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Adapting to climate change: How chemistry will help us thrive – Chemical & Engineering News

Posted on February 10, 2020 by Danzig

This is what climate change looks like: Growing numbers of people struggling to find abundant clean water or to grow their crops in the face of higher temperatures, volatile weather patterns, and degrading soils. Wildfires raging through the Australian bush, killing an estimated half a billion animals, and more on the way. Floodwaters from extreme storms infiltrating coastal industrial plants and combusting vats of chemicals, putting workers and other people at risk.

Climate change is happening, and scientists have warned the world to brace for more intense heat waves, longer fire seasons, more frequent extreme storms, and an acidifying and warming ocean, among other consequences. It is increasingly urgent to act now, they say, not only to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change but also to fortify ourselves against a changing Earth. We must take aggressive, rapid steps to mitigate climate change and prevent conditions from worsening, experts say. But some of the damage is now unavoidable.

To protect human lives, critical infrastructure, crucial ecosystems, and the economy, the world must adapt to climate change. The nonprofit Global Commission on Adaptation is calling for scientists and governments to meet a moral responsibility to respond in a way that improves lives and livelihoods for all. The effects of climate change will hit hardest in developing countries and small island nations. And these challenges coincide with a predicted surge in population growth.

With adaptation, there is also opportunity. As the commission writes in a 2019 report, adaptation can deliver additional social and environmental benefits that bring with them economic and environmental justice. Climate change is frightening, but there are solutions, and chemists will play a critical role in helping the world thrive.

In this issue, youll learn how scientists are tackling some of the biggest problems caused by climate change and turning them into opportunities, including feeding the world by improving access to high-quality proteins and greener pesticides, protecting our coral reefs with high-tech breeding methods, and steeling our cities against natural disasters with innovative materials science. Well also delve into how the chemical industry is learning from past disasters to safeguard its infrastructure and look at the policy changes and educational strategies we need to ensure climate resilience.

This is what adaptation to climate change looks like. Read along, and let us know how youre contributing by writing us at edit.cen@acs.org. We may share your story in an upcoming issue of C&EN.

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Adapting to climate change: How chemistry will help us thrive - Chemical & Engineering News

Reggie Jackson speaks out on Clippers locker room, building chemistry with new team – ClutchPoints

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Danzig

Despite a disappointing loss to the Sacramento Kings in his home debut game as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers, Reggie Jackson is impressed with the teams locker room.

Jackson also expressed his desire to develop chemistry with his new teammates and said the teams bond was evident after one practice which (unsurprisingly) included a trash-talking incident ignited by Patrick Beverley.

Earlier this week, Reggie Jackson negotiated a buyout with the Detroit Pistons and promptly signed with L.A., joining his good friend Paul George.

The 29-year old playmaker spent much of the his 10th season nursing a back injury, which limited him to 14 games for the Pistons. In those games, Jackson was ice cold on two-pointers (38.8 percent) but far better from deep (37.8 percent), which the Clippers hope translates to Los Angeles.

Jackson and fellow newcomer Marcus Morris both went 3-9 from the field and were overall out-of-rhythm on Saturday. Jackson got the start in place of Beverley (groin) and contributed eight points and four assists in 23 minutes, while Morris tallied six points and five turnovers.

Kawhi Leonard dropped a customary 31 points. However, with George (hamstring) also inactive, Jackson and Morris were unable to provide an adequate scoring punch something Jackson lamented after the game. Clippers head coach Doc Rivers largely chalked the loss up to a lack of cohesion with the new additions.

To Jacksons credit, he seems to have his priorities in order as he works to fit in with his new squad.

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Reggie Jackson speaks out on Clippers locker room, building chemistry with new team - ClutchPoints

My Chemical Romance reunion: My Chemical Romance is finally reuniting 6 years after split – CBS News

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Danzig

My Chemical Romance announced their split in March of 2013 and fans were sent reeling from decimated dreams. Now, six years later they're shouting loud and clear: The band will carry on.

The New Jersey-based band behind 2000's punk-pop anthems like "Welcome to the Black Parade" and "Helena," announced a reunion show on Thursday on their social media accounts. The performers posted a black and white graphic with the word, "RETURN," which appears to be the name of the event, featuring an angelic-like statue in the background.

"Like Phantoms Forever..." reads the caption, a reference to their 2002 EP of the same name. The band has only announced one show in Los Angeles on December 20. The tickets sales begin on November 1, at 12 p.m., according to their Instagram post.

Bassist Mikey Way and guitarist Frank Iero both tweeted a link to their respective Instagram posts, with the words "California 2019" shortly after the announcement. Frontman Gerard Way posted the same message on Instagram, but guitarist Ray Toro hasn't yet posted the news on his social media platforms.

The band disbanded in 2013 after 12 years together. In the statement announcing the split, the band thanked fans and said the experience was "a true blessing." The group said they've "shared the stage with people we admire, people we look up to, and best of all, our friends."

My Chemical Romance released their debut album in 2002 but really made a splash on the music scene in 2004 with the platinum-selling "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge." It featured the Top 40 hit "Helena."

They followed that with another platinum effort in 2006, "The Black Parade," which earned their first Top 10 pop hit with the song "Welcome to the Black Parade." Their last album was 2010's "Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys."

Since the split, Way created the award-winning comic "The Umbrella Academy," which was later adapted to a Netflix live-action series that premiered in February. The other band members have pursued their own individual projects.

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My Chemical Romance reunion: My Chemical Romance is finally reuniting 6 years after split - CBS News

Scientists Just Triggered The Coldest Chemical Reaction in The Known Universe – ScienceAlert

Posted on December 5, 2019 by Danzig

Set in the middle of a mass of laser equipment, researchers have managed to trigger the coldest chemical reaction in the known Universe. This feat promises to reveal some essential truths about how the building blocks of matter react at ultra-low temperatures.

