,<br />
curiosity, and technical creativity<br />
when hiring students fresh on the job<br />
market, he says, but “a relevant scientific<br />
internship certainly helps.”<br />
“It’s more important that a candidate<br />
with international exposure can convey<br />
some sense of synergy from their internship,<br />
academic training, and perhaps industrial<br />
experience,” Cherkauskas says.<br />
An internship abroad tells recruiters<br />
that you are adaptable, successful in difficult<br />
situations, and likely a good candidate<br />
for their firm. Marguerite (Meg) Desko,<br />
a recent Ph.D. graduate from Stanford<br />
University, says her IREU at Thailand’s<br />
Mahidol University gave her the abilities<br />
to “communicate without language and<br />
be flexible at all times because things just<br />
never worked like they were supposed to”<br />
in Thailand. Her experiences there helped<br />
her think outside the box, she says, and<br />
now that she is looking for employment,<br />
her internship in Thailand is “an unusual<br />
experience that sticks out on your résumé;<br />
people remember you.” ■<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 60 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
NanoTube<br />
Your research<br />
on video<br />
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RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING<br />
Serving the <strong>Chemical</strong>, Life Sciences, and Laboratory Worlds<br />
Advertising Rate Information<br />
CLASSIFICATIONS<br />
Positions open and academic positions.<br />
Situations wanted—members, nonmembers,<br />
student and national affiliates, retired<br />
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ISSUANCE<br />
Published weekly every Monday.<br />
CLOSING DATE FOR CLASSIFIED ADS<br />
Standard Set Ads—Thursday, noon EST<br />
18 days prior to publication date. Display<br />
Ads—Monday, 2 weeks prior to publication<br />
date. No ex ten sions. Cancellations must be<br />
received 14 days in advance of publication<br />
date (except legal holidays.)<br />
SITUATIONS WANTED<br />
“Situations Wanted” advertisements<br />
placed by ACS members and affiliates are<br />
accepted at $6.60 a line per insertion, no<br />
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The advertisements will be classified by the<br />
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If not designated, placement will be determined<br />
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EMPLOYER AD PLACEMENT<br />
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DISPLAY ADS: For rates and information<br />
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TO SUBMIT A CLASSIFIED AD: Email<br />
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CONDITIONS: In printing these advertisements<br />
ACS assumes no obligations as to<br />
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Replies to announcements should carry<br />
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documents. Every reasonable effort<br />
will be made to prevent forwarding of advertising<br />
circulars. Employers who require<br />
applications on company forms should send<br />
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this section obligated to acknowledge all<br />
replies to their advertisements.<br />
IMPORTANT NOTICES<br />
■ Employment in countries other than your<br />
own may be restricted by government visa<br />
and other policies. Moreover, you should<br />
investigate thoroughly the generally accepted<br />
employment practices, the cultural<br />
conditions, and the exact provisions of the<br />
specific position being considered. Members<br />
may wish to contact the ACS Office of<br />
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and cultural practices in other countries.<br />
■ Various state and national laws against<br />
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■ These help-wanted and situations-wanted<br />
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POSITIONS OPEN<br />
CHEMICAL PRODUCTION MANAGER<br />
Boulder Scientific Company (BSC) is a specialty chemical<br />
manufacturer located in Mead, Colorado. Internationally<br />
recognized as a leader in the field of specialty<br />
organometallic chemicals and metallocenes, BSC also<br />
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boron compounds, pharmaceutical intermediates,<br />
and other specialty products. BSC seeks a highly<br />
qualified chemist or chemical engineer to manage its<br />
new expansion to produce developmental and commercial<br />
quantities of its specialty products. Requires:<br />
5+ years' experience in batch chemical manufacturing<br />
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experience with chemical and engineering aspects of<br />
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kinetics and thermodynamics, equipment selection,<br />
mixing processes, etc.; demonstrated ability to lead a<br />
group of chemical operators, supervisors, and technical<br />
professionals in a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-per-week<br />
operation; superior record of safety involvement and<br />
results. BS/MS in <strong>Chemical</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong>, chemistry,<br />
or closely related field required. BSC offers competitive<br />
compensation, DOQ, and a comprehensive benefits<br />
package. We will consider only US residents, who<br />
are legally eligible to work in the US. For consideration,<br />
resumes should be received before November 30,<br />
2008; however, applications will be accepted until the<br />
position is filled. Submit resume to Human Resources,<br />
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bouldersci.com. EOE.<br />
SEEO is an early stage battery start-up based in Berkeley,<br />
CA, with a world-class team and funding from Silicon<br />
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with expertise in: (1) small molecule and polymer<br />
synthesis, (2) electrolyte and additive chemistry, (3)<br />
advanced electrodes and formulations, (4) lithium ion<br />
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range of experience levels. To apply, please send cover<br />
letter and resume to hr@seeo.com.<br />
Need chemists or engineers?<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> & <strong>Engineering</strong> <strong>News</strong> is here<br />
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QUALITY JOBS, QUALITY CHEMISTS<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 62 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
Green Chemistry.<br />
Golden Opportunity.<br />
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Current open positions:<br />
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To learn more or to apply, please visit:<br />
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WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 63 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
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WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 65 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING<br />
T<br />
Nanoscience & Materials<br />
he Department of Chemistry<br />
and the Materials Science Institute<br />
at the University of<br />
Oregon are seeking outstanding candidates<br />
as part of a new cluster of hires<br />
within the fields of materials science<br />
and nanoscience. This exciting opportunity<br />
builds off a decade of program<br />
growth and a strong regional<br />
partnership through the Oregon<br />
Nano science & Microtechnologies Insti<br />
tute (ONAMI). These new hires<br />
will contribute to and benefit from<br />
(i) a thriving culture of institutional<br />
and regional collaboration; (ii) an<br />
exceptional col lection of shared research<br />
instrumentation through the<br />
UO’s Center for Advanced Materials<br />
Characterization in Oregon and the<br />
NWNanoNet; (iii) a new Integrative<br />
Science Complex, including the Lorry<br />
Lokey Laboratories, a 25,000 sq.-<br />
ft. high-performance (nano)materials<br />
characterization and fabrication facility;<br />
and (iv) an innovative graduate<br />
program that supports several large<br />
graduate training grant programs. We<br />
seek candidates with a demonstrated<br />
commitment to working effectively<br />
with students, faculty and staff from<br />
diverse backgrounds.<br />
UO Presidential Chair. Developed<br />
in partnership with ONAMI, this endowed<br />
chair is an exciting opportunity<br />
for a dynamic, collaborative leader to<br />
join a leading program in nano- and<br />
MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING<br />
materials science within a strong interdisciplinary<br />
environment with stateof-the-art<br />
research facilities. The ideal<br />
candidate is a senior investigator with<br />
a well-established research program<br />
related to the UO’s nanoscale and materials<br />
science programs related to sustainability.<br />
The successful candidate<br />
will be expected to conduct a research<br />
program of national prominence and<br />
to conduct excellent teaching in the<br />
Department of Chemistry.<br />
Nominations should highlight the<br />
candidate’s qualifications and provide<br />
his/her contact information. Applicants<br />
should submit a letter stating<br />
interest in the position and describing<br />
qualifications related to those cited<br />
above, a CV, and the names and contact<br />
information for five references.<br />
In addition, a statement of philosophy<br />
regarding research, education, outreach<br />
and entrepreneurship should<br />
be included. Questions, informal inquiries,<br />
and nominations should be<br />
directed to Prof. David C. Johnson<br />
(davej@ uoregon.edu or 541-346-<br />
4612). Applications should be submitted<br />
to #8319 UO Presidential Chair<br />
Search Committee, Department of<br />
Chemistry, 1253 University of Oregon,<br />
