Double Bond - November 2000

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Double Bond

November 2000

Officers and Staff:

November Meeting

Please Join Us

EDITORIAL

The October meeting of the local section featured Dr. Walter McCrone, world-renowned microscopist, speaking about the determination of the Shroud of Turin's authenticity as the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. There were 31 in attendance.

Dr. McCrone started by explaining to us that he enjoys microscopy in a very “anti-high-tech” way. He started out in air pollution, forensic microscopy, and authentication of paintings. He detected many fake Rembrandts, Raphaels, and more!

We enjoyed seeing numerous colored slides of microscopy, as novices in “Lookology”. The differences between cotton and synthetic fibers' morphology, and potato and wheat starch grains are adequate for identification under crossed polars. We learned about various types of calcite, microcrystal chloroplatinate testing, artillery rounds with air bubbles in them causing erratic firing, and a man who died because an overzealous hospital employee filtered his plasma through cotton batting, leaving telltale cotton fibers in his heart tissue!

The audience was enthralled with the story of how Dr. McCrone helped solve a murder based on microscopic examination of fibers from the victims. The murderer (Wayne Williams) had a unique carpet in his apartment, which was only manufactured for a day or two, and sold in only 3 places in Georgia. Once Dr. McCrone identified the source of the unusual green hooked fibers the authorities were able to catch the killer. Chilling!

The Vineland Map was exposed as a fake by Dr. McCrone; the result became evident during sampling. The black lines on the parchment, supposedly made in AD 1440, had a yellow overlay on them to simulate the diffusion that would be expected during aging. The overlay peeled off in strips during sampling with clear tape. Calcite, titanium white, yellow ochre, and lead white pigments were found. The presence of titanium was confirmed with EDXRA. The map was actually produced in 1930!

Last came the subject of the evening, the Turin Shroud. It first “appeared” in France in 1455 in a church whose bishop is thought to have said that he knew the artist who painted it! The shroud was in a fire in 1532, in which it was burnt a little and suffered some water damage. Dr. McCrone took 32 samples with clear “sticky tape”, which allowed viewing of the samples through the tape. Samples were taken from image areas, water marks, scorches, and control areas. Each tape was cut in half and the second half was sent to another laboratory for an independent analysis.

The (negative) body image is made of a pigment called red ochre (sinopia) in a gelatin base, which has been painted on. The “blood clots” are a transparent matrix containing red ochre particles and mercuric sulfide (vermilion). The shroud was apparently painted twice, once with the red ochre to produce the body image, once with the vermilion to make the “blood” stains. To check this Dr. McCrone donated some of his own blood to science, placed it on some fibers and examined it microscopically.

Some stain tests were done to determine that the image contains protein. A sodium azide test indicated that the shroud fiber didn't contain the sulfurous amino acids that would be present in blood, indicating that the protein source for the matrix was collagen. Finally some high-tech EDXRA element mapping was done on fibers taken from the “blood clots”. This showed the mercury and sulfide in one area and the iron in a different area. X-ray diffraction shows amorphous hematite, which is the end product of dehydration of red ochre.

Various techniques were tried to duplicate the shroud, then examined under the microscope. The shroud was not “finger painted” or made by laying a cloth over dry pigment, a brush was used. The source of the fabric can not be determined, although it is a type of linen. Carbon dating by three labs, one in Mexico, one in London, and one in Zurich, all resulted in a date around 1325. One group of true believers explains this by a “bioplastic coating” of molds and other microbes.

Controversy surrounds the origins of pollen grains found on the shroud, “not of this earth”. There are rumors of DNA testing and cloning attempts - the result of which would be mostly mice! Dr. McCrone showed us his “fan” letter from the “Citizens for Scientific Hope”. In the contest of faith vs. science, which do you think usually wins?

