News from Journal House

Perspective on JCE Online

Recently a reader asked us for a perspective on JCE Onlinehow the chemical education community is receiving it and how the Journal staff itself views it. We share our responses below.

Subscriber Numbers

How many people subscribe to JCE Online+? As of June 1, 1999, our records show that 13% of individual JCE subscriptions in the USA include JCE Online+. This percentage has increased significantly during the past year- in June 1998 it was approximately 4% and December 1998 about 7%.

Almost all subscribers to JCE Online subscribe to print as well. Since JCE Online has only very recently been made available to institutional subscribers, there are no numbers to report. There has been considerable interest in online from libraries.

Given that JCE Online+ is a fairly recent subscriber option and that many subscribers have a wait-and-see approach to any new option, we feel that the numbers above are quite high. The steady growth is encouraging.

Online Usage

How many people visit our Web site? Statistics for the period January 1, 1999, through May 31, 1999, that may be of interest include:

Total Pages Served 361,115

Total Visits 138,377

Total Unique Visitors 51,744

Total Repeat Visitors 11,536

Average Visit Length 03:05

Average Requests/Visit 10.8

Average Pages/Visit 2.6

Average Daily Visits 916

Online Rationale and Expectations

JCE Online is a very important part of the whole Journal, but we do not expect it to supplant print: online and print are very different media.

Usage of JCE Online is growing steadily; our subscribers are realizing what we have learned: it is not possible to deliver the Journal in the print medium alone- print is no longer adequate to accomplish our mission. Examples of things not possible in print include:

·JCE Index to all 76 years of Journal issues, available all the time with responses within seconds.

·Supplementary materials that are important to only a limited number of our subscribers; materials that augment laboratory experiments are a good example.

·Supplementary videos, such as the videos, still images, and excerpts from interviews with nuclear chemists that give fuller meaning to the Viewpoints article "Chemistry of the Heaviest Elements- One Atom at a Time" referred to below.

·Internet feature columns are more effective in a dynamic medium. Two that are in place are Mathcad in the Chemistry Curriculum (edited by Theresa Zielinski) and Conceptual Questions and Challenge Problems (edited by William Robinson and Susan Nurrenbern).

·Buyers Guides have their content updated often and link to other useful sites. There is one for books and software and another for supplies and equipment.

Elements Added to Periodic Table

Two new transuranic elements have been added to the list in the Viewpoints article "Chemistry of the Heaviest ElementsOne Atom at a Time" by Darleane C. Hoffman and Diana M. Lee (JCE, 1999, 76, 331). The new elements have atomic numbers 118 and 116. The path to the discovery of these elements was predicted by Robert Smolanczuk, a young Polish theorist whose calculations led him to conclude that a lead-krypton collision technique could produce element 118, which then decays to element 116. Others questioned his results, but Hoffman invited him to join the team at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a decision was made to try out his ideas. The result was almost complete verification of Smolanczuk's calculations. The experimental team was headed by Kenneth E. Gregorich; Darleane Hoffman is one of 15 codiscoverers of element 118.

Awards

Willard Gibbs Medal

Lawrence F. Dahl of the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the recipient of 1999 Willard Gibbs Medal, the highest award of the Chicago Section of the American Chemical Society. It is awarded annually to a world-renowned scientist selected by a jury of panelists composed of eminent chemists elected by the Board of Directors of the Chicago Section. The award was presented at the Chicago Section's meeting in May 1999.

Courses, Seminars, Meetings, Opportunities

Grant Program for Senior Scientist Mentors

The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation announces a new initiative within its Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences: the Senior Scientist Mentors.

Undergraduate participation in research is generally acknowledged to be one of the most effective ways for students to learn and appreciate chemistry. Key to a meaningful research experience is the advising and counseling a student can receive from leaders in chemical research.

Application Details

Emeritus faculty who maintain active research programs in the chemical sciences may apply for one of a limited number of awards that will allow undergraduates to do research under their guidance. Successful applicants, who are expected to be closely engaged in a mentoring relationship with the students, will receive grants of $10,000 annually for two years ($20,000 total) for undergraduate stipends and modest research support.

In approximately three pages, applicants should describe their ongoing research and the nature of the participation by undergraduates in the research activity. The role of the applicant as mentor should be clearly outlined. The application should also contain a curriculum vitae of no more than five pages that includes representative publications; a letter of support from the department chair that also commits appropriate space and facilities for the undergraduate participants; and a letter of support from a colleague (preferably from outside the department) who is familiar with the applicant's research and teaching. This initiative is open to all institutions that offer bachelor's or higher degrees in the chemical sciences. Use the standard cover page for the Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences, which is available at www.dreyfus.org. "Senior Scientist Mentors" should be entered as the project title. An original and five copies of the application are required. Applications should be received in the Foundation office (555 Madison Avenue, Suite 1305, New York, NY 10022) by September 1, 1999; awards will be announced toward the end of January 2000.

Proposal Deadlines

National Science Foundation
Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)

• Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) June 7, 1999
• NSF Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP)
  Preliminary proposals, Track 1 May 1, 1999
  Formal proposals, Track 1 September 1, 1999
• DUE online 1999 guidelines, NSF 99-53
  available at http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf9953

For further information about NSF DUE programs consult the DUE Web site, http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/DUE/start.htm. Program deadlines are at http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/DUE/programs/programs.htm . To contact the DUE Information Center, phone: 703/306-1666; email: undergrad@nsf.gov.

The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.

• Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program:
  November 16, 1998
• Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program:
  July 1, 1999
• New Faculty Awards Program: May 14, 1999
• Faculty Start-up Grants for Undergraduate Institutions: May 14, 1999
• Scholar/Fellow Program for Undergraduate Institutions: July 1, 1999
• Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences:
  July 15, 1999
• Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry: February 26, 1999

Further information may be obtained from The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc., 555 Madison Avenue, Suite 1305, New York, NY 10022; phone: 212/753-1760; email: admin@dreyfus.org;
WWW: http://www.dreyfus.org/

Research Corporation

• Cottrell College Science Awards: May 15 and November 15
• Cottrell Scholars: First regular business day in September
• Partners in Science: December 1 (the final opportunity for this program is summer 1999)
• Research Opportunity Awards: May 1 and October 1
• Research Innovation Awards: May 1

Further information may be obtained from Research Corporation, 101 North Wilmot Road, Suite 250, Tucson, AZ 85711-3332; phone: 520/571-1111; fax: 520/571-1119; email: awards@rescorp.org; www: http://www.rescorp.org