Eugene, OR 97403-1253. Application<br />
materials must be received by<br />
Dec. 1, 2008, to receive full consideration;<br />
however, the search will remain<br />
open until the position is filled.<br />
ONAMI Signature Researcher.<br />
This new position, also created in<br />
partnership with ONAMI, is a tenure-track<br />
Assistant Professor position<br />
in the fundamental science of materials<br />
or nanomaterials. The potential<br />
for establishing a vigorous independent<br />
research program in materials<br />
chemistry and active participation<br />
and excellence in teaching at the undergraduate<br />
and graduate levels will<br />
be the most important criteria for<br />
selection. Applicants whose research<br />
plans complement those of UO and<br />
ONAMI researchers in the areas of<br />
synthesis, structural analysis or physical<br />
investigation of nanostructured<br />
or nanoscale materials will be given<br />
priority.<br />
Applications (including a CV, statement<br />
of research and teaching interests,<br />
and three letters of reference)<br />
for the Signature Researcher position<br />
should be directed to #8320 Materials<br />
Search Committee, Department<br />
of Chemistry, 1253 University of<br />
Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1253.<br />
Review of application materials will<br />
begin on Dec. 1, 2008, and continue<br />
until the position is filled.<br />
The University of Oregon is an equalopportunity<br />
affirmative-action institution,<br />
committed to cultural diversity<br />
and compliance with the Americans with<br />
Disabilities Act.<br />
The Department of Materials Science & <strong>Engineering</strong> at the University of Washington seeks a full-time<br />
tenure-track faculty member to begin Autumn Quarter 2009.<br />
The candidate for this entry-level, tenure-track position should have an excellent record of published research<br />
in the field of materials science and engineering with a research focus on molecular engineering (MolE). MolE<br />
is a broadly defined field associated with the design, fabrication, and delivery of functional molecules and<br />
molecular systems for a broad range of applications including medical, energy, electronics, and photonics.<br />
The candidates’ work should be truly interdisciplinary in nature with potential to establish collaborations with<br />
departments in physical and biological sciences, engineering, and medicine. The selected faculty will have<br />
ample opportunities to collaborate with a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary centers and institutes including<br />
the NSF-STC on Materials & Devices for Information Technology, the NSF-MRSEC on Genetically Engineered<br />
Materials Science & <strong>Engineering</strong> Center, the NIH-funded Microscale Life Science Center, and the Institute<br />
of Advanced Materials & Technology. A doctoral degree is required. Candidates in the final stages of a doctoral<br />
degree program may be considered. The department seeks candidates at the assistant professor rank;<br />
however, commensurate with the qualifications of the individual, an appointment may be made at the rank of<br />
associate professor. This hiring is contingent upon available funding.<br />
The department, the College of <strong>Engineering</strong>, and the University of Washington are committed to excellence<br />
in both education and research. UW faculty engage in teaching, research and service. Successful applicants<br />
will be expected to provide innovative and quality teaching that integrates research with instruction. He/she<br />
will be expected to teach both undergraduate and graduate courses within the department and to develop high<br />
quality interdisciplinary research programs. UW currently has the highest level of federal funding of all public<br />
universities. The MSE department has 15 faculty, >100 undergraduates, ~75 graduate students, and 20 postdoctoral<br />
researchers. The department’s research portfolio covers all classes of materials and state-of-the-art<br />
facilities are available in the department and in interdisciplinary research centers on the campus including the<br />
NSF-STC for Materials & Devices for Information Technology and the NSF-MRSEC for Genetically Engineered<br />
Materials. More information about the department is available at http://depts.washington.edu/mse/.<br />
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 01/15/09. Applicants should include the following documents and information<br />
with their letter of application: a detailed resume, a list of publications, clear and concise statements of<br />
teaching and research interests and objectives (3 pg max), and the contact information of three referees.<br />
Evaluation of applicants will start on December 15, 2008.<br />
HOW TO APPLY: Application materials must be submitted via the College of <strong>Engineering</strong>’s online Faculty<br />
Search Tool at www.engr.washington.edu/facsearch/?dept=Mse. Click on position #AA2229. Questions<br />
may be directed to the search committee by email at montague@u.washington.edu.<br />
The University of Washington is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer, is building a culturally<br />
diverse faculty and staff, and strongly encourages applications from women, minorities, individuals with disabilities<br />
and covered veterans. UW is the recipient of a National Science Foundation ADVANCE Institutional<br />
Transformation Award to increase the participation of women in academic science and engineering careers.<br />
UW is the recipient of the 2006 Alfred P. Sloan award for Faculty Career Flexibility and is committed to supporting<br />
the work-life balance of its faculty.<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 66 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ADVANCED<br />
RENEWABLE ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY<br />
Endowed Professorships in Science, <strong>Engineering</strong>,<br />
Architecture, and Social Science.<br />
Washington University in St. Louis has launched a bold new initiative to address the challenges of energy and sustainability on a global scale. The International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy<br />
and Sustainability (I-CARES) (http://i-cares.wustl.edu) was created in June 2007 to foster research on energy, environment, and sustainability that cannot be done by single investigators alone. I-CARES<br />
nurtures collaborations within Washington University and with regional and international partners in order to contribute to rapid progress in addressing the world’s energy crisis. Our goals are to:<br />
• Foster research on the development of renewable fuels and alternative energy sources<br />
• Develop innovative technologies for the mitigation of greenhouse gases with an emphasis on clean coal utilization<br />
• Explore transformational ideas, systems and practices related to energy supply and demand, sustainability, and environmental impact.<br />
I-CARES invites nominations and applications for five endowed professorships. The search is focused on tenured appointments at the rank of full professor, although exceptional candidates will be considered<br />
for appointments commensurate with their experience and accomplishments. Applicants should have an internationally recognized research program, a distinguished record of leadership and will be expected<br />
to take a proactive role in fostering fruitful cross-disciplinary interactions among departments and schools university wide.<br />
Washington University is a medium-sized, independent research university. The University is counted among the world’s leaders in teaching and research, and draws students and faculty to St. Louis from<br />
all 50 states of the USA and more than 120 other nations.<br />
Washington University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to building a culturally diverse faculty and strongly encourages applications from women and under-represented minority<br />
candidates. For more information, please contact Marilyn Roberts at icares@wustl.edu.<br />
Metabolic <strong>Engineering</strong>, Bioprocessing<br />
Preference will be given to individuals with expertise in the creative use of metabolic engineering and systems/synthetic biology in nano-biotechnology and the development of environmentally benign<br />
strategies for the conversion of renewable biomass to chemicals and fuels. See http://eec.wustl.edu/About/facultyopening2.asp for application details.<br />
Ecosystems and Earth Systems Science<br />
Interdisciplinary scholars with expertise in global biogeochemical cycling, terrestrial ecosystems, carbon dynamics, paleoclimatology, or microbial ecology who are interested in understanding the causes and<br />
consequences of anthropogenic alterations to these natural systems. See http://artsci.wustl.edu/About/facultyopeningsicares for application details.<br />
Environmental and Public Policy<br />
Interdisciplinary scholars interested in all aspects of environmental and public policies pertaining to energy, resource use, sustainability, biodiversity, and public health and their impacts on human, economic,<br />
political, and social systems. See http://artsci.wustl.edu/About/facultyopeningsicares for application details.<br />
Global Climate and Aerosols, Atmospheric Modeling, Climate Policy; Carbon Neutral Energy Production and Processing<br />
Preference will be given to individuals with expertise in the following areas: global climate data acquisition and multiscale modeling of atmospheric processes, effect of emissions and aerosols on climate change,<br />
policy for energy/environmental sustainability and carbon neutral enterprise, green chemistry, and environmentally benign chemical processing. See http://eec.wustl.edu/About/facultyopening2.asp for<br />
application details.<br />
Solar Energy Processes and Photoactive Materials<br />
