How Dance Partners Create Chemistry Onstage New York Times ... as part of the company's spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House, their New York debut together in this most paradigmatic of ballets.) It got me thinking: What is it that makes certain partnerships click? Where does the essence of that ... |
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How Dance Partners Create Chemistry Onstage - New York Times
Learn more about the Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry.
The Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry is designed for students who are planning for a non-research career in a field related to Chemistry. Students learn a wide array of topics in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics. Students learn how to write scientific reports, analyze data, and place these results in a broader scientific context.
Undergraduate Contact Information:
Dr. Dan Strongin, ChairBeury Hall, Room 130215-204-7118
Dr. Ann Valentine, Vice ChairBeury Hall, Room 352215-204-7118
Dr. Steven Fleming, Faculty Advisor (Last names A-C)Beury Hall, Room 344215-204-0359sfleming@temple.edu
Dr. Roy Keyer, Faculty Advisor (Last names D-G)Beury Hall, Room 440215-204-7286roy.keyer@temple.edu
Dr. Spiridoula Matsika, Faculty Advisor (Last names H-K)Beury Hall, Room 242215-204-7703spiridoula.matsika@temple.edu
Dr. Andrew Price, Faculty Advisor (Last names L-M)Beury Hall, Room 222C215-204-1048acprice@temple.edu
Dr. Vince Voelz, Faculty Advisor (Last names N-R)Beury Hall, Room 240215-204-1973vincent.voelz@temple.edu
Dr. Vladi Wilent, Faculty Advisor (Last names S-T)Beury Hall, Room 440215-204-7186vladi.wilent@temple.edu
Dr. Michael Zdilla, Faculty Advisor (Last names U-Z)SERC, Room 656215-204-7886michael.zdilla@temple.eduNote: Due to restricted access to the 6th floor of SERC, please email Dr. Zdilla to set up an appointment.
Courses listed under the major requirements for the degree will be included in the calculation of the major GPA. Courses that could not apply toward the major as an elective or required course would not be counted in the calculation of the major GPA. This would include CHEM1027, for example.
To graduate with Distinction in Major, students are required to achieve a 3.33 GPA or higher in all the Chemistry courses in their major.
All prospective majors should schedule an appointment with one of the departmental advisors (names of current Faculty Advisors are available in the About section) to plan a program of study. The recommended order of courses for the major is listed below; a different order is acceptable as long as the student adheres to prerequisite requirements.
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Chemistry, B.A. < Temple University
The shortest days of the year are upon us. Are you finding it tough to have the motivation to get outdoors and actually do something like exercise?
The die-hard snowmobilers, skiers and hockey enthusiasts are out. But what about the rest of us? It turns out we may have a good excuse. Cold and dark actually have physiological effects on our bodies that are tough to overcome.
All animals deal with the cold in different ways. Many birds migrate to warmer climes. A number of Alaskans head for Hawaii. Birds store fat. So do Alaskans.
The bar-tailed godwit shrinks its internal organs we should be so lucky to have that ability; it would save trying to shed those Christmas pounds. Wood frogs convert glycogen stored in their liver to glucose which lowers the freezing point of liquids in their bodies, thus preventing ice crystals that cause cells to rupture. They also bury themselves in the mud, which would play havoc with those people who work for a living.
All animals store some body fat for the winter months. However, it isnt just the cold that affects us. Theres also the radically changing daylight. Consider that the mid-December day is a brief five hours compared to the summer days that are nearly 24 hours long.
All organisms respond to and anticipate that change. Our circadian rhythm allows us and other animals to know the time of day no matter whether light or dark. Humans, with our light bulbs and ticking clocks, are a little more out of tune than most animals, but we still have the ability in our systems. Our circadian rhythm regulates our body temperature and our wake-sleep cycles.
Circadian rhythm also is responsible for our physiological, emotional and behavioral functions.
During summer months, you might take a walk after work or run to the lake to fish for an hour before bed. Mid-December? That rarely happens. More than likely it is home to the couch, a beer and whats on TV.
This is not about being lazy. It is about chemicals.
And, it it not something new. Alexander the Great figured this out way back in 350 B.C. He noticed that plants leaves drooped at night and perked up in the mornings. Soldiers also. More recently, scientists have been able to put a better understanding on what we have known for several thousand years attack just before dawn.
The internal clock in mammals is run by a part of the brain known as the supracinsmatic nucleus. This portion of the brain instructs the pineal gland to secrete melatonin. Melatonin triggers the changes needed to adapt to winter, plus aids sleep control.
Light halts melatonin production. This is one of the reasons you can go fishing after work in July without feeling exhausted.
Rising early in the winter, or staying up well after dark, has our bodies producing sleep-inducing melatonin while we are still up. We are sleepy. Our rhythms naturally shift a bit to compensate and disrupt our sleep cycle with our circadian rhythm. How can overcome this cycle?
Adjusting your diet can help. Stay away from simple sugars like Christmas cookies. Complex carbohydrates are better because they can work on the pleasure sensors in our brains that release dopamine.
Those carbs you are ingesting are going to require some sort of exercise program. Pick something you like to do or odds are you wont stick with it. Get out for a walk. Park your car at the far end of the lot at the grocery store of at work and walk the extra few hundred feet. Look up at the sky and count stars. Find the Big Dipper and Orion. Walk your dog in the morning and evening.
If you cant force yourself to get outside, there is one other solution for the couch potatoes. Spend a few bucks and buy a light box. They are readily available and emit a full-spectrum natural light. Research shows that a half-hour spent in front of a light box, best done in the morning, will reap great benefits in your mental state in overcoming the downside of excess melatonin production.
Get up early, buy the newspaper and read my column in front of the light box. It isnt outdoors, but it is closer than eating corn chips by candlelight.
John Schandelmeier is a lifelong Alaskan who lives near Paxson with his family. He is a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman and a two-time winner of the Yukon Quest.
Penny Jennings
A new technique created by Brian Shao, Alex Bagdasarian, Stasik Popov and Hosea Nelson (from left) allows complex molecules to be assembled in fewer steps than previously possible.
When scientists develop the chemical formulas for new products such as fuels and medications, they often must first create molecules that havent previously existed.
A basic step toward creating new molecules is selectively breaking and re-forming the chemical bonds that connect the atoms that make them up. One of the chief challenges is that the bond between carbon and hydrogen atoms the building blocks of many molecules is exceptionally strong, so chemists often have to resort to using rare and expensive chemicals like iridium to convert it into other, more useful types of chemical bonds. Scientists refer to this process as functionalizing the bonds.
Now, a team of UCLA chemists has developed a new technique for breaking carbonhydrogen bonds and making carboncarbon bonds. The approach uses catalysts made of two abundant and inexpensive elements, silicon and boron. Their research waspublished in Science.
Hosea Nelson, a UCLA assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry and senior author of the study, said the energy industry has been interested in taking very simple hydrocarbon molecules like methane and turning them into new fuels.
This new method will enable scientists to incorporate methane into bigger molecules, he said.
