volume 36, number 1 september 2010 the alembic - 1 september 2010.pdf · volume 36, number 1...

The AlembicNewsletter of the Central Wisconsin Section of the American Chemical Society

VOLUME 36, NUMBER 1 September 2010

Visit the ACS web site at … www.acs.org

Also, up-to-date information about our Section activities including the

Alembic and meeting notices is

found at..... www.uwsp.edu/chemistry/acscws/

September 2010 CWS ACS Meeting

“What You Always Wanted To Know

About Chemicals in Foods But Were

Afraid To Eat”

Featuring Dr. Robert Bates

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Location: Alexander House

1131 Wisconsin River Dr.

Port Edwards, WI 54469

beginning at 7:30 PM

Pre-meeting social (5:30 pm) and dinner (6:00 pm) will be held at

Cafe′ Mulino in the Hotel Mead, 451 E. Grand Ave, Wisconsin Rap-

ids. Contact Dave Thiel at (715) 887-4338 or [email protected] by

Noon on September 15th to make reservations. Directions on

page 2. Speaker’s abstract and biography on page 3

2010 ACS - CWS

Mini-Directory

Chair Stephen Leiterman

307 5th Street

Mosinee, WI 54455

Phone: (715) 693-3998

E-mail: [email protected]

Chair-Elect Robin Tanke

Department of Chemistry

Univ. Wisc. - Stevens Point

Stevens Point, WI 54481

Phone: (715) 346-4325


Immediate Past Chair

David Thiel

Phone: (715) 887-4338


Secretary - Treasurer Tipton Randall

Phone: (715) 720-1969


Councilor C. Marvin Lang

Phone (715) 346-3609

Email: [email protected]

Alternate Councilor James Brummer

Phone: (715 346-2888


Newsletter Editor Dale Pillsbury

796N Pripps Road

Park Falls, WI 54552

Phone: (715)583-4426


The oil spill is supposedly plugged, but people who think we have “fixed it”

are wrong - it never should have happened in the first place! Responsible

contingency planning needs to be in place ahead of time, not after the disas-

ter occurs. We can make major improvements in the mileage of both our

passenger cars and our trucks: hybrid car mpg ratings should rival motor

scooters, while our current gas-guzzling trucks need to rival hybrids.

And better utilization of petroleum is just a start. With the advent of modern

horticulture and silviculture, we should be able to produce larger trees, faster.

Using corn for ethanol as a gasoline extender, while a substantial portion of

the world’s population is undernourished - absurd! Tailoring brush and

grasses to serve as biofuel feedstocks needs more attention. Even pursuing

waste emissions from burning fuels or from chemical processing needs to be

examined more closely. Can smoke be utilized? Catalytic woodstoves use it

— why not larger facilities? We are still benefitting from the technology

spun off of the space program, but we need keep the momentum up, not rest

on our technical laurels. Let’s get to it!

Steve Leiterman

The Chair’s Corner - We Can Do Better!

http://www.uwsp.edu/chemistry/acscws/

Volume 36, number 1 The Alembic 2010

The Editor ’s Desk

A new academic year and a new editor for the The

Alembic . I am Dale Pillsbury and this will be my

first issue as editor. First, I’d like to acknowledge

the help I have received from the Section’s offi-

cers in making my transition into what is a new

kind of job for me. My background is in the petro-

chemical industry (cf. my biography in the March

2010 Alembic ). However, I have also had a long-

term interest in education and in the history of

chemistry. So I will not only include the usual

newsy articles and announcements related to the

Central WI Section, but hope to add a vignette en-

titled Men and Molecules in each upcoming issue

of The Alembic. In these pieces I’ll provide some

historic insight into an important chemist (male or

female) and the molecules they worked with. In

light of the fact that about 62% of America’s

chemists work in industry, and some academic

courses only lightly touch on industrial chemistry,

I am focusing primarily on chemical processes that

have, directly or indirectly, made a significant dif-

ference in our professional and personal lives. As

with anything else you see in The Alembic, I

strongly encourage your feedback since my goal is

to help make our newsletter best serve the Sec-

tion’s wants and needs.

