News from Journal House

More Issues Available as PDFs; Browsing Added; Scanning Back Issues Continues

If you are looking for past issues of the Journal at JCE Online, there is good news. All issues—from 1966 to the present—are now delivered to you as PDF files; the few years that were delivered on a page-by-page basis have been replaced. In addition, we have added Tables of Contents for issues dating back to 1974 so that you can find articles without using JCE Index (of course you can still use JCE Index to find such articles if you prefer). We have also audited the JCE Index to ensure that the results it produces accurately link to the articles. So to summarize:

• all articles dating back to 1966 are available as PDF files
• you can now find articles from all issues of the Journal dating back to 1966 using JCE Index
• you can also use the Previous Issues links to browse issues from 1974 to present.

Back issues are included with your subscription with no additional charge—another good reason to subscribe to JCE today. You can do so as easily as pointing your WWW browser to the JCE Online Store.

Scanning and digitizing efforts continue, so expect further expansion of back-issue offerings.

Awards Announced

2006 Biotechnology Heritage Award

The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) and Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) presented the 2006 Biotechnology Heritage Award to Alejandro Zaffaroni at the BIO 2006 meeting in Chicago. Zaffaroni is a pioneer of the biotechnology revolution and entrepreneur. He has founded and cofounded many companies that have become world leaders in medical technology including ALZA Corp., DNAX, Affymax, Affymetrix, Maxygen, SurroMed, Alexza, and Symyx. The award is presented by CHF yearly during the BIO Annual International Convention to honor individuals who have contributed significantly to the growth of biotechnology through discovery, innovation, commercialization, and/or public understanding.

Winners, Vernier 2006 Technology Award

Vernier Software & Technology has announced the six winners of their Vernier/NSTA Technology Award competition. The six educators, who teach at schools ranging from elementary to college, were judged by a panel of experts, appointed by NSTA, to be the best in their respective categories. Each winner received $1,000 in cash, $1,000 in Vernier products, and up to $1,000 toward expenses to attend the 2006 NSTA national convention.

Elementary

Deborah Wikerham, Chamberlin Hill Intermediate, Findlay, OH: “The Power of the A.P.P.L.E. Bus”

Middle School

Jamie Mabry, sixth grade science teacher at New London Choice Middle School, New London, NC: “Soil on the Horizon in Stanley County”

High School Biology

Heidi Anderson, AP biology teacher at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Lexington, KY: “Heart Rate Measures in Crayfish: Environmental Changes, Social Interactions and Physiological Response”

High School Environmental

David Jones, chemistry teacher at Big Sky High School, Missoula, MT: “Air Toxics Under the Big Sky”

High School Rocketry

Stephen Potashnik, physics and math teacher, Chesapeake Bay Governor’s School, Tappahannock, VA: “Rocketry” lab

College

Marina Milner-Bolton, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC: “Interactive Learning Experiments—Improving Student Experiences in Introductory Science Courses”

Award Deadlines

2006 Collegiate Inventors Competition

The National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation is accepting entries for its 2006 competition. The program recognizes and rewards invention, innovation, and discovery by college and university students. For the 2006 competition, students and their advisors will compete for more than $75,000 in prizes: a grand prize of $25,000; a top graduate prize of $15,000; a top undergraduate prize of $10,000, and a $3,000 prize for the advisor of each winning entry.

An entry form and FAQs are available (accessed Apr 2006). The deadline for the 2006 competition is June 1, 2006.

Courses, Seminars, Meetings, Opportunities

Polymer Ambassadors on the WWW

The Polymer Ambassador program is sponsored by IPEC, the Intersociety Polymer Education Council, whose members are the Polymer Chemistry, Polymeric Materials: Science & Engineering, and Rubber Divisions of the American Chemical Society and the American Plastics Council. Their aim is to significantly increase student interest and participation in science and technology subjects by incorporating the teaching of polymers and polymeric materials into K–12 curricula utilizing the combined resources and infrastructures of the participating scientific societies.