Preference will be given to individuals with expertise in the following areas: third generation PVs, organic and flexible PVs, solar energy storage, solar hydrogen production and storage, photocatalytic processes,<br />
light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, nanophotonics and plasmonics. See http://eec.wustl.edu/About/facultyopening2.asp for application details.<br />
Sustainable Development and Urban Design, Sustainable Architectural Design<br />
Interdisciplinary scholars and or practitioners whose areas of concentration may include, but will not be limited to: sustainable development and urban design; sustainable landscape architecture; advanced<br />
building technologies and sustainable architectural design. http://samfoxschool.wustl.edu/<br />
Fakultät für Chemie<br />
und Pharmazie<br />
In der Fakultät für Chemie und Pharmazie ist am Institut für Anorganische<br />
Chemie eine<br />
W3-Professur für Anorganische Chemie<br />
zum 01.10.2009 zu besetzen.<br />
Der/die Bewerber/in soll in der Lage sein, die Lehre im Fach Anorganische<br />
Chemie in voller Breite zu vertreten. Die zu besetzende Professur<br />
soll die am Institut für Anorganische Chemie und an den benachbarten<br />
chemischen Instituten vorhandenen Forschungsschwerpunkte sinnvoll<br />
ergänzen.<br />
Einstellungsvoraussetzung ist die Habilitation oder gleichwertige<br />
wissenschaftliche Leistung sowie didaktische Eignung.<br />
Diese Professur wird im Rahmen des 200-Professorinnen-Programms<br />
des BMBF ausgeschrieben, so dass sich insbesondere Frauen zur<br />
Bewerbung angesprochen fühlen sollten.<br />
Schwerbehinderte werden bei entsprechender Eignung bevorzugt<br />
berücksichtigt.<br />
Bewerbungen mit den üblichen Unterlagen (Lebenslauf und Darstellung<br />
des wissenschaftlichen Werdegangs, Kopien von Urkunden, Verzeichnis<br />
der Publikationen mit Sonderdrucken der fünf wichtigsten Veröffentlichungen,<br />
Verzeichnis der Lehrveranstaltung, Übersicht über Drittmitteleinwerbung<br />
der letzten fünf Jahre, Forschungskooperationen und<br />
Schwerpunkte der zukünftigen Forschung) werden bis zum 21.11.2008<br />
erbeten an den<br />
Dekan der Fakultät für Chemie und Pharmazie<br />
der Universität Tübingen<br />
Auf der Morgenstelle 8 · D-72076 Tübingen · Germany<br />
Chemistry<br />
CHEMISTRY<br />
FACULTY POSITION<br />
WCMC-Q seeks an experienced chemist with major responsibility for the teaching of a<br />
two-semester General Chemistry sequence (with laboratories) to a select group of highly<br />
motivated undergraduate pre-medical students. In addition to the principal teaching obligation,<br />
the successful applicant will participate in student academic advising, committee<br />
work, and the academic life of WCMC-Q. Research space and research funding support<br />
are available, and active participation in relevant research will be encouraged. Details<br />
regarding the WCMC-Q program and facilities can be accessed at:<br />
www.qatar-med.cornell.edu<br />
Candidates will hold a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry or a closely related discipline and<br />
possess demonstrable teaching skills as well as experience and training in research.<br />
Candidates are expected to be familiar with or have experience in the U.S. higher<br />
education system and must be willing to relocate to Doha, Qatar for the duration of the<br />
appointment. Academic rank and salary are commensurate with training and experience<br />
and are accompanied by an attractive foreign-service benefits package. Qualified applicants<br />
should submit a curriculum vitae and a letter of interest outlining their teaching<br />
and research experience to:<br />
http://job.qatar-med.cornell.edu<br />
* Please select the appropriate position under the Academic options<br />
and indicate job reference # 08-wcmcq-CH.<br />
Cornell University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action educator and employer.<br />
The screening of applications will begin immediately and continue until suitable<br />
candidates are identified. Please note that due to the high volume of applications, only<br />
short-listed candidates will be contacted. Service is expected to begin in August 2009.<br />
Short-listed candidates will be asked to provide names of three references.<br />
RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 67 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
ACADEMIC POSITIONS<br />
ACADEMIC POSITIONS<br />
ACADEMIC POSITIONS<br />
RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING<br />
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR<br />
Tenure-Track Position<br />
▲ ▲ ▲<br />
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY<br />
▼ ▼ ▼<br />
College of Natural Sciences &<br />
Mathematics<br />
WEST VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY<br />
To start in fall 2009. To teach organic chemistry (along with<br />
another organic faculty) and other undergraduate courses<br />
and to develop a research program with undergraduates.<br />
Ph.D. in organic chemistry required and postdoctoral experience<br />
preferred. ACS-accredited chemistry department.<br />
An assortment of instruments available for teaching and<br />
research. Opportunity for research with graduate students of<br />
biotechnology program. To apply, send cover letter, CV, undergraduate<br />
and graduate transcripts, statements of teaching<br />
and research interests, and three letters of recommendation<br />
to: Dr. Vernon Fletcher, Chair, Organic Search Committee, 101<br />
Hamblin Hall, West Virginia State University, Institute, WV<br />
25112-1000. Review of applications will start by November<br />
15, 2008, and will continue until position is filled. Enquiries:<br />
304-766-3106 or fletchvr@wvstateu.edu. See:<br />
www.wvstateu.edu/chemistry<br />
WVSU is an EO/AA employer. Women and minorities encouraged to apply.<br />
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY invites applications<br />
for an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry.<br />
Responsibilities include teaching and developing<br />
an active and challenging undergraduate research<br />
program. A more detailed outline of the responsibilities<br />
and duties may be found on the University’s web<br />
site (www.csuniv.edu). A Ph.D. in Biochemistry is required.<br />
Teaching experience and experience in supervising<br />
undergraduate research (including grant writing)<br />
is desirable. Applicants should forward a letter<br />
of interest addressing qualifications and compatibility<br />
with the University’s mission, current vitae, and the<br />
names and contact information of at least three references<br />
to applications@csuniv.edu or Human Resources<br />
Office, Charleston Southern University,<br />
P.O. Box 118087, Charleston, SC 29423-8087. Direct<br />
questions regarding the position to Dr. Steve Hudson,<br />
Chair, Physical Science Department (shudson@<br />
csuniv.edu). Charleston Southern University is affiliated<br />
with the South Carolina Baptist Convention and<br />
employs faculty who are professing Christians. Review<br />
of credentials will begin immediately and continue until<br />
the position is filled. Charleston Southern University<br />
does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national<br />
or ethnic origin, disability or sex.<br />
FACULTY POSITION IN THE<br />
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE<br />
The Department of <strong>Chemical</strong> and Environmental <strong>Engineering</strong><br />
at the University of California at Riverside<br />
invites applications for a faculty position at the Assistant,<br />
Associate, or Full Professor level. Applications<br />
are especially encouraged from individuals with research<br />
interest in biotechnology/biochemical engineering<br />
such as biomaterials, bioenergy, biosensors,<br />
and environmental biotechnology. Applicants should<br />
have a distinguished academic record, exceptional potential<br />
to conduct world-class research, and a commitment<br />
to teach at both the undergraduate and graduate<br />
levels. A doctoral degree in <strong>Chemical</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> or a<br />
related field is required. Details and application materials<br />
can be found at www.engr.ucr.edu/facultysearch.<br />
The search committee will review applications beginning<br />
on 12/15/08, and will continue to receive applications<br />
until the position is filled. EEO/AA Employer.<br />
The University of Kansas<br />
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry<br />
The Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Univer<br />
sity of Kansas (www.pharmchem.ku.edu/), invites<br />
applications for a full-time faculty position at<br />
the Distinguished Professor level for the 2009–10<br />
academic year. The successful candidate should be<br />
eligible for appointment with tenure and be an internationally<br />
recognized scholar in pharmaceutics or a<br />
related scientific discipline whose research programs<br />
directly impact on the design, formulation, delivery,<br />
and development of macromolecular drugs (proteins,<br />
DNA, RNA) and/or vaccines. See http://jobs.ku.edu<br />
for the full announcement.<br />
The candidate should demonstrate a strong record<br />
of research and scholarship commensurate with<br />
rank, for appointment at the level of Distinguished<br />
Professor. Experience in the development of mutually<br />
beneficial entrepreneurial relationships between<br />
a university and the pharmaceutical and business<br />
community will be a preferred qualification. The successful<br />
candidate will be expected to develop and/or<br />
sustain an independent, externally funded research<br />
program that includes multidisciplinary collaborations<br />
and to participate in teaching activities in the<br />
School of Pharmacy’s professional program and in<br />
the department’s graduate program.<br />
Applications will be accepted until the position is<br />
filled. Screening of applications will begin Feb. 15,<br />
