Mar 2004: ACCN, the Canadian Chemical News

canadienne March � mars

2004Vol. 56, No./no 3

L’Actualité chimiqueChemical NewsCanadian

International Experts Examine the

Public Understanding of ChemistryHighlights from National Chemistry Week 2003

281917

• Guest Column/Chroniqueur invité 2Chemical CommunicationDick Puddephatt, FCIC

• Letters/Lettres 3

• Personals/Personalités 3

• News Briefs/Nouvelles en bref 4

• Chemputing 6Buzz Off!Marvin D. Silbert, FCIC

• Chemfusion 7Wanted: Enzymes—Dead or Alive?Joe Schwarcz, MCIC

• Chemical Shifts 8

• Interfaces 10Bridging the “Two Cultures” Divide Roger Nash

• National Chemistry Week 25

• CIC Bulletin ICC 33

• Division News/Nouvelles des divisions 33

• Local Section News/Nouvelles des sections locales 34

• Student News/Nouvelles des étudiants 35

• Events/Événements 37

• Professional Directory/Répertoire professionnel 38

• Careers/Carrières 39

Table of contentsTable des matières

L’Actualité chimique canadienne � Canadian Chemical News

2004Vol. 56, No./no 3

March �mars

Page Page Page

A p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e C I CU n e p u b l i c a t i o n d e l ’ I C C

Cover/CouvertureMad scientists or miracle workers? Experts the world over are concernedabout improving the public’s perceptions—and promoting a positiveimage—of chemistry! What can YOU do to spread the message?

Photo by: Ian MacDonald

Feature Articles/Articles de fond

Are Chemists Too Shy For Their Own Good? 12Chemists must toot their own horns. Toot them loudly.And toot them often!

Madeleine Jacobs

Making the Connection 15Showing the public how advances in the chemical industryimprove the quality of life

Vince J. Smith

Say What? 17Once we have the public’s attention—how can we help them to understand what chemists mean?

Joseph F. Bunnett

Stunning Stunts 19The RSC sparks widespread media interest in chemistrythrough offbeat news stories

Brian Emsley

What If All Chemists Quit? 20A nightmarish tale of science fiction

Armand Lattes

The CICand itsconstituent

societies strivefor effective com-munication withour members. Weneed to reachinternational col-leagues, potentialmembers, andpeople whosedecisions canimpact our mem-

bers’ interests—including members ofgovernments and granting agencies. Wealso need to reach Canadian citizens gen-erally—in our outreach programs we seekto communicate with non-members. Wewant to tell people why the chemical sci-ences are important, and why they shouldbe supported. We need to promote a posi-tive image of chemistry, chemicalengineering, chemical technology, and forthe practitioners of these disciplines. Ofcourse, we hope that some of these folkswill join the CIC too.

Conferences and professional developmentcourses play vital roles in outreach. Theannual conferences of the CSC and CSChEare our best-known showcases. They attractgraduate students, industrial chemists andchemical engineers, and high school teacherswho get their first impressions of the CICthrough the scientific symposia and socialevents. International outreach is built intothese conferences through invited speakersand from the presence of representatives ofoverseas societies. Joint conferences withinternational societies provide a particularlygood showcase for Canadian science andengineering. The joint CSC-IUPAC conferencein Ottawa in 2003, the regular Pacifichemconferences in Hawaii, and the forthcomingorganization by the CSChE of the WorldCongress of Chemical Engineering in 2009 areprime examples of these meetings. The CSC-IUPAC conference attracted delegates frommore than 50 countries. The CSCT haschosen to focus on providing an outreachservice through professional developmentcourses, sometimes in conjunction with theconstituent society conferences. A particu-larly successful course on laboratory safetywas held during the CSChE conference inHamilton, ON, in 2003. The CSChE promotesprocess safety management seminars to

assist companies in implementing newregulations.

ACCN is an accessible mode of communi-cation, and there are also national andinternational publications that have a strongoutreach component. The Laboratory Healthand Safety Guidelines handbook, publishedby the CIC, is an invaluable resource for lab-oratory personnel. Every laboratory bookshelfshould have a copy. The Canadian Journal ofChemical Engineering, published by CSChE,advertizes the merits of chemical engineeringin Canada to a truly international readership.

The CIC outreach to youngsters is a year-round commitment built around the NationalChemistry Week program. The ChemicalEducation Trust Fund has been important forsponsoring student conferences, science fairs,and competitions, and the trustees are alwayslooking for new and imaginative proposals.The chemical education division oftensponsors symposia at which high schoolteachers are encouraged to participate.

Outreach to governments is carried outthrough lobbying and is a cooperative venturewith several professional groups. The CIC is avery active participant in both the PartnershipGroup for Science and Engineering (PAGSE)and the Canadian Consortium for Research(CCR) in the advancement of research issuesto the federal government. Our message—thatchemistry and chemical engineering play keyroles in all of the developing technologies thatunderpin a knowledge-based economy—is be-coming more widely accepted. The CICoutreach to Canadian citizens will be accen-tuated by having the CIC take a public positionon scientific policies and issues that have amajor impact on our members, and on whichour scientific expertise will command respect.

All of these outreach programs are effectivein promoting the image of our disciplines andthe interests of our members. But you can actindividually too, or through your local section,whenever you have an opportunity to meetyour MP or MPP, to visit a high school chem-istry class, or to recruit a new member for theCIC. Outreach is truly a cooperative andsymbiotic activity.

2 L’Actualité chimique canadienne � mars 2004

Section headGuest Column

Chroniqueur invité

Editor-in-Chief/Rédactrice en chefMichelle Piquette

Managing Editor/Directrice de la rédactionHeather Dana Munroe

Publications Assistant/Adjoint aux publicationsJim Bagrowicz

Graphic Designer/InfographisteKrista Leroux

Editorial Board/Conseil de la rédactionTerrance Rummery, FCIC, Chair/Président

Catherine A. Cardy, MCICCathleen Crudden, MCIC

Milena Sejnoha, MCIC

Editorial Office/Bureau de la rédaction130, rue Slater Street, Suite/bureau 550

Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2613-232-6252 • Fax/Téléc. 613-232-5862

[email protected] • www.accn.ca

Advertising/Publicité[email protected]

Subscription Rates/Tarifs d’abonnementNon CIC members/Non-membres de l’ICC : in/auCanada CAN$50; outside/à l’extérieur du CanadaCAN$75 or/ou US$60. Single copy/Un exemplaireCAN$8.

Canadian Chemical New/L’Actualité chimiqueCanadienne (ACCN) is published 10 times a year byThe Chemical Institute of Canada / est publié 10 foispar année par l’Institut de chimie du Canada.www.cheminst.ca

Recommended by The Chemical Institute of Canada,The Canadian Society for Chemistry, the CanadianSociety for Chemical Engineering, and the CanadianSociety for Chemical Technology. Views expresseddo not necessarily represent the official position ofthe Institute, or of the societies that recommend themagazine. Translation of any article into the other officiallanguage available upon request. / Recommandépar l’Institut de chimie du Canada, la Sociétécanadienne de chimie, la Société canadienne de géniechimique et la Société canadienne de technologiechimique. Les opinions exprimées ne reflètent pasnécessairement la position officielle de l’Institut oudes sociétés constituantes qui soutiennent la revue. Latraduction de tous les articles dans l’autre langueofficielle est disponible sur demande.

Change of Address/Changement d’[email protected]

Printed in Canada by Gilmore Printing Services Inc.and postage paid in Ottawa, ON./Imprimé au Canada par Gilmore Printing ServicesInc. et port payé à Ottawa, ON.Publications Mail Agreement Number/No de convention de la Poste-publications :40021620. (USPS# 0007-718)

Indexed in the Canadian Business Index andavailable on-line in the Canadian Business andCurrent Affairs database. / Répertorié dans laCanadian Business Index et à votre disposition surligne dans la banque de données Canadian Businessand Current Affairs.

ISSN 0823-5228

Chemical CommunicationOutreach Programs of the CIC

Dick Puddephatt, FCIC

Dick Puddephatt, FCIC, is Chair of theCIC for 2003–2004 and, in his spare time,

is senior editor of the Canadian Journalof Chemistry, and Canada ResearchChair in Chemistry at the University

of Western Ontario.

Government

Eliot A. Phillipson has beenappointed the fourth presidentand CEO of the Canada Foun-dation for Innovation (CFI). Hesucceeds the CFI’s currentpresident, David Strangway.Phillipson currently serves asthe Chair of the department of

medicine at the University ofToronto. He will begin his newposition at the CFI on July 1,2004. He will be responsiblefor managing a $3.65 billionbudget and will work tostrengthen the capacity ofCanadian universities, colleges,research hospitals, and othernon-profit research organiza-tions to carry out world-classresearch and technologydevelopment.

“Phillipson is an outstandingresearcher and leader who iscommitted to shaping thefuture of science in Canada,”said Alan Bernstein, presidentof the Canadian Institutes ofHealth and Research and a CFIBoard director. “His appoint-ment ensures that the CFI willcontinue to support research inareas of strategic importance toCanada.”

Section headPersonals

Personnalités

March 2004 � Canadian Chemical News 3

Eliot A. Phillipson

University

James Thompson, FCIC,retired from the department ofchemistry at the University ofToronto after 36 years ofdedicated service. He served asAssociate Chair from 1974 to1977 and again from 1982 to1993. In 1995, his appointmentwas shifted to the university’sScarborough campus. Heserved as Chair of the divisionof physical sciences from 1962to 2002. During his retirement,

Thompson plans to continue topursue his interests in travel,target shooting, and militaryhistory.

DistinctionNobel laureate in chemistry,John Polanyi, FCIC, wasawarded the first InternationalAcharya Sushil Kumar PeaceAward from the South AsianStudies program at NewCollege at the University ofToronto. The award was estab-lished in memory of the Jainteacher Acharya Sushil Kumaji(1926 to 1994), known for hisdedication to promoting peaceand harmony by mediatingreligious and secular conflictsin India. The award waspresented at the Isabel BaderTheatre. After the award cere-mony, Polanyi gave a lectureentitled, “The World at theCrossroads: Law or War?”

John Polanyi, FCIC,

Zero-Sum Game

Many chemical professionalsare undoubtedly in agreementwith you that there is promisein the initial statements ofPaul Martin and, especially,in the appointment of ArthurCarty, FCIC, my former Wa-terloo colleague. An issue theNSERC Discovery Grant (DG)committees will face inextremis this year is the largenumber of first-time appli-cants. A strong case must bemade via the Council thatadditional funds are neededto support the brightest of theyoung without damaging theresearch programs of themore experienced and highlyproductive scientists. Theremust be an injection of fundsthat allows the committeesto be in a position to makedecisions based on the peerreview system that, based

on experience of researchsupport internationally,works extremely well.

We must not place thecommittee members into aposition of the zero-sumgame that takes from onegroup to give to the other, anoccurrence that happens after(by personal witness) thelong and arduous processwhereby grappling with theexcellence of the proposalshas been completed. Theacross-the-board cut to matchthe budget completelynullifies the work of thecommittee and the applicant.Additional funding forstart-up researchers is neededto maintain and hopefullyimprove the health ofCanadian science.

Victor Snieckus, FCIC

A Second Lookat the List

I enjoyed reading the article,“Environment Canada’s NewEnvironmental EmergencyRegulations” by John Shrives,MCIC, (ACCN Vol.56, No. 2,p. 17) and have some ques-tions for the author:

What do the concentrationsin the list (pp 18-19) refer to?Why does the list include

fuming sulfuric acid but notsulfuric acid? I do not thinkthat hydrogen cyanide is awide-spread chemical. On theother hand, potassiumcyanide is, but is not listed.Does the list exist somewhereon the EC website? I couldnot find it.

Vladimir Zitko, FCIC

ObituariesDennis W. Bruce, MCICLaurence H. Cragg, FCICGerhard Lindner, MCICStephen White, MCIC

Letters / Lettres

The CIC meetswith LiberalGovernmentOn February 5, 2004 SteeringCommittee members of the Cana-dian Consortium for Research(CCR) were pleased to hear thatthe federal Liberal government

remains committed to Canada’sstated goal of becoming theworld's fifth most research-inten-sive nation by 2010. It is

estimated that up to 100,000additional research scientists andengineers will be required.

Pictured from left to right areFrancine Ford, executive directorof the Canadian Association ofPhysicists (CAP); Roland Ander-sson, MCIC; executive director ofthe CIC; Joe Fontana, MP, parlia-mentary secretary to the primeminister, Bruce Sells, executive

director of the Canadian Federa-tion of Biological Societies(CFBS); and Don McDiarmid,CAP.

First NorthAmerican PTAplant inMontréalQuebec Premier Jean Charestinaugurated Interquisa asCanada’s first North Americanpetrochemical plant, built in theindustrial zone of Montréal’sEast End. The Interquisa Canadaplant produces purified tereph-thalic acid (PTA). The facility iscapable of producing 500 kilo-tonnes per year of PTA. Thechemical is used as a raw mate-rial in the production of PET softdrink containers, polyester filmfor audio and video tapes, andsynthetic resins used in varioustypes of paints and textiles.Output will be marketed inNorth America.

Jointly owned by Interquisa, asubsidiary of the Spanishgroup, Compaña Española dePetróleos SA (CEPSA), and

Societé générale de financementdu Québec (SGF), InterquisaCanada represents an invest-ment of over $800 million andranks among the three largestindustrial projects in Quebec inthe past few years. Investisse-ment Québec also contributed$50 million under the FAIREprogram.

The new Interquisa plantallowed the reopening of theCoastal facility, which producesparaxylene, the raw material forPTA. “We are especially proud tonote that the Interquisa Canadaplant is the driving force of theindustrial recovery of the petro-chemical sector in Quebec,” saysCarlos Perez de Bricio, Chair ofthe board of directors and presi-dent and CEO of CEPSA.

Although Interquisa has beenproducing PTA for over 25 years,its facilities are located in Spain.The Montréal plant is the firstproduction facility for CEPSAoutside of Europe

Camford Chemical Report


Section headNews Briefs

Nouvelles en bref

The Government of Canada hassigned its third climate changeagreement with industry. DuPontCanada has committed to reduceits greenhouse gas emissionsby 15 percent between 2008and 2012.

The climate change Memoran-dum of Understanding (MOU)with DuPont sets out keyelements of a climate changeagreement between Ottawa andDuPont Canada and highlightstheir mutual efforts to develop afunctioning emissions tradingsystem. This will allow for thebuying and selling of greenhouse

gas emission permits. “DuPont’spast achievements in reducingemissions, combined with itscommitment for continuousimprovement, put the companyin a strong position to play asignificant role in the proposedemissions trading system inCanada,” says Minister Dhaliwal.

The support and partnershipof large final emitters such asDuPont Canada is essential tothe successful implementation ofthe Climate Change Plan. Theprinciples in the MOU areconsistent with governmentcommitments to industry made

in the Climate Change Plan forCanada, released in November2002. The MOU sets out a15 percent emissions intensitytarget for the production of nylonintermediates during the firstKyoto commitment period (2008to 2012). This target reflectsrecognition for early action takenby DuPont since 1997 and isconsistent with governmentcommitments to not disadvan-tage firms that have taken stepsto reduce greenhouse gas emis-sions. The MOU signed with thegovernment will also give thecompany clarity on the treatment

of these reductions as theyproceed with corporate restruc-turing this year.