The Polymer Ambassadors (accessed Apr 2006) have activities, demonstrations, make-and-take ideas, and a learning cycle of lessons for making “Designer Sneakers”. All are available without charge. The make-and-take ideas are some that the ambassadors do at National Science Teacher Association conferences. From the home page, scroll down to “Our Favorite Polymer Activities”, which are grouped in the following categories: K–2, 3–5, 6–8 and 9–12. The learning cycle on “Designer Sneakers” explains how one can manage a classroom of students so that small groups design the midsole and insole for a sport shoe using “slime” with additives. At the bottom of the home page, Project CLVE (Chemical Laboratories with Video Enhancement) links to three labs that are written for high school students to perform in a traditional mode as well as options to choose problem-based and open-inquiry approaches on the same topic. Digital photographs and QuickTime movies accompany each laboratory.

Web-Based Applications for Chemical Education: Spring 2006 CONFCHEM Conference

The Division of Chemical Education’s Committee on Computers in Chemical Education will host the Spring 2006 CONFCHEM conference (accessed Apr 2006), “Web-Based Applications for Chemical Education”, from May 5 through June 30. The conference organizers are Bob Belford (University of Arkansas at Little Rock) and Bob Hanson (St. Olaf College). Sixteen papers will be presented during this free online conference, which will give chemical educators an opportunity to directly interact with a variety of developers of Web-based applications for chemical education.

Presentations in the context of laboratory safety, general, organic, inorganic, analytical, and physical chemistry, green chemistry, and biochemistry will focus on:

• Web-Based Preparatory Courses
• Web-Based Laboratory Course Management Systems
• Open-Source Course Management Systems
• Internet-Based Textbooks and Tutorial Systems
• Open-Source Spectroscopic and Molecular Visualization Programs
• Online Educational Material Repositories
• Web-Based Computational Chemistry Programs
• Web Applications, Hyperglossaries, and Wikis

There will be eight week-long sessions, the first starting Friday, May 5. Each session will cover two papers. Sessions will start on a Friday with registered subscribers submitting questions to both authors through the weekend. The following Monday the authors of both papers will respond, and the discussion list will be open through Thursday for general discussion. You do not need to be registered to access the papers, but if you wish to view or participate in the discussion sessions you will need to subscribe to the list.

You are welcome to subscribe to the entire conference or to subscribe at any time after the beginning of the conference in order to participate only in those specific sessions that are of direct interest.

The combination of Web-based applications and email-based discussion will give this CONFCHEM conference a definitive “workshop” nature not generally possible at traditional “in-person” conferences. Many of the authors’ online papers will provide links to their actual Web sites (with passwords when needed), giving us the opportunity to explore a site while interacting with the author directly and with other subscribers. Thus, we expect a lively discussion in a hands-on workshop atmosphere.

If you are unfamiliar with CONFCHEM, we encourage you to subscribe to the discussion sessions even if you do not participate in the discussions. (You can “cancel” your subscription at any time.) Almost all of the subscribers will be chemical educators, and many will be educators who are also developers of other Web-based applications. As the presenters are seeking input on their work, the ensuing discussions by subscribers could bring out important facets of the papers that you will miss if you are not subscribed to the discussion list.

After the conference, all papers and discussions will be placed in the Archives on the CCCE CONFCHEM Web site. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact one of the conference organizers, Bob Belford or Bob Hanson.

Registration for 19th BCCE

Registration is available now for the 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE), to take place July 30 through August 3, 2006, at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. You can register for the meeting and reserve university housing and meals at the BCCE Web site (accessed Apr 2006) or you can request a paper registration form from Bill Robinson, Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, 560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, IN USA 47907-2084; phone: 765/494-5453. Complete information about the meeting is available at the Web site.

The program for the 19th BCCE contains a wide variety of workshops, presentations, plenary speakers, keynote speakers, demonstrations, exhibits, and posters, each of which is designed to provide new ideas, strategies, and techniques for involving students in active learning. We also have a very strong high school program. There will be great social events and things to see and do.

To complement the formal program we are looking for suggestions for Birds-of-a-Feather sessions that will involve a group in an informal discussion of some item of common interest. Let Bill Robinson know what you would like.

Information about programming, facilities, housing, meals, transportation to Purdue, and social events is also available at the conference Web site.

