AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY CALIFORNIA SECTIONVOLUME LXXI NUMBER 8 OCTOBER 2010

OCTOBER MEETING PAGE 1CHAIR’S MESSAGE (P. VARTANIAN) PAGE 3OCTOBER MEETING ABSTRACT AND BIOGRAPHIES PAGE 4BOSTON ACS MEETING REPORT (MARK FRISHBERG) PAGE 5SUMMER MEETING REPORT (TRUDY LIONEL) PAGE 6CAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FESTIVAL PAGE 6WCC OCTOBER MEETING PAGE 6ELK-N-ACS (E. KOTHNY) PAGE 7A CHEMIST’S CONUNDRUM (W. MOTZER) PAGE 8FAMILY SCIENCE NIGHT PAGE 10OCTOBER CHEMICAL ANNIVERSARIES (L.MAY) PAGE 12BUSINESS DIRECTORY PAGE 14,15INDEX OF ADVERTISERS PAGE 15

Table of Contents

Speakers: Drs. C. Marvin Lang and Donald Showalter Professors Emeritus, University of Wisconson-Stevens PointTitle: “Chemisty-Colorful, Exciting and Fun”Dates: Sunday, October 17, 2:00 pm, UC Santa Cruz Monday October 18, 7-9 pm St Mary's, Moraga Tuesday, October 19, 7-9 pm Chico State, Chico Wednesday October 20, 7:30 pm, Sonoma State, Rohnert Park Thursday, October 21, 7-9 pm Dominican College, San Rafael Friday, October 22, 6:00 pm Cal State, East Bay, Hayward Saturday October 23, 10:30 am Exploratorium, SF Saturday October 23, 2:00 pm San Jose State Univ. San Jose

Programs are free of charge, but reservations are required as venues have limited capacities.Call or email the office for reservations, (510) 351-9922, (office@calacs.org). Maps anddirections for most of the venues are on the website. Go to the home page, www.calacs.org,click on “About Us” and then on the Section Maps on the drop down menu. Click on thedescriptive link (i.e. St. Mary’s College Map) to view and download the map or directions.

California and Santa Clara Val-ley Sections October Meetings cel-ebrating National ChemistryWeek

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MAGAZINE OF THE CALIFORNIA SECTION, AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS:Evaldo Kothny

William Motzer

EDITORIAL STAFF:Glenn FullerEvaldo KothnyAlex MadonikPaul Vartanian

THE VORTEX

Volume LXXI October 2010 Number 8

Published monthly except July & August by the California Section, American ChemicalSociety. Opinions expressed by the editors or contributors to THE VORTEX do not necessarilyreflect the official position of the Section. The publisher reserves the right to reject copysubmitted. Subscription included in $13 annual dues payment. Nonmember subscription $15.

Chair’s Message Paul Vartanian Fall is my favorite timeof the year. There aremany things happeningand the weather is almostalways pleasant. I grewup in the Central Valley ofCalifornia and the summer

heat made extended outdoor activities diffi-cult. The fall weather brought the World Se-ries, football, and the rain. It also broughtschool, but that’s another story. The Section has a number of activities com-ing up. Your 2010 Section election ballot willshow up soon in the mail. Please take a fewminutes to read the candidates’ statements andvote. We have revised the Section bylaws tomake them conform to changes initiated bythe ACS, mainly the adoption of the “StudentMember” category, and you are being asked tovote for their approval. The complete SectionBylaws, with the changes are on the Sectionweb site (www.calacs.org). Many changeswere made, some simple and some more sub-stantial. The authority of the Board of Direc-tors is made more definitive, and the waysvacancies in positions are filled made simpler.

The Board of Trustees are being given a littlemore latitude in the investments they can makeon the Section’s behalf, after their investmentplan is approved by the Board of Directors.Please feel free to ask for clarification on any-thing concerning the changes by sending an e-mail to the Section office (office@calacs.org)with Bylaw Question in the subject line. Wewill respond as quickly as possible to yourrequest. Please also vote in the ACS election whenyou receive your national ballot. Consider sending in California Section dueswhen you receive your ACS dues statement.Local section dues are a voluntary contribu-tion, and we use the dues for activities themembers generally support. Your contribu-tions help the Section provide for these ac-tivities, and allow us to expand our level ofsupport at times when important things likepublic education funds are being lowered. Finally, consider coming to a Section meet-ing. We have several meetings, including theSubsection meeting in Chico in September andthe Lang and Showalter demonstrations inOctober to entice you into enjoying an outingand meeting fellow chemists and engineers.