Lang Named ACS Fellow

Dr. C. Marvin Lang, Professor Emeritus, U of W Stevens

Point, was named an ACS Fellow at the National ACS

Meeting in Boston in August. Unlike other ACS national

awards, this honor is bestowed upon scientists who have

made outstanding contributions to both chemistry and to

the ACS. Marv is among a select company of only 355

ACS Fellows selected from a membership of nearly

162,000.

During his 40+ years as an active classroom teacher, and

continuing after his elevation to Professor Emeritus level

in 2006, Marv’s principal

research focus has been to

bring the wonder and impor-

tance of chemistry to the

public at large, and to young

people in particular. He has

performed more than 800

demonstrations and given an

enormous number of talks

worldwide in his illustrious

effort to accomplish this goal.

Marv has also been very active in the ACS as a councilor

to the Central WI Local Section for a total of 29 years,

served as the chairman of three national-level commit-

tees of the Society and served on the ACS Board of Di-

rectors for two 3-year terms. Marv’s accomplishments,

awards and tributes are too numerous to list here. How-

ever, even a quick review of his up-to-date resume′ at

http://www.uwsp.edu/chemistry/cmlang/ shows just how

well he meets the standard for Fellows

set by the ACS Board of Directors in

their December 2008 statement creat-

ing the award, i.e., “to recognize mem-

bers of ACS for outstanding achieve-

ments in and contributions to Science,

the Profession, and the Society.”

Jensen Receives Award

Alexander Jensen, a senior at

Marshfield High School, received

the Central Wisconsin Section

“Outstanding High School Student”

award at the May section meeting.

This award recognizes and encour-

ages high school students who have

demonstrated a high degree of self-

discipline, motivation and compe-

tence pursuing the science of chemistry.

Dale Pillsbury

Directions for September 15,

2010 Meeting Meal & Talk Cafe′ Mulino is in the Hotel Mead located three blocks

east of the Wisconsin River at 451 East Grand Avenue,

in Wisconsin Rapids. Social gathering starts at 5:30

PM with supper at 6:00 PM. The Alexander House

is reached by going west on Grand Avenue from the

Hotel Mead to the first stop light at 3rd Street. Turn

left (south) onto 3rd Street and proceed about 0.7 miles

to the Riverview Expressway (Hwy 54/13). Turn right,

cross the river, and turn left at the end of the bridge

onto Highway 54/73. Proceed 2.7 miles to the Alexan-

der House on your right (1131 Wisconsin River Drive).

The Alexander House is a combination art gallery and

historical museum and will open for us at 7:00 PM.

ABSTRACT: Foods are complex mixtures of chemicals, but with differences. There is a very important legal dis-

tinction between naturally occurring food constituents and other chemicals that end up in food by design or default.

Conversely, the much more important matter, chemical compatibility, dictated by human physiology and nutritional

biochemistry and vital to well-being, health, performance, and survival - is often ignored or misinterpreted by vocal

yet chemically illiterate groups. Despite considerable progress in understanding the science and technology of foods,

culture and perception have a far greater influence upon food acceptance and regulation than the reality of nutrition

and toxicology. Paradoxically, as science uncovers more about the complex interactions of foods with the human

body, the less confident and more confused the public becomes regarding the safety, value, and nutritional efficacy

of the U.S. (increasingly global) food supply. Food additives and now phytochemicals are examples of food con-

sumption concerns that should also stress total diet, lifestyle, and common sense. This presentation will deal with

both essential and trivial food constituents and emphasize some of the positive and negative aspects of each. Despite

our imperfect and changing knowledge, a better appreciation of the chemistry and metabolism of foods has dramatic

potential for improving health and well-being, while ignorance is sure to have the opposite effect.

