News from Journal House

Biographical Snapshots

Biographical Snapshots of Famous Women and Minority Chemists is a popular column on JCE Online. Six more snapshot bios have been added to the collection, for a total of 66:

• Rachel Littler Bodley
• Marye Anne Fox
• Rachel Abby Holloway Lloyd
• Koichi Tanaka
• Jane Cooke Wright
• Alejandro Zaffaroni

The brief biographies in this feature aim to inspire and enlighten with personal information about chemists who have made important contributions to chemistry and society.

Biographical “snapshots” tell about a person’s chemical work, gender, ethnicity, and cultural background; there are links to WWW sites for further exploration. The information in this column is available to incorporate into your teaching and to share with your students.

CLIPs CD-ROM

JCE has just released a new CD-ROM, a compilation of 106 CLIPs (Chemistry Laboratory Information Profiles). These previously published CLIPs have appeared since the inception of the feature in April 2001 and have been compiled for the convenience of users. Jay Young, feature editor, has set the task for himself to prepare CLIPs for the chemicals that are commonly used in academic laboratory work, many of which are listed in JCE 2001, 78, 444–446.

Order the CLIPs CD-ROM from the JCE Online Store; Order #465: $19.95, U.S.; $29.95, non-U.S. CLIPs will continue to appear in forthcoming issues.

Editor, Journal of Chemical Education

The Board of Publication of the Journal of Chemical Education (JCE) announces the search for the eighth editor of JCE. Ability to oversee day-to-day operation of a monthly academic journal, creativity in envisioning the future of JCE, and the skills and tenacity necessary to bring creative plans to fruition are essential characteristics of the editor of the Journal.

The editor of the JCE is responsible for all aspects of its publication, including: peer review and evaluation of manuscripts; selection of submissions to be published; preparing, printing, distributing, and archiving Journal issues; maintaining JCE Online; hiring and supervising JCE staff; and selecting and collaborating with the Secondary School Section editor and more than 30 editors of feature columns. The editor is expected to: have a broad knowledge of both chemistry and chemistry education content; exhibit diplomacy, good interpersonal skills, and decisiveness; exercise good writing and editing ability; and meet monthly publication deadlines. The editor typically spends 30–40 hours per week on Journal work throughout the calendar year. Multi-tasking and time management skills are essential, as is the ability to work with a broad range of people, including subscribers, authors, reviewers, advertising representatives, computer specialists, column editors, and editorial staff, as well as the Publications Coordinator and members of the Board of Publication. The editor must manage a large budget that, at present, is administered through the editor’s home institution.

The editor is appointed to a five-year renewable term by the Board of Publication. To help with the transition, the new editor will serve in conjunction with the current editor, John Moore, for up to a year. It is expected that the new editor will assume full responsibility for operating JCE on September 1, 2009.

Preliminary applications or nominations should include a CV and a letter describing the applicant’s qualifications for the position. Preliminary applications will be accepted beginning immediately and continuing through February 28, 2006.

Please forward applications or requests for further information to John I. Gelder, Chair, JCE Board of Publication, Department of Chemistry, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078; phone: 405/744-7005.

C&E News CLICs: A New JCE Resource for Secondary Education

The Journal of Chemical Education is pleased to introduce C&EN CLICs, a new JCE Online feature designed specifically for secondary science instructors and their students. It is located on the JCE High School Chemed Learning Information Center (CLIC) Web site. The feature conveniently connects JCE readers to the publication Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), a weekly professional chemistry journal that keeps ACS members informed of important developments in chemistry, industry, and business. Kevin Cunningham, the feature editor, reads each issue of C&EN and selects articles of interest to secondary science instructors and their students. He then creates a record that includes the title, publication information, a brief description of the article, selected JCE keywords that categorize the article, and a link that will take JCE subscribers directly to the article online (see sample record below).

Some recently selected C&EN articles describe:

• Lessons in secondary science that are meant to engage students through their stomachs while meeting the National Science Education Standards for chemistry and presented on the University of Georgia’s “Science Behind Our Food” Web site.
• How water hyacinth, one of the most problematic weeds in the world, could prove useful for cleaning up the arsenic-contaminated water supplies of some of the poorest people in the world.
• The complex composition of a common, vital, and often poorly understood mixture—gasoline.

C&EN CLICs is another way in which your Journal is continuously working to bring current, relevant, and engaging material to its readers and their classrooms.

C&EN CLICs Offers

• Materials that secondary science teachers may incorporate into their classroom instruction, with particular emphasis on interesting applications of chemistry to important questions and problems in related fields (e.g. biology, astronomy, geology).
• Information on important advancements and discoveries to keep secondary science teachers and their students abreast of recent developments in chemistry and related fields.

