June 2006: ACCN, the Canadian Chemical News

ACCN JUNE | JUIN • 2006 • Vol. 58, No./no 6

l�actualité chimique canadiennecanadian chemical news

Polymers Polymers and and

CoatingsCoatingsCreativity Over BrainsCreativity Over Brains

NOVA Protective PackagingNOVA Protective Packaging Coatings in Oil Sands Mining Coatings in Oil Sands Mining

Outsourcing R&DOutsourcing R&D

Is HIs HAZWOPERAZWOPER the Way to Go?the Way to Go?

The Patent LandscapeThe Patent Landscape

10

Ar ticles

Creativity Drives GeorgesPaul Fraumeni

Pack it Up!R&D unleashes growth potential�NOVA Chemicals� ARCEL

® resin story

Edwin H. Niemann and Pace A. Markowitz

Protective Coatings and OverlaysDevelopment of wear- and corrosion-resistant coatings in oil sands mining

Gary Fisher

Outside the BoxOutsourcing R&D can bring new products to market quickly and efficiently.

David Hacker and Andrew Sinclair, MCIC

HAZWOPERShould the Canadian chemical industry adopt an American model�for safety�s sake?

Glenn Wood, MCIC

No Trespassing�Part IEvaluate your freedom to operate in the patent landscape.

Carol Yip

Guest Column Chroniqueur invité . . . . . . 2Friends in New QuartersKen Lawless

Personals Personnalités . . . . . . . . . . . 3

News Briefs Nouvelles en bref . . . . . . . 4

Chemfusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Joe Schwarcz, MCIC

And in Regulatory News … . . . . . . . . . 21

CSChE Bulletin SCGCh . . . . . . . . . . . 22

CIC Bulletin ICC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25In Memoriam

Local Section News Nouvelles des sections locales . . . . . . . . 26

NCW News Nouvelles de la SNC . . . . . . 28

Student News Nouvelles des étudiants . . . 28

Events Événements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Employment Wanted Demande d’emploi . . 29

ACCN JUNE | JUIN � 2006 � Vol. 58, No./no 6A publication of the CIC | Une publication de l�ICC

T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s | T a b l e d e s m a t i è r e s

9

12

14

16

18

2 L�ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE JUIN 2006

Editor-in-Chief/Rédactrice en chefMichelle Piquette

Managing Editor/Directrice de la rédactionHeather Dana Munroe

Graphic Designer/InfographisteKrista Leroux

Editorial Board/Conseil de rédactionJoe Schwarcz, MCIC, chair/président

Cathleen Crudden, MCICJohn Margeson, MCICMilena Sejnoha, MCICSteve Thornton, MCICBernard West, 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/au Canada CAN$55; outside/à l’extérieur du Canada US$50. Single copy/Un exemplaire CAN$8 or US$7.

L’Actualité chimique canadienne/Canadian Chemical News (ACCN) is published 10 times a year by The Chemical Institute of Canada / est publié 10 fois par année par l’Institut de chimie du Canada. www.cheminst.ca.

Recommended by The Chemical Institute of Canada, the Canadian Society for Chemistry, the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, and the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology. Views expressed do not necessarily represent the official position of the Institute, or of the societies that recommend the magazine.

Recommandé par l’Institut de chimie du Canada, la Société canadienne de chimie, la Société canadienne de génie chimique et la Société canadienne de technologie chimique. Les opinions exprimées ne reflètent pas nécessairement la position officielle de l’Institut ou des sociétés constituantes qui soutiennent la revue.

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 Services Inc. 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 and available on-line in the Canadian Business and Current Affairs database. / Répertorié dans la Canadian Business Index et accessible en ligne dans la banque de données Canadian Business and Current Affairs.

ISSN 0823-5228

www.accn.ca

The Ottawa Life Sciences Council (OLSC) is a not-for-profit economic development agency, mandated with

supporting the companies and organizations that operate within the life sciences sector in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario. Traditionally, the OLSC has not been seen as a partner for pur-suing opportunities in the Canadian chemical industry. I would like to suggest to you that this is changing, and fast.

Biotechnology is one of the primary pillars of the life sciences industry. The field of bio-technology is broad and deep, running from human health through to agriculture through to industrial processes, and the OLSC has been addressing the full spectrum of opportunities that it presents. Working through its focused sectoral development program, the Bioprod-ucts, Business and Environmental Technology Network (Be2BN), the OLSC is taking a lead-ing role in building a competitive industrial biotechnology cluster in Eastern Ontario.

Industrial biotechnology is fundamentally about producing the products and commodi-ties that drive our economy, using renewable resources as the starting point—primarily in-volving forest and agricultural biomass as the feedstock (e.g. Ottawa’s Iogen Corporation and cellulose ethanol). As petroleum prices continue to rise and issues of the environ-ment and climate change demand increasing attention, the pressures to evolve the manu-facture of chemicals to a sustainable basis can only mount. The OLSC is privileged to work with companies that are helping create the technologies, processes, and business models that will make this transition happen.

Ensyn Corporation is a prime example of an Ottawa-area industrial biotechnology com-pany that is pioneering world-leading solu-tions for the manufacture of chemicals from low-value biomass. Their well-established

Rapid Thermal Processing platform is a fast pyrolysis process that produces chemical and fuel products through the flash heating, then cooling of biomass in an oxygen-starved environment . To date, Ensyn has successfully commercialized products such as: NR—a natural resin ingredient used as a substitute for phenol and formaldehyde in wood panels; V-additive—a concrete and pavement addi-tive; and food additives and products.

Despite these commercial successes, David Boulard, executive vice-president of Ensyn, feels that they are just scratching the surface as to the range of chemicals (both commodity and high value) that might be economically produced through their pyrolysis platform. Boulard states, “the role of pyrolysis -produced chemicals is in its infancy and the unmined or untapped com-mercialization opportunities are endless.”

Ensyn is but one of a number of compa-nies, research institutions, and universities that are coming together in Eastern Ontario to develop the bio-based solutions that Canada and the Canadian chemical industry will need to stay at the forefront of the global transition to a bio-economy. The OLSC is your partner in helping you connect with this groundswell of activity, to forge new strategic alliances, to identify and develop key IP, and to develop the new business models to commercialize this innovation.

Friends in new quarters are what we all need to ensure Canada is at the forefront of the global transition to a bio-based economy.

For more information visit www.olsc.ca or contact Be2BN manager, George Brook, at (613) 521-1008.

GUEST COLUMN CHRONIQUEUR INVITÉ

Friends in New Quarters

Ken Lawless is president and CEO of the

Ottawa Life Sciences Council.

Ken Lawless

JUNE 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 3

PERSONALS PERSONNALITÉS

mainly involved the preparation and study of inorganic polymers . She is planning to finish her PhD degree this year and seek a research position in the chemical industry.

Henry J. Stronks, MCIC, has been appointed president of Bruker BioSpin Ltd. in Canada . Stronks graduated from the Guelph Waterloo Centre for Graduate Work in Chemistry and has been working at Bruker since 1984. Bruker BioSpin is the world’s leading manufacturer of NMR, EPR, and MRI spectrometers .

Joseph D. Wright, FCIC, president and CEO of Paprican, has announced his retirement. Over the next few months, Wright will be working in an advisory capacity with Papri-can’s chair of the board, Frank Dottori, and with Paprican’s executive management. The selection process for the position of presi-dent and CEO is expected to conclude in early summer.

“The Board and I would like to thank [Joseph ] Wright for his important contribu-tions and leadership over the past 12 years.” said Dottori.

UniversityGeorge Kotovych, MCIC, will be retiring from the University of Alberta department of chemistry on June 30, 2006, after 36.5 years of service. He will continue to be associated with the department as professor emeritus. His research involved high field NMR studies of structure activity of correlations of nucleosides, nucleotides, coenzymes, vitamins, prostaglan-dins, prostacyclins, leucotrienes, and more recently, peptide agonists and antagonists .

Dalhousie University’s Alison Thompson, MCIC, has been awarded the 2006 AstraZeneca Excellence in Chemistry Award for her out-standing contributions to Canadian chemistry through her dipyrromethene research . The award is an unrestricted research grant for two years. Thompson is currently an assistant pro-fessor of chemistry, and has been promoted to the rank of associate professor with tenure, effective July 1, 2006.

Distinction

Michelle Nena Chrétien, MCIC, was awarded one of the five 2006 IUPAC Prizes for Young Chemists. The awards are given for the best PhD theses in the chemical sciences as described in 1,000-word essays. Chrétien wrote on “Photochemical, Photophysical, and Photobiological Studies of Zeolite Guest-Host Complexes.”

The winners each receive a cash prize and a free trip to the IUPAC Congress in Torino , Italy, this August. They are also invited to present a poster at the IUPAC Congress describing their award winning work and to submit a short critical review on aspects of their research

IndustryVancouver-based QLT Inc. has appointed Robert Butchofsky as the company’s presi-dent and CEO, after Butchofsky’s successful stint as acting CEO. He was also named a director.

Each year, the MSED sponsors an award that recognizes research excellence by two gradu-ate students working in polymer science and engineering in Canada. Once again, the award is co-sponsored by LANXESS Inc. The award has a cash prize, and provides travel funds to a Canadian conference for each winner. The two winners of the 2006 competition are Jingshe Song, MCIC, from the University of Toronto (under the supervision of Mitchell Winnik, FCIC), and Mandy Yam, MCIC, from The University of British Columbia (under the supervision of Derek Gates, MCIC).

Song’s research was centered on the syn-thesis and properties of monodisperse poly-mer particles. After he completes his PhD, he plans to pursue a research career in the area of materials chemistry either at a uni-versity or in industry. Yam’s research has

Henry J. Stronks, MCIC

Joseph D. Wright, FCIC

Jingshe Song, MCIC

Mandy Yam, MCIC

Michelle Nena Chrétien, MCIC


PERSONALS PERSONNALITÉS

Aspartame Deemed Non-CarginogenicA new epidemiology study from the National Cancer Institute in the U.S. confirms previous study conclusions that there is no link between aspartame consumption and leukemias , lymphomas, and brain tumours. “Despite allegations by critics, this new NCI study, in conjunction with a multitude of other scientific studies, clearly demonstrates

topics to be published in Pure and Applied Chemistry . The awards will be presented to the winners of the 2006 and 2007 prizes during the opening ceremony of the Congress.

Donald F. Weaver, FCIC, received the BioNova Research Excellence Award. BioNova is Nova Scotia’s biotechnology and life sciences industry association. The research excellence award is given once per year to a researcher whose research is

contributing to the growth of the life sciences industrial sector in Nova Scotia. Weaver is a professor in the department of chemistry at Dalhousie University and Canada Research Chair in Clinical Neuroscience.

GovernmentCIC chair Bernard West, MCIC, has been elected chair of the advisory board of the

National Research Council Canada’s Insti-tute for Chemical Process and Environmental Technology (NRC-ICPET). West will replace Jean M. Bélanger, HFCIC, who has finished his term on the ICPET advisory board.

With its partners, NRC-ICPET contributes to increasing the competitiveness of Canada ’s chemistry-intensive industries through research into innovative processes and technologies that enable sustainable development .

NEWS BRIEFS NOUVELLES EN BREF

that aspartame is not a carcinogen and can be a beneficial and safe tool in helping people reduce calories and control their weight,” said Lyn Nabors, president of the Calorie Control Council. Aspartame is composed of two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylala-nine, as the methyl ester. Aspartame has been determined to be safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other scien-tific and regulatory authorities worldwide.

Camford Chemical Report

NOVA Chemicals Expects Improving Returns NOVA Chemicals’ new president and CEO, Jeffrey Lipton, described positive momen-tum in NOVA Chemicals’ business in 2006 after reporting disappointing year-end results for 2005. Speaking at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, Lipton discussed a series of unusual events during the past year that negatively impacted after-tax net income by US$240 million. NOVA Chemicals reported a net loss of US$104 million in 2005, compared to a net income of US$252 million in 2004.

“NOVA Chemicals is poised to improve re-sults for 2006 and 2007 as inventory levels throughout the chain remain low, operating rates are high, and fundamental demand continues to build,” said Lipton. “We also expect to deliver significant value to our cus-tomers and shareholders through growth of our performance products portfolio.”

NOVA Chemicals

Photo by Tatyana Postovyk

ClarificationBrian James, FCIC (UBC, chemistry), is the unidentified co-recipient of the PAPTEC Douglas Atack Award for the Best Mechanical Pulping Paper in 2005 mentioned in the April 2006 issue of ACCN on p. 3.



Huntsman�s Green Chemistry InitiativesHuntsman Advanced Materials is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of coating systems, advanced epoxy resins, adhesives, electrical insulating materials, printed cir-cuit board technology, tooling materials, and structural composites. End-use markets serviced include the aerospace, automotive, telecommunications, electrical and electron-ics, recreation, and appliance industries. Huntsman announced that it has formed a new strategic business unit dedicated to the enhancement of the company’s green chem-istry initiatives.

