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E O E O yyyyN N A E S A E S S S S L S L T T A A E A E A C C R C I R C I yyyyN S M N S M S E S E E H E H C C C C T N T N IO A March 2007IO A Vol. LXXXV, No. 7 yyyyC C N • AMERI N • AMERI

Monthly Meeting 2006 Winner of the James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry, Michael Wasielewski, Speaks at UMASS Boston

NEBHE Science Network at MIT By Michael Filosa

Book Review A Trio of Books and Their Social Impact Reviewed by Dennis Sardella

Book Review Hitler’s Scientists: Science, War and the Devil's Pact Reviewed by Vivian Walworth 2 The Nucleus March 2007 The Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society, Inc. Contents Office: Marilou Cashman, 23 Cottage St., Natick, MA 01360. 1-800-872-2054 (Voice or FAX) or 508-653-6329. NEBHE Science Network at MIT 4 e-mail: mcash0953(at)aol.com ______Any Section business may be conducted By Michael Filosa via the business office above. NESACS Homepage: http://www.NESACS.org Monthly Meeting ______5 Sathish Rangarajan, Webmaster Michael Wasielewski speaks at UMASS Boston on ACS Hotline, Washington, D.C.: "Charge and Spin Transport Dynamics in Bio-inspired Molecules: 1-800-227-5558 From Photosynthesis to Organic Electronics" Officers 2007 Chair: Mukund Chorghade Announcements______6 14 Carlson Circle, Natick, MA 01360 3rd Annual NESACS Golf Tournament, James Flack Norris 508-651-7809 and 308-3891 Chorghade(at)comcast.net and Theodore William Richards Undergraduate Summer Chair-Elect: Research Scholarships Marietta Swartz Chemistry Department, Umass-Boston Boston, MA 02125 Book Review ______7 617-287-6146; marietta.swartz(at)umb.edu A Trio of Books on Molecules and Their Social Impact Immediate Past Chair: Reviewed by Dennis Sardella Patricia Mabrouk Chemistry Department, Northeastern University Boston, MA 02115 Call for Nominations______9 613-373-2845; p.mabrouk(at)neu.edu Northeast Regional Award Nominations for Excellence in High Secretary: Michael Singer School Teaching and Excellence in Volunteer Services Sigma-Aldrich 3 Strathmore Rd., Natick, MA 01360 Book Review 11 508-651-8151X291; msinger(at)sial.com ______Treasurer: Hitler's Scientists: Science, War and the Devil's Pact James Piper Reviewed by Vivian Walworth 19 Mill Rd., Harvard, MA 01451 978-456-3155, piper28(at)attglobal.net Cover: Auditor: March Speaker, Professor Michael Wasielewski, Anthony Rosner Northwestern University Archivist: Myron S. Simon Deadlines: 20 Somerset Rd. May 2007 Issue: March 12, 2007 Newton, MA 02465; 617-332-5273 Summer 2007 Issue: June 15, 2007 Romysimon(at)mindspring.com Trustees: Joseph A. Lima, Esther A. H. Hopkins, Michael E. Strem Councilors Alternate Councilors Term Ends 12/31/2007 Thomas R. Gilbert Arlene W. Light Michael J. Hearn Timothy B. Frigo The Nucleus is distributed to the members of the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Michael Singer Mary Mahaney Society, to the secretaries of the Local Sections, and to editors of all local A.C.S. Section publications. Pamela Nagafuji Mark Froimowitz Forms close for advertising on the 1st of the month of the preceding issue. Text must be received by the Term Ends 12/31/2008 editor six weeks before the date of issue. Doris I. Lewis Patrick M. Gordon Morton Z. Hoffman Michael P. Filosa Editor: Michael P. Filosa, Ph.D., editor, ZINK Imaging LLC, 1265 Main Street, Christine Jaworek-Lopes Lawrence Scott Waltham, MA 02451 Email: Michael.Filosa(at)zink.com; Tel: 781-386-8479. Mary Burgess Liming Shao Associate Editors: Myron S. Simon, 20 Somerset Rd., W. Newton, MA 02465, Tel: 617-332-5273 Donald O. Rickter S.B. Rajur Nancy Simons, Analytical Chemist, Corporate R&D, Boston Scientific Corp., Term Ends 12/31/2009 1 Boston Scientific Place A4, Natick, MA 01360-1537. Catherine Costello Julia H.Miwa Email: Nancy.Simons(at)bsci.com; Tel. 508-650-8603; Fax 508-647-2329 Patricia Mabrouk Alfred Viola Sheila E Rodman, Konarka Techologies Inc., 116 John St. Suite 12, Lowell, MA Michaeline F. Chen Jerry P. Jasinski 01852 email:srodman(at)konarka.com tel 978-569-1414 Dorothy J. Phillips Eva B. Binnun Amy Tapper Barney Grubbs Board of Publications: Mary Mahaney (Chair), Martin Idelson, Vivian