DuPont has reduced theemissions intensity of itsproduction of nylon as a result ofinvestment in new technologyand equipment to abate nitrousoxide emissions—a type ofgreenhouse gas identified in theKyoto Protocol.


Canadian Tire was sentenced inthe Ontario Court of Justice inBrampton, ON, on three countsof violating the Ozone-DepletingSubstances Regulation under theCanadian Environmental Protec-tion Act, 1999. The charges were

laid by Environment Canada afteran investigation by the Environ-mental Branch of the OntarioRegional Office.

Canadian Tire imported barrefrigerators containing dichlorod-ifluoromethane, which is in

violation of the Montréal Protocol.Contravention of the CanadianEnvironmental Protection Act,1999 can result in a maximumfine of $300,000 for a first offence.

The company was fined$25,000. The funds will go to the

Canadian Dermatological Associ-ation for public education andawareness of skin cancer andrelated health concerns linked tothe thinning of the ozone layer.


Canadian Tire Illegally Imports Ozone-Depleting Substance

DuPont Signs Emission Reduction MOU


Section headNews Briefs

Nouvelles en bref

Alcan ClosesAluminumPlantAlcan will permanently haltproduction at its 60-year-oldJonquière Soderberg primaryaluminum facility in Saguenay,QC, in the second quarterof 2004.

“Despite our efforts over theyears to bring the JonquièreSoderberg lines up to today’senvironmental and technologicalstandards, the reality is that thistechnology has a limited lifespan,” says Travis Engen,president and CEO of Alcan.Compared with other Alcansmelters in Quebec, theJonquière Soderberg plant hasthe highest production costsand faces the greatest environ-mental challenges. It is also oneof the least energy efficient.

The increase in the value ofthe Canadian dollar comparedwith the U.S. currency over thelast year contributed to thisdecision. The currency increasehas been greater than the recentrise in the aluminum marketprice. The company plans toclose the four Soderbergpotlines between now and April2004. The shutdown will elimi-nate 90 kt/yr of capacity, whichrepresents three percent ofAlcan’s global production. Theremaining 163 kt of pre-bakesmelting technology capacity inJonquière will not be affected.


The Battle toShip ChlorineThe Chlorine Chemistry Council(CCC) delivered testimonytoday at a Council of theDistrict of Columbia publichearing on the “TerrorismPrevention and Safety inHazardous Materials Trans-portation Act of 2003 (Bill15-525).” The Act wouldprohibit large shipments ofhazardous materials, includingchlorine, by rail or truckthrough the district.

Speaking before the Coun-cil’s Committee on PublicWorks and the Environment,CCC director C.T. Howlett, Jr.testified that while the bill’sintent may be admirable, itsapproach would actuallyincrease risk and underminehomeland security effortsalready developed by a cooper-ative of relevant metropolitanarea and federal agencies. “Atremendous amount of coordi-nation and cooperation hasalready been displayed on thefederal, state, city, and privatesector levels over the last twoyears on prevention, mitiga-tion, and effective emergencyresponse to terrorism,” saysHowlett.

Ironically, the proposed billwould increase risk by imped-ing the delivery of materialsessential to fighting terrorismand protecting public healthfrom biological weapons. Chlo-rine and its derivatives areresponsible for the production

of water disinfectants, anthraxand other biological weapon.85 percent of all pharmaceuti-cals (including the antibioticCipro, used to treat anthrax),flak jackets, military and policehelmets, bullet resistant glass,alloys unused in aircraft andmissiles, and more.


FlamesDestroyHydro AgriPlantA fire early this year destroyedthe Hydro Agri Canada plantnear Montréal. Despite the lossof production, the companysays it will continue to supplyits customers. The fire causedclose to $3 million in damage.A company spokesperson saidit is too early to determinewhen the plant will be opera-tional again.

The facility made nearlyone-third of Hydro Agri’s homeand garden and golf courseproducts. The company says itis making arrangements withother manufacturers at threelocations to make its products.“Customers will be well lookedafter,” says Hydro Agri Canadapresident Gilles Payette.


Curbing TCEHealth Canada and the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee onDrinking Water are in the processof revising the Canadian guidelinefor trichloroethylene (TCE) indrinking water. It is proposed thatthe guideline should be loweredfrom 0.05 mg/L to 0.005 mg/L.

The consultation document forthis proposed guideline has beenposted on Health Canada’s Website. Recent studies suggest a pos-sible link between long-termexposure to high levels of TCE andcancer. In addition, preliminarystudies indicate a possible linkbetween exposure to high levels ofTCE and potential reproductiveeffects associated with fetal heartdevelopment. However, even athigh concentrations of TCE,current studies show only a verylow rate of reproductive health ef-fects. Further studies are requiredto confirm these reproductive ef-fects, as well as their long termsignificance to human health.

TCE is not a concern forthe majority of Canadians. Thechemical can be introduced intogroundwater as a result of indus-trial discharges or spills, or leakingfrom old dump sites. It is, however,a volatile solvent used extensivelyin the automotive and metal indus-tries for degreasing and cleaning ofmetal parts. The Solvent Degreas-ing Regulations under the CanadianEnvironmental Protection Act,1999, which came into force in July2003, are designed to significantlyreduce the use of TCE in Canada.


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Switching your ISP might force you to set the credit bureaus straightMarvin D. Silbert, FCIC

Buzz Off!Section head

Chemputing

Ican't believe how many people tell methe same horror story. They sign upwith an Internet Service Provider (ISP)

to get online and several months later thatservice starts to deteriorate. They move to anew ISP, and before long, the old ISP startsdemanding payment for time after the serv-ice was terminated with threats of going toa collection agent. How far can this go? Justread my horror story and realize that it's alltrue and fully documented.

Several years ago my ISP went under andI joined Interlog.com. Interlog.com was aToronto-based ISP that served some 10,000people with fantastic service. They grew andwere bought out several times over. As thesystem grew, the service went downhill.Needless to say, I left. After six months, In-terlog’s latest reincarnation starteddemanding money. Little did I know that Iwas about to pass through the Twilight Zoneinto that region where the “Dark Side”prevailed and everything I knew about rightand wrong would be reversed.

It started with a letter from Rapide Inves-tigation, a Montréal-based collection agency.I told them to “Buzz Off!” (or somethingstronger) until they could send me writtenconfirmation that I owed money, and I askedfor the name of the senior manager to whomI should address further correspondence.Collection agencies don’t work that way.They don't put things in writing, and theonly truth to them is that you owe money.Unfortunately, they have a very powerfulweapon. When I refused to pay the moneythat I didn’t owe, they reported me to thecredit bureaus.

Credit reporting in Canada is controlled bytwo companies—TransUnion and Equifax.Neither company defines the truth the sameway we do. I got copies of my credit recordfrom both and immediately complainedabout that entry from Rapide Investigation.Both companies responded with a series ofanonymous letters claiming that the entrywas “accurate and factual.” They didn’tlisten to reason, but did allow me to makean entry on my record rebutting that claim.I sent those rebuttals and was dissatisfied

with what followed. TransUnion neverresponded. Equifax changed the wording ina way that I felt weakened its impact. I wentafter them for an explanation and also askedabout the relationship between them andRapide Investigation as I was concernedabout a possible conflict of interest.I expected they would quickly make thingsright. They didn’t and the chain began.I went to the V.P. in Montréal and sheseemed to make every effort to avoidanswering my questions. I then went to thepresident in Toronto with those same ques-tions. He did correct the rebuttal wording,but failed to explain why it had been alteredor to answer my other questions.

It was now time to wake up TransUnion.I think my original request must have beenlost in the system. A few weeks later theyremoved that claim from my record. A letterfrom Rapide Investigation a few days latershowed the record cleared. I went back tothe president of Equifax asking him why hissystem hadn't done the same. He failed torespond to my questions and told me, “Webelieve we have fulfilled our obligations inthis manner by the Consumer Reporting Act,and we will not be providing furthercomment of documentation at this time.” Afew weeks later, they sent a copy of myrecord with that offending entry expunged.

It took a ridiculous amount of time andeffort to clear my record. Was it worth theeffort for a measly $119.35? Sure it was. I dohave my principles. If my record was notaccurate, what makes you think yours is? Assoon as you finish reading this, go aftercopies of your record and see what financialinformation is being passed around behindyour back. Go to both TransUnion (1-800-663-9980 or www.tuc.ca/) and Equifax(1-800-465-7166 or www.equifax.ca). Youcan get application forms on the Web, butmust apply in writing with copies of twopieces of identification. Beware of anyrequest for a fee as the law requires them tomail you a copy at no charge.

What happens if you don’t agree withwhat you see? You have the right to send astatement of rebuttal that will be inserted in

your file. They will send a form and therules for filing it. But you won’t know whowill receive it, nor their role within theorganization. It was difficult to trace who’swho in the credit bureaus. After much effort,Equifax USA told me to contact Rick Cleary,the president of Equifax Canada at110 Sheppard Ave. E, Toronto, ONM2N 6S1, fax 416-227-5470, [email protected]. Each province andterritory also has a department that overseescredit reporting, and it might be a good ideato send them copies. I kept them in the loop,but have no way of knowing whether to givethe credit for my cleansed record to theOntario Registrar of Credit Reporting,TransUnion, or my own persistence.

This mess exists because the creditbureaus operate behind a cloak ofanonymity. It costs them money every timethey send out a record and much more if apresident gets bogged down trying to explainthings. Consider it your duty to pass copiesof this page to everyone you know (or don’tknow). If those costs get high enough, thecredit bureaus might realize that the “DarkSide” can never win.

You can reach our Chemputing editor,Marvin D. Silbert, FCIC, at Marvin Silbert and

Associates, 23 Glenelia Avenue,Toronto, ON M2M 2K6; Tel. 416-225-0226;

Fax: 416-225-2227; E-mail: [email protected];Web site: www.silbert.org.


“Just try it once please, just try it,”the lady pleaded with me. “OK,”I finally said, hoping to bring the

discussion to an end. She opened thethermos bottle she had been clutchingand poured me a glass of a green liquid,assuring me that she had squeezed thewheatgrass barely an hour ago. I couldtherefore be confident, she said, that theenzymes in it were still alive! Well, deador alive, they certainly did nothing for thetaste of the beverage. This wheatgrassjuice was one of the foulest things I’veever tasted. Of course, I was quicklyassured that I was not drinking it fortaste; I was drinking it for health.

This gustatory calamity followed on theheels of an hour or so long discussion onthe merits of consuming live enzymes. Myguest had sought an appointment to openmy eyes to a form of therapy that wouldhelp millions of people who were beingpoisoned by eating “dead food.” And so itwas that I came to learn about the Hip-pocrates Health Institute and the teachingsof Ann Wigmore.

Wigmore was a Lithuanian émigré tothe U.S. who had become convinced ofthe healing power of grasses after readingthe Biblical story of Nebuchadnezzar, theBabylonian king who went through aseven-year period of insanity from whichhe apparently cured himself by eatinggrass. Wigmore reflected on this story,considered how dogs and cats sometimeseat grass when they feel ill, and came upwith a theory about the magical propertiesof wheatgrass juice. Food rots in the intes-tine due to improper digestion, shemaintained, and forms “toxins” that thenenter the circulation. The living enzymesin raw wheatgrass prevent these toxinsfrom forming and ward off disease. By1988 Wigmore, who had no recognizedscientific education, was even suggestingthat her “energy enzyme soup” was capa-ble of curing AIDS.

Ann Wigmore died in 1994 but the “liveenzyme” theory lives on. Numerous bookstout the benefits of ingesting enzymes,

health food stores stock bottles of enzymecapsules and powders, and restaurantsthat guarantee low temperature cooking tostop the murder of enzymes are sproutingup. No need to worry about killing en-zymes though. They were never alive inthe first place. Enzymes are not composedof cellular units, they cannot reproduce,they cannot carry on metabolism and theycannot grow. Ergo, they are not alive.

“There would be no life without en-zymes,” begins the usual sales pitch. Aninarguably correct statement. Indeed, en-zymes are special protein molecules thatare involved as catalysts in virtually everychemical reaction that takes place in thebody. “Heat can destroy enzymes,” thepitch continues, “so processed or cookedfood is devoid of these life-giving sub-stances.” This is also true. The inferencethen is that we should be eating “livefood” because that’s the only way we canget the “live enzymes” our body needs. Inthe case of Ann Wigmore, it is more thanan inference. Her book states that “Each ofus is given a limited supply of enzyme en-ergy at birth. This has to last a lifetime.The faster you use up the supply, theshorter your life. Cooking food, processingit with chemicals, using medicines, usesup the enzymes. The Hippocrates Dietmakes enzyme deposits into the account.”Absurd! Our body does not need, and ex-cept for specific rare instances, cannot useingested enzymes.

Enzymes are proteins, and like otherproteins are broken down during diges-tion. The fact that studies have shown thatsome enzymes may escape digestion andenter the bloodstream should not be inter-preted as a benefit. Enzymes areremarkably specific in their actions andthe enzymes that may make it into thebloodstream from food are not the same asthe body’s enzymes. Many promoters of“live food” diets emphasize that the “liv-ing enzymes” in fresh fruits andvegetables help digestion and spare thebody’s enzyme supply from being wastedon digestion. The spared enzymes are then

said to be free to take part in metabolismand disease fighting. Nonsense. Metabolicenzymes have nothing to do with digestiveenzymes. Even if enzymes in raw fruitsand vegetables survived passage throughthe highly acidic environment of the stom-ach, and even if they managed to enhancedigestion in the small intestine, theywould have no affect on the enzymes in-volved in the cellular processes that go onall over the body.

This is not to say that oral enzyme ther-apy is always without merit. People whoare lactose intolerant can benefit from in-gestion of the enzyme lactase that islacking in their digestive tract. But the lac-tase pills have to be specially formulatedto enhance passage through the stomach.Cystic fibrosis patients have to compen-sate for a lack of pancreatic enzymes byswallowing pills, which again are enteri-cally coated to ensure they reach the smallintestine. There is even research underwayto investigate whether certain oral en-zymes may be of use in cancer treatment,unfortunately so far, not with encouragingresults.

Now that I’ve gotten all that off mychest, I’ll go on record as recommending a“live food” diet. The fruits and vegetablesthat make up such a diet contain all sortsof substances that enhance health. But en-zymes are not among them. As I related allof this to my office guest, I had a glimmerof hope when she seemed to accept my ex-planation that oral enzymes in food areunlikely to survive digestion. The seemingvictory, though, was short lived. “Maybethat’s why Ann Wigmore was so high onwheatgrass juice enemas,” she retorted.Mercifully, she didn’t ask me to try one.

Popular science writer, Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, isthe director of McGill University’s Office for

Science and Society. He hosts the “Dr. Joe Show”every Sunday 3 to 4 p.m. on Montréal’s radio

station CJAD. The broadcast is available on theWeb at www.CJAD.com. You can contact him

at [email protected].

Joe Schwarcz, MCIC

Wanted: Enzymes—Dead or Alive?

Chemfusion


What’s new in chemistry research?Chemical Shifts offers a concentrated look at Canada’s latest developments.