Penny Jennings
Popov, Nelson, Shao and Bagdasarian
Another potential application would be converting methane, one of the primary components of natural gas, into something thats denser and easier to contain after it has been drilled from the Earth. The current process is complicated because methane, a light gas, tends to escape into the atmosphere.
Nelson collaborated on the study with UCLA graduate students Brian Shao, Alex Bagdasarian and Stasik Popov.
The researchers used their new technique to create a compound similar to a phenyl cation, a chemical substance that has been studied theoretically but rarely investigated in actual laboratory experiments. They then used the compound to slice through carbonhydrogen bonds in methane and benzene, which allowed them to insert other atoms and form carboncarbon bonds, which are the basic building blocks of molecules that make up living organisms, as well as fuels and pharmaceuticals.
Besides demonstrating that phenyl cationlike compounds exist, the new technique allows complex molecules to be assembled in far fewer reaction steps than was previously possible, which could save chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers time and money. Another advantage of the method is that, unlike previous approaches, it can be performed at temperatures and gas pressures that are easily attainable in a laboratory.
The process could also be used to alter the molecules in existing pharmaceuticals to make them more effective, safer or less addictive.
The chemists have tested their technique using very small samples of reactants far less than a gram. But Nelson is hopeful that the methodology can be scaled up to be useful for a broad range of real-world chemical reactions.
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New chemical reaction developed at UCLA could eventually yield new fuels and medications - UCLA Newsroom
The two-man chemistry behind NYCFC's best team ever New York Post It is a small body of work to be sure, but David Villa says this is the best New York City FC team yet. The results say he is right, and his burgeoning chemistry with new midfielder Maxi Moralez is a big reason why. I think so,'' Villa said as he ... |
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The two-man chemistry behind NYCFC's best team ever - New York Post
March 16, 2017 by Mark Lorch, The Conversation Whered I leave my bunsen burner? Credit: Shutterstock
I hate ironing, I'll do more or less anything to avoid it. So faced with a giant pile of laundry I got easily distracted. I started to wonder why those shirts emerged from the machine looking like a tangled bag of rags. How come the cotton clothes get crumpled so easily? And what's with easy-iron garments, why don't they need so much pressing?
Since I'm a scientist I know its important to understand the theory behind a methodology. And so it became imperative, before unleashing the iron and its board, that I found the answers to these pressing questions.
It turns out that the wrinkles in my shirts are all down to the chemisty of plant-based fabrics. Cotton, linen, hemp and so on are predominantly made of cellulose. Cellulose is what's known as a polymer because it consists of thousands of glucose molecules joined together to form linear chains. Each glucose subunit is "sticky" because it can bind to neighbouring cellulose molecules via something called hydrogen bonds. Individually, these bonds are very weak, but together they form a strong network that gives the fabric its strength.
These hydrogen bonds are particularly dynamic in that they are forever breaking and then rapidly reforming. As a result, clothes start taking on the shape that they are left in. This isn't a problem if I get around to putting freshly ironed shirts on a hanger. But it is an issue when I chuck them in a heap on the "floordrobe". As they sit there in a pile, the bonds break and reform, the clothes take up the new shape of the fabric, and the creases set in place.
Just add water
Things get even worse when water enters the equation (like in the washing machine). Water molecules insert themselves between the cellulose molecules, break up the hydrogen bonds and act like a lubricant, allowing the cellulose molecules to slide over each other. Then, when the fabric dries, the cotton keeps its now wrinkled shape. And that is the state of the pile of shirts that now stands before me.
This is where the hot, steaming iron comes in. The combination of heat and moisture quickly breaks the hydrogen bonds. As I apply these with a bit of pressure, all the cellulose molecules are forced to lie parallel with each other, so flattening the cloth.
But what if I want to avoid doing the ironing? The wrinkled look is always an option and, as an academic, I can just about pull it off. But occasionally I do need a pressed shirt. I could go with the age-old practice of starching my clothes to keep them crease free. This works because starch is also a polymer made from glucose, so it too can form all those sticky hydrogen bonds.
But, unlike cellulose, starch is a branched polymer. This means that if I apply it to cellulose, it sticks and acts like a scaffolding holding all the cellulose molecules in place. The drawback is that it gives me a rather stiff look and more to the point the starch is soluble so it just comes out in the wash. The net result is that it doesn't do much to reduce my list of chores I still need to iron and I'd just have to apply starch too boot.
What I need is a more permanent version of starch. And that's exactly what I get in easy-iron clothing. Originally, formaldehyde was used to permanently link cellulose molecules together, stopping them sliding about and limiting the amount of wrinkles that formed. More recently, formaldehyde (which isn't very nice stuff) has been replaced with friendlier (but even less easy to pronounce) cross-linkers such as dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea. The wrinkle-resistant shirts are good in a pinch but they have a slightly plastic feel that I don't particularly like and they still release tiny amounts of formaldehyde which can irritate the skin.
The pile of laundry is still waiting for me. But at least I have the theory of ironing all straightened out, and so I suppose I'd best just get on with the practical session. Or maybe I'll go for that crumpled look and just call myself a theoretical ironist.
Explore further: 3-D printing with cellulose: World's most abundant polymer could rival petroleum-based plastics
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
For centuries, cellulose has formed the basis of the world's most abundantly printed-on material: paper. Now, thanks to new research at MIT, it may also become an abundant material to print withpotentially providing a ...
Researchers at the University of Maryland recently discovered that paper made of cellulose fibers is tougher and stronger the smaller the fibers get. For a long time, engineers have sought a material that is both strong (resistant ...
A team of Virginia Tech researchers has succeeded in transforming cellulose into starch, a process that has the potential to provide a previously untapped nutrient source from plants not traditionally thought of as food crops.
Purdue researchers have discovered the structure of the enzyme that makes cellulose, a finding that could lead to easier ways of breaking down plant materials to make biofuels and other products and materials.
By synthesizing carbon nanoparticles from sugar and a source of cellulose such as newspapers, researchers in the UPV/EHU's Department of Physical Chemistry have developed a material that could be used as a sensor as its components ...
A Manchester and Dundee collaboration has found out more about one of the most abundant biological substances on the planet.
Next-generation steel and metal alloys are a step closer to reality, thanks to an international research project involving a University of Queensland scientist.
A team of researchers, led by the University of Minnesota, has developed a groundbreaking one-step, crystal growth process for making ultra-thin layers of material with molecular-sized pores. Researchers demonstrated the ...
A graduate student's surprise observation in fundamental experiments with small binding molecules at work in protein folding has allowed biochemists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to develop the first firm mathematical ...
Researchers at the University of Alberta have developed a new method of controlling biology at the cellular level using light.
Researchers at Cardiff University have devised a new way of creating a drug commonly used as the first line of defence against malaria around the world.
The electric charge of atoms or molecules zaps science's ability to predict how these ions will behave when combined with others. Different ions with the same charge cause different effects. How an ion behaves when isolated ...
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How chemistry can make your ironing easier - Phys.Org
Usually when you hear the word chemical, you think of something synthetic, cooked up in a laboratory, but ingredients extracted from plants and minerals are chemicals too.