“Given the universal definition that green chemistry is the design of products and pro-cesses that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances, we have

been avid devotees of green chemistry for several years,” said performance products division president, Don Stanutz. “Our new strategic business unit, working closely with the research and development professionals at Huntsman Advanced Technology Center, will now help us to significantly ramp up our efforts.”

Examples of Huntsman’s existing green, or sustainable, chemistry products include waterborne paint primers, carbonates that reduce volatile organic compounds in paints, propylene carbonate-based solvents that re-duce toxicity in applications from agriculture to industrial cleaning agents, wood preserva-tives that replace a known human carcino-gen, non-brominated flame retardants, and catalysts that eliminate emissions from in-sulation foams. Stanutz commented, “These are but a few of our current sustainable chemistry products and the possibilities for

more are endless. We are especially anxious to build our position in this burgeoning field through the use of bio-based feedstocks such as glycerin, natural alcohols, methylesters, carbohydrates, and sugars.”

“One cannot speak about green chemis-try without a discussion of energy conser-vation,” Stanutz continued. “Huntsman is a major contributor to energy conserva-tion through its creation of such products as more energy efficient insulation, lighter composites that enhance fuel efficiency in automobiles and aircraft, and lubrication ad-ditives that improve fuel economy through reducing friction. Energy efficiency and green chemistry are not only better for the environment, they make sound business sense,” he concluded.


Photo by Dain Hubley



AECL Wins U.S. Contract for Reactor Safety EquipmentAtomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) has won a contract with South Carolina Electric and Gas (SCEG) for the supply of emergency core cool-ing strainers to their VC Summer nuclear power plant. AECL designed a finned strainer to filter out debris that could block the circulation of cooling water in an emergency core cooling system. Originally developed for use in CANDU reactors, the finned strainers have been adapted by AECL for use in light water-moderated reactors. The design team of the finned strainers was the recipients of an Outstanding Contribution Award by the Canadian Nuclear Association and the Canadian Nuclear Society in 2005.

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited

Praxair Receives Environmental Award

Praxair received an environmental recognition award from the Com-pressed Gas Association (CGA) at its recently held annual meeting. The award recognized an innovative propylene recovery project that went beyond regulatory requirements.

In mid-2005, investigations following a fire at Praxair’s St. Louis, MO facility revealed a particular cylinder relief valve was releasing gas from propylene cylinders before the normal safety parameters were exceeded. Praxair identified over 4,000 propylene cylinders fitted with the defective relief valve at its own customer locations. Normal maintenance procedures to remove and replace the valve would have required the venting or flaring of approximately 320,000 pounds of propylene. Though this action, when properly reported, would have been in compliance with regulations, Praxair engineers instead developed a system to effectively and safely recover the useful propylene from the cylinders and limit atmospheric emissions.

The Praxair team designed a system whereby an inverted propylene cyl-inder is connected to a recovery compressor, which then transfers the pro-pylene to an intermediate holding vessel. The defective valve can then be removed from the emptied cylinder and a properly functioning valve put in its place. Three new recovery systems have been installed at strategically lo-cated Praxair facilities that handle propylene in the U.S. and Canada. These new systems will be used prior to cylinder maintenance at these plants. Similar systems are being used by Praxair to safely process and recover other liquid petroleum gases.

Camford Chemical News

Polymer Group Expands Coating and Printing CapacityPolymer Group, Inc. (PGI) Canada has expanded its coating and printing capacity to meet growing demand for its engineered fab-rics for building and construction and other industrial uses. The company’s Fabrene group has installed a wide-width extrusion coating and laminating line that offers multilayer capability for nonwovens, paper, foils, and films, as well as the ability to coat with specialty resins for a wide range of technical end uses.

PGI Canada has also announced it will install a new flexographic printing line that offers widths in excess of 144 inches, providing cus-tomers with even greater flexibility with shorter turnaround times in delivering customized printed materials for industrial packaging and other uses. The new line will be operational by June 2006.

The US$8 million investment by Fabrene in new technology for these expansions strengthens the company’s position as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of coated woven polyethylene.

“Building and construction is a growing market for PGI and this investment in a new technology will satisfy demand for products like housewraps and roofing membranes that are even stronger and easier to install,” said Eric Henderson, vice-president of sales and market-ing at PGI Canada. “The additional printing and coating capacity will also bring more value to our customers.”

The new technology will enable PGI to provide better service to custom-ers in lumber and steel wrap markets. It will also improve PGI’s product offering and performance in specialty laminates, automotive, military, and apparel markets. PGI’s Fabrene operations provide engineered woven poly-olefin materials for building and construction, protective covering and in-dustrial packaging. The group supplies global markets from plants in North Bay, ON, Montréal, QC, and Portland, OR.

Polymer Group, Inc.



Canada�s Biotech Industry in 2005Revenues among Canada’s publicly traded biotechnology firms increased by more than 25 percent in 2005, with net losses dropping by 24 percent. This matched a trend in the global industry, where revenues surpassed US$60 billion for the first time, according the latest edition of Beyond Borders: Global Biotechnology Report 2006. The report was re-cently released by Ernst & Young.

“Our findings paint, again this year, a good news/bad news picture for the industry in Canada,” says Rod Budd, author of the Cana-dian chapter in the global report. “As Canadian investors shy away from technology and life sciences companies in favour of other sectors, the ability of earlier-stage companies to attract investor interest and financing will remain very limited. Most of the interest in Canada’s biotech sector centres around those revenue-generating or near-revenue-generating players with significant market caps.

The report also says that the cost of going public continues to rise, with earlier, smaller biotech companies feeling this shift most. Companies may be staying private much longer and succeed only to the extent that they fund their product development with significant rounds of venture financing. While the report identifies major challenges facing the sector, several high points leave room for optimism.

Funding for biotechs in 2005 rose 28 percent over the US$791 million raised in 2004, ex-ceeding US$1 billion and approaching the US$1.3 billion raised in the banner year of 2003. For the first time since 2000, more than US$100 million in initial public offerings (IPOs) was raised. As well, it was the strongest year ever for product approvals, which is a very positive sign for industry sustainability.

Among the biggest challenges facing the Canadian biotech industry are the continu-ing predominance of small and early-stage companies, and the fact that 36 of the 81 pub-lic biotech firms have less than one year of available cash. Key among the concerns of industry watchers was a decrease of almost US$500 million in market capitalization, to US$13.2 billion in 2005. In the past five years, the Canadian biotech industry has performed poorly against the rest of the economy, as

Teaming Up to Tackle Fuel Costs at Pulp MillsNexterra Energy Corp. has signed an agree-ment with Weyerhaeuser’s Kamloops Cellulose Fibre mill and Paprican, the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada, to verify the application of Nexterra’s innova-tive gasification technology for pulp mill lime kilns. Nexterra’s gasifier enables mill operators to significantly reduce fuel costs by converting boilers, kilns, and dryers from natural gas to “syngas”—a clean, low-cost biofuel produced by gasifying wood residue.

“Reducing our fuel costs is a strategic prior-ity for Weyerhaeuser, so we’re excited to be working with Nexterra and Paprican on a po-tential gasification solution for our lime kilns,” said Bill Adams, manufacturing services man-ager at the Weyerhaeuser Kamloops Mill. “Over the past decade, we have significantly decreased our reliance on fossil fuels. Nexter-ra’s gasification technology shows tremendous potential as a clean, cost-effective solution to lower energy costs in our kraft mills and move us closer to energy self-sufficiency. This agree-ment allows us to take a closer look at how the gasifier would perform in our mill before mak-ing a decision to acquire the technology.”

measured by market capitalization, further reinforcing the industry’s need to attract ad-equate investor interest.Other highlights from the report:• Canadian firms had eight products receive

regulatory approval; 12 products entered phase III trials; 20 compounds entered phase II trials. These numbers indicate a strong Canadian product pipeline;

• The number of Canadian companies fell by 3 percent. There was one less public company in 2005 for a total of 81; the number of private companies decreased by 12 to 378;

• Revenues were up 26 percent, to over US$2.5 billion;

• Losses declined by nearly 24 percent to US$324 million in 2005 from US$429 mil-lion in 2004.


Adams said the Nexterra gasifier system has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emis-sions by 25,000 tonnes per year. The 60 mil-lion Btu/hr gasification system would displace the equivalent amount of natural gas needed to heat 4,000 residential homes.

North America’s pulp and paper industry consumes 900 trillion Btu of natural gas and fuel oil each year at a cost of US$8.0 billion. There are 150 kraft pulp mills in North Amer-ica, each consuming millions of dollars of natural gas or fuel oil in their lime kilns. Since the mid-1990s, the cost of natural gas has in-creased by 500 percent, leaving North America with some of the highest natural gas prices in the world and placing severe competitive pres-sures on North American forest companies.

“We are very pleased to be a partner in this project,” said Mike Towers, senior research engineer at Paprican. “Rising energy costs continue to be a major challenge for the pulp and paper industry, and lime kilns are major consumers of fossil fuels. Developing alterna-tive fuel systems, such as Nexterra’s gasifica-tion technology, is essential for the industry to remain competitive. We are confident that this project will demonstrate an attractive option for substituting fossil fuels in lime kilns and achieving critical cost reduc tions.”

Paprican

Quebec�s Pesticide Ban�Unscientific?Quebec’s decision to ban the use of more than 200 lawn care products as part of its new pesticide regulations is based on neither science or common sense, says the Urban Pest Management Council (UPMC).

“Quebec’s decision to ignore the collective expertise of federal government scientists—who have thoroughly assessed these products and have concluded that they pose no unac-ceptable risk to human health or the environ-ment—makes no sense,” said Debra Conlon, executive director of the UPMC. Every one of the active ingredients involved in these lawn and garden care products has been registered for use by the federal government’s Pest Man-agement Registration Agency.

Urban Pest Management Council


CHEMFUSION

The U.S. Navy had a problem. After quenching their thirst, sailors would routinely throw their disposable

plastic cups overboard. Not only was this an esthetic and environmental problem, but a legal one as well. In 1973, the United Nations had adopted a convention stipu-lating that all material thrown into the sea must be biodegradable . Polypropylene and polystyrene, the materials used to make most disposable cups certainly did not fit this bill. And then the Navy heard about polyhydroxy-butyrate (PHB). Here was a plastic that was biodegradable, and to make it even more attractive, was not made from petroleum products. You didn’t need oil refineries to make PHB, you needed bacteria and sugar!

Bacteria are living organisms that need a constant food supply. Like humans, when food is abundant they will store the excess for leaner times. We store the excess in the form of fat, but certain bacteria store it as polyhy-droxybutyrate. This is a type of polyester that can be extracted from the bacteria and pro-cessed into items ranging from containers and wraps to fibres and sutures. It has properties similar to polypropylene, a widely used petro-leum-based plastic. There are, however, two major differences. While polypropylene floats, PHB sinks, and while polypropylene is envi-ronmentally persistent, PHB can be gobbled

up by microbes that convert it to water and carbon dioxide. A cup tossed into the ocean will sink and be degraded in the sediment on the ocean floor. Scientists have known about bacterial production of PHB since 1926, but efforts to exploit it as a commercial material earnestly began only in the 1970s in response to increasing oil prices. Much of the pioneer-ing work in this area was carried out by R. H. Marchessault, FCIC. “Biopol,” the first version of PHB to be marketed, was extracted from cells of the bacterium Alcaligenes eutrophus, which had been nurtured on sugar. The ex-traction process is not simple and does rely on using methylene chloride, a solvent that is not exactly environmentally friendly.

By about 1990, shampoo bottles and uten-sils made of PHB began to appear on store shelves, but sales did not really take off. Why didn’t consumers flock to a biodegradable material made from a renewable resource? Simple. Price! Items made from PHB were far more expensive than those made from poly-propylene. While many people have emotional ties to the environment, they have stronger ties to their wallets. Could there be a cheaper way to produce polyhydroxybutyrate? An interest-ing idea was first described by researchers at MIT in a patent application back in 1989. How about taking the genes from bacteria that give the instructions for converting excess nutrients into PHB, and through recombinant DNA tech-nology, introducing these genes into a plant? Rather than oil refineries, farms could then produce the material needed to make plastics.

The idea turned out to be workable. Cress plants fitted with bacterial genes cranked out PHB, although the yields were poor. Metabo-lix, an American company is experimenting with tobacco and switch grass. Wouldn’t it be something if tobacco could redeem itself by supplying us with a useful substance? It seems though that switch grass, a very hardy, fast-growing plant, is more likely to be com-mercially viable. This is the same plant that President Bush mentioned in his 2006 State of the Union Address as a candidate for produc-ing large quantities of biomass that can be fer-mented into ethanol. Imagine growing a plant capable of supplying us with fuel and plastics at the same time! Still, we have to remember that farming on such a large scale still requires the use of fossil fuels for producing fertilizers, pesticides, and for running farm equipment. There is no free lunch.