Chemical ShiftsSection head

Chemical Shifts

Chemicalstop signs: Controlling proton flow withcarbonyls

It appears as though pH control in thebody may be as easy as flipping aswitch. Recent work has shown that

structural features of cellular membraneproteins influence the mechanism of pro-ton transport, and that conformationalchanges in the protein’s structure may actas an “on/off” switch for proton transport.Régis Pomès and co-worker Ching-HsingYu from the Hospital for Sick Children andthe University of Toronto, have studied thegramicidin A (gA) protein through molecu-lar dynamics simulations in order toelucidate the chemistry involved in protontransport. gA is a pentadecapeptide thatforms a cation-permeable channel in lipidbilayers. The channel is lined with watermolecules that help in the transport of pro-tons. Dimers of gA can be obtained byintroduction of a dioxolane ring between

N-formylated termini of two gA molecules.The covalently linked dimers form chan-nels whose proton permeability differssignificantly depending on the chirality ofthe dimer (Figure 1). In the so-called SS di-astereomer, the dioxolane ring liesperpendicularly to the channel axis. Thisisomer displays permeability comparableto native gramicidin, while the RR isomer,in which the ring normal lies almost per-pendicular to this axis, is significantly lesspermeable than natural gramicidin. In dif-ferent conformers of the RR isomer, thecarbonyl groups of the dioxolane linkercan point into or out of the channel. An ex-cess proton is confined to the channelcentre when both carbonyl groups pointinto the channel due to favourable charge-dipole interactions, whereas it residespreferentially in one of the monomerswhen one of the carbonyls points out.Thermal activation, however, can causeconformers to interconvert, acting as whatPomès describes a “push switch,” whichcan effectively control proton passage.While further investigations will continueto uncover the relationship between struc-ture and function in these proteinchannels, Pomès’ work demonstrates thatsubstrate translocation through host chan-nels can be controlled by relatively minorstructural alterations of the protein.

For a full report on this investigation, seethe Journal of American Chemical Society2003, 125, 13890.

Bringing alkynesand aminestogether withtitanium

Catalytic hydroamination reactionsare fast becoming a prevalent meansof preparing amines and imines.

Currently, the addition of an N-H bondacross a carbon-carbon multiple bond inthe presence of a transition metal-basedcatalyst often yields non-regioselectiveproducts, limiting the overall applicabilityof these reactions. Recently, however,Laurel Schafer and postdoctoral fellowZhe Zhang at the University of BritishColumbia have prepared a novel bis-(ami-date)titanium precatalyst 1 (Scheme 1)that is highly active and regioselective inthe hydroamination of terminal alkynes.

The anti-Markovnikov aldimine productsof these reactions are particularly usefulintermediates for further functionalizationto amine and aldehyde derivatives.

Figure 1. Dioxolane-modified proteins

Scheme 1

Acknowledging the general activity ofGroup 4 cyclopentadienyl-based catalysts,Schafer’s chelating amidate ligand offersvariable steric and electronic substituents inthe backbone, ultimately enabling her totune the environment about the metalcentre for optimal catalysis. Consequently,increasing the steric bulk around the metalgenerated not only a higher product yield,but also resulted in higher regioselectivityfor the anti-Markovnikov product 4.Furthermore, the catalyst has shown activitywith a range of alkynes, which is an indi-cation of its wide applicability forhydroamination reactions. The activecatalyst was also successfully employed inthe one-pot synthesis of isoquinoline 8.Hydroamination of alkyne 2 with amine6 yields the aldimine intermediate 7. Thisaldimine yields the isoquinoline product 8after acid catalyzed ring closure. Thesynthesis of these structures is significantsince many medicinal compounds containisoquinoline structures.

See all the details in the original publication:Organic Letters, 2003, 5, 4733.

Triumphs withmuonium

Have you ever asked yourself,“What can muoniums do for me?”

According to chemistry professors JasonClyburne and Paul Percival, the muoniummay be the next best thing for studyingchemical reactions with hydrogen atoms.Clyburne and his co-workers at SimonFraser University have been studying thereactivity of special carbene systems:specifically, stable imidazol-2-ylidenes suchas 9. Indeed, the reaction of this carbenewith a neutral radical could potentiallyyield one of two products, resulting fromaddition either at the carbenic carbon (10a)or the alkeneic carbon (10b). The hydrogenatom remains an attractive reagent forstudying this reaction; its simplicity negatesany cumbersome steric and electronic con-siderations. The problems with using H• asa reagent, however, preclude its viability instudying these carbene reactions, especiallyconsidering that the protic reagents neces-sary for the generation of hydrogen atomsare not compatible with the carbenes.Instead, Clyburne, Percival, and theirco-workers Iain McKenzie, Jean-ClaudeBrodovitch, and Taramatee Ramnial

turned to the muonium atom, a light isotopeof hydrogen that has one electron and apositive muon as the nucleus, giving it one-ninth the mass of H•. Working at Canada’snational cyclotron facility, TRIUMF, locatedin Vancouver, they have been able to identifyradical products of muonium reactions usingmuon spin rotation and level-crossingresonance. Indeed, the SFU team has nowclearly shown that reactions with theimidazole-type carbenes occur solely at thecarbenic carbon, a distinction that previouslyremained unattainable.

For a full report, see the original paper,the Journal of American Chemical Society2003, 125, 11565.

This month’s Chemical Shifts column isauthored by Alyson Kenward, a first-year

graduate student at the University ofCalgary with Warren Piers. She completed

her BSc in chemistry at the University ofCalgary in 2003, and was bornand raised in British Columbia.

Cathleen Crudden, MCIC, is an associateprofessor at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON.


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The “two cultures” divide

Ours is an age of a widening “twocultures” divide between thesciences and society. Scientists find

it difficult to explain their more complexachievements to citizens. Citizens areexpected, increasingly, to take science onfaith. Unless the divide can be bridged, weface the dangers of mutual bafflement andmistrust. The history and philosophy ofscience itself can serve as a source ofguidance. A case in point is the philosopherThales (circa 625 to 545 B.C.E.), who stoodat the very beginnings of science, and triedto block the “two cultures” divide fromever happening.

Thales of Miletus

Thales lived in Miletus, Ionia. None of hiswritings survived to the time of Aristotle(384 to 322 B.C.E.). We’re left with onlyfragmentary reports by later writers whorelied on strong oral tradition. Thales wascounted among the “Seven Sages” inancient Greece. He was venerated amongstthe very wisest; able to build bridges be-tween different intellectual endeavours, orbetween the emerging sciences and society;and able to give sound practical advice.Reports of his life present him as, amongstother things, a perceptive statesman, aningenious military engineer, astronomer,geometer, canny businessman, poet,theologian, and aphoristic moral thinker.Most importantly for the emergence ofscience, he was an original thinker on modelsof explanation for understanding nature.

Thales advanced a program for under-standing changes in nature by explainingthem as being, or as being like, such changesin liquids as evaporation and condensation:

“He supposed that water was the firstprinciple of all things ...”(Barnes, 1987, p. 67)

Aristotle speculated that Thales’ programrested on three different observations aboutthe pervasiveness of liquid phenomena: seedsneed water to germinate; living things, bothanimals and plants, need water to survive;

and even heat—perhaps that produced incomposting and rotting—requires moisture(Barnes, p. 63). Thales had noted howunderlying physical processes, such as evap-oration and condensation, produce many ofthe different-looking things around us, frommist to clouds, to rain, to rivers, to ice. Heseparated himself from previous mythologicalexplanations, leaving out talk of an anthro-pomorphized Creator or agent of changes innature. Liquidity provided the model of ex-planation, not reference to Poseidon thesea-deity. His program emphasized closeobservation of nature, and opened the doorto quantifying changes and formulatingscientific laws.

Thales’ moral notions of truthand intelligence in science

Thales’ reputation, as Sage, for bridge-building between different intellectualendeavours, or between the emergingsciences and society, is given content by anover-arching theme in his collectedfragments. There’s “one thing,” liquidity, asthe model for explaining nature; “one thing”,good and wise, to find in speech; “one centralcouncil,” recommended for Ionian cities, toresist Persia’s expansionism; and “one thing,”mind, that runs through everything. Theprimacy of “one thing” resounds through thefragments like a repeated hammer-blow. It’sthe mark of a thinker who combateddivisiveness and dualities. The main focus,here, will be on the “one thing” with whichscientific talk—or writing—should concernitself. More specifically, the focus will be onhow this argues that moral values are internalto the very nature of science, and in a waythat can help heal, or prevent a widening of,the “two cultures” divide.

In verses attributed to him, Thalesmaintained:

“It is not many words which showan intelligent opinion: search out one wise thing,choose one good thing;for thus you will stop the ceaselesstongues of babbling men.” (Barnes, p. 68)

Part of Thales’ meaning was the recom-mendation that scientists seek to describeindividual phenomena, or make generaliza-tions about patterns in phenomena, whereour words correspond to the one great waterycycle of change that he hypothesized wasfundamental to nature and its explanation.It’s as though he supposed the emerging sci-ences would be branches of one unified fieldof study: fluid dynamics. Again, Thalesdistanced himself from precursors whosought truth about the world in myths. It is“wise” and “good” to seek this distancing, ifwe are to serve Thales’ non-anthropomor-phizing scientific ideal of rationality.

In Thales, “truth” and “intelligence” arenotions of double signification, and gobeyond speaking words that merelycorrespond to physical reality. They have aninalienable moral aspect. (A similar double-barrelled notion of truth has been advanced,recently, by scientist-humanist JacobBronowski, 1965). For Thales, correspon-dence to the world was a necessary, but nota sufficient, condition for truth and intelli-gence. In today’s terms, how “wise” and“good” is it to teach genetic engineering to anavowed terrorist? Yet our words may be trueto physical reality.

The moral nature of Thales’ notions of truthand intelligence, is evident when comparinghis words on saying “one thing” with similarlines in Hesiod’s poem, “Works and Days”:

“The best treasure among men is a sparingtongue;the greatest good, when a man speaks inmeasure.Speak evil, and you’ll soon hear worsespoken of yourself.”(ll. 719-21, my translation. See Lattimore,1991)

Thales was surely aware of his predeces-sor’s poetry. His lines can be seen as growingout of, and adding to, Hesiod’s thought.

In Hesiod, governance of the tongue by themoral principle of moderation (which coversa cluster of values, such as fairness and re-spect for others), is related to the agriculturallandscape. There’s an underlying principle in


Section head

Interfaces

Explaining science to citizensRoger Nash

Bridging the “Two Cultures” Divide


the landscape, as there should be in speechand action. There’s the principle or pattern ofthe seasonal cycle; and then the pattern ofour activities in response to that, as we talkand work cooperatively together, planningand doing the ploughing, seeding and har-vesting. For Hesiod, if our activities areproperly patterned within the seasons, wecan expect work to be rewarded with crops.Reward isn’t guaranteed. But our labours willhave had agricultural point, unlike ploughingjust after seeding. The moral is related to thenatural, as proper responsiveness to it. Ourvery understanding of agricultural cyclesincludes moral commitment to maintainingthe trust of others, in the cooperative endeav-our that farming and survival must be.

In parallel, and in Thales’ terms, willing“one thing” in our scientific words—that theyconsistently be directed by a concern for themutual good—helps keep human speech andlife in responsive harmony with the greatcycles of nature. Though, in Thales, the cyclesare to be thought of in terms of such meteor-ological processes as evaporation andcondensation, not simply in terms of an agri-cultural cycle of seasons. Our words will be“intelligent,” “wise,” and “good” not just inpointing to those processes, but in developingand maintaining the trust of others, so thatwe can live cooperatively within the con-straints of nature’s liquid cycles. For a centralmaxim of Thales is: “... let not words estrangeyou from those who have shared your trust.”(Barnes, p. 69)

Ultimately, the “one thing” we seek inspeech, the most wise and good, is suchmutual trust. There’s a timely political safe-guarding of such mutual trust in Thales’recommendation that Ionia institute a centralgovernment.

Science as integrally moral:preventing and healing the“two cultures” divideFor Thales, a culture was an organic whole:another extension of his theme of “oneness.”Dividing it into science and “the rest,”destroys it and the divided parts. As thecomparison with Hesiod shows, the emergingsciences imported into their domain a valuealready prevalent in agricultural society: workand speak in mutual trust and respect, so asto enable society as a whole to flourish withinthe constraints of unalterable cycles of nature.Then and now, this general value runsthroughout society, shared by both scientistsand non-scientists. It’s common ground.Scientists can recognize and build on it toovercome the “two cultures” divide.

Scientists can’t communicate technicalitiesof their studies to non-scientists. Our task is

to explain these generally, with particularemphasis on communicating the value thatwe should live within the constraints of thelaws and patterns we uncover in science. Weuse the laws of gravity in our technologies.But we couldn’t use them as we do, if theywere alterable by us. We should continuallyreinforce the understanding, amongstourselves and non-scientists, that we live in afool’s paradise, if we live as though ourtechnologies could change the laws of naturethemselves, and their adverse implications forus—in climate-change, say. Reinforcing thisunderstanding was, for Thales, at the heart of“showing an intelligent opinion” in science.Such intelligence is a much-needed antidote,

today, to the pervasive illusion thattechnology can change and transcend every-thing—even the laws of nature.

For Thales, “Mind ... runs through every-thing,” is everywhere.(Barnes, p. 68) Takingmind as the domain of “intelligent opinion,”Thales advocated the ideal of scientists andnon-scientists belonging to a worldwidecommunity that shares the moral directiveof living cooperatively within nature’sconstraints. This ideal is crucially importanttoday, when the most serious environmentalproblems are global, and require a world-wide joining of voices, across nationalborders, for their resolution.

Thales wasn’t anti-business. He madehandsome profits renting out olive pressesduring bumper crops. But he thought thatprofits in agriculture, applied science, andtechnology must serve society’s flourishing asa whole, within the constraints of nature’spatterns and laws. He was well aware we canfool ourselves about our real motives, ration-alizing financial self-interest as the commongood. One of his key mottos was, “KnowThyself.” (Barnes, p. 69)

We need better self-understanding, not justbetter scientific understanding. Thaleswouldn’t dichotomize the two: mistakes

about our values are about what’s at theheart of science. Thales’ life shows how thiswider understanding may be achieved: byparticipating widely in the life and debates ofsociety, not by limiting ourselves to laborato-ries and classrooms. Today, this participationcould be incorporated into university sciencecurricula, perhaps though placementopportunities such as working in a sciencemuseum. If there are puzzling uncertaintiesin this wider life, we know, today, that theUncertainty Principle rules in science, too.Uncertainty isn’t for us to avoid.

Thalean thought would see through too-easily-made claims that genetically modifiedfoods are needed to feed the world’s hungry.Are we rationalizing our own financial self-in-terest? People starve in many countriesbecause traditional crops can’t be grown dueto huge civil unrest. The same unrest wouldblock purchase and distribution of modifiedfoods. What these people need most is peace,and astute statesmen are required for this—as they were for Thales’ Ionia—not anunbridled profit-motive. A Thalean wouldalso ask: do we know enough, scientifically,about the long-term consequences, forourselves and the environment, if we switchto genetically modified crops? Or are weperforming a potentially disastrousexperiment on ourselves?