A natural ingredient is a chemical, and a synthetic one is also a chemical; it doesnt mean that just because its natural that it is necessarily best for you, Alice said.
For one company, its natural credentials might be used as its selling point, while for another its scientifically engineered compounds are touted as the best for your skin. Both approaches can be misleading and are a source of frustration for Alice.
If youre thinking about the interaction with the body, where a particular chemical comes from is not necessarily going to give you a good indication about whether it is good for you or not, you actually have to look at that interaction, she said.
Our bodies are built on chemistry; everything in us is chemistry.
Look at the ingredients label on a typical moisturiser or shampoo and there will likely be a list of unintelligible chemical names, which most of us wont have a clue what they are. But theres a growing interest among consumers, and safety concerns about certain ones have been raised in recent years.
SLS and parabens, for example, while considered safe by the EU, have been cited as possible hormone disrupters and irritants. As a result, you might have spotted SLS-free or paraben-free labels on some of your favourite products.
Because of strict UK and EU regulations that govern what can go into our food and cosmetic products, and extensive safety testing, Alice thinks consumers should not be overly worried.
But, without mentioning any ingredients in particular, she does suggest, It is a question of keeping an eye on the research and seeing whether those things do turn out to be bad for us or not. We see changes in the regulations all the time as new research is done, looking in detail at particular compounds.
If there is concern about a particular compound, you can always apply the precautionary principle and avoid them, but you have to be careful you dont get paranoid about it.
Ethics and The Environment
When it comes to buying both everyday and luxury cosmetic products for herself, Alice says ethics plays a big role in her choices.
If youre buying something like that, it is really important to know it is ethical and youre buying something that feels luxurious and is lovely for you, but youre doing it with concern for the environment and with concern for all the people whove been involved in it as well, she said.
Dr Alice Roberts
So this year, Alice is working with organic beauty brand Green People as their official adviser on science communication to get all of us thinking about the chemistry of everyday products.
For me public engagement with science is about having a much more open and wider discussion about science and technology and also making sure that you are providing information to people in an accessible way, said Alice, who is also professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham.
Its really important that there is dialogue between scientists and the general public; its about sharing information more effectively and being able to make decisions about where science is going in the future,where technology is going in the future, as a society. We need to make sure that we are much more scientifically literate as a society.
As a long-time user of Green Peoples products, she is proud to be an ambassador for a company that has rigorous organic, fair trade and environmental policies and have always put a lot of scientific research intotheir products.
The fact [Green People] have this ethical concern about the impact on the environment and people so they are concerned about making sure they are using fair trade sourced ingredients, making sure they are as ethical as they can be with their ingredients I think that is great, said Alice.
And, of course, they dont test on animals, a practice Alice finds puzzling. I am just very confused by the fact that cosmetics have ever been tested on animals; it is such a peculiar thing to do if you dont need to do it and you dont need to do it.
For me, the fact that for Green People [no animal testing] has been a central tenet of the way that they work and that they wouldnt now aim to sell products in countries which are asking for products to be tested on animals, I think that is really important for my own personal ethics.
While animal testing for cosmetics is banned in the EU, China, however, currently requires all imported cosmetic products to have undergone such testing.
Continued here:
The chemistry of beauty - The Epoch Times
Allie Daniels was in fourth-grade when she discovered her passion for chemistry, and now, armed with a St. Ambrose education, she is encouraging other girls to pursue their science dreams.
"Continue to discover new things daily. Look at the world around you and ask why. Look for answers. Once you set goals for yourself, there is nothing that can hold you back," Allie said.
"Women are an integral part of science. Whether it be research, teaching or being a doctor or astronaut, the possibilities are endless," she added, and based on experience, she knows.
On May 13, Allie will graduate cum laude with a St. Ambrose Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, with minors in biology, forensic science and justice. This fall she will join a prestigious five-year program at the University of Tennessee in pursuit of a doctoral degree in Analytical Chemistry.
It wasn't until Allie was in fourth grade that she learned about chemistry. "I vividly remember experiments like the classic erupting volcano and counting the number of water drops I could get to stay on a penny before the surface tension caused the water to run off the penny," she said.
"Experiments like these had me in awe. I began to do my own experiments at home."
Her interest and passion grew when she attended the SAU Chemistry for Kids summer camp in 2005.
"I spent those four days in Lewis Hall learning all about what chemistry really is," Allie recalled. "I remember making batteries out of a banana, doing paper chromatography to figure out who wrote a secret message, doing tests to discover what the identity of a powder was, and, on the last day, using all the skills I had learned to solve a real mystery. From that week on, I was in love with chemistry."
When Allie looks back on the camp, she speaks of the significance of one professor and how he made her decision to attend SAU an easy one.
"I remember Dr. (Andrew) Axup was wearing his signature rainbow lab coat as he showed us what a chemical reaction' consisted of on that first day: bubbles, heat and fizzing. I was thoroughly amazed. Little did I know, the same professor who had introduced me to real life chemistry that week would be the first professor I ever had in college."
She feels blessed to have attended St. Ambrose.
"Professors in the chemistry department have done all in their power to make sure I am successful in graduate school. Whether it was answering my countless questions and helping me think through problems, or staying until 7 p.m. so I could be in the lab, my professors have always gone above and beyond to make my experience at Ambrose the best it could be," she said.
Allie knows a large part of the next five years will revolve around research, something some find daunting.
Not Allie.
"The chemistry program at SAU has continuously challenged me to think critically and solve problems. I have had the opportunity to do research through the Introduction to Chemical Research class, the Undergraduate Summer Research Institute at SAU, and my senior research project through the chemistry and honors programs. Research is at the heart of chemistry, and my time at Ambrose has made me love lab work," Allie said.
"I was also able to be a tutor and a Supplemental Instruction leader at Ambrose, which really prepared me to teach and gave me a love for teaching chemistry."
In addition, Allie was a member of the Honors Program, Mock Trial, Bridge Bible Fellowship, Campus Ministry, Phi Eta Sigma, Dance Marathon, as well as various intramural sports. Before graduation, she served as secretary for the Chemistry Club and the College Republicans.
Her endless passion for chemistry is evident in her words.
"I've learned that with research, things don't always go as planned. The most challenging aspect for me was staying positive when I often became frustrated with results I was, or wasn't, getting," she said.
"But to me, there is nothing more rewarding than working extremely hard at solving a problem that has been holding you back and rising above that. It's like Edison and the light bulb. You can fail thousands of times, but it only takes that one success to take you to heights you didn't think you could reach."
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Grad Stories '17: A Chemical Reaction - St. Ambrose University
PORTSMOUTH Shawnee State University offers help for any student enrolled in a chemistry class at the Chemistry Study Center, located in Room 341 in Massie Hall.
The Chemistry Study Center employs SSU students as their tutors who are able to help in the following chemistry classes: Preparation for College Chemistry, Principles of Chemistry, General Chemistry 1 and 2, Intro to Organic Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry 1 and 2. No appointments are necessary, but a list of the tutoring schedule can be found online at http://www.ssuscience.com/csc/csc.html.