While the potential for generating plastics from plants is exciting, Metabolix is currently

using another technology. The genes that code for the production of PHB, instead of being in-serted into plants, are inserted into E. coli bac-teria. These bacteria, which can be made to multiply very quickly, then yield large amounts of polyhydroxybutyrate. Using E. coli as little factories to produce commercial substances is not a novel idea. Drugs such as insulin for diabetes, and tissue plasminogen activator for dissolving blood clots after a heart attack are now routinely made by introducing the appro-priate genes into E. coli. bacteria.

Metabolix is certainly not the only com-pany interested in exploiting the potential of plants to furnish plastics. Soyol has focused on polyurethane, one of the most versatile plastics. Polyurethane can be used to make flexible foams for pillows, solid wheels for roller blades, varnishes for furniture, glues, surfboards, insulation for walls and fridges, side panels for farm machinery, tires, and a host of other products. Like other plastics, polyurethanes are polymers, meaning they are giant molecules composed of individual units, like a chain is composed of links. In this case the links are compounds called diisocyanates and polyols, which are made from petroleum products. We will at some point run out of petroleum , but we will not run out of soybeans . And the major component of poly-urethanes, the polyols, can be made from soy oil. A simple chemical reaction can convert soy oil into “epoxidated soy oil,” which in turn can readily be changed into the required polyols. Using these to make polyurethane products is not only a theoretical possibility, it is a prac-tical reality. Molded seats for tractors, panels for combines, office furniture, carpet backing, pillows, and foam insulation are already being produced from soy oil. Furthermore, these soy polyols cost less than the ones that derive from petroleum, and require less energy to produce. Eventually they have the potential to replace petroleum polyols in all polyurethanes. The real beauty is that the resource is renewable. Obviously, chemical ingenuity can solve some of our problems. And luckily, that is also a renewable resource.

Popular science writer, Joe Schwarcz, MCIC,

is the director of McGill University’s Office

for Science and Society. He hosts the Dr. Joe

Show every Sunday from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on

Montréal’s radio station CJAD. The broadcast

is available on the Web at www.CJAD.com. You

can contact him at [email protected].

Joe Schwarcz, MCIC

No Free Lunch


I love tinkering,” says University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) polymer scientist Michael Georges, MCIC, adding (and obviously pleased) that he had been able to squeeze in lab time

before an early morning meeting. What is “tinkering” to Georges, however, is really leading-edge research that has made a huge im-pact on polymer science.

In fact, in 1993, Georges, then a scientist at the Xerox Research Centre of Canada in Mississauga, and his team were the first in the world to solve “living radical polymerization” (LRP). LRP was a problem in polymer science that was thought to be impossible for mere mortals to master.

Polymers, a creation of nature, are chains of large molecules. The unique characteristics of a polymer chain—such as its length—deter-mine its properties. Your DNA is a polymer. Wood is made of poly-mers, as are turtles’ shells, milk, and natural rubber. In the late 19th century, chemists developed ways to copy nature’s genius. Since then, polymers have given rise to materials that are used to make almost any manufactured material imaginable—plastics, food wrap, tires, nylon stockings, housing materials, carpets, textiles, bulletproof vests, sails, and even bubblegum.

Scientists were always aware of the LRP problem. If solved, it would enable easier manipulation of the molecules in the chain, thus enabling materials to be created that couldn’t be with conventional polymer processes. Georges undertook it, however, as a carbohydrate specialist. He had no background in polymers.

“My inexperience turned out to be a benefit. The polymer chemists had been trained to believe that LRP was not possible. I didn’t have enough background to buy into that, so we forged ahead, based only on the fact that I had a hunch.”

What followed was like something out of a Hollywood movie. The Georges team tried and failed numerous times, to the point where

Georges’ boss gave him a four-month deadline to get a result—or forget the whole thing.

“I used to go to meetings to present my results and I would get hammered. One guy said, ‘If it could have been done, there are a lot better chemists out there than you who would have done it.’”

Georges and his team not only solved the problem, but they won the Arthur K. Doolittle Award for the best paper presented to the American Chemical Society in 1993. The discovery made LRP a thriv-ing part of polymer research. “When we published that paper, there were about seven others related to LRP,” says Georges. “Today, there are probably 600 to 700 papers a year.”

Georges left his 31-year career in the private sector and joined UTM in 2001. “There is definitely more freedom to follow your instincts in university research, and I was ready to explore some new areas. And I like helping the students understand organic chemistry.”

In his work with students, Georges emphasizes creativity over brains as the key to success in research.

“Academically, I am not the brightest student around. Where I dif-fer is that I never lack ideas. People who do well in research are those who can be creative. And you have to have passion. We just had a big result the other day and I didn’t sleep for three nights after that because I was so excited.”

Paul Fraumeni is the editor of the University of Toronto’s

research magazine, Edge.

Creativity Drives GeorgesPaul Fraumeni

creativity over brains � the key

to success in research

“

Photo by Jim Panou


Pack it Up!Edwin H. Niemann and Pace A. MarkowitzR&D unleashes growth potential�NOVA Chemicals� ARCEL® resin story

Breakthroughs in polymer science can lead to product innova-tions that benefit a company, its customers, their customers, and consumers. At NOVA Chemicals, we knew we could make

a significant breakthrough with ARCEL®—a unique polyethylene (PE)-polystyrene (PS) interpolymer for protective packaging—when we realized the extent to which the supply chain stood to benefit from this product. The opportunity for our researchers was first to unleash the potential of ARCEL, and then to further modify its for-mula and properties in order to maximize its benefits and continually enhance its value.

NOVA Chemicals produces plastics and chemicals that are used in an array of everyday applications, such as food packaging, electron-ics packaging, and industrial uses. We direct the majority of our R&D resources towards our Performance Products portfolio, which includes ARCEL, DYLARK®, DYLARK® FG, SURPASS®, and ZYLAR® EX—a set of solutions that deliver greater value to the marketplace. ARCEL’s potential to deliver significant value meant it was quickly identified as a top priority for research teams in Calgary, AB, Monaca, PA, and Breda in the Netherlands. These Canadian, European, and U.S.-based research teams had specific objectives that included:

• reformulating ARCEL; • advancing its manufacturing technology to facilitate larger scale

production; • reducing the bead size of ARCEL resins to enable molding of more

complex packaging parts; • developing a new methodology for ARCEL users to efficiently

determine specific cushioning requirements for shipped items. The base technology for ARCEL provided a strong foundation on

which to build. ARCEL combines the best attributes of both PE and PS to create a protective packaging material with superior cushion-ing and impact resistance. Initially developed to serve as dunnage for large, heavy automotive parts, ARCEL was known to be tough and resilient even with repeated use. But it was produced through a small-batch process that severely limited its market potential. NOVA Chemicals sought to aggressively pursue large, potential growth mar-kets for ARCEL, and this need called for substantial improvements in the manufacturing process.

NOVA Chemicals believed that the case for growth of ARCEL resins was strong. It would be driven by the growth of on-line shopping and direct business-to-consumer shipping practices. In these cases, goods


protective packaging

material with superior

cushioning and

impact resistance

such as personal computers travel great dis-tances from manufacturers’ warehouses to consumers’ doorsteps—often spanning sev-eral countries and involving multiple ship-ping methods such as air, marine, and truck, with multiple hand-offs between the various links in the supply chain. This “uncontrolled shipping” environment increases the risk of real or perceived damage, and most stan-dard packaging materials are simply not up to the challenge. For example, expandable polystyrene (EPS) protects well on a first drop, but the EPS cushion part also breaks with that first impact and does not protect as well in the case of a second drop. Even if the shipped item arrives intact, damaged packaging gives consumers the impression of a damaged item—so damage returns are likely when EPS breaks.

Packaging made with ARCEL resins remains intact through multiple drops—so NOVA Chemicals believed ARCEL had the potential to become the preferred packag-ing material for manufacturers of heavy, damage -sensitive goods such as personal computers, printers, and televisions. To unlock this potential, NOVA Chemicals’ researchers first worked to deliver advances in production technology. Characterization of the polymer structure and rheological properties by scientists in Calgary, coupled with bench-scale reactor studies at Breda, enabled engineers at Monaca to eliminate in-efficiencies in the ARCEL resin process while maintaining foam toughness and cushioning performance. These process technology im-provements, demonstrated in the pilot plant and proven at plant scale enabled faster, larger-scale production of ARCEL resins. Following this innovation, we have been adding manufacturing capacity rapidly and expect to reach approximately 100 million pounds by the end of the year.

Larger-scale manufacturing of ARCEL resins fuelled a tripling of sales in a recent two-year period. ARCEL’s current client list includes Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Panasonic,

and many others. Today, growing numbers of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) specify ARCEL because its protective prop-erties enable them to reduce package sizes, reduce the number of damage returns, and lower logistics costs. In addition, ARCEL de-livers a better “out of the box” experience to consumers by arriving on their doorsteps with the foam packaging reassuringly intact.

Our researchers then moved on to the next goal—enhancing performance to enable specification of ARCEL in a broader range of applications. This called for a reduction in bead size. This improvement would enable more design flexibility and lead to the mold-ing of ARCEL into more intricate parts to provide protection that would not have been possible with the larger bead size. To achieve

the smaller bead size, we conducted bench scale, pilot plant, and plant studies. The higher surface-to-volume ratio of the result-ing smaller bead necessitated slight changes in the polymer composition of ARCEL resin and in its blowing agent. We achieved this goal and the smaller-bead version of ARCEL was commercialized in December 2005. We are now in the process of converting all our customers to the smaller, higher-performing ARCEL bead size.

By working closely with ARCEL molders and OEMs, we have learned that the value we deliver goes beyond the product itself. We are committed to helping our customers (or potential customers) maximize the per-formance and value of ARCEL. One recent approach was to develop a new methodol-ogy that enables more efficient and effec-tive packaging decisions. Conversations

with customers led us to seek a simplified method of determining cushion curves for ARCEL resins. Cushion curves measure the amount of cushioning material required to protect a packaged good, such as a plasma television or a printer. Our customers sought a numerical equation that could be used in place of physical drop tests to generate cush-ion curves. Such a formula would expedite decision making and reduce costs. In order to quickly arrive at an efficient and simple solution, NOVA Chemicals decided to iden-tify and partner with leading researchers in the packaging field. We partnered with ex-perts from leading universities and OEMs to run a cushion test for ARCEL that relied on new functions, formulas, and equations. The result is a new methodology for devel-oping cushion curves that helps to save time and reduce costs. This formula soon will be available to all ARCEL resin customers.

NOVA Chemicals’ ARCEL story illustrates how polymer science and engineering prin-ciples, when applied strategically, create a win-win situation for a company and the entire supply chain served by its solutions. Tight alignment of our business, marketing and R&D functions, combined with strong customer relationships and research partner-ships drove the rapid growth of ARCEL res-ins in recent years. We are now expanding our manufacturing capacity for ARCEL res-ins to support future growth, and we plan to reach 220 million pounds of annual capacity by the end of 2008.

For more information about ARCEL resins, please e-mail [email protected] or visit www.novachemicals.com.

Edwin H. Niemann, ARCEL® technology

leader for NOVA Chemicals, has worked in

the chemicals and plastics industry for more

than 37 years. Niemann holds BSc and MS

degrees in chemical engineering from Purdue

University. He has authored five technical

papers and holds three patents.

Pace A. Markowitz is market manager of

ARCEL® Moldable Foam Resins for NOVA

Chemicals. He holds a BSc degree in chemical

engineering and an MBA from the University

of Pittsburgh. Markowitz has worked in

the chemicals and plastics industry for

more than eight years.


Protective Coatings and Overlays Gary FisherDevelopment of wear- and corrosion-resistant coatings in oil sands mining

The Albertan oil sands are an enormous natural resource with an estimated 170 billion barrels of recoverable oil. The industry currently accounts for approximately 50 percent

of Canada’s total crude oil output. This figure is forecast to grow significantly and production is expected to triple to three million barrels a day by 2020.

For the three commercial oil sands mining and processing opera-tions, high maintenance costs and significant production losses result from material degradation through wear and corrosion. The costs resulting from the wear and corrosion include both the replacement

of the component and the associated labour and lost production. In 2004, the annual budget for repair and maintenance of equipment at Syncrude Canada Ltd. was in excess of $450 million. Similar budgets can be estimated for Suncor Energy Inc. and Albian Sands Energy Inc., giving an overall estimated annual budget for repair of $1,350 million . Of this amount, a significant portion is attributed to material loss through wear and corrosion.