2009. Address telephone inquiries about the position<br />
to Dr. Christian Schöneich at 785-864-4880. Applications<br />
including a letter of interest, resume, and names<br />
and addresses of three references should be sent to<br />
Dr. Christian Schöneich, Department of Pharmaceutical<br />
Chemistry, The University of Kansas, 2095<br />
Constant Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66047-3729. (785)<br />
864-4880. EO/AA Employer.<br />
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR POSITIONS IN<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING,<br />
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED<br />
SCIENCES, HARVARD UNIVERSITY<br />
The Harvard School of <strong>Engineering</strong> and Applied Sciences<br />
(HSEAS) seeks applicants for openings in Environmental<br />
Sciences and <strong>Engineering</strong> at the level of<br />
tenure-track assistant professors. Appointments will<br />
be made in hydrology and applied chemistry/chemical<br />
engineering. The positions require the ability to<br />
develop a leading research program and enthusiasm<br />
for teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate<br />
levels. An application, assembled as a single PDF<br />
file, should include a curriculum vitae, separate twopage<br />
statements of research and teaching interests,<br />
up to three scientific papers, and names and contact<br />
information for at least three writers of letters<br />
of recommendation. Applications should be sent to<br />
ESEsearch@seas.harvard.edu. Applications will be<br />
reviewed beginning 30 November 2008. Later applications<br />
are also welcome until the positions are filled.<br />
Harvard University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative<br />
Action employer and applications from women and<br />
underrepresented minorities are strongly encouraged.<br />
NATIONAL TSING HUA UNIVERSITY (TAIWAN), DE-<br />
PARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY invites applications for<br />
several tenure track positions to commence on Aug. 1,<br />
2009 at all levels. We are open to outstanding individuals<br />
in all fields of chemistry. Applicants for positions<br />
at the assistant professor level should have a Ph.D. degree<br />
and a significant post-doctoral experience. The<br />
successful candidates are expected to have a strong<br />
commitment to excellence in research as well as in<br />
teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.<br />
Additional salary compensation will be provided by<br />
alumni funding of this department. Applicants should<br />
submit a complete Curriculum Vitae, publications<br />
(PDF file), a list of publications, a detailed research<br />
proposal, and three letters of recommendation (including<br />
recommendation from Ph.D. advisor) to Miss<br />
Hsi-Hua Lin, Secretary of Search Committee (Email:<br />
linhh@mx.nthu.edu.tw, Fax: 886-3-5711082, Department<br />
of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University,<br />
Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan. Web site: www.chem.nthu.<br />
edu.tw). All materials are expected to be received before<br />
Dec. 31, 2008.<br />
CHEMISTRY FACULTY POSITIONS – DEPAUL<br />
UNIVERSITY<br />
The Department of Chemistry at DePaul University<br />
invites applications for two tenure-track positions at<br />
the rank of Assistant Professor beginning in Autumn<br />
2009. The first position is in medicinal chemistry for<br />
which candidates should possess a Ph.D. in synthetic<br />
organic chemistry or medicinal chemistry. The second<br />
position is in bioanalytical chemistry. In this case,<br />
candidates should have a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry.<br />
Applicants must be able to teach and conduct research<br />
in a liberal arts environment that emphasizes teaching<br />
excellence and close faculty-student interaction.<br />
Postdoctoral experience is required. The ACS-certified<br />
program at DePaul offers B.S. degrees in chemistry<br />
and biochemistry and several M.S. degree options.<br />
Successful candidates will be expected to teach at all<br />
levels of our program, plus courses in DePaul’s Liberal<br />
Studies Program. The department has modern instrumentation<br />
to support both teaching and research<br />
needs. Send vitae, graduate and undergraduate transcripts,<br />
a statement of education philosophy, an outline<br />
of research interests, and three letters of reference<br />
to Dr. Richard F. Niedziela, Chair, Department<br />
of Chemistry, DePaul University, 1036 W. Belden<br />
Ave., Chicago, IL 60614. Cover letters should clearly<br />
indicate which position is of interest. Inquiries and<br />
application materials may also be sent electronically<br />
to positions@che.depaul.edu. See http://chemistry.<br />
depaul.edu for additional information. Review of applications<br />
will begin on November 17, 2008. The Department<br />
of Chemistry seeks diversity in its faculty. We encourage<br />
applications from women, people of color, and the<br />
members of other historically under-represented groups.<br />
FACULTY POSITION IN CHEMISTRY<br />
The Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University,<br />
seeks at least one tenure or tenured track faculty<br />
members with research interests in any area of chemistry<br />
(including analytical, biological, inorganic, materials,<br />
organic, and physical). Candidates whose research<br />
impacts the University’s Current Research Initiative<br />
in Energy are particularly encouraged to apply. Candidates<br />
should hold a Ph.D. or equivalent degree and<br />
be capable of truly outstanding teaching, scholarship,<br />
and research. Complete applications will contain a detailed<br />
CV, descriptions of research plans and teaching<br />
interests, and the names of at least three references.<br />
Apply online at: http://www.chem. colostate.<br />
edu/jobs.html. Postdoctoral experience is desirable<br />
in junior candidates, who will be considered first and<br />
should have letters of reference sent electronically to<br />
Professor C. Michael Elliott, Chair, Faculty Search<br />
Committee, chemsrch@lamar.colostate.edu. Applications<br />
complete by November 15, 2008 are guaranteed<br />
full consideration, but applications will be evaluated<br />
until the position(s) are filled. Files of semifinalists<br />
will be available to all Chemistry Department faculty.<br />
Women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply.<br />
Colorado State University is an EEO/AA employer.<br />
TENURE-TRACK FACULTY POSITION IN CHEMICAL<br />
EDUCATION<br />
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Arizona<br />
State University seeks applications from highly<br />
qualified candidates for a tenure-track position in<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> Education at the Assistant Professor rank,<br />
commencing August 2009. The successful candidate<br />
must hold a Ph.D. degree in chemistry or chemical education<br />
and will be expected to build a strong externally<br />
funded research program in <strong>Chemical</strong> Education,<br />
develop and teach courses at both the graduate and<br />
undergraduate levels, and participate in governance<br />
and service committees within the department. The<br />
candidate will preferably have experience in non-traditional<br />
methods of instruction such as guided inquiry<br />
and collaborative learning. Arizona State University<br />
has a nationally regarded STEM education faculty<br />
and offers collaborative research opportunities both<br />
within and outside the Department of Chemistry and<br />
Biochemistry. Applicants must submit a curriculum vitae,<br />
a list of publications, a statement of teaching philosophy,<br />
a summary of future research plans, and arrange<br />
for three letters of recommendation to be sent<br />
to: Prof. Ian Gould, Search Committee Chair, Department<br />
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State<br />
University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1604. If possible, submit<br />
all materials electronically to: chemed@asu.edu.<br />
Review of applications will begin November 14, 2008;<br />
if not filled, every two weeks thereafter until search is<br />
closed. A Background Check Is Required For Employment.<br />
Arizona State University is an equal opportunity/<br />
affirmative action employer and is committed to excellence<br />
through diversity. Women and minorities are encouraged<br />
to apply.<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 68 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
ACADEMIC POSITIONS<br />
ACADEMIC POSITIONS<br />
ACADEMIC POSITIONS<br />
THE DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING<br />
AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY invites applications for<br />
a tenure-track position in Materials. Applicants are<br />
sought at the Assistant or Associate Professor level.<br />
Applicants must have earned a doctorate with a specialty<br />
in polymer engineering/science, or a closely<br />
related discipline, with demonstrated expertise in<br />
nanostructured polymeric materials, multifunctional<br />
polymer nanocomposites, polymeric materials for<br />
energy harvesting, and/or polymer-based sensors.<br />
You will be expected to develop a funded research<br />
program, publish in leading scholarly journals, have a<br />
strong commitment to teaching excellence, supervise<br />
and mentor students, and serve within the university<br />
and through professional societies. The Department<br />
of Mechanical <strong>Engineering</strong>’s graduate program is<br />
ranked 12th and the undergraduate program is ranked<br />
9th among public universities. Information about the<br />
department is at http://www.mengr.tamu.edu . Applicants<br />
should submit a complete resume, a one-page<br />
statement of research and teaching interests, and a list<br />
of three references (including their postal addresses,<br />
telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses) electronically<br />
via the departmental web site at: http://www.<br />
mengr.tamu.edu/Employment/employment.html. If<br />
electronic submission is not possible, applicants may<br />
submit their application package via standard mail to:<br />
Polymer Science and <strong>Engineering</strong> Faculty Search<br />
Committee, c/o Dr. Terry Creasy , Department of Mechanical<br />
<strong>Engineering</strong>, 3123 – Texas A&M University ,<br />
College Station , TX 77843-3123 . Applications will be<br />
accepted until the position is filled. Women and other<br />
under-represented minorities are especially encouraged<br />
to apply. Texas A&M University is an Equal Opportunity<br />
and Affirmative Action Employer<br />
NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY<br />
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT<br />
Boston, Massachusetts<br />
The Department of <strong>Chemical</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> at Northeastern<br />
University invites applications for tenure-track<br />
faculty appointments at associate and full professor<br />
levels. Applicants for the position must have a Ph.D. in<br />
chemical engineering or a related field, a strong commitment<br />
to excellence in teaching and scholarship,<br />
and a well-funded research program. Preference will<br />
be given to individuals with research interests in the areas<br />
of advanced materials and biological sciences. Potential<br />
areas of interest related to advanced materials<br />
include, but are not restricted to: nano-, micro-, bio-,<br />
and electronic materials, and materials processing<br />
(e.g., crystallization, vapor deposition, and electrochemistry).<br />
Potential areas of interest related to the<br />
biological sciences and bioengineering include, but<br />
are not restricted to: metabolic and tissue engineering,<br />
biological and physical interfaces: science and engineering,<br />
systems biology, stem cell biology, biomedical<br />
engineering, and bioseparations. Responsibilities<br />
include teaching at the undergraduate and graduate<br />
levels, and graduate student supervision. Salary and<br />
rank are commensurate with experience. Applications<br />
from women and minorities are particularly encouraged.<br />
Please send a letter of application, statement of<br />
teaching and research interests, and a current resume<br />
including the names of three references to: Faculty<br />
Search Committee, Patricia Rowe , Department of<br />
<strong>Chemical</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> (342 SN), Northeastern University<br />
, 360 Huntington Avenue , Boston , MA 02115 ,<br />
or email to p.rowe@neu.edu . Northeastern University<br />
is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Educational<br />
Institutional Employer.<br />
OAKLAND UNIVERSITY<br />
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR<br />
PHYSICAL/ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY<br />
The Department of Chemistry invites applications for<br />
a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level<br />
in Physical/Analytical Chemistry beginning Fall 2009.<br />
We seek an individual who will enthusiastically participate<br />
in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate<br />
(M.S. and Ph.D.) levels and establish a vigorous, externally<br />
fundable research program in the area of specialization.<br />
A Ph.D. degree in chemistry, or a closely related<br />
field, is required; relevant postdoctoral experience<br />
is preferred. Please submit your curriculum vitae, a description<br />
of research interests, and arrange for delivery<br />
of three letters of recommendation. Send application<br />
materials by email attachment (PDF preferred) to<br />
cmsearch@oakland.edu . Additional information can<br />
be obtained at www2.oakland.edu/chemistry/ . Review<br />
of applications will begin November 30, 2008,<br />
and continue until the position is filled. Position is contingent<br />
on the availability of funds. Oakland University<br />
is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications<br />
from women and minorities.<br />
FACULTY POSITION IN CHEMISTRY<br />
The Department of Chemistry at the University of<br />
Central Oklahoma invites applications for a full-time,<br />
tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level<br />
to begin in August 2009. We seek an outstanding colleague<br />
to teach Organic Chemistry lecture and laboratory<br />
courses, and other courses based on background.<br />
The successful applicant will have a Ph.D. in Organic<br />
Chemistry or closely related field, college-level teaching<br />
experience, and an interest in directing undergraduate<br />
research projects. The department is ACS certified,<br />
has 300 undergraduate majors in five programs,<br />
and 14 full-time faculty. AA/EOE. Applicants must be<br />
eligible to work in the U.S. and are subject to a background<br />
check and degree verification. Details and application<br />
at https://jobs.ucok.edu .<br />
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY<br />
DEPARTMENT OF ORAL BIOLOGY<br />
POSITION 00038067, RESEARCH ASSOCIATE<br />
The Department of Oral Biology, University of Missouri-<br />
Kansas City School of Dentistry is looking for a highly<br />
motivated and accomplished analytical chemist/biochemist<br />
with knowledge and experience in vibrational<br />
spectroscopy to work within a collaborative research<br />
and teaching environment. The successful candidate<br />
should have experience and/or publications using infrared<br />
and Raman spectroscopy as well as a general familiarity<br />
with other analytical techniques. Experience<br />
in IR/Raman imaging is also important. The candidate<br />
will apply spectroscopic techniques to the characterization<br />
of biomaterials, tissue/material interfaces, and<br />
biological tissues. The position will involve data acquisition<br />
as well as spectral interpretation. Excellent verbal<br />
and written communication skills, an ability to work<br />
effectively as a member of a dynamic multi-disciplinary<br />
research team, and a capacity to multi-task are<br />
necessary. An individual with a Ph.D. degree in analytical<br />
chemistry/biochemistry and 5 years' relevant<br />
experience is preferred. Applicants should send a letter<br />
of interest referring to the position number above, a<br />
CV, names and contact information for three references<br />
electronically to: Dr. Pamela Overman , overmanp@<br />
umkc.edu . The University of Missouri-Kansas City (an<br />
EEO/AA Employer) is part of the University of Missouri,<br />
with an excellent fringe benefits package www.umkc.<br />
edu . UMKC recognizes that a diverse faculty, staff, and<br />
student body enriches the educational experiences of<br />
the entire campus and greater community. To this end,<br />
UMKC is committed to recruiting and retaining faculty,<br />
students, and staff who will further enrich our campus<br />
diversity and making every attempt to support their<br />
academic, professional, and personal success. Women,<br />
minorities, veterans, and individuals with disabilities<br />
are encouraged to apply. Applicants who are not<br />
U.S. citizens must state their current visa and residency<br />
status. All final candidates will be required to successfully<br />
pass a Criminal Background Check prior to<br />
beginning employment.<br />
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL AND BIOMO-<br />
LECULAR ENGINEERING AT RICE UNIVERSITY invites<br />
applications or nominations for a tenure-track<br />
or tenured faculty position in the general area of complex<br />
systems. Complex systems are at the heart of any<br />
engineering discipline; they are composed of simple<br />
parts governed by relatively simple physical, chemical,<br />
and biological laws, yet they display emergent behavior<br />
such as self-organization, adaptability, dynamical<br />
instabilities, chaotic behavior, and pattern formation.<br />
The successful candidate should have demonstrated<br />
excellence in research and a strong commitment to<br />
both graduate and undergraduate chemical engineering<br />
education. Preference will be given to candidates<br />
with interdisciplinary research interests that complement<br />
and enhance current and emerging strengths of<br />
the Department: advanced materials, complex fluids,<br />
biosystems engineering, energy, and sustainability.<br />
Examples of topical areas include the self-assembly<br />
and processing of nanomaterials, the flow and phase<br />
behavior of complex fluids, the behavior and control<br />
of biological systems and networks, and multi-scale<br />
energy systems. Candidates should have a doctorate<br />
in chemical engineering or a related discipline.<br />
The deadline for applications is January 15, 2009, but<br />
earlier submissions are strongly encouraged. Please<br />
send applications and nominations to: F aculty Search<br />
Committee , Department of <strong>Chemical</strong> and Biomolecular<br />
<strong>Engineering</strong>, MS-362, Rice University , P.O.<br />
Box 1892 , Houston , TX 77251-1892 , or by E-mail to<br />
chbe-search@rice.edu . The position begins on July 1,<br />
2009, and is contingent on funding approval. Rice is an<br />
Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer and<br />
welcomes applications from women and members of<br />
underrepresented minority groups.<br />
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY<br />
TENURE-TRACK ACADEMIC POSITION<br />
INSTRUCTOR FOR PHYSICAL/ANALYTICAL<br />
CHEMISTRY LABORATORIES<br />
The University of British Columbia Department of<br />
Chemistry seeks to expand its instructional innovation<br />
with the hiring of a dynamic individual for the development<br />
and oversight of modern physical/analytical<br />
chemistry instructional laboratories. The position,<br />