“What You Always Wanted To Know about Chemicals in Foods

But Were Afraid To Eat”

Speaker: Dr. Robert Bates, Professor Emeritus,

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Where: Alexander House, 131 Wisconsin River Dr.

Port Edwards, WI 54469

beginning at 7:30 PM

Volume 36, number 1 The Alembic 2010

Pre-meeting social hour ( 5:30 pm ) and dinner ( 6:00 pm ) at Cafe ′ Mulino in the Hotel Mead, 451 E. Grand Ave, Wisconsin

Rapids. Contact Cristina Altobelli by Noon on September 15 [ ( 715) 3 46-2888 or e-mail [email protected]] for reservations.

BIOGRAPHY: Bob Bates received his B.S. degree in food technology from MIT. After

several years in the food industry, he obtained an M.S. degree in food science from the

University of Hawaii and a Ph.D. in food science from MIT. After a year at the Institute

of Nutrition of Central America and Panama in Guatemala, he joined the University of

Florida. He is presently a professor emeritus of food technology in the Food Science and

Human Nutrition Department. Bates’ areas of interest are food processing and utilization,

small-scale process and equipment development, fermentation technology and byproduct

recovery, food product development, and international technical assistance. His major

responsibilities involve teaching graduate and undergraduate food science processing and

product development courses; and conducting research/extension activities in home, com-

munity, and small-scale industrial food processing operations. He has completed short

and long-term international assignments in many countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Asia.

He fields frequent inquiries on food science and technology and related subjects from national, international, and

industrial sources. Bates has developed and presented many short courses in the U.S. and overseas and has been an

ACS tour speaker on various food science and technology topics for about 30 years.

Pass this on to anyone you

believe could benefit and

might not otherwise be

aware of the symposium

Volume 36, number 1 The Alembic September 2010

A Career in Chemistry? Want to Know YOUR Options?

A Chemistry Career Symposium October 23, 2010 9:00 am to 7:30 pm

University of WI -Madison Chemistry Bldg

Learn about career opportunities at all degree levels (B.S./B.A., MS., & PhD.)

Speaker's Topics Include Careers in:

● Scientific journalism (C&EN) ● Chemical librarian

● Industrial research (3M, Lubrizol, & Fisher) ● Patent law

● Chemistry outreach specialist ● Food safety director

● Pharmaceutical researcher (Abbot) ● FBI scientific research

● Bioenergy researcher (Virent) ● Chemistry education

● Air Force scientific research

Registration Fee $30, includes breakfast, lunch, networking dinner, and

a full day of learning about possibilities for your future! For more details visit http://ycc.chem.wisc.edu Register online or mail bot-

tom portion w/ check (no cash please):

Attn: Christie McInnis

1101 University Ave. Make check payable to ACS WI Local Section

Madison, WI 53706 Registration deadline: September 15, 2010

Early applications may be considered for accommodation scholarship that in-

cludes one night stay shared hotel accommodations

Presented by the ACS Younger Chemists Committee with special thanks to our

sponsors: ACS Publications, ACS Member Insurance, and Fisher

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Name:_______________________________ Age:__________

Email:______________________

School/Occupation:________________ ____ Grade/Year:____________

Attending networking dinner? Consideration for accommodation scholarship?

(check one) ___ Yes ____ No ___ Yes ____ No


This year’s theme is “Behind the Scenes with Chemis-

try!” The objective is to demonstrate that special ef-

fects are not magic, but rather common events that

chemistry can explain. The easiest way to help is just

tell any teacher in Central Wisconsin about the K-12

National ACS poster contest. Posters should focus on

“Where’s the Chemistry?” and illustrate common appli-

cations of chemistry that many people would not imme-

diately relate to chemistry. If you know of any teachers

interested in participating, please have them contact me

at [email protected], or 715-346-4325 for more de-

tails.

