News from Journal House

ChemEd Catalog

The Chemical Education Digital Library (ChemEd DL) now has a new cataloging service available. Here’s a description of what you will find there.

Like the card catalog of a traditional library, ChemEd Catalog contains data about the resources in the ChemEd DL; this “data about data” is known as metadata. ChemEd Catalog provides means to search this metadata and browse among the metadata records in its data base. You can either browse among the resources in each ChemEd DL collection or use the “Filtered Browsing” feature to discover resources within various categories. Once you discover a resource in the catalog that interests you, one click takes you directly to that resource. 

The ChemEd Catalog also shares it contents with the National Science Digital Library (NSDL), allowing you to find ChemEd DL resources among many other related science, mathematics, engineering, and technology resources of NSDL. Try out this new service.

Free to a Good Home: JCE Software Video Laserdiscs

Since 1998, JCE Software has provided quality video and software resources to educators. Initially our video of chemistry in action was published on laser videodisc. Laser videodisc players have now been largely replaced by CDs and DVDs, but the quality of the video reproduction on videodiscs remains far superior. While the technology is outdated, the value of the chemistry resource is definitely not.

We have good news for those who still have laser videodisc players! JCE Software has a surplus of laserdiscs from our early collection of chemistry videos. These are now available for donation to schools or education programs that can use the materials. Note that these are 12-in. video laserdiscs requiring a video laserdisc player to be viewed. 

Laser Videodisc titles include

• World of Chemistry: Selected Demonstrations and Animations, Part I
• World of Chemistry: Selected Demonstrations and Animations, Part II
• Chem Demos I
• Chem Demos II
• Demonstrations in Organic Chemistry
• Periodic Table Videodisc
• Titration Techniques

JCE Software will donate these laserdiscs as supplies last, but asks that recipients pay the cost of shipping. Interested parties may get more information by contacting the JCE Software office at 800/991-5534 or by email at jcesoft@chem.wisc.edu. This offer is good until March 15, 2009.

Awards Announced

ACS 2009 National Awards

The American Chemical Society has announced the recipients of its 2009 national awards. Vignettes of all award recipients will appear in C & E News in early 2009. Recipients will be honored at the Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, March 24, 2009, in conjunction with the 237th ACS national meeting in Salt Lake City.

ACS Award for Achievement in Research for the Teaching and Learning of Chemistry, sponsored by Pearson Education

• Alexander H. Johnstone, University of Glasgow, Scotland

ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences, sponsored by the Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation

• Shirley M. McBay, Quality Education for Minorities Network

ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences, sponsored by the Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation

• Mary F. Singleton, University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

ACS Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution, sponsored by Research Corporation

• Moses N. F. Lee, Hope College

Award for Volunteer Service to the American Chemical Society, sponsored by American Chemical Society

• Mary Virginia Orna, College of New Rochelle

James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry Teaching, sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific

• Sally B. Mitchell, East Syracuse-Minoa Central High School, East Syracuse, NY

Charles Lathrop Parsons Award, sponsored by ACS

• Glenn A. Crosby and Jane L. Crosby, Washington State University

George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education, sponsored by ACS

• Henry W. Heikkinen, University of Northern Colorado

Award Deadlines

Knowles Science Teaching Fellowships

The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF) is currently accepting applications for their 2009 teaching fellowships. KSTF Teaching Fellowships support individuals with exceptional science or mathematics content knowledge who are committed to teaching high school in the United States. The teaching fellowships are renewable for up to five years and will begin on June 1, 2009. 

Additional information about the foundation and fellowship applications may be found online (accessed Sep 2008). The application deadline is January 14, 2009 at 5 p.m. EST. Only online submissions will be considered.

Pittsburgh Conference Memorial National College Grants Program (PCMNCG)

The Pittsburgh Conference and its sponsoring societies, the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh and the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh, announce the 2009 PCMNCG Award Program. The PCMNCG program is one of many efforts by all volunteer Committee members of the Pittsburgh Conference and its sponsoring societies to encourage and support science education at all levels.

The program serves as a memorial to deceased members of the Pittsburgh Conference Committee by promoting excellence in science education. Through the program, small colleges can enhance their science curricula through grants to purchase equipment and course materials. In 2009 at least $115,000 is available for about twelve awards.

Grants will be awarded to small college science departments for the purchase of scientific equipment, audio-visual or other teaching aids, and/or library materials for use in the teaching of science at the undergraduate level. The amount requested in each proposal may not exceed $10,000. 

Funding for the awards is provided by PITTCON, the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, which will be held March 7–13, 2009, at McCormick Place South in Chicago, IL.

For further information, the 2009 criteria, an application form, and a list of previous awardees, go to the Web site (accessed Oct 2008). The deadline for receipt of completed applications and proposals is December 1, 2008. Announcement of the awards will be made during February 2009.

The Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences

The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation announces the establishment of the Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences to recognize an individual for exceptional and original research in a selected area of chemistry that has advanced the field in a major way. The biennial prize of $250,000 is the one of the largest awards dedicated to the chemical sciences in the U.S. The first Dreyfus Prize will be awarded in the field of materials chemistry, honoring the accomplishments of the Dreyfus brothers, Camille and Henry.

“A key feature of the Dreyfus Prize is that the area of focus will change each cycle. This underscores the rich diversity of chemistry and will ensure the contemporary nature of the Dreyfus Prize,” says Dorothy Dinsmoor, president of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation.