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Biographies:

During National Chemistry Week, the California and Santa Clara Valley Sections are thrilledto sponsor two of the most enjoyable chemical demonstration impresarios – Marv Lang andDon Showalter – at eight events around the Bay from October 17-23, 2010. In one of themost colorful and exciting performances you are likely to see, they will demonstrate manychemical principles to both excite interest in chemistry and to assist in learning. Targeted fora broad audience, this is an unique opportunity and one you won't want to miss. Details areon our websites at www.calacs.org and www.scvacs.org. There is no charge to attend, butspace is limited, so please make a reservation for your preferred location with the CaliforniaSection office at (510) 351-9922.

Abstract:

California and Santa Clara Valley Sections October Meetings celebrating National Chemistry Week

Drs. C. Marvin Lang and Donald Showalterhave spent their careers actively promotingthe use of chemical demonstrations to excitestudents, teachers, and the general public, andto teach chemical principles at all levels ofscience education. They have presented over500 chemical demonstrations and teacherworkshops worldwide, at venues as varied asWalt Disney World's EPCOT Center,Disneyland, the U.S. Congress, theSmithsonian Museum of American History,the Great Lakes Science Museum in Cleve-land, Ohio, the Kamehameha Schools in Ha-waii, Oxford University in England, andHelsinki University in Finland, to name just afew. They have maintained their popularitybecause they are energetic showmen and cre-ative in their approach, and their emphasis isthat chemistry is fun. Both Marv and Don are winners of the ACSHelen Free Award for Public Outreach - Marvin 1997, and Don in 2006. Marv has also beenhonored with the Harry and Carol MosherAward from the Santa Clara Valley local sec-tion in 2002, and as an ACS Fellow (2010),and has been a local section Councilor for over20 years and served as a National ACS Direc-tor. Don is still recognized and remembered as

the chemical demonstrator opposite the showhost, Nobel Prize winner Roald Hoffman, inthe 26-episode PBS series, "The World ofChemistry," that aired between 1987 and1989, that is still used as a part of high schoolchemistry curricula around the country. Drs.Lang and Showalter have spent the largemajority of their teaching careers at the Uni-versity of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, whereMarv joined the faculty in 1964 and Don in1971. They have individually won a numberof prestigious teaching awards from that uni-versity. Dr. Lang received his Ph.D. in PhysicalChemistry from the University of Wyomingat Laramie, after a M.S. in chemistry fromthe University of Wisconsin - Madison, anda B.S. in chemistry and mathematics fromElmhurst College. Dr. Showalter spent a year as a post-doc-toral fellow at the Oregon State UniversityRadiation Center, after receiving his Ph.D. ininorganic and radiochemistry from the Uni-versity of Kentucky, and a B.S. degree withemphasis on chemistry and math from East-ern Kentucky University.

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Dr. Uschi Simonis

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REPORT FROM THE ACS NA-TIONAL MEETING Boston, MA,August 22-26, 2010Highlights Fall ACS National meetings have tended tobe larger than spring meetings, and one wouldhave expected that to be the case this year,since Boston is one of the most popular ven-ues. However, that was not the case this year,because the spring meeting was held in SanFrancisco, THE most popular National meet-ing venue. Still the combined attendance of18,093 in SF and 14,059 in Boston is almostsure to have set a record for total yearly at-tendance at National ACS meetings, even witha continuing depressed economy. Another comparison between the two Na-tional meetings this year has to do withweather. It was absolutely beautiful in SF inMarch, but the cool and foggy summer herewas expected to be in sharp contrast withthe hot and muggy weather that the EastCoast has been experiencing this summer.However, unless one arrived a few days earlyor stayed late in Boston, ACS members weregreeted with unseasonal rainy, windy weatherthroughout the meeting, from Sunday morn-ing through Wednesday evening. The overall theme of the Boston meetingwas “Chemistry for Preventing and Com-bating Disease.” There were over 160 ses-sions across the various ACS Divisions andPresidential plenary events at the meetingrelated to this theme, including a Sunday af-ternoon plenary session on “Impact of Sci-ence and Technology on the Future of Glo-bal Healthcare.” “Sustainability” was an on-going meeting topic, and there was an expertforum on “Climate Change Science and Con-sequences,” as well as a full day, last minutesymposium on the Deepwater oil spill in theGulf of Mexico. As always, this was a veryfull meeting, with many interesting, yet con-flicting events that provided a schedulingchallenge. Abstracts of the papers and posters pre-sented at the meeting are still archived atwww.acs.org and many of the plenary andsymposium presentations were recorded andwill be available with sequenced slides on