K. Walworth Business Manager: Karen Piper, 19 Mill Rd., Harvard, MA 01451, Tel: 978-456-8622 All Chairs of standing Advertising Manager: Vincent J. Gale, P.O. Box 1150, Marshfield, MA 02050, Committees, the editor Tel: 781-837-0424; FAX: 781-837-1453 of THE NUCLEUS, and Contributing Editors: Morton Hoffman, Feature Editor; Dennis Sardella, Book Reviews the Trustees of Section Calendar Coordinator: Sheila Rodman, email: srodman(at)konarka.com Funds are members of the Photographers: Morton Z. Hoffman and James Phillips Board of Directors. Any Councilor of the American Chemical Society Proofreaders: Donald O. Rickter, Myron S. Simon, Vivian K. Walworth residing within the section area is an ex officio Webpage: Webmaster: Sathish Rangarajan, sathish.rangan2(at)gmail.com member of the Board of Directors. Copyright 2007, Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society, Inc. The Nucleus March 2007 3 NEBHE Science Network Corporate Patrons and Golf Iridium Astra Zeneca R&D Boston at MIT Genzyme Drug Discovery & Dev Hovione By Michael P. Filosa IBM As a result of a request for volunteers Prime Organics, Howard Mayne of IRIX Pharmaceuticals by NESACS Speaker’s Bureau Head, UNH, Mary Jo Ondrechen of North- Johnson-Matthey Pharma Solutions Jin Ji, Speakers Bureau members eastern University, Dagmar Ringe of Lyophilization Service of New England attended the fourteenth annual New Brandeis University and Lawrence T. Merck England Board of Higher Education Scott of Boston College. The NEBHE Phasex Corporation (NEBHE) Science Network at the Science Network at MIT is one of the Sepracor Massachusetts Institute of Technology components of NEBHE’s Excellence Strem Chemicals, Inc. Zone Enterprises held on Saturday, November 18, 2006. Through Diversity (ETD) program, Corporate Sponsors and Golf Present from the Speaker’s Bureau and was started in 1990. Rhodium were Michael Filosa of ZINK Imaging, The NEBEHE Science Network Aerodyne Research, Inc. Robert Litman, Independent Consul- has grown into a substantial enterprise. Cambridge Isotope Laboratories tant and Jin Ji of Harvard Medical Over six hundred students and mentors Cambridge Major Laboratories School. NESACS members Dorothy from all over New England converged New England BioLabs, Inc. and James Phillips of Waters Corpora- on the Stratton Student Center at MIT. Pfizer tion were also present along with a Registration and a continental break- Sigma-RBI past NESACS chair, Jean Fuller-Stan- fast were scheduled from 8-9 AM. As Shasun Pharma Solutions ley, formerly of Wellesley College and an early arriver I found myself sitting Donors and Golf Tungsten now Associate Dean at William Patter- at a table with several of the key lead - Consulting Resources Corp. son University in New Jersey. A num- ers of the conference. I was sitting Dishman Pharmaceuticals ber of other active NESACS members with Harold Bibb, Professor of Biolog- and Chemicals Limited are involved in the Science Network ical Sciences and Associate Dean of Houghton Chemical Company and are listed in the Directory of Advi- the Graduate School, University of Organix, Inc. sors published by NEBHE. A partial Rhode Island; José Lemos, Professor Vertex listing includes Perry Catchings of of Physiology, University of Massa- chusetts Medical School, and James Henkel, Professor of Chemistry, Uni- versity of Connecticut. These men were just a small subset of the dedi- cated group of academic and business leaders who have been committed long term to this endeavor and its’ objective of facilitating the educational develop- ment of underrepresented minorities in technical fields. It was uplifting and illuminating to meet these dedicated and inspiring leaders and to hear their personal stories. Later Professor Lemos led an introductory session for mentors in which he gave an example of his own persistence in the face of rejection. He recounted how as a student he had his heart set on a research position at Woods Hole because he thought it would be very important to his future career. Twice he was turned down. He responded with some frustration, but also with more determination. The third time he applied was the charm, Continued on page 10