How cold is the reaction exactly? We're talking in the region of 500 nanokelvin - just a few millionths of a degree above absolute zero. The frigid nature of this set-up is important, since at these sort of temperatures molecules tend to slow to the point of almost stopping.

If you want a chemical reaction to happen, tardy molecules are not what you'd typically be after.But in this case, the reduction in both temperature and speed gave the Harvard University-led team the opportunity to see something that's never been observed before: the moment when two molecules meet together and form... two new molecules.

Scientists have been able to observe the central part of a chemical reaction. (Ming-Guang Hu)

"Probably in the next couple of years, we are the only lab that can do this," says physicist Ming-Guang Hu, from Harvard University.

Chemical reactions take just a picosecond,which makes trying to capture what happens in that time frame very tricky indeed. Even ultra-fast lasers acting as cameras can usually capture the start and end of a reaction, not what happens in the middle.

Slowing the reaction in the extremely cold temperatures achieved by the team was therefore the perfect solution.

"Because [the molecules] are so cold, now we kind of have a bottleneck effect," says chemical biologist Kang-Kuen Ni, also from Harvard University.

The absolute coldest temperature in the Universe is absolute zero - but it's impossible to achieve, because it means atoms would stop completely. We can, however, get close to it.

Ultra-low temperatures mean ultra-low energy, which in turn means a much slower reaction: two potassium rubidium molecules chosen for their pliability were delayed in the reaction stage for microseconds (millionths of a second).

A technique known as photoionisation detection was then used to observe what was happening to the two molecules, giving scientists invaluable real data to help inform their models and hypotheses.

Being able to observe chemical reactions at such close quarters and at such a fundamental level opens up the possibility of being able to design new reactions too an almost limitless number of combinations are imaginable, potentially useful in everything from material construction to quantum computing.

It's a journey that Kang-Kuen Ni has been on for years working at incredibly small scales to observe and to control what happens when chemicals react with each other.

Now the team is investigating ways in which chemical reactions could be influenced or manipulated to order either changing the energies involved before the reaction happens, or even nudging the molecules to alter the reaction while it's in progress.

"With our controllability, this time window is long enough, we can probe," says Hu. "Now, with this apparatus, we can think about [influencing reactions]. Without this technique, without this paper, we cannot even think about this."

The research is published in Science.

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Scientists Just Triggered The Coldest Chemical Reaction in The Known Universe - ScienceAlert

Chemistry Creates Bonds, Crosses Disciplines – Colorado College News

Posted on June 6, 2017 by Danzig

By Laurie Laker 12

The liberal arts have always encompassed the natural and physical sciences, and Colorado College is no different in featuring these disciplines at the forefront of its curriculum. In our classrooms across all eight and a half blocks, science is everywhere at CC often right in front of you. Nearly 1,000 students take classes in the Department of Chemistry during any given academic year around half of the student population of the college.

With the Block Plan, CC students dig deep on their very first day in class for four hours plus afternoon lab work in the case of CH107, or General Chemistry 1 as its more commonly known. Its a lot of work, but for the huge number of students who take this course, it provides a scientific foundation for their hugely varied academic journeys at Colorado College.

On the Block Plan, the pace is incredibly fast and the workload especially time-consuming. We'd have to learn thermochemistry in the morning, perform a thermos lab that afternoon, then take a group quiz the next day, says Vivian Nguyen 20, of Texas. I took general chemistry as a requirement for the neuroscience major, but I always had a passion for chemistry in particular so I was excited to take this class.

Professor Murphy Brasuel 96 has been teaching CH107 (General Chemistry 1) at CC for 13 years. He has had ample time to come to an appreciation of the versatility and applicability of the course across the disciplines at Colorado College.

The range of students and their experiences, in this class, is really all over the map, he explains. While its mostly first- and second-year students, the challenge is to teach the material in a way that allows this massive range of student backgrounds to learn and thrive in my classroom.

I equate this class to an introductory language class, where youre learning the vocabulary and structure of a language its the same with chemistry as a discipline; you have to learn the language.

Introducing students to a range of terms, theories, and practices of the discipline, General Chemistry is one of the most frequently taught courses across the entire college.

Why? Simply put, its a required course for so many majors at CC.

Its a requirement for chemistry majors, biochemistry majors, molecular and organismal biology majors, geology majors, and neuroscience majors thats at least six majors right off the top of my head, Brasuel clarifies.

The Department of Chemistry graduates anywhere between 16 and 24 seniors per year, making it one of the smaller majors at CC. That wouldnt seem, at first glance, to mandate the class being taught so many times in an academic year. Its the aforementioned multiple majors, as well as most medical schools pre-health requirements, that mean the department sees 800-900 students pass through its classes in any given academic year.

We teach it nine times a year, the ninth time being one where its taught simultaneously by two professors, Brasuel says. Its about the nomenclature of chemistry, how we balance equations, understanding how chemicals are transformed from reactants into products, how they bond, and interact.

Embracing science is about being creative. If that sounds unconventional, thats the point, though it is understandable that one can get caught up in the volume of content and miss the creativity.

Once the foundation of knowledge is there, Brasuel explains, creativity comes in the pushing and understanding of natural boundaries, how things work, through the lens of chemical interaction.

Chemistry gives us the ability to measure and engage with the world on a micro and nano level, to put together things you cant see, to create new measurement tools for medicine, biological research, and so on.

Such is the intensity of learning with CCs Block Plan that students in the sciences, or the languages for that matter, often cover the semester equivalent of an entire weeks worth of material in a single day.

