News from Journal House

Earth Day 2005

JCE will join with ACS in celebrating Earth Day 2005 in the February issue! The 2005 theme is Air—Here, There, Everywhere! which will be reflected in the articles and labs that we are collecting for this issue. Since the February issue will be published in mid-January, you will have plenty of lead time before using the materials when Earth Day rolls around in April. Look for details in future issues.

Awards Announced

2004 BP Amoco Award

Stanley G. Smith of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champagne has received the 2004 BP Amoco Award for Innovation in Undergraduate Instruction. The award is given for achievment in developing innovative approaches to undergraduate engineering and science education at the university, specifically recognizing innovative teaching methods and instructional programs that motivate students to learn. The award provides recognition in the form of a check for $3000 and a plaque.

Award Deadlines

Vernier/NSTA Technology Awards

Vernier Software & Technology and the National Science Teachers Association will provide seven awards, each valued at $3000, for educators who demonstrate innovative used of data-collection technology using a computer, graphing calculator, or other handheld device in the science classroom. The awards will be given to one elementary teacher, two middle school teachers, three high school teachers, and one college-level educator. Each will receive a $1000 cash award, $1000 in Vernier equipment, and $1000 toward travel and expenses to attend the NSTA national Convention. Entries will be judged by an NSTA panel and are due by October 15, 2004. Downloadable applications and guidelines are available (accessed Aug 2004). Applications, which may be nominated or self-nominated, should include an application form, an abstract of the program in 250 words or less, a program description, a copy of actual lab activity, a vita of the nominee, and letters of support.

Applications Being Accepted for the Dorothy and Moses Passer Education Fund

The Fund was established by a generous donation from Dorothy and Moses Passer. Moses (Mike) Passer was for many years the head of the ACS Education Division. The Fund supports grants that provide support for teachers in small programs at two- and four-year colleges or universities that do not have any advanced degree programs in the chemical sciences. The awards are to support continuing education activities that must be directly related to the applicant's teaching and must take them away from their campus. Applicants must be full-time faculty members at their institutions. The applications are reviewed by a committee.

There is no application form but the application must include a description of the proposed activity and how it relates to the applicant's teaching with dates, locations, titles, and contacts; a brief description of the applicant's institution and department; a short curriculum vitae; an itemized estimate of expenses, amount of aid requested, and sources of all supplemental funds. No support will be given for general attendance at national, regional, or local ACS meetings, nor for sabbaticals. Closing dates are three times each year: January 1, April 1, and September 1. Electronic applications are much preferred. For further information, contact Donald E. Jones; 3726 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Apt. 108, Washington, DC 20008.

Courses, Seminars, Meetings, Opportunities

CUR Research Chemistry Student Travel Award

The Chemistry Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) encourages CUR members to nominate their undergraduate students for a CUR Chemistry travel award for the presentation of their research results at the Spring 2005 American Chemical Society Meeting in San Diego. Travel awards of $250 are available. Applications must be received by November 19, 2004. A complete description of the award and an application form are available on the CUR Web site (accessed Aug 2004).

MID Project Workshop Invitation

Are you interested in exploring ways to: help your students learn to reason through problems rather than relying on algorithmic solutions; help students make connections between chemistry concepts and real-world phenomena; get students actively involved in discovery and inquiry rather than just attempting to "learn for the exams"; introduce students to the process of doing science/chemistry so that they recognize its strengths and limitations; engage students in learning to speak and write the "language" of chemistry/science?

If so, participation in one of the NSF-funded Multi-Initiative Dissemination (MID) Project Workshops is an opportunity you won't want to miss! The workshop will provide experiences with the materials and methods from each of the five chemistry systemic curricular reform projects that were supported by the National Science Foundation: ChemLinks and Modular Chem Consortium (now ChemConnections) at Berkeley and Beloit College, Molecular Science, New Traditions, and Peer-Led Team Learning (Workshop Project) (sites accessed Aug 2004).

The following workshops have been scheduled.

• October 8–9, 2004
  North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
• October 15–16, 2004
  University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
• October 22–23, 2004
  Indianapolis University, Indianapolis, IN

There is no registration fee and both materials and meals are provided; participants pay personal travel expenses. Registration is online. Registration is limited to the first 50 participants; bring a colleague or graduate students interested in teaching. A generic workshop schedule can be found on our Web site at the end of the workshops page. Contact Eileen Lewis to obtain paper registration materials or if you have questions; phone: 510/642-3746.

U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad Program

The American Chemical Society is accepting applications from high school teachers for a position as mentor for the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad program. Duties during the three-year term include helping to conduct the national study camp for high school students at the U.S. Air Force Academy, CO in mid-June 2006, 2007, and 2008. Generally, in their second and third year, mentors accompany four U.S. student competitors to the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), which is scheduled to be in Lithuania in 2007 and Hungary in 2008. During the competition, the mentors will serve as members of the IChO jury.

Most students at the study camp have completed Advanced Placement chemistry or the equivalent, which means instruction at the camp is well beyond the level of high school general chemistry courses. The curriculum also includes considerable laboratory work.