The Chemistry Study Center tutors will be able to help with a number of chemistry problems, including balancing chemical equations, conversions, defining chemistry terms and more.
The study center is great place for students to come if they just have a question, or need help with lab reports, or even just to study for any of their chemistry classes, said Dr. Andrew Napper, Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Department of Natural Sciences. Since it is staffed by student tutors, it is less intimidating for them to reach out for help.
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Chemistry Study Center open to Shawnee State students - Jackson County Times-Journal
Brooks Pate, a professor of physical chemistry at the University of Virginia, has won the universitys top prize for faculty entrepreneurship. The universitys Licensing and Ventures Group, which helps faculty members turn their research findings into products that can be developed for the commercial market, has given Pate its annual Edlich-Henderson Innovator of the Year Award.
Pates work on molecular rotational spectroscopy led to the invention of an instrument that dramatically reduces the time and effort needed to perform complex chemical analysis.
Molecular rotational spectrometers now marketed by the Charlottesville-based company BrightSpec use electromagnetic pulses to detect the rotational frequency of molecules. This allows users to determine the chemical makeup of a sample that could be made up of hundreds of substances relatively quickly and cheaply.
Its highly useful to scientists in a wide variety of fields, said Michael Straightiff, executive director of the Licensing and Ventures Group.
Brooks innovation is really going to enable the use of a technology that was viewed as cost-prohibitive to be opened up to new use, Straightiff said. Its having the impact we seek as an institution.
Scientists can use this tool to conduct analysis in challenging environments, Pate, 52, said. For example, astronomers studying star- and planet-forming regions can, using this technology, map out the molecular compositions of bodies thousands of light years away.
Researchers studying chemical reactions in the body sometimes take samples that include hundreds of different substances; molecular rotational spectroscopy makes this process faster and easier, Pate said. Pharmaceutical companies also have taken an interest, looking at how molecule shape variations in their drugs might affect patients.
The driver behind this technology was trying to solve some fundamental problems in chemistry, how molecules react and change into new molecules, he said.
Analyzing the molecular makeup of a substance based on movement always has been possible, but only recently has technology made it practical. Advances in semiconductor technology made it possible to build spectrometers capable of performing this analysis in a fraction of the time it used to take; Pate estimates he has reduced it by a factor of 10,000.
Pate said he envisions doctors using rotational spectroscopy to analyze samples from patients bodies breath, for example and looking for the chemical markers of a disease. The School of Medicine is exploring the possibility, he said.
When he first began working on it in the 1990s, rotational spectroscopy was an obscure topic. Pates work since has earned him widespread attention in 2001, he won the coveted MacArthur Fellows grant, which comes with an unrestricted $500,000 award along with commercial success.
Its an illustration of the reasons to invest in basic science, Pate said.
Bob Lloyd, CEO of BrightSpec, helped Pate market the finished product. BrightSpecs clients include the Max Planck Society in Germany, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Department of Energy, according to the companys website.
Lloyd said Pates groundbreaking ideas helped sell investors on BrightSpec and gave the company a running start.
What we really invested in was Brooks, Lloyd said. Hes such a dynamo and creative thinker and brilliant scientist. He really works hard and is very creative and problem-solving. The technology worked we just really believed in Brooks.
Pate will give a public lecture on his work in the Dome Room of the Rotunda at 11:30 a.m. Thursday. Anyone interested in attending must RSVP by emailing the Licensing and Ventures Group at lvg@virginia.edu or by calling (434) 924-2175.
Link:
Chemistry professor wins UVa's top prize for innovation | UVa news ... - The Daily Progress
Jaqueline Kiplinger was recognized this week with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry 2017 Distinguished Women in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering award. Courtesy/LANL
LANL News:
Los Alamos chemist is only US scientist thus honored
Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellow Jaqueline Kiplinger was recognized this week with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) 2017 Distinguished Women in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering award. Kiplinger was one of 12 women recognized this year internationally and the only recipient of this honor from the United States.
The IUPAC Award recognizes Kiplingers outstanding scientific achievements. Sheis a pioneer in uranium and thorium chemistry, and her research has significantly expanded thebroad understanding of actinide and lanthanide chemical bonding and reactivity, said Alan Bishop, Principal Associate Director for Science, Technology and Engineering at Los Alamos. Her workprovides scientific underpinning that supports the Laboratorys national security mission as well as advancing the fundamental understanding of actinide chemistry.
The IUPAC awards program, initiated as part of the 2011 International Year of Chemistry celebrations, was created to acknowledge and promote the work of women chemists/chemical engineers worldwide. These 12 awardees have been selected based on excellence in basic or applied research, distinguished accomplishments in teaching or education, or demonstrated leadership or managerial excellence in the chemical sciences. The focus is particularly on nominees with a history of leadership and/or community service during their careers.
Kiplinger was recognized by IUPAC for her extensive contributions in three areas of inorganic chemistry. Her work has focused on the organometallic chemistry of pentavalent uranium, the realization of a terminal nitride complex of uranium, and non-aqueous uranium and thorium precursors for use in subsequent inorganic and organometallic synthetic efforts.
To be nominated and selected for the IUPAC Distinguished Woman in Chemistry Award by my colleagues is such an extraordinary honor, Kiplinger said. I have found much joy in actinide chemistry research, both in advancing fundamental knowledge for the nation, and in training many next generation of scientists. Collaborations have been critical to my success, and I have been privileged to work with many talented and motivated staff, postdocs and students who have helped me advance this experimentally challenging area of chemistry. None of these discoveries would have been made without them, she said.
Kiplinger acknowledged her work with the DOE Basic Energy Sciences, Heavy Element Program, the Los Alamos G.T. Seaborg Institute for Transactinium Science, and Los Alamos Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program that provided the continuity, exposure, and interactions with first-class researchers, which she said made possible her contributions to the field of actinide chemistry.
In addition to her research contributions, Kiplinger has for years dedicated time to the American Chemical Society (ACS), serving on journal editorial boards and holding different positions in the ACSs division of Inorganic Chemistry.
Dr. Kiplinger has inarguably made a huge impact on the inorganic chemistry community beginning with her graduate work under Tom Richmond at Utah for which they received the ACS Nobel Laureate Signature Award, and continuing unabated as she moved into the challenging area of early actinide organometallic chemistry at Los Alamos, said coworker and former Los Alamos Chemistry Division Leader David Morris. She has made transformative research contributions that have already influenced synthetic actinide chemistry on an international scale.
Kiplinger is an internationally recognized leader in f-element chemistry. Kiplinger came to Los Alamos as the first Frederick Reines Postdoctoral Fellow in 1999 and became a Technical Staff Member within Chemistry Division in July 2002. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the American Institute of Chemists.
The breadth and depth of her accomplishments are reflected by her peer-reviewed publications, granted patents, invitations to contribute to prestigious monographs and review articles, and plenary lectures delivered at international conferences in the field. Her scientific achievements have been recognized by a Los Alamos Fellowship, a Fellows Prize for Research, two R&D 100 Awards, three mentoring awards and several Los Alamos/NNSA Best-in-Class Pollution Prevention Awards. In 2015 Kiplinger was selected as the first woman to receive the F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry from the American Chemical Society.She is also the first scientist at Los Alamos to have been honored with two national-level ACS awards, the first being the 1998 Nobel Laureate Signature Award in Chemistry.