References

Barnes, Jonathan (1987), Early GreekPhilosophy, Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Bronowski, Jacob (1965), Science andHuman Values, New York: Harper and Row

Lattimore, Richmond, trans. (1991), Hesiod,Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Roger Nash is Chair of the philosophy departmentat Laurentian University, and core faculty in a

new science communication post-graduatediploma program co-hosted by Laurentian and

Science North science centre. He teaches andresearches primarily in environmental ethics and

the history and philosophy of science, and isworking on his sixth book of poetry. He can be

contacted at [email protected].

Interfaces is edited by Richard Cassidy, FCIC. Itspurpose is to explore the meaning of science, its

evolution, and its role in our society. Yourcomments and critiques on the ideas published inInterfaces are welcome. Please send your letters [email protected]. Previously published

Interfaces columns are available atwww.//chem4823.usask.ca/~cassidyr/.

“… understanding

may be achieved

by participating

widely in the life

and debates

of society …”


The public has relatively little under-standing of chemistry, but this lackof knowledge is not entirely the

public’s fault. The title of this article was inspired by the

May 24, 2001 issue of Nature that caughtmy eye with this blurb: “Chemists: Too shyfor their own good.” Not a question, mindyou, but a statement. Needless to say, I washooked. I quickly opened up the journal tofind not one but two articles devoted to thetopic (Nature, 411, 399,408).

The first article was an editorial, titled “Adiscipline buried by success.” The gist ofthe editorial is familiar terrain to many ofus. “Chemistry’s goal of understanding theform and function of molecules and study-ing how they interact is at the very heart ofscientific endeavour. Yet its versatility comesat a price: recognition—or more accurately,lack of it.”

The editorial then defined chemistry, not-ing that it is no longer just restricted to thetraditional sub-fields known as organic,inorganic, and physical. Rather, the field nowencompasses other fields such as catalysis,polymers, materials science, combinatorialchemistry, genomics, and so forth.

“Chemists and chemistry have neverbeen more vital to science and society thannow,” the editorial states. But “the disci-pline is easily misunderstood, and thoseworking in it are frequently under appreci-ated. ... Chemists have allowed those fromoutside the field to characterize it—to definewhat chemistry is and what it is not. To thepublic, chemical science is too often syn-onymous with the industry with which itshares its name. So chemistry means belch-ing chimneys and poisoned rivers, notlife-saving medicines and space age materi-als. To other researchers, policy-makers andcrucially, young scientists, it is sometimesseen as a mature discipline with its mostimportant and stimulating work behind it.

Chemists, on the other hand, tell a differentstory. They speak excitedly about the prom-ise of molecular electronics, the challengespresented by the need for sustainable en-ergy,” and the opportunities forpharmaceuticals derived from the humangenome sequences.

In the article, Nature writer David Adamasks: “What’s in a name? In the melting potof modern science, chemistry’s cutting edgeis being rebranded as biology or nanotech-nology. ... Chemistry likes to style itself asthe ‘central science’ but perhaps ‘brides-maid science’ would be more appropriate.

While other scientific disciplines reapmaximum publicity from their triumphs,chemists have seen some of their brightestmoments claimed by rival fields. From thediscovery of lifesaving drugs to the explo-sion of work on carbon nanotubes, newdevelopments in chemistry often seemto end up being appropriated by otherdisciplines.”

Nearly all of the major accomplishmentsin biology, for example, depend hugely onchemistry. Early work on DNA was done bychemists. Chemists also played a vital rolein developing Nuclear Magnetic Resonanceand its medical spin-off, magneticresonance imaging.

I love this line from Adam’s article—indeed, I wish I had written it! “Like thesupporters of an impoverished lower-leaguesoccer club, chemists have grown used toseeing their star performers transferred tomore glamorous teams. Even Nobel prize-winning chemistry, it seems, does not staychemistry for long. The discovery offullerenes was awarded the chemistry Nobelin 1996, but much of the work that hasstemmed from that discovery is now seen asapplied physics or nanotechnology.”

Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN)magazine’s managing editor gave stillanother example in the September 3, 2001editorial entitled “No Chemistry, NoPhysics.” In that editorial, he wrote: “Maybeit’s time we threw in the towel, because itsure seems like we’re losing the battle.What battle is that? The one where weconvince the general public of the significantcontributions chemistry is making to thewell-being of humanity.”

His point of reference was the August 20issue of Time magazine titled “America’sBest Science & Medicine.” In that issue, theTime editors focused on the most excitingfields of research and then looked for themen and women who are doing the mostcutting edge research within those fields.The magazine honours 18 individuals incellular biology, human origins, child psy-chology, pediatrics, genomics, cardiology,oncology, climatology, ecology, AIDSresearch, astrophysics, paleontology,biomedical engineering, neurobiology, celldeath, spinal cord repair, molecularmechanics, and lifetime achievement.No chemistry, no physics.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology’schemical engineer Robert Langer ishonoured for his work on drug delivery, buthe’s called a materials scientist. Anyonewho knows Bob Langer knows that hissuccess is dependent on his brilliance as a

The executive director and CEO of the American Chemical Society firmly believeschemists must toot their own horns. Toot them loudly. And toot them often!

Madeleine Jacobs

Are Chemists Too Shy For Their Own Good?

Chemists have seen

some of their

brightest moments

claimed by

rival fields

Photo by Kenneth Jones


chemical engineer and a chemist—and he’sproud of doing both chemistry and chemicalengineering.

The one chemist on the Time list isUniversity of California, Berkeley chemistryprofessor Carlos Bustamante, cited in themolecular mechanics category for his use oflasers and an atomic force microscope tophysically manipulate DNA and proteins.What’s remarkable is how hard Time worksto avoid using the words chemist andchemistry.

Let me tell you another story. Not too long ago, I had dinner with U.S.

Presidential science adviser John H.Marburger III prior to a briefing he gave toreporters. At dinner, we were talking aboutthe public’s understanding of science andthe fact that the public/media like astron-omy and exotic particles in physics but themedia doesn’t write or broadcast muchabout chemistry. I asked him why chemistrydoesn’t get good press.

He ticked off a list of reasons: “Pollution,napalm in Vietnam, smells in the lab, bor-ing teachers, it’s not visual.” I said I thoughthe was being a bit hard on chemistry andhe said, “Well, chemistry does have a lot ofexciting things … like self-replicatingsystems.” But he seemed hard pressed tocome up with anything else. “Your turn willcome,” he assured me. I asked him “In mylifetime?” and he laughed, and didn’t replyfurther.

Needless to say I wasn’t laughing. Willchemistry get its turn in my lifetime?Not unless we all agree that it’s time to dosomething about it.

There has long been an aversion toscience, at least since the end of the Sputnikera (mid-1960s). I do think it coincides withthe Vietnam War. When I was growing upin the 1940s and 1950s, science and tech-nology were seen in a very positive light(despite the atomic and hydrogen bombs).This was the Golden Age of Science ingeneral. One of C&EN’s senior editors,Stephen Ritter, told me, “In the Golden Ageof Science, Everyman was interested in sci-ence. There were television programs like‘Watch Mr. Wizard’ and DuPont’s sloganwas ‘Better things for better living throughchemistry.’ Everyman wanted to see us puta man on the moon. This same type of tan-gible science continues to move forward,but Everyman is no longer interested in thedetails, only the outcome. Everyman isburned out. How many times do you wantto watch the space shuttle take off andland? Do you care anymore that there is afaster microprocessor? The public is stillinterested in medical advances, but the time

available for embracing this tangible sciencehas also evaporated. People have less andless free time.”

There’s another aspect to this. Science ishard, chemistry is hard, and it’s alwaysbeen hard. It’s not for sissies or people whodon’t want to work hard. I think parents ofthe generation of kids in elementary schoolnow came through their education at a timewhen the law and business were the careersto aspire to. They took, I suspect, very littlescience in school and it’s now hard for themto encourage their kids or help them withtheir homework and so they discouragetheir tots from taking it up.

I don’t think there is anything that thechemical profession could have done tochange this situation or to have prevented itfrom happening. I think it’s an evolutionaryprocess. But I think it’s time for the chemicalprofession to do something about this andreclaim chemistry achievements as its own.

To fail to do so will mean that we will fail toattract the best and the brightest youngstudents, and if we fail to attract youngpeople to chemistry, then the discipline aswe know it will surely become completelyinvisible.

The general public needs a better under-standing of chemistry because so many ofthe issues that they are asked to addresstoday require an understanding of chem-istry—pollution, global warming,genetically modified foods, cloning, to namea few areas.

In the Nature article, Harvard University’sStuart Schreiber noted a few other reasonswhy chemistry is so invisible. He points outthe difficulty of explaining chemistry tonon-experts. Often the biological aspects ofa chemical discovery are easier to explain.In addition, both Schreiber and Harvard’sGeorge Whitesides note that the drivetowards interdisciplinary research is coming

from young researchers “keen to stretchtheir wings. Some senior academic chemistsare less enthusiastic,” Schreiber says,“which is one reason why the discipline hasfailed to brand its contribution to emergingareas.”

The solution, Nature said in its editorial,is that “more of the frontline chemistsstreaming across the discipline’s bordersinto attention-grabbing multidisciplinaryresearch must make their voices heard.They should proclaim their roles to colleaguesand try to ensure that chemical contributionsare made known to the media.”

Indeed they should. And if you doubt thepower of a well thought out, sustainedeffort to influence public opinion, youshould take a look at the success of theAmerican Chemistry Council’s (ACC) pilot“Good Chemistry Campaign.”

In 2000, when the Chemical ManufacturersAssociation changed its name to ACC, italso adopted a slogan, “Good ChemistryMakes It Possible.” In February 2001, ACClaunched a pilot campaign using this slo-gan in three locales (C&EN, May 14, p. 13).The campaign had four goals: transformindustry identity to one that is dynamicand innovative, achieve recognition for in-dustry-wide initiatives such as ResponsibleCare®, communicate the benefits of productsmade possible by chemistry, and earn therespect of key audiences.

At the ACC general membership meetingin June 2001, chemical executives werebriefed on the pilot in Pittsburgh, PA,Springfield, MA, and Iberville Parish, LA. Akey component of each location was adver-tising on billboards, on radio, and innewspapers. But equally important was theparticipation of chemical company employ-ees in community events tailored to thespecific locale.

Studies conducted in February, before the$1.5 million campaign got underway, and inMay, after the public had been exposed toads, showed a definite positive shift infavourable perception of the chemicalindustry and the business of chemistry. Forexample, of members of the public over theage of 25 who were polled, 14 percent werefavourable toward the chemical industry atthe beginning of February, but by late May 38percent held a favourable opinion. Buildingon those results, ACC is now considering amajor “reputation initiative.”

Dow Chemical CEO Michael Parker toldACC members at that meeting, “We are, as anindustry, talented, capable people. But weneed to marry our great analyticalcapabilities to our emotion, passion, belief,and commitment,” in connecting to the

Each of us must

make it a personal

challenge to make

chemistry tangible

and accessible to

everyone


public and communicating the value of thechemical industry to society.

The Nature editorial put it this way: “Ifmore chemists established these connec-tions themselves, and talked up thepotential benefits, their contributions wouldnot be so easily overlooked.” Each of usmust make a personal commitment to com-municate the value of chemistry. Each of usmust make it a personal challenge to makechemistry tangible and accessible to every-one. And we must enlist our colleagues andour students in this effort. How?• Write articles directed to children or for

the general public for your localnewspaper;

• Volunteer to answer questions foran “Ask the Chemist”column in alocal paper;

• Volunteer to speak about chemistry tolocal civic groups, scouts, communityassociations, or local school PTA meet-ing. Whether you have children inschool or not, volunteer to help out at aneighbourhood school;

• If your university or company has acommunity outreach program, figure outa way to participate. A little help goes along way. Assist teachers in findingresources that they can use to betterintegrate science into their whole

curriculum—including reading, writing,math, and history;

• If you don’t know how to get started,contact the American Chemical Society’sEducation Department and MembershipDepartments and let them help you.They have tons of information for doingjust that.

• Go to the public relations office at yourcompany or university and asked for anews release about your latest achieve-ment? Have you ever done this? Or didyou give up because the person in thePR office didn’t understand what youwere so excited about and you didn’tthink it was worth your effort to explainit? I know some chemists who mayoverdo this, but most of you don’t do itenough. When I visit universities, I talk with

faculty members and invariably they ask mehow we select stories in C&EN. It is acomplex process, but in the end, the C&ENeditors have to pick and choose each weekfrom hundreds of articles. Needless to say,we can’t possibly read the abstracts of hun-dreds of articles—so we do rely to someextent on people bringing their best work toour attention. When I tell them that, theresponse is typically: “I don’t want to toot

my own horn.” If you don’t toot it, whowill? The biologists? I don’t think so!

When an article like the one in Timeappears in which there is no mention of therole of chemistry, write a letter to the editor.We at C&EN, of course, are not throwing inthe towel. We will continue to report eachweek on the best chemistry that is done in theU.S. and around the world. But we can’t do italone. You have to be a part of the solution.

So the answer to my question: “AreChemists Too Shy for Their Own Good?” is aresounding YES. Nature said it this way:“Chemists should stop hiding their Bunsenburners under bushels.” Cute, but really outof date.

Chemists involved in basic research and inindustry have a great story to tell. Let’seschew modesty and tell it!

Madeleine Jacobs is executive director andchief executive officer of the American

Chemical Society. A chemist by training, sheserved as editor-in-chief of Chemical &

Engineering News magazine for more thaneight years. This article was excerpted from

a presentation she gave at the Joint 39thIUPAC Congress and 86th Conference of

the Canadian Society for Chemistry inOttawa, ON, August 2003.


The Challenge

Communication. Trust. Understanding.These words carry enormousimportance for all of us as individu-

als—they’re the foundation for healthyhuman relationships. And I think they holdjust as much meaning for Dow and thechemical industry as a whole.

It’s easy to think of a huge company likeDow as just that … a company. It’s eveneasier to put an institutional face on anentire industry. But once you do that, youcan say goodbye to healthy concepts likecommunication, trust, and understanding.People communicate with, and trust, andunderstand, other people.

They often don’t relate the same way toindustry. The relationship can be especiallydifficult or distant if that industry usesmaterials with long, scary-sounding namesand has products that at one time may havecarried a skull and crossbones label! Inmany people’s minds, that skull and cross-bones were the predominant symbol of ourindustry. It’s a symbol whose only positiveconnotations existed in the minds of TampaBay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Pirates fans!

For the rest, I’m sad to say it’s a symbolthat inspired fear and mistrust. And, as theresearch shows, we still see its legacy today.In January 2003, key findings presented tothe American Chemistry Council suggestedthat public perceptions of chemicals in theU.S. are poor, and that perceptions of thechemical industry are even worse. An infor-mation gap about chemical products and theindustry is further harming our reputation.

In Europe, the research is just as discour-aging. Since the year 2000, our industry hasdropped to seventh out of eight listed interms of overall image with consumers.We’ve fallen behind petroleum and nowonly rate higher than the nuclear energyindustry in the European public eye. Envi-ronics International recently concluded thatthe chemical industry as a whole is seen ashighly polluting and inactive in prevention.Their research has also shown the public is

hard-pressed to even name an environmen-tally responsible chemical company.

The discrepancy

While these findings are discouraging, thereis a positive side to this story. The goodnews here is that there’s an obvious dis-crepancy between what the public saysabout our industry and what they do. Thepublic tells the data collectors, the pollstersand the media that they mistrust chemicalsand the industry that produces them. Yettheir buying choices say somethingaltogether different. We all know you can’t

go into a home anywhere in the Westernworld and not find countless products man-ufactured from chemicals by our industry.