Director of Physical or Analytical Chemistry Laboratories,<br />
expands an overall effort by the Department<br />
to build on its strength in undergraduate education.<br />
The successful candidate will be expected to contribute<br />
strongly to the development of an updated undergraduate<br />
physical and analytical chemistry laboratory<br />
curriculum and will maintain a high standard of performance<br />
as a university educator. Previous experience in<br />
instructional innovation and/or chemistry education<br />
research, in the laboratory and/or classroom will be a<br />
strong asset. This position offers an excellent career<br />
opportunity for a Chemistry PhD with a strong interest<br />
in teaching. Duties include development of laboratory<br />
curriculum and supervision of physical or analytical<br />
chemistry laboratory courses involving approximately<br />
twelve hundred students and twenty-five teaching<br />
assistants per year. Additional areas of responsibility<br />
may include lecturing in physical, analytical, or environmental<br />
chemistry. There may be the opportunity<br />
to work in collaboration with the recently established<br />
Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative. A PhD in<br />
physical/analytical chemistry or related area is required.<br />
The position will be a tenure-track faculty appointment<br />
at the rank of Instructor I. UBC hires on the<br />
basis of merit and is committed to employment equity.<br />
The Department encourages applications from candidates<br />
who have experience working with students<br />
from diverse backgrounds and candidates who have a<br />
commitment to improving access to higher education<br />
for disadvantaged students. We encourage all qualified<br />
persons to apply. However, Canadians and permanent<br />
residents of Canada will be given priority. Applications<br />
should consist of curriculum vitae, a statement of<br />
teaching and laboratory development philosophy, and<br />
evidence of teaching excellence and effectiveness. Applicants<br />
should also arrange for three letters of recommendation<br />
to be sent to: Head, Department of Chemistry<br />
, University of British Columbia , 2036 Main<br />
Mall , Vancouver , BC , Canada V6T 1Z1 , or E-mailed to:<br />
head@chem.ubc.ca . Closing date for complete applications<br />
is December 15th, 2008.<br />
POST-DOCTORAL POSITIONS in computational<br />
chemistry are available in the MCN Lab at the University<br />
of Michigan ( www.umich.edu/~avioli ). The<br />
first project is aimed at studying nanoparticle formation<br />
in high temperatures in the area of health effects<br />
of nanoparticles. The second project is studying complex<br />
mechanisms for high temperature combustion<br />
kinetics in the area of alternative fuels. Candidates<br />
with knowledge in quantum chemistry, kinetics, and<br />
dynamics should apply. Applicants should send CV<br />
and three letters of recommendation to Dr. A. Violi<br />
(avioli@umich.edu ). The University of Michigan is a<br />
non-discriminatory/Affirmative Action Employer.<br />
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, STANISLAUS invites<br />
applications for a tenure-track, Assistant Professor<br />
of Physical Chemistry in our ACS certified department<br />
beginning Fall 2009. Ph.D. in Chemistry required<br />
with demonstrated potential for excellence in undergraduate<br />
teaching and research. Seeking candidates<br />
who will contribute to department offerings for chemistry<br />
majors, science majors, and non-science majors.<br />
Further details, including application information,<br />
available at http://chem.csustan.edu .<br />
GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY’S DEPARTMENT<br />
OF CHEMISTRY invites applications for a non-tenure<br />
track Lecturer in Chemistry. The full text advertisement,<br />
including information about the department,<br />
faculty, and the complete position announcement<br />
with all qualifications and application instructions,<br />
is available at http://cost.georgiasouthern.edu/<br />
chemistry/ . Screening of applications begins December<br />
15, 2008, and continues until the position is filled.<br />
Georgia Southern seeks to recruit individuals who are<br />
committed to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and<br />
professional service within the University and beyond<br />
and who are committed to working in diverse academic<br />
and professional communities. Finalists will be required<br />
to submit to a background investigation. Georgia<br />
is an open records state. Georgia Southern is an<br />
AA/EO Institution. Individuals who need reasonable<br />
accommodations under the ADA to participate in the<br />
search process should contact the Associate Provost.<br />
RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 69 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
ACADEMIC POSITIONS<br />
ACADEMIC POSITIONS<br />
ACADEMIC POSITIONS<br />
RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING<br />
FACULTY POSITIONS<br />
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY AND<br />
BIOCHEMISTRY<br />
WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE (WPI)<br />
Worcester, Massachusetts, USA<br />
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry invites<br />
applications from scientists working at the interface<br />
of chemistry and biochemistry for two tenure-track<br />
positions starting in August 2009: one at<br />
the ASSISTANT and one at the ASSOCIATE Professor<br />
level. Extending successful faculty recruitment in the<br />
last two years, these are part of a strategic plan to expand<br />
our department within a larger WPI Life Science<br />
research initiative focused in biophysics, green energy,<br />
and regenerative bioscience. These two positions<br />
are part of a planned ‘cluster hire’ of five positions this<br />
year in this initiative. (For more information on this initiative<br />
visit: www.wpi.edu/goto/lifesci). A new $70M<br />
state-of-the-art research facility hosting the Life Science<br />
research departments and WPI Bioengineering<br />
Institute anchors this effort. Successful candidates<br />
for the junior position should have postdoctoral research<br />
experience and are expected to develop a vigorous,<br />
externally funded research program. The ideal<br />
applicants at the Associate level will have an established<br />
record of research productivity, demonstrated<br />
success securing research funding, and evidence<br />
of teaching excellence. The Department of Chemistry<br />
and Biochemistry offers both undergraduate and<br />
graduate (Ph.D.) degrees. WPI is a private, nationally<br />
ranked technological university with a student population<br />
of 4,450, including 1,300 full-time and part-time<br />
graduate students. Worcester, New England’s second<br />
largest city, offers ready access to diverse economic,<br />
cultural, and recreational resources of the region. Further<br />
information about WPI and the department can<br />
be accessed at http://www.wpi.edu. Interested candidates<br />
should send pdf-formatted applications including<br />
a curriculum vitae, a statement of teaching and<br />
research interests, and the names of three references<br />
to Dr. José Argüello at faculty-searchCBC@wpi.edu.<br />
Inquiries can be addressed to Chair, Search Committee,<br />
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,<br />
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute<br />
Road, Worcester, MA 01609. Review of applications<br />
will be conducted on a rolling basis and continue until<br />
the position is filled.<br />
TENURE-TRACK FACULTY POSITION IN PHYSICAL<br />
CHEMISTRY<br />
The Department of Chemistry at the University of New<br />
Hampshire invites applications for a tenure-track faculty<br />
position at the rank of assistant professor in any<br />
area of Experimental Physical Chemistry. The Department<br />
has extensive electron resonance facilities and<br />
is active in atmospheric science and nanotechnology.<br />
Candidates with expertise in these areas may enjoy<br />
significant opportunities for collaboration. The Departmental<br />
mission balances research and teaching. A<br />
commitment to high quality undergraduate and graduate<br />
education, and to establishing a vigorous, nationally-recognized,<br />
research program are essential. Ph.D.<br />
required. Interested candidates should send curriculum<br />
vitae, undergraduate and graduate transcripts,<br />
research plans, evidence of teaching proficiency and<br />
philosophy, and three letters of recommendation to<br />
Christopher F. Bauer, Chair, Department of Chemistry,<br />
University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH<br />
03824; (603) 862-1550 (FAX 4278), cfb@ cisunix.<br />
unh. edu. Review of applications will commence on November<br />
20, 2008. UNH supports diversity among its<br />
faculty and strongly encourages women and minority<br />
candidates to apply.<br />
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, PRINCETON<br />
UNIVERSITY<br />
The Department of Chemistry at Princeton University<br />
invites applications for a tenure-track assistant<br />
professor position in experimental chemistry. Candidates<br />
should have a strong commitment to research<br />
and to teaching at the undergraduate and graduate<br />
levels, and are expected to have completed the Ph.D. in<br />
chemistry or a related field at the time of appointment.<br />
Applicants should submit a description of research interests,<br />
curriculum vitae, a list of publications, and 3<br />
letters of recommendation by November 1, 2008 to:<br />
Ms. Linda Peoples, Assistant to the Chair, Dept.<br />
of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ<br />
08544-1009. Princeton University is an equal opportunity<br />
employer and complies with applicable EEO and<br />
affirmative action regulations. For general application<br />
information and information about self-identification,<br />