Editor

Joanna Christopher

About the Topic

Problems of “sick air syndrome” can arise in homes and office buildings, and very serious health risks can emerge in dental clinics, hospitals, and public transportation facilities. Especially troublesome are bioaerosols, including threat organisms that may be used by terrorists. It has been shown in calibrated-bioaerosol-seeded “zero air” ducts at SUNY Buffalo, and in the 600 cubic meter aerosol chamber operated by the Calspan UB Research Center, that bioaerosols can be countered by contact with fine titania particles in the presence of sunlight or blacklight.

About the Speaker

Dr. Robert Baier is a Licensed Professional (Chemical) Engineer and nationally certified Environmental (Sanitary) Engineer, who worked from 1968-1984 at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory (since renamed Calspan, and recently, Veridian) and now teaches at SUNY Buffalo Schools of Dental Medicine, Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and Engineering and Applied Sciences. Dr. Baier is Executive Director of the NSF-sponsored Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Biosurfaces.

Joint 52nd Southeast/56th Southwest Regional Meeting (SE/SW 2000)

December 6-8, 2000

Hyatt Regency New Orleans, New Orleans, LA

Sponsoring Local Section: Louisiana

General Chair: Armand Pepperman

SRCC, USDA-ARS

1100 Robert E Lee Blvd,

New Orleans, LA 70179

Phone: 504-286-4610 Fax: 504-286-4367

E-mail: abpep@nola.sitc.usda.gov

Plan now to attend the Combined 52nd Southeast/56th Southwest ACS Regional Meeting to be held in New Orleans, at the Hyatt Regency from December 6-8. Complete information, including the full technical program, and registration information, is available on-line at

http://www.acs.org/meetings/regional/calendar.html

For further information, please contact the ACS Office of Regional Meetings at 1-800-227-5558, ext, 6129. We look forward to seeing you in New Orleans in December.

Coming in January 2001:

Albert Einstein ushers in the REAL new millennium by sharing with us his dilemma. Don't Miss it! (Einstein has been speaking through Dr. Ronald Palmer lately!)

Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2001

Time: Fellowship & Cash Bar 5:30 PM

Dinner 6:00 PM

Talk: 7:00 PM

Place: Eagle House Restaurant

More details will follow in the December and January issues.

ANNOUNCEMENT

The October 30th issue of Chemical and Engineering News contains an invitation from the ACS 125th Anniversary Honorary Committee and ACS President-Elect Attila Pavlath to all members to contribute a slogan suggestion for the 125th anniversary next year. ChemCenter has posted a similar announcement at http://www.acs.org/125anniversary/. The winner will be invited to attend the national meeting in San Diego, April 2001, as a guest of the Society.

We are attempting to reach as many members as possible in a short period of time. Would you please consider setting a link from your Web page to this URL, and encourage your members to participate?

Other anniversary-related activities will be posted at this site, so the link could remain (at your discretion) until December 31, 2001.

October 30 Announcement of solicitation

November 30 Deadline for submission of suggestions to
Anniversary Office

December 5 Posting of top 3 suggestions for voting by general
membership

December 15 Voting ends

December 22 Announcement of winning slogan

Frank E. Walworth

Special Assistant, 125th Anniversary

Office of the Secretary

American Chemical Society

1155 Sixteenth Street, NW

Washington, DC 20036

Phone: (800)227-5558, ext. 6070

Fax: (202)872-6338

E-mail: 125@acs.org

http://www.acs.org/125anniversary

SENIOR CHEMISTS

If you would be interested in serving as a co-chairman of the

Senior Chemists please contact

Dr. Joseph F. Bieron @ 888-2357

R.E.A.C.T.

If you are planning to attend, you must call Karen Arnold @ 884-5894 to reserve your spot.

Career Corner

Through a training session held by the national ACS in late April, our local section has gained some resources regarding career beginnings (for our recent graduates), career development, and career transition. National ACS has provided us with literature on resume building, targeting the job market, and interviewing, as well as several web sites which frequently post scientific employment opportunities. They also have developed several programs which could be of interest to our section, including:

• Employment Outlook, Marketability, and Job Security

• Nine Steps for Career Success

• Strategies for Job & Career Transitioning

• Employment in Small Chemical Companies

• Global Employment

• Employment for Foreign-Born Chemists

• Electronic Job Searching

• “Tell it Well” and “Write it Well”, two seminars on
effective technical communication

If you have interest in any of the above mentioned literature please contact me. Also, if you have suggestions regarding the type of programming that you would find beneficial, please let me know! We would like to provide programs that are helpful and informative to our members.