You can also participate in an outreach program at a

school or museum that highlights the chemistry of spe-

cial effects. See http://issuu.com/kate1dc/docs/

ncw_2010?viewMode=magazine&mode=embed for

some ideas, including making fake snow from sodium

polyacrylate and water, or making sugar glass to create

that loud crashing sound so familiar from films and TV.

If you need help with supplies or safety goggles, con-

tact me.

Students shouldn’t be our sole focus for sharing the

wonders of chemistry. Science Cafés can be held in any

convenient coffee shop, bar, bookstore, etc. and can

provide a relaxed, open venue for nonscientists and

scientists to discuss current topics thereby increasing

science literacy in our communities. See the ACS web-

site http://portal.acs.org/ to learn more. Funding is

available to help start up Science Cafés. Again, please

contact me, if this project appeals to you.

Try to find some way to participate in NCW, whether it

is promoting the poster contest or explaining to your

children, grandchildren or students some special ef-

fects. If you do any activities, please Email details and

pictures, as I’ll want to include them in our local sec-

tion NCW report.

Finally, I’m looking for an NCW and Earth Day coor-

dinator for 2011. Please contact me if you are inter-

ested or know someone too shy to volunteer on their

own.

Thanks & enjoy National Chemistry Week!

Robin Tanke

NCW coordinator and Chair-elect of the ACS Central

Wisconsin Section

Celebrate National Chemistry Week

October 17-23, 2010

Men and Molecules

Edith Flanigen was born in Buffalo, NY in 1929 and

earned a Masters degree in Inorganic-Physical Chemis-

try from Syracuse University in 1952. She then joined

Union Carbide and in 1956 started her hallmark work

in zeolite research. Ms. Flanigen developed the first

practical commercial synthesis of zeolite Y, a highly

acidic and thermally stable faujusite molecular sieve

widely used for refining petroleum. It is employed as a

catalyst to crack heavy paraffins into gasoline grade

naphthas. It is also used as a Pt/Pd support in hydro-

cracking. As she noted, “To go from discovery of a

new material, to scale it up to a reasonable quantity, to

commercialize the application is a big stretch.”

She went on to be an inventor or co-inventor of 200

synthetic materials including not only zeolites, but also

synthetic emeralds marketed by Union Carbide as be-

ing of gem quality. She also pioneered the use of mid-

range IR spectroscopy for analyzing zeolite structures.

She authored, or co-authored, 102 U.S. patents.

Ms. Flanigen became the first woman to rise to Senior

Corporate Research Fellow, the highest technical posi-

tion at Union Carbide. She was also the first woman to

be awarded the prestigious Perkin medal (1992), Amer-

ica’s highest award for applied chemistry and received

the Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement award and

associated $100,000 prize in 2004. She retired in 1994,

culminating a 42-year career as a worldwide-

acknowledged expert in molecular sieve and zeolite

technology.

Which is Your Favorite?

mailto:[email protected]

http://issuu.com/kate1dc/docs/ncw_2010?viewMode=magazine&mode=embed




Meeting in Miniature

Here we are still in the summer of 2010,

and the cold weather of winter seems a

long way off. However, it is not too

early to think about a presentation for

the “Meeting in Miniature” scheduled

for February, 2011.

At a meeting in miniature we have sev-

eral short talks and posters presented by

members of our own Central Wisconsin

Section. We get to learn more about

what our colleagues in

academia and industry are doing. It

is fascinating and it is an excellent

networking opportunity. The pres-

entations do not have to be highly

technical or polished. Talks are less

than 20 minutes in length in order to accommodate

multiple speakers.

Details will come later. This is an early notice so

that you can start thinking about a presentation. If

you would be willing to present either a 20-minute

talk or a poster please contact Dave Thiel by e-mail

at [email protected] or by telephone at 715-887-4338.

items" from the Council meeting there wasn't a lot of

business conducted. However, for the record, here is

what I noted might be of interest:

ELECTIONS (President-Elect 2011)

Luis A. Echegoyen, Professor, University of Texas at El

Paso, El Paso, Texas and Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, Profes-

sor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin are the

two candidates for President-Elect 2011. Ballots will be

sent to all members in late September and the election

will be completed in early November. The option for

electronic voting will again be available this year.

