Summer 1999

Nancy Jackson, Editor

CONTENTS

Back to I&EC Home Page  |  Other Newsletters

Message from the Chair

This message marks the beginning of the end for my term as Chair of the division; only one more national meeting to go! The fleeting nature of the appointment highlights the urgent need for dedicated members to participate in the functional and programmatic activities of the Division. The theme for my message in the last newsletter was 'One programming idea and One new member in 1999!' and I encourage each of you to follow through on this.

Actually, attracting new members is becoming easier; I&EC's visibility has been increasing. The Division is a prominent sponsor of Vision 2020 technology roadmaps and several ACS programming initiatives. The ACS Office of Industry Relations has looked first to I&EC for help and advice on topical workshops to be held with the Industry Pavilion. Prominent I&EC members are getting great news coverage in Chemical & Engineering News (e.g., Nancy Jackson was featured in C&EN, Mar. 29, 1999, p. 25).

The additional exposure is helping others to understand what I&EC members have known all along, we are THE ACS division for applied chemistry and engineering. Whether funding agencies need technical advice or reviewers, industry needs academic research contacts, or the ACS wants to contact industry, the network of personnel and resources available in the Division is ideally placed to respond.

Much of what has happened to the visibility and reputation in the last few years has been a result of the willingness of our membership to say 'YES!' It is often easy to refuse to help on the grounds of the time commitment necessary or the added work. The bottom line, however, is that we have an area of expertise that should be shared. Organizations, agencies, industry, and academics should look to I&EC for expertise and contacts, but they will look elsewhere unless we are ready and willing to respond. I want to thank everyone in the Division that has responded and has said YES, even when they knew they really needed to say no! The results are now beginning to pay off.

I want to share one last topic in this column, the health of the Subdivisions. It is my feeling that programming activities of the Division should revolve around the subdivisions. The Division should promote the activities of the subdivisions and where possible, help the subdivisions plan and carry out special symposia. In addition, the Division should help to recruit, train, and retain officers for each subdivision.

The subdivisions bring potential I&EC members and a focal point that may not exist at the Division level. New members join for the activities of the subdivision, and I&EC benefits from the diversity of the overall membership.

To function as intended, subdivisions cannot consist of a single person programming at national meetings. Part of the way a successful subdivision works is the camaraderie brought about by having a dedicated group of scientists and engineers working together to program and to run the subdivisions. By enhancing and focussing on the subdivisions, the Division will gain membership, increased sense of identity, and a home for applied chemists and engineers to feel welcome.

I want to thank everyone for their support during my term as Chair of I&EC. Please continue to support the Division with your time, your talents, and your ideas!

Robin D. Rogers, Chair

Back to Contents

From the Chair-Elect

Another cycle in the year is already flying past! This is only my second public letter to the membership, but already the last one as the Chair-elect. It is amazing how some activities and time commitments that seemed so huge at first become fleeting and missed when they are accepted. Maybe some of our membership has shied away from active participation because they are "too busy", or just unsure of themselves. I can tell you that there is more professional reward, and probably less "hard" work than you may think in becoming involved in your Divisional activities. Not all of our involvements require attendance at every National meeting. We can use active imaginations and inspired chemists in many areas of programming and committee membership. Think about it, and send your name and interests to any of the Executive Committee members. We will be happy to get you involved!

My last column outlined some plans I have for enhancing our benefits to industrial members. The Executive Committee and its committees have started some specific activities to achieve this. We are working more closely with the Corporation Associates to provide industrially relevant programs and meeting venues. We hope to establish another Special Symposium that will target specific technological applications of chemistry in a shorter format, possibly separate from the National meeting. We hope that will encourage more participation by industry chemists. The idea of smaller meetings, adapted to the needs and schedules of industrial chemists is also be investigated. I would also urge you to get involved in Regional and Sectional meetings, when possible. They provide a shorter time-frame meeting, with the potential for a significant I&EC presence. Let them know about our Division! For example, the Georgia Section of the ACS is pursuing many similar initiatives as the I&EC Division. Getting involved in both groups enhances the effectiveness of each of them. Of course, industrial chemist's success is inherently tied to the developments of new processes and procedures. A significant part of this development is done in academic settings, or with government support. It is the unique nature of the I&EC Division that brings all of these groups together to maximize the value of our symposia and information exchanges!