please see http://web.princeton.edu/sites/dof/<br />
ApplicantsInfo.htm. You may apply online at http://<br />
jobs.princeton.edu.<br />
PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY<br />
The Department of Chemistry at Princeton University<br />
invites applications for a senior faculty position<br />
in experimental chemistry. Distinguished applicants<br />
in all areas of experimental chemistry are welcome.<br />
Candidates should have a strong commitment to research<br />
and teaching at the undergraduate and graduate<br />
levels. Application should include a description of<br />
research interests, curriculum vitae, and a list of publications.<br />
Send by November 1, 2008 to: Ms. Linda<br />
Peoples, Assistant to the Chair, Dept. of Chemistry,<br />
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1009.<br />
Princeton University is an equal opportunity employer<br />
and complies with applicable EEO and affirmative action<br />
regulations. For general application information and information<br />
about self-identification, please see: http://<br />
web.princeton.edu/sites/dof/ApplicantsInfo.htm.<br />
You may apply online at http://jobs.princeton.edu.<br />
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY. Department of Chemistry<br />
invites applications for a faculty position in theoretical/<br />
computational chemistry with possible specialization<br />
in condensed-phase systems, biophysics, quantum<br />
chemistry, statistical mechanics or related areas. Appointment<br />
at the Assistant Professor level will be tenure-track.<br />
The successful candidate will be expected<br />
to teach physical chemistry at both the undergraduate<br />
and graduate levels and to establish a strong and innovative<br />
research program. Candidates must complete a<br />
Dean/Senior Executive/Faculty Application at http://<br />
www.sujobopps.com and attach a CV and statement<br />
of teaching philosophy. Send an outline of research<br />
plans, and arrange three letters of recommendation<br />
be sent to: Chair of the Theoretical Search Committee,<br />
Department of Chemistry, Syracuse University,<br />
Syracuse, NY 13244-4100. The review of candidate<br />
files will begin November 30, 2008, and will continue<br />
until the position is filled. AA/EOE<br />
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY. The Department of Chemistry<br />
invites applications and nominations for a faculty<br />
position in organic chemistry. Appointment at<br />
the level of Assistant Professor will be tenure-track.<br />
Successful candidates will be expected to establish<br />
a high-quality, externally funded research program,<br />
and to demonstrate excellence in both graduate and<br />
undergraduate teaching. Applications will be considered<br />
in all areas of organic chemistry, but individuals<br />
with research interests at the organic chemistry/biology<br />
interface are especially encouraged to apply. Candidates<br />
must complete a Dean/Senior Executive/Faculty<br />
Application at http://www.sujobopps.com, and<br />
attach a CV and a statement of teaching philosophy.<br />
Applicants should also send a description of research<br />
plans and have three letters of recommendation sent<br />
to: Chair, Organic Faculty Search Committee, Department<br />
of Chemistry, Syracuse University, Syracuse,<br />
NY 13244-4100. Review of candidate files will<br />
begin November 30, 2008, and will continue until the<br />
position is filled. AA/EOE<br />
HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY Department of<br />
Chemistry invites applications for a tenure-track asst.<br />
prof. position, specialty open, beginning Aug. 2009. A<br />
chemistry PhD is required; teaching experience preferred.<br />
Load includes freshman courses plus applicant’s<br />
specialty as needed. Send teaching philosophy,<br />
vitae, transcripts, research plans with undergraduates,<br />
and arrange for 3 reference letters to: Martin<br />
Campbell, campbem@hsu.edu. Visit www.hsu.edu/<br />
Affirmative-Action for more information. Deadline<br />
1/15/09. AAO/EOE/ADA<br />
BIOCHEMISTRY, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,<br />
TENURE-TRACK, AUGUST 2009. The successful<br />
candidate will be expected to teach general chemistry<br />
and biochemistry courses, and to develop an active research<br />
program involving undergraduate students in<br />
a department offering an ACS-certified B.S. degree.<br />
The Ph.D. degree is required; post-doctoral experience<br />
is preferred. Qualified women and minorities are<br />
especially encouraged to apply. Send cover letter, curriculum<br />
vitae, copies of undergraduate and graduate<br />
transcripts, description of research plans, and statement<br />
of teaching philosophy, and arrange to have at<br />
least three letters of recommendation sent to Chair,<br />
Search Committee, Department of Chemistry, Indiana<br />
University-Purdue University, 2101 E. Coliseum<br />
Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499. Review of applications<br />
will begin December 1, 2008, and continue until<br />
the position is filled. Website is www.ipfw.edu/chem.<br />
IPFW is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access/Affirmative<br />
Action Employer.<br />
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL AND BIOMO-<br />
LECULAR ENGINEERING at the Johns Hopkins University<br />
announces a search for tenure-track faculty<br />
at the Assistant or Associate Professor level. The department<br />
seeks outstanding engineers and scientists<br />
who will create innovative, high-impact graduate research<br />
programs. and who will excel at teaching and<br />
motivating talented undergraduate students. A doctorate<br />
in <strong>Chemical</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> or a related field is required.<br />
Preference will be given to applicants in the following<br />
areas of excellence: Interfaces/colloids/fluidic<br />
systems with applications to nanotechnology, renewable<br />
energy including biofuels, fuel cells and photovoltaics,<br />
and biomolecular engineering. The <strong>Chemical</strong><br />
and Biomolecular <strong>Engineering</strong> Department provides<br />
a highly collaborative environment with departments<br />
in the Schools of <strong>Engineering</strong>, Arts & Sciences, Medicine,<br />
and Public Health. Candidates should submit a<br />
curriculum vitae, reprints of recent papers, a statement<br />
of research interests and teaching plans, and the<br />
names of three references to: Chair, Search Committee,<br />
Department of <strong>Chemical</strong> and Biomolecular <strong>Engineering</strong>,<br />
Johns Hopkins University, Maryland 221,<br />
3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218.<br />
To ensure full consideration, applications should be<br />
submitted by December 15, 2008. The Johns Hopkins<br />
University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action<br />
Employer. Women and minorities are strongly encouraged<br />
to apply.<br />
THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND COMPUTING<br />
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA seeks to<br />
hire a cluster of faculty members with research and<br />
teaching expertise in the area of Clean Coal. The senior<br />
candidate of this cluster is expected to play a leadership<br />
role as an Endowed Chair holder and Director of<br />
the Center for Clean Coal (CCC). This Center has an endowment<br />
of $7.5 MM with an additional one-time allotment<br />
of up to $2.5 MM for start-up expenditures. The<br />
holder of the Endowed Chair is expected to maintain<br />
an internationally recognized research program, to interact<br />
with industry, federal, and state agencies and<br />
to provide vision and leadership in the selection of the<br />
remaining members of the cluster. His/her record of<br />
achievement should be consistent with the granting of<br />
tenure at the rank of Professor in the <strong>Chemical</strong> or Mechanical<br />
<strong>Engineering</strong> Departments. Additional members<br />
of the cluster are also expected to develop strong<br />
educational and externally-funded research programs<br />
in areas related to the Center and to collaborate with<br />
the Endowed Chair holder. Tenured or tenure-track appointments<br />
will be made in either of the two departments<br />
mentioned above at a rank commensurate with<br />
the candidates’ credentials. Applicants are requested<br />
to submit with their letter of application an academic<br />
vitae, names of three references, and a statement of<br />
their qualifications in leading this research and educational<br />
development to the Office of the Dean, College<br />
of <strong>Engineering</strong> and Computing, Swearingen<br />
<strong>Engineering</strong> Center, University of South Carolina,<br />
Columbia, SC 29208 or electronically to atkerson@<br />
engr.sc.edu. Review of applications will begin immediately<br />
and will continue until the positions are filled.<br />
The University of South Carolina does not discriminate<br />
in educational or employment opportunities or decisions<br />
for qualified persons on the basis of race, color,<br />
religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation,<br />
or veteran status.<br />
PHYSICAL/ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY FACULTY<br />
POSITION<br />
The Department of Chemistry of the University of<br />
Nevada, Reno, seeks applicants for a tenure-track<br />
Assistant Professor in Physical/Analytical Chemistry.<br />
Duties include teaching at the undergraduate and<br />
graduate levels and establishing an active and innovative<br />
experimental research program at the interface of<br />
analytical and physical chemistry. For further information,<br />
the complete position description and qualifications,<br />
and online application instructions, please view<br />
http://www.chem.unr.edu/facultysearch/. Application<br />
review will begin December 7, 2008. EEO/AA.<br />
