Advice from a Wife, Henry A. Hill Award Mother and ... · The sixth biennial “Malta Conference” (Malta-VI) was held November 10-15, 2013, at the Hilton Hotel on the Mediterranean

http://www.nesacs.org

January 2014 Vol. XCII, No. 5

NORTHEASTERN SECTION • AMERICAN CHEMIC

ALSO

CIET

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FOUNDED 1898

NESACS

Monthly MeetingPanel Discussion: Alternate Careers for Chemistsat the Brookline Holiday Inn

Henry A. Hill AwardAddressBy Arthur S. Obermayer

Report from MaltaBy Morton Z. Hoffman

Advice from a Wife,Mother and AssistantChemistry Professorby Mindy Levine

2 The Nucleus January 2014

The sixth biennial “Malta Conference”(Malta-VI) was held November 10-15,2013, at the Hilton Hotel on theMediterranean island of Malta. Theseconferences, which are organized bythe Malta Conferences Foundation(MCF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organi-zation, are dedicated to the use of sci-ence diplomacy as a bridge towardpeace in the Middle East. They featureplenary lectures by Nobel Laureates,workshops on topics of importance toscientists and educators from theregion, oral and poster presentations byparticipants from the Middle East, andample time for everyone to make per-sonal and professional connections.Previous conferences were held inMalta in 2003 and 2005, in Istanbul in2007, in Amman, Jordan, in 2009, andin Paris in 2011 at UNESCO headquar-ters as part of the celebration of theInternational Year of Chemistry.

Representatives from 15 MiddleEastern countries (Bahrain, Egypt,Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait,Lebanon, Libya, Palestinian Authority,Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, andthe United Arab Emirates) were pres-ent at Malta-VI. A total of 80 invitedparticipants, including students andearly-career scientists, attended; 15others were unable to come to Malta, amember of the European Union,because of visa problems.

Plenary lectures were given byYuan T. Lee (Taiwan), Return to Nature,Back to Sunshine; Ada Yonath (Israel),Mid-East Regional Collaborations forInvestigating Cellular MolecularMachines; Danny Shechtman (Israel),Quasi-Periodic Materials – A ParadigmShift in Crystallography; ClaudeCohen-Tannoudji (France), Atoms andLight; and Roald Hoffmann (U.S.),Protochemistries Are the Bridge.

Plenary presentations were alsomade by Yvonne Pope (ChemicalAbstracts Services, U.K.), SciFinder –The Choice for Chemistry Research;Monique Beaudoin (U.S. Office ofNaval Research Global, London),

ONRG’s International Research Grantsand Research Support Grants; andMustafa Al-Ammar (Earth Ambassadorfor the Protection of the Planet andPreservation of Peace), SustainablePeace and Youth Leadership, who alsoperformed a number of Iraqi songs andballads.

Greetings were offered at theopening ceremony by Zafra Lerman(President, MCF), George Abela (Pres-ident, The Republic of Malta), GinaAbercrombie-Winstanley (U.S. Ambas-sador to Malta), Rob Luke (BritishHigh Commissioner to Malta), HenryFrendo (President, Malta NationalCommission for UNESCO), who reada message from Irina Bokova, theDirector General of UNESCO, andMarinda Wu (ACS President).

The opening address on “Sciencefor Peace” by HRH Princess SumayaBint El Hassan (President, Royal Sci-entific Society of Jordan), who wasunable to attend because of illness, wasread by a member of the Jordanian del-egation. Evening receptions were heldduring the week at the residences ofAmbassador Abercrombie-Winstanleyand High Commissioner Luke.

The following workshops, whichwere chaired by their organizers, wereheld: • Chemistry and Bio-Medicinal Chem-

istry: Cathy Costello (U.S.), Masoud

Mehrgardi (Iran), Mohammed El-Khateeb (Jordan)

• Analytical, Nanotechnology, andMaterial Science: Khalid Al-Saad(Qatar), Essam Al-Jumaily (Iraq),Ossama Assad (Israel)

• Energy, Environment, Air and WaterQuality: Chuck Kolb (U.S.), YehudaShevah (Israel), Tareq Abu Hamed(Israel), Alfred Abed Rabbo (Pales-tinian Authority)

• Chemistry Safety and Security: LeivSydnes (Norway), Nadia Kandile(Egypt), Saeed Al-Alawi (Bahrain)

• Science Education at All Levels:Howard Alper (Canada), RachelMamlok-Naaman (Israel), BoshraMossaad Awad (Egypt)

Forty-four oral presentations weremade in the workshop sessions; 25posters were on view throughout theentire meeting.

At the end of the conference, theworkshop organizers provided sum-maries of the talks in their sessions,many of which were quite provocativeand stimulating, and the vigorous dis-cussions that ensued. Proposals werepresented for future actions, includingthe continuation of existing collabora-tions and the development of newones, the dissemination of the informa-tion from the workshop, and the searchfor funding to provide research andinternational exchange opportunitiesfor students and faculty. In the closing

Report from MaltaFrontiers of Science: Research and Education in the Middle EastMorton Z. Hoffman (Boston University; Treasurer, Malta Conferences Foundation) <[email protected]>

The distinguished guests: (l-r) Marinda Wu(ACS President), Rob Luke (British High Com-missioner to Malta), Zafra Lerman (President,Malta Conferences Foundation), George Abela(President, The Republic of Malta), Gina Aber-crombie-Winstanley (U.S. Ambassador toMalta), Henry Frendo (President, MaltaNational Commission f