PETITIONS

For Action The Council received one amendment to the

ACS Constitution and Bylaws for action: Petition on Re-

corded Votes. The Council VOTED to approve the Peti-

tion on Recorded Votes. This petition now provides for

additional voting methods, e.g., "electronic clickers" that

have been recently used at Council meetings, when con-

ducting recorded votes. The Board of Directors will vote

within 90 days on whether to ratify the approved petition.

Withdrawn The Council was advised that two petitions

that would have been up for action at the Boston meeting

were withdrawn: The Petition on President-Elect Eligi-

bility and the Petition on International Chemical Sciences

Chapters. The Petition on President-Elect Eligibility

would have required that nominees or candidates for

President-Elect come from an academic background

every other election, and that only those from non-

academic backgrounds would have been eligible in the

alternate years. The International Chemical Sciences

Chapters petition would have provided travel funds for

either the Chair or Chair-Elect of International Chemical

Sciences Chapters to attend governance meetings at twice

the amount allotted for a Councilor.

MEETING REGISTRATION REPORT

As of August 24, 2010, the ACS Boston national meeting

had attracted 14,059 registrants. Totals in select catego-

ries are as follows: Regular attendees 8,211; Students

3,230; Guests 393; Exhibit Only 733; and Exhibitors

1,492. This represents a decrease in the total number

that had been predicted, but also represents a significant

increase in the number of student participants at a na-

tional meeting.

MEMBERSHIP ACTIVITY

The 2010 membership numbers are on track to meet year

-end goals (>160,000 members). However, the Student

Councilor ’s Report

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 240th ACS NATIONAL MEETING

BOSTON, MA AUGUST 22-26, 2010

It was nearly three years ago that the ACS last met

in Boston and I have always enjoyed coming to the

home of the Tea Party. However, this year was a

special one for me. At this meeting I was named a

"Fellow of the American Chemical Society" as a

result of nominations by the Central Wisconsin Sec-

tion and by the Council Committee on Public Rela-

tions and Communication. To those of you who had

a part in this wonderful honor and event, I am grate-

ful and humbled. Thank you.

As your elected Councilor, I continue to serve on the

Council Committee on Meetings & Expositions with

a special interest in regional meetings. I also serve

as District V Councilor Caucus chair and, at this

meeting, was elected to another two-year term as

chair (2011-2012). Regarding "actions and interest


Member community has continued to grow since crea-

tion of this new member category in June 2009. The

number of Student Members was 12,815 as of July 31,

2010.

SPECIAL DISCUSSION ITEM

A special discussion item was put on the Council

agenda for this meeting. ACS President Joseph Fran-

cisco invited the Council Policy Committee Vice Chair

to present a proposal to move Council meetings from

Wednesdays to Tuesdays. The proposal included sur-

vey results from Councilors and other stakeholders

followed by a robust discussion on the pros and cons

of such a move. Councilors concluded their discussion

with a straw poll that showed 128 are supportive of the

proposed move of Council to Tuesdays, 225 oppose

the move, and 56 are undecided. The Council Policy

Committee and the Board of Directors will decide by

spring 2011 whether the Council should move from

Wednesday to Tuesday.

Finally, some concluding remarks. Having taught at

the university level for nearly 45 years, when Septem-

ber comes along, I often get nostalgic for the class-

room and recall lecture classes on introductory chemis-

try. Thus, when the Council Committee on Nomen-

clature, Terminology and Symbols reported that the

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

(IUPAC) had recently met and adopted the following

statements, I was a bit shocked; what do you think???

