cle, where electrochemical reduction of water also is occurring. "The result is the formation of fractal 'wires' which grow toward the nearest point on the other particle's surface," the researchers ex­plain in last week's Nature [389, 268 (1997)]. These wires tend to be veiy fragile, but Bradley says his group has found a way to make them more robust in air.

The Drexel researchers also demon­strate that they can selectively form wires between specific particles of a small array simply by changing the direc­tion of the electric field. They expect they can extend this concept to 3-D par­ticle arrays to permit the construction of 3-D microcircuitry.

For this to be feasible, they note, com­ponents will have to be scaled down. They are working toward this objective and have already shown that submi-crometer wires can be grown on parti­cles as small as a few micrometers in di­ameter. A forthcoming paper from the group in Advanced Materials describes how they use this approach to build sim­ple, stable circuits on a circuit board.

Chemistry professor Michael J. Sailor of the University of California, San Diego, who has grown polymer wires on elec­trodes, observes that "although living sys­tems have developed several techniques for growing interconnect structures (for example, neuronal connections in the brain), modem technology has a very lim­ited set of tools to construct the analogous 'artificial' structures. This paper represents a milestone achievement in that regard."

Drexel University has filed two provi­sional patents on the work, and potential licensees are being sought.

Ron Dagani

Converting chemical arms plants to peaceful uses

DuPont is investing $10 million in a joint venture with a Russian company, A. O. Khimpom, Novocheboksarsk, to build a herbicide production facility on a com­plex that once also housed a Soviet Union chemical weapons facility. The venture aims to serve Russia's rapidly ex­panding agricultural markets, which could reach $1 billion within a decade.

Novocheboksarsk, about 400 miles east of Moscow, was—in typical Soviet fash­ion—a multiple-use complex. Chemical weapons were made on a highly secured part of the complex, and that part would have to be destroyed or converted to peace­ful uses under strict Chemical Weapons Convention guidelines. Approval for con­versions must come from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), The Hague-based group imple­menting the treaty, to ensure that the con­verted facilities are no longer able to pro­duce chemical weapons.

A U.S. government official says Du­Pont was veiy concerned that it not vio­late the treaty, which the U.S.—but not Russia—has ratified. "It veiy carefully checked the ramifications of the treaty before it went ahead," this official tells C&EN.

DuPont did so by hiring San Diego-based consulting company Science Ap­plications International, which, in turn, engaged David A. Kay. Kay, who led spe­cial United Nations inspections teams in Iraq after the 1991 Persian Gulf War, says he found no evidence that "the proposed

joint-venture site [has] had associations with chemical weapons manufacture."

"About four or five other U.S. chemi­cal companies are considering potential Russian investments," says Michael P. Walls, Chemical Manufacturers Associa­tion senior assistant general counsel. But, he cautions, "I'm not sure if they are in­terested only in plants that fall under the conversion program or if they are talking about broader investments in Russia."

The U.S. government, however, is now seeking OPCW approval for conversion of a declared chemical weapons production facility in Van Nuys, Calif. This facility, op­erated under contract to the Army by Mar-quardt Co., purchased commercially avail­able industrial chemicals to fill compo­nents of the Bigeye binary bomb and binary artillery shells.

All specialized equipment and building features have been removed and have been destroyed or are scheduled to be destroyed. Since 1992, Marquardt has been leasing the building to other firms that manufacture aircraft parts or produce motion pictures and television programs. The U.S. expects formal OPCW approval next month.

Japan, a treaty ratifier, has declared as a production facility the building where the Aum Shinrikyo cult made the nerve gas sarin it used in a terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995.

OPCW has inspected die site to verify tiiat all chemicals and equipment have been removed. But die site itself cannot be de­stroyed because it is evidence in trials of cult members. Japan has asked OPCW to consider die maintenance of die site as trial evidence to be a peaceful conversion, but OPCW has denied that request. An accom­modation is expected to be worked out.

Lois Ember

Oregon chemist wins presidential mentoring award Géraldine L. Richmond, a professor of chemistry at the University of Oregon, Eu­gene, is the only chemist among the 10 individuals who received the 1997 Presiden­tial Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics & Engineering Mentoring. Nine institutions also received the award. The awards, administered by the National Sci­ence Foundation and given for the first time last year, recognize outstanding efforts "to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in science, mathematics, and engineering." Recipients receive a $10,000 grant and a certificate. In nominat­ing her for the award, Richmond's former students at Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa., wrote: "As a researcher, [Richmond] was the most sought-after under­graduate research adviser, with the most innovative research projects and the most supportive work environment. And, as a mentor, all science majors freely consult­ed her for advice, not only about the academic program but also about weathering the vagaries of student life." Richmond believes her strongest mentoring will be done through research. One of her priorities is to mentor women in research uni­versities early in their careers so they can move up the academic ladder and "change the culture" for women in these universities from the top down.

Mairin Brennan

•a Λ ΟΤ-ΤΥΤΓ'Τ7Λ/ΤΤ->Τ^Γ> m ι r\c\—r /~· ι>_τ?ι\.τ

Ι ι Γ * ΐ ν « . 1 ^ ί ϊ Τ Ξ » Τ Γ 5 Τ 5 3 : ΐ