This suggests to me that people aren’t mak-ing the connection between chemicals, thechemical industry and the vast array of prod-ucts we all use on a daily basis. There does notappear to be a lot of successful communicatinggoing on between the industry and the publicand there does not appear to be much mutualtrust as a basis for meaningful conversation.

Obviously, it’s up to us to close the gap,to initiate communication, to make theconnection between what we do in thechemical industry and the quality of life weall enjoy in Western society. It’s up to us tobuild the trust necessary for a meaningfuldialogue.

Reality versus perception

So how do we do this? Let’s start by lookingat the reality of our industry rather than thepublic’s perception of it. The fact is, wehave a powerful and positive story to tellabout who we are and what we do. Overthe last 15 years, the chemical industry hasmade great strides in addressing many ofthe legitimate concerns the public hadabout us in the past. Many of you mayknow about Responsible Care®, ourindustry’s carefully developed ethicalrequirements for the safe and environmen-tally sound management of chemicals.

I’m very proud that this initiative beganin Canada with key involvement from Dowpeople. Responsible Care is now used inover 40 countries and through it, we holdourselves to a level of accountability andresponsibility higher than that of manyindustries we rank behind in the public eye.This ethic is increasingly being recognizedby people who know us, and particularly bythe communities that host our plants.

At Dow, we’ve become leaders indeveloping new technologies that reducegreenhouse gas emissions and address theclimate change issue. For example, werecently announced an agreement withGeneral Motors on a test project that willuse their fuel cells and our hydrogen togenerate electricity for our plant atFreeport, TX.

This fits into Dow’s overall commitmentto sustainable development—something wecall “the Triple Bottom Line”— economicprosperity, environmental stewardship, andcorporate social responsibility.

We’re doing a lot of good things atDow—a lot of the right things. But if we’re

Dow Chemical Canada initiates communication to show the publichow advances in the chemical industry improve the quality of life

Vince J. Smith

Making the Connection

We need to

communicate

in a way

that relates to

peoples’ lives—about

products and

benefits rather than

chemicals and risks

Photo by Vdanwitz


to change public perception, build trust andenter into meaningful dialogue, we have tolet people know what we’re doing. Andeven that’s not enough. You don’t get peo-ple to trust you just by talking about thingslike Responsible Care and sustainabledevelopment. You have to prove that you’re“walking the talk.”

Thankfully for us at Dow, the proof isthere. We call it third party validation andit’s very important for our credibility. We’vebeen given this validation by both govern-ment and the private sector. For instance, in2002 President Bush awarded Dow theNational Medal of Technology for the posi-tive impact our innovative technology hashad on society. Since 1989, we’ve receivedfive “green chemistry” awards from the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency. The DowJones Sustainability Index ranked us first inthe chemical industry in 2000 and 2001.And Dow Canada has received a LeadershipAward from the Voluntary Challenge andRegistry for reducing greenhouse gases.

So we’ve got two-thirds of the formula inplace. We’re doing the right things andwe’ve been recognized by other crediblesources for it. Now, we’re working at tellingour story to the public at large.

Telling our story

In telling our story, we can learn from themedia and the communications and publicrelations professionals. They know how tocommunicate with the public. They’re

masters at cutting away the complexities ofan issue and getting to the point. They keepit simple! Their counterparts, the commu-nications people also have a technique wecan utilize—repetition. They understandthat a message rarely gets through the firsttime; it needs to be repeated continuallyover time before people “get it.” We need totell our story simply and repeatedly.

We also need to tell our story proac-tively. That means making sure we’reheard not just when there’s a crisis, or aproblem, but on a consistent basis. Weneed to communicate in a way that relatesto peoples’ lives—about products andbenefits rather than chemicals and risks.We need to remind the public that we arepeople too. We care about the same thingsthey do. That’s how we at Dow areworking to tell our story.

So our messages include the informationthat I’ve given you about ResponsibleCare and sustainable development. Theyinclude third party validation. And theystate simply, and repeatedly, that whilewe make chemicals, plastics and agricul-tural products, these don’t define who weare. We are people who work to raise thedaily quality of life in our society. Westate simply and repeatedly that ourcorporate mission is to constantly im-prove what is essential to human progressby mastering science and technology. Wewant to be seen as contributing to thewell-being of society. We state simply andrepeatedly that we aim to achieve this

through our relationships with communities,with people. We want to make a difference,so that as we prosper and grow as acompany, the communities in which weoperate will benefit as well. We statesimply and repeatedly that we’re committedto the core values of economic prosperity,environmental stewardship and corporatesocial responsibility.

We tell this story wherever andwhenever we can. We do it by helping tosponsor events and by building healthy,proactive relationships with the media.And we carefully, and deliberately,reinforce these values in our advertising.

Conclusion

There’s no escaping the truth about how wein this industry, and the materials we workwith, are perceived. But as I’ve said, thegood news is that we’re dealing with percep-tions, and that perceptions can be changed.

The reality of our work and thecontribution we make is a positive andhealthy one.

I firmly believe that if we keep telling ourstory, we will be heard. People will make theconnection between the chemical industryand their improved quality of life.

Vince J. Smith is president and CEO of DowChemical Canada. He delivered this speech atthe 39th IUPAC Congress and 86th Conference

of the Canadian Society for Chemistry.


When addressing the public,chemists often use words forsimple concepts from chemical

English. Because several words, such asbase, compound, and volatility have differ-ent meanings for chemists and laypeople,and explanations by chemists sometimesmake no sense to the common person. Forbetter communication with the public,chemists should adopt new terms forseveral common concepts.

The terminology within scientific or med-ical fields is sometimes denounced as jargonused to keep the public in the dark. Butchemists have inadvertently achieved thiseffect without use of terms that might becalled jargon. Many of the common wordsof chemistry are well known to the generalpublic, but with different meanings.

A lay reader immediately recognizeschemistry terminology for meanings thatmake no sense in the chemical context.Baffled, the layperson concludes thatchemistry is obscure and difficult and turnshis or her attention to something else.

One such word is compound, our termfor a chemical entity composed of two ormore elements. However, to the man orwoman on the street, a compound is oftenunderstood to be a mixture, or a “goo,” use-ful for some practical purpose. Compoundsfound in a local hardware store include:ACE Spackling Compound, Janitor StrengthAmmonia Cleaning Compound, and TurtleWax Polishing Compound. Another type ofcompound well known to laypeople is alarge fenced or walled-in area. While thechemists’ meaning can be found in thedictionary, most people hesitate beforeinquiring about a word with which theyalready associate a meaning.

Another common term among chemistsis solution, a homogeneous mixture of asolute with a fluid. To our fellow citizens,however, a solution is the answer to a prob-lem. When a chemist speaks of an “alcoholsolution of a compound,” a non-chemist islikely to wonder what problem the “goo”had and why alcohol solved it!

Other problematic terms: Volatile appearsregularly in newspaper financial discussions,meaning changeable or tending to erupt intoviolent action. A base is understood bylaypeople to be a centre of operations or afeature of a baseball diamond. Among othercommon chemical words causing such diffi-culties are aromatic, organic, andconcentration.

Pure presents yet another problematicterm. To a chemist, “pure water” is 100percent H2O, but the public understands itto be uncontaminated water from a naturalsource. The public’s pure spring water mayhave myriad mineral impurities.

These misunderstandings are not trivial.Public understanding of chemistry is poor. Eventhe distinction between an atom and a moleculeand the difference between melting and dis-solving are beyond the ken of many laypeople.

The unsatisfactory public comprehension ofchemistry dismays chemists of broad perspec-tive. It makes people susceptible to gurusteaching “chemophobia.” The economic con-sequences of chemophobia to firms in thechemical industry are substantial.

What can we do about it? This is not a prob-lem within the discipline of chemistry. Currentterminology is adequate for communicationamong chemists. But if chemists seriouslydesire to communicate more effectively withthe public, something must be done.

The current situation is not the fault ofeither lay citizens or chemists. Chemistscannot change the English language as it isgenerally understood. Instead, we mustadopt new words and use them in oureveryday speech, the lab, the classroom,and the seminar room in place of thosethat might cause confusion. As thenew terms become commonplace inconversation among chemists, we willnaturally use them in writing for orspeaking to laypeople.

It may seem outrageous to think chemistscould abandon talking about compounds,solutions, organic and aromatic compounds,and volatile solvents. But word changeshave been made in colloquial English, andpeople as enlightened and motivated aschemists can make them. Instances of suchadjustments abound. For example, the towndump of the past is the landfill of today, andtidal waves are now tsunamis. In recentdecades, American chemists have changedsymbolization of free energy from F to G.

Changing words used in everyday labora-tory conversation will require consensusamong chemists that the changes are desir-able and the new terms are acceptable.Chemists must agree that better communi-cation with the general public is important,and they must willingly go along with newterms properly adopted.

How could new terms be chosen? Acommittee of chemists representing themajor English-speaking nations shouldcoordinate the process. Similar problemsthat may exist in other languages shouldbe dealt with by people who speak thoselanguages. The committee should first askfor suggestions from chemists in Australia,Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa,the U.K., and the U.S. Having consideredthe suggestions, it should advancetentative new terms and request criticism.After six to twelve months, the committeeshould proffer a new set of terms, whichideally will then be endorsed by thechemical societies of the English-speakingnations.

Once we have the public’s attention—how can we help them to understand what chemists mean?

Joseph F. Bunnett

Say What?

A “base” is

understood by

laypeople to be a

centre of operations

or a feature of a

baseball diamond


What kind of changes?

The changes should be as slight as possible.If English words with essentially the mean-ings intended by chemists exist, they shouldbe utilized. Such a term is alkali, which hasthe same meaning as base. Entity could alsopossibly be used instead of compound. Insome contexts, one might say chemicalentity. A change that should be madeimmediately, even before compound isreplaced, is the installation of carboncompound instead of organic compound.Chemists may feel that organic has beenusurped by the counter-culture crowd;nevertheless they must accept the situationwith dignity and adjust to it. After all, anearly notion that all carbon compoundscame from living organisms has long beenknown to be incorrect.

There are also possibilities to adapt termsfrom other languages to the English context.Thus, the German word for solution(Lösung) could be Anglicized as lewsung toavoid the German capitalization of nounsand pronunciation of ö. Lewsung spoken byan American in Illinois sounds much likeLösung spoken by a German.

What next?

It would be splendid if a grass roots demandfor changes such as these were to arise fromthe chemists of English-speaking lands. Butimprovement will materialize faster ifprominent chemists speak in its favour.I would expect leaders in the chemicalindustry to take special interest in this mis-communication problem, because theindustry feels so harassed by chemophobia.

Joseph F. Bunnett is professor of chemistryemeritus in the department of chemistry andbiochemistry at the University of California,

Santa Cruz. He spent his years as a Fulbrightscholar at University College, London and theUniversity of Munich. He was founding editor

of Accounts of Chemical Research andcontinued in that role for 20 years.

Reprinted with permission of the AmericanInstitute of Chemists, Philadelphia, PA, 2003.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?Send your thoughts on this article

to Letters to the Editor [email protected]

Across the globe, the public percep-tion of chemistry could use a boost.Britain’s Royal Society of Chemistry

(RSC) turned to the media for assistance.Since forming its media office two yearsago, the RSC has striven to get itself on thenation’s news landscape. It has managedto do just that by accelerating output ofboth serious and lightweight copy.

The society’s corporate belief is thatgenerating populist stories in the dailymedia has the benefit of igniting newsdesks’ interest in its educational and policystances as well as in its general mission.

To achieve the popular coverage so farattained, the media team of two based inLondon’s West End concocted a series ofhard-hitting stunts that resulted in massive

national, and in some cases international,coverage. En route, they netted finalistplaces in the 2003 and 2002 public relationsindustry awards run by the Institute ofPublic Relations and by PR Week magazine.

Judges agreed that the RSC hadmanaged to spark widespread interest inchemistry through creation of offbeat newsand features.

The downside of this coverage has beenobjections from some RSC members whobelieve that it is degrading for a royal insti-tution to engage in public relationsmethods that employ frivolous means.

Most often cited as being in the lattercategory was the award of an RSC Fellow-ship to Sherlock Holmes for hiscontribution to chemistry. Objectionsincluded the fact that he was a fictionalcharacter as well as a drug abuser and thatbona fide Fellows would find offense inconferment of a coveted award to a manwho never existed.

Even the London Daily Telegraph wentinto print with an attack on the allegedlyfrivolous public relations release from theRSC, angered by the success of the Holmesstunt, in which the society used the cente-nary of The Hound of the Baskervilles as ahook for a stunt.

Undeterred—indeed encouraged—by theadverse reaction of a conservative nationalleader writer, the RSC plowed on withstunts related to the efficacy of mead as anaphrodisiac, and the discovery and subse-quent testing of a jar of pickle laid downby a Women’s Institute member the monththat Neil Armstrong made his giant step forhumankind.

Some stunts flopped. Others—such asthe recreation of a Shakespearean lovepotion based on a verse from A MidsummerNight’s Dream—sparked extensive mediainterest; particularly since the RSC engagedthe involvement of the other RSC (RoyalShakespeare Company) which was coinci-dentally starting a run of the comedy atStratford upon Avon, where the mediastunt was launched.

The most successful PR initiative was asummer 2003 tribute to George Orwell on

his centenary by which the RSC commis-sioned a university to produce a perfectcup of tea, the beverage being the favouritedrink of the visionary author of 1984.

Two years after the ground-breakingShakespeare stunt, the RSC is still planninglightweight hits on the national media. Butit is now running alongside weightiercampaigns and forays by which it gainsextensive awareness of corporate viewsand its mission.

It might be said that the present climatein the U.K. in which university chemistrydepartments are being axed for economicreasons would have resulted in a height-ened profile for the profession anddiscipline without the booster rocket ofsensationalist PR.

Nevertheless, the RSC feels that nodamage has been done by its creative newstactics. At the very least, it has demon-strated that chemical scientists do have asense of humour and a willingness toclaim their rightful place in the spotlightfrom time to time.

Brian Emsley created the media office ofthe Royal Society of Chemistry in January

2002 with the backing of his manager, to getchemistry in the news rapidly, within the

bounds of decency and good taste.


Our British counterparts spark widespread media interest in chemistry through offbeat news stories

Brian Emsley

Stunning Stunts

One of the RSC’s notorious chemistry stuntswas dished up at The Leys public schoolin Cambridge, England. Pupils were serveda meal of wartime rations to promote theRSC’s publication of the 6th edition of TheComposition of Food. The book was firstpublished in 1940 and is still consideredan essential nutritional reference.

The RSC’s stunts

resulted in massive

national, and in

some cases

international,

coverage

It was decided! At the general assemblyof their international conference,chemists decided to cease all work,

analyses and activities. This decision wasmade as a result of incessant, nearly cen-tury-long criticisms of their work, thrownat them through the media by consumers,public authorities and interest groups. Thechemists were concerned about the publicgood and preoccupied with the protectionof individuals, as well as mindful of theimpact of all phenomena—whether naturalor not—on the planet. But they could nolonger endure the outcast status imposed

on them by society. Society accused themof being responsible for all of the evils theywere actually striving, with all their might,to detect and correct.