Yeah, its intense! Our professor made sure to have us perform demonstrations as a fun escape from all the lectures and practice problems we had to do, like igniting thermite on the Olin yard, says Nguyen.

The classroom is a quiet one. Not the quiet borne of disengaged students, but rather the quiet that comes with deep concentration. The sounds you hear are the clinking of beakers, the whirr of lab equipment, the whispers of students collecting and updating data.

Theyre testing the concentration of iron in Kelloggs All-Bran, a process that requires the pressurization, liquidation, and distillation of the chemical structure of the cereal. Its the chemists way of checking the nutritional data.

Its an experiment that comes with practiced intensity, vital for the specificity of the discipline. Brasuel is among the louder people in the room, bouncing from group to group, encouraging students, checking in on measurements, clarifying the lab for his students.

Lab is tied to the lecture, demonstrations, and other course material to help students tie together a theoretical, quantitative, and practical understanding of chemistry. But oftentimes, before these aspects of the course can work together, the students need to become comfortable enough with each other to ask questions and to make mistakes on their initial solutions to problems, Brasuel says.

Lab work was always hectic, but exhilarating, to be applying the concepts we learned just earlier into the experiments we had to perform that afternoon, says Nguyen.

CC students dont want to, arent used to, being wrong, and so part of the reason I switch up the groups as often as I do is to engage the students with each other, to get that comfort in making mistakes and asking questions, Brasuel explains.

What is perhaps most important about the sciences at CC is that teaching is at the heart of the discipline. Student-centered is who we are and who we should continue to be, says Brasuel.

Nearly all science faculty do conduct research Brasuels own research focuses on nano-level structure and design but that work largely takes place over the summers, with student researchers assisting faculty members for the experience and publication opportunities.

We want students coming here because weve got teachers here, not researchers who teach on the side, Brasuel says.

Ive been really impressed with my peers and colleagues who engage in teaching courses like this one, and who value it as a really important part of what we do giving students a foundation of knowledge regardless of their direction or focus here. Its a really liberal arts mindset, the idea that all knowledge, all ways of knowing, has value.

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Chemistry Creates Bonds, Crosses Disciplines - Colorado College News

Reddit Chemistry – Read the sidebar

Posted on July 7, 2018 by Danzig

Disclaimer: In posting this, I do not wish to do harm to any of the employees or students at Scripps. I only wish to bring justice and encourage others to come forward. Also, any statements that I make are ALLEGED. I hope that this will spur an external investigation into Scripps.

For the past decade, there has been multiple instances of sexual misconduct and academic misconduct at Scripps. In particular, the labs of Jin Quan Yu, Kim Janda (sexual misconduct), and Phil Baran. Here is a list of some of the instances:

- In the Yu lab, a student's research was stolen by a more senior member of the lab. Unbeknownst to the student, the senior member completed most of the work pertaining to the project. Yu did not object to this misconduct and instead rewarded the senior member with higher authorship than the student.

- In the Baran lab, multiple instances of sexual misconduct has occurred and Baran has been notified. In each instance the victim has been punished/blamed, with expulsion from the lab being a common outcome. One instance in particular, allegedly, involved sexual activity inside of Baran's office.

- In the Baran lab, published NMR spectras are manipulated using Mestrenova software. Solvent peaks are deleted. Additionally, yields are inflated. The yields of compounds are taken in the presence of impurities. I will not cite the exact publications due to anonymity.

- In the Baran lab, there have been multiple instances over the years where the credit for a student's work is taken by another member of the lab. Oftentimes this member is more senior.

- Within the greater institution, there have been instances of harassment due to racial background and gender. When these instances are brought forth to the administration, the victims are punished by expulsion from their labs or Scripps, or blamed for the actions of their perpetrators. In a way, they are harassed further by the administration of Scripps.

- The trip to Lake Arrowhead is an event where multiple instances of sexual misconduct have occurred. This trip is fueled by alcohol.

I also want to leave the story of Anna Owensby, a former fourth-year graduate student at Scripps: https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i32/Grappling-graduate-student-mental-health.html

To the victims of academic misconduct and sexual misconduct, please come forward. Hopefully this exposition will spur an external investigation into Scripps that will bring justice and stop the administration/faculty from ruining the careers of postdocs/graduate students. The environment at Scripps is unique from traditional universities in that their is little internal checks-and-balances to stop these injustices from occurring. Please do not be afraid to share your story anonymously.

EDIT: All parties discussed are innocent until proven otherwise. The purpose of this post is to encourage others to come forward and please reach out to the necessary authorities. You are not alone.

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Chemistry – cwu.edu

Posted on August 11, 2018 by Danzig

Welcome to the Central Washington University Chemistry Department!

Welcome to our website!

The Chemistry Department is a dynamic, energetic and growing organization that focuses on giving students the best possible education in the chemical sciences. We are housed in the Science I Building, a state-of-the-art facility with labs offering the latest instrumentation and technology. We offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees and are proud of our low student to faculty teaching ratios. The department has fourteen fulltime faculty and a support staff of seven. Our faculty members have diverse research interests - ranging from the study of trace metals over remote areas of the open ocean to bio activation and cytotoxic mechanisms of xenobiotics including antineoplastic agents, environmental contaminants, natural products and photosensitizers to theoretical investigation of the chemical vapor deposition processes of various inorganic materials such as diamond, graphite, silicon crystals, and silicon carbide. Student research opportunities abound for undergraduates as well as graduate students.

JOIN OUR TEAM!

For STUDENT EMPLOYMENT opportunities in the Chemistry department, students need to complete the schedule of availabilityand then apply online at https://jobs.cwu.edu/

Click here to send a message to our Instrument Techs.

