News from Journal House

Introducing Learning Communities Online

In this print issue we introduce Learning Communities Online, a new JCE Online feature that is a new collection in our JCE Digital Library. The first module to appear is Cl₂O₄ in the Stratosphere. This is particularly appropriate for this special Earth Day issue. Note that only a description of the module appears here, the module itself is in a series of zipped files that are available to subscribers on JCE Online.

The goal of this feature column is to promote creation, dissemination, and utilization of well-crafted online instructional modules that span the chemistry curriculum. Modules should be multi-week projects that engage students in learning experiences that cut across traditional institutional or disciplinary boundaries. They should foster—among students and teachers—both intercollegiate and intracollegiate collaborations since students working on a project constitute a virtual learning community connected through information technology.

Goals of the feature including enhancing subject-matter learning, improving students’ ability to collaborate effectively, fostering collaborations among faculty, encouraging research into teaching methods, and providing modular resources in an easily accessible format. The column editors are soliciting exemplary projects in all fields of chemistry and at all levels of the curriculum; contact, Theresa Julia Zielinski or George Long.

Awards Announced

Mettler Toledo Award

Mettler-Toledo, Inc. has announced the recipient of their 2005 Thermal Analysis Education Grant in honor of Edith A. Turi:

• Kenneth Alexander, Department of Pharmacy, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH

Alexander was recognized for his work in developing innovative programs to provide well-informed and educated chemical analysts for the pharmaceutical industry.

Courses, Seminars, Meetings, Opportunities

3rd International Microscale Chemistry Symposium

The Mexican Microscale Chemistry Center (Centro Mexicano de Quimica en Microescala) in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Sciences of the Universidad Iberoamericana-Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City is holding the 3rd International Microscale Chemistry Symposium May 18–20, 2005 at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. The symposium is aimed at gathering international and national experts in microscale chemistry to present their new ideas and developments. There will be plenary lectures, experimental demonstrations, workshops, posters, glassblowing demonstrations, and a cultural event.

The deadline for abstracts (poster presentations only) is January 30, 2005; short abstracts are a maximum of 150 words, long abstracts in free format may be a maximum of 4 pages. There will be a contest to design a miniature magnetic stirrer and for the chemical production of the colors of the Mexican flag (green white, and red).

More information is available online (accessed Dec 2004) or from Jorge G. Ibanez, Centro Mexicano de Química en Microescala, Depto. de Ing. y Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Iberoamerican-Ciudad de México, Prolongación Paseo Reforma 880, Col. Lomas de Santa Fe, 01210 México, DF México.

Undergraduate Summer Research Internships

Undergraduate students in the chemical sciences from the United States and Canada have a terrific opportunity to spend summer 2005 in Germany on a paid, summer research internship. Student interns will be partnered with a doctoral student at a German university to assist with experimental work. German language skills are not required for most positions and the working language in the laboratory usually will be English.

The Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) program provides students the opportunity to live and work in international context, to gain confidence in practical and theoretical skills, and to improve foreign language skills. Last but not least, the research internship should be a source of mutual cultural enrichment for trainees and their hosts.

To apply for a RISE placement students must:

• Be enrolled full-time at a U.S. or Canadian university or college in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, engineering, or a closely related field
• Have completed at least two years of an undergraduate degree program by the time of the placement
• Provide proof of registration for the 2005–2006 academic year

The RISE program is administered by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD; accessed Dec 2004). DAAD will provide participants a monthly scholarship of €615 for a period of six weeks to 3 months between June and August 2005. The award also includes health insurance, as well as an accident and personal/private liability insurance. The host institution will support the search for reasonably-priced housing for the duration of the internship. DAAD will organize a meeting of RISE scholars, German Ph.D. students, and representatives from major German companies to offer an additional opportunity for discussion and networking during the summer 2005. Site visits at one or more sponsoring companies also are planned.

Students interested in the RISE program should send email to be registered in the DAAD database. By February 2005, DAAD will send registered students a password to view the internship offerings. Interested students can then send in a formal application to participate in the program. A DAAD selection committee will match the prospective candidates with the relevant internship according to the requirements of the host institution.

European Variety in Chemistry Education–2005

The faculty of chemistry of Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, invites doctoral students, researchers, and academic teachers to participate in the international conference, European Variety in Chemistry Education–2005 from July 5–7, 2005.