Kim Reynolds e-mail: kjr@acsu.buffa1o.edu

or contact Patty at Canisius, phone: 888-2340 or e-mail shelleyp@canisius.edu

Certificates for Graduates

Those chemistry majors receiving a baccalaureate degree and having completed a curriculum described in the ACS Guidelines may be certified to the Society for membership purposes by the head or chair of the chemistry department at the approved institution. We will be happy to send certificates to certified graduates. When you request that we send a certificate, please include the student's current mailing address. If you would like to have certificates available for presentation to your certified graduates, please let us know the number of certificates you would like and the date you need them. Send all requests by mail to the Office of Professional Training, American Chemical Society, 1155 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 or by email to cpt@acs.org.

Study in Japan, Korea, or Tiawan for the Summer

As former or continuing American scientists in Japan, we hope that you can help us to share with others information on the 2001 Summer Programs in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. We hope that you have found value through your experiences as graduate students in the Summer Programs, as participants in the U.S. Japan Cooperative Science Program, or as researchers in Japan on fellowships or through employment. May we ask your assistance in promoting the Summer Programs by forwarding the information below to graduate students in your laboratory. The oldest of the suite of programs, the Summer Institute in Japan, celebrated it's eleventh season this year, and the Summer Institute in Taiwan completed its first offering last summer. The brief notice below contains an overview of the Summer Programs and the Web address for complete program information (including links to Web sites of potential host institutions, application guidelines and forms). These are terrific opportunities for graduate students to extend the scope of their scholarly work, and to experience first-hand the benefits of international collaborative research. Thank you, and good luck on your studies. NSF East Asia and Pacific Program, and NSF Tokyo Regional Office.

Summer 2001 Research Opportunities in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan for U.S. Graduate Students in Science and Engineering. TITLE OF PROGRAM: Summer Programs in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan (NSF 99-152) SPONSORS: National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS) OVERVIEW: The Summer Institute in Japan, the Monbusho Summer Program, the Summer Institute in Korea, and the Summer Institute in Taiwan provide graduate students in science and engineering first-hand experience in Japanese, Korean, and Taiwan research environments, an introduction to the science and science policy infrastructure of the respective countries, and language and cultural training. The primary goals of the programs are to introduce students to Japanese, Korean, and Taiwan science and engineering in the context of a research laboratory and to initiate personal relationships that will better enable them to collaborate with foreign counterparts in the future. The programs will last approximately eight weeks from mid-June to August. ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents; be enrolled at a U.S. institution in a science or engineering Ph.D. program, be enrolled in a M.D. program and have an interest in biomedical research, or be enrolled and completed at least one full academic year in a master's degree program at the end of the calendar year of application; and pursuing studies in fields of science or engineering that are supported by NSF, NIH or USDA, and also are represented among the potential host institutions. SUPPORT: International travel costs to and from Japan, Korea, or Taiwan, in-country living costs (accommodations, food and professional travel), and an allowance of $2,500 for each participant will be provided. DEADLINE: All application materials (including applicant's and recommenders' forms) should be sent to the NSF East Asia and Pacific Program (NSF/EAP) at the address shown below and must be POSTMARKED by December 1, 2000:

East Asia and Pacific Program, Room 935

Division of International Programs

National Science Foundation

4201 Wilson Boulevard

Arlington, VA 22230

FURTHER INFORMATION: Students may study and work at one of a variety of government, corporate, and university research laboratories, depending on the specific program. Full description of the Summer Programs, including potential host institutions and application instructions, are available at the NSF/Tokyo Web site: http://www.twics.com/~nsftokyo/ [Select “Summer Programs” from the opening-screen menu bar.] Direct questions to Ms. Thomasina Edwards at NSF/EAP by e-mail (tedwards@nsf.gov) or by telephone (703-292-8704).