Some of our exciting opportunities for technological advancement include our programming in "cutting edge" developments. These include symposia in "Green Processing", "New Materials", and "Advances in Catalysis". Come to these meetings and learn directly from the researchers about the chemical world that will define your future, and how you can benefit from it.

We are committed to programming in the "Vital Technology" areas that were developed in the ACS Vision 2020 project. You can get involved as a participant, presenter, or even an organizer! Our symposia provide a unique interface between the "what if" of academic and basic research, the "how to" of applied and industrial application, and the "protect and enable" of government support and regulation. The format is there. All you need is a willingness to take advantage of I&EC membership. Suggest a topic, encourage colleagues to join with you, attend a symposium or a whole meeting. Help as a committee member or a meeting volunteer. Let us know who you are! You may e-mail me at scooke@sprynet.com or phone 770-717-221 x111 to give me your feedback and interests. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Steven J. Cooke, Chair-elect

Back to Contents

Welcome to New Division Members And Affiliates

The I&EC Division extends a hearty welcome to all those people who joined the Division in 1998 - both members and affiliates. We are pleased to list here the names and affiliates (where known) of all our new friends. Our sincere hope is that all of you have a long association with the I&EC Division, that you enjoy your association with us, and that some of you will become part of Division governance.

The information listed here was taken directly from data provided by ACS, Columbus, Ohio. It was current as of December 31, 1998. We recognize that some of you may want your name to be spelled differently/correctly. If so, please contact Wally Schulz (phone: 505-856-7928, fax: 505-856-7928, e-mail: WWSchulz@AOL.com). Also, some of you may want to have your affiliation stated or, in some cases, changed from its present listing. I f so, again contact Wally Schulz.

Welcome indeed! And thanks for your interest in the I&EC Division.

Wally Schulz and Dave Pruett
Co-Chairs of Membership Committee

New 1998 Division Member List

Back to Contents

Get Connected with the ACS I&EC Division
Frontiers in Applied Chemistry

Find out what over 148,000 Chemists and Engineers already know . . .

Members of the Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society are on the cutting-edge of industrial chemistry. We focus on issues, applications and processes in all fields of applied science and engineering including polymer, nuclear, organic and inorganic chemistry. Whether you're a chemist, an engineer or a technician, you'll benefit by joining us in I&EC.

Diversity is our Strength
I&EC members work in industry, government and academia. We represent every major industry and the academic researchers who support them. Through local and national meetings and topical symposia, you'll have access to some of the country's most experienced and innovative scientists and engineers.

Applied Knowledge is our Focus
Throughout the year, I&EC hosts events that provide intellectual forums for discussion of the chemical industryís emerging technologies. During these events, I&EC sponsors social and networking opportunities which bring together a diverse cross-section of individuals representing many different industries. You'll be opening the door to a world of opportunities by joining the I&EC division today!

More I&EC Benefits

Back to Contents

Editor's Prerogative

It broke my heart to have to disqualify him. But there it was, in black and white, explicitly stated in the International Science Fair rules: no experiments involving black powder are to be allowed even if the black powder is not featured in the display. I was chair of the Scientific Review Committee for the American Indian Science and Engineering Society National Science Fair. A student from the Dakotas, a high school senior, observed the various burning properties of homemade versus "store-bought" gun powder. He learned that particle size was the key property governing reactivity, and not surprisingly, the commercial black powder burned faster and more evenly. His teachers told me that prior to the science fair black powder experiences, he hadnít been interested in science, much less the rest of school. But the exploding gun powder chemistry caught his imagination and off he ran with it learning how to design an experiment, learning how to make his own gunpowder, learning the qualities necessary to make good gunpowder. Gunpowder was something he used when hunting deer or other game. It was fun - it burned, it exploded.