It was thus with sadness, but determina-tion, that they parted company. Theyreturned to their countries of origin to de-vote their lives to other activities that theywere able to undertake due to their verybroad training and varied personal interests.

At first, the decision was unanimouslywelcomed with exclamations of relief! Ecol-ogy groups were happy to see the back of

their favourite target. Consumer associa-tions applauded the return to a naturalenvironment (which they considered spoiltby chemical activities). Strong personali-ties—both from the right and left of thepolitical spectrum—did not fail to takecredit for the situation, claiming loudly andforthrightly that it was the result of theirown action.

For awhile the public hardly noticed anychange in normal everyday activity. Curi-ously, the effect on atmospheric pollutionwas practically nil: refineries had sufficientreserves of fuel, and vehicles continued to

run and were still causing the usual pollu-tion. Many noticed what chemists alreadyknew—vehicles were the main culprit forcontaminating the air. The chemical industryaccounts for only a tiny fraction of globalpollution.

The first signs of change appeared whenfuel supplies began to run out. Withoutchemists to supervise refining processes,and without analysts to oversee the qualityof finished products, crude oil tanks over-flowed. It soon became necessary to halt theflow of black gold from its various sources

because of a lack of the technical means totransform it. Thus the government madesome unpopular decisions: first a rationingsystem was introduced, and then stockswere requisitioned for priority sectors suchas healthcare, ambulances, the military, etc.

The first winter presented no problemsbecause of the preparations individualsmade to keep their gas tanks filled withfuel. But they quickly realized they couldn’trenew their supplies when refineriesweren’t running. Fortunately, many hadalready chosen the all-electric method, andnuclear power stations continued to operate(without supervision by chemists),providing the energy necessary for modernlife. At first, this seemed to limit theconsequences of living without fuel.

Nevertheless, there was perceptible dis-satisfaction—but among the environmentalprotection groups who were recording anappreciable decrease in air pollution withthe aid of the automatic detection devicesthat were still operating. Very quickly, how-ever, the reagents required for monitoringair pollution became scarce, and from thenon it became impossible to set up any formof detection.

At this stage, the use of alternative meth-ods became widespread. The bicyclebecame the preferred mode of transporta-tion since cars were abandoned almosteverywhere with the exhaustion of fuelsupplies. Bicycles were even more welcomenow that the absence of motor vehiclesmeant that cyclists could use bicycle laneswithout fear of being knocked down or evenflattened. But the increased use of bicycleshad an unexpected consequence: abnormalwear on tires. The public highways were ina bad state and were losing layers ofasphalt, causing tires to wear down rapidly.

When the tires could no longer bereplaced, the bicycles were themselvesabandoned, despite the efforts of those whoremembered the Second World War and didtheir utmost to keep them in working orderwith the limited means at their disposal. Inthis way, people learned that asphalt is the


From the president of the French chemistry society comes this nightmarish tale of science fiction

Armand Lattes

What If All Chemists Quit?


result of a complex chemical formulationrequiring the synthesis of substances thatbind gravel and stones together. Tires arealso the result of a subtle formulation that isessentially—not to say totally—chemical.

The heating situation became serious atthe beginning of the second winter. Thesecond eruption of the Pinatubo volcano inthe Philippines had created a difficult situa-tion by polluting the atmosphere to a heightof 24 kilometres, and destroying20 percent of the ozone layer. This causeda dramatic decline in the temperature.Without most of the energy sources theywere accustomed to, people modifiedtheir installations to adapt them to theold-fashioned methods they were redis-covering, such as:• Coal primarily, but with scant supervi-

sion and the coke works closing, theproduction of quantities of sulphurous,and even acidic gas became massive—and completely uncontrolled! Theresults ruined furniture, led to an in-crease in the number of asthmasufferers, and to the destruction offorests due to acid rain. In addition,there were numerous cases of carbonmonoxide poisoning. They werecaused by boilers that had beenclumsily modified, leading to faultycombustion;

• Wood was also an exploitable material,and more so as a result of the closureof wood pulp-producing paper millsthat had made vast quantities avail-able. The country drew on its extensiveforest reserves. But these soon startedto dwindle given the destruction of nu-merous areas by acid rain. This processwas exacerbated by parasites that hadbecome virulent in the absence ofchemical combatants.Some problems start a chain reaction.

An incident in a nuclear power station,linked to the lack of chemical controls inthe plant and in the development of thefuel, forced authorities to take emergencymeasures that quickly led to the closure ofall the power stations.

Electricity was in limited supply andavailable only in rotations. People had toget around on foot and were limited toshort distances. This led to the resurgenceof their tribal instincts—the wealthy jeal-ously guarded their possessions and werereluctant to share with the less fortunate.As a result, “tribal” conflicts becamecommonplace and developed into belli-cose local regimes. The smallest sparkcould lead to confrontation.

The chemists’ decision to quit alsoaffected consumers in one of the most es-sential aspects of their lives—food. Itstarted with shortages of everyday ingre-dients, such as sugar. This ordinary,inexpensive, and basic chemical productbegan to disappear because of the com-plexities in extracting it from beetroot andpurifying it. Without fertilizers, there wasa massive drop in not only beetroot pro-duction, but also in all forms of plantproduction. Wheat yields were reduced tonumbers reminiscent of the nineteenthcentury. Vegetables became increasinglyrare, as they were attacked by Coloradobeetles, caterpillars, and other insects. Asa consequence, herds of cattle and otherlivestock were reduced because of a lackof feed and because of diseases thatveterinarians could no longer treatwithout proper medications.

Milk had to be rationed since the meansto stabilize it were no longer available.Consumers found the taste of butterrancid without the antioxidizing agents

that had helped to suppress it. Cardboardand plastic packaging were no longermanufactured, so without conservingagents to rely on, meat had to beconsumed very quickly.

Limited in their movements, sufferingfrom the cold and the heat, and livingwith the faint light generated by tallowcandles (a chemist’s invention),the average life expectancy shortened rap-idly. Certain illnesses made a comebackdue to the lack of drugs—the majority ofwhich had been produced by chemical

synthesis—right from the very start of thestrike. The public learned that:• All drugs used to combat AIDS (trither-

apy) came from chemical preparations;• Certain hormones were not natural,

but were manufactured entirely bychemists. As birth control pills beganto run out, many undesired pregnancieswere recorded. The disappearance oftelevisions (whose components are theresult of syntheses) contributed to thehigh numbers;

• Even natural substances, anticarcino-genic molecules such as Taxotere®, areoptimized by chemical modulation;

• Many people were surprised to dis-cover that aspirin was a chemicalproduct! Its absence was cruelly felt,and the substitution of a decoction ofwillow leaves did not compensate. Itonly had a limited effect (as has beenknown for more than two centuries).Other more or less serious conse-

quences were recorded, perhaps mostnotably in the manufacture of clothing.

Artificial fibres had virtually disappeared,and with them the varieties of protectionthey had provided: protection from thecold, from heat, resistance to bad weather,“intelligent” cloth, etc. Natural fibresdominated: wool (despite the fact thatsheep numbers were falling and the avail-ability of this material was reduced), andcotton (but since pesticides were nolonger available, whole fields of it weredestroyed).

People found themselves living inconditions similar to those their parents


and grandparents had experienced duringthe Second World War. They learned howto re-use waste materials and to salvagethe least bit of cloth. Abandoned car partswere recycled, and pants were adornedwith seats that rarely matched their origi-nal colour. Dyes were a thing of the pastand the lack of diversity meant that clothesbecame drab gray, browns, and off-whitedue to a lack of detergents. Jeans were nolonger manufactured—the artificial bluedye couldn’t be replaced by the low quan-tities of woad crops.

The situation had become intolerableand modes of communication broke down.There was no more paper or printing ink.There were no more radio or televisionbroadcasts—conducting wire and aerialscouldn’t be replaced, nor could destroyedscreens, and there was a lack of electroniccomponents, etc.

Forums were organized to serve as rally-ing points where people could expresstheir views. A unanimous agreement wasreached: a delegation was dispatched topersuade the politicians that this state ofaffairs must end. They demanded thatchemists had to return to work! From farand wide, by horse and cart, and on foot,the delegation was received by a parlia-ment reduced to communicating by footmessenger with the outside world.

A committee headed by two formerchemists was charged with the task ofmeeting with the chemists to persuadethem to return to work. This was no easytask as they first had to be located. As thechemists had stated at the start of theconflict, they had all left the profession andbecome shop and restaurant owners,organists, cooking instructors, sports train-ers, priests, soldiers, etc. The generalpublic, stupefied, realized that behindchemistry there were chemists! These menand women, members of their owncommunities, were sharing their daily upsand downs. And they were respectful ofnature and the environment.

At the start of the negotiations, therewere hesitations on the part of the chemistswho remembered past criticisms. Aftermuch thought, they were willing to sign anagreement on the condition that thecommunity accept a certain number ofrules, assembled to form a charter. Here arethe main articles of this charter:1. The signatories, having recognized the

chemists’ positive achievements, under-take to no longer hold either chemists ortheir speciality responsible for all evils;

2. When necessary, they will recognizechemists’ accomplishments, and not (asin the past) attribute their achievementsto other disciplines. For example, amedical product synthesized bya chemist would no longer be attributedsimply to the field of medicine.

3. Instead of looking for the negative sideof a chemical discovery, an objectiveanalysis will be made of its contributionto society before making any statementor taking any stand.In exchange, chemists undertake to return

to work and continue their efforts to establish

an enduring civilization, respectful ofhumankind and its environment, and guar-anteeing the positive effects of progress forfuture generations.

Armand Lattes is president of the Frenchchemistry society, la Société Française de

Chimie. He is also president of the ToulouseAcademy of Sciences and professor at the

Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III) in France.He is author and chief editor of five books

on chemistry, and from 1995–1999, heserved on the NATO Scientific Committee

as a chemistry expert.


Public Outreach—NCW 2003 Highlights

Bronze3M Canada Company

Alcan International LimitedAtofina

Canada Colors and Chemicals Ltd.Canadian Association of Chemical Distributors

Canadian Chemical Producers’ AssociationCanadian Fertilizer Institute

CropLife CanadaDiagnostic Chemicals Ltd.

L.V. Lomas LimitedLorus Therapeutics Inc.

Meloche MonnexNational Silicates Limited

Rechochem Inc.Rhodia Canada Inc.Seastar Chemical

Torcan Chemical Ltd.

GoldBASF

Dow Chemical Canada Inc. Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research

SilverAnachemia Science

Bayer Inc.Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.

H.L. Blachford Ltd.National Research Council Canada

NOVA CorporationSyncrude Canada Ltd.

The Sponsors


National Chemistry WeekOctober 16–27 octobre 2004

Semaine nationale de la chimie

www.cheminst.ca/ncw

The National Crystal GrowingCompetition has been a major partof National Chemistry Week (NCW)

for many years. Thanks to sponsorsAnachemia Science, who supplied therochelle salt needed to grow the crystals,and BASF Canada, who provided regionalt-shirt prizes as well as the national cashprizes and student prizes, this competitioncontinues to play an important role inpromoting chemistry to high schoolstudents. This was another record-breakingyear for the National Crystal GrowingCompetition: we set a new record for over-all score of 80.5 percent surpassing lastyear’s record of 80.3 percent. This wasaccomplished by the team of studentsKshitiz Gupta, Peter Ao, and ShakibRahman from Harry Ainlay CompositeHigh School, Edmonton, AB, under thedirection of teacher Aura Pombert.

The runners-up in the overall scorecategory were Stéphane Cormier andSteven Allen from Polyvalente desAbénaquis, St-Prosper, QC, with RobertBilodeau, their teacher (score 72.1 percent).Third place went to Lynne Bosquet, PatrickKoch, and Jess Vereault from MerivaleHigh School, Nepean, ON, under thesupervision of teacher Henry Jakubinek(score 63.5 percent).

The best quality crystal, scoring 9.85 outof a maximum 10, was submitted by PointGrey Secondary School, Vancouver, BC,students Annie Chow, Christine Brown, andPetros Mouratidis under the supervision ofteacher Leslie Johnston.

The second place crystal from École LeSommet in Quebec scored 9.85 and wasgrown by Marie-Pier Savoie with the assis-tance of Denis Berner, teacher. This wasfollowed by a 9.63 crystal created byGuillaume Cyr, Simon Jomphe, andMichael Bisson from École Mgr-Labrie,Havre St-Pierre, QC, with proud teacherEric Fallu looking on. Fallu had anotherreason to be proud: he came in first (out offour competitors) in the teacher division.

In all, we received submissions from12 different parts of the country.

A special thank you goes to the teacherswho supervised their students, to TheChemical Institute of Canada volunteerswho coordinated the contest in their localareas, and to George Ferguson of thedepartment of chemistry, Universityof Guelph, for assistance in judgingthe crystals.

Chris Young, MCIC2003 National Crystal Growing Competition

Coordinator Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada


National Chemistry Week

Overall winning crystal from HarryAinlay Composite High School (above)and best quality crystal from PointGrey Secondary School (below right)are shown.

The National Crystal Growing Competition

The chemistry department at theUniversity of Calgary organized a“Chemistry Show” in a shopping mall

for the first time in 1991. The purpose was tospark interest in chemistry and popularize itas a part of everyday life. From the verybeginning the show became a special attrac-tion, thus it kept growing over the years.Last October, we hosted the 12th consecu-tive show. It consisted of 17 educationaldisplays with a number of comprehensivedemonstrations, interesting hands-on activ-ities and competitions. Each of these wasaccompanied by informative explanationsdelivered by enthusiastic volunteers.

The popularity of the show grew enor-mously among visitors as well as thevolunteers. For the last show all 114 volunteerpositions were filled in only one week,primarily by undergraduate and graduatestudents. Approximately 45 others regretfullyremained on the waiting list. Quite a numberof volunteers from previous shows, whoenjoyed the experience so much in the past,joined us again. Also many new volunteersthis year pledged to participate again in thefuture. The majority of volunteers and visitors

were disappointed to find out that the showtakes place only once a year. In addition toextensive advertising on TV, radio, newspa-pers, in schools, on the Web, and in the mall,

numerous calls and messages were receivedbefore the show from those who wanted tomake sure not to miss it. During and after theshow, science and chemistry teachers fromjunior high and high schools contacted uswith compliments and asked for proceduresand/or ideas for demonstrations suitable fortheir teaching program or science projects.Some teachers asked for an opportunity tobring their students to the University ofCalgary chemistry department for a tour andto view demonstrations, while others invitedus to visit and perform a set of demonstra-tions in their classrooms. Many students, whovisited the show, wrote school essays about itand/or demonstrated some experiments totheir peers.

The chemistry show has become a tradi-tion in the department and in the communityand represents a special entry in ourcalendars. Therefore we are investing a lot oftime, effort, and finances to keep it aliveand enrich it to be more attractive and edu-cational for many more years to come.

Majda DjordjevicChemistry Show Coordinator (1997–present)


The Mall Displays

The School Visits

Something different was tried atEspanola High School during the2003 NCW! I selected a special

education class to demonstrate whatchemistry was all about and I must saythat I got an enthusiastic response fromthe subjects that I entertained. Especiallyone student whose name is Greg Pearson.Greg is a special student at Espanola HighSchool who impresses his teachers withhis outstanding ability to retain everythingthat he observes.

