News from Journal House

JCE Achieves ACS Salute to Excellence!

The JCE staff is basking in the glow of having received this Salute to Excellence Award for 2002 from ACS! As a JCE reader, you are familiar with our special coverage of National Chemistry Week (NCW), which began with a few coordinated articles in 1999 and has grown in subsequent years to be a real treasure-trove.

NCW coverage will continue in 2003 around the theme Earth’s Atmosphere and Beyond! NCW 2003 will take place October 19–25, 2003, so JCE’s October issue will take this theme. The issue will be mailed in early September, so it will be available in plenty of time. The JCE editorial staff has already begun assembling materials. Our plans include another popular, illustrated Resource Paper, a Classroom Activity, collected regular articles that relate to the theme, and specially written brief articles illustrated in color—all related to NCW. Check future issues for updates and fuller details.

JCE Publications/Software Catalog

A newly revised version of the JCE Publications/Software Catalog is now available, both in print and online (pdf). The update has the latest information about all JCE Software releases. It is also easier to find information about prices, bulk orders, and classroom adoptions. Many of you are looking for Web-ready publications, so these now carry a special designation in the Table of Contents, making these publications easier than ever to find.

NSTA SciLinks Award

The National Science Teachers Association has selected the JCE Online feature column, Conceptual Questions and Challenge Problems, to be a part of their SciLinks program. The feature column is edited by Bill Robinson and Sue Nurrenbern.

SciLinks is an endeavor by NSTA to connect textbooks to useful online content. This feature was selected after review for accurate content as well as effective pedagogy using a stringent set of criteria. Once a Web site has been selected, its URL is placed in a database, correlated to the National Science Education Standards, and a brief description that identifies one or more of its salient characteristics is written. When a reader or a SciLinked textbook comes across a SciLinks icon in a text, he or she knows that the content on that page has been enhanced with online content specifically connected to a single concept. The reader can go to the free SciLinks Web site, key in a code found on the pages of the textbook, and the SciLinks search engine reports the five to 15 pages that have been selected. When a user selects one of these sites, a new browser window opens, points to the selected Web site, and connects the reader directly to the content provided.

Award Deadlines

James Flack Norris Award: Call for Nominations

Nominations are being received for the 2003 James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry. The Norris Award, one of the oldest awards given by a Section of the American Chemical Society, is presented annually by the Northeastern Section. The Award consists of a certificate and an honorarium of $3,000. Nominees must have served with special distinction as teachers of chemistry at the secondary school, college, and/or graduate school level. Awardees have included eminent and less-widely-known yet equally effective teachers at all levels. The awardee for 2002 was Zafra M. Lerman of Columbia College, Chicago.

Nominations for 2003 will be received until April 16, 2003. The nominating material is limited to 30 pages and must focus specifically on the nominee’s contribution to and effectiveness in teaching chemistry, as distinguished from research. These qualities are demonstrated by a condensed curriculum vitae as a portion of a nominating letter which, in turn, is supported by as many seconding letters from colleagues and students as are necessary to convey the nominee’s qualification for the award. Letters may show the impact of the nominee’s teaching in inspiring colleagues and students toward an active life in chemistry and/or related sciences, or may attest to the influence of the nominee’s other activities in chemical education, such as textbooks, journal articles, or other professional activity at the national level. Materials should be of 8 1/2 x 11-in. size and should not include books, reprints, or software. Please direct questions about the content of a nomination to Frederick Greene or Patricia Samuel. Nominations should be sent before April 16, 2003, to Marilou Cashman, NESACS, 23 Cottage Street, Natick, MA 01760.

Awards Announced

CIC/Union Carbide Award, 2002

The Chemical Institute of Canada’s Union Carbide Award for Chemical Education for 2002:

• Mary Anne White, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia

The annual award recognizes excellence in teaching in any area of chemistry, chemical engineering, or chemical technology.

NOVA Chemicals Award

The NOVA Chemicals Award for Chemistry Teaching in Community and Technical Colleges, administered by the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology:

• Patrick Draper, Champlain Regional College, Lennoxville, Québec

Courses, Seminars, Meetings, Opportunities

Science History Tours: The Low Countries and England: June 25–July 10, 2003

Science History Tours gives you an opportunity to visit The Netherlands, Belgium, and England in the company of a group of most congenial people. This is our sixth annual tour, and we have received rave reviews from previous tour members, many of whom have traveled with us several times. Singles are welcome and we can help coordinate room-sharing arrangements. There is help for inexperienced travelers.