Hilton Hotel, site of Malta-VI.(Photos by M. Z. Hoffman)

continued on page 13

The Nucleus January 2014 3

The Nucleus is published monthly, except June and August, by the Northeastern Section of the AmericanChemical Society, Inc. Forms close for advertising on the 1st of the month of the preceding issue. Textmust be received by the editor six weeks before the date of issue.Editor: Michael P. Filosa, Ph.D., 18 Tamarack Road, Medfield, MA 02052 Email:

filosam(at)verizon.net; Tel: 508-843-9070Associate Editors: Myron S. Simon, 60 Seminary Ave. apt 272, Auburndale, MA 02466,

Mindy Levine, 516-697-9688, mindy.levine(at)gmail.comBoard of Publications: Mary Mahaney (Chair), Vivian K. Walworth, James PhillipsBusiness Manager: Karen Piper, 19 Mill Rd., Harvard, MA 01451, Tel: 978-456-8622Advertising Manager: Vincent J. Gale, P.O. Box 1150, Marshfield, MA 02050,

Email: Manager-vincegale(at)mboservices.net; Tel: 781-837-0424Contributing Editors: Morton Hoffman, Feature Editor; Dennis Sardella, Book Reviews Calendar Coordinator: Michael P. Filosa, email: filosam(at)verizon.netPhotographers: Morton Hoffman and James PhillipsProofreaders: Donald O. Rickter, Vivian K. Walworth, Mindy Levine Webmaster: Roy HagenCopyright 2014, Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society, Inc.

The Northeastern Section of the AmericanChemical Society, Inc.Office: Anna Singer, 12 Corcoran Road,Burlington, MA 01803(Voice or FAX) 781-272-1966.e-mail: secretary(at)nesacs.orgNESACS Homepage:http://www.NESACS.orgOfficers 2014ChairCatherine CostelloBoston University School of Medicine670 Albany Street, room 511Boston, MA 02118-2646Cecmsms(at)bu.eduChair-ElectKatherine L. LeePfizer200 CambridgePark Drive, t6014KCambridge, MA 02140katherine.lee(at)pfizer.com617-665-5664Immediate Past ChairLiming Shao158 South Great RoadLincoln, MA 01773Shao(at)fas.harvard.edu781-518-0720Secretary:Michael SingerSigma-Aldrich3 Strathmore Rd, Natick, MA 01360774-290-1391, michael.singer(at)sial.comTreasurer:James Piper19 Mill Rd, Harvard, MA 01451978-456-3155, piper28(at)attglobal.netAuditor:Anthony RosnerArchivistTim FrigoTrustees:Peter C. Meltzer, Michael E. Strem, DorothyPhillipsDirectors-at-LargeDavid Harris, John Neumeyer, Mary Burgess, James Phillips, Ralph Scannell, John BurkeCouncilors Alternate CouncilorsTerm Ends 12/31/2014Katherine Lee C. Jaworek-LopesMichael P. Filosa Lawrence ScottDoris Lewis John PodobinskiMorton Z. Hoffman Stuart LevyPatrick Gordon Mukund ChorghadeMary Burgess Sonia Strah-PleynetTerm Ends 12/31/2015 Catherine E. Costello Jerry JasinskiRuth Tanner Stephen LantosKen Mattes Norton P. PeetMichaeline Chen Wilton VirgoJackie O’Neil VACANT Term Ends 12/31/2016Michael Singer Sophia R. SuMary Shultz Leland L. Johnson, Jr.Robert Lichter Mary MahaneyHeidi Teng Andrew ScholteMarietta Schwartz Raj Rajur

ContentsReport from Malta _____________________________________2Frontiers of Science: Research and Education in the Middle EastBy Morton Z. Hoffman

Advice from a Wife, Mother, and Assistant Chemistry Professor _4by Mindy Levine

Monthly Meeting _______________________________________5Panel Discussion: Alternate Careers for ChemistsAt the Holiday Inn - Brookline

2013 NESACS Golf Tournament___________________________7By Amy Tapper

Historical Notes _______________________________________7Bernard Siegal (1925-2013) and Clarence Grant (1930-2013)By Myron S. Simon

2013 Henry A. Hill Award Address_________________________8By Arthur S. Obermayer

October Monthly Meeting ________________________________9By Michael Filosa with photos by James Phillips

Connections to Chemistry ______________________________10By Marietta Schwartz with photos by M. Z. Hoffman

A Plea for Section Dues ________________________________16

Cover: Pictured at the cocktail hour prior to the October Meeting are (L-R)Adelaide Cromwell Hill, Judith Obermayer, Anthony Cromwell Hill, Arthur S.Obermayer and Dorothy Phillips, Chair of the NESACS Award Committee.Photo by James Phillips

Editorial Deadlines: March 2014 Issue: January 15, 2014April 2014 Issue: February 15, 2014

All Chairs of standingCommittees, the editor of THE NUCLEUS, and the Trustees of SectionFunds are members of theBoard of Directors. AnyCoun cilor of the American Chemical Soci-ety residing within the section area is an exofficio member of the Board of Directors.


The following is based on a talk I gaveat the 246th National ACS Meeting inIndianapolis, as part of a symposium inhonor of Women Chemists CommitteeTravel Award Alumnae:It always makes me self-conscious togive advice to a diverse audience, as itis quite presumptuous to think that at30 years old and 3.5 years on this job, Ihave enough experience that I can tellother professionals, especially thosewho have more years of experience,how I think they can improve theirwork-life balance. However, I havefound other people’s advice to betremendously helpful, so I will attemptto pass along some of that wisdom andsome tips that have worked for me.