The deadline for nominations is February 13, 2009, with the award recipient to be announced in April. Further information is available (accessed Oct 2008).

P3: People, Prosperity and the Planet Student Design Competition for Sustainability

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its partners invite submissions to the 6th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainabilty Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet. EPA is seeking applications proposing to research, develop, and design solutions to real-world challenges involving the overall sustainability of human society. The solicitation is open from September 22, 2008 through December 23, 2008. 

Applications can address any of these research areas: Agriculture; Materials and Chemicals; Energy; Information Technology; Water; Built Environment. The P3 Award Program is open to degree-granting public and private institutions of higher education located in the U.S. See the P3 Web site (accessed Oct 2008) for details about the program and a link to the solicitation.

EPA has posted flash movies that have been compiled from video filmed at the 2008 National Sustainable Design Expo in April 2008 for each of this year’s 56 P3 teams. Go to the Web site (accessed Oct 2008) to hear the student team members describe their P3 projects and reflect on the P3 Award Program.

Courses, Seminars, Meetings, Opportunities

ChemEd 2009: August 2–7, 2009

Radford University in Radford, VA has been selected as the site for the 20th international ChemEd 2009 conference to be held August 2–6, 2009. This is a unique teaching and learning conference where chemistry teachers can share their teaching experiences, classroom innovations, and laboratory experiments. The program will include several plenary lectures, many hands-on workshops, and chemical demonstration presentations.

At past meetings, more than 1000 chemistry teachers have attended from every state in the U.S., every Canadian province, and more than 50 other countries. While most of the participants are high school chemistry teachers, many college professors from 2- and 4-year institutions also attend.

Christine Hermann, a member of the chemistry department at Radford University, is the meeting chair. Members of the organizing committee include many Radford University faculty, faculty from surrounding universities, high school teachers, and other chemistry professionals. For more information, visit the ChemEd 2009 Web site (accessed Oct 2008).

ACS Careers Industry Forum: Monthly Teleconferences

The ACS Department of Career Management and Development and Industry Programs are launching a monthly teleconference featuring luminaries in the chemical sciences. In these teleconferences, industry executives in the chemical sciences will discuss economic and employment trends, providing an opportunity for practitioners in the chemical sciences to listen to leaders in their industries and assisting in making informed career decisions. 

The first teleconference in the series took place in September 2008; future conferences include these guest speakers:

• November 2008: Michael Strem, President, Strem Chemicals
• January 2009: Tom Lane, ACS President-elect
• February 2009: William F. Carroll, Jr., Vice President, Chlorovinyl Issues for OxyChem; he works on public policy issues and communications related to chlorine and PVC and is an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University, where he teaches polymer chemistry.

This is a free service via conference call. For more information, to register, or to post comments on the ACS Careers Blog, go to the Web site (accessed Oct 2008).

International Conferences of Interest, Summer 2009

(all sites accessed Oct 2008)

• May 27–30: 36th College Chemistry Canada Conference (C3); Centennial College, Scarborough, Ontario. C3 focuses on the teaching of chemistry at two- and four-year colleges.
• May 28–30: 3rd International Center for First-Year Undergraduate Chemistry Education Conference; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico. Previous ICUC FYI-Chem conferences were held at the University of Illinois (2005) and the University of Colorado (2007).
• May 30–June 3: 92nd Canadian Chemistry Conference; Hamilton, Ontario. The chemical education program will include many diverse symposia.
• June 21–26: Gordon Research Conference on Chemical Education Research and Practice; Colby College, Waterville, M.. Chair: Thomas Greenbowe; Vice-chair: Marcy Towns.
• July 4–8: ChemEd 09 (Chemistry on the Edge); University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. This is the “down-under” edition of the biennial chemistry teachers’ conferences.
• July 15–18: International Congress of Science Education; Cartagena, Columbia. The Congress will provide a forum to discuss international problems of science education at the university and secondary levels.
• July 26–31: Gordon Research Conference on Visualization in Science and Education; Magdalen College, Oxford, England. Chairs: Arthur Olson and Sharon Ainsworth; Vice-chairs: Elizabeth Dorland and Ghislain Deslongchamps.
• August 2–7: 42nd IUPAC World Chemistry Congress; Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.. Sessions are planned on Communication and Education: Chemistry Education; Ethics, Science, and Development.
• September 2–4: European Variety in Chemistry Education Conference; University of Manchester, England. This Royal Society of Chemistry conference provides a forum for exchanging ideas about teaching practices and the learning and teaching of chemistry at the tertiary level.

Survey: Prudent Practices

Comments from users of the book, Prudent Practices in the Laboratory, are needed!

A committee of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety is updating the 1995 edition of Prudent Practices in the Laboratory—Handling & Disposal of Chemicals, published by National Academies Press. The committee would like comments on the current version and ideas for the next. To complete their survey, please go to this Web site (accessed Oct 2008). [Note: the online survey is currently closed (Nov 2008).]

Materials for Teachers

Astronomy Education Review

Astronomy Education Review (AER) is a Web-based journal about astronomy education and outreach. Sidney Wolff and Andrew Fraknoi, AER editors, announce that as of 2009 AER will become a journal of the American Astronomical Society. 

AER actively solicits interesting papers and articles on all aspects of astronomy space science education and outreach. All papers are refereed and a set of guidelines for contributors is available on the Web site (accessed Oct. 2008).