the website on September 24th. Meeting at-tendees are invited to view starting Septem-ber 10th at www.acs.org/meetingcontent. The annual Chemluminary awards event tohonor local sections and divisions for theirpublic outreach activities was held on Au-gust 24th and the California local section wasa finalist in two categories, Best Project Seedprogram and Best Women’s Chemists Com-mittee Event. While our section was not anaward winner this year, many awards havebeen won at this event in the past, and ProjectSeed, which began as an idea from the Cali-fornia Section many years ago, continues tobe a significant program for which our localsection can be proud, primarily due to thelong term energy and dedication of ElaineYamaguchi and other volunteers. The ACS Fellows awards program, to honoroutstanding achievements and contributionsto our science, profession, and service to thesociety, which began last year, had 192 newaward recipients this year, including threewho were nominated by the California localsection: Bryan Balazs (Lawrence LivermoreLaboratories), Attila Pavlath (USDA West-ern Regional Research Center), and ElaineYamaguchi (Chevron). Data from the ACS Career Fair at the Bos-ton meeting continues to reflect a challeng-ing, but possibly improving employment situ-ation. Numbers reported by the Committeeon Economic and Professional Affairs(CEPA) comparing the fall 2008 meeting inPhiladelphia, the spring 2009 meeting in SaltLake City, the Fall 2009 DC meeting, theSpring 2010 SF meeting, and the Bostonmeeting for key indicators respectively are:Employers (80, 32, 38, 40, 68), Positions(488, 176, 309, 116, 484), Job seekers (1024,504, 787, 1018, 1066). There were 38 careerrelated workshops offered within the CareerServices area of the Boston meeting. Another potential indication of some eco-nomic optimism was the larger number ofexhibitors in Boston vs San Francisco with329 exhibiting companies vs 257 and 451booths vs 387, respectively. The total of 56first time exhibitors set a record.

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Report on the California Section-WCC Summer Family Event onAugust 28 It was a typical cool foggy morning as 34chemists, their families and friends gatheredin front of the California Academy of Sci-ences in Golden Gate Park. The Saturdayevent at the end of August was an opportu-nity to see the new building and its exhibitsbeckoned through the Tyrannosaurus rexskeleton at the entrance. After an introduc-tory talk we split off in many directions, tograb tickets to the Planetarium, line up forthe 3 story Rainforest, dive downstairs tothe Aquarium and upstairs to explore the Ex-tremeMammals exhibits and the Living Roof.Lunch was available from the excellent Acad-emy Café with its multicultural menu. Although the Academy has no specific chem-istry exhibit, there are certainly displays tocatch the attention of a chemist. On the mainfloor containing the Kimball Natural Historymuseum, the Climate Change exhibit includesatmospheric chemistry. The Rainforest andIslands of Evolution highlight unique adap-tations; poison dart frogs in the Costa Ricasection of the rainforest and princess flow-ers in Madagascar are subjects of natural prod-uct research. The current Planetarium show“Journey to the Stars” discusses the solargeneration of elements. Downstairs in theSteinhart Aquarium venomous fish in thePhilippine coral reef generate more interest-ing molecules. Behind the scenes there is alaboratory for water quality analysis, includ-ing adjusting incoming cold Pacific oceanwater for the gigantic tropical coral reef tank,and the many other display, quarantine andresearch tanks. The Living Roof has weatherstations whose data feeds back into the build-

ing for temperature control, automaticallyopening skylights as needed. Seek out afriendly volunteer docent in an orange labcoatfor more information on the exhibits. The Academy of Sciences has a large re-search division with 12 departments per-forming original research. The curators arenot involved in the public floor, but they dogive lectures and describe their projects onthe Academy research website: http://research.calacademy.org/. Field sites in Af-rica, Asia and the Americas provide samplesfor study. The Center for ComparativeGenomics is the newest department and pro-vides state of the art genomic analysis toaugment traditional morphological determi-nation of species. The Anthropology de-partment is even involved in the latest ex-amination of Australopithecus skeletons, andyou can see a replica of Lucy’s skeleton inAfrican Hall. The California Academy of Sciences hasfree events, lectures and low-cost “Nightlife”programs every Thursday evening until 10.This is the second visit sponsored by theCalifornia section Women Chemists Com-mittee this year, following the March ACSPresidential Outreach event. Members areencouraged to visit on their own or to con-sider the Academy for future section meet-ings.