Department Contact:

chemistry@cwu.eduScience Bldg Room 302400 East University WayEllensburg, WA 98926Phone: 509-963-2811

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Chemistry - cwu.edu

Lakeland Community College chemistry prof talks teaching, learning, outreach and results – News-Herald.com

Posted on May 7, 2017 by ev1

Its a tall order not to be inundated with smiles and laughter during one of Philip Roskos classes at Lakeland Community College.

The 49-year veteran professor, who teaches chemistry, has been a fixture at the schools Kirtland campus for some 47 years and he is, in this reporters opinion, one of the most entertaining educators this side of Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Between his genuine affinity for chemistry; his edgy, and often comical approach to teaching and the respect he has not only for the field of education and Lakeland Community College, but also for his students and the professionals they will one day become, Roskos has cultivated the kind of educational environment that makes learning genuinely fun.

Just ask some of his students.

No matter what youre doing, career-wise, you have to take his chemistry class, said Paul Price, one of Roskos chemistry lab assistants, who said Roskos has left an indelible mark on his career path. Hes probably the biggest influence in the fact that Im getting into chemistry.

Another lab assistant, Jamie Michaels, said Roskos passion for learning and for teaching makes him an incomparable educator.

Hes just so passionate about it, she said. And hes very selfless so humble. He would do anything for his students.

Bridgette Washburn, also one of Roskos lab assistants, said hes not the kind of teacher who looks to thin the herd, so to speak. Rather, she said, hes all about helping students prosper, no matter how they tend to learn.

Other than (teachers of) a lot of organic chemistry classes, at other colleges, hes not here to weed people out, she said. He wants us to succeed and he wants to help his students learn how they learn best.

And its that very success his students work so diligently under his tutelage to achieve that keeps the spry septuagenarian coming back for more.

Im 72 and Im still cookin! And I tell my students I say: You keep me young and Ill mature you. I will help you with your careers. I will help you mature. And they keep me young because they let me be silly.

And silly seems to work.

Just ask Price, who said he met Roskos before he even decided he wanted to get into chemistry, probably his first week on campus as a student.

Im just walking through the hallway and here comes this wild-eyed, crazy looking guy with an old-fashioned teapot thats got steam all coming out of it and he asks me: Hey would you like some tea? Price said, mimicking Roskos mad-scientist-esque countenance. So I said Sure, then he looked at me and smiled and said: You dont want any of whats in here. Its liquid nitrogen. Then he laughed and continued on down the hallway.

And thats classic Roskos, even by his own accounts.

I dont sit in my office. I dont, he said. I believe in managing by wandering around. So I wander around in the hallways and, I dont know... Sometimes I change my outfits during the day and, you know, put on a hat. We just do silly things.

He said that, for example, hell play his nonexistent brother with long hair, thanks to a cap he has with some locks sewn into it.

My name is Phil. And, sometimes, Ill come up with something like, well take a break, and Ill go back to my office and I have this hat with really long hair, because I dont have any hair... and Ill put on a jacket or something and Ill come back to class and Ill say: Phils busy and, and, uhhh, Im his brother, Bill. I got the hair. This is what keeps me going.

He said its the reliance he has on his students to learn and pass it on is another thing that keeps him going.

Hes taken that philosophy, along with his belief that Lakeland should have the most up-to-date, industry-standard tools and instruments, to such a sublime level that hes even got his students and lab assistants teaching others how to use the schools latest and greatest devices.

My plan is that I give my lab assistants and some of the students who have an interest the instructions and I say: Get the thing going, he said. And, when you get it going when you get the instrument doing what its supposed to do, you must show others.

He said thats the essence of education: To learn and pass it on.

I always want my students to be learners and teachers, he said. I want them to learn and then to pass it on. I mean, thats what humans do, isnt it?

He said it seems to do the trick, in terms of his students successes.

I mean, if you have young people, you gotta pass it on, he said. They have to learn how to pass it on. Its like a relay race. Thats my philosophy of learning by doing, then showing others your skills and passing them on. And it seems to have worked, at least according to my contact with past students.

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Lakeland Community College chemistry prof talks teaching, learning, outreach and results - News-Herald.com

Park Seo Joon And Kim Ji Won Share About Their Chemistry In "Fight My Way" – soompi

Posted on May 15, 2017 by ev1

The two leads of upcoming drama Fight My Way shared howcomfortablethey werearound each other.

On May 15,Park Seo Joon described the atmosphere on set, saying, Even though its my first time working withKim Ji Won, wetalked a lot in the early stages of filming soit feels like weve always known each other. We have good chemistry now that were quite close.

Soompi.Display.News.English.300x250.BTF Soompi.Mobile.English.300x250.ATF

Our characters in the dramawere close friends ever since they were young, sowe just treat each other comfortably on set, he added.

Kim Ji Won then revealed thatPark Seo Joonwas goodattaking the lead. He makes scenes a lot more fun withhis various ideas, shecommented.

The actors then talked abouttheircharacters in the drama.

The two characters always fight but they care about eachother a lot. Its okay if I tease her butI cant stand other people bothering her. I look forward totheirrelationshipthatmoves from friends to lovers,Park Seo Joon explained.

Kim Ji Won then expressed, There willprobably besomeconflict, excitement, and confused feelings during the process of turning into lovers. I think the viewers will havefun watching us.

Fight My Way will air its first episode on May 22at 10 p.m. KST, and will be available exclusively on Viki! You can check out the latest teaser below!

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Park Seo Joon And Kim Ji Won Share About Their Chemistry In "Fight My Way" - soompi

Green chemistry is key to reducing waste and improving sustainablity – EconoTimes

Posted on March 27, 2017 by ev1

The development and evolution of the chemical industry is directly responsible for many of the technological advancements that have emerged since the late 19th century.