I had a delightful experience with Gregand his fellow classmates who have theirown room at Espanola High School wherethey work during the day. Knowing thatchemical demonstrations stimulate a lot ofinterest in students, I decided to try some-thing with these students who are soappreciative with anything that you can dofor them. So, I got out an “ole” demonstra-tion of working with potassium iodide andlead nitrate. This was from my own high

school days and one that impressed me thevery first time that my high school chem-istry teacher, Mr. Philp, showed the class. Ihave never forgotten how that reactionsparked my curiosity and left me with anindelible impression as a teenager.

I was happy to see that the same expres-sion occurred with the special students ofthis class, especially Greg. He was really ex-cited! Hopefully, there will be moredemonstrations to be presented to these stu-dents with special needs! You can’t imaginewhat joy it brings to see their enthusiasmwhen someone takes an interest in doingsomething special for them.

I would like to thank Mrs. LaCasse, Mrs.McGrath, and Mrs. Trudeau for their assis-tance in allowing me to take thisopportunity to show these students whatchemistry is all about.

Ken Naples, MCICEspanola, ON

Phot

o by

Ian

Mac

Don

ald

High school students from theCentral Fraser Valley, BC, wereinvited to participate in the eighth

annual chemistry lab skills contest heldat University College of the Fraser Valley(UCFV). With the recent opening of athird chemistry laboratory at UCFV, andfinancial support as a result of a Promo-Science grant administered by theNational Sciences and EngineeringResearch Council of Canada, themaximum number of participants wasincreased this year. This increase resultedin 11 high schools from the UCFVcatchment area entering a record of17 four-person teams.

Each team completed seven experimentsconsisting of two quantitative determina-tions and five syntheses. The overallwinner was one of two teams from W.J.Mouat Secondary School, consisting ofRobert McDougall, Bradley Roger, AndrewField, and Ezekiel Echon. Yale SecondarySchool, the winner for the last four years,placed second with the team of BrianWong, Katie Newcombe, Rika Morrow,

and Rebecca Graham. The team of EmilyGlenn, Kuljit Dhaliwal, Ryan Dyck, andJared Klassen, representing the MennoniteEducational Institute, was third. Membersof the first-placed each received $100 andtheir school received a copy of The MerckIndex for use in its laboratory. Members ofthe second- and third-placed teams eachreceived $50 and $25, respectively.Complimentary snacks, lunch, and acustom-designed t-shirt were provided forall participants, and a number of thecontestants won door prizes that hadbeen donated by Fisher Scientific andVWR Scientific. The traditional post-contest chemistry magic show, presentedby UCFV staff and students, was wellreceived by the participants and theirguests.

Additional details, including photo-graphs, can be found on the UCFVchemistry department Web site,www.ucfv.bc.ca/chemistry/.

Arthur Last, MCICUniversity College of the Fraser Valley


The Competitions

The Industrial Visits

AstraZeneca R&D Montréal participatedduring National Chemistry Week withdifferent experiments that were fun,

interactive, and colourful. A new display wasset up each day in the building, along withchemistry facts pertaining to everyday life. Togive people an experiment that they couldcarry out at home with their friends andfamilies, we gave out recipes for homemadebath bombs, complete with free samples.

High school students from Lindsay PlaceHigh School were invited to the site, wherethey were given a presentation on thecompany and the drug discovery process,emphasizing the role of chemists at the site.They were given a tour of the chemistrydepartment including the labs. Their visitculminated in joining the AstraZeneca staff forthe annual making of ice cream, indulging inthe NCW cake and viewing posters about thechemistry department. In addition, they trieddifferent experiments, including the favourite:making slime!

Carmen LeungAstraZeneca R&D Montréal

The University of New BrunswickUndergraduate Chemistry Societysuccessfully held a special lecture

given by Todd Arsenault. The environmen-tal chemistry based lecture was entitled“How Deep Are Your Footprints? Your Im-pact on Environmental Chemistry.” Thiswas a public lecture that was well attendedby an audience of approximately 50 people;from the general public, students and teach-ers from nearby high schools and students,faculty, and staff from the university com-munity were in attendance. The lecture was

centred on the environmental pollutionthat is close to home, instead of the stereo-typical smokestacks and toxic wastedumps that often come to mind. Air, land,and water impacts were investigated basedon “everyday” pollutants that are nowemerging in the environment. The lecturewas enjoyed by all, and was interactive;Arsenault frequently asked questions of hisaudience and performed demonstrationsthroughout his talk.

Arsenault is currently the ProvincialDrinking Water Specialist for the Department

of the Environment and Local Government.He has over ten years experience in envi-ronmental and analytical chemistry as wellas a wide experience of other areas ofOrganic Chemistry, including synthesis,structure determination, and the chemistryof natural products. Arsenault is also analumni of UNB’s Bachelor of Science inChemistry program.

Crystal CraigUndergraduate Student Chapter President

University of New Brunswick


The Lectures

Each year, the NCW Team choosesan assortment of promotional itemsto distribute to NCW and other

outreach coordinators to assist them intheir chemistry shows, displays or otherevents. Merck Frosst Centre forTherapeutic Research has been a major

supporter producing pocket periodictable cards that are distributed to univer-sities, high schools, and the generalpublic. The following letter shows howthe NCW program has worked inCanadian schools:

For a complete list of promotional items available, visit www.cheminst.ca/ncw/orderfrm.html.

The Promotional Material

To whom it may concern:

I am a chemistry teacher at Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School in Toronto, ON.

In previous years, a program co-sponsored by the Canadian Society for Chemistry

during National Chemistry Week has allowed me to give students laminated business-sized

periodic tables.

I was unaware that this program was so successful until a number of my students returned

this year to inform me that they had become interested in pursuing a career in chemistry

because of my efforts to give them what they described as “the little extras” that helped

them to become successful chemists. One of the reasons I had done this for my students

was because one of my teachers had done it for me. To this day I still carry that laminated

periodic table in my breast pocket. It not only serves as a fond memory and a right of

passage, but also reminds my students of the importance of such a small piece of paper.

They are always amazed how much information can be collected in such a small space.

Sincerely,

Michael Dawson

Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School

The material above is just a small summary of events that took place across thecountry for National Chemistry Week 2003. For details on other events as wellas additional information about the program and educational material available,please visit the Web site at www.cheminst.ca/ncw.


Uphill Climbers

Purpose: To determine if water can rise in a verticalpaper towel.

Materials: • scissors• 2'' by 8'' (5 cm x 20 cm) strip of paper towel• red food colouring• transparent tape• pencil• tap water• ruler• glass jar, about 6'' (15 cm) tall

Procedure:1. Place a drop of red food colouring 2'' (5 cm) from one end

of the paper strip.2. Tape the uncoloured end of the paper to the center of the

pencil. Roll some of the paper around the pencil.3. Pour about 1'' (2.5 cm) of water into the jar.4. Lower the paper into the jar. Unroll the strip until the

bottom edge just touches the water.

Why? The paper is made of tiny fibres. The spacing of the fibresforms tube-like structures throughout the paper. The water canbe seen zigzagging through these spaces. The adhesive attrac-tion of water to the paper is strong enough to move the water upthe sides of the fibre tubes against the downward pull of gravity.The water molecules cling to the fibre then pull the lower watermolecules up the centre of the tube. The movement of the waterup through the tiny tubes is called capillary action.

From: Janice VanCleave’s 202 Oozing, Bubbling, Dripping &Bouncing Experiments, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996, page 52.

Experiment a little …You can find these and other fun-filled experiments for studentsat the National Chemistry Week Web site at cheminst.ca/ncw!

Removing Iodine from Iodized Salt

Objective: To remove potassium iodide from iodized salt. Iodine is a halogen. At roomtemperature it is a bluish-black solid with a metallic luster and is classified asa semiconductor of electricity. Iodine is needed by the thyroid gland during theproduction of thyroxin, a growth hormone. The thyroid gland obtains the iodineby collecting iodide from the blood plasma and converting it into iodine. Adeficiency in iodine will cause the thyroid gland to enlarge (causing a goiter). Inorder to prevent this, table salt has iodine added in the form of potassium iodide(KI) or sodium iodide (NaI). Iodized salt contains 0.01percent KI or NaI. Theiodine is easily separated from the salt because iodine is soluble in alcoholwhereas salt is not.

Materials:• filter paper/coffee filter • steam bath or hot plate • iodized salt • 3% hydrogen peroxide • ethanol • NaI or KI solution • shallow bowl or plate • 3 small jars with lids (test tubes can be use) • petroleum ether (alternatives: hexanes, pentane, or diethyl ether)

Procedure:1. Add 20 g iodized salt and 25 mL ethanol to a jar, tighten lid and shake

vigorously. Let the jar sit for 5–10 minutes and shake occasionally.2 Filter the solution into a shallow bowl or plate and evaporate until dry. A

steam bath or hot plate may be needed to quicken the evaporation. (Caution:ethanol is flammable)

3. Add 5 mL of 3% hydrogen peroxide to the bowl and warm it slightly untilthe residue is dissolved.

4. Carefully transfer the solution to a small jar, add 1–2 mL of petroleum etheror alternative, tighten the lid and shake. The petroleum ether, hexanes, andpentane should turn slightly pink due to the presence of iodine. If diethylether is used the solution will turn a faint yellow colour. Try to use a jar thatwill allow the diethyl ether to form a thin layer a couple of millimeters thick.

5. A standard can be made to compare the colour change. Add 5 mL of diethylether to 10 mL of hydrogen peroxide in a small jar. Add a few drops of a KIor NaI solution and observe the colour change in the ether layer.

From: Discover Canadian Chemistry



Chemical Education DivisionAffiliate Membership

for High School Teachers

An invitation to join the largest group of professionals interested in chemical education

In September 1991, the Chemical Education Division of The Chemical Institute of Canada introduced an Affiliate membershipcategory for high school chemistry teachers. This program promotes contact among chemical educators at all levels and encouragesthe involvement of high school chemistry teachers and community college chemistry and chemical technology teachers in theactivities of the Division.

The Chemical Education Division (CED), provides an opportunity for high school teachers and community college chemistryand chemical technology teachers to interact with a cross-section of chemical professionals from across Canada. Among otheractivities, the CED currently organizes the annual National High School Chemistry Examination and is involved in othermatter of interest to those involved in chemical education. Through membership in the Division, teachers can shareinformation and ideas on curricular, equipment, and teaching resources.

In order to help to develop a sense of continuity, your membership dues are for a period of two years. The membership dues arevery modest and include the March issue of the Institute’s magazine Canadian Chemical News that is dedicated to educationaltopics. In addition, your affiliate membership entitles you to a special rate should you wish to subscribe to the magazine onan annual basis. Furthermore, you will also receive information regarding the annual Canadian chemical conferences. As anaffiliate member, you may attend this conference for a reduced registration fee. This specific benefit of membership allowsteachers to participate, not only in the chemical education programme, but also in sessions focusing on topics such as theenvironment, drug development, and energy research, and moreover provides an opportunity to network with other teachersand chemical professionals.

Check the appropriate box, complete the remainder of the form, and return it with a cheque, payable to The ChemicalEducation Division: Gordon Bates, department of chemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1.

❏ I am a high school chemistry teacher and not a member of the CSC, CSChE, or CSCT. I wish to become an Affiliatemember of the Chemical Education Division. (All Division membership privileges apply except voting and holdingsenior executive office in the Division).

Dues for the two-year period September 2004–2006: $10

❏ I am a community college chemistry teacher and not a member of the CSC, CSChE, or CSCT. I wish to become anAffiliate member of the Chemical Education Division. (All Division membership privileges apply except voting andholding senior executive office in the Division).

Dues for the two-year period September 2004–2006: $10

❏ wish to become a full member of the CSC, CSChE, or CSCT and also become a member of the Chemical EducationDivision. Please send me more information and a membership application form.

Name:

School:

Address:

City: Province:

Postal code:

Tel.: ( ) - Fax: ( ) -

E-mail:

Send to:Gordon BatesDepartment of ChemistryUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouver, BCV6T 1Z1

Tel.: 604-822-2834Tel. (sec): 604-822-3266Fax: 604-822-2847E-mail: [email protected]


Membershiphas its RewardsTime’s up! The “Renew your CIC membership! Contest”results are in.

The fourth annual contest held in partnershipwith Meloche Monnex, offered a new Palm Tungsten T2handheld, valued at $500 as the grand prize and a one-year free CIC membership as the second, valued at $135.

Winning ballots for the renewal contest were drawn atThe Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) National Officeon January 30, 2004.

Grand prizewinner Reihaneh Irani, ACIC, a graduatestudent from the University of Calgary, and secondprizewinner Peter McGarry, MCIC, of Paprican Inc. wereselected from nearly 1,900 entries. The CIC would liketo extend its congratulations to the winners and a spe-cial thanks to all participating members and our sponsor,Meloche Monnex, for making the renewal contesta success.

Meloche Monnex has been the exclusive providerof home and automobile insurance to CIC memberssince 1990.

Division NewsNouvelles des divisions

CIC National Office’s Angie Moulton, membership servicescoordinator, and Cheryle Levert, communications andmarketing manager, draw the winning ballots.

CIC Bulletin ICC

Mark Your Calendar!May 4 and 5, 2004—The CSC Rubber Chemistry Division is holding a two-day seminar on Elastomer Molding.

The seminar will be held at the University of Waterloo, and the ses-sions will deal with thermoset elastomers, thermoplastic elastomers,and mold design.

The fee is $375 for members of The Chemical Institute of Canada, theRubber Division, ACS, the Ontario Rubber Group, or the Quebec Elas-tomer Group. Otherwise the fee is $450. The fee includes lunch on bothdays and a 400-page book entitled Elastomer Molding Technology to beused as a textbook. Pre-registration only. No on-site registration.

For further information contact Marvin Myhre at 905-988-9448 orDon McRae at 519-576-5565.

Call for NominationsThe Catalysis Division will elect a new executive at its upcoming meetingin Montréal, May 2004. Members of the Division are welcome to submittheir names as part of the election process. Members who wish to beconsidered should contact Graeme Norval, MCIC, past-chair, who isorganizing the nominations process. Nominations close on April 30, 2004.

Graeme Norval2009 Grenville DriveOakville, ON L6H 3Z3Tel.: 905-466-2940Fax: 905-466-6940E-mail: [email protected]

The positions on the executive are as follows:Chair: 2-year termVice-Chair: 2-year termSecretary/Treasurer: 2-year termMember-at-Large: 6-year termNewsletter Editor: 2-year termRepresentative to CSChE: 2-year termRepresentative to CSC: 2-year termRepresentative to International Congress on Catalysis: 4-year term

Details on the roles of each position will be provided upon request

Chemistry’s Impacton World HistoryRevealed atVancouver CICDinner Meeting

On November 13, 2003, members of theVancouver section of the CIC held theirannual dinner meeting. After enjoying abuffet dinner at the Simon Fraser UniversityDiamond Centre and presenting the newCreo Achievement Awards in Chemistryand ALS Environmental Awards inChemistry, over 70 members were treatedto an excellent, entertaining lecture byPenny Le Couteur, dean of arts and scienceat Capilano College in Vancouver, entitled

“Hot, Sweet and Spicy: Chemistry inHistory.” In this lecture, Le Couteur sharedus some highlights of her new, bestsellingbook Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17Molecules Changed History. The lecture wasan exciting, eclectic mix of chemistry,world history, and geography. The spicetrade, the sugar/slavery/manufacturedgoods triangle, and scurvy all receivedhonourable mentions, both for their placein history and the chemistry behind them.Le Couteur also gave us a peek into theworld of editors, agents, and publishers,including the hardships, challenges, andrewards of trying to publish one’s work inthe popular media. At the end, the audi-ence indicated that they would be eagerlyawaiting the sequel to Napoleon’s Buttons!