Trudy Lionel

WCC October Meeting

Saturday October 30 at Mills College,with Cheryl Martin of KPCB asspeaker. Details will be posted to thewebsite.

Cal Science & Engineering FestivalThis free event will take place at UC Ber-keley on Spieker Plaza (located next toHaas Pavilion) on Saturday, October 23from 10am to 2pm. California Section willbe presenting the “Balazs Magic Show”

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ELK-N-ACS Evaldo KothnyCARL AUER (II) Carl Auer had a constantinterest in new elementsand their applications allhis life. From what isknown today, the abun-dance of the rare elements

is as follows: The most abundant, 1090 ppm,are Y, Ce, La, Nd, and Th. Next, at 2-7 ppm,are Pr, Sm, Gd, Dy, and Sc. Rare, at 1-3ppm, are Eu, Ho, Yb, and Er and very rare,at less than 1 ppm are Tm, Lu, and Tb. After his discovery in 1885 of Praseody-mium and Neodymium, he secured the helpof entrepreneur and financier Koppel andfounded in 1892 the Treibach Industry,DEGEA (German Gas Light Co) and the AuerSociety. In 1898 he invented the Osmiumwired electrical lamp. Since Osmium was tooexpensive and in short supply for this ap-plication, nevertheless it was the basis ofthe tungsten wired light bulb. Osmium hasthe second highest melting point of a metal,i.e., 2700.oC, and tungsten melts at 3400.oC. The transformation of fuel into light of thegas mantle can be analized. Compared with atungsten wired light bulb, the light output ofa gas mantle is only half of that, however,since the conversion of fuel to electricity in apower plant is nearly 50%, the light outputper net energy consumed in a light bulb isabout identical to that of a gas mantle. Elec-tric carbon filament incandescent lamps havea conversion efficiency 4 to 6 times lowerthan those wired with tungsten, whereas fluo-rescent lightning is between 3 to 4 times moreefficient. In 1904 Carl Auer developed a practicalflint, called Auermetall, a sparking alloy ofCe, La and other rare metals with 7% Fe,which is still used today in cigarette and gaslighters. The Osram company was created in 1906after experimentation with tungsten in re-placement of Osmium. The name Osram im-plies a combination of a prefix of OS fromOsmium and a suffix RAM from Wolfram. In 1907,Auer separated the scarce elementLutetium. One year after, in 1908, he was

the first in isolating and purifying Ytterbiumand Lutetium. The name Osram appeared in a companyname and in advertisements after 1919. In1920, the Auer Society combined their lampproduction with AEG and Siemens. Theavailability of electricity after 1920 favoredthe tungsten light bulbs and sales of Welsbachmantles had a sharp decline. Auer died in 1929, and a few years after, in1934, the Auer Society merged with Degussa.In 1935 Osram developed the luminescent(neon) light, which is based on a high voltagedischarge through low pressure gas. A subsidiary of the Auer Society, theirOranienburg plant built in 1926 near Berlin,produced specialty colored glass which in-cluded rare element oxides and after 1938high purity uranium. At the close of WWII,the Oranienburg plant was dismantled andtheir equipment went to Russia. The Welsbach company made progress inthe application of rare elements in the dawn-ing of the electronics, such as Er for fiberoptics, La for vacuum getters, i.e., in elec-tronic amplifying tubes, Tb in laser technol-ogy, Sm for strong permanent magnets, Dyin control rods for atomic powerplants, Eufor red TV phophors, arc lightning, X-rayphosphors, neutron absorbers, catalysts, al-loys, microwave filters, specialty glasses, i.e.,the Pr and Nd glass for UV and yellow ab-sorbing lenses, and especially for weldinggoggles. Other characteristics of rare elements:Sc, Y and La are diamagnetic and all othersare paramagnetic elements. The sulfides arehighly colored. Cerium behaves like a transi-tion hybrid between La and Th and the diox-ide has found a wide application as a polish-ing abrasive superior to ferric oxide. Gd isthe only ferromagnetic element of the serie. In 1958 the Auer Society merged with MineSafety Appliances of the US. and became alimited corporation in 1960. After 1978, Si-emens was the sole Osram proprietor. Osramis today the producer of UV water disinfect-ing systems and since 1985 was the firstmanufacturer of the popular electronic bal-last fluorescent household light bulbs and ofLED (light emitting diodes).