A friend of mine, who grew up in Brooklyn in the 1950's told me about how he and his friends would go to the local chemist's store and purchase sulfur, carbon and saltpeter. It was fun. They would make cans explode in empty alleyways, lighting them and running as fast as they could - all hurried and excited in a way nothing else in their young lives had ever thrilled them. Guess it is not too much of a stretch to understand how my friend came out of working class Brooklyn to receive his PhD in chemistry from MIT.

"You know," he said somewhere between gratefully and regretfully, "you just can't walk into a store and buy those chemicals anymore." And maybe following Oklahoma City and Littleton, CO, that is a good thing.

But how are kids nowadays going to get excited about chemistry without explosions and pyrotechnics? Like most of our modern technology even fireworks now come in a black box. The messy, dangerous parts which are at the heart of the colorful explosion are sealed nicely inside the firecracker. We are not encouraged to take it apart or see how it works.

Don't get me wrong. I am terrified of firecrackers, much less explosives. As a teenager I went to one of those parties my mother warned me about. Drunken kids were setting off bottle rockets and one got stuck in my hair. For years I had a scar on my wrist from where the bottle rocket exploded when I finally managed to yank it from my hair.

My point is that something has to strike wonder or amazement in us to truly get the love of chemistry ignited whether it is the excitement of mixing ordinary ingredients and watching them explode or the amazing colors that just one dissolved metal can take on as it changes ligands or oxidation state. By making the world "safer" we may have unwittingly removed some of the wonder and excitement chemistry has to offer.

My grandmother taught piano for 65 years. The reason she was such a sought-after teacher is that she first taught the love of music before she attempted to teach the discipline of music. Perhaps we need to re-learn how to teach the love of chemistry. Not how chemistry benefits us, not how it is critical to the success of modern miracle drugs and not how chemistry is required to solve our environmental problems. But the love of chemistry - how vinegar and baking soda can make a pop bottle explode, how dark black ink contains a chromatograph of colors as it spreads across a paper towel, or how ordinary, soapy water can turn into a mass of delicate bubbles as they are blown across the room by a child. I am sure that for most of us it was the fascination with the chemistry and the physical transformation of the ordinary that gave us the discipline to master our science.

Nancy B. Jackson
I&EC Newsletter Editor
nbjacks@sandia.gov
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Back to Contents

I&EC Officers

Chair
Robin Rogers
University of Alabama
Department of Chemistry
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
rdrogers@bama.ua.edu

Chair-elect
Steven J. Cooke
Airgas Carbonic
3700 Crestwood Parkway
Suite 200
Duluth, GA 30096
scooke@sprynet.com

Past-chair
Nancy B. Jackson
Sandia National Laboratories
PO Box 5800, MS 0710
Albuquerque, NM  87185
nbjacks@sandia.gov


Secretary
Luis Nunez
Argonne National Laboratories
Chemical Technology Division
9700 South Cass Ave.
Argonne, IL  60439
nunez@cmt.anl.gov

Treasurer
Carol J. Mertz
Argonne National Laboratory
9700 South Cass Ave
Argonne, IL  60439
mertz@cmt.anl.gov

Councilors
Melanie Lesko
Texas A&M University
PO Box 1675
Galveston, TX  77553
leskom@tamug2.tamu.edu

John L. Massingill
Coatings Research Institute
430 West Forest Ave.
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
john.massingill@emich.edu

Kathleen M. Schulz
Sandia National Laboratories
PO Box 5800
Albuquerque, NM  87185
kmschul@sandia.gov

Robert A. Stowe
Retired, Dow Chemical
5680 Chippewa Drive
PO Box 173 Cross Village, MI  49723
rstow@NORTHLINK.NET

Back to Contents

Back to I&EC Home Page  |  Other Newsletters  |  Email Nancy Jackson, Editor

The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the Division of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the American Chemical Society. The Division assumes all responsibility and liability for the content of its pages. Please address all comments and other feedback to the Information Provider listed in this page, or click on the "mail to" link below.

This page is maintained by Dustin K. James, Information Provider for the I&EC Division on the Web. Send questions, comments, or other info to dustin@rice.edu

Updated 16 September 2002