However, it was not until the 1980s that the environment became a priority for the chemical industry. This was prompted largely by stricter environmental regulations and a need to address the sectors poor reputation, particularly due to pollution and industrial accidents.

But the industry is now rapidly improving, and this changing mindset has provided the backdrop for the emergence of green chemistry.

What is green chemistry?

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in almost every industry and chemistry is no different.

Green chemistry aims to minimise the environmental impact of the chemical industry. This includes shifting away from oil to renewable sources where possible.

Green chemistry also prioritises safety, improving energy efficiency and, most importantly, minimising (and ideally) eliminating toxic waste from the very beginning.

Important examples of green chemistry include: phasing out the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in refrigerants, which have played a role in creating the ozone hole; developing more efficient ways of making pharmaceuticals, including the well-known painkiller ibuprofen and chemotherapy drug Taxol; and developing cheaper, more efficient solar cells.

The need to adapt

Making chemical compounds, particularly organic molecules (composed predominantly of carbon and hydrogen atoms), is the basis of vast multinational industries from perfumes to plastics, farming to fabric, and dyes to drugs.

In a perfect world, these would be prepared from inexpensive, renewable sources in one practical, efficient, safe and environmentally benign chemical reaction. Unfortunately, with the exception of the chemical processes found in nature, the majority of chemical processes are not completely efficient, require multiple reaction steps and generate hazardous byproducts.

While in the past traditional waste management strategies focused only on the disposal of toxic byproducts, today efforts have shifted to eliminating waste from the outset by making chemical reactions more efficient.

This adjustment has, in part, led to the advent of more sophisticated and effective catalytic reactions, which reduce the amount of waste. The 2001 Chemistry Nobel Laureate Ryoji Noyori stressed that catalytic processes represent the only methods that offer the rational means of producing useful compounds in an economical, energy-saving and environmentally benign way.

A secret to cleaner chemistry

Catalysts are substances that accelerate reactions, typically by enabling chemical bonds to be broken and/or formed without being consumed in the process. Not only do they speed up reactions, but they can also facilitate chemical transformations that might not otherwise occur.

In principle, only a very small quantity of a catalyst is needed to generate copious amounts of a product, with reduced levels of waste.

The development of new catalytic reactions is one particularly important area of green chemistry. As well as being more environmentally friendly, these processes are also typically more cost effective.

Catalysts take many forms, including biological enzymes, small organic molecules, metals, and particles that provide a better surface for reactions to take place. Roughly 90% of industrial chemical processes use catalysts and at least 15 Nobel Prizes have been awarded for catalysis research. This represents a tremendously important and active area of both fundamental and applied research.

Whats the outlook?

In the past 20 years since green chemistry was established, there have been tremendous advances in the industry. Nevertheless, there remains considerable room for improvement.

The chemical industry faces a number of significant challenges, from reducing its dependence on fossil fuels to playing its part in addressing climate change more generally.

Specific challenges include: capturing and fixing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases; developing a greater range of biodegradable plastics; reducing the high levels of waste in pharmaceutical drug manufacture; and improving the efficiency of water-splitting employing visible light photocatalysts.

History suggests that society can develop creative solutions to complex, intractable problems. However, success will most likely require a concerted approach across all areas of science, strong leadership, and a willingness to strategically invest in human capital and value fundamental research.

Alex Bissember received a 2015 Green Chemistry for Life Grant from PhosAgro/UNESCO/IUPAC.

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Green chemistry is key to reducing waste and improving sustainablity - EconoTimes

GFR clears UF chemistry building of potentially explosive material – The Independent Florida Alligator

Posted on March 27, 2017 by ev1

The Chemistry Lab Building was cleared for a chemical leak after a student discovered an open container with a potentially explosive liquid Saturday afternoon, officials said.

Steven Locicero, a UF chemistry graduate student, was working in a lab Saturday afternoon when he saw a damaged container of trichlorosilane, a chemical that could explode if exposed to water. He said he was concerned the exposed chemical could be a danger and reported the chemical at about 5:20 p.m.

I just wanted to be sure it was safe, the 28-year-old said.

University Police shut down Buckman Drive for more than an hour until 6:45 p.m. and blocked off foot traffic near the building.

Lt. Kristy Sasser said UPD assisted Gainesville Fire Rescue and evacuated the lab building.

GFR District Chief Joseph Hillhouse said Locicero placed the container in an over-pack container, which would block any leaks, before he evacuated the building.

(The chemical) doesnt play well with others, and we have to be safe about this, Hillhouse said.

The hazardous materials team went into the building and used air monitoring devices to see if the chemical was airborne but did not detect anything, Hillhouse said. He said the container could have erupted at any time, and the chemical may have already dissipated.

The lab where the chemical is found is used to make solid materials, Locicero said.

Hillhouse said the chemical no longer presents a hazard.

Contact Meryl Kornfield at [emailprotected] and follow her on Twitter at @MerylKornfield

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GFR clears UF chemistry building of potentially explosive material - The Independent Florida Alligator

EXCLUSIVE: Sharna Burgess and Bonner Bolton Talk Explosive Chemistry on ‘DWTS,’ Avoiding Another – 9NEWS.com

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Fredricko

Antoinette Bueno , ET 3:13 PM. MDT March 27, 2017

It's no secret that Dancing With the Stars pair Sharna Burgess and Bonner Bolton look pretty great together, on and off the dance floor.

The 31-year-old dancing pro and the 29-year-old bull rider have had all eyes on them this season, thanks to their explosive chemistry, which doesn't show any signs of stopping soon. On Sunday, Burgess shared a steamy pic of her and Bolton getting super close, previewing their upcoming waltz on Monday's show.