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A Chemist’s Conundrum:The Problems andChemistry ofEmerging Con-taminants (Part 3) Bill Motzer

In Part 1 (June 2010 Vortex), I discussedthe definition of an emerging chemical con-taminant (ECC) and also the history and char-acteristics of older ECCs. In Part 2 (Septem-ber 2010 Vortex) I described how a chemicalor class of chemicals may be designated as anEEC, and reviewed some “newer” ECCs.There are many ECCs currently under con-sideration by researchers and regulatory agen-cies, including endocrine disrupting com-pounds (EDCs; also known as endocrine ac-tive substances or EASs). Many pesticidesare included in this research. However, thereare other potential ECCs that are presently“under the radar” and these are discussedbelow.PLATINUM GROUP METALS The platinum group metals (PGMs) belongto six metallic elements clustered together inthe periodic table. These are all transitionmetals, lying in the d-block (groups 8, 9, and10, periods 5 and 6). The six PGMs are ru-thenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), palladium (Pd),osmium (Os), iridium (Ir), and platinum (Pt)(Z = 44, 45, and 46; 76, 77, and 78, respec-tively). They have similar physical andchemical properties, and tend to occur to-gether in the same mineral deposits. Natural (geogenic) sources include magmaticdeposits such as the Stillwater ultramaficcomplex in Montana, and the Merensky Reefof the Bushveld Complex in South Africa.These deposits are commonly known as ba-sic layered intrusions. Minor amounts ofPGMs may also occur with olivine gabbrosand associated ultramafic rocks containingchromite such as those in the California CoastRanges. Other sources include placer depos-its (e.g., Columbia; Ontario, Canada; and theUral Mountains in Russia) and as a bi-prod-uct of nickel sulfide mining such as theSudbury District in Canada.

Anthropogenic Sources: Some PGMs (Ru,Rh, and Pd) are produced as fission prod-ucts in nuclear reactors and as the demandfor PGMs increases, these are being consid-ered as possible alternative sources. How-ever, the current major environmental sourceis from automobile catalytic converters. Inthe U.S., beginning in 1975, PGMs (largelyas Pt-Pd-Rh alloys) were required in three-way catalytic converters to reduce nitrogenoxides to nitrogen and water, oxidize carbonmonoxide to carbon dioxide, and oxidizeharmful hydrocarbons. Since 1993, all newcars sold in the EU have been required to befitted with catalytic converters. By 2005,there were an estimated 500 million vehiclesworldwide with catalytic converters. Sur-face abrasion of the catalyst during automo-bile operation results in the environmentalspread of PGMs, largely Pt, Pd, and Rh.PGM emission rates are dependent on thevehicle’s speed and total distance driven.One study found that new catalytic con-verters emitted Pt, Pd, and Rh at 100, 250,and 50 ng/km, respectively; but after thevehicle had been driven 30,000 km, the re-leased amount dropped to 6 to 8 ng/km forPt, 12 to 16 ng/km for Pd, and 3 to 12 ng/kmfor Rh. PGM environmental contamination fromcatalytic converters has become a concernlargely with European Union, Australian, andChinese scientists. Very little research onPGM’s potential impact to groundwater hasbeen conducted in the U.S. or is of currentconcern by regulators. Except for a drinkingwater taste and odor threshold of 12 µg/Lfor osmium tetroxide (an x-ray contrastagent), there are no current PGM maximumcontaminant levels (MCLs). The classicalnotion that PGMs are insoluble has beenreplaced by recent experimental data show-ing that some PGMs can become mobilizedupon weathering, particularly when actedon by humic and fulvic acids in soil organicmaterial. These are now accumulating in ur-ban runoff and deposited sediment. There-fore, the potential exists for PGMs to im-pact groundwater resources, particularly inurban and suburban areas. Water managers