About Los Alamos National Laboratory (www.lanl.gov)
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, BWX Technologies, Inc. and URS Corporation for the Department of Energys National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health and global security concerns.
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LANL's Jaqueline L. Kiplinger Receives IUPAC 2017 Distinguished Women In Chemistry Award - Los Alamos Daily Post
Redmond High goalkeeper Pedro Menchaca spins around after punching a shot away during the Mustangs 3-0 boys soccer victory over Woodinville High on Tuesday night at Pop Keeney Stadium in Bothell. Andy Nystrom, Redmond Reporter
Things are starting to gel for the Redmond High boys soccer team and coach Lacy Wilkinson especially liked what his Mustangs brought to the pitch on Tuesday night.
The now-3A KingCo Redmond squad strung together copious passes, charged after every ball and tallied three first-half goals in its 3-0 victory over a strong 4A KingCo Woodinville team at Pop Keeney Stadium in Bothell.
Sophomore midfielder Jacen Stein scored the first two goals and junior midfielder Mike Snook supplied the last one. Senior forward Jake Ferry and junior midfielder Victor Araujo had assists and tough senior goalkeepers Pedro Menchaca and Cole Benton kept Woodinvilles scoresheet clean.
We want to play a more possession-style of soccer, which requires players to use their heads as much as their feet. Last night, I could see them starting to get some of the things weve been working on for the last couple of weeks, said second-year coach Wilkinson, whos confident that with hard work, his players can make better decisions, play faster and execute more consistently as each game unfolds.
Redmond sports five returning varsity players in Ferry and fellow seniors Sergio Jimenez-Ramirez (forward) and Alex Kim (midfielder) along with junior midfielders Takanabu Suzuki and Kieran Wharton. Other key players are junior midifielders Kane Stark, Snook and Araujo and sophomore defender Reece Wiyrick.
Ferry and Jimenez-Ramirez are strong up front and the crew of midfielders are solid playmakers, a key component that their teammates soak up to step up their own games.
Its a team effort the whole way, Wilkinson said, and the players are driven to succeed.
The cool thing about the team this year is there are some outstanding players, but theres no showboaters. They work for each other and they play for each other, the coach said.
Fourth-year varsity player Jimenez-Ramirez said it should be an interesting season playing on the 3A KingCo scene.
This is our first time in 3A, so Im wondering how good the other teams are. Ive never seen them play, he said.
Two of the key attributes that Redmond has on its side, he added, is that we all get along together and we have a lot of good chemistry.
Ferry, a third-year varsity Stang and a team captain, said that the players are excited to work hard and produce a successful season.
Theres definitely a lot of potential with us, just a lot of great talent overall, he said.
As a captain, Ferry aims to try and keep that chemistry intact and cement that work ethic into the players all season long.
Read more:
Redmond's hat trick: ball possession, drive and chemistry - Redmond Reporter
for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin 11:05 a.m. CT March 3, 2017
Chancellor Bernie Patterson, with guidance from Miron Construction Co. crane operator Jerry Laird lifts the final beam to the top of the new Chemistry Biology Building at UW-Stevens Point. Faculty, staff, students, community members and legislators signed the bean and attended a topping out ceremony Feb. 27. It marked the four-story, 176,500 square-foot building reaching its tallest point.(Photo: Courtesy of UW-Stevens Point)
STEVENS POINT - Construction of the four-story Chemistry Biology Building at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has reached its tallest point.
A topping-out ceremony marks completion of the highest point in a building project. The final beam was signed by Chancellor Bernie Patterson, legislators and others Feb. 27, then placed on top of the building. More than 100 students, faculty and staff signed the UW-Stevens Point-branded beam.
The final beam was lifted to the top of the new Chemistry Biology Building at UW-Stevens Point Feb. 27. Faculty, staff, students, community members and legislators joined a topping out ceremony marking the four-story building reaching its tallest point.(Photo: Courtesy of UW-Stevens Point)
The 176,500 square-foot building now dominates the campus skyline on what used to be parking lot X east of the current Science Building.
This is one symbol of all the great things going on at this campus, Patterson said.
Miron Construction Co., Inc., of Neenah is the general contractor and has up to 150 workers and subcontractors onsite each week. They are installing roofing, interior walls, piping, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection work. The exterior concrete block is completed, and brick veneer will follow, said Gerald David, Miron project superintendent.
The projects economic impact is estimated at $144 million, Patterson noted. Thats based on a formula cited by C3 Statistical Solutions to calculate construction industry impact. The project generates work for hundreds of people in construction trades, boosting jobs in other sectors that service them throughout central Wisconsin. From hotels and restaurants to hardware and office supply stores, from rental equipment to crane repair, the uptick in local business is noticeable because of the Chemistry Biology Building.
The $75.18 million project is on schedule. Work began in April 2016, and is targeted for completion in late spring 2018 for class in fall 2018.
This is the first major, free-standing academic facility built on campus since 1971. It is the largest single construction project in UW-Stevens Points 123-history, said Carl Rasmussen, facilities planning director at UW-Stevens Point. Other campus buildings have more total square footage, but were built with subsequent additions.
Given the level of complexity and size of our project, were pleased to have Miron on the job, Rasmussen said.
The Chemistry Biology Building will contain three 48-seat classrooms, two 55-seat classrooms, two 24-seat classrooms, two 96-seat lecture halls plus research and teaching labs for biology and chemistry on each floor. Flexible room configurations combined with modern technology will support hands-on learning and student research, hallmarks of a UW-Stevens Point education.
Design work is being done by Potter Lawson, Inc., Madison; and HOK, St. Louis, Mo., to meet sustainable LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards.
Those interested can watch progress on a live video stream from the UW-Stevens Point website. Go to http://www.uwsp.edu/cols and select Chemistry Biology Building.
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UWSP Chemistry Biology building 'tops out' - Stevens Point Journal
NEW ORLEANS Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins have provided plenty of fireworks but no winning chemistry for the New Orleans Pelicans in their first three games together since a blockbuster trade moved Cousins from Sacramento.
The NBAs newest version of the Twin Towers gets a fourth chance for a breakthrough win on Friday night at the Smoothie King Center, but it will be a very tall order because the 24-37 Pelicans will host the 46-13 San Antonio Spurs, the team with the second-best record in the NBA, in a nationally televised game.
The Pelicans have lost two of three to the Spurs this season, but in their most recent contest on Jan. 27, New Orleans spanked San Antonio 119-103. The Spurs had entered the game having won five straight, but San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich waved the white flag and emptied his bench with 3:34 left.
We just ran out of gas, Popovich said.
Jrue Holiday led the Pelicans with 23 points and had 11 assists, and Davis scored 16 points and grabbed 22 rebounds, tying his career high on the boards.