"It's been one heck of a week for @bonner_bolton and I, to be honest... kinda stressful," she wrote. "However, all the controversy aside I have to tell you... this cowboy can waltz!!! He tells me it's because it reminds him of the Texas two step... so this dance is inspired by exactly that and the culture surrounding it. He's worked his butt off and is on track to kill it tomorrow. Get ready for it loverz."

NEWS: 'DWTS' Week 2 Preview -- Sharna Burgess & Bonner Bolton Turn Up the Heat, Maksim Chmerkovskiy Injured & More!

Burgess' "controversy" mention is, of course, referring to the pair's unintentional viral moment last week, when backstage cameras caught Bolton wrapping his arm around Burgess and his hand going quite a bit lower than her waist. ET's Cameron Mathison caught up with the duo at their DWTS rehearsals on Friday, where Bolton explained how he's going to avoid another mishap.

"It got a lot of attention, that's for sure," Bolton told ET. "I'm definitely going to be more cautious of where my hands are."

"Obviously, I don't know what to do with my hands," he joked, before getting serious. "It's really .. it was so unintentional and I have all the respect on and off the dance floor for this young lady, so it's totally cool."

"We're good," Burgess confirmed. "It's alright."

The pair also acknowledged their obvious spark. The two bonded early on when Bolton took Burgess out for Cajun food on the first day they met in Texas.

"We have a great chemistry getting to know each other, but obviously we're three weeks into this thing of having met each other on his ranch, and we're having a lot of fun, but our priorities obviously are getting Bonner through this competition as far as he can possibly go," Burgess said. "So, in the meantime, we're having a lot of fun getting to know each other and we do have great chemistry."

"She's really good to get along with," Bolton added of his partner. "We actually have a lot in common, I think, in that our personalities are real similar, but that can make it kind of challenging. Sometimes, I think, I get on her nerves a little bit."

Still, Bolton didn't shut the door on a future romance between them when asked if he would ever date Burgess.

"I'm gonna have to see where that one goes, and take that into consideration, but we'll just leave that a mystery," he said.

WATCH: EXCLUSIVE -- 'DWTS' Partners Sharna Burgess and Bonner Bolton Reveal Whether They Are Still Single

On Sunday, Bolton Instagrammed that he's feeling good about Monday's waltz.

"I hope it touches everyone's heart and that you all enjoy it as much as I enjoy dancing to it! #vote #teamdenimndiamonds," he wrote, alongside a cute picture of him with his arm around Burgess.

Watch the video below to see Bolton and Burgess' flirty night out at the Cowboy Palace Saloon in Chatsworth, California, last Tuesday.

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EXCLUSIVE: Sharna Burgess and Bonner Bolton Talk Explosive Chemistry on 'DWTS,' Avoiding Another - 9NEWS.com

TLU hosting 3rd Chemistry Night – Seguin Gazette-Enterprise

Posted on March 26, 2017 by Fredricko

As part of its continuous efforts to reach out to the Seguin community, Texas Lutheran University will host its third annual CHAOS Chemistry Night on Thursday.

The acronym CHAOS is Chemistry Happens with Adventurous Outstanding Scientists, chemistry professor Dr. Allison Bray said. It is a hands-on event where we will have chemists doing science for K-12 students in the community. We will also be doing some high-powered chemistry demonstrations, but also tie it back to a theme this year, which is the chemistry of the earth.

TLU hosts this event because the science department enjoys sharing its knowledge with the community, Bray said.

Its difficult with the federal curriculum in schools to incorporate a lot of large-scale science and hands-on science, she said. We figured this was a way for us to share what we know with the community, and its also a great opportunity for our students to act as teachers and practice explaining science to the younger generation and hopefully get them excited and help them to be scientists, as well.

The event will include multiple stations both outside and inside, Bray said.

Well have one that includes art, so a station of rust and rust paintings. They can create their own rust very quickly, she said. Students are going to have the opportunity to make snowflakes, which is tricky in Texas of course. Theres also a room where they can experience all sorts of glow-in-the-dark items.

Bray said the event will be a great learning opportunity for students.

The kids will not only be learning about science, but theyll also be having fun doing it, she said. It tends to be a very exciting and dramatic event with really unusual experiments.

Director of Marketing and Communications Ashlie Ford said TLU holds events like this as an outreach to the community.

We welcome them on our campus and we really see ourselves as a community partner, she said. This is another way we can share the expertise of our faculty with children and their family, particularly to spark interest in the sciences.

The CHAOS Chemistry Night is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Jackson Park Student Activity Center.

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TLU hosting 3rd Chemistry Night - Seguin Gazette-Enterprise

Buccaneers’ New Trio Is Already Getting To Work On Chemistry – The Pewter Plank

Posted on March 26, 2017 by ev1

Dec 24, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) gestures after a third quarter touchdown against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Buccaneers Draft Profile: RB Marlon Mack by Alan Schechter

There was a lot of talk about how new Buccaneers receiver DeSean Jacksons attitude towards the off-season and OTAs may not gel so well with a guy like Jameis Winston, who is constantly working to improve and get better. That Jacksons time away from the team during those workouts may rub some the wrong way.

In 2015, Winston and receiver Mike Evans had their moments, but a lot of the time it appeared as thought the two of them were just a little bit off. Before the 2016 season, the two worked together to develop their chemistry and get better together rather than relying strictly on off-season workouts held by the Bucs. They would meet at local high school fields and work.

Now, it appears as though Jackson is getting in on the action.

On an appearance on ESPNs First Take, Jackson spoke about how the three were getting together in the coming days to start developing that connection that bond that will be the difference come game days this season.