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(Continued from page 8)may wish to become proactive and requestinclusion of PGMs on an annual basis forgroundwater screening purposes.PRIONS Prions are considered to be single, misfoldedcell-surface proteins, lacking detectablenucleic acid, which become “infectious” bycausing normal proteins to also misfold. Theterm was coined for a proteinaceous infec-tious particle by Nobel Prize winner Dr.Stanley B. Prusiner for his work at UCSF.Prion diseases are believed to belong to avariety of rare and progressive neuro degen-erative disorders also known as amyloidaldiseases because they form amyloids orfibrils within a particular organ. Several de-generative diseases such as Alzheimer’s,Parkinson, and type II diabetes fall withinthis family. However, these have not beenconsidered as “infectious”. Other human andanimal prion diseases such as CreutzfeldtJakob disease (CJD) and Bovine SpongiformEncephalopathy (BSE or “mad cow” dis-ease) are considered to be infectious. Prion diseases affecting both humans andanimals are termed transmissible spongiformencephalopathies (TSEs); these are distin-guished by long incubation periods, charac-teristic spongiform changes (formation oflarge vacuoles or holes) in tissues associatedwith neuronal loss (particularly the brain),and a failure to induce an inflammatory re-sponse. They have long incubation periods(2 to 8 years and even longer), and are resis-tant to procedures which normally inacti-vate viruses (i.e., heat and disinfectants).There are no known successful treatmentsor cures for prevention, and even detectionis difficult. Human prion diseases are ratherrare but animal prion diseases are more com-mon. A TSE of considerable concern isChronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a priondisease affecting captive and free ranging deerand elk in the Rocky Mountain (and sur-rounding) states (Colorado, Wyoming, NewMexico, Utah, South Dakota, Nebraska, andKansas) and Canada (Manitoba andSaskatchewan). Sources for CWS contagionhave been identified in infected animal secre-tions and excretions and in carcasses.

Potential for Environmental Contamina-tion. The problem associated with TSEs istwofold: can prions that produce such dis-eases remain infectious after they leave thehost and can they be transported in the en-vironment (i.e., transport from the infectedanimal to soil, surface and groundwater)? Soil, Minerals, and Organic Matter: Prionsare believed to enter the environment throughshedding of tissues including excretions ofurine and feces and host mortalities (car-cass). Released prions strongly bind to soilparticularly those that are clay (thesmectites)- and organic (humic)-rich. Thisis because prion particles are charged andsoils and minerals such as quartz with highcation exchange capacities tend to attractprions. Although microbial and fungal de-cay of proteins in soil occurs, tightly boundprions may remain infectious for years.Unlike bacteria and viruses, prions do notmultiply but concentrations in soil may in-crease from the addition of continual inputfrom infected animals, resulting in furthertransmission to uninfected grazing animals. Experiments with manganese oxides (e.g.,MnO2) suggest that soils with high MnO2will abiotically degrade prion proteins. Cop-per may also have a role in that it tends tobind to the prion particle. Therefore, soilsthat have elevated copper tend to concen-trate prions. Soil pH may also play a role inthat experiments show that more non-in-fectious fibrils tend to form at a pH of 3whereas infectious fibrils will increase whenthe pH is raised to 7.0. Water: Experiments involving BSE andscrapie prion decay in aquatic environmentssuggests that prions are normally hydro-phobic although there are some indicationsthat they become hydrophilic in urine. Inwater therefore, they readily bind or sorb tosuspended particulates, particularly clays.Subsurface transport may be by both hori-zontal and vertical colloidal transport, al-though clay aquitards could be an effectivetransport barrier. Research in groundwatertransport and fate is only now beginningand further research and investigations arerequired.

OCTOBER 2010 10

Family Science Night

What has now become a yearly traditonalevent, the members of the California Sec-tion with friends offer chemisty and sciencein a captivating and entertaining format forschool children.

This year it is at the Claremont MiddleSchool at 5750 College Avenue in Oakland,across from the Rockridge BART station.

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010

The time will be 6 pm to 8 pm. As moreinformation becomes available, it will beplaced on the website, www.calacs.org.

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only petition up for vote involved allowingother methods than paper ballots for recordedvotes at Council, and it passed easily, as didthe Committee on Committees’ review thatrecommended the continuation of the Com-mittee on Science. The only Council item that brought aboutany controversy was a special discussiontopic on whether to move the Council meet-ing at National meetings from its traditionalWednesday morning time slot, to Tuesdaymorning. A pre-meeting survey of Council-ors had shown the majority to favor a moveto Tuesday (fewer days away from work,lower reimbursement and out-of-pocket cost,not missing start of school for academics inthe fall vs providing enough time to get com-mittee work done, concern about forcing com-mittee work into week prior to Nationalmeeting, more conflict with some of the morepopular symposia days), however afterabout 40 minutes of debate on the floor ofCouncil a non-binding straw poll showed 128Councilors for the move, 225 opposed, and