Particles of quartz are the main abrasive media in the oil sands. Typically , the particles are less than 150 µm in size and have a semi-angular shape. Quartz accounts for up to 95 percent of the solid

Photo by Julie Elliott


content of the oil sand. Other minerals present include clays, feldspar, rutile, zircon, pyrite, and garnet. A number of wear mecha-nisms are encountered in this environment . The most significant are:• Abrasion—Low stress abrasion, where

the sand passes over the surface of the component with a relatively low contact force, is the most common wear mecha-nism. High stress abrasion, when sand is entrapped between two components, can also occur;

• Impact—Impact damage occurs due to the presence of siltstone boulders and rocks. Components subject to this include crushers, breakers, and sizing screens;

• Gouging abrasion—This occurs when abrasive lumps of material are driven into the surface of a component. Examples include bucket teeth and crushers;

• Erosion—This occurs when a high concen-tration of solids impact or slide against a surface. Erosion causes the greatest dam-age in the bitumen extraction processes.The level of wear-damage experienced by

oil sands operations is affected by climate conditions. In the winter, the sand and bitu-men can consolidate into larger lumps. This results in higher levels of impact and abrasion than experienced in warmer seasons.

Damage from corrosive attack, though significant, is secondary to that caused by wear. The main corrosive species are chloride-compounds in the oil sands feed and dissolved oxygen in the water.

Wear-resistant materials have been adopted to protect against this environment. Depending on the type of service, the choice of material can be made from a diversity of polymers, metal alloys, ceramics, and composites . These wear solutions can be classified into five basic groups:• Polymers and rubbers (including liners

for pipes);• Coatings and overlays;• Cast and wrought ferrous-based materials;• Ceramics;• Cermets.

The Alberta Research Council (ARC) has a significant involvement in the development and assessment of coatings and overlays for oil sands applications. We work closely with material manufacturers, applicators, and the oil sands operators to evaluate the wear and corrosion resistance of a wide variety of metallic and non-metallic coatings, overlays,

and liners . These evaluations can be con-ducted using standard ASTM or NACE stan-dards (for example , the ASTM G65 rubber wheel/dry sand testing method is the most commonly used procedure for determining the wear-resistance of a material). Frequently, however, there are testing requirements beyond the standard procedures, when a spe-cific corrosion and/or wear condition needs to be simulated for the evaluation of a material for a particular application. For example, ARC recently completed a jointly funded project with Suncor Energy to design a test rig and procedure to simulate repeated, low-energy impact wear. For applications such as sieves for sizing and bends in hydro-transport pip-ing, the protective overlay on the components experience a high degree of impact damage. Suncor had to determine the resistance of a coating or overlay to repeated impacts, but there was no known test procedure that would effectively determine this. Working with Sun-cor, ARC designed and built a unique rig to simulate this production environment. The test procedure has proved to be an effective tool in the material selection of coatings and overlays, providing information on perfor-mance that was not available previously .

ARC is also involved in more fundamental research into the wear and corrosion perfor-mance of overlays. We are launching a Joint Industry Project with Syncrude, Suncor, and a number of material manufacturers, to fully characterize the performance of tung-sten carbide-based metal matrix composite (MMC) overlays in oil sands applications. The extraction and upgrading processes pose a unique combination of wear and corrosive conditions. The main goals of the project will gain a fuller understanding of the interaction of these conditions on the performance of an overlay and to make specifications of overlay composition for different applications.

With the expansion and growth in the Alberta oil sands, the requirements for wear and corrosion resistant coatings and over-lays will only increase. The extensive testing and key research projects conducted by the Alberta Research Council are an important component in providing material solutions for these issues

Gary Fisher is leader of the Coatings

and Surface Engineering Group at the

Alberta Research Council.

Wha

t�s N

ew wi

th YO

U?

ACCN

Send ACCN the

LATEST NEWS from your company,

classroom , or laboratory to

[email protected].


David Hacker and Andrew Sinclair, MCICOutsourcing R&D can bring new products to market quickly and efficiently.

Progressive companies understand the need for research and development to keep ahead of the competition and improve profitability. In fact, one way of measuring the long-term

health of a company is the percentage of revenue it earns from new products or services.

Companies develop new products in a number of ways—through the evolution of existing products, research and development, or acquisi-tion of technologies. Research and development can be carried out using internal company resources or though outsourcing.

Outsourcing is common for business functions such as payroll and benefits management, as well as in industries such as information technology and pharmaceuticals. Legal and accounting services are often outsourced. Research and development activities are not as com-monly contracted out, in part because the intellectual property asso-ciated with new product development is felt to be too strategic to a company’s existence to be exposed to outsiders.

In chemical-related businesses, most outsourcing is related to test-ing. For example, independent labs carry out test programs to evaluate performance versus a specification. However, using outside research organizations such as universities, consultants, or specialized research firms is becoming more common as businesses recognize the advan-tages. Fuelled by mergers, downsizing, and efforts to reduce costs—companies have begun to outsource aspects of their product develop-ment activities in order to focus on their core competencies.

Outsourcing of R&D activities has several advantages. Outsourc-ing allows a company to draw on resources and expertise as needed, reducing the need for investment in research facilities, training, and operating costs. Multiple projects can be carried out at the same time without reassigning staff involved in higher priority research activi-ties. Because they are able to proceed without interruption, outsourced projects can often be completed more quickly than if they are carried out internally.

Outside the Box

Photo by Chris Johnson


Outsourcing allows

companies to address

new opportunities while

maintaining existing

operations

Outsourcing allows a company to focus on its core business, without the diversion of having to manage technology development. It can help keep costs under control by help-ing to define research budgets—especially for newer or start-up ventures where these costs are not well understood. It gives a company access to new technologies and competen-cies not available internally. Also, it gives a company access to a network of experts, sup-pliers, and government contacts that contract research organizations have developed over many years.

The decision to outsource R&D is often based on a few simple considerations :• Availability of equipment/expertise

in-house ;• Willingness to invest resources to main-

tain or develop the capabilities ; • Whether a third party can meet the needs

for quality/time.Companies facing a crunch in personnel

or planning development activities tend to look at internal solutions first—such as hiring temporary staff, shifting workloads to other departments, or growing internal capabilities. However, these each have their own prob-lems, either requiring capital investment or consuming resources in bringing new people on-line or reordering priorities. Outsourcing allows companies to address new opportuni-ties while maintaining existing operations.

When the decision has been made to out-source, the question then becomes how to select a service provider. Such issues as the skill set of the outside organization, owner-ship of intellectual property, priority of your project, and of course cost, must all be taken into account. Due diligence is critical. Tour the facilities and evaluate the staff you will be dealing with. Do their facilities meet your needs, not only for the current project but for any potential follow-on or scale-up projects? Assess quality compliance issues. Do they meet your requirements for ISO or

industry-specific accreditations ? Do they in-sist on sharing intellectual property or will you own it outright? Is their price competitive with other organizations and with your own internal cost structure? Each of these ques-tions must be answered to your satisfaction.

It is a good idea to have a clear project definition before meeting with the contrac-tor for the first time. If intellectual property is a concern, you may want to put a non-disclosure agreement in place before the meeting. This way details of any relevant technology can be discussed openly and ensure that the contractor has a good un-derstanding of your requirements. This will benefit you by allowing the contractor to provide a comprehensive proposal with a complete and accurate costing and sched-ule, leading to fewer disagreements down the road. Also, coming to the meeting with a budget and timing in mind will provide the contractor with a framework within which the project can be scoped, which will depend on the contractor’s own cost structure and personnel availability. For example, a client may have certain technical expectations that are not compatible with their budget and schedule. The contractor can work with the client to define a program that is feasible for the budget and will help meet the client’s objectives. This may mean breaking a proj-ect down into smaller parts, each of which can be carried out within a shorter time frame and that may be easier to fund.

The outsourcing process can be illustrated by a small, medical device start-up company that had developed a new product believed to accelerate the wound-healing process. The product had been made in small quantities and tested on animals. The company required manufacturing to be scaled up in order to carry out first-in-human testing. In the longer run, the company required scale up to larger, multi-centre clinical testing using materials produced under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) conditions.

The company had a number of require-ments for expertise and facilities. While they had a small scientific staff and laboratory with bench-scale equipment, they required an outside service provider with scientists knowledgeable in polymer, organic, and analytical chemistry, facilities for carrying out chemical reactions up to a scale of 30 L, equipment for carrying out washing and separation processes, clean room facilities for

packaging, and quality procedures in place that would conform to GMP.

The company also needed to work with an organization that could assure confidentiality while transferring ownership of any intellec-tual property stemming from the project back to the client. As a small start-up, funding was always an issue, so the contractor recom-mended a program that would be carried out in phases to allow the client to control expen-ditures while still advancing the work. The contractor was able to meet the client’s tech-nical expectations on schedule while keeping costs under control. This allowed the client to maintain its clinical test schedule without a large up-front financial risk.

Companies are continually looking for an edge in the marketplace. New product devel-opment is essential to grow market share and stay ahead of the competition. Outsourcing can help your company take advantage of new technology in a cost- and time-effective way and help you stay competitive. Develop-ing a good relationship with the right service provider can be strategic to developing new markets while reducing business risk and controlling costs.

Visit www.bodycotetesting.com for more information .

David Hacker, MASc, is the manager of

the Polymer Technology Group for Bodycote

Testing Group–Americas (BTGA), which offers

contract R&D services.

Andrew Sinclair, MCIC, is the vice-president

of business development for (BTGA), which

includes over 30 laboratories.


Canada’s chemical industry may find support coming from an unlikely quarter in its drive toward better safety for employees and better relations with the general public. Support comes in

the form of the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) training program set up under the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. This training standard is becoming a vital link in the chain of safety that extends from prime producers right through to final users, in the chemical industry’s logistics path.

Why is this U.S. standard seeing greater application in Canada, when U.S. law does not, at least in theory, see application outside the U.S.? To answer this question, it is important to understand how HAZWOPER developed, and how it relates to the chemical industry.

HAZWOPER was introduced in the early 1990s and specifies the training that employers need to provide to their employees regard-ing the handling of a wide range of hazardous materials. The train-ing discusses the nature of various kinds of hazardous substances, safe handling techniques, dealing with emergencies such as spills, and remediation of areas contaminated by hazardous materials. The train-ing generally involves about half traditional classroom learning and about half hands-on experience both indoors and out. Training must be

Glenn Wood, MCICShould the Canadian chemical industry adopt an American model�for safety�s sake?

renewed on a regular basis through refresher courses. It is one of the main building blocks in the U.S. response to the need to protect both employees and the environment from hazardous materials.

One reason for HAZWOPER’S popularity in Canada involves Canadian entities sending employees south of the border to work—sometimes to install Canadian-made equipment in U.S. sites, or to carry out short-term secondments to U.S. locations. If these employees are involved in handling hazardous substances, they require current HAZWOPER certification. If they don’t have the training, they may be denied access to a HAZWOPER-designated site in the U.S.

There are other reasons for Canadian employers to take interest in HAZWOPER. It is generally recognized as an excellent program that is meeting increasingly wide acceptance as a way to train employees in hazardous materials and hazardous waste handling. It is also seen as a good way to demonstrate due diligence in this matter. There is growing understanding of the dangers that hazardous materials pose to both employees and the workplace. Some of this understanding comes from non-governmental organizations that are focusing their attention on accidental releases of these substances. Aside from the damage these releases can cause, there is the potential for negative publicity, fines, and government pressure.

HAZWOPER


In Canada there is no direct federal or pro-vincial counterpart to HAZWOPER, so the U.S. standard has taken root, by default.

Another reason for the standard’s growing popularity is the wide availability of training materials and train-the-trainer resources that make providing the training relatively easy, low-cost, and straightforward.

Will HAZWOPER help bring down insur-ance rates? Not directly, but a well-trained workforce may mean fewer hazardous-mate-rial accidents and fewer injuries and illnesses during responses—resulting in a better experi-ence rating with workers’ compensation pro-grams and lower premiums as a result. Fewer spills mean less production time lost and fewer employee sick days. It can also mean better relations with organized labour, as the train-ing demonstrates management’s willingness to provide the industry-accepted standard in safety training to union members.

HAZWOPER training helps meet other leg-islative requirements, such as the emergency response training component of the Canadian federal government’s Transportation of Dan-gerous Goods (TDG) legislation, particularly for Schedule 12 products, among the most problematic. It can also be useful for meeting other safety and environmental initiatives, such as the Canadian Chemical Producers’ Association (CCPA) Responsible Care® ethic. HAZWOPER can serve as a central component

to a chemical company’s response to the Environmental Emergency Plan or “E2P” as-pect of the Canadian Environmental Protec-tion Act, which requires that facilities develop an emergency response plan if they have vol-umes over a specified threshold amount of specified chemical substances on site.