I think that talking about work-lifebalance issues is crucially importantfor everyone, but especially for female

professors in STEM disciplines,because there continues to be a signifi-cant gender gap in STEM. While thatgap is narrowing at the undergraduate,graduate, postdoctoral, and even assis-tant professor levels, it remains high atthe associate and full professor levels.This means that even when academicdepartments hire female professors,and invest tremendous time andresources in the success of those juniorfaculty members, some factors are dis-proportionately affecting women andcausing them to leave academia athigher rates than their male colleagues.

Anecdotal evidence suggests thatmany of the factors that cause womento leave academia relate to their strug-gles in managing their work, personal,and family responsibilities success-fully. Helping people navigate their

work and personal obligations is notjust a women’s issue – it is an issuethat strongly affects any employee whohas a family, or outside interests, orhobbies. It is also an issue that, if notaddressed, will continue to negativelyimpact scientific progress, by prevent-ing talented scientists from all back-grounds from using their talents tocontribute to scientific progress. Dr.Rosalyn Yalow, in her Nobel Prizespeech from 1977, said, “The worldcannot afford the loss of the talents ofhalf its people if we are to solve manyproblems which beset us.” This state-ment was true in 1977 and continues tobe true more than 30 years later. I willtherefore share some of my own expe-riences in an attempt to help other pro-fessors, both male and female, tonavigate extensive and time-consum-ing professional and personaldemands.

Some brief biographical informa-tion: I received a Ph.D. from ColumbiaUniversity in 2008, under the guidanceof Professor Ronald Breslow, and thenspent 2 years doing an NIH-fundedpostdoctoral fellowship at MIT, work-ing for Professor Timothy Swager.During that time, I gave birth to a son.In 2010, I started my independentcareer as a tenure-track assistant pro-fessor at the University of RhodeIsland. During the past 3½ years, Ihave published 11 papers (with 2

2013 NESACS Golf SponsorsLSNE Lyophilization Services of NE Strem Chemical Litman Gerson Sage Chemical DavosPrime OrganicsBrian O-Reilly, LLP, Patent LitigationJohnson MattheyIRIX PharmaceuticalsCambridge Major O’Conner Carnathan and Mack, LLCEdelstein and Co.Chengda - Social Hour Sponsor


Advice from a wife,mother, and assistantchemistry professorBy Mindy Levine


Monthly MeetingThe 937th Meeting of the Northeastern Section of the AmericanChemical Society

Panel Discussion: Alternate Careers for ChemistsThursday, January 16, 2014

Holiday Inn –Brookline1200 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA 02446

4:00 pm Annual Meeting in “Whitney A”4:30 pm Board Meeting in “Whitney A”5:30 pm Social Hour in “Whitney B”6:30 pm Dinner in “Whitney B”

7:30 pm Welcome, Dr. Catherine Costello, NESACS Chair

Panel Discussion: Alternate Careers for Chemists, or What Do I Want to Be When I Grow Up?

Dr. Heidi Erlacher, Partner, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky andPopeo, P.C.Dr. Monica Palme, Senior Director of Drug Development, Pfizer, Inc.Dr. Eddine Salah, Head of Chemistry, Atlas VentureDr. Katherine Lee, Moderator

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED Dinner reservations should be made no later than noon, Thursday, January 9,2014. Reservations are to be made using PayPal: http://acssymposium.com/paypal.html. Select pay with credit or debit card optionand follow the additional instructions on the page. Members, $30; Non-mem-bers, $35; Retirees, $20; Students, $10. New members or those seeking addi-tional information, contact the NESACS administrative secretary, Anna Singer,at [email protected] (PREFERRED) or at (781) 272-1966 between 9 amand 6 pm. Reservations not cancelled at least 24 hours in advance must bepaid. If you wish, join us for the evening program only, starting at 7:30 pm. Reserva-tions are not needed for those who will not attend the dinner.Directions:By Public Transportation: The Holiday Inn Boston-Brookline hotel is conve-niently located across from the Green Line “C” St. Paul Street trolley stop.From the Mass Pike: From US 90E, take Exit 18. Follow Cambridge signsright to Storrow Drive/Kenmore Square exit. Take the immediate right ontoBeacon St., and proceed for 2 miles.From 93 North or South: Take 93 to US 90E, then take Exit 18 as describedabove. Parking: Metered parking is available on Beacon Street. Parking is availablein the Holiday Inn garage ($15 maximum).

Biographies:Heidi Erlacher

Heidi Erlacher received her B.A.degree, summa cum laude, with High-est Honors in Chemistry from ClarkUniversity in 1989 and her Ph.D. in1996 from the Massachusetts Instituteof Technology, where she worked withProf. Jamie Williamson on the synthe-sis and structural analysis of modifiedRNAs. She did postdoctoral workexploring ribozyme kinetics atUMASS Medical School and theScripps Research Institute. In 1998,she returned to the Boston area andjoined the Technology Specialist pro-gram in the Intellectual Property Sec-tion at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris,Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. Heidi becamean associate at Mintz Levin after grad-uating cum laude from Suffolk Univer-sity Law School in 2003, and became amember (partner) at Mintz Levin in2008. Heidi’s practice focuses onstrategic counseling and patent prose-cution, primarily in the field of smallmolecule pharmaceuticals.