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Report from the Council Meeting and otherSociety governance activities California Local Section Councilors, ourBoard member, and our former ACS Presi-dent were very active in Boston in repre-senting the section at numerous governancefunctions including the Board and Chemis-try and Public Affairs ( Marinda Wu) andACS committees: Committee on Commit-tees ( Bryan Balazs, newly elected by voteof Council at the spring meeting), Commu-nity Activities (Sheila Kanodia), Economicand Professional Affairs (Attila Pavlath),Environmental Improvement (EileenNottoli), Local Section Activities (LeeLatimer - Chair), Membership Affairs (MarkFrishberg), and Project Seed (ElaineYamaguchi). Councilor Alex Madonik, whois active with the Sustainability EngagementEvent (SEE) Action Team, and AlternateCouncilor, Jim Postma also attended. After a heated, and at times raucous, Coun-cil meeting in San Francisco, the BostonCouncil meeting was relatively reserved, withfew controversial issues on the agenda. The

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Elaine Yamzguchi at Project SEED Chemluminary Poster session at the Boston Meeting

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56 undecided. The overall subject will carryover and be a subject decided by the CouncilPolicy Committee and the Board of Direc-tors by Spring 2011. The Local Section Activities Committee hasfunded 47 new innovative program grantstotaling $96,000 so far this year. The newgrant program, named “Bridging the Gap,”that was initiated to provide up to $250 tohelp support local section events to helpattract more student members will be re-newed for 2011, and expanded to cover pro-grams associated with the International Yearof Chemistry. The Board-Presidential Task Force on So-ciety Services and Associated Dues PricingModels continued to seek input on topicsrelated to ACS dues, member categories, andmember benefits with the overall goals ofmaking ACS membership more valuable tocurrent members and more attractive to non-members. While overall ACS membershipcontinues to hold around 161,000, there con-tinues to be volatility among our youngermembers, who are more likely to drop theirmembership within their first five years.Looking ahead to Anaheim - March 27-31,2011 The overall meeting theme will be “Chem-istry of Natural Resources.” The advance registration fee for membersfor the ACS National meetings in 2011 (fallin Denver, August 28-September 1, with over-all theme of “Chemistry of Air, Space, andWater”) will be $355.News you might use For ACS members seeking employmentwho were not able to attend a National meet-ing, ACS Career Services will hold a VirtualCareer Fair on-line on November 2nd and3rd. Look for more information at(www.acs.org/careers) and C&EN this fall.Career forums can be accessed through thiswebsite the 2nd Thursday of each month,and a webinar of interest to industrial mem-bers within small businesses continues to bescheduled for the 4th Thursday of eachmonth. The Chemistry Ambassadors programlaunched by the Office of Public Affairs to

assist ACS members who are interested inpublic outreach continues to pick up steam.Tools, tips, and other resources can be foundat www.acs.org/chemistryambassadors. Efforts are now in high gear to prepare forthe United Nations designated InternationalYear of Chemistry in 2011. To keep tabs ofthe many ACS activities that will be devel-oped in coordination with this event, go toIYC2011@acs.org. The Committee on Com-munity Activities will be encouraging mem-bers to support the quarterly outreach themesof environment, energy, materials, and health. The theme for NCW to be held Oct. 17-23is “Behind the Scenes Chemistry.” Duringthe Boston meeting, members of the Califor-nia Section were able to meet with MarvinLang, Professor Emeritus from the Univer-sity of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, who, withDon Showalter, are known as one of the pre-mier teams performing chemical demonstra-tions around the country of interest to allages. CAL-ACS has scheduled Marv and Donto perform a series of demonstration pro-grams around our Section and the neighbor-ing Santa Clara Valley Section throughoutthe week of NCW. Check the CAL-ACSand SCV-ACS websites for announcementsregarding dates and venues. The ACS Member’s Network has been up-graded this summer to make it more inclu-sive and effective by changing its enrollmentapproach from an opt-in to an opt-out sys-tem and putting all ACS members into thenetwork to start. Please be aware that CALSection Councilor and Chair-Elect, BryanBalazs has set up a California Section groupwithin this network. The 2012 International Chemistry Olym-piad will be held in the US after many yearsabsence. This will be the 44th IChO and willbe held at the Univ. of Maryland, CollegePark campus, with Caltech’s Ahmed Zewail(1999 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry) as Presi-dent of this IChO. California Section Coun-cilor Bryan Balazs is chair of the organizingcommittee. The committee for preparing theexams for 2012 has been established andBryan is busy pulling together the PlanningCommittee, which handles the logistics,