Redefinition of the kilogram: "The kilogram, a unit of

mass, is defined such that the Planck constant is ex-

actly 6.626 068 96 x 10-34 joule-second" Just how

the kilogram is to be measured has not been explained!

Redefinition of the mole: "The mole, a unit of amount

of substance of a specified elementary entity, which

may be an atom, molecule, ion, electron, any other

particle or a specified group of particles, is such that

the Avogadro constant is equal to exactly 6.022 141

79 x 1023 per mole." This change, it is claimed, will

make the mole independent of mass and fix the

Avogadro number as an invariant of nature.

New Symbol The accepted name and symbol for the

trans-uranium element number 112 is Copernicium,

Cn.

Thus, for all my friends and colleagues in academe, I

hope you have a great and profitable semester teaching

all the new stuff that research brings to your door-

step. To my non-academic friends, I trust this coming

fall season will be a wonderful one for you and

yours. And to all my retired friends, do you remember

when a gram was a gram and oxygen had two atomic

weights ... one based on the chemist's scale and the

other on the physicist's scale? I guess we've really

come a long way baby! "So, if it ain't broke, fix it 'til

it is!"

Marv Lang

Notice of Section Elections

It is the time of year to nominate candidates and elect

next year's Section officers. Offices due for election

this year are chair-elect and secretary-treasurer. The

candidate slate will be reported at the October Section

meeting. These officers plus the chair and the immedi-

ate past chair and several appointed committee chairs

will serve as the executive committee. If you are inter-

ested in serving or wish to nominate someone, please

contact me at the phone number below. Per our bylaws

“nominations from the floor or by petitions are in order,

following the report of the Committee. Written peti-

tions must be signed by three members of the Section

and received by the Secretary on or before the seventh

calendar day following the Committee’s report. No

nominee’s name shall be placed on the ballot unless the

nominee has stated a willingness to serve if elected.”

Election ballots will be included in the November

Alembic.

Steve Leiterman Section Chair 2010 (715-693-3998)

Eau Claire Students Present

Poster at Boston Meeting

UW-Eau Claire students Brad Klemm and Enkhtuul

Tsogtbaatar attended

the ACS National

Meeting in Boston,

where they presented

poster number 1099

in the ORGN division

on August 25th. Here

they are pictured with

their advisor, Dr.

David Lewis in front

of their poster

“Synthesis of Novel Warfarin Conjugates”.

The Alembic (September 2010)

Newsletter of the Central Wisconsin Section, ACS

c/o Chemistry Department (#605516)

University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point

Stevens Point, WI 54481

Member Address Label

Central Wisconsin Section, ACS Meetings and Programs - 2010/2011

Date (Day) Location Speaker Host Sep 15, 2010 (Wed) Port Edwards Robert Bates (ACS Tour) Dave Thiel Oct 13, 2010 (Wed) Chippewa Falls Leinenkugel Brewery Tour Dave Lewis & Tip Randall Nov 11, 2010 (Thurs) Marshfield Marshfield Clinic Lab Tour To be announced Feb , 2011 To be announced “Meeting-in-Miniature” Dave Thiel

Mark the above dates and locations on your calendar; plan now to attend and participate in the Section’s various meetings and activities. Future issues of

the Alembic will give exact locations and arrangements for these meetings. Of

further interest are the following national events: National Chemistry Week (NCW) - October 17-23, 2010: NCW Theme: “Behind the Scenes with Chemistry” www.acs.org/ncw

Spring National ACS Meeting - March 27-25, 2011: Anaheim, California Chemists Celebrate Earth Day (CCED) - April 22, 2011:

Mark your calendar … plan to come:

“What You Always Wanted To Know

About Chemicals in Foods But Were

Afraid to Eat” by Dr. Robert B

ates at

the Alexander House, Port Edwards,

WI —September 15, 2010

volume 36, number 1 september 2010 the alembic - 1 september 2010.pdf · volume 36, number 1...

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