The trip begins in Leiden, The Netherlands, continues through Belgium, and ends in London. It is designed for those with an interest in the history of science, although many non-scientists have traveled with us and proclaimed it a most enjoyable experience. We try to touch many facets of science, from astronomy to zoology, but since the tour leaders are chemists, they tend to get quite excited about chemistry! Opportunities to learn more about the culture and cuisine of each country and many lectures and guided tours given by local experts are included. Three hours of graduate credit and CPDUs for teachers are available (at a modest extra cost).

In The Netherlands we will visit world-renowned museums such as the Boerhaave and Teylers, see one of the world’s oldest medical museums, and also visit the botanical garden where tulipmania began. On our way to Belgium we will visit one of the largest sea barriers in the world, built after the disastrous floods that devastated large areas of The Netherlands in 1953. In Belgium we will stay in the fascinating old city of Ghent, and pay visits to Bruges and Brussels, where a study of the chemistry of Belgian beer is on the agenda. From Calais we will take the ferry across the English Channel to Dover and then spend a day on the Isle of Wight, the birthplace of Robert Hooke (1635–1703). In London we will attend a conference held jointly by Gresham College and the Royal Society to mark the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Hooke’s death and to honor this under-appreciated genius. We will make other visits in London and take a day trip out of town.

The price of the trip, double occupancy, will be $2750; transatlantic airline fare is not included. Accommodations will be in comfortable, welcoming hotels where all rooms have private bathrooms. Surface travel is by luxury coach, a fast catamaran ferry across the English Channel, and a hovercraft across the Solent. All admissions to museums, lectures, and other visits are included. All breakfasts are included and (on average) at least one other meal per day.

For further information or registration forms, contact Yvonne Twomey, 841 Kinston Court, Naperville, IL 60540; phone: 630/961-9811. Also see this Web presentation of previous trips.

Microscale Workshops: NMCC

The National Microscale Chemistry Center (NMCC) at Merrimack College, North Andover, MA, offers the workshops listed below. The workshops include free materials (including a textbook), free housing, and all meals during the workshop period; there is a small registration fee. The workshops offer hands-on training for science teachers and faculty in microscale laboratory practices, and have received excellent reviews from participants. Early registration is advised. Because of lack of funding, NMCC will not offer workshops in the future.

• Elementary/Middle School Teachers (no science background required): May 1–2, 2003: from 8:30 a.m. on Thursday until 2 p.m. on Friday; registration fee is $100.
• High School Teachers (including AP chemistry): April 25–27, 2003: from 5:45 p.m. on Friday until 2 p.m. on Sunday; registration fee is $150.
• High School/Community College/College/University faculty and teachers: June 23–25, 2003 (organic chemistry; June 30–July 2, 2003 (general chemistry/advanced general chemistry); August 11–13, 2003 (inorganic/industrial/general): from 8:30 a.m. Monday until 2 p.m. Wednesday; registration fee is $200. Free housing is available for the Sunday preceding the workshop.

For detailed information or to sign up for workshops, contact Mono M. Singh, Director, NMCC, 315 Turnpike Street, North Andover, MA 01845; phone: 978/837-5137; fax: 978/837-5017.

Microscale Workshops in Mexico

The Mexican Microscale Chemistry Center in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Sciences of the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, will offer several workshops in 2003 as follows:

• Marvels in Organic Chemistry** June 10–13, 30 hours (new)
• Green Chemistry*, ** July 8–11, 30 hours (new)
• Photochemistry* July 14–16, 20 hours (new)
• Environmental Chemistry, July 16–18, 20 hours
• High School Chemistry** August 12–15, 30 hours
• Analytical Chemistry, October 14–17, 30 hours (new)

The language is normally Spanish, although occasionally there are guest instructors who teach in English (marked with an asterisk). At least one month advance registration is required. A limited number of partial scholarships are available for some workshops (marked with a double asterisk). For further information contact Arturo Fregoso or Jorge Ibanez, Universidad Iberoamericana, Centro Mexicano de Química en Microescala, Depto. de Ing. y Ciencias Químicas, Prolongación Paseo de la Reforma 880, 01210 México, D.F. México; phone: +52(55) 5950 7131, 5950 4176, 5950 4074; fax: +52(55) 5950 4279, 5950 4063.

Online Resources for Earth Day

For many years chemists have been promoting a better world through recyclable plastics, cleaner-burning fuels, phosphate-free detergents, environmental monitoring, and green chemistry initiatives. Now, through a joint effort between the National Chemistry Week Task Force, the Committee on Environmental Improvement, and the Green Chemistry Institute, ACS will be joining the Earth Day celebration on April 22, 2003. The theme for the celebration will be “ChemisTREE”. Hands-on activities and resources for Earth Day can be found on the Web; questions regarding the program should be directed to David Harwell, ACS Office of Community Activities: phone: 800-227-5558 x6078.