Monica Palme

Monica Palme received her B.Sc.(1988) and Ph.D. (1993) degrees fromthe University of British Columbiawhere she worked on the evaluation ofcamphor derivatives in terpenoid syn-

continued on page 6


thesis under the direction of Prof.Thomas Money. She did postdoctoralwork exploring the development ofnew glycosidation methodologies andapplication to the syntheses of com-plex oligosaccharides at the SwissInstitute of Technology (ETH) inZurich under Prof. Andrea Vasella. In1996 she worked as a medicinalchemist at Eisai Research Institute(Andover, MA), becoming a co-inven-tor of Halaven, a complex, fully syn-thetic macrocyclic ketone analogue ofthe marine sponge natural product hali-chondrin B which is approved to treatmetastatic breast cancer. Monica spent12 years at biotech companies in Cali-fornia where she became Sr. Directorof Research Chemistry, Project TeamLeader on multiple programs rangingfrom gastrointestinal to CNS diseasesand Sr. Director of Drug Design andDiscovery. This work included bring-ing a compound from inception to Ph 2clinical trials and out-licensing. Cur-rently, Monica is Sr. Director of Devel-

opment at Pfizer in Cambridge, MA,where she uses her broad scientificexperience in drug development strat-egy, options analysis, risk-mitigationassessment, and project informationand communications management formultiple programs from discoverythrough IND filing, clinical trials up toPh 2 and planning for Ph 3.

Eddine Saiah

Eddine received his Ph.D. inchemistry from Pierre and Marie CurieUniversity (Paris, France) in 1992 fol-lowed by a postdoc at the Mayo ClinicFlorida. He has worked at several com-panies, including DuPont Pharmaceuti-cals and Wyeth. He joined Pfizer in2009 through the Wyeth acquisition

where he was the head of the Medici-nal Chemistry group in Cambridge,MA. At Pfizer, Eddine led the chem-istry efforts for the Inflammation &Immunology group in Cambridge andalso worked with the Orphan andGenetic Diseases group and was thechair of the Pfizer Medicinal Chem-istry Design Network Group. Eddinewas involved in a range of programsincluding oncology, cardiovascular,metabolic diseases and inflammationwith multiple compounds in the clinic.Eddine joined Atlas Venture in June of2013 where he is involved in multipleearly stage companies. u

Biographies:Continued from page 5

THE COMMITTEE ONCHEMICAL ABSTRACTS(CCAS) WANTS YOUR

FEEDBACKVisit our page on ACS Network:

https://communities.acs.org/groups/chemical-abstracts-service-committee

or contact Michael Filosa with any suggestions at [email protected]

https://communities.acs.org/groups/chemical-abstracts-service-committee

The 9th Annual NESACS Golf Tourna-ment was held on August 5th at Kern-wood Country Club in Salem MA. Wewere fortunate to have had the oppor-tunity to play at this prestigious 100-year old Donald Ross Course.

It is a beautiful course runningalong the Danvers River. This year EdPrice, the CEO and founder of PCISynthesis and member of KerwoodCountry Club, offered to co-sponsorthe tournament. The 5th of August wasa nice day for golf, although a littlewindy. This year we had a total of 112players. Every player really enjoyedthe course and the terrific food.

This year the format of the tourna-ment was different. We played a bram-ble which means that every player inthe foursome hits his or her drive andthen each player plays their own ballinto the hole from the best drive posi-tion of the foursome.

Another difference this year was adelicious sit down BBQ lunch. Playersalso had the opportunity to go to thedriving range and practice their chipsand putts prior to the 1 PM shot gunstart. Snack stations on the course weregenerously sponsored by Lyophiliza-tion Services of New England (LSNE)and Sage Chemical.

The tournament was followed by asocial hour which was generouslysponsored by CHEPHA, Ltd. Therewere hors d’oeuvres (lamb chops werea major hit!) and cocktails before thedelicious buffet dinner. The social hourprovides an opportunity for the playersto brag about their games, but also anopportunity to network. Players fromall areas of pharma and biotech attendeach year.

As always, prizes were given tothe top three teams as well as to theplayers with the longest drive and clos-est to the pin shots. The first placeteam with a score of 63 was Ed Pel-letier, Andrew Pelletier, Nick Diletto,and Joe Ketula. The second place teamwith a score of 64 was Edward Czer-

nicki, John Licata, Kevin Sparks, andRick Fisher. The third place team witha score of 65 was David Rogers,Stephen Trahan, Anthony Tavalone andJoe Baumann. The longest drive formen was Perry Catchings and thelongest drive for women was AmyTapper. Closest to the pin for men wasHenry Smith and closest to the pin forwomen was Cassandra Celatka. Thisyear we also gave out raffle tickets andthe pro shop provided a variety of gifts


2013 NESACS GolfTournamentBy Amy Tapper

HistoricalNotesby Myron S. Simon

Bernard Siegal 1925-2013Bernard Siegal of Bedford , MA diedon June 24, 2013 at the age of 88. Hehad been a member of the ACS forfifty years and was a former chair ofthe Society of Cosmetic Chemists. Hegraduated from Yeshiva University in1945 and went on with chemistrycourses at New York Univesity andCity University of New York, receiv-ing the A.M. Degree in 1953. Hereceived a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sci-ences from Rutgers in 1968.

His career included 16 years atBristol Myers leaving as LaboratoryDirector. In 1969 he was appointedDirector of Product Research atGillette and in 1979 joined Herbert V.Huster, Inc. of Quincy, MA where hedeveloped a series of products forhousehold and personal use. His workwas in emulsion and suspension tech-nology.