The Pelicans would love nothing more than to have Holiday repeat that performance. Holiday broke out of a mini-slump on Wednesday night with 22 points in a 109-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Im still excited (about the Cousins trade), but I dont think were as good as weve shown, Holiday said Thursday after practice. Weve added DeMarcus and seen bits and pieces of him and AD getting 30 and nobody else helping them out. When we put a whole game together, itll be a lot more fun.
In his three games as a Pelicans, Cousins has averaged 23.3 points and 12.7 rebounds, but hes also picked up 14 fouls, some of them early in games to limit his effectiveness. Cousins sat out the victory over Detroit on Wednesday while serving a one-game suspension for having picked up his 18th technical foul of the season in the previous game.
On Thursday, the Pelicans scrimmaged a little more than we do on regular practice days to find out what will work best in essentially a double-post offense, said coach Alvin Gentry.
Were just trying to get (Cousins) and everybody else into a flow where were beginning to understand where guys want the ball or where guys are going to be in certain situations, Gentry said. Thats the biggest thing putting them out there and letting them play.
Davis has averaged 31.4 points on 50 percent shooting and 10.2 rebounds over his last five games, and he had 33 points in the victory over Detroit. Holiday said he hopes to get both big men going and have a good game himself.
Once the offense starts to click, Holiday believes Davis will really benefit from having more space to operate.
I think hell get a lot more shots because you really cant double-team him, Holiday said. If you do it with a guard, its a mismatch. Hes playing against fours now, and fours cant handle him in the perimeter or in the post.
The Spurs are coming off a challenging 100-99 home victory against the Indiana Pacers in a game which had its share of controversy down the stretch. Kawhi Leonard hit the game-winning, fallaway jumper over Paul George with 2.4 seconds left, but the NBA admitted Thursday that the shot should not have counted because officials missed a traveling call against Leonard before the shot.
Leonard led the Spurs with 31 points on 11-of-22 shooting.
He does that every night, Popovich said.
Leonard has averaged 18.7 points and 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals in three games against New Orleans, while forward LaMarcus Aldridge has averaged 16.0 points and 8.7 rebounds.
Rookie point guard Dejounte Murray started in place of Tony Parker (quad contusion) against the Pacers and played well down the stretch, contributing four assists and three points in the fourth quarter.
He didnt start that well, but he hung in there and made some big plays, San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili said
The Spurs have won five of the last six games against New Orleans.
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Cousins, Davis still seeking winning chemistry with Pelicans (Mar 03, 2017) - FOXSports.com
March 3, 2017 by Ingrid Sderbergh
Chemists and molecular biologists have made an unexpected discovery in infection biology. The researchers can now show that two proteins that bind to one another slow down a chemical reaction central to the course of the disease in the bacteria Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. The results have been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
"The discovery paves way for new insights in the regulation of bacterial virulence. The results have given us a new opportunity to study the pathogenic ability in bacteria," says Magnus Wolf-Watz, researcher at the Department of Chemistry at Ume University, who led the study together with Hans Wolf-Watz, professor at the Department of Molecular Biology.
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and many similar bacteria infect humans by injecting toxins, so-called effector proteins, through a needle-like organelle called injectisome. Previous research has already shown that the protein YscU plays an important part in the regulation of effector protein transportation. YscU is unique in its ability to cleave itself in two parts, as a consequence, one of these parts is then transported out through the injectisome.
By combining biological experiments with studies on atomic level, the research team discovered that another protein, YscP, binds to YscU and regulates its self-cleaving abilities. When the proteins bound to one another, the speed of the self-cleaving was greatly reduced.
"The chemical process behind the self-cleaving was cooled down by the interaction and was hence slowed down. The result is a good example of how biology and chemistry nearly always go hand in hand and is a huge step forward. This gives us new opportunities to study the regulation of the course of diseases," says Hans Wolf-Watz.
The studies on atomic level were conducted using magnetic resonance spectroscopy at the Department of Chemistry at the NMR for Life platform, which is a national infrastructure for NMR in Sweden.
"The initial investment to fund an NMR instrument that the Kempe Foundations facilitated paved way for further funding from both the Wallenberg Foundations and SciLifeLab. Also, the protein expertise platform in our labs was of crucial importance for undertaking the research project," says Magnus Wolf-Watz.
Explore further: Key pathological mechanism found in plague bacterium
More information: Oanh Ho et al. Characterization of the Ruler Protein Interaction Interface on the Substrate Specificity Switch Protein in theType III Secretion System, Journal of Biological Chemistry (2017). DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M116.770255
(Phys.org)A more than 50-year-old question has now been answered. Chemists and microbiologists at the Biological Chemistry Center at Ume University in Sweden are now able to describe in detail the role of calcium in ...
A research group at Ume University in Sweden has managed to capture and describe a protein structure that, until now, has been impossible to study. The discovery lays the base for developing designed enzymes as catalysts ...
Researchers at Ume University are first to discover that bacteria can multiply disease-inducing genes which are needed to rapidly cause infection. The results were published in Science on 30 June 2016.
Thanks to their unique properties, ionic liquids are all in the rage as solvents as, for instance, "green" sustainable chemical processes. Recently, two research teams at Ume University discovered how enzymes can perform ...
Adhesins are surface structures of bacteria that facilitate their attachment to host cells or non-living materials. Most adhesins do not just bind to any surface; rather, they recognize specific molecules or receptors on ...
(PhysOrg.com) -- The same substance that hampers the infection capability of bacteria can hasten the fiber formation of the protein that is involved in the development of Parkinsons disease. The study shows how important ...
For centuries, cellulose has formed the basis of the world's most abundantly printed-on material: paper. Now, thanks to new research at MIT, it may also become an abundant material to print withpotentially providing a ...
Researchers with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University are making the best use of our energy wasteturning one of our most potent pollutants and greenhouse gasses, carbon dioxide (CO2), into hydrocarbon ...
Biophysicists at JILA have measured protein folding in more detail than ever before, revealing behavior that is surprisingly more complex than previously known. The results suggest that, until now, much about protein behavior ...
One major mystery about life's origin is how phosphate became an essential building block of genetic and metabolic machinery in cells, given its poor accessibility on early Earth. In a study published on March 9 in the journal ...
(Phys.org)A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in China has found that adding a certain type of salt to liquid pesticides greatly reduces waste due to splashing. In their paper published in the journal ...
The chemical industry can learn a lot from the common mussel. Not only are the mollusc's mother of pearl and tough threads with which it clings to the seafloor remarkable, but the way in which these materials are produced ...
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Caption + Doherty's Mykiaa Minniss rushes the ball up the court during the Doherty and Mountain Vista girls basketball game at Doherty High School on Thursday, December 15, 2016. Photo by Stacie Scott, The Gazette
Despite the fact that there are no ropes involved in basketball, holding onto one means an awful lot to the Doherty girls' basketball team.
Hold the Rope is a story, introduced last year by coach Pat McKiernan, that emphasizes team. If a teammate is hanging off the edge of a cliff, would you hold the rope? Would you hold it until your hands bled?