Double bond

publication schedule for 2000-2001

Summer Edition July 28; deadline July 12

Publication Date (1st Friday) Deadline (1st of Prev.Month)

NOMINATIONS REQUESTED FOR THE NATIONAL INVENTORS HALL OF FAME AND THE NATIONAL MEDAL OF TECHNOLOGY

The American Chemical Society (ACS) Committee on Patents and Related Matters (CP&RM) invites you to make suggestions to the Committee on possible candidates for induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. The inventor is not required to be a U.S. citizen, but the invention upon which the nomination is based must be covered by a U.S. patent. The Invention must have contributed greatly to the national welfare and significantly promoted progress in science and the useful arts. Nomination documents are available at http://www.invent.org.

CP&RM also prepares ACS nominations for the National Medal of Technology. Administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Medal of Technology is awarded to U.S. owned companies and U.S. citizens for innovation and the advancement of the nation's global competitiveness through the commercialization of technology, the creation of jobs, or improved productivity. Information about the criteria and nomination forms for the Medal are available at http://www.ta.doc.gov/Medal. If you would like to make a recommendation for consideration as an ACS nominee for these prestigious awards, please forward nomination materials the CP&RM staff liaison, Debbie Fillinich, American Chemical Society, 155 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20038, call 202-872-4476, or email d_fillinich@acs.org. Nominations are due on March 1.

2001 SCHOELLKOPF AWARD

Nominations are now open for the 2001 Schoellkopf Award. The Jacob F. Schoellkopf Medal was established in 1930 in honor of Jacob F. Schoellkopf, Sr., a pioneer in the founding of the chemical industry on the Niagara Frontier and a distinguished public-spirited citizen. Its purpose is to encourage and recognize the spirit of research and industry.

The award may be presented to a person who has made a discovery pertaining to chemistry or who has invented a plan, process or device useful, valuable or significant to the theory or practice of chemistry and/or who has rendered distinguished service to the Western New York Section.

The Award Jury makes its choice from nominations submitted by industries within the limit of the Section, and by members, in good standing, of the American Chemical Society in the Section. Nominators should submit an outline of the work of their candidate in as much detail as permissible. The jury is empowered by the bylaws of the Section to cooperate with an industrial concern in keeping confidential the basic work for which an award may be made, providing the management of the industrial concern furnished the jury sufficient evidence upon which to base its selection.

Nominations for the 2001 Award should be submitted in writing, no later than January 15, 2001 to:

Mary O'Sullivan

Chemistry Dept.

Canisius College

2001 Main St.

Buffalo, NY 14208

Members of the 2000-2001 Schoellkopf Award Selection Committee are: Mary Schreiner, Mariusz Kozik, Troy Wood, Luis Colon, and Mary McCourt

Plan Ahead

December Meeting

Career Counseling Workshop

Are you thinking about a career transition? Are you a recent graduate unsure about your future? Do you need to represent yourself with a resume that is updated? eye-catching? web-ready? Do you want inside track information on how to land the right job for you? If you've answered yes to any of these questions, mark Saturday, February 3rd on your calendar now! WNY ACS is pleased to announce our annual Career Counseling Workshop, a program designed to give you up-to-date information on how to maximize the success of your employment search. In the morning workshop session, ACS Career Consultant Ray O'Donnell will be presenting techniques and tips on how to target the job market, build a resume that best highlights your skills and experiences, and interview with confidence. Afternoon activities include one-on-one resume reviews, and an opportunity to hear a panel of corporate representatives speak on how employers hire chemical professionals. If you are interested in new employment at any stage of your career, this is a workshop you won't want to miss.

Date: February 3, 2001

Time: 9:00 AM

Cost: Workshop - FREE

(Optional) Lunch - $3.00

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Contact

Canisius College Press

Phone: 716-888-3254

FAX: 716-888-3112

E-Mail bieron@canisius.edu

Website: www.canisius.edu/historyproject

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Contact Patty at Canisius College

716-888-2340 or via email at shelleyp@canisius.edu

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