As well as his membership in sev-eral Chemical societies he was a mem-ber of the Regulatory AffairsProfessional Society in which heearned certification.

He is survived by his sons Williamand Matthew, and daughter Dina, theirspouses, and grandchildren Madeleineand Anna.

Clarence Grant 1930-2013Professor Clarence “Tiny” Grant, 83,died on October 13, 2013 at his homein Exeter, NH.

He was born July 8, 1930 inRollinsford, NH, the son of Mertonand Susan (Hutchins) Grant. He grad-uated from The Dover, NH HighSchool in 1947 and earned his B.S. inChemistry at UNH in 1951. He earnedhis M.S. in 1956 and his Ph.D. fromRutgers University in 1960.

He taught at UNH for 36 years.He was Chairman of the ChemistryDepartment from 1976 to 1979, andretired as Professor Emeritus. His stu-


The first place team from Met Life with a score of63: (L-R) Joe Ketula, Nick Diletto, Ed Pelletierand Andrew Pelletier. (Photos by Amy Tapper)

Tournament co-chair, Harry Mandeville (R)with Angelo Boncare (Photos by Amy Tapper)

Men's long drive champion, Perry Catchings



When I sent my photo to DorothyPhillips, I warned her that I was grow-ing a beard, but I hadn’t decidedwhether to shave it off. Indeed I amthe same person as I used to be; I amnot an impostor! Since I lost so muchhair on the top, I decided to replace itwith hair on the bottom.

Thank you for this honor. As a61-year member of the NortheasternSection, I have been able to participatein Section activities over a long periodof time and have enjoyed working withsuch fine people. I never wanted to bea bench chemist and have been pleasedto have the opportunity to be creativeby using my skills in research, busi-ness management, organization, poli-tics, and legislation to advance thechemical profession.

I especially appreciate receivingthe Henry Hill Award and am pleasedthat both his son, Tony, and his wife,Adelaide Cromwell, are here tonight. Ihave known them both well since Istarted my company in December1960. Only a month later at the Janu-ary 1961 Northeastern Section meet-ing, I met Henry Hill, who wasplanning to start his own company. Wedecided that there would be consider-able synergism in working together.

I had already incorporated Mole-culon, had found space to rent,acquired a large stock of chemicalreagents from a chemical analysiscompany in Worcester that had goneout of business, and had talked withcarpenters who were experienced atbuilding lab benches - but nothingmore, except some chemical experi-ments I had performed in my apart-ment kitchenette. Initially, we had nopartitions, and bookshelves substitutedfor them. This first photo is of Henryand me sitting at our desks.

The first bookshelf we assembledheld Henry’s bound volumes of manyyears’ issues of the Journal of theAmerican Chemical Society. I specifi-cally remember Tony helping toassemble the bookshelves shown inthe next photo. My recollection is

that he was about 12 years old at thattime. He told me this evening that hewas only 9.

In 1961, there were no angelinvestment groups, no incubators, andonly one venture capital organizationin the country, American Research andDevelopment. We survived on ourown money, doing a little consulting,for almost a year. All of a sudden onDecember 12, 1961, Moleculonreceived its first two significant con-tracts. They allowed us to buy someequipment, including an early gaschromatograph. The largest contractrelated to the work I had been doing inmy previous job, nuclear weaponseffects. This was a time when atmos-pheric tests had stopped, but under-ground tests continued for the nextdecade.

I am sure most of you are aware ofthe issues concerning whether theUnited States should bury its nuclearwastes underground within YuccaMountain in Nevada. Well, bothHenry and I spent a lot of time insideYucca Mountain, where a majornuclear test took place. The next photo

Henry A. Hill Award AddressBy Arthur Obermayer

Henry Hill at his desk

Arthur Obermayer and Henry Hill sharingoffice space at Moleculon.

Setting up the experiment inside Yucca Moun-tain.

The experimental setup - pre-blast.

The experimental setup - post-blast.

Arthur Obermayer, Henry Hill and Bruce Nor-cross cleaning pipes outside of the Yucca Moun-tain entrance.



The highlights of the October Meeting are always theawarding of the Henry A. Hill Award for Meritorius Serviceto the Northeastern Section and the recognition of the 50-year and 60-year members of NESACS. Alfred A. Barney ofStrem Chemical was also recognized as the 2013 OutreachVolunteer of the Year for the Northeastern Section. This yearthe Hill Award was presented to Arthur Obermayer a long-time colleague and friend of Henry Hill. We were very hon-ored to have Dr. Hill's wife, Adelaide Cromwell, and his

son, Anthony Cromwell Hill, in attendance. The sixty-yearmembers in attendance were Robert Stolow, Boris Levy andRobert Hong. Professor Ramesh Jasti of Boston Universitywas unable to present his talk on carbon nanotubes. His stu-dent, Tom Sisto, ably stood in for him and presented theevening lecture. The meeting was held at the Boston Uni-versity Florence and Chafez Hillel House which is locatedat 213 Bay State Road. u

L-R) Ruth Tanner (NESACS Immediate Past Chair), 60-Year ACS members, Robert Stolow, BorisLevy and Robert Hong, Liming Shao (NESACS Chair), Catherine Costello (NESACS Chair-Elect).

Dr. Alfred A. Barney is recognized as the 2013Outreach Volunteer of the Year for the North-eastern Section by NESACS Immediate PastChair, Ruth Tanner.