Doherty has utilized stellar team chemistry - created in part by Hold the Rope - to advance to the quarterfinals of the 5A state tournament. The No. 7 Spartans (24-1) face No. 2 Grandview (24-1) on Friday at the Denver Coliseum.
"We get along, we work together, and we know each other's games," said senior forward Aubriana Noti.
McKiernan thinks this edition of the Spartans - who got a first round playoff bye, and then beat No. 26 Rampart and No. 23 Fairview - is the closest-knit group he's ever had.
"The kids have really bought into this idea that we preach - we before me," he said. "There can be three, four, five, six passes to get it to the girl that's hot or to get a wide open shot. They have a lot of love for each other."
In close games, that team chemistry comes into play. Senior guard Kalani Poloa, Noti said, will look at the team and say: "This is where we hold the rope."
Doherty last advanced to the final eight in 2011-12, McKiernan's first season at the helm. One thing the 2012 team didn't have, McKiernan said, was a true post presence. This team has it in a big way courtesy of Noti, who averages over 14 points and 11 rebounds per game.
She's had 20 double-doubles in the Spartans' 25 games.
"That allows us more options on offense - we can work the ball inside, which opens up the perimeter," McKiernan said.
For Noti, it's about positioning, so she or a teammate like Poloa - who averages 14.6 points per game and reached the 1,000-point plateau this season - can score.
"Teams will double-team me," Noti said. "I expect to be able to pass it back out. I have to create space to help us score."
In February, Doherty saw several injured players return.
"It gives us more options off the bench," McKiernan said.
"It's made us into a team that's nine (players) deep, and we can give some players breaks that weren't there before."
Doherty and Grandview haven't played this season, but did face off twice in fall league.
"Both teams had all their kids. Things were still pretty raw as far as the offenses we were running, but that gave us a look at what we're up against," said McKiernan, who got his 100th win against Fairview.
The verdict? Grandview is good.
The Wolves' lone loss came against Florida's Miami Country Day, which went 29-1 and cruised to a state title.
"Without RPI, Grandview would be the No. 1 team in the state," McKiernan said. "We're going to have to play really, really well."
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Team chemistry critical to Doherty girls' playoff run - Colorado Springs Gazette
First-year Department of Chemistry student Julia Trowbridges film, The Chemist, was chosen to be on display at the 2017 Art and Science Exhibition at the Curfman Galley in the Lory Student Center.
Students as well as faculty and staff were encouraged to submit their best science-inspired art and art-inspired science to this years event. The Chemist, along with more than two dozen other pieces, will be on display until March 24.
Julia Trowbridge
Trowbridge is originally from Austin, Texas, and at a young age was interested in art and science. She discovered her passion for photography during middle school and currently shoots photography for the Collegian.
Chemistry became an interest when Trowbridge took an AP chemistry class her senior year in high school. After working with two different teachers, she was convinced that chemistry was what she wanted to study in college.
At Colorado State University, Trowbridge began her study of chemistry through solar cells and pursued her interests in photography and film making. She also participates in slam poetry and wanted to combine all of her passions in art and science, so she produced a spoken word poem with video to create her film, The Chemist.
She melded the science of different chemical reactions from thermite to glassblowing with an artistically written poem. Trowbridge said, I see film as an art, and so filming chemical reactions was easy to put together and is aesthetically pleasing. Trowbridge submitted three pieces to this years exhibition and plans to do more collaborations in the future.
Trowbridge was encouraged by Professor Nancy Levinger to enter her work into the exhibition. She was able to produce her film in 11 days, and her recent involvement in the CSU film club helped her polish the piece. She said, It was fun in terms of running around to different labs to capture chemical reactions and learning about different things along the way.
This years exhibition shows the talents of members of the CSU community, just like Trowbridge, from disciplines around campus. Everything from film, photography, printmaking, and poetry are on display for the public to view.
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Chemistry-inspired film on display at Art and Science Exhibition - Colorado State News
Premier Guitar | Warren Haynes: Capture the Chemistry Premier Guitar As opposed to building things one instrument at a time, we're really committed to maintaining this approach: recording live, keeping the solos from the live takes, and capturing band chemistry. I've always been drawn toward guitar players who also ... |
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Warren Haynes: Capture the Chemistry - Premier Guitar
This is the second part of my gift list posts, and this one is perhaps more useful for general gift-giving! These will be chemistry-themed books (and related subjects) for a more general readership no $200 monographs on biophysical methods this time around, although if you think you can give someone one of those without getting things thrown at you, theres always Mondays post.
I will start off, naturally enough, by plugging my own The Chemistry Book. Unlike the rest of the links in this post, that one is not an Amazon affiliate link; they frown on people affiliate-linking their own books. But I did get another royalty check just last week, which is always a nice surprise, and that one featured some revenues coming in from the French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, and (most recently) Chinese editions of the book. I have of course absolutely no idea how I come across in most of those; its hard enough for me to judge that in English sometimes. But the book will take even a non-technical reader through 250 separate (but often linked) moments in chemical and scientific history Ive had it described to me as a great bathroom book, and I have no problem with that at all!
In other books of this type, one of the best out there remains Theodore GraysThe Elements, an excellentgift for anyones whos interested in science or chemistry. Ive enjoyed my own copy greatly, partly because of its (very high) production values, partly because of the wealth of odd information in it (much of which I didnt know), and even more because Grays personality comes through on nearly every page. Having been through the copy-editing process myself, I salute him for getting away with it (if you think my books sounds like me as it is, you should have seen the first draft!) His follow-up book,Molecules, continues the high standard, and will teach any lay reader a good deal of chemistry without them even realizing it, and hes added a third to the series, Reactions.I havent personally seen hisearlier follow-up, the Elements Vault, since I sort of work in an elements vault, but it could also be a unique gift for a younger recipient interested in chemistry.
These have expanded into a whole set ofcompanion gifts. A few years ago, I got theElements Jigsaw Puzzle, which I did with my son and daughter during January and February. Being the sort of person I am, I didnt miss the chance to teach a bit of chemistry along the way, based on personal experiences with quite a few of the elements themselves. Gray also has a deck of element cards and a calendar, for your decorating needs. And this year he put out two books for young children, My First Elements and ABC Elements, which I feel certain I would have been unable to resist inflicting on sharing with my kids if these had been available at the time. And it looks like theres a magnet set on the way, too. (See the home-experiments section below for more from Gray).
There are, of course, a number of other popular chemistry books out there. Sticking with the elements themselves,The Disappearing Spoon is an entertaining book on their various odd properties (chemists will have said gallium! by now just fromthe title). In the same category isPeriodic Tales, whichcomes well recommended. The Periodic Table: A Visual Guide is a less idiosyncratic version of Grays sort of book above, as is another photographic guide, The Periodic Table. Update: I certainly need to mention the new Superheavy, on the transuranic elements. Another tour through the table is The Element in the Room. Readers here have also recommended Napoleons Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History(the more nerdy readers, like me, will have said tin! by now just from the title) and the (out of print) 1959 The Romance of Chemistry by Keith Irwin.