Were plannin. Were actually about to in the next couple of days were supposed to be going to Houston and working out with Mike Evans and Jameis. Things like that, to have the intangibles to were not in season, were not in off-season workouts with the team and hes gathering guys together, working out, that really shows a lot to me. He reached out to me and was like, Come on out, Im gonna take care of everything for you. Its just things like that. Im excited to go out there and work out with him.

At 22 years old, Jameis is already working tirelessly at his craft and ensuring that come game day, his two top targets are going to be on the same page with him. The full interview is below which has some great nuggets about his decision to join the Bucs when Stephen A. Smith stops steering the conversation back to the Eagles with his full-fledged homer card in plain view.

Off-season workouts will begin soon with the draft right around the corner. Say what you will about DeSean Jackson and his attitude towards OTAs or off-season activities, but it doesnt appear as of now that he is having any problems working out with his teammates this off-season.

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Buccaneers' New Trio Is Already Getting To Work On Chemistry - The Pewter Plank

CBSE exams: Chemistry turns out to be the easiest, say Gurgaon students – Hindustan Times

Posted on March 26, 2017 by ev1

Class 12 students of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) who took their chemistry exam on Saturday said it was the easiest of all the papers so far.

It had a lot of numerical questions and most were directly from the textbooks. Many students submitted their answer scripts much before time. Teachers too said it was the easiest chemistry paper set by the CBSE in recent times.

The chemistry paper was the easiest so far. I had lost all hope after the mathematics paper since it was a tough one. But I am glad that they compensated for it with the chemistry paper. I am hoping for a good result, said Yash Gupta, student of DAV Public School.

I expected the chemistry paper to be easy this year and that is exactly how it was. Our school had prepared us for a paper that was much more difficult than what we got. It was a balanced one, I turned in my answer script an hour early, said Anchal Shah, a student of Delhi Public School, Sector 45.

Ishan Mehra, a student of Suncity World School, said the questions were from the NCERT syllabus itself and answering them was a cakewalk.

All my classmates were pleased with the question paper, said Neha Singh of Rotary Public School.

The students exiting the exam venues were content with the paper and their work. Teachers too said most of the questions were the those that were discussed and practised in the classroom.

Students can now heave a sigh of relief as the difficult exams are over. What remains is the physical education paper scheduled for next month.

But the tension doesnt end there as now students will begin their preparation for the tough to crack IIT-JEE exam on April 2.

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CBSE exams: Chemistry turns out to be the easiest, say Gurgaon students - Hindustan Times

Gators credit team chemistry for strong start to season – Daily Commercial

Posted on March 26, 2017 by Fredricko

By Jim HarvinCorrespondent

The second-ranked Florida softball team has reached the midpoint of the season with just one loss and carries a 19-game winning streak into this weekend's three-game series against fourth-ranked Auburn.

The remainder of the season, however, still looms ahead.

It startsSaturday when the Gators (27-1, 5-0 SEC) and Tigers (27-3, 2-1) square off at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium at 6 p.m.

Senior left-hander and 2016 first-team All-American Delanie Gourley feels it's all about trust.

Our team chemistry is just really, really good this year, she said. That's something that you can't ever force. When that happens like it did this year, that's something really special.

We feed off each other a lot, whether it's from our workouts or from practice or for games. That is really what has set this season off.

Gourley (11-1), the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, has 105 strikeouts and leads a staff that has posted a 0.54 ERA while holding opponents to a .128 batting average.

Kelly Barnhill (10-0, 0.23 ERA, 119 Ks) and Aleshia Ocasio (5-0, 0.55 ERA) also have been outstanding.

Auburn will counter with pitchers Kaylee Carlson (15-0, 0.93 ERA) and Makayla Martin (12-3, 0.98 ERA).

Five Gators Kayli Kvistad, Sophia Reynoso, Amanda Lorenz, Justine McLean and Nicole DeWitt have started every game this season.

We've been working hard. You can't ask for much more, DeWitt said. We go out here and we want to win games. We can't have any doubt in ourselves, so being able to believe in each other is going to be a huge key.

We don't focus on who is in the other dugout. We focus on ourselves and playing Florida softball.

UF has outscored the opposition by a 199-21 margin.

In addition, the Gators have made just six errors for a nation-leading .991 fielding percentage.

A huge part of how we've been playing is the relationships that we have with each other, DeWitt said. We have such strong bonds that can't be broken. We're constantly together. Even when we have an off day, we're still hanging out. We all enjoy being around each other. That's a huge thing.

UF also is doing the right things off the field.

They're student-athletes, coach Tim Walton said. They know priority number one is to go to school and do the things that they need to do.

The top-five showdown with the Tigers will be the first of six remaining SEC series for UF, which just two weeks into the league schedule is the lone remaining team unbeaten in conference play.

We're going to come out, keep doing what we've been doing and just play how we play, especially when we're playing at home in front of our amazing fans, Gourley said. We're going to come out and have fun.

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Gators credit team chemistry for strong start to season - Daily Commercial

Chemists are training machine learning algorithms used by Facebook and Google to find new molecules – News@Northeastern

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Danzig

For more than a decade, Facebook and Google algorithms have been learning as much as they can about you. Its how they refine their systems to deliver the news you read, those puppy videos you love, and the political ads you engage with.

These same kinds of algorithms can be used to find billions of molecules and catalyze important chemical reactions that are currently induced with expensive and toxic metals, says Steven A. Lopez, an assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern.

Lopez is working with a team of researchers to train machine learning algorithms to spot the molecular patterns that could help find new molecules in bulk, and fast. Its a much smarter approach than scanning through billionsand billionsof molecules without a streamlined process.