Arthur Obermayer (L) receives the 2013 HenryA. Hill Award from NESACS Chair, Liming

Arthur Obermayer talks about Henry Hill. Tom Sisto of Boston University Department ofChemistry

Don Rickter (L), an ACS Legacy Leader, withMary Bet Dobson, Assistant Director for Individ-ual Giving for the American Chemical Society.

Photos from the October MeetingBy Michael Filosa with Photos by James Phillips

Updated frequently • Late-breaking news • position postingsBack issues of the Nucleus archived • Career-related Links • Awards and Scholarships

WWW.NESACS.org

The NESACS website



L-R: Ruth Tanner (University of MassachusettsLowell), NESACS Immediate Past-chair; AnnaSinger, NESACS Administrative Secretary;Marietta Schwartz (University of MassachusettsBoston), Chair, NESACS Education Committee. Jerry Bell (ACS), at left, and Alan Crosby (New-

ton South High School) with "Gus."Jerry Bell (ACS) conducting his workshop,"Hands-on Climate Change Science for YourClassroom."

Kristen Vanderveen (The Bromfield School,Harvard, MA) at Bell's climate change scienceworkshop.

Jerry Gilligan, Ph.D. student of Deyang Qu(University of Massachusetts Boston), conduct-ing the workshop, "Electric Vehicle Powered byRenewable Energy."

Steve Lantos (Brookline High School), Chair,NESACS High School Education Committee,preparing for his workshop.

The Fourteenth Annual Connections to Chemistry programtook place at Burlington High School (Burlington, MA) onWednesday, October 16th, 2013. The program is aimed atconnecting high school chemistry teachers with the educa-tional resources of the American Chemical Society. Eachregistrant participated in two of four different workshopswhich included a National Chemistry Week themed work-shop on “Artificial Photosynthesis: A Workshop on SolarCell Design” (given by Dr. Jonathan Rochford, UMassBoston), a presentation on “Hands-on Climate Change Sci-ence for Your Classroom” (given by Dr. Jerry A. Bell fromthe American Chemical Society), another National Chem-istry Week themed workshop on “Electric Vehicle Poweredby Renewable Energy” (offered by Dr. Deyang Qu, UMassBoston) and a workshop on “Inquiring Minds Want toKnow: Recent Lab Practicals from the US National Chem-istry Olympiad” (given by Mr. Steven Lantos, Brookline

High School). Thirty-five registrants attended.The participants were welcomed by Marietta Schwartz,

Connections Program Chair and Chair of the NESACS Edu-cation Committee. Following the workshops and dinner(highlighted by the traditional baked apples with caramelsauce), the keynote address was given by Dr. Bell. His talk,entitled “Energy: Now and Forever?” gave an overview ofthe ACS Climate Toolkit and the basics of global climatechange, why we should be informed on it, and what we cando to make sure that there is, in fact, “Forever”. His addresswas followed by the traditional raffle of American ChemicalSociety items. All of the participants received a one year’ssubscription to ChemMatters, an award–winning magazinefor high school chemistry, published by the ACS. Partici-pants also received copies of the Journal of Chemical Edu-cation, Chemical & Engineering News, and The Nucleus. u

2013 Connections to ChemistryBy Marietta Shwartz with Photos by M. Z. Hoffman

photos continued on page 11


2013 ConnectionsContinued from page 10

such as a putter and a travel bag. We are extremely grateful to our

hole sponsors whose generous contri-butions provide support for NESACSprograms. The 2013 sponsors are:Lyophilization Services of New Eng-land (LSNE), Cambridge Major Labo-ratories, Davos Pharma, IRIXPharmaceuticals, Johnson Matthey,Litman Gerson, Mack, LLC, Edelsteinand Co., O’Conner Carnathan, PrimeOrganics, Sage Chemical, and StremChemical.

Please visit the NESACS websiteto find links to our sponsors’ webpages and learn more about the prod-ucts and services they provide. We arelooking forward to the 10th annualtournament in 2014! Information willbe posted on the NESACS website inthe spring. u

GolfContinued from page 7 NESACS

ArchivesHave MovedThe NESACS Archives were movedfrom their location of many years inthe basement of the Regis CollegeLibrary to a new temporary location atSigma-Aldrich Corporation in Natick,MA. A more permanent long-termstorage location is desired.

NESACS expresses great appreci-ation to Regis College for allowingNESACS to store its archives in itslibrary. NESACS is further apprecia-tive of Michael Singer and Sigma-Aldrich for making storage spaceavailable while a more permanentsolution is sought. u

Jonathen Rochford (University of MassachusettsBoston) with participants in his workshop onsolar cell design.

Jerry Bell (ACS) presenting the keynote address.

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newly accepted publications), pre-sented research at a number of confer-ences, and received external fundingfor our research. I also gave birth to asecond son in January 2012. Through-out this time, I have struggled to suc-cessfully manage my personal andprofessional life. I expect that thisstruggle will continue to be a lifelonglearning experience.Work advice:

1. To-do lists: I think this cannotbe emphasized enough. Make a lot ofto-do lists. Make as many to-do lists asyou can – and in all cases, the morespecific the to-do list is, the better thelikelihood that you will actually do thethings on the list. In my case, I main-tain 3 lists: (1) A long-range to-do listthat I compile at the beginning of thesemester/ summer/ winter break, whichincludes goals for each project (paper,grant application, etc); (2) A weekly to-do list that I compile on Sunday night,where I look at the long-range list anddivide up the necessary tasks by day;and (3) the daily to-do list that includesso much of the minutiae inherent tothis job (type up problem set solutions;order chemicals for a new project;proofread a budget justification for agrant, etc). I try to avoid schedulingany commitments in the morning(more feasible during the break time),so that I ensure that I’ve finished allthe “major tasks” for the day and leavethe minutiae for later in the day whenI’m more distracted. Following to-dolists also takes away the emotionalenergy associated with constantlyquestioning whether you are workingon the most important thing – you havealready decided (with the long-range,weekly, and daily to-do lists) what the‘most important’ thing is, and you nolonger need to be constantly second-guessing yourself.