Its only partially concerned with chemistry, but I have to mention Randall Munroes What If?, which is very entertaining, and will also teach a good deal about science and scientific thinking to a lay reader. I was very glad to serve as one source for the question of what would happen if you stacked up hefty physical samples of each element into a big periodic table. In case youre wondering, the answer is nothing good. He now has a similar follow-up, How To, which continues the mayhem (!)
A reader pointed out in the comments to this post that John Clarks (in)famous Ignition! is back in print, courtesy of Rutgers University Press. This is quite a read for anyone who knows some chemistry, as its a first-hand look at the early days of rocket propellant research and features a great number of experiments that no one should ever contemplate doing ever again. Your eyebrow-raising muscles will get a workout.
Thomas Hager has written several books of interest on chemical history:The Alchemy of Air, on the Haber-Bosch process which simultaneously was of great use to the Third Reich and has subsequently helped to feed the world,The Demon Under the Microscope, on the discovery of sulfanilamide (another tangled tale), and a biography of Linus Pauling, Force of Nature. His latest is Ten Drugs, which should be of interest! Similarly, there is Miracle Cure by William Rosen, on the early days of antibiotic discovery. Fellow chem-blogger Wavefunction has recommendedStuff Matters, on materials science, and I reviewed its follow-up Liquid Mattersfor Nature here.And theres an inevitable subset of books on chemistry that concentrate on the poisons. Readers here have recommended books by John Emsley, Molecules of Murder and The Elements of Murder. Deborah Blums The Poisoners Handbook has also been very popular. Her follow-up, The Poison Squad, is on the alarming early days of food safety in the US.
On the other end of that scale, another inevitable category is the intersection of cooking with chemistry and the other sciences. The forthcoming Chemistry in Your Kitchen looks like it will address this pretty directly, and there are others in this space already: Culinary Reactions, as well as The Science of Good Cooking (from the reliable, and reliably nerdy and detail-oriented Cooks Illustrated people). That one has a new followup, Cooks Science, which I havent seen yet. Theres also The Food Lab, What Einstein Told His Cookand its first andsecond sequels, as well as The Science of Cooking, and of course theclassic book in this category,On Food and Cooking, by Harold McGee. His own follow-up to that one, The Curious Cook, is more of a grab-bag, but it contains a valuable bit of empirical research: the finest and most comprehensive table of proportions for sorbet-making that has ever been published, along with insights into the physics and chemistry of that whole process. I have put several of those recipes to the test.
In the same do-it-yourself category, but less edibly, there are a number of books out there on home experiments with chemistry, and these could make good gifts for the right people. I believe that theres a good audience out there of people who are interested in science, but have no particular training in it, either because theyre young enough not to have encountered much (or much that was any good), or because they missed out on it while they were in school themselves. And there are always curious kids and teenagers
A few years ago I mentionedRobert Bruce (and Barbara) Thompsons Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments along with its sequels, the Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments and the Illustrated Guide to Home Forensic Science Experiments. I have one of the Thompsons earlier books for my own home-science hobby, Astronomy Hacks its full of sensible advice, and I have no doubt that the above guides are as well. Similar books are Hands-On Chemistry Activities and its companion Hands-On Physics Activities.Slightly off kilter from these aretwo from Theodore Gray: Theo Grays Mad Science, and its sequel, Mad Science 2. Both of these are subtitled Experiments that you can do at home but probably shouldnt, and Id say thats pretty accurate. Many of these use equipment and materials that most people probably wont have sitting around, and so
me of the experiments are on the hazardous side (which, I should mention, is something thats fully noted in the book). But theyre well-illustrated from Grays own demonstration runs, so you can at least see what they look like, and learn about the concepts behind them. More practical, but less eye-openingis the series of books by Bassam Shakhashiri, whose web site is here. These are aimed at people teaching chemistry who would like clear, tested demonstrations for their students, but if you know someone whos seriously into home science experimentation, theyll find a lot here. The most recent, Chemical Demonstrations, Volume 5, concentrates on colors and light. The previous ones are also available, and cover a range of topics in each book: Volume 4, Volume 3, Volume 2, and Volume 1.
A couple of coffee-table books that land on each side of chemistry (the physics side and the biology side!) have appeared in the last few years from MIT Press: The Atom: A Visual Tour and The Cell, and both have high production values.
Finally,we get to a couple of personal-tinged books on the science, both of which Ive long recommended. First comes Oliver Sacks Uncle Tungsten, which is a memoir as well as a meditation on chemistry (and the love of chemistry). I did not enjoy Sacks more recent (posthumous) memoir, which struck me as rather flat and not adding to his legacy very much, but this one is much better. Another memoir of sorts, an episodic one, is of course the late Primo Levis The Periodic Table. Its somber at times, but also amusing, and when I read in it the phrase Chlorides are rabble, I knew I was in the presence of a good writer, a good chemist, and a good translator. (As Wavefunction noted oncewhen I mentioned this book, Levis text is not without mistakes, either, such as stating that Neil Bartlett won the Nobel for his noble gas fluoride discovery. He should have, and Id bet that most people who know about it think that he did, but. . .)
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Chemistry-Themed Books, 2019 - Science Magazine
Stephen Betts | BDN
Stephen Betts | BDN
FMC Corp. previously operated the carrageenan plant located on Rockland's waterfront. The plant is now owned by DowDuPont Chemical.
ROCKLAND, Maine FMC Corp. has agreed to pay a group of former employees $695,000 for wages they say the company failed to pay when its Rockland carrageenan plant was sold to DowDupont Chemical more than two years ago.
The settlement resolves the federal lawsuit filed by five longtime FMC employees last year and provides closure to an issue that has festered since the November 2017 sale of the plant. The terms of the settlement agreement, which was filed Friday, must still be approved by a judge.
The lawsuit claimed that FMC, a Pennsylvania-based chemical manufacturing company, violated a company policy and Maine law by failing to pay employees for accrued vacation time in 2017 when their employment with FMC was terminated.
When FMC sold the Rockland plant, its employees became DowDuPont employees.
FMC denied any wrongdoing, but settled the case because further litigation would be protracted, expensive and would divert management and employee time and attention, according to the agreement.
The lawsuit was initially filed on behalf of five former FMC employees: Thomas Ames of Owls Head, Todd Conant of Rockport, Gregory Gould of Rockland, Rodney Mason of Owls Head and Karen Migliore of Union.
It is being treated as a class-action case and about 107 former FMC employees qualify to receive a share of the $695,000 settlement.
The plant itself has been a fixture on Rocklands Tillson Avenue also known as Crockett Point since the 1930s, when Align Corp. began extracting carrageenan from red seaweed. Carrageenan is a thickening agent used in a range of products from ice cream to toothpaste.
FMC operated the plant from the 1970s until the 2017 sale, according to court documents.
The Rockland plant is again expected to change hands, as DuPont Nutrition and Bioscience the division of DowDupont that operates the plant plans to merge with International Flavors and Fragrances, which the companies announced in December of last year.
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Chemical company will pay former Rockland employees $695k for lost benefits - Bangor Daily News