News from Journal House

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

2005 James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry

Morton Z. Hoffman, Professor of Chemistry at Boston University (BU), is the recipient of the 2005 James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry. The award will be presented on Thursday November 17, 2005. The award is made annually by the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society to recognize an individual whose dedication and excellence in the teaching of chemistry have had wide-ranging effects on the profession.

Hoffman received his B.S. degree from Hunter College of the City University of New York in 1955, and an M.S. (1957) and Ph.D. degree (1960) from the University of Michigan. Following postdoctoral work at the University of Sheffield in England, he joined the faculty at BU in 1961, where he has served as Associate Chair for Undergraduate Affairs and as Co-Advisor to the award-winning ACS Student Affiliates Chapter. In recent years, he has been increasingly involved in developing innovative teaching techniques for the general chemistry course. These have included using peer-led team learning in large classes. He has been the recipient of BU’s Metcalf Cup and Prize for Excellence in Teaching, and was the Founding Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Mort Hoffman has been extraordinarily active with the American Chemical Society for more than 40 years. He is currently chair of the ACS Division of Chemical Education (CHED). He was instrumental in strengthening undergraduate attendance at ACS National Meetings, and has long been committed to facilitating chemical education events at ACS Regional Meetings [see related story]. Recently, he has been active in conveying the vitality of modern chemistry to teachers at all levels both nationally and internationally. Mort has also served the Northeastern Section of the ACS with great distinction, serving on a wide array of committees. He was Chair of the section in 2002, and is a recipient of the section’s Henry Hill Award for Outstanding Service.

2005 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award

The Environmental Protection Agency recently presented the 2005 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards in a ceremony at the National Academy of Sciences. These awards have annually honored scientists who develop innovative chemistry to lower pollution. An independent panel of experts, convened by ACS, chooses the winners.

• Academic Award: Robin Rogers, Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
• Small Business Award: Metabolix, Inc., Cambridge, MA
• Industry Awards (4): Archer Daniels Midland Co., Decatur, IL; Merck & Co., West Point, PA; BASF Corp., Southfield, MI; Archer Daniels Midland Co., Decatur, IL and Novozymes North America, Franklinton, NC.

Award Deadlines

Call for Nominations, Chemical Breakthroughs

The ACS Division of History of Chemistry (HIST) solicits nominations for its new award program, Citation for Chemical Breakthroughs. This award recognizes breakthrough publications and patents worldwide in the field of chemistry. The term “breakthrough” refers to advances in chemistry that have been revolutionary in concept, broad in scope, and long-term in impact. Plaques, to be placed near the office or laboratory where the breakthroughs were achieved, will be presented annually to the departments and institutions at which these breakthroughs occurred.

More information about the awards and their nomination process may be found on the HIST Web site, under the heading “Divisional Awards” (accessed Jul 2005) or send an email. All nominations must be received by October 1, 2005.

Call For Nominations, 2006 Edelstein Award

The ACS Division of History of Chemistry (HIST) solicits nominations for the 2006 Sidney M. Edelstein Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry. This award, first given in 2002, honors the memory of the late Sidney M. Edelstein, who established the Dexter Award in 1956, and continues the tradition of the Dexter Award for Outstanding Achievements in the History of Chemistry, which was discontinued after 2001. Lists of previous recipients of the Edelstein Award and its predecessor Dexter Award are available at the HIST Web page (accessed Jul 2005).

The Edelstein Award is sponsored by Ruth Edelstein Barish and family and is administered by HIST. The recipient of the Edelstein Award is presented with an engraved plaque and the sum of $3500, usually at a symposium at the Fall National Meeting of the ACS in his or her honor; in 2006 this will be held in San Francisco, CA, September 10–14. The award is international in scope, and nominations are welcome from anywhere in the world. Previous winners of the Dexter and Edelstein Awards include chemists and historians from the United States, Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, and the United Kingdom.

A complete nomination consists of a complete curriculum vitae for the nominee, including biographical data, educational background, awards, honors, list of publications, and other service to the profession; a letter of nomination summarizing the nominee’s achievements in the field of the history of chemistry and citing unique contributions that merit a major award; at least two seconding letters. Copies of no more than three publications may also be included. Only complete nominations will be considered for the award.

All nomination materials should be submitted in triplicate to James G. Traynham, Chair, Edelstein Award Committee for 2006, 122 Highland Trace Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70810-5061. Nominations must arrive no later than December 31, 2005.

Travel Awards, ACS Women Chemists Committee

The ACS Women Chemists Committee announces that Eli Lilly & Co. is sponsoring a program to provide funding for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral women chemists to travel to scientific meetings in 2005 to present the results of their research. Grants may be applied only to registration, travel, and accommodations, and are restricted to travel to meetings within the U.S. Grant funds are limited, but some funds are set aside for undergraduates; only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible. Applications should be limited to one per research group and will be given with preference to the following order: (1) any applicant who will be making her first presentation (regardless of format) at a national or major meeting; (2) graduate or postdoctoral applicants who have not presented at a national or major meeting since leaving undergraduate school. Women who have received a prior award under this program are ineligible.

The deadlines dates for receipt of applications are:

September 15, 2005: for meetings between January 1 and June 30, 2006

February 1, 2006: for meetings between July 1 and December 31, 2006

The following are required when applying: a resume, a completed application form, an abstract of the work to be presented, a letter detailing the reasons the applicant wants this award, and a letter from the applicant’s advisor confirming participation in the meeting. Details are available from the WCC staff liaison, Felicia Foxworth Dixon, Women Chemists Committee, American Chemical Society, 1155 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036; phone: 800/227-5558, ext. 6334.

Courses, Seminars, Meetings, Opportunities

NSF Conference, Shared Journeys: Empowering Futurebound Communities

The University of Arizona is convening a conference for community colleges and universities to learn about an NSF-sponsored program that provides support to women majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math who transfer from a community college to a four-year university. The purpose of the conference, to be held October 27–28, 2005, in Tucson, AZ, is to assist individuals from community colleges and universities learn how to develop a similar Futurebound program at their institution. Funding is available to support attendance at the conference.

More information is available from Amy Schaller, the Program Coordinator of Futurebound at the Southwest Institute for Research on Women, by email or by telephone at 520/626-9156. The deadline for applications is August 15, 2005; late applications will be considered based on availability.

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: 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. 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.