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October Historical Events InChemistry Leopold May October 1, 1867 One hundred years ago in1910, Wilder D. Bancroft served as Presi-dent of the American Chemical Society. Hemade the first systematic study of oxidationcells and did research on heterogeneous equi-libria, emulsions, and theory of dyeing. In1896, he founded the Journal of PhysicalChemistry and served as Editor until 1932. October 5, 1872 Emil Votocek, who wasborn on this date, was a researcher in sugars.He introduced the concept of epimerism andwas a chemist-composer October 7, 1885 One hundred and twenty-five years ago, Niels Bohr was born. In 1913,he proposed the “solar system” model ofatom based upon Planck’s quantum law andreceived the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922for his services in the investigation of thestructure of atoms and of the radiation ema-nating from them. October 8, 1917 Rodney R. Porter, whowas born on this date, researched the struc-ture of antibodies. In 1972, he shared theNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine withGerald M. Edelman for their discoveries con-cerning the chemical structure of antibodies. October 12, 1865 Arthur Harden, a re-searcher on enzymes and fermentation, wasborn on this date. He also demonstrated thestructure of zymase. In 1929, he shared theNobel Prize in Chemistry with Hans Euler-Chelpin for their investigations on the fer-mentation of sugar and fermentative en-zymes. October 14, 1840 Friederich W. G.Kohlrausch, was a researcher on electrical

conductivity, dilution of strong electrolytesand conductivity (Kohlrausch’s equation).He was born on this day. October 18, 1799 Christian F. Schönbeinwas born on this date. He discovered ozonein 1840 and collodion in 1846 anddid research on hydrogen peroxide and gun-cotton or cellulose nitrate. October 20, 1891 Seventy-five years agoin 1935, James Chadwick received the NobelPrize (1935) for the discovery of the neu-tron, which he discovered in 1932. October 21, 1660 Three hundred and fiftyyears ago on this date, Georg E. Stahl wasborn. He was a researcher on oxidation andreduction and prepared glacial acetic acid.Johann J. Becher and he were responsiblefor theory of phlogiston October 23, Any Year Mole Day, 6.02 a.m.through 6.02 p.m. (Mole time); Mole Mo-ment: 50.453 s after 6.42 p.m. October 27, 1894 John E. Lennard-Jones,who was born on this date, was a researcherin surface chemistry, chemistry of carbon,liquid structure, and interatomic forces. October 31, 1835 One hundred and sev-enty-five years ago, Adolf von Baeyer(Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf Von Baeyer)was born. He was a researcher on indigo,evolved strain theory of carbon rings, pre-pared acetylene, and discovered barbituricacid in1863. In 1905, he was awarded theNobel Prize in Chemistry in recognition ofhis services in the advancement of organicchemistry and the chemical industry, throughhis work on organic dyes and hydroaromaticcompounds. For more historical facts on chemistry, visitDr. May’s website at http://faculty.cua.edu/may/ChemistryCalendar.html

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(Continued from page 12)meals, housing, tours, meeting venues, cul-tural issues, and the many other aspects ofsuch an international endeavor. At the 2010Olympiad, the US had its best showing inmany years, winning two gold medals, twosilver medals, and one bronze.Interesting Statistics The ACS Scholars Program that offers di-rect financial assistance to students fromgroups who have been traditionallyunderrepresented in the chemical enterprisecelebrated its 15th Anniversary. To date, overthree million dollars has been donated to fundthis program, with 2395 scholars supported,many who have gone on to achieve higherdegrees and positions, including 70 Ph.D.’s,12 faculty, and 5 MD/Ph.D.’s. Project Seed had 451 students participatingthis year, 69 of whom presented posters dur-ing Sci-Mix at the Boston ACS meeting. As of July 2010, there were 12,815 ACSStudent Members. The Committee on Professional Training,which will celebrate its 75th anniversary atthe Anaheim ACS National meeting, reportsthat there are now 663 ACS accreditedBachelor’s degree granting programs in theUS. Of chemistry faculty in the US, 68% aretenured and 22% are women. Mark Frishberg, CAL-ACS Councilor

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INDEX OF ADVERTISERSRecruitment 15ACS Vortex 6 &15Bay Bioanalytical Lab. Inc 2EMD 2Huffman Labs 15MassVac 2New Era Enterprises, Inc 15NuMega Resonance Labs 15Robertson Microlit 14UC Berkeley 10Vacuubrand 14

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