Sample Record

Issue: May 23, 2005, p 41

Title: Fishing Net Lands Conservation Prize

Description: Award-winning fishing nets are made of nylon that’s been impregnated with barium sulfate, which makes the nylon net more visible and acoustically reflective and thus more easily detectable to marine mammals.

Keywords: Applications of Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry

URL: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/83/i21/8321sci2.html

(All sites accessed Jul 2005.)

Introducing CTC, Chemistry Teacher Connection

The combined efforts of the ACS, CHED, and the Journal of Chemical Education now offer a new value called “Chemistry Teacher Connection” (CTC). Created especially for high school chemistry teachers, CTC offers an online-only subscription to CLIC (that fraction of JCE Online of particular interest to high school teachers) along with membership in the Division of Chemical Education. Normally these two items would cost $65 per year, but they are available as the CTC at the special price of $40 per year.

CTC subscribers will receive access to all articles and accompanying supplements shown on the CLIC Web site—all published JCE items that have been designated in a print issue’s table of contents as being of interest to high school teachers, from 1996 through the current issue.

Get Connected!

See the JCE Online Store for more information about getting connected with CTC!

What Will a Visit to CLIC Bring?

Highlights of the CLIC offerings include these features

• Especially for High School Teachers monthly column
• JCE Classroom Activities
• CLIPs: Chemical Laboratory Information Profiles
• Tested Demonstrations
• Feature columns tailored for high school teachers—Applications and Analogies, Second-Year and AP Chemistry
• Laboratory Activities
• other Articles of Interest relevant to high school chemistry

CLIC is continuously changing—other resources and features will be added that will facilitate sharing ideas among high school teachers. Make CLIC your resource!

Awards Announced

International Young Physicists’ Tournament

The team from the U.S. placed in the finals in the 2005 International Young Physicists Tournament (accessed Aug 2005). They tied for second place (with Belarus); the team from Germany took first place. The 2005 tournament, which took place July 14–21 in Winterthur, Switzerland, and at the University of Zurich, Irchel, is a theoretical and experimental research-based competition that attracted 25 national teams of high school students from 23 countries.

The U.S. was represented by two students (Phillip Schwartz and Daniel Kerr) from Wildwood School in Los Angeles, CA, and three students (Jonathan Bohren, Robert Kirkham, and Divya Krishnan) from Rye Country Day School in Westchester, NY. Team coaches are Tengiz Bibilashvili of Wildwood School and Bruce Oldaker of Rye Country Day School; Don Franklin of St. John’s Country Day School in Orange Park, FL is the team representative.

The competition requires each national team to research 17 challenging physics problems for one year and then present and defend their findings at the international tournament in a structured competition called “Physics Fights”. Direct critique is applied to each offered solution, as team members challenge their opponents and defend their own analyses. In the final competition the U.S. team presented their solution to the problem, “Granular material is flowing out of a vessel through a funnel. Investigate if it is possible to increase the outflow by putting an ‘obstacle’ above the outlet pipe.”

Award Deadlines

Technology Award

Full-time science teachers from elementary to college level are eligible to apply for the Vernier Software & Technology/National Science Teachers Association Technology Award. Up to seven awards will be provided, each valued at $3000, for educators who demonstrate innovative uses of data-collection technology using a computer, graphing calculator, or other hand-held 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 expenses to attend the NSTA national convention in 2006. Entries will be judged by a panel of experts appointed by NSTA and are due by October 14, 2005. Educators may be nominated or self-nominated. Downloadable applications and guidelines are available online (accessed Aug 2005) or contact NSTA, Vernier Technology Awards, 1840 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201-3000; phone: 703/243-7100.

Courses, Seminars, Meetings, Opportunities

TOYchallenge 2006 Contest

The fourth annual TOYchallenge contest will be launched September 12, 2005, sponsored by Sally Ride Science. The program is for students in grades 5 through 8 and is intended to give them a way to learn about science, engineering, and the design process by creating their dream toy. The mission of the toy- and game-design competition is to motivate kids, especially girls, to get involved in engineering design and recognize that there is engineering in everything.

To get started, a team must: be in grades 5 through 8; have at least half the team members be girls; find an adult coach (18 years of age or older); sign up beginning September 12. Teams then choose from themed-toy categories and begin brainstorming. Complete TOYchallenge information is available online (accessed Aug 2005). Awards will be given in each category, with special awards for design, educational value, engineering, originality, and team spirit.