Successful applicants are expected to have a broad background in both theoretical and descriptive chemistry with classroom experience, and should demonstrate involvement with students in special projects or activities; applicants must be prepared to make a three-year commitment, as described above. ACS will pay all expenses and travel costs, as well as an honorarium.

Application forms may be found online (accessed Aug 2004) or from LaTreece Stewart, phone 202/872-6328. The deadline for completed applications is January 22, 2005; the deadline for receipt of three letters of reference is January 29, 2005. For more information, contact Cecilia Hernandez, 202/872-6169.

History of Chemistry Web Site

There is a new Web site devoted to an outline of the history of chemistry (accessed Aug 2004). It can be used as a quick entry into any point in history, or to see the historic context of a person or event. The site, or any fragment of it, may be used in courses and student projects.

Individuals and small groups are needed to help grow this site (in cooperation with other knowledgable chemists and historians). Send an email message to the author of the site, Robert Gayhart if you are willing to do any of the following:

• Select and organize post-1950 entries, which include significant people, discoveries, technology and/or events, in these categories: general, physical, analytical, organic, or biochemistry.
• Initiate new categories, for example the history of computational chemistry, and suggest entries.
• Supply listings of related Web sites to be incorporated in the Subject or People indexes.
• Supply brief explanations of the concepts or biographies that might be missing or inadequately presented in the outline.
• Share your results of experimental usage of the site in your teaching—as projects, games, supplements, etc.

The 1961 Mallinckrodt Outline of the History of Chemistry has been adapted to build this site with the permission of Mallinckrodt, Inc.

2004 Great Lakes Regional Meeting

The Illinois Heartland ACS Local Section will host the 36th Great Lakes Regional Meeting (GLRM 2004) from Sunday, October 17, through Wednesday, October 20, at the Hotel Père Marquette in Peoria, IL. The theme is "Formulate Your Future". The technical program, organized by Jim Kenar and Vicki Finkenstadt, encompasses more than 50 invited, general, and technical symposia and poster sessions to be of interest to chemists, educators, and students.

Symposia in chemical education include: The Future of Chemical Education in the Great Lakes Region; Fundamental Research in Chemistry Education; Course Curriculum/Laboratory Improvements; Innovative Classroom and After-School Activities; Web-enhanced Learning and Course Management Systems. A complete program listing is online (accessed Aug 2004).

Mole Day 2004

October 23, from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m. is Mole Day 2004. Mole Day commemorates Avogadro's Number (6.02 × 10²³). Mole Day was created as a way to foster interest in chemistry, and it is celebrated in schools with various activities related to chemistry and/or moles. The 2004 theme is Pi a la Mole. More information about the Mole Day Foundation and this years celebratory plans may be found online (accessed Aug 2004).

Materials Available

Survival Kit for Secondary Science Teachers

A First-Year Teacher Survival Kit for aspiring secondary level science teachers is available without charge from Flinn Scientific. The Kit includes demonstration ideas, safety posters, a reproducible safety contract, discount coupons, and the Flinn Chemical and Biological Catalog/Reference Manual Sampler. Teachers may request catalog number AP4564 from Flinn Scientific, Inc., P. O. Box 219, Batavia, IL 60510; 800/452-1261; email; Web (accessed Aug 2004).

Proposal Deadlines National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) The following NSF deadlines have been established or are anticipated. Course, Curriculum, & Lab. Improvement (CCLI) Formal Proposals A&I Track (Adapt. & Implement.) December 2, 2004 ASA Track (Assess. of Student Achiev.) Decmber. 8, 2004 Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Formal Proposals October 8, 2004 NSF Director's Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars (DTS) Letters of Intent (optional) September 22, 2004 Prelim. Proposals (nominations.) October 20, 2004 Formal Proposals February 9, 2005 Official deadline dates for proposals will be specified in the new program solicitation for each program, to be published at least three months before the relevant deadline date. Other Funding Opportunities for STEM Education are available. Program solicitations are available electronically through NSF's Online Document System and through the NSF DUE site; phone: 703/292-8670; email. The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. Camille Dreyfus Teacher–Scholar Awards Program: November 11, 2004 Faculty Start-Up Grants for Undergraduate Institutions: May 12, 2005 Henry Dreyfus Teacher–Scholar Awards Program: June 30, 2005 New Faculty Awards Program: May 12, 2005 Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry: February 24, 2005 Senior Scientist Mentor: Preliminary Proposals: June 2, 2005 Completed Proposals: August 25, 2005 Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences: Completed Proposals: August 25, 2005 Further information and confirmation of the above deadlines may be obtained from The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc., 555 Madison Avenue, Suite 1305, New York, NY 10022-3301; phone: 212/753-1760; email; Web. Research Corporation Cottrell College Science Awards: May 15 and November 15 Cottrell Scholars: September 1, 2004 Research Innovation Awards: suspended 2004-2005 Research Opportunity Awards: May 1 and October 1 Further information may be obtained from Research Corporation, 101 North Wilmot Road, Suite 250, Tucson, AZ 85711; phone: 520/571-1111; fax: 520/571-1119; email; Web.