2. Be possessive of your time.Everyone has only a limited amount oftime (24 hours in everyone’s day).People who are rushing to make a 6 pmday care pickup or who can’t come inuntil 9:15 am after school drop offhave even more limits on their time.

Designate times that you will meetwith your students and times that youwill keep your door closed. Think care-fully before agreeing to go to meetingsor serving on committees. Prioritizeyour time carefully.

3. Limit the guilt. Every time youare working, you have made a decisionthat you are doing what is most impor-tant at that time. Every time you arewith your children, you have alsomade a decision (consciously or sub-consciously) that this is where youshould be spending your time. Oncethat decision is made, try to be donequestioning it and feeling guilty thatyou are not doing something else.Personal advice:

1. Learn to live with a mess. Pri-oritize what is important in your homelife, and chances are good that clean-ing up the toys/clothes/dishes/papers isnot going to be a top priority. Eitherfind someone that you can pay to cleanup for you, or learn to live with a lot ofmess.

2. Delegate. Cost permitting, donot do something yourself that you canpay someone else to do for you. Thisincludes: cleaning bathrooms, washingdishes, shoveling snow, and rakingleaves. But it can also include groceryshopping, picking up and dropping offdry cleaning, and other assortederrands. You might be surprised by thenumber of things that you can payanother person to do.

3. Find more time in your day.Try to find time to get work done onthe weekends and holidays that doesn’tinterfere with your family life. For methat is usually early morning. I will getup as early as I need to (routinely asearly as 5:30; sometimes as early as 4am) to get whatever work I need donebefore 8:30 am, when the rest of thefamily activities start.

4. Talk to people. Talk to as manypeople as you can to know that every-one who is a parent and a professor hasto juggle a lot of responsibilities. Wecan commiserate and swap strategiesof what works.

5. Be explicit with your needs.This is mostly related to yourspouse/partner. I’ve gone to quite anumber of talks about work-life bal-

ance where the speaker says, “Find asupportive spouse.” Unfortunately, Ionly started going to these talks after Igot married. The problem with thatkind of advice is that it is not action-able. How do you know whether some-one will be supportive before youmarry him/her? How do you deal witha spouse you already have who maynot know what you need to be support-ive? My advice on this is: Be explicitwith your spouse about what you needhim/her to do or say to support yourwork.

There are quite a number of chal-lenges associated with being a wife,mother, and assistant professor simul-taneously. The biggest one, in myopinion, is the general expectation thatacademia is a 24/7 job, and the realitythat you are competing against peoplewho aren’t parents or spouses and havemore time to devote to the grant appli-cations and scientific research. Whileyou cannot change that reality, the bestyou can do is to work as hard as youcan in the time you have, and hope thatwill be enough.

In conclusion, we are certainly notthe first generation of women who aretrying to balance demanding profes-sional and personal lives, althoughthere may be particular challenges forour generation. However, every daythat we do good science, teach the nextgeneration of chemists, apply forgrants and publish articles, AND gohome to a spouse, children, and partnerand relate to them, we are showing thatit can be done. We are not worse scien-tists for also being parents, spouses,and caregivers. In some ways, consid-ering the life experience and perspec-tive that our personal responsibilitiesconfer, we may even be better scien-tists for it. u

Advice from MindyContinued from page 4

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session, the participants, many ofwhom had attended previous MaltaConferences, enthusiastically endorsedthe motion that Malta-VII be held in2015.

In addition to its President andTreasurer, the other members of theMCF Board of Directors who attendedwere Iona Black (Secretary), CathyCostello, Chuck Kolb, Howard Alper,Leiv Sydnes, and Stanley Langer.More information about the MCF and

the Malta Conferences can be found athttp:// maltaconferencesfoundation.org.

An article about Malta-VI bySarah Everts appeared in C&EN, Vol.91, Issue 46, Nov. 18, 2013, p. 7. u

Report from MaltaContinued from page 2

For late breaking news, job postings and the latest meeting and event information please visit us at

WWW.NESACS.ORG

Zafra Lerman (President, Malta ConferencesFoundation), at right, with Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley (U.S. Ambassador to Malta).

(l-r) Nour el-Hoda Abd el-Hamid and Doaa AliMohamed, both from the Alexandria University,Egypt.

(l-r) Ahmed Mohammed Al-Rajeh andMohammed Abdel Hakim, both from Qatar Uni-versity.

is of Henry and me and another Mole-culon person, Bruce Norcross, cleaningpipes in a shed just outside the tunnelentrance to Yucca Mountain. The nextphoto is of us working on our experi-ment over a mile inside the tunnelentrance. The next photo is of ourexperiment as it was assembled, andthe final photo is of its condition afterthe test.

Actually this was as expected.Indeed, we were able to bring the pipesback to our lab in Cambridge and carryout the desired chemical tests. Forexample, we discovered in this testthat, although under normal heatingconditions, Teflon decomposes into itsmonomer, tetrafluoroethylene. Under avery high temperature and extremelyshort pulse the principal decompositionproduct is perfluoroethane.

