June 20, 2011 - IMM@BUCT

CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS1155—16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036(202) 872-4600 or (800) 227-5558EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Rudy M. BaumDEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: A. Maureen RouhiMANAGING EDITOR: Robin M. GirouxSENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER: Marvel A. WillsNEWSWilliam G. Schulz, EditorBUSINESSMichael McCoy, Assistant Managing EditorNORTHEAST: (732) 906-8300 Lisa M. Jarvis (SeniorEditor), Rick Mullin (Senior Editor), Marc S. Reisch(Senior Correspondent), Alexander H. Tullo (SeniorEditor), Melody M. Bomgardner (Senior Editor),Rachel Eskenazi (Administrative Assistant). HONGKONG: 852 2984 9072 Jean-François Tremblay(Senior Correspondent). HOUSTON: (281) 486-3900Ann M. Thayer (Senior Correspondent). MUNICH:49 89 8955 6137 Paige Marie Morse (Contributing Editor)GOVERNMENT & POLICYSusan R. Morrissey, Assistant Managing EditorBritt E. Erickson (Senior Editor), David J. 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Russell Jr., Leah Solla, Peter J. StangCopyright 2011, American Chemical SocietyCanadian GST Reg. No. R127571347Volume 89, Number 25FROM THE EDITORArchives ExcursionANYONE WITH an interest in chemistrycan get pleasantly lost in the C&EN Archivesand old ACS journals. I did the weekbefore last digging around for a particulartidbit of information and finding many,many more.Senior Correspondent Steve Ritterwrote the lead News of the Week story inthe June 13 issue of C&EN (page 7) announcingthat MIT’s Robert S. Langerwould receive the 2012 Priestley Medal.When Ritter interviewed him, Langer saidhe was honored “and a bit shocked” tolearn that he had won the award, in partbecause he was the first chemical engineerto be so honored in something like 60years.Steve couldn’t remember the name ofthe chemical engineer that Langer had suggestedmight have been the last one to winthe Priestley. It was late on Thursday afternoon,and I was waiting for final news pagesto read so I started working through thenames of Priestley Medal winners to findthe missing chemical engineer.In no particular order, I learned thatFrancis P. Garvan had received the 1929Priestley Medal remotely from ACS PresidentIrving Langmuir, who was at the fallACS national meeting in Minneapolis. TheNews Edition of Industrial & EngineeringChemistry (forerunner of C&EN) reported:“The ceremonies were broadcast overStation WCCO of the Columbia system …and when it became known that Mr. Garvanwould be unable to receive the medalpersonally, arrangements were made … torebroadcast over WABC in New York. Aspecial wire was opened between the twostations, and Mr. Garvan was enabled tohear the program through a receiving set athis sick bed in the Adirondacks, where hehas been confined because of continued illhealth during the past three years, said tobe due partially to his strenuous efforts inbehalf of independent American chemicalindustries during and following the WorldWar.”Garvan, who I learned later in the daywas the only nonchemist ever to win thePriestley Medal, had served as the “AlienProperty Custodian” during World WarI. In that capacity, he sold 5,700 seizedGerman chemical patents for $271,000 tothe Chemical Foundation Inc., a companyGarvan set up to administer those patentsand for which he served as president. Unsurprisingly,these dual roles led to a legalchallenge, which wasn’t resolved until 1924.“Chemical Foundation Triumphs in FederalSuit” was the title of the lead story in theJan. 10, 1924, News Edition of I&EC .“In a sixty-two-page decision whichswept away every one of the Government’smajor contentions as being without basis infact or law, Federal Judge Hugh M. Morris,on January 3d, dismissed the Federal suit toset aside the sale of seized chemical and dyepatents by the Alien Property Custodian tothe Chemical Foundation, Inc.” Which is tosay, by Garvan to Garvan.Tangents are part of the fun in thesekinds of excursions. The April 11, 1955, editionof C&EN reported on a talk by RobertE. Wilson, chairman of Standard Oil ofIndiana, at an ACS national meeting in astory entitled “Technological ProgressThreatened.” Wilson cited “eight waysin which our rapid progress is menaced,”C&EN reported. The magazine continued:“Not the least of the dangers, [Wilson] observed,is the misuse or neglect of some ofthe products of research itself. Television,for example, which has ‘made us a nationof spectators instead of participants,’ iscontributing to the shortage of scientistsand engineers, already of grave concern.‘The bright young boy who used to builda homemade crystal radio or work with achemical kit is now twirling the knobs ona TV set, watching terrible programs thatdistract him from constructive activities,’Wilson asserted.”By the way, Thomas Midgley Jr. was thechemical engineer who received the 1941Priestley Medal that Langer mentioned toRitter. Slightly more recently, MIT chemicalengineering professor Warren K. Lewisreceived the 1947 Priestley Medal; a profilein the Sept. 29, 1947, issue of C&EN saidLewis “is recognized as the father of present-daychemical engineering.”Thanks for reading.Editor-in-chiefViews expressed on this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACS.WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 5 JUNE 20, 2011