Daniel Leznoff, MCICVancouver Section chair

J.W.T. SpinksLecture Series 2003

The chemistry department of the Universityof Saskatchewan once again hosted a verysuccessful J.W.T. Spinks lecture series, thisyear featuring J. Fraser Stoddart, from UCLA.The beautifully illustrated pair of lectures,entitled “The Nature of the MechanicalBond” and “An Integrated Systems-OrientedApproach to Molecular Electronics,” tookplace on October 23 and 24, 2003 and weredelivered to large audiences.

The first talk, a general one, featured theintroduction of the broad picture, such as theconstruction and use of specially tailoredmolecules that enable translational androtational intermolecular motions induced byspecific excitations. These species consist ofinterlocked molecular components, whichcan move relative to each other. The interac-tion energies between them can be termed“mechanical.” It is possible to apply externalforces (such as electrical voltages in somecases) to create limited but definite molecular

motion between the components, and thiscan at least conceptually be utilized in vari-ous ways. Such molecules, such as catenanesand rotaxanes, were developed in Stoddart’slaboratories in the last 20 years, beginning atSheffield, U.K.

The second talk, a specialist lecture, wentinto more detail as to how such “mechani-cally” bonded pairs of molecules, ringslocked onto the bars of “dumbbell” or“lollipop” molecules and also interlockingpairs of rings, may be constructed (forexample, the use of self-assembly) andstimulated to produce internal rearrange-ments, and how such changes can bedetected. The climax was a description ofhow such systems might be used as molecu-lar switches and nano-electromechanicalsystems (NEMS).

Stoddart’s enthusiasm and approachabil-ity created a vibrant environment forwide-ranging discussions with theSaskatchewan students and faculty, and thusthe 2003–2004 Spinks lectures certainlyserved its purpose: to educate and to excite.

John A.Weil, FCIC


Local Section NewsNouvelles des sections locales

J. Fraser Stoddart delivered the 2003 J.W.T. Spinkslecture series at the University of Saskatchewan

Vancouver CIC Local Section membersenjoyed an after-dinner presentationby Penny LeCouteur.

Hamilton Students Compete

The Annual Monsaroff Student Paper Night was held on January 29,2004 at Mohawk College with over 60 students and faculty attending.

The Monsaroff Student Paper Night was introduced in the 1960sand is named in recognition of Boris Monsaroff, an industrialchemist/chemical engineer and author. Monsaroff lived and workedin Hamilton, ON for more than 30 years and played a leading rolein the CIC. He maintained a vigorous interest in science andeconomics and was deeply concerned with the impact of scientificdevelopment on economic and political policies. The HamiltonSection organized Student Paper Night in order to foster studentinterest in developing communication skills and in using these skillsto transmit knowledge to a general audience.

Six students representing Mohawk College and McMasterUniversity presented papers at this year’s competition, onvarious chemical-related subjects. The students were: StefanieMortiner, chemistry, McMaster University; Earl Clarke, chemicaland environmental technology, Mohawk College; ElizabethClark, chemical engineering and management, McMasterUniversity; Neerajah Raviraj, chemical engineering, McMasterUniversity; Kim Worsley, chemistry, McMaster University;Robyn Gilliland, environmental science technician, MohawkCollege.

The winner of the Monsaroff Medal was Elizabeth Clark,chemical engineering and management, McMaster University.

Student NewsNouvelles des étudiants

No Nerds Here!

From the Chemistry Students’ Associationthat brought you the “Men of ChemistryCalendar—2004: Chemists Gone Wild”comes the “Women of Chemistry” periodictable proving chemistry is no longer asubject for the weak or the meek. And youwon’t find any pocket protectors here!

The periodic table is included as a specialbonus with all orders for the calendar.While supplies last.

To order, send your cheque or money orderfor $10 to:University of Winnipeg ChemistryStudents’ AssociationUniversity of Winnipeg515 Portage AvenueWinnipeg, MB R3B 2E9

Women of Chemistry periodic table


The University of Winnipegcontinues to rattle preconceivednotions of what it means to bea chemistry student!


Student NewsNouvelles des étudiants

In order to honour top chemistry students and promote chemicaleducation at the twelve public post-secondary institutions that teachchemistry or chemical technology within the Vancouver CIC LocalSection, the Creo Achievement Award in Chemistry and the ALSEnvironmental Award in Chemistry were inaugurated.

Winners of the Creo Achievement Award in Chemistry who werepresented with their prizes at the Dinner Meeting. From left toright: Daniel Leznoff, MCIC (Vancouver Section chair), DarwinOrtiz, Richard Popoff, Geoff Hicks, Melissa Hogg, ChristieForeman, and Graham Darling, MCIC (Creo representative). Front:Heather More and Marie Lauriente.

Each of the 12 departments was invited to nominate a worthystudent, preferably one who had completed two chemistry coursesat the second-year level to receive the Creo Award. The awardeeswere invited to attend the Local Section’s dinner meeting wherethey were publicly awarded their prizes by Creo’s Graham Darling,MCIC. A complete list of winners and their home institutions isshown below:

Geoff Hicks B.C. Institute of Technology, BurnabyChristie Foreman Capilano College, North VancouverMelissa Hogg College of the Rockies, CranbrookRichard Popoff Douglas College, New WestministerMarie Lauriente Kwantlen University College, SurreyDarwin Ortiz Langara College, VancouverJordan Kleckner Okanagan University College, KelownaMatthew Culp Selkirk College, CastlegarSachiko Takahashi University College of the Cariboo,

KamloopsHeather More University College of the Fraser Valley,

AbbotsfordMing Wai Emily Tsang Simon Fraser University (SFU), BurnabyHiu-Wah Li University of British Columbia (UBC),

Vancouver

The new ALS Environmental Award in Chemistry was presentedto the top students in third-year chemistry at SFU and UBC respec-tively. Rob Deverall, president of ALS Environmental, granted theawards to Brett McCollum (SFU) and Roh-Eul Yoo (UBC) at thesame CIC Dinner Meeting.

The Vancouver Local Section is grateful to Creo Inc. and ALSEnvironmental, two Vancouver-area technology companiesthat employ chemists, for their generous support of these studentawards.

Congratulations to all the awardees on their outstandingachievement and we wish them the best of success in theircontinuing studies.

Daniel Leznoff, MCICCIC Vancouver Local Section Chair

Brett McCollum, ALS Environmental president, and winners of the ALSEnvironmental Award in Chemistry: Rob Deverall and Roh-Eul Yoo.

ALS Environmental and Creo Awards Presented to Top Vancouver Region Chemistry Students

EventsÉvénements

CanadaSeminars and courses

April 5–6, 2004. Chemical Health and Safety Workshop andSymposium, Association of the Chemical Profession of Alberta(ACPA), Canmore, AB. Web site: www.pchem.ca.

April 26–28, 2004. 8th Annual Process Control Applications forIndustry Workshop (APC 2004), Vancouver, BC. Web site:www.ieee-ias.org/apc2004/index.html.

May 20–21, 2004. U.S.–Canada Joint Workshop on InnovativeChemistry in Cleaner Media, Montréal, QC. Tel.: 504-398-8457;E-mail: [email protected].

October 4–5, 2004. ICPES—Inductively Coupled Plasma Emis-sion Spectroscopy, Canadian Society for Chemical Technology,Calgary, AB. Tel.: 888-542-2242; Web site:www.cheminst.ca/prof/dev.

October 4–5, 2004. Laboratory Safety, Canadian Society forChemical Technology, Calgary, AB. Tel.: 888-542-2242; Web site:www.cheminst.ca/prof/dev.

November 5–7, 2004. The 15th Quebec–Ontario Minisymposiumin Synthesis and Bio-Organic Chemistry (QOMSBOC), Ottawa,ON. Contact: Louis Barriault or William Ogilvie; Tel.: 613-562-5800.

Conferences

April 28–29, 2004. 8th Canadian Pollution Prevention Roundtable(CPPR), Canadian Centre for Pollution Prevention, Ottawa, ON.Contact: Sue McKinlay; Tel.: 519-337-3425; E-mail: [email protected]; Web site: www.c2p2online.com.

May 16–19, 2004. Biannual Canadian Surface Science Confer-ence: Surface Canada 2004, Vancouver, BC. Web site:www.chem.ubc.ca/surfacecanada.

May 16–19, 2004. 18th Canadian Symposium on Catalysis,Montréal. QC. Contact: Jitka Kirchnerova; Tel.: 514-340-4711;E-mail: [email protected]; Web site:www.polymtl.ca/18CSC2004.

May 29–June 2, 2004. Strong Roots/New Branches—87thCanadian Society for Chemistry Conference and Exhibition,London, ON. Web site: www.csc2004.ca.

June 9–11, 2004. CACD 17th Annual Meeting and NACD RegionIV Meeting, Québec, QC. Contact: Cathy Campbell; Tel.: 905-844-9140; Web site: www.cacd.ca.

July 10–14, 2004. 15th Canadian Symposium on TheoreticalChemistry (CSTC 2004), Sainte-Adele, QC. Web site: www.chem.queensu.ca/cstc2004.

October 3–6, 2004. Energy for the Future—54th CanadianChemical Engineering Conference, Calgary, AB, CanadianSociety for Chemical Engineering (CSChE); Tel.: 613-232-6252; Web site: www.csche2004.ca.

U.S. and OverseasMarch 28–April 1, 2004. ACS Spring Meeting (227th),Anaheim, CA; Tel.: 800-227-5558; E-mail: [email protected]; Web site: www.acs.org.

April 18–24, 2004. 9th World Filtration Congress, New Orleans,LA, American Filtration and Separation Society (AFS).Contact: Wallace Leung; Tel.: 703-538-1000; Fax: 703-538-6305;E-mail: [email protected];Web site: www.wfc9.org.

April 25–29, 2004. AIChE Spring National Meeting, NewOrleans, LA; Tel.: 212-591-7330; Web site: www.aiche.org.

May 11–14, 2004. The Global Analysis Fair—Analytica 2004,Munich, Germany. Web site: www.canada-unlimited.com.

August 22–26, 2004. ACS Fall Meeting (2287th), Philadelphia,PA; Tel.: 800-227-5558; E-mail: [email protected]; Web site:www.acs.org.

November 7–12, 2004. AIChE Annual Meeting, Austin, TX;Tel.: 212-591-7330; Web site: www.aiche.org.

July 10–15, 2005. 7th World Congress on Chemical Engineering(WCCE7), IchemE and the European Federation, Glasgow,Scotland. Contact: Sarah Fitzpatrick; E-mail:[email protected].

August 13–21, 2005. IUPAC 43rd General Assembly, Beijing,China. Contact: IUPAC Secretariat; Tel.: +1 919-485-8700;Fax: +1 919-485-8706; E-mail: [email protected].

Available atno charge: Bound copies of AnalyticalChemistry, 1937–1984

E-mail [email protected] for further information

EventsÉvénements


Section headProfessional Directory

Répertoire professionnel

Bachelor Chemical Engineering (Honours) with 14years in the etholylates/propoxylates businessis looking for a production and/or commercialdevelopment engineer position in a similar field. Hasexperience with PEG, PPG, ethoxylates, propoxylatesand alcoxylates. Has worked as a production engine-er for 9 years and as a commercial developmentengineer for 5 years. Contact Peter at 416-614-6603 [email protected].

Chemical Engineer (Bachelors) with six years ofexperience in Chemical Process Design, Project Coor-dination and Safety Studies is looking for a similarposition in GTA and surrounding area. Has experi-ence in simulation software such as ChemCAD, HTRIand PHAST. Has worked on projects for Pharmaceu-tical and Chemical Industries. Contact Meghal at905-874-4090 or [email protected].

Employment WantedDemandes d’emploi

C. Lloyd Sarginson B.Sc. (Chem. Eng.), LL.B.Philip C. Mendes da Costa B.Sc. (Chem. Eng.), LL.B.Michael E. Charles B.Eng.Sci. (Chem. Eng.), LL.B.Micheline Gravelle B.Sc., M.Sc. (Immunology)Andrew I. McIntosh B.Sc. (Chem.), J.D., LL.B.Anita Nador B.A. (Molec. Biophys./Biochem.), LL.B.Noel Courage B.Sc. (Biochem.), LL.B.Patricia Power B.Sc., Ph.D. (Chem.)Meredith Brill B.Sc., (Chem. Eng.), LL.B.

Practice Restricted to Intellectual Property LawScotia Plaza, 40 King Street West, 40th FloorToronto, Ontario Canada M5H 3Y2 416 364 7311 fax: 416 361 1398

2000 Argentia Road, Plaza 4, Suite 430Mississauga, Ontario Canada L5N 1W1 905 812 3600 fax: 905 814 0031www.bereskinparr.com

Chemical Group

Next Up: London!

Join the CSC for Canada’s next chemistry con-ference themed, Strong Roots/New Branches,in London, ON, at the London ConventionCentre from May 29 to June 1, 2004. For moreinformation go to www.csc2004.ca.


EventsÉvénements

CareersCarrières

Step right up!If you are an unemployed memberof the CIC, you are entitled to threeconsecutive free advertisements in theEmployment Wanted section of ACCN.Contact Gale Thirlwall-Wilbee, careerservices and student affairs manager. Tel.: 613-232-6252, ext. 223; Fax: 613-232-5862; E-mail: [email protected].

CareersCarrières

The Journal of BiomolecularScreening, in conjunction

with McMaster University’sHTS Lab announces:

HTS Data Mining and DockingCompetition

Objective• A competition for computational

chemists using a real HTS dataset for analysis.

• Dockers and computationalchemists; all invited to participate.

Goals• Given a high-quality experimental

data set of 50,000 compoundsagainst dihydrofolate reductase,participants will predict the activityof an additional 50,000 molecules.

• Experimental data on the second50,000 molecules to be releasedlater for comparison and judging.

Metrics• Success will be measured by the

enrichment of activities suggestedby the competitors, the rank orderingof the compound activities, theidentification of false negatives andfalse positives, and the novelty ofthe classes identified.

Timing• January 2004 release of first data

set by McMaster HTS Lab.• Results submitted by participants

in March 2004.• Winners and second data set results

released May 2004.• Participants will be invited to present

their methodology at a CompetitionSymposium and for publication ina special issue of the Journal ofBiomolecular Screening.

For more information and toregister, contact: McMasterHTS Lab at: http://hts.mcmaster.ca

CareersCarrières

www.chemistry.mcmaster.ca

NEW FACILIT IES FOR TEACHINGAND GRADUATE RESEARCH

Analytical & Environmental ChemistryBiological ChemistryInorganic ChemistryMaterials ChemistryOrganic Chemistry

Physical & Theoretical Chemistry

PM

4002

1620

Documents

Mar 2004: ACCN, the Canadian Chemical News