Henry and I continued to workclosely together for three years, untilhe decided he wanted his own facilityand moved from Cambridge to Haver-hill. Outside of work, I rememberspending many enjoyable eveningswith Adelaide and Tony. I still recalltheir lovely house on Riverside Streetin Watertown. Even in cooking, Henrymade use of the appropriate laboratoryequipment. I can picture him in hiskitchen using a separatory funnel toseparate the water phase from the oil

An aerial view of Yucca Mountain with road toshed at tunnel entrance

Hill Award AddressContinued from page 8

dents voted him Outstanding Teacherin 1987.

Among the organizations he con-sulted for, he was a consultant to theU.S.Army Corps of Engineers and wasgiven an Army Special Act Award in1994.

He was a member of many scien-tific organizations and served as presi-dent of the Society of AppliedSpectroscopy. His research studiesyielded 52 journal articles and he alsopublished five book chapters and 30government technical publications.

In 1952 he married Helen Garlandwho survived him, along with 3 sonsPhilip, Stephen and David, theirspouses, and five grandchildren. Hisbrothers Donald and Kenneth had pre-deceased him. MSS u

Historical NotesContinued from page 7

phase of roast beef gravy. Henry and I had other things in

common. We both had Ph.D.’s inchemistry from MIT, and our wivesboth had Ph.D.’s from Harvard. I alsorecall that Adelaide comes from a verydistinguished and highly educatedAfro-American family, and her cousinwas Senator Edward Brooke. Henry,on the other hand, went to a segre-gated college in North Carolina, and itwas only through the strong supportand encouragement of Professor JamesFlack Norris that he was admitted toMIT. Decades later Henry was pleasedto be able to initiate on a national levelthe James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry.

I am pleased to have the opportu-nity here to show this very strong con-nection between Henry Hill andmyself, and why I am so proud toreceive this award. u



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Index of AdvertisersDrew University...............15Eastern Scientific Co. ......11Mass-Vac, Inc.....................4Micron, Inc. .....................14NuMega Resonance Labs14Organix, Inc. ....................14PCI Synthesis...................14Pitconn 2014......................6Rilas Technologies, Inc. ..15Robertson Microlit Labs..14Tyger Scientific, Inc. .......14Waters Corporation..........15

Check the NESACS home pagefor late Calendar additions:http://www.NESACS.orgNote also the Chemistry Department webpages for travel directions and updates.These include:http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/chemistry/semina

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minarSeries/index.asphttp://www.chem.umb.eduhttp://www.umassd.edu/cas/chemistry/http://www.uml.edu/Sciences/chemistry/Seminar

s-and-Colloquia.aspxhttp://www.unh.edu/chemistry/events

Jan 15Prof. Kenichiro Itami (Nagoya University)“Catalyst-Enabling Chemistry toward Transformative Molecules”Boston College, Merkert 1304:00 pm

Jan 28Prof. Paul Hergenrother (Univ. of Illinois)Boston College, Merkert 1304:00 pmProf. David Nicewicz (U. of North Carolina)Boston University, Metcalf Rm 113, 4:00 pm

Notices for The NucleusCalendar of Seminars should be sent to:Michael Filosa, email:Michael.filosa(at)verizon.net u

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A Plea forLocalSectionDuesWhen you receive your dues bill fromNational ACS it will include an itemfor Northeastern LS Voluntary Dues of$22. Every member of ACS who livesin New Hampshire or eastern Massa-chusetts is automatically a member ofthe Northeastern Section (NESACS).These dues are voluntary, and abouthalf of our 6500 members choose notto pay them.

As Treasurer of NESACS, I wouldlike to urge all members to pay thesedues and support the Section activities,even if you do not regularly attendNESACS meetings. Dues constitutethe major source of discretionaryincome to the Section. While mostawards programs are supported byTrust funds, your dues and contribu-tions fund activities such as those ofthe Education Committee, NationalChemistry Week, Younger Chemists,and Project SEED, all of which benefitthe general chemical community.

Non-payment of Local Sectiondues has no effect on the individualmember. ACS does not permit us todiscriminate between members whopay dues and those who do not, so, forexample, the Nucleus is sent to allmembers by mail or electronically.Members for whom dues are non-deductible might prefer to send a con-tribution to NESACS, sincecontributions to the Section are taxdeductible. Checks payable toNESACS can be sent to the Treasurerat 19 Mill Rd., Harvard, MA 01451 orto the administrative secretary.

Your support of the Section isgreatly appreciated, and the Board ofDirectors conscientiously strives to seethat all Section activities advance thechemical enterprise.-Jim Piper, NESACS Treasurer u

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DorothyPhillipsElected toACS BoardCongratulations to Dorothy Phillips onher election to the Board of Directionsof the American Chemical Society. Shewill serve a three year term on theBoard (2014-2016).Diane Grob Schmidt of The Proctorand Gamble Company is ACS Presi-dent-Elect for 2014. She finishedahead of G. Brian Balazs of LawrenceLivermore National Laboratory andNESACS member, Charles E. Kolb, Jr.of Aerodyne Research.Congratulations to all the candidates.u

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Documents

Advice from a Wife, Henry A. Hill Award Mother and ... · The sixth biennial “Malta Conference” (Malta-VI) was held November 10-15, 2013, at the Hilton Hotel on the Mediterranean