National Center for Blind Youth in Science: New Web Portal

Chemistry educators who work with blind students have a new resource in the form of a Web portal. The National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute has announced the launch of its National Center for Blind Youth in Science (NCBYS) Web Portal (accessed Apr 2006), a clearinghouse of information and resources related to blind youth and their participation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

The NCBYS Web Portal, funded under a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), provides easy, centralized access for teachers, students, parents, and others to gain the knowledge necessary to make STEM fields accessible to blind youth. Users can not only find high tech solutions but also low tech, simple tools and strategies to teach and learn STEM subjects.

The portal also provides users with a career section where they can read biographies and hear interviews of blind scientists and engineers, including Abraham Nemeth, developer of the Nemeth Code. Users can explore career opportunities and science programs available to blind students, such as the Excellence through Challenging Exploration and Leadership internship program and the NFB Science Academy. Finally, the portal provides a venue for sharing ideas and information related to STEM subjects and careers through a newsletter, bulletin boards, and a chat room.

This Web portal will not only serve as a springboard for future development and dissemination of resources and products but also allows teachers, parents, and students better access to these resources. By providing this all-inclusive online resource relating to blind students and STEM, barriers will be eroded, leading to increased participation and pursuit of STEM studies and careers by these students. The sharing of knowledge among teachers, parents, and students will cut down on the amount of duplication of effort that now takes place. In addition, product and technology developers will gain a higher awareness of the needs of blind students, thus producing more meaningful, accessible products.

For more information, visit the NCBYS Web Portal or contact the NFB Jernigan Institute Education Department; phone: 410/659-9314.

Utilize this resource and help imagine a future full of opportunities for blind youth in chemistry and other scientific endeavors!

Participate in World’s Largest Climate Change Experiment

Citizens of the U.S. who are concerned about the possible consequences of global warming can participate in Climateprediction.net (accessed Apr 2006) by donating spare capacity on their desktop PCs to the world’s largest public computing project. The real-time desktop visualization software used in the experiment, developed by Numerical Algorithms Group (NAG), ensures that participants are not only able to contribute to the experiment but also can track the progress of their simulation as cloud cover and temperature changes on the surface of the globe.

Rob Meyer, CEO of NAG comments, “Most computer users are not using their machines to full capacity when they have them. The climateprediction.net program simply runs in the background tapping into unused processing capacity. Once users have set the software up on their system they do not need to do anything more, and the experiment will not interfere with a computer user’s regular computing activities. What they can do however, thanks to the data visualization software the NAG team developed for this experiment, is keep track of the project as it unfolds and monitor how their PC has contributed to the experiment. If you like Google Earth, you will love climateprediction.net. Participants can also have the satisfaction of knowing that they are helping to change the world’s outlook on global warming.”

Climateprediction.net is now being promoted by a growing number of print and broadcast media outlets worldwide. As of March 2006, more than 47,000 computers worldwide were participating in the experiment, so far helping to model more than 11 million years of climate change.

Find out more (accessed Apr 2006) about the project and how to participate.

Proposal Deadlines National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) The following NSF deadlines have been established or are anticipated. Advanced Technology Education (ATE) Full Proposals: October 12, 2006 Centers for Learning and Teaching (CLT) Full Proposals: August 21, 2006 Course, Curriculum and Lab Improvement (CCLI) Full Proposals, Phase 2 and 3: January 10, 2007 Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) Full Proposals: June 5, 2006 Informal Science Education (ISE) Full Proposals: June 22, 2006 Preliminary Proposals: September 14, 2006 Full Proposals: December 14, 2006 Preliminary Proposals: March 8, 2007 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring Full Proposals: March 6, 2007 Research Experiences for Undergrads (REU) Full Proposals, REU Site proposals: August 17, 2006 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) Letter of Intent (Type 1 and 2): August 15, 2006 Full Proposals (Type 1 and 2): September 26, 2006 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 9, 2006 Faculty Start-Up Award Program: May 10, 2007 Henry Dreyfus Teacher–Scholar Awards Program: June 29, 2006 New Faculty Awards Program: May 10, 2007 Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry: May 24, 2007 Senior Scientist Mentor Program: Completed Proposals: October 5, 2006 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 2004-2006 Research Opportunity Awards: May 1 and October 1 Special opportunities in Science Awards: suspended 2006-2008. 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.