In initiatives such as the CCPA’s Transpor-tation Emergency Assistance Plan, which

provides timely mutual aide response to spills of a member company’s products when those products are too far from the manufacturer’s site for direct response, HAZWOPER training is a good way of ensuring that the response will be made by qualified personnel. A chem-ical producer from Alberta, for example, is reassured that if there is an incident some-where in Ontario regarding its products, that the personnel from other companies provid-ing first response, if HAZWOPER-qualified, will perform to a high standard that is legally defensible . This crucial first response is vital

in keeping the incident’s impacts minimal until the Alberta company can get its own personnel to the scene.

How does a company provide this HAZWOPER training? Except in the largest companies, this subject may be too special-ized to be offered in-house. While there is nothing in writing about who is certified to provide HAZWOPER training, there is the expectation that the training will be given by personnel who have demonstrated expertise. This can include being a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), but field experience is invaluable to supplement education such as the CIH designation.

While HAZWOPER training has demon-strable value, the time required for certifica-tion and maintaining that certification needs to be considered. The process starts with the 40 hours of the course itself, involving both classroom and hands-on education. While some skills are best taught in a classroom setting, there is no substitute for personal or hands-on experience in some areas. For exam-ple, learning about confined-space safety can best be done by strapping on a self-contained breathing apparatus and crawling into con-fined spaces. Traditionally, the course is taught over a five-day period of eight hours each day. The travel time and time away from the job need to be factored into production schedules. As well as the original course, there must be investment in regular refresher courses on a well-thought-out program that revisits all the course’s skills over a three-year period.

For any entity involved in production, storage or use of hazardous materials, HAZWOPER can be a significant part of best practice and key to problem-free operations for the chemical industry.

Glenn Wood, MCIC, is an associate and

head facilitator with Golder Associates Ltd.,

Mississauga Health and Safety Training Services

Group, which conducts HAZWOPER training

on a regular basis throughout Canada. He

holds a PhD in chemistry from the University

of New Brunswick, is a Registered Occupational

Hygienist (Canada) and a Certified Industrial

Hygienist (U.S.). Wood had a 22-year career

in the Canadian chemical industry and held

a variety of positions in industrial hygiene,

health and safety, and emergency response

management. He can be contacted at

[email protected].

HAZWOPER can be �

key to problem-free

operations for

the chemical industry

Students in Mississauga, ON, wear chemical protective clothing to participate in a mock situation involving a �gasoline� (actually water) spill as part of a HAZWOPER training session.


Creating and developing a new drug involves both careful scientific planning and business decisions. Given the vast amount of time and money that must be invested in drug

development , pharmaceutical companies should take steps to minimize all unnecessary risks, including the risks of infringing competitors ’ intellectual property rights.

Regulatory hurdles

Many patent-savvy companies have already incorporated patent strategies into their business model to protect the value of scientific discoveries.

A patent is a permit that allows its owner to exclude others from making, using, and selling an invention for up to 20 years from the date the patent application was first filed. Thus, it can be viewed as a time-limited “no trespassing” sign that a patent owner has put up to fence in his or her own invention to stop infringers.

However, having a patent does not absolve the patent owner from potentially infringing on your competitors’ patented technology. A patent is by no means a permit for free access across the patented landscape. In fact, even with a granted patent in hand, there are several reasons why a patent owner may not be able to completely benefit from a patented invention.

Improvement patents

One of the most common reasons a patent owner may not be able to commercialize a patented invention is that the invention is an improvement on an existing patented invention. Consequently, any attempts at commercializing the improvement would infringe upon the existing invention.

Consider a new drug that is structurally similar to an existing group of patented drugs and is a specific selection of that group. The main features of the new drug may have already been claimed in the patent of the existing drug group. Although the main structural features of the new drug may not be novel per se, the new drug may be patent-able because it has been found to have unexpected advantages over the existing patented group. In this case, the owner of the improve-ment patent will have to obtain permission from the owner of the existing patented drug group before commercializing the invention.

Combination patents

Another reason why a patent owner may not be able to commercialize a patented invention is that the invention is a combination of various existing patented parts. Thus, commercializing the combination would infringe upon the patent of each of the individual parts.

No Trespassing�Part ICarol YipEvaluate your freedom to operate in the patent landscape.

Photo by Kenn Kiser


Consider a new drug that is a combina-tion of compounds A and B and that each of compounds A and B has previously been patented. The features of the new drug may have been claimed in the patents of com-pounds A and B. Although the main struc-tural features of the new drug may not be novel per se, the new drug may be patentable because of its superior synergistic efficacy over each of patented compounds A and B. That is, the combination is new and unobvi-ous. Nevertheless, the owner of the combi-nation patent will still have to obtain per-mission from the patent owner of each of the compounds A and B.

Mapping the patent landscape

Accordingly, to ensure that commercializing a company’s new technology is not impeded by someone else’s patents, a proper evalu-ation of the company’s new technology in view of the patent literature is recommended. In areas of research where there is extensive patenting, conducting routine patent searches can help identify any intellectual property risks. Accordingly, to ensure that a new com-mercial technology is not later impeded by another company’s patents, a proper evalu-ation of the new technology with respect to inventions described in the existing patent literature is recommended.

Mapping out the landscape to minimize the risk of being “accused of trespassing” is generally done by performing a freedom-to-operate (FTO) analysis . This is an assessment of whether a new technology can be commer-cialized without infringing existing patents. Although an FTO analysis is usually conducted before introducing a new technology to a mar-ketplace, it should also be done routinely dur-ing the research and development stage.

There are limited exceptions in Canadian law that certain activities done in the process of scientific discovery will not be considered as an infringement, broadly referred to as research exemptions. However, whether a cer-tain activity is considered to be an infringing act or not is still a rather grey area. Recent de-cisions in the U.S. have shown that research activities may create a risk of liability for patent infringement. In Canada, there have not been any recent judicial decisions specifi-cally on research activities but I will provide a closer examination of this topic in my next article in ACCN.

Given that there is no legal requirement to conduct an FTO analysis and that its cost can be expensive, obtaining such an analysis is sometimes not a top priority for many companies . By performing an FTO analysis , the risk of infringement can be minimized, and consequently, it can potentially save a significant amount of time and money down the road. When compared to the legal costs for potential patent litigation, damage to a company’s reputation and/or forced withdrawal of the technology from the marketplace , the cost of obtaining an FTO analysis is relatively small. It also provides an overview of the competitors’ patent land-scape, which can be advantageous when designing research programs.

Steps of a freedom-to-operate analysis

Patent searchingGenerally an FTO analysis begins with a study of the technology, for example, a drug product or a manufacturing process, that the company is developing. A search of the pat-ent literature for issued patents and pending applications related to the technology is then performed. Since hundreds or thousands of patents and applications may be uncovered, there needs to be a balance between perform-ing an extensive, and therefore expensive search, and one that is narrow by limiting the searching to specific keywords only, for instance. Although, the latter option is costly, it may increase the risk of potentially miss-ing a relevant patent. Thus, it is important to determine the scientific value of the new technology in light of the company’s busi-ness plan.

Defining a proper FTO search scope at the outset should provide a comprehensive and meaningful analysis at a reasonable cost. In order to set reasonable limits on the scope of the patent literature search, the following points should be considered:• Where will the new technology be

commercialized ? Since patents are country specific, a search of the patent databases of the spe-cific countries where the new technology will be commercialized is often sufficient. If the new technology is likely to only be sold in Canada , the U.S., Europe, and Japan, then only the patent databases of those jurisdictions need to be searched.

Although there may be patents on the new technology in other countries, it may be assumed that most commercially vi-able products will probably be patented in most of the above indicated jurisdictions .

• What are the essential elements of the company’s new technology? Carefully defining the essential elements found in the new technology can help tailor the search terms used in an FTO analysis, thereby limiting the number of patents uncovered and providing more useful search results. For example, if the new technology is related to a drug deliv-ery nanostructure, and more specifically a liposome, then restricting the searching to liposome nanostructures for therapeutic delivery, including methods of manufac-ture and use, should be sufficient.

• Who are the competitors in this area of research? By identifying potential competitors and searching by owner name for any patents they may have acquired or licensed, a clearer indication of the potential risk of infringement can be obtained. The ben-efits of monitoring competitors’ patent portfolios should not be overlooked and should be performed from time to time to direct research programs and business strategies.

Evaluation of the patent search and examination of the various remediesAfter identifying the relevant patents from the search, an evaluation of the patents is performed. If necessary, the complete file record of the relevant patents can be incor-porated into the review process as well. The file record can, for example, offer a better

Just like travellers on a

trip, it is important to

consult a map and be

aware of �no trespassing

signs� along the road. It

is best to be prepared

rather than be surprised.


explanation of the inclusion of a particular feature in the claims of the patent. An analy-sis of the claims of these patents against the company’s new technology would provide a good indication of whether the new technol-ogy will potentially infringe. If the company’s new technology has been found to potentially infringe on one or more of the relevant pat-ents, there are several options the company may consider. The existing relevant patents do not necessarily insurmountably impede a company’s ability to exploit its technology. These options include:• obtaining a licence from the owner of the

existing patent;• purchasing the existing patent;• negotiating a cross-licensing agreement

so that both the company with the new technology and the owner of the existing relevant patent can earn the rewards of the other’s inventions;

• designing around the existing patent; • determining whether the existing patent

is valid.

Task list

Consider the tasks in the following list as one example of the tasks involved in preparing for an FTO analysis. Being prepared and organized before meeting the patent coun-sel can not only help control the legal costs, but also help in managing the direction of an FTO analysis.

Identify:• Countries where the new technology will

be commercialized;• Your company’s new technology and pro-

vide a brief description;• Essential features of the new technology;• Potential competitors in the area of the

new technology;• Patents of potential competitors;• Optional features found in the new

technology .• Alternative keywords that may be used

to describe the above-listed essential fea-tures and optional features;

Consider:• Budget to be invested in an FTO analysis;• Date of proposed research completion;• Date of proposed commercialization of the

new technology.

Conclusion

Conducting a freedom-to-operate analy-sis is an effective way of identifying and evaluating potential patent infringement problems in advance. Ideally, such an anal-ysis should be performed early on in the development of a new product, and should be routinely updated to keep up with newly published applications and issued patents relevant to a company’s technology. It is a high-risk gamble to wait until just before commercializing a new technology to seek out an FTO analysis. When a company changes direction in its research or moves into a new area of technology, searches should be expanded or refocused. There is no guarantee that relevant patents won’t surface, but at least the risk of infringe-ment is minimized. A freedom-to-operate analysis should not be considered as con-straining a company’s research efforts but rather it is an aid to target and expand its research activities .

Carol Yip, MCIC, has an MSc in chemistry and

is a registered patent agent at the intellectual

property law firm of Bereskin & Parr, located

in Toronto, ON. She prepares and prosecutes

patent applications in chemical, biotechnology,

and pharmaceutical matters. You can contact

her at [email protected].

Readers reach for ACCN for news on

who�s who and

what�s what in the Canadian chemical community

Next issue:Marine scienceComing this fall:

Clean energyBiotechnologyForensic chemistry

w w w . a c c n . c a


And in REGULATORY NEWS �

Two new provincial Transport Dangerous Goods (TDG) regulatory provisions will come into force in Quebec on August 15, 2006, for tank trucks conform-ing to CSA Standards B620, B621, and B622. These provisions concern driver assistance systems and increased effective rating of fire extinguishers. For further information, visit www.mtq.gouv.qc.ca/en/publications/camionnage/infocam/060406_en.pdf.

Canadian Chemical Producers’ Association

Quebec—New TDG Regulations for Trucking Industry Coming into Force

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) is gearing up for an increased workload. But the regulator is worried about its ability to respond in a timely manner, said CEO Linda Keen.

“The Canadian nuclear industry is on the cusp of sub-stantial growth in all areas,” said Keen. But CNSC will need new resources—both human and financial—in order to ful-fill its regulatory mandate. “I cannot overestimate that this shortage of qualified staff will affect our ability to respond,” she said. Keen outlined CNSC’s priorities as follows: first, the safety of existing reactors; second, refurbishment of the existing fleet of CANDU power plants; and third, licens-ing of new reactors. The occasion was the release of the Commission’s new information document on the licensing process for new nuclear power plants in Canada. CNSC is working with industry to address its staff shortage, and is seeking additional funding from Ottawa.

Canadian Nuclear Worker

Regulatory Delays Predicted—CNSC Faces HR Shortage


Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering Board of Directors Nominations (2006�2007)

The Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE) Nominating Committee, appointed under the terms of CSChE bylaws Ar ticle 8, Section k, has proposed the candidates listed below to serve as CSChE officers for 2006�2007. Gerry Phillips , MCIC, CSChE past president and chair of the Nomi-nating Committee, is pleased to announce the candidates for the 2006�2007 election of the CSChE. Additional nominations for candidates may be submitted by members no later than Tuesday , July 25, 2006. Ten or more voting members must sup-port additional nominations in writing. Those elected, whether by ballot or acclamation, will take office immediately following the Society�s AGM in Sherbrooke, QC, on October 17, 2006.

CSChE BULLETIN SCGCh

Présentation des candidats pour le conseil d�administration de la Société canadienne de génie chimique (2006-2007)

Le comité des candidatures de la Société canadienne de génie chimique (SCGCh), nommé aux termes de l�article k de la division 8 des règlements de la SCGCh, propose les candidats suivants aux postes d�administrateurs de la SCGCh pour l�exercice 2006-2007. Gerry Phillips, MCIC, président sortant de la SCGCh et président du comité d es candidatures, est heureux de présenter les candidats aux élections pour l�exercice 2006-2007. Les membres peuvent présenter d�autres candidats au plus tard le mardi 25 juillet 2006. Les mises en candidature supplémentaires doivent être appuyées par écrit par au moins dix membres votants. Les personnes élues, au scrutin ou sans concurrent, entreront en fonction immédiate-ment après l�Assemblée générale annuelle de la Société qui se tiendra le 17 octobre 2006 à Sherbrooke (Québec).

President 2006�2007

David T. Fung, MCIC, is the chairman and CEO of the ACDEG Group of companies. Through strategic alli-ances in forest products, biomass energy, chemicals, agric-foods, electrical power cogeneration, OEM parts manufacturing and packaging wastes recycling, ACDEG has investment partnerships in North America, Europe and Asia, especially China and Canada. He obtained his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in chemi-cal engineering from McGill University in Montréal, QC and completed the senior business executive pro-gram at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON. Fung was the research manager of C-I-L Inc. and managed the C-I-L Chemical Research Laboratory in Mississauga, ON. Subsequently, he became the president of Chemetics International Company of Vancouver, BC, with five divisions on four continents and chemical plant projects on six continents. He has sponsored research projects at and commercialized technologies from Canadian universi-ties. He was a member of the 2006 expert panel of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology. Fung is actively involved

Président, 2006-2007

David T. Fung, MCIC, est président directeur général du groupe d’entreprises ACDEG. Par l’entremise d’alliances stratégiques dans les domaines des produits forestiers, de l’énergie de bio-masse, des produits chimiques, de l’agroalimentaire, de la production d’énergie électrique, de la fabrica-tion de pièces d’origine et du recyclage des déchets d’emballage, ACDEG possède des partenariats d’investissement en Amérique du Nord et en Asie, plus précisément en Chine et au Canada. M. Fung a obtenu son baccalauréat, sa maîtrise et son doc-torat en génie chimique de l’Université McGill de Montréal (Québec), et il a complété un programme

de gestion supérieure à la Queen’s University de Kingston (Ontario). Fung était directeur de la recherche à C-I-L Inc. et dirigeait le Labora-toire de recherche chimique de C-I-L à Mississauga , en Ontario. Il est par la suite devenu président de Chemetics International Company à Vancouver (C.-B.), entreprise qui comprend cinq divisions dans quatre continents et des projets d’usines chimiques dans six continents. Il a



commandité des projets de recherche et commercialisé des technolo-gies d’universités canadiennes. En 2006, M. Fung a été membre du panel d’expert du Conseil consultatif des sciences et de la technologie du premier ministre. Il s’implique activement au sein de conseils et/ou de conseils consultatifs de maisons d’enseignement, d’associations professionnelles et d’associations commerciales, notamment à titre de président du groupe directeur pour l’implantation de Manufacturing 20/20, de premier vice-président du Conseil d’administration national des Manufacturiers et exportateurs du Canada (MEC) et membre du Conseil d’administration national et conseil de direction du Conseil commercial Canada-Chine.

M. Fung est ingénieur enregistré en Colombie-Britannique et est membre actif de la SCGCh depuis 1970. Il est également membre de la Division de gestion économique et commerciale et membre du comité de sélection des prix de la SCGCh. Il était respectivement vice-président et président des Congrès canadiens de génie chimique de Vancouver en 1991 et 2002, et vice-président de la SCGCh en 2005-2006.

Exposé à la SCGCh pour 2006En tant qu’association technique pour les ingénieurs chimistes, la SCGCh offre un point de concentration pour le développement du génie chimique canadien au bénéfice de la société. Le génie chimique canadien joue un rôle de leader dans les technologies utilisées pour assainir l’air, l’eau et le sol, et dans le développement de piles à com-bustible, l’extraction et l’amélioration de l’huile lourde, la production d’énergie nucléaire, le blanchiment sans chlore des pâtes et papiers, et la fabrication de médicaments génériques. Le plan CSChE LIVE est visionnaire et a très bien servi la SCGCh. La SCGCh continuera d’offrir à ses membres la possibilité d’apprentissage continu, de participation et d’engagement, de raisonnement , et d’éthique et responsabilité.

La compétence et la productivité assureront la prospérité future du Canada. La formation continue assurera la compétence. Les innovations apportées aux produits et aux processus amélioreront la productivité. En sa qualité de premier diffuseur des technologies en génie chimique, la SCGCh se doit d’instituer un programme de formation continue dans le but d’améliorer l’efficacité du congrès annuel et journal de la SCGCh. La priorité accordée aux préparatifs du Congrès mondial de génie chimique à Montréal en 2009 ira en augmentant. Pour atteindre son objectif d’améliorer le niveau de vie par le biais de la chimie et de l’ingénierie, l’image de l’ingénierie chimique doit être efficacement communiquée au public, aux médias et aux jeunes, qui sont l’avenir de la profession. Des sections étudiantes et des sections locales fortes représentent des véhicules essentiels pour l’avenir de la SCGCh.

La globalisation exige une compétitivité qui va bien au-delà des compétences techniques . Pour atteindre une capacité multidis-ciplinaire sans pour autant diluer ses compétences essentielles, la SCGCh doit s’adjoindre des partenaires dignes de confiance lui per-mettant d’offrir des programmes de formation en écologie, logistique, commerce international, finances, commercialisation des technolo-gies, capital de risque et gestion organisationnelle.

Pour assurer une plus-value au statut de membre, la SCGCh s’associera à des partenaires traditionnels et non traditionnels qui lui permettront d’offrir des programmes complets. La Société aidera ses membres à atteindre l’excellence dans leurs compétences techniques, à innover en toute confiance et à atteindre le succès financier.

on the boards and/or advisory boards of educational institutions, pro-fessional associations and trade associations, including chair of the Manufacturing 20/20 Implementation Steering Group and first vice-chair of the national board of directors of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters and member of the national board of directors and the executive committee of the Canada China Business Council.

Fung is a professional engineer in British Columbia and has been an active member of the CSChE since 1970. He is a member of the Economics and Business Management Division and CSChE award selection committees. He was the vice-chair and chair, respectively, of the 1991 and 2002 Canadian Chemical Engineering Conferences in Vancouver. He is currently the vice-president of the CSChE.

2006 Statement to CSChEAs a technical association for chemical engineers, the CSChE is a focus for the development of Canadian chemical engineering for the benefit of society. Canadian chemical engineering offers global leader-ship in technologies used to secure clean air, water, and soil, and to develop fuel cells, heavy oil extraction and upgrading, nuclear power generation, chlorine free pulp bleaching, and generic pharmaceuti-cal manufacturing. The CSChE LIVE plan is visionary and has served CSChE well. CSChE will continue to offer its members opportunities for Life-long learning, Involvement and commitment, Voice of reason, and Ethics and responsibility.

Competence and productivity will determine the future prosperity of Canada. Continuous training will ensure competence. Process and prod-uct innovations will improve productivity. As the leading technology disseminator of chemical engineering, CSChE must institute a continu-ous improvement program to enhance the effectiveness of the annual conference and the CSChE Journal. Preparations for a successful World Congress of Chemical Engineering in Montréal in 2009 will assume in-creasing priority. To achieve its goal of better living through chemistry and engineering, the image of chemical engineering must be commu-nicated effectively to the general public, the media and the youths who will be the future of the profession. Strong student chapters and local sections are essential vehicles for the future of the CSChE.

Globalization is demanding competitiveness beyond technical competence. To achieve multi-disciplinary capability without dilut-ing its own core competence, CSChE must seek reputable partners to offer training programs in ecology, logistics, international trade, financing , technology commercialization, venture capital, and orga-nizational management.

To deliver improved value of membership, traditional and non-traditional partners will be sought to provide comprehensive benefit packages. CSChE will help its members excel in technical compe-tence, innovate with confidence and achieve financial success.



Vice-president 2006�2007

Milena Sejnoha, MCIC, graduated from McGill University in Montréal, QC, from the department of chemical engineering with a BEng in 1983, and an MEng in thermodynamics in 1986. She worked at QIT Fer et Titane in Sorel, QC, for six years as a research engineer and as a project develop pment supervisor developing new products and managing pilot plants. For nine years, Sejnoha worked at CANMET’s Energy Diversification Research Laboratory in Varennes, QC, where she was head of the process engineering sec-tion in charge of developing, licensing, and deploying new industrial drying and reactor technologies. Dur-ing the last three years, Sejnoha has held the position of manager of the Climate Change Technology Development Group at the Office of Energy Research and Development of Natural Resources Canada and is responsible for developing and managing S&T delivery programs for climate change mitigation. She was a member of the organizing committee for the 50th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference in Montréal in 2000.

Statement of Policy

The chemical engineering profession has a unique role to play in advancing Canada’s prosperity, security, and environmental and so-cial sustainability by virtue of its expansive nature and scientific and technical qualifications. Its reach spans sectors from manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, energy production, food process-ing, biotechnology, materials engineering, and tissue engineering to environmental and safety issues. The Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE) has the responsibility to provide its members with an overview of national and international issues relevant to our vast and varied profession using its communication and scientific vehicles, The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, the annual conference, L’Actualité chimique canadienne / Canadian Chemical News (ACCN) magazine, to their maximum potential and through strengthened alliances with other chemical engineering associations.

The Society recognizes and anticipates important issues, capi-talizing on its unique ability to bring together academia, industry, and government, to develop positions and take actions to address matters that affect our membership, as well as Canadian society; for example, the current and increasing importance of the energy supply and related environmental consequences in terms of clean air, water, and soil. The Society works to ensure it is relevant to both young graduates and practising engineers, through the continuous improve-ment of its activities and practices, while drawing on its strengths to provide information on emerging processes, practices, and technolo-gies, as well as networking opportunities. Communicating with and periodically soliciting feedback from its members is a cornerstone for building and maintaining a strong Society that is relevant and financially sound.

Vice-présidente, 2006-2007

Milena Sejnoha, MCIC, a obtenu son BEng du département de génie chimique de l’Université McGill à Montréal (Québec), en 1983, et sa MEng en ther-modynamique en 1986. Elle a travaillé chez QIT Fer et Titane, à Sorel (Québec), pendant six ans comme ingénieure de recherche et superviseure de déve-loppement de projets pour l’élaboration de nouveaux produits et la gestion d’usines pilotes. Pendant neuf années, elle a travaillé au Laboratoire de recherche en diversification énergétique de CANMET, à Varennes (Québec), où elle était chef de la section du génie des procédés, responsable de l’élaboration, de la pro-duction sous licence et du déploiement de nouvelles

technologies de séchage et de réacteurs. Pendant les dernières trois années, Sejnoha a travaillé comme gestionnaire, Initiatives des tech-nologies reliées aux changements climatiques, au Bureau de recherche et de développement énergétiques, Ressources naturelles Canada et est responsable pour le développement et la gestion de programmes de S&T. Elle été membre du Comité d’organisation du 50e Congrès de génie chimique qui a eu lieu à Montréal en l’an 2000.

Énoncé de politique

La profession d’ingénieur chimiste joue un rôle prépondérant dans le développement de la prospérité, de la sécurité et de la viabilité envi-ronnementale et sociale du Canada grâce à sa nature expansionniste et à ses connaissances scientifiques et techniques étendues. Sa portée touche de nombreux secteurs, notamment fabrication, produits phar-maceutiques et pétrochimiques, production énergétique, transformation des aliments, biotechnologie, ingénierie des matériaux, génie tissu-laire, de même que les questions environnementales et de sécurité. La Société canadienne de génie chimique (SCGCh) assure à ses membres une vue d’ensemble des questions nationales et internationales affec-tant notre vaste profession, grâce à l’utilisation à leur plein potentiel de ses véhicules de communications et scientifiques, The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, le congrès annuel, la revue L’Actualité chimique canadienne / Canadian Chemical News (ACCN), et par le biais d’alliances étroites avec d’autres associations de génie chimique.

La Société reconnaît et anticipe les questions importantes, capitalisant sur sa capacité particulière à rassembler le monde académique , l’industrie et les gouvernements, établissant ainsi des positions et prenant action dans l’intérêt des membres et de la société canadienne; par exemple, l’importance actuelle et grandissante de l’approvisionnement énergétique et des conséquences environnemen-tales connexes en termes d’air pur, d’eau propre et de sol non con-taminé. La Société s’affaire à demeurer pertinente tant pour les jeunes diplômés que pour les ingénieurs praticiens, en améliorant continuel-lement ses activités et ses pratiques, en puisant dans ses ressources pour communiquer des informations sur les pratiques, technologies et processus émergents, et en offrant des possibilités de réseautage. La communication avec ses membres, doublée d’une demande périodique de leurs commentaires, sert de pierre angulaire pour bâtir et maintenir une Société forte, pertinente et financièrement saine.


CIC BULLETIN ICC

Directors 2006�2009

Michael Cunningham, MCIC, graduated from Queen’s University with a BSc in 1985, and an MSc in 1987, both in chemical engineering. In 1990, he received a PhD from the University of Waterloo. After working in industry for six years at the Xerox Research Centre of Canada in polymer research engineering—his work resulting in 26 U. S. patents—Cunningham accepted a position at Queen’s University. He is currently a pro-fessor in the department of chemical engineering with a cross-appointment to the department of chemistry. He has received many awards throughout his dis-tinguished career, including: the Premier’s Research Excellence Award, Ontario; the Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence, Queen’s University; Syncrude Canada/CSChE Innovation Award; and the Golden Apple Teaching Award. He has been involved in the CSChE as the Coordinator of Polymer Sessions in 1999 and with the CIC as an executive of the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Division. He is actively involved in many professional associations and is currently on the organizing committee for the 6th Engineering Foundation Meeting on Polymer Reaction Engineering and sits on the International Advisory Committee for the 4th IUPAC Inter-national Symposium on Radical Polymerization .

Graeme Norval, MCIC, graduated from the depart-ment of chemical engineering and applied chemistry, University of Toronto with a BSc in 1983, and a PhD in 1989. He has been active in the Catalysis Division of the CIC, serving on the division executive between 1994 and 2004, and serving on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Catalysis Foundation between 1996 and 2006. He was Technical Program co-chair of the 2005 CSChE conference (Toronto). He served as trea-surer of the 1992 Canadian Symposium on Catalysis (Sarnia) and of the 2001 Meeting of the North Ameri-can Catalysis Society (Toronto). Norval currently operates a consulting business, specializing in the inorganic chemicals processing area. He worked as a senior research engineer with Pioneer Canada (formerly ICI Canada and C-I-L) between 1989 and 2002. He also teaches part-time at the department of chemi-cal engineering and applied chemistry, University of Toronto, in the chemical process design and reaction engineering fields.

Directeurs, 2006-2009

Michael Cunningham, MCIC, est diplômé en génie chimique de la Queen’s University, ayant obtenu un baccalauréat en 1985 et une maîtrise en 1987. Il est titulaire depuis 1990 d’un doctorat de la University of Waterloo. Il a été à l’emploi du Centre de recher-che Xerox du Canada en ingénierie de recherche sur les polymères, et de son travail ont découlé 26 bre-vets américains. Après avoir œuvré dans l’industrie pendant six ans, M. Cunningham a accepté un poste à la Queen’s University. Il est actuellement profes-seur au département de génie chimique, en plus d’être affecté au département de chimie. Il a reçu de nombreux prix au cours de sa prestigieuse carrière,

dont une Bourse du premier ministre pour l’excellence en recherche, en Ontario; une Bourse du chancelier pour l’excellence en recherche, à la Queen’s University; le Prix innovation de Syncrude Canada/SCGCh; et le Golden Apple Teaching Award. Il a fait partie de la Société canadienne de génie chimique en tant que coordonnateur des sessions sur les polymères en 1999, et de l’ICC en qualité de gestionnaire de la Division des sciences et du génie macromoléculaires. Il intervient activement dans plusieurs associations professionnelles et siège actuellement au comité organisateur de la 6e réunion de la Fonda-tion sur l’ingénierie des réactions des polymères et siège également au comité consultatif international du 4e Symposium international de l’UICPA sur la polymérisation radicale.

Graeme Norval, MCIC, est diplômé du département de génie chimique et de chimie appliquée de la University of Toronto, ayant obtenu un baccalau-réat en 1983 et un doctorat en 1989. Il s’est impliqué dans la Division des catalyses de l’ICC en qualité de gestionnaire de 1994 à 2004, et siégeait au con-seil d’administration de la Fondation canadienne de catalyse en 1996 et 2006. Il a été coprésident du pro-gramme technique du congrès 2005 de la SCGCh à Toronto, trésorier du Symposium canadien de catalyse de 1992 à Sarnia et du congrès 2001 de la North American Catalysis Society à Toronto. M. Norval dirige actuellement un cabinet de consultation, se

spécialisant dans le traitement des produits chimiques inorganiques. Il a occupé le poste d’ingénieur de recherche principal chez Pioneer Canada (auparavant ICI Canada et C-I-L) de 1989 à 2002. Il enseigne également à temps partiel au département de génie chimique et de chimie appliquée de la University of Toronto dans les domaines de la conception et de la réaction des processus chimiques.

CIC BULLETIN ICC

In MemoriamThe CIC extends its condolences to the family of Henri Eid, MCIC.


LOCAL SECTION NEWS NOUVELLES DES SECTIONS LOCALES

La section d�Ottawa-Gatineau a décerné trois prix

La section d’Ottawa-Gatineau a décerné trois prix à L’Expo-sciences régionale de l’Outaouais 2006. L’évènement s’est déroulé du 10 au 12 mars à la polyvalente Grande-Rivière d’Aylmer et 68 projets étaient présentés. Le premier prix fut attribué au pro-jet « Acétaminophène versus ibuprophène »

de Frédérique B. Dion et Marie Isabelle N. Lessard, étudiantes en secondaire V à l’École St-Joseph. À l’aide d’une présentation efficace , elles nous décrivaient les différences entre le mode d’action et l’utilité pharmaceu-tique de ces deux molécules. Le deuxième prix est allé au projet « Surveillez-vous votre verre » de Marie-Pier Lambert, étudiante en secondaire IV à l’École du Verger. Marie-Pier démontrait une très bonne compréhension

Support Continues for the Maritime IDW

Inorganic chemists in the Maritimes are greatly benefiting from the opportunity to gather and exchange ideas, afforded by the revival of the Maritime Inorganic Discussion Weekend meeting. The 2006 MIDW, which took place at Mount Allison University on March 4 and 5, was very well attended, with approximately 90 participants. This repre-sented a growth in attendance from the very successful 2005 meeting, which was the first to be held in the region in 15 years. Mod-elled after similar gatherings held in other Canadian regions, the meeting provided an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate research students to present their ideas and

results to students, post-doctoral fellows, and professors in an informal environment.

The weekend began with a plenary lecture by invited guest Douglas Stephan, MCIC, from the University of Windsor. This was fol-lowed by 22 oral presentations over the next day and a half by students and post-doctoral fellows from the participating Maritime insti-tutions. A very lively informal mixer was also held at the Coastal Inn Sackville on the eve-ning of March 4, which was accompanied by a poster session. The gathering then moved to a local establishment where light refresh-ments were served and animated discussions continued well past midnight. The MIDW

des mécanismes biologiques de la pilule du viol. Le troisième prix fut décerné à René David Cooper, étudiant en secondaire III du Collège St-Alexandre, pour le projet « La ciné-tique chimique ». René nous expliquait avec enthousiasme, et expériences à l’appui, les concepts de la cinétique ainsi que les avan-tages de la catalyse.

Denis Bérubé, MCIC

concluded on Sunday with a plenary lecture by guest speaker John Corrigan, MCIC (The University of Western Ontario).

The revival of the MIDW was fuelled by the addition of many new inorganic chemistry fac-ulty in the Maritime academic institutions over the past few years. This year’s meeting enjoyed the participation of the community’s latest ad-dition Laura Turculet, MCIC (Dalhousie). The continuing enrichment of inorganic chemistry research in the region was evident from the number and quality of student presentations. Prizes for oral presentations were awarded to undergraduate students Ben Tardiff (Mount Allison ) and Derek Schipper (UPEI), and graduate student Adam Dyker (Dalhousie). Christian Garon (Mount Allison) was awarded the prize for Best Poster Presentation.

The event was a tremendous success, and annual MIDW meetings are expected to con-tinue. The organizers are grateful to Rigaku/MSC Inc., NSERC, BoroScience Canada, the CSC, Mount Allison University, Dalhousie University, and Labatt Breweries for financial support. Also acknowledged are the Mount Allison Chemistry Society and the many stu-dent volunteers who helped out. For further information, check out the MIDW Web site at www.mta.ca/midw/.

Glen G. Briand, MCIC

2006 MIDW guest speakers and Mount Allison Chemistry Society executives Naomi Hughes, Douglas Stephan, FCIC, John Corrigan, MCIC, and Matt Zamora.



Bottom photo by Creative Eye-mages Photography

Toronto Section Open Evening

University of Guelph�s Len Ritter speaks on the risks associated with pesticide use.

The Toronto Section Annual General Meeting was held on March 29, 2006 in the auditorium of the Ministry of the Environment Laboratory Services Branch, Etobicoke, ON. At this meet-ing, the following new officers were instated by acclamation: Mark Vincent, MCIC, chair; Satyendra Bhavsar, MCIC, treasurer; and Nilima Gandhi, secretary. About 30 members attended the meeting where free pizza and soft drinks were served.

The Open Evening combined the Annual General Meeting with a lecture by Len Ritter from the University of Guelph. Ritter is a pro-fessor and associate chair in the department of environmental biology and has devoted al-most 30 years to the study of adverse health outcomes in association with exposure to pesticides.

Ritter described the evolution of events that likely contributed to the ban in Toronto of urban use pesticides. He noted that concerns

about a possible association between adverse health outcomes and pesticide use span at least 30 years, and that the last five years have seen an accelerated and aggressive municipal agenda develop that has resulted in many urban municipalities either ban-ning, or severely restricting, pesticide use within their respective jurisdictions. At the same time, Ritter noted that the public debate has been further fuelled by municipal poli-cies on urban pesticide use that are often at odds with assessments that have been carried out by national and international regulatory authorities. Ritter concluded his presenta-tion by reminding the audience that there is a broadly based lack of confidence in govern-ment policy makers, and that the debate will likely continue for some time yet before the controversy is resolved.

Leslie Barton, MCIC

Edmonton�s 75th CSC Conference Lecture

Roald Hoffmann (1981 Chemistry Nobel Laureate) of Cornell University visited Ed-monton, AB, from March 19 to 22 as the 10th Distinguished Lecturer in the 75th CSC Conference Lecture Series. In addition to delivering public and technical lectures,

City Hall with a welcome from Mayor Steven Mandel, greetings from Greg Taylor, dean of science, University of Alberta, and thanks from Bernard West, MCIC, CIC chair. The talk discussed similarities between the arts and science and the inherent tensions within chemistry and between chemistry and the arts. Both scientists and non-scientists were challenged to look at things from a different perspective. It was standing room only at the University of Alberta chemistry depart-ment for “All the Ways to Have a Bond.” This lecture provided a stimulating view of the various models that have been proposed for chemical bonds. In the evening, the poetry reading at The King’s University College was accompanied by organ and piano music by Joachim Segger. At the end of the evening Alice Major, Edmonton’s poet laureate, read a poem that she had written to honour Hoff-mann’s visit.

The reading of the play-in-progress was a collaboration with The King’s University Col-lege, Theatre Alberta, Canada Council for the Arts, and the Alberta Playwrights’ Network. This first reading of the play “Should’ve”

Hoffmann gave a reading of some of his po-etry and the visit culminated with a reading of his play “Should’ve.”

The public lecture, “Chemistry’s Essential Tension—the Same and Not the Same,” was presented on Monday evening in Edmonton



was also the first public performance in the new theatre at The King’s University Col-lege. Among other things, the play explores the issue of ethics in science and the reading was followed by a lively discussion with the audience. In addition to the above events, Hoffmann spent time with students from the University of Alberta and The King’s Univer-sity College, and discussed topics ranging from chemistry to science and religion. This visit certainly met our objective of bringing

together the Edmonton chemistry commu-nity and also involving the general public. All the events were well attended and the Edmonton Journal had a prominent article with the title, “Chemist-Poet Bridges Gap Between Science and Art.”

The 75th Lecture Series is a legacy of the very successful 75th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition held in Edmon-ton in 1992. The original funding of $18,000 together with support from other sources has

been used to bring ten distinguished chem-ists to Edmonton.

The 75th Lecture Committee acknowl-edges generous financial support from the CIC Chemical Education Fund, the Alberta Heritage Fund for Medical Research, Syncrude Canada Ltd., Canada Council for the Arts, Theatre Alberta, The King’s University College , and the University of Alberta.