The conference, the European counterpart of the UK conference Variety in Chemistry Education, is devoted to practical aspects of chemical education at the tertiary (university) level. It provides a forum for the exchange of ideas related to teaching and learning chemistry at the degree level, the sharing of good practice and innovation, and the dissemination of outcomes of pedagogic research as it is related to chemistry at the university level in Europe. The main topics of the conference are:

• Chemistry for non-chemists
• Practical education: the role, effectiveness and organization of the laboratory and practical placement
• IT-supported education and assessment
• Innovation in content, methods, and assessment
• Interdisciplinarity
• Relation and links between education and research
• Academic teachers’ development
• European educational programs and projects: examples of good, transferable practice
• Chemistry studies in the context of the Bologna process
• Chemical education research at the university level

The conference will be comprised of plenary lectures (30 min), oral presentations (10 min), poster sessions, and workshops. The language of the conference is English. For more information go to this Web site (accessed Dec 2004) or contact Iwona Maciejowska, Faculty of Chemistry JU, 20-060 Kraków, Ingardena 3, Poland.

Summer Institute: Integrating Science and Politics in the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction

Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA, will offer a Teaching Nonproliferation Summer Institute: Integrating Science & Politics in the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction from June 27 to July 2, 2005.

Nonproliferation studies have assumed an importance equal to environmental studies in the education of today’s college and high school students. This faculty workshop is designed to help instructors from the sciences and social sciences prepare or update course material related to issues of nonproliferation and weapons of mass destruction. Experts on chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons will present current information on issues facing the U.S. and the world community as a result of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The final day of the conference will be devoted to course development and the exchange of curricular materials related to these subjects. Particular attention will be given to the development of interdisciplinary courses that integrate science and social science perspectives. Selected participants, equal numbers of educators from the sciences and social sciences, will be provided with food and housing at Washington and Lee University plus a modest grant of $250 to help cover some of the costs associated with travel to Lexington. The Institute is sponsored by the U. S. Institute of Peace.

For details about applying for the Institute contact Lynda Bassett-de Maria and consult this Web site (accessed Dec 2004). Applications received before April 1, 2005 will be guaranteed full consideration. Responses to applications will be sent via email in mid-April.

Materials Available

Web Resource Guide for Teaching Astronomy

An annotated guide to Web sites for teaching introductory astronomy to non-science majors at the college or advanced high-school level is now available on the education Web pages of the nonprofit Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The guide currently lists and explains 90 sites, divided into 10 categories, including:

• Collections of course syllabi
• Demonstrations and class activities
• Suggestions for new teaching approaches
• Lab and observing exercises
• Applets and shareware
• Interdisciplinary approaches to astronomy

Note that this is not a guide to astronomical subject matter. Instead of focusing on what to teach, it provides resources on how to teach basic astronomy more effectively.

(The Astronomical Society of the Pacific, founded in 1889, is one of the largest and most active astronomical organizations in the world. One of its main goals is to serve as a clearinghouse for educational resources and materials.)

Additional Earth Day Teaching Materials

Need more resources to help make your classroom’s Earth Day celebration even better? Look to the American Chemical Society (ACS)! ACS will have a wealth of materials available that corresponds with the 2005 Chemists Celebrate Earth Day theme, “Air: Here, There, Everywhere”. Resources will include activities, games, and articles on topics such as the atmosphere, ozone, acid rain, and more. ACS will once again host a music video contest. Students in grades K–12 may submit videos that address the 2005 theme. Check the March issue of this Journal for further information.

Laboratory Design and Safety Information

Flinn Scientific, Inc. has available without charge a Laboratory Design Packet that contains problem-solving ideas to help design a new lab or improve an existing lab. The Packet includes Science Lab Design Priority Lists, Chemistry Lab Design Ideas, Sample Lab Designs, Safety and Equipment Checklists, as well as tips and advice.

Also available without charge via email is a laboratory safety-training program titled Flinn Scientific Science Department Meeting Safety Notes that provides access to an informative 6- to 8-minute safety training lesson every month. For more information, contact Flinn.

Proposal Deadlines National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) The following NSF deadlines have been established or are anticipated. Robert Noyce Scholarship Program Letters of Intent (optional) February 28, 2005 Formal Proposals March 31, 2005 NSF Director's Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars (DTS) Formal Proposals February 9, 2005 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) Formal Proposals February 10, 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 10, 2005 Start-Up Award Program: 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: Completed Proposals: August 25, 2005 Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences: Preliminary Proposals: June 2, 2005 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 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.