Were teaching the machines to learn the chemistry knowledge that we have, Lopez says. Why should I just have the chemical intuition for myself?

The alternative to using expensive metals is organic molecules, and particularly plastics, which are everywhere, Lopez says. Depending on their molecular structure and ability to absorb light, these plastics can be converted with chemistry to produce better materials for todays most important problems.

Lopez says the goal is to find molecules with the right properties and similar structures as metal catalysts. But to attain that goal, Lopez will need to explore an enormous number of molecules.

Thus far, scientists have been able to synthesize only about a million molecules. But conservative estimates of the number of possible molecules that could be analyzed is a quintillion, which is 10 raised to the power of 18, or the number one followed by 18 zeros.

Lopez thinks of this enormous number of possibilities as a vast ocean made up of billions of unexplored molecules. Such an immense molecular space is practically impossible to navigateeven if scientists were to combine experiments with supercomputer analysis.

Lopez says all of the calculations that have ever been done by computers add up to about a billion, or 10 to the ninth power. Thats about a million times less than the possible molecules.

Forget it, theres no chance, he says. We just have to use a smarter search technique.

Thats why Lopez is leading a team, supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, that includes research from Tufts University, Washington University in St. Louis, Drexel University, and Colorado School of Mines. The team is using an open-access database of organic molecules called VERDE materials DB, which Lopez and colleagues recently published, to improve their algorithms and find more useful molecules.

The database will also register newly found molecules, and can serve as a data hub of information for researchers across several different domains, Lopez says. Thats because it can launch researchers toward finding different molecules with many new properties and applications.

In tandem with the database, the algorithms will allow scientists to use computational resources more efficiently. After molecules of interest are found, researchers will recalibrate the algorithm to find more similar groups of molecules.

The active-search algorithm, developed by Roman Garnett at Washington University in St. Louis, uses a process similar to the classic board game Battleship, in which two players guess hidden locations off a grid to target and destroy vessels within a naval fleet.

In that grid, players place vessels as far apart as possible to make opponents miss targets. Once a ship is hit, players can readjust their strategy and redirect their attacks to the coordinates surrounding that hit.

Thats exactly how Lopez thinks of the concept of exploring a vast ocean of molecules.

We are looking for regions within this ocean, he says. We are starting to set up the coordinates of all the possible molecules.

Hitting the right candidate molecules might also expand the understanding that chemists have of this unexplored chemical space.

Maybe well find out through this analysis that we have something really at the edge of what we call the ocean, and that we can expand this ocean out a bit more in that region, Lopez says. Those are things that we wouldnt [be able to find by searching] with a brute force, trial-and-error kind of approach.

For media inquiries, please contact Jessica Hair at j.hair@northeastern.edu or 617-373-5718.

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Chemists are training machine learning algorithms used by Facebook and Google to find new molecules - News@Northeastern

Jared Dudley: Lakers have best chemistry of any team Ive played for – Silver Screen and Roll

Posted on January 20, 2020 by Danzig

Through 40 games, the Los Angeles Lakers have a record of 33-7, which is not just the best record in the Western Conference by 5.5 games; its the best 40-game start theyve had since the 1999-00 season, when they finished the season with 67 wins two wins short of their franchise record.

Whats been more impressive about this season, though, is just how quickly the Lakers have come together. While its true that Phil Jackson was in his first year as head coach when Los Angeles won it all in 2000, his core four of Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Robert Horry and Shaquille ONeal had been together since the 1996-97 season, and Rick Fox joined the team the following year.

The same cant be said of Frank Vogel and this years Lakers team, which features eight new players, including three new starters. In spite of that, the height of their adversity so far was a four-game losing streak against four top-10 teams in December two of which came on the road.

Obviously having arguably the best one-two punch in the league in LeBron James and Anthony Davis has been a big part of the Lakers early success, but their chemistry has also played a huge role. In fact, following Mondays win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jared Dudley went so far as to say the locker room is closer than any team hes been on in his 12-year career.

Best chemistry Ive had on a team, Dudley said. Obviously I think the other team I had was the Suns, I think 2010 when we went to the Western Conference Finals. It started with LeBron in the summertime, us going to Vegas, us hanging out, half play, half work. Its for us getting to know each other. And I think winning has a lot to do with it. Credit Frank Vogel and the staff, (with) AD and LeBron leading.

And then were having fun, man. I think we actually genuinely like each other. Weve had no beefs or hiccups, and thats very unique even for good teams, Dudley continued. We went through our four-game losing streak, and in the locker room I can be a testament in telling you, it didnt change. And when you lose three or four, people might want to play more. Might say I dont know if coach is doing this right, but we all stood even-keeled, no one got too high and no one got too low.

That last bit about players not voicing their frustrations over their roles has been especially impressive.

During the aforementioned four-game losing streak, Quinn Cook was a healthy scratch three times even though it was evident the guard rotation needed a boost. But Cook didnt complain then, and he hasnt complained about the combined 48 minutes hes played in the games since either.

Thats a stark contrast from last season, when a group of veteran players JaVale McGee among them got into a heated verbal argument with Luke Walton over their roles. Granted, that team was much worse, but the lack of drama in the locker room this season is a testament to the quality of veterans on this years Lakers team, and Dudley is among the best of them, according to James.

Dudz is great, man, one of the best teammates Ive ever had, whether hes making shots or not, James said.

Well see what happens if the Lakers run into real adversity later in the season, but as of now, theres no reason to believe theres anything they cant handle as a team, which is a good indicator that theyre a true championship contender.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.

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Jared Dudley: Lakers have best chemistry of any team Ive played for - Silver Screen and Roll

Gators credit team chemistry for strong start to season – Gainesville Sun

Posted on March 25, 2017 by ev1