Roger Cowles, FCIC

NCW NEWS NOUVELLES DE LA SNC

Public Understanding of Chemistry 2006

Thank you to the Sponsors (as of April 10, 2006)

GoldCIC Chemical Education FundMerck Frosst Canada Ltd.

Silver Syncrude Canada Ltd.Anachemia Science

BronzeBruker BioSpin Ltd.Cognis Oleochemicals Canada LimitedCognis Canada Corp.Syngenta Crop Protection (Canada) Inc.

STUDENT NEWS NOUVELLES DES ÉTUDIANTS

Vancouver Island CIC Student Symposium

The annual CIC Student Symposium was held on January 24, 2006 at the University of Victoria. Six students presented talks on a wide range of chemical topics. The quality of the talks and the resulting discussions were excellent. The awards winners and the title of their talks are listed below. The awards and the wine and cheese social that followed were generously supported by Axys Analytical Services, Bruker Biospin, and the chemistry department of the University of Victoria, in addition to the Vancouver Island CIC Local Section.

Award winners are: First place Soukaina Karaouny, “Antisense Oligonucleotides”Second place Ryan Abel “ Colloidal Silver Used Therapeutically

as an Antibacterial Compound ”Third place Jakub Drnec “Cellular Automata on the Edge of Chaos”Fourth place Eleanor Huettmeyer “ Chemistry and the Societal Impacts of

Crystal Meth Addiction”Fifth place (tie) Katie Elliot “ Which Came First—Informational or Functional

Polypeptides : A Glimpse into Prebiotic Chem-istry and the Origins of Life” and Fan Jiang, “Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life”


Chemist seeks position. PhD in organic chemistry. Experience in synthesis, purification, and character-ization of complex organic compounds; formulation of pharmaceutical and industrial colloidal products; scale-upped process development; nanotechnology; nanocomposite materials; surfactants; colorants and polymer additives. Please contact: Tel. 905-303-6802; E-mail: [email protected].

EMPLOYMENT WANTED DEMANDE D�EMPLOI

CanadaConferences

June 28–30, 2006. CSChE/AIChE Industrial Energy Management in the 21st Century, Edmonton, AB, www.chemeng.ca/profdev

July 23–28, 2006. 23rd International Carbohydrate Symposium, Whistler, BC, www.ics2006.org, [email protected]

July 26–30, 2006. The Sixth Canadian Computational Chemistry Conference (CCCC6), Vancouver, BC, www.chem.ubc.ca/CCCC6

August 9–13, 2006. Ltos-12, Twelfth Symposium on The Latest Trends in Organic Synthesis, St. Catharines, ON, www.brocku.ca/chemistry/faculty/hudlicky/ltos/intro.html

October 15–18, 2006. 56th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference , Sherbrooke, QC, www.csche2006.ca

May 26–30, 2007. 90th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition , Winnipeg, MB, www.chimiste.ca/conferences/cic_calendar__e.htm

October 28–31, 2007. 57th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference , Edmonton, AB, www.chemeng.ca/conferences/csche_annual__e.htm

October 19–22, 2008. 58th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference , Ottawa, ON, www.chemeng.ca/conferences/csche_annual__e.htm

August 23–27, 2009. 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering and 59th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference, Montréal, QC, www.chemengcongress2009.com

EVENTS ÉVÉNEMENTS

U.S. and OverseasAugust 12–17, 2006. 19th International Conference on Chemical Education , Seoul, Korea, www.19icce.org

August 27–30, 2006. 11th APCChE Congress, Asian Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineering, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, www.apcche2006.org

August 27–31, 2006. CHISA 2006, Prague, Czech Republic, www.chisa.cz/2006

August 29–September 2, 2006. XIXth International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry, Istanbul, Turkey, www.ismc2006.org

September 2–9, 2006. International School “Bernardino Telesio,” Residential School in Applied Mass Spectrometry and Related Topics, University of Calabria, Italy, chimica.unical.it/workshop/

September 10–14, 2006. ACS Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, www.acs.org

September 24–28, 2006. INTERACT 2006, Perth, Australia, www.promaco.com/au/conference/2006/raci

October 1–4, 2006. XXII InterAmerican Congress of Chemical Engineering , Buenos Aires, Argentina, www.ciiq.org/argentina2006

November 12–17, 2006. AIChE Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, www.aiche.org

Arthur Bollo-Kamara ScholarshipThe Association of the Chemical Profession of Alberta (ACPA) invites all undergraduate and graduate students in chemistry pro-grams in Alberta to apply for the Arthur Bollo-Kamara Scholarship. This $500 award honours the memory of Arthur Bollo-Kamara, an active professional chemist, a gifted musician, and a founding member of the ACPA.

Please visit the ACPA Web site at www.pchem.ca/Scholarship.htm for further details.

The application deadline is July 31, 2006.

STUDENT NEWS NOUVELLES DES ÉTUDIANTS

We protect all innovations in biotechnology, proteomics, pharmaceuticals and chemistry on a global basis.

Michael I. Stewart John H. WoodleyPatricia A. Rae, Ph.D. Lola A. Bartoszewicz, Ph.D.

K i m b e r l y A . M c M a n u s , P h . D .

Please contact us at Sim & McBurney and Sim, Lowman, Ashton & McKay LLP330 Univers i ty Avenue, S ixth F loor , Toronto, Ontar io M5G 1R7

Telephone: 416-595-1155 Fax: 416-595-1163E - M a i l : m a i l s i m @ s i m - m c b u r n e y . c o m o r m a i l s i m @ s i m - l o w m a n . c o m

The Advanced Sciences Group

S i m & M c B u r n e yPatent & Trade-mark AgentsS i m , L o w m a n , A s h t o n & M c K a y , L L PB a r r i s t e r s & S o l i c i t o r s

K e n n e t h K . M a , P h . D .


www.cjche.ca

The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering (CJChE) has

an eighty-year successful history of producing high-quality,

cutting-edge research. From its modest beginnings, the

CJChE developed into an outstanding journal, publishing

original research, new theoretical interpretations and critical

reviews in the science and industrial practice of chemical

and biochemical engineering and applied chemistry.

The CJChE is now poised to build on its national and

international reputation. In the years ahead, the CJChE�s

goals are: to continue to attract high-quality submissions;

to expand its scope to include articles on modern

developments in chemical engineering, thus cutting across

traditional boundaries and reaching out to frontiers of

chemical engineering research; and to interest younger

researchers from across Canada and around the world to

submit their best work to the CJChE.

The

Canadian

Journal

of Chemical

Engineering

Published on a non-profit basis by the Canadian Society for

Chemical Engineering, the CJChE welcomes submissions

of original research articles in the broad field of chemical

engineering and its applications.

The CJChE publishes six issues per year. Each volume

contains fully reviewed articles, notes or reviews. See our

Web site for a sample copy and further details.

Editor

K. Nandakumar, Department of Chemical and Materials

Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

Associate Editors

B. G. Amsden, Department of Chemical Engineering,

Queen�s University, Kingston, ON

A. K. Dalai, Department of Chemical Engineering,

University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK

R. E. Hayes, Department of Chemical and Materials


B. Huang, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering,

University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

R. S. Sanders, Department of Chemical and Materials


Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering

Devoted to the publication of chemical engineering science, industrial practice and applied chemistry

2007 AWARDSThe Chemical Institute of Canada

Important ... Submission deadline is July 3, 2006

The Chemical Institute of Canada Medal is presented as a mark of distinction and recognition to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to the science of chemistry or chemical engineering in Canada . Sponsored by The Chemical Institute of Canada.Award: A medal and travel expenses.

The Montréal Medal is presented as a mark of distinction and honour to a resident in Canada who has shown signifi cant leadership in or has made an outstanding contribution to the profession of chemistry or chemical engineering in Canada. In determining the eligibility for nominations for the award, administrative contributions within The Chemical Institute of Canada and other professional organizations that contribute to the advancement of the professions of chemistry and chemical engineering shall be given due consideration. Contributions to the sciences of chemistry and chemical engineering are not to be considered. Sponsored by the Montréal CIC Local Section.

Award: A medal and travel expenses up to $300.

The Environmental Improvement Award is presented to a Canadian company, individual , team, or organization for a signifi cant achievement in pollution prevention , treatment, or remediation. Sponsored by the Environment Division.Award: A plaque and travel assistance up to $500.

The Macromolecular Science and Engineering Award is presented to an individual who, while resident in Canada, has made a distinguished contribution to macromolecular science or engineering. Sponsored by NOVA Chemicals Ltd.Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $1,500, and travel expenses.

The CIC Award for Chemical Education (formerly the Union Carbide Award) is presented as a mark of recognition to a person who has made an outstanding contribution in Canada to education at the post-secondary level in the field

of chemistry or chemical engineering . Sponsored by the CIC Chemical Education Fund.Award: A framed scroll, $1,500 cash prize.

DeadlinesThe deadline for all CIC awards is July 3, 2006 for the 2007 selection.

Nomination ProcedurePlease submit your nominations to:Awards ManagerThe Chemical Institute of Canada130 Slater Street, Suite 550Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2Tel.: 613-232-6252, ext. 223Fax: [email protected]

Nomination forms and the full Terms of Reference for these awards are available at www.cheminst.ca/awards/cic_index_e.html.

The Canadian Society for Chemistry

The Alcan Award is presented to a scientist residing in Canada who has made a distinguishing contribution in the fi elds of inorganic chemistry or electrochemistry while working in Canada. Sponsored by Alcan International Ltd. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $2,000, and travel expenses up to $1,000.

The Alfred Bader Award is presented as a mark of distinction and recognition for excellence in research in organic chemistry carried out in Canada. Sponsored by Alfred Bader, HFCIC.Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $3,000, and travel expenses up to $500.

The Award for Pure or Applied Inorganic Chemistry is presented to a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant who has made an outstanding contribution to inorganic chemistry while working in Canada, and who is within ten years of his or her fi rst professional appointment as an independent researcher in an academic, government , or industrial sector. Sponsored by the Inorganic Chemistry Division.Award: A framed scroll, travel expenses for a lecture tour.

The Boehringer Ingelheim Award is presented to a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant whose PhD thesis in the fi eld of organic or bioorganic chemistry was formally accepted by a Canadian university in the 12-month period preceding the nomination deadline of July 3 and whose doctoral research is judged to be of outstanding quality. Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $2,000, and travel expenses.

The Clara Benson Award is presented in recognition of a distinguished contribution to chemistry by a woman while working in Canada. Sponsored by the Canadian Council

of University Chemistry Chairs (CCUCC).Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $1,000, and travel expenses up to $500.

The Maxxam Award is presented to a scientist residing in Canada who has made a distinguished contribution in the fi eld of analytical chemistry while working in Canada . Sponsored by Maxxam Analytics Inc.Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $1,000, and travel expenses up to $1,000.

The R. U. Lemieux Award is presented to an organic chemist who has made a distinguished contribution to any area of organic chemistry while working in Canada. Sponsored by the Organic Chemistry Division.Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $1,000, and travel expenses up to $1,000.

The Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research Award is presented to a scientist residing in Canada, who shall not have reached the age of 40 years by April 1 of the year of nomination and who has made a distinguished contribution in the fi elds of organic chemistry or biochemistry while working in Canada. Sponsored by Merck Frosst Canada Ltd.Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $2,000, and travel expenses.

The Bernard Belleau Award is presented to a scientist residing in Canada who has made a distinguished contribution to the field of medicinal chemistry through research involving biochemical or organic chemical mechanisms. Sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb Canada Co.Award: A framed scroll and a cash prize of $2,000.

The Fred Beamish Award is presented to an individual who demonstrates innovation in research in the fi eld of analytical chemistry, where the research is anticipated to have signifi cant potential for practical applications.

The award is open to new faculty members at a Canadian university and they must be recent graduates with four years of appointment. Sponsored by Eli Lilly Canada Inc.Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $1,000, and travel expenses.

The Keith Laidler Award (formerly the Noranda Award) is presented to a scientist who has made a distinguished contribution in the field of physical chemistry while working in Canada . The award recognizes early achievement in the awardee’s independent research career. Sponsored by Systems for Research.Award: A framed scroll and a cash prize of $1,500. The W. A. E. McBryde Medal is presented to a young scientist working in Canada who has made a significant achievement in pure or applied analytical chemistry. Sponsored by Sciex Inc., Division of MDS Health Group.Award: A medal and a cash prize of $2,000.

DeadlineThe deadline for all CSC awards is July 3, 2006 for the 2007 selection.

Nomination Procedure Please submit your nominations to:Awards ManagerThe Canadian Society for Chemistry130 Slater Street, Suite 550Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2Tel.: 613-232-6252, ext. 223Fax: [email protected]

Nomination forms and the full Terms of Reference for these awards are available at-www.chemistry.ca/awards/csc_index_e.html.

2007 AWARDS

Important ... Submission deadline is July 3, 2006

PM40021620

Documents

June 2006: ACCN, the Canadian Chemical News