Women and under-represented groups are encouraged<br />
to apply.<br />
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ACADEMIC POSITIONS<br />
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE<br />
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
The Department of <strong>Chemical</strong> & Biomolecular <strong>Engineering</strong><br />
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& computational research. A PhD in chemical<br />
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refer to http://www.chbe.nus.edu.sg/ for more information<br />
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Applicants should send a full curriculum vitae (including<br />
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statement of teaching interest, and a list of names of<br />
at least three references to: Prof. Jim Yang Lee, Head<br />
of Department (Attention: Ms. Nancy Chia, email:<br />
nancychia@nus.edu.sg).<br />
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www.chemglass.com<br />
ChemSW, Inc. 6<br />
www.chemsw.com<br />
Chemyx Inc. 26<br />
www.chemyx.com<br />
Fluid Metering, Inc. 28<br />
www.fmipump.com<br />
J-KEM Scientific Inc. 7<br />
www.jkem.com<br />
PCAS Pharma 5<br />
www.pcas.fr<br />
Purac America, Inc. 20<br />
www.purac.com<br />
Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, Inc 19<br />
www.ssi.shimadzu.com<br />
Spectrum <strong>Chemical</strong>, MFG, Corp. 47<br />
www.spectrumchemical.com<br />
Thermo Fisher Scientific<br />
www.thermo.com<br />
IFC<br />
United Negro College Fund 27<br />
www.uncf.org/merck<br />
Waters Corporation 29<br />
www.waters.com<br />
Wyatt Technology Corporation 49<br />
www.wyatt.com<br />
This index and additional company information<br />
are provided as a service to the advertisers.<br />
We are not responsible for errors or omissions.<br />
Classified Advertising 62—71<br />
ACS PUBLICATIONS<br />
ADVERTISING SALES GROUP<br />
676 East Swedesford Road / Suite 202<br />
Wayne, PA 19087-1612<br />
Telephone: (610) 964-8061<br />
Fax No.: (610) 964-8071<br />
DIRECTOR, ADVERTISING SALES<br />
Kenneth M. Carroll, VP<br />
ADVERTISING PRODUCTION DIRECTOR<br />
Linda S. Morrow<br />
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING MANAGER<br />
Matthew J. McCloskey<br />
SALES<br />
MidAtlantic …Dean Baldwin, Lisa Kerr, 676 East<br />
Swedesford Rd., Ste. 202, Wayne, PA 19087-1612;<br />
Tel: 610-964-8061; Fax: 610-964-8071; Email:<br />
baldwin@ acs.org, kerr@acs.org<br />
New England … Dean Baldwin, Lisa Kerr, 676 East<br />
Swedesford Rd., Ste. 202, Wayne, PA 19087 USA;<br />
Tel: 610-964-8061; Fax: 610-964-8071; Email:<br />
baldwin@ acs.org, kerr@acs.org<br />
Canada … Dean Baldwin, Thomas Scanlan, 676 East<br />
Swedesford Rd., Ste. 202, Wayne, PA 19087 USA;<br />
Tel: 610-964-8061; Fax: 610-964-8071; Email:<br />
baldwin@acs.org, scanlan@acs.org<br />
Midwest & Southwest … Thomas M. Scanlan, 540<br />
Frontage Rd., Suite 3245, Northfield, IL 60093-<br />
1203; Tel: 847-441-6383; Fax: 847-441-6382; Email:<br />
scanlan@acs.org<br />
Southeast … Lisa Kerr, 676 East Swedesford Rd., Ste.<br />
202, Wayne, PA 19087 USA; Tel: 610-964-8061; Fax:<br />
610-964-8071; Email: kerr@acs.org<br />
West Coast/Colorado … Bob LaPointe, One Annabel<br />
Lane, Ste. 209, San Ramon, CA 94583, Tel: 925-277-<br />
1259; Fax: 925-277-1359; Email: lapointe@acs.org<br />
United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Belgium, Denmark,<br />
Middle East… Paul Barrett, Hartswood Media, Hallmark<br />
House, 25 Downham Road, Ramsden Heath,<br />
Essex CM11 1PU, UK; Tel: 011 44 1268 711 560; Fax:<br />
011 44 1268 711 567; Email: ieaco@aol.com<br />
France, Italy, Portugal, Spain… Danielle Rocher, Le<br />
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466 32 50 86; Email: rocherdanielle@orange.fr<br />
Germany, Switzerland, Central Europe … IMP, Inter-<br />
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Wuppertal, Germany; Tel: 49-202-271690; Fax: 49-<br />
202-2716920; Email: schuh@impgmbh.de<br />
Japan … Shigemaro Yasui, Mai Hashikura, Global<br />
Exchange Co., Ltd., MIYATA Building 4F, 2-15-11<br />
Shinkawa, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 140-0032, Japan, Tel: 0<br />
11 81 3 3523 6333; Fax: 0 11 81 3 3523 6330<br />
China … eChinaChem, Inc., Yintong Building North,<br />
Suite 12A-B, Shanghai, China 200050; Tel: 0 11<br />
86 21 5169 1611; Fax: 0 11 26 21 5240 1255; E-mail<br />
cen@echinachem.com<br />
Australia … Keith Sandell, Sandell Strike Skinner<br />
Whipp, P.O. Box 3087, Telopea, NSW 2117, Australia;<br />
Tel: 0 11 612 9873 2444; Fax: 0 11 612 9873 3555;<br />
E-mail keith@sssw.com.au<br />
Korea … DOOBEE Inc., Global Business Division, 8th<br />
Flr., DooBee Bldg., 11-3, Jeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul<br />
100-120, Korea, Tel: 82-2-3702-1740, Fax: 82-2-<br />
3702-1777<br />
India … Faredoon Kuka, RMA Media, C-308, Twin Arcade,<br />
Military Road, Marol, Andheri (East), Mumbai<br />
400 059, India; Tel: 91-22-6570-3081; Fax: 91 22<br />
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Central & South America … 676 East Swedesford Rd.,<br />
Ste. 202, Wayne, PA 19087 USA; Tel: 610-964-8061;<br />
Fax: 610-964-8071; Email: carroll@acs.org<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 71 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
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newscripts<br />
DANCING WITH THE DOCTORATES, ANTITERRORISM LINGERIE<br />
Samba-savvy scientists, it’s time<br />
to dust off your dancing shoes.<br />
Nov. 16, the deadline for the 2009<br />
“DANCE YOUR PH.D.” contest, is swiftly<br />
approaching. Sponsored by the American<br />
Association for the Advancement of Science,<br />
the contest is open to anyone who<br />
has or is pursuing a Ph.D. in any scientific<br />
field or in science-related fields, such as<br />
bioethics or the history of science. All dancing-prone<br />
doctorates are eligible, whether<br />
they’re in academia, industry, or have found<br />
employment further afield, in, for example,<br />
patent law or science writing.<br />
“The human body is an excellent medium<br />
for communicating science—perhaps<br />
not as data-rich as a peer-reviewed article<br />
but far more exciting,” notes John Bohannon,<br />
Science magazine’s “Gonzo Scientist,”<br />
who is coordinating the contest.<br />
The inaugural “Dance Your Ph.D.” contest<br />
was held earlier this year in Vienna, and<br />
winners got a year’s subscription to Science.<br />
For 2009, the contest’s organizers<br />
decided to put the competition on a global<br />
stage and offer a much grander prize—their<br />
Ph.D. dance interpreted by a professional<br />
choreographer and performed at the AAAS<br />
annual meeting in Chicago in February.<br />
Winners will also receive two nights’ accommodation<br />
at the meeting.<br />
Boogie-down brainiacs should make<br />
a video interpreting their Ph.D. thesis in<br />
dance form using any style they choose—<br />
be it ballroom, ballet, or the bunny hop—<br />
and post the opus<br />
on YouTube. They<br />
should then e-mail<br />
the relevant details<br />
to gonzo@aaas.<br />
org, and Bohannon<br />
will post the video<br />
on the contest’s<br />
webpage.<br />
Winners will be<br />
selected from four categories: “Graduate<br />
Student,” for those who are currently<br />
enrolled in a Ph.D. program;<br />
“Post-Doc,”<br />
with a Ph.D.<br />
but without<br />
tenure at a university;<br />
“Professor,”<br />
for those with both<br />
a Ph.D. and tenure at a<br />
university; and “Popular<br />
Choice,” which goes to the<br />
video with the highest YouTube<br />
view count by the deadline.<br />
More details and official rules of the<br />
doctorate disco can be found at gonzolabs.<br />
org/dance.<br />
Women wise in the ways of fashion<br />
know that to look good, a lady<br />
needs good foundations. Now,<br />
UNDERGARMENTS could supplement<br />
self-defense, as well as style, thanks to a<br />
new invention brought to our attention<br />
by the patent combers at the Annals of<br />
Improbable Research.<br />
U.S. patent No. 7,255,627 was granted to<br />
Avocet Polymer Technologies on Aug. 14,<br />
2007, for a “garment device convertible to<br />
one or more facemasks.” Invented by Elena<br />
N. Bodnar, of Hinsdale, Ill., and Raphael C.<br />
Lee and Sandra Marijan, of Chicago, the<br />
device is intended to provide protection<br />
from harmful airborne particles.<br />
According to the patent, if a country or<br />
a territory is facing a threat of air contamination,<br />
its citizens need “to have a higher<br />
degree of access to facemasks. However,<br />
it is often inconvenient, impractical or<br />
burdensome for people to carry masks<br />
wherever they go.”<br />
To solve this problem, Bodnar, Lee, and<br />
Marijan envisioned a brassiere that could<br />
do double duty as a pair of facemasks.<br />
“When the garment is used as a bra, the<br />
cup portions are fitted over the breasts and<br />
the straps wrap around the torso to secure<br />
the bra to the body,” the patent explains.<br />
“The front midsection and back midsection<br />
of the bra<br />
are separable.<br />
Each cup of the<br />
bra includes an<br />
air filter. When<br />
the air becomes<br />
contaminated<br />
due to an act of<br />
warfare, terror<br />
or other event,<br />
Double duty for<br />
double Ds: The<br />
the user can<br />
antiterrorism<br />
remove the bra<br />
brassiere.<br />
and detach the<br />
Dance your Ph.D.: cups forming two<br />
Break out your<br />
best moves.<br />
facemasks. The<br />
user then secures<br />
the facemask to<br />
her face and can provide the<br />
other facemask to a bystander.”<br />
USPTO<br />
.BETHANY HALFORD wrote this<br />
week’s column. Please send comments<br />
and suggestions to newscripts@acs.org.<br />
SHUTTERSTOCK<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 72 NOVEMBER 3, 2008
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