Online Meeting, ACS Division of Chemical Education

An online meeting titled The Division of Chemical Education: Current Status and Future Directions will be held October 14–31, 2005, as part of the CONFCHEM (CONFerences on CHEMistry) of the Division’s Committee on Computers in Chemical Education. Abstracts and papers can be found online (accessed Aug 2005).

Schedule for Papers

1. The View from the CHED Chair; Morton Hoffman
2. Welcoming New Members and Providing Membership Services; Jennifer Lewis, Julie Smist, and Adele Salerno
3. The Biennial Conferences on Chemical Education; George Kriz
4. Long-range Planning—Peering into a Crystal Ball: A Critical Look to the Future; Sue Nurrenbern

Schedule for Responses

October 14–16, 2005: Participants send in short questions for Papers 1 and 2.

October 17, 2005: Answers to short questions for Paper 1 are posted and discussion begins.

October 18, 2005: Discussion of Paper 1 continues.

October 19, 2005: Answers to short questions for Paper 2 are posted and discussion begins.

October 20, 2005: Discussion of Paper 2 continues.

October 21–23, 2005: Participants send in short questions for Papers 3 and 4.

October 24, 2005: Answers to short questions for Paper 3 are posted and discussion begins.

October 25, 2005: Discussion of Paper 3 continues.

October 26, 2005: Answers to short questions for Paper 4 are posted and discussion begins.

October 27, 2005: Discussion of Paper 4 continues.

October 28, 31, 2005: General discussion.

There is no registration fee. Online discussion will occur via the CHEMCONF Majordomo email list. To subscribe, send the following command:

SUBSCRIBE CONFCHEM your name <your email address> in the body of an email message sent to MAJORDOMO@CLARKSON.EDU

Note that your email address must be bracketed by < and >. You will receive a confirmation email with additional instructions; other instructions (such as unsubscribing) are on the page.

20th National Educators’ Workshop

The 20th annual National Educators’ Workshop (NEW: Update 2005) will be held October 16–19, 2005, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD. The workshop theme is Nano/Bio Science and Technology Education for the 21st Century.

The workshop program consists of plenary talks; small-group workshops; observing, evaluation, and obtaining classroom demonstrations and lab experiments; and interacting with fellow educators and industrial specialists. Poster and special interest sessions are planned as well as graduate and undergraduate student poster competitions.

For registration and other information contact Jim Jacobs, NEW, School of Science and Technology, Norfolk State University, 700 Park Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23504-8060; phone: 757/823-9072; Web site (accessed Aug 2005).

People

AIC Chemical Pioneer Award

The American Institute of Chemists has announced the recipient of its 2005 Chemical Pioneer Award:

• Bassam Shakhashiri, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, for pioneering scientific work and innovative contributions to science education

Terrific Teacher

Mount Notre Dame High School, Cincinnati, OH, has made several Terrific Teacher awards, including this one to a chemistry teacher:

• Adele Salerno, Milford, OH

Salerno was also selected as one of The Best of the Best in the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati areas by the presidents of Northern Kentucky University, University of Cincinnati, and Xavier University.

Proposal Deadlines National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) The following NSF deadlines have been established or are anticipated. Advanced Technology Education (ATE) Formal Proposals October 18, 2005 Preliminary Proposals (2006) April 25, 2006 Course, Curriculum and Lab Improvement (CCLI) Full Proposals, Phase 2 and 3 January, 24, 2006 Teacher Professional Continuum (TPC) Full Proposals September 16, 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. Consult NSF Education and Human Resources (EHR), Division of Undergraduate Education for the most up-to-date listings and guidelines; phone: 703/292-8670; email. The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. Camille Dreyfus Teacher–Scholar Awards Program: November 10, 2005 Faculty Start-Up Award Program: May 11, 2006 Henry Dreyfus Teacher–Scholar Awards Program: June 29, 2006 New Faculty Awards Program: May 11, 2006 Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry: May 25, 2006 Senior Scientist Mentor Program: Completed Proposals: September 29, 2005 Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences: Preliminary Proposals: June 1, 2006 Completed Proposals: August 24, 2006 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. Research Corporation Cottrell College Science Awards: May 15 and November 15 Cottrell Scholar Awards: September 1 Research Innovation Awards: suspended 2004-2005 Research Opportunity Awards: May 1 and October 1 Special opportunities in Science Awards: prospective applicants should submit a preliminary letter. Further information may be obtained from Research Corporation, 4703 East Camp Lowell Drive, Suite 201, Tucson, AZ 85712; phone: 520/571-1111; fax: 520/571-1119; email.