4 The Nucleus March 2007 Abstract Monthly Meeting “Charge and Spin Transport The 877h Meeting of the Northeastern Section of the American Dynamics in Bio-inspired Chemical Society Molecules: From Thursday – March 8, 2007 Photosynthesis to Organic University of Massachusetts, Boston Electronics” Campus Center – 3rd Floor Ballroom, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA The principal goal of our research is to 2:30 pm Career Services Presentations and Resume Reviews, Mukund explore the fundamental structural and Chorghade, Chair, NESACS; Megan Driscoll and Jennifer Sass of electronic requirements for efficient PharmaLogics Recruiting. energy and electron transfer in 4:30 pm Board Meeting extended arrays of donor-acceptor molecules. In this presentation we will 5:30 pm Social Hour describe several new molecules and 6:30 pm Dinner materials produced by a combination 8:00 pm Evening Seminar, NESACS Chair, Mukund Chorghade Presiding of chemical synthesis and self-assem- Speaker: Prof. Michael R. Wasielewski, Department of Chemistry and bly that use energy and charge trans- Center for Nanofabrication and Molecular Self-Assembly, Northwest- port strategies inspired by natural ern University, Evanston, IL 60208-3113 photosynthesis. These new molecules “Charge and Spin Transport Dynamics in Bio-inspired Molecules: may find applications in the fields of From Photosynthesis to Organic Electronics” solar energy conversion, photonics, Dinner reservations should be made no later than noon, Thursday, March 1, and spintronics. Examples from sev- 2007. Please call or fax Marilou Cashman at 800-872-2054 or e-mail at eral areas currently under investiga- Mcash0953(at)aol.com. Please specify vegetarian. Reservations not cancelled at tion will be featured. These areas least 24 hours in advance must be paid. Members,$28; Non-members, $30; include charge and spin transport Retirees, $15; Students, $10. through repetitive molecular structures THE PUBLIC IS INVITED exhibiting wire-like behavior; mole- Directions to UMASS Boston: cules that undergo rapid charge sepa- ration due to symmetry-breaking in Public Transportation: Subway:Take the Red Line to JFK/UMass Station. A free shuttle bus will carry their photoexcited singlet states; and you to the campus. self-assembly of functional artificial Commuter Rail: Take the commuter rail to the JFK/UMass station from the light-harvesting antenna and photore- South Shore on the Middleboro and Plymouth lines. action centers, whose efficient energy By car from the north:Take Interstate 93 South through Boston to Exit 15. and electron transfer properties are a Take a left at the end or the ramp onto Columbia Road, and then take your first direct consequence of their supramole- right in the rotary. Follow the University of Massachusetts signs along Colum- cular structures. ◆ bia Road and Morrissey Boulevard to the campus. By car from the south: Take Interstate 93 North to Exit 14 and follow Morris - sey Boulevard north to the campus. Biography By car from the west: Take the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90) east to Michael R. Wasielewski was born in Interstate 93. Take I-93 South one mile to Exit 15. Take a left at the end or the Chicago, Illinois. He received both his ramp onto Columbia Road, and then take your first right in the rotary . Follow Bachelor of Science (1971) and Ph.D. the University of Massachusetts signs along Columbia Road and Morrissey (1975) degrees from the University of Boulevard to the campus. Chicago. He carried out his graduate Parking fees: $6 per single use. research in physical organic chemistry Next Meeting: Esselen Award Meeting, April 12, 2007, Harvard University. under the guidance of Leon M. Stock. Reception and dinner 5:30 pm, Harvard Faculty Club; Award Meeting: 8:15 pm, He then performed postdoctoral Pfizer Hall, Mallinckrodt Chemistry Building, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge. research, first with Ronald Breslow at Dr. Michael Marletta, Aldo DeBenedictis Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Columbia University, and then with and Chair of the Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley: Joseph Katz at the Argonne National “Nitric Oxide in Biology: From Discovery to Therapeutics.” Laboratory. Following postdoctoral Continued on page 8

The Nucleus March 2007 5 3rd Annual Women Chemists Committee and Announcement Northeastern Section The James Flack Norris Golf and Theodore William Richards Tournament Undergraduate Summer Research Scholarships To be held in conjunction with the 234th The Northeastern Section of the Amer- bers and to waive any student fees for National ACS meeting in Boston ican Chemical Society (NESACS) summer research. Academic credit established the James Flack Norris and may be granted to the students at the August 22, 2007 Theodore William Richards Under- discretion of the institutions. Brookline Golf Club graduate Summer Scholarships to Award winners are required to at Putterham Meadows honor the memories of Professors Nor- submit a report (~5-7 double-spaced Golf - 2pm ris and Richards by promoting research pages including figures, tables, and Buffet Dinner - 7pm interactions between undergraduate bibliography) of their summer projects Awards - 8pm students and faculty. to the NESACS Education Committee Research awards of $3250 will be by November 2, 2007 for publication Hole Sponsorships given for the summer of 2007. The in The Nucleus. They are also required are available at several levels: student stipend is $2750 for a mini- to participate in the Northeast Student $2,500 Boron mum commitment of ten weeks of full- Chemistry Research Conference $2,000 Osmium time research work. The remaining (NSCRC) in April 2008. $1,500 Sulfur $500 of the award can be spent on sup- Eligibility: Applications will be $1,000 Tritium plies, travel, and other items relevant accepted from student/faculty teams at $500 Oxygen to the student project. colleges and universities within the $300 Nitrogen Institutions whose student/faculty Northeastern Section. The undergrad- team receives a Norris/Richards All proceeds from this tournament uate student must be a chemistry, bio- support WCC and NESACS programs Undergraduate Summer Research chemistry, chemical engineering, or Scholarship are expected to contribute Updated information on NESACS website molecular biology major in good www.nesacs.org toward the support of the faculty mem- standing, and have completed at least two full years of college-level chem- istry by summer, 2007. Application: Application forms are available on the NESACS web site at http://www.nesacs.org. Completed applications are to be submitted no later than April 6, 2007 to the Chair of the Selection Committee: Professor Edwin Jahngen University of Massachusetts Lowell Chemistry Department, Room 520, Olney Hall 1 University Avenue Lowell, MA 01854-5047 Notification: Applicants will be noti- fied of the results by e-mail on April 25, 2007 with written confirmation to follow. ◆

6 The Nucleus March 2007 Book Review A Trio of Books on Molecules and Their Social Impact Napoleon’s Buttons. 17 Molecules That Changed History, by Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2004) 362 pp., ISBN 1-58542-331-9; $14.95 paperback) Salt. A World History, by Mark Kurlansky (Penguin, 2002) 465 pp., ISBN 0-14-200161-9; $15.00 paperback) Men Of Salt. Crossing The Sahara On The Caravan Of White Gold, by Michael Benanav (The Lyons Press, 2006) 256 pp., ISBN 1-59228-772-7; $23.95 hardcover) Reviewed by Dennis J. Sardella, Department of Chemistry, Merkert Chemistry Center, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467

A couple of years ago, I received a reminding the reader forcefully and The examples Le Couteur and copy of Mark Kurlansky’s Salt. A entertainingly that modern society is Burreson have chosen are overwhelm- World History as a gift and had both founded on, and shaped by, chem- ingly organic (carbohydrates, phenols, enjoyed it so much so that when I saw icals, and that chemistry itself (like all vitamins, steroids, dyes, etc.), the only the announcement for Michael good science) is built about a core of inorganic compound being covered at Benanav’s Men Of Salt. Crossing The romance and adventure. length being salt (and, of course tin, Sahara On The Caravan of White Gold The intriguingly, yet misleadingly which makes a brief cameo appearance I was motivated to read it as a follow-up named, Napoleon’s Buttons takes its in conjunction with the book’s title). and complement. Not long afterward, a title from the hypothesis (suspicion?) As a chemist, one of the aspects of colleague returning from an ACS meet- that one reason for the defeat of the book I particularly appreciated was ing mentioned seeing a fellow chemist Napoleon’s army in Russia was that not only that the authors did not shrink reading a book with the intriguing title the tin buttons on his men’s uniforms from including large numbers of Napoleon’s Buttons. 17 Molecules crumbled due to the cold-induced molecular structures to illustrate their That Changed History and suggested phase transition from white to gray tin, points, but that they actually linked the that it might be a good candidate for a leaving them susceptible to death from structural features with the compounds’ review in The Nucleus. Having fin- exposure. The authors admit forth- properties and included balanced equa- ished it, I decided that the juxtaposition rightly that there is no hard evidence to tions for reactions, albeit without going of this trio of books on the interplay support this conjecture, though of into their details (which may have been between chemicals and human culture, course it makes an eye-catching title. too much for even the most hardened written independently at two-year Still, as someone once observed in nonscientist reader). All in all, though, intervals and spanning the continuum another context, “It’s such a neat story, the book made enjoyable reading and from science to personal experience, if it isn’t true, it ought to be.” This would certainly make an accessible might make for an interesting review. shortcoming aside, though, Napoleon’s introduction to the pervasive and Napoleon’s Buttons is a scientifi- Buttons is an enjoyable and informa- largely positive societal role played by cally (if not technically) focused pres- tive book that takes seventeen com- chemicals to give as a gift for a chemi - entation of the role played by pounds (more accurately, classes of cally unsophisticated acquaintance. chemicals in society and history, Salt compounds) and explores their impact The third-from-last chapter of simultaneously narrows the scientific on history and their role in contempo- Napoleon’s Buttons deals with salt (pri- focus to a single compound (more rary society. Consistent with the fact marily sodium chloride), a topic that accurately, class of compounds, since that Le Couteur and Burreson are both Mark Kurlansky tackles in exhaustive compounds other than sodium chloride chemists, Napoleon’s Buttons is the (though not exhausting) detail in his often make cameo appearances), but only one of the three books to actually book-length exploration of salt’s cen- broadens the historical and cultural present chemistry, and the authors have tral role in world civilization. Kurlan - horizons, and Men Of Salt looks not at thoughtfully included a compact intro- sky is not a scientist, and his focus in the compound itself, but is a personal ductory section on molecular structures Salt. A World History is simultane- account of the long and dangerous trek to demystify material in subsequent ously less technical and more expan- by camel caravan across the deserts of chapters, helping readers to come away sive than Le Couteur and Burreson’s. Mali in search of salt, and the lives of with an appreciation of the importance This is a social history, and its range is the men who mine and transport it. of topics like structural chemistry, staggering and its presentation detailed Taken as a whole, the three books intermolecular forces, stereochemistry and filled with fascinating looks at cul- segue rather neatly into one another, and functional groups. Continued on page 8

The Nucleus March 2007 7 Biography Book Review the Sahara to bring salt cakes mined in the desert wastes of Mali back to Tim- Continued from page 5 Continued from page 7 buktu, the nearest outpost of civiliza- studies, he joined the scientific staff of tures ranging from ancient China and tion. Concerned that this millennia-old the Argonne National Laboratory, Egypt, to medieval Europe, to revolu- tradition might be facing extinction in where he rose through the ranks to tionary France, to Civil War America, a world where salt has become almost become a Senior Scientist and Group to the contemporary Middle East. as cheap as dirt, he resolved to join a Leader of the Molecular Photonics Kurlansky writes fluidly and I found caravan to make the month-long trip, Group. In 1994 Wasielewski joined Salt to be a real page-turner, with virtu- not as a passenger, but as a worker. the faculty of Northwestern Univer- ally every page offering up an intrigu- Men Of Salt is the absorbing story of sity, where he is Professor of Chem- ing anecdote or fascinating connection. Benanav’s experiences on that harrow- istry. He served as Chair of the Michael Benanav is neither a sci- ing journey. Readers will not find any Chemistry Department from 2001- entist and adventurer of the laboratory, chemistry, or a great deal of historical 2004. Wasielewski’s research interests like Le Couteur and Burreson, or an or economic analysis. Rather they will include photoinduced electron transfer author and prospector of historical find an insightful, and at times humor - and charge transport in organic mole- archives, like Kurlansky, but a wilder- ous, day-to-day account of the world cules and materials, self-assembly of ness guide, a geographical adventurer, of the men who unknowingly stand at nanoscale materials, the magnetic intrigued by the romance of the haz- the other extreme of the story told by properties of radical ion pairs, ultrafast ardous trek of camel caravans across Napoleon’s Buttons and Salt, in a optical and magnetic resonance tech- world linked to the prehistory of chem- niques, materials for molecule-based istry, where chemicals are obtained not opto-electronics and spintronics, and ous distinguished lectureships and fel- by a walk to a stockroom or an email the biophysics of proteins involved in lowships. Among Wasielewski’s order to a corporate supplier, but are the primary processes of photosynthe- recent awards are the 2004 Photo- wrested from the earth and brought to sis. His research has resulted in over chemistry Research Award of the consumers with great hardship and at 300 publications. Wasielewski was Inter-American Photochemical Society enormous personal risk. Benanav’s elected a Fellow of the American and the 2006 James Flack Norris insights in Salt are not chemical, or Association for the Advancement of Award in Physical Organic Chemistry historical, or economic, but inner and Science in 1995, and has held numer- of the American Chemical Society. ◆ personal, not all that different from the joys, ideals and companionship of those who labor in the laboratory: “What’s perhaps more beautiful, even more important, are the truths expressed through the humble lives of the azalai, the miners and the nomads: that wealth is not a prerequisite for joy or self-respect; that commerce does not have to be founded upon greed; that each moment is ours in which to create delight, regardless of circumstances; that living in balance with the natural world is the key to long-term survival; that it’s possible to embrace tradition and modernity for what they each have to offer, without forsaking either.” ◆

Looking for seminars in the Boston area? Check out the NESACS Calendar www.nesacs.org/seminars

8 The Nucleus March 2007 NeRACS

The Nucleus March 2007 9 NEBHE at MIT a good lesson about mixing the hard I definitely needed better props. Prof. science of time with popular culture Rory Waterman from the University of Continued from page 4 and his own personal story in a way Vermont did bring colored dyes in vials and he was accepted into the program. that captivated an audience ranging to illustrate the inorganic materials he He stated that the faculty he met, and from young high school students to works with. It is wise for a mentor to the relationships he developed opened seasoned professionals and academics. make sure he or she thinks through doors for him, and have been of great For me this was an important lesson their demonstration materials carefully importance throughout his career. for the Speakers Bureau in designing and matches them to their audience. Later Professor Bibb as master of appealing presentations for the public. There were also a series of work- ceremonies at the plenary session Chemistry as a profession was shops specifically targeted to be rele- introduced the keynote speaker: Pro- well represented with ten mentors and vant either to high school and fessor Ronald L. Mallet, Professor of twenty-nine students. As part of the community college students or college Theoretical Physics at the University program we had several sessions in and graduate students such as Inside of Connecticut. Professor Mallet inter- which to interact with students and Info on Applying to College; Applying spersed serious discussion of the learn about their academic interests to and Succeeding in Graduate School; physics of time with respect to the and for the mentors to explain their Tools and Products: Developing Com- accuracy of atomic clocks, black holes jobs and career interests and experi- modities for the Future; The Human and lab experiments designed to com- ences. I found that a chapter I had Body: Advancing Biomedical Sciences; press time with his own personal story written about dyes to be a poor prop Land, Sea and Space: Exploring and and desire for the ability of humans to for explaining my work on digital Planning for the Future. There was time travel. Prof. Mallet recounted how printing technology to the students also a College Admissions Fair for high his father died when he was ten years with whom I was speaking. Originally, school and transferring students, a old. Shortly after his father ’s death he I thought I should bring vials with dyes, STEM Resource Fair for College stu- read The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. both in their colorless crystalline form, dents to talk to graduate schools, and He longed to go back in time to see his and in their colored form to illustrate internship providers about opportuni- father, and this desire ultimately led the colorless-to-colored process we use ties, and a graduate student workshop him into his study of physics and his in the novel multi-color printing paper entitled Preparing for an Independent career as a professor. Later I was asked we have invented at ZINK Imaging, as Career. by Prof. Bibb what I thought of the well as actual images. The students Fellow NESACS attendee, Bob Litman talk. I told him Prof. Mallet had taught were interested in my descriptions, but had the following comments: “The small group interaction in the morning and at lunch provided an excellent opportunity for students with questions about graduate school and careers to get some answers from pro- fessionals. One student who attends Williams College was concerned that, because she is attending a liberal ar ts college, perhaps her science back- ground would be inferior. I (success- fully) reassured her that Williams would provide an excellent foundation in the sciences for her and that she should not be concerned about Williams being a liberal arts college. If she decided to attend a graduate school for a specialty in any ar ea, that she would also have the oppor tunity to take or audit any under graduate courses she might need to supplement her background. Another aspect of this group that I talked with was that they didn’t under- stand the importance of language arts in the sciences. This was a great sur- Continued on page 12

10 The Nucleus March 2007 Book Review Hitler’s Scientists: Science, War, and the Devil’s Pact, by John Cornwell (Viking, 2003, hardcover, ISBN 0670030759), and (Penguin, 2004, paperback, ISBN 9780142004807). Reviewed by Vivian Walworth Jasper Associates, Concord, MA Terrorist activities within recent years diffraction of X-rays by crystals to scientists, published in 1914, was make Cornwell’s account of eminent Haber’s synthesis of ammonia and von signed by Haber and many of his asso- scientists and his concern over their Bayer’s work on dye synthesis. ciates. Only Einstein refused to sign. sense of responsibility to humanity (or In Berlin the Kaiser Wilhelm Insti- Cornwell goes on to describe lack of it) very compelling in today’s tute, later renamed the Max Planck Hitler’s rise to power and the resulting world. An important issue discussed Institute, was established in 1910 under discrimination against those of Jewish throughout the book is the matter of the direction of Fritz Haber. The early descent. He discusses in detail the pro - ethics among scientists. Should they staff included such notable scientists as grams in eugenics and so-called racial confine their interest to research and Max Planck, Walter Nernst, and Albert hygiene – the euthanasia of those stay aloof from potential destructive Einstein. Haber’s ammonia synthesis declared unfit. In 1933, as an expres- applications of their findings or should had led to the Haber-Bosch process for sion of racial hygiene, Jewish scientists they impede such outcomes? production of low-cost nitrogen fertil- were dismissed en masse from teaching From the start of the 20th century izers, a great boon to the agricultural and research. Although exemptions Germany was recognized as a prime world. However, Haber evidently saw were offered to some who had served in center for scientific research. Cornwell no need for scientists to assume social World War I, many of them refused to cites the many German contributions responsibility, for during World War I apply. Such renowned scientists as that merited Nobel prizes in the first he applied his talents to the synthesis James Franck, Max Born, and Hans two decades, ranging from Roentgen’s and military utilization of nitrogen- Krebs joined the exodus. Albert Ein- discovery of X-rays, Nernst’s work in based explosives, as well as the chlo- stein had already emigrated to the thermodynamics, Ostwald’s elucidation rine and mustard gas that accounted for United States. The work of scientists of chemical reaction rates, Lenard’s many casualties. A manifesto justifying who left contributed greatly to advances work on cathode rays, and von Laue’s German militarism and its support by Continued on page 12

The Nucleus March 2007 11 Hitler’s Scientists tainty principle. He and the Danish and medical experiments on human physicist Niels Bohr had been close subjects in concentration camps. Continued from page 11 friends in their early years. Before the The accounts of the German oper - in England and the U.S., and at the war there had been sufficient advances ations and the attitudes of scientists same time German science declined. in fission physics to stimulate interest within and outside the Nazi regime Some mystery surrounds those on both sides in the development of an provide a backdrop for Cornwell’s who chose to stay. A few rose to power atomic bomb. In the war years Heisen - final sections that discuss the motiva- in the absence of the leading scientists, berg headed the German atomic tions of scientists and impact of the and some who stayed embraced the research project, which failed to yield a war on terror. He questions the influ- Nazi cause. Much to her later regret, workable weapon. In September 1941, ence of our own military/industrial Lisa Meitner stayed because she felt Heisenberg visited occupied Denmark complex on what research is funded safe as an Austrian citizen. She man- to participate in a lecture series on and addresses the responsibility scien- aged to escape after Austria fell to the astrophysics. There has been much tists should take for the political and Nazis. speculation about private discussions ethical aspects of their work. In The rocket scientist Wernher von between Bohr and Heisenberg during biotechnology he criticizes the Braun was recruited into the German that visit (for instance, in Brian Friel’s attempts to patent gene fragments and army as an enthusiastic and talented play “Copenhagen”), and their own considers the ethics of cloning. graduate student in rocket science, and later accounts differed markedly. Some Cornwell’s challenge to all he led in the successful development of have suggested that Heisenberg was research scientists is to consider care- German rockets. After World War II deliberately impeding German progress fully the social implications of the he headed rocketry research in the U.S. toward an atomic bomb. Others believe work we undertake. We cannot escape He professed no interest in politics. As that he went to Bohr to ask for his col - responsibility by standing aloof and expressed by lyricist Tom Lehrer, laboration. We’ll never know. claiming no interest in politics. “ ‘Once the rockets are up, who cares Cornwell discusses the develop- The material in this book is well where they come down? ment of war machines, including presented and highly relevant. I advanced aircraft; radar; so-called strongly commend it to the attention of That’s not my department’, says wonder weapons; codes and code- NESACS members. ◆ Wernher von Braun.” breaking; slave labor in German facto - Another who stayed was Heisen- ries, including the rocket facilities at berg, famed for delineating the uncer- Peenemünde and the IG Farben plants; NEBHE at MIT Continued from page 10 prise to all of them. We talked about the different platforms for using verbal and written skills (including thesis writing, journal articles, grant propos- als, meeting presentations and teach- ing). I think they found it somewhat reassuring that all the other classes they are taking are not wasted time. Most of these students also felt a Bachelors Degree was the end of the line for getting a “Good Job”. One of the points we attempted to make in our group was that your employment flexi- bility generally increases with the degree of knowledge that you possess. BS degrees can get you entry level positions that may be entertaining at first but can readily become tedious. Getting advanced degrees will increase not just their knowledge and skill base but also their employability.” The day ended with an ice cream reception in which the connections and information gained that day could be Continued on page 13

12 The Nucleus March 2007 BUSINESS DIRECTORY

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The Nucleus March 2007 15 Harvard, MA 19 Mill Road

Prof. Barry M. Trost (Stanford Univ.) Mar 20 TBA Scott Schaus (Boston Univ.) Boston College, Merkert 130 TBA 4:00 PM UNH Room L103 11:10 am 01451 Mar 6 Mar 21 Prof. Ken Reid,(Oxford Univ., U.K.) Professor Richard R. Schrock, (MIT, Frederick “Collectins - Proteins of Innate Immunity With G. Keyes Prof. Chemistry, Nobel Laureate) Potential for “The Discovery and Development of High Therapeutics for Infection and Inflammation” Oxidation State Catalysts for the Metathesis of Tufts, Pearson Chemistry Building, Room P106 Alkenes and Alkynes” 4:30 Boston College, Merkert 127 4:00 PM Mar 7 Evan Guggenheim (MIT) Dr. Edward Wong, (University of New “Photo-cross-linking and identification of Hampshire, Durham) nuclear proteins that bind to platinum-DNA “Cross-bridged Tetraamines, the Sequel”. adducts” UMass Dartmouth, Building Group II, MIT, 6-120 4:00pm Room 115 Dr. Patricia Babbitt, Univ. California San 4:00PM Francisco Mar 8 Northeastern, Hurtig Hall 129 12.00PM Nathan S. Lewis, (Cal. Institute of Technology Mar 22 TBA Professor Richard R. Schrock, (MIT, Frederick AMERICAN CHEMICAL Harvard, Pfizer Lecture Hall U.S. POSTAGE P G. Keyes Prof. Chemistry, Nobel Laureate) OPOI ORG. NONPROFIT NOR 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm “Applications of High Oxidation State SOCIETY SECTION THEASTERN Mar 8-9 Metathesis Catalysts in Organic and Polymer Chemistry” Rolf Thauer, (Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Boston College, Merkert 127 4:00 PM Microbiology, Philipps University, Marburg) AID TBA Phil Baran (Scripps Research institute) MIT T. Y. Shen Lectures, Rm TBA Organic Chemistry Seminar: 4:00p–6:00p MIT, Rm. TBA 4:00pm Contact Lenore Rainey 617-253-1841 Stephen Kowalczykowski (U.C. Davis) TBA Mar 12 Harvard, Pfizer Lecture Hall from Calendar Pete Wolczanski (Cornell Univ.) 4:00 PM TBA Check the NESACS Homepage Brandeis, Gerstenzang 122 3:45PM Prof. Julius Vancso (Univ. of Twente) for late additions: “Bottom Up Macromolecular Nanotechnology Mar 13 with Stimulus Responsive Polymers” http://www.NESACS.org Prof. Janis Louie, (Univ. of Utah) U.Mass. Lowell OH218 3:30PM Note also the Chemistry Department web TBA pages for travel directions and updates. Boston College, Merkert 130 Mar 23 These include: 4:00 PM Professor Richard R. Schrock, (MIT, Frederick http://chemserv.bc.edu/seminar.html G. Keyes Prof. Chemistry, Nobel Laureate) http://www.bu.edu/chemistry/events/ Mar 13 “Catalytic Reduction of Dinitrogen to Ammonia http://www.chem.brandeis.edu/colloquium.shtml Prof. Arthur Veis, (Northwestern Univ.) with Protons and Electrons” http://www-chem.harvard.edu/events/ “Collagen Molecular Assembly Mechanisms: the Boston College, Merkert 127 4:00 PM http://web.mit.edu/chemistry/ Key Role of www.chem.neu.edu/web/calendar/index.html Recognition Modules Within the Carboxyl Mar 27 http://chem.tufts.edu/seminars.html [CHEM.] Propeptide Domain Prof. Ashley Bush, (Massachusetts General http://ase.tufts.edu/chemical/seminar.htm In Chain Selectivity” Hospital) [CHEM. ENGG.] Tufts, Pearson Chemistry Building, “Copper and Zinc Interactions with Beta- http://www.chem.umb.edu/ Room P106 Amyloidal Alzheimer’s disease” www.umassd.edu/cas/chemistry/seminars.cfm 4:30 Tufts, Pearson Chemistry Building, www.uml.edu/Dept/Chemistry/speakers.html Room P106 4:30pm http://www.unh.edu/chemistry/seminars.html Mar 14 Prof. Joseph P. Noel (The Salk Institute for Dr. Gary W. Brudvig (Yale Univ.) Biological Studies) Mar 1 “Water-splitting chemistry of photosystem II “Mechanistic, Structural and Evolutionary Basis Carlos Bustamente (UC Berkeley ) and artificial systems.” for Chemical Complexity in Nature” TBA UMass Dartmouth Building Group II, Room 115 Chemical Biology Seminar Harvard, Pfizer Lecture Hall 5:00pm 4:00PM Boston College, Merkert130 4:00 PM Huw Davies (Univ. Buffalo) Mar 15 TBA Mar 29 Mark Ratner, (Northwestern Univ.) George Buchi Lectures in Organic Chemistry Prof. Jean-Pierre Vairon (Univ. Pierre et Marie TBA MIT, Rm6-120 4:00p–6:00PM Curie, Paris) MIT, 6-120 5:00 PM “The Cationic (Co)Polymerization of Trioxane Mar 2 Mar 19 Initiated by Perchloric Acid” Huw Davies(Univ. Buffalo) U.Mass Lowell, OH 218 Charles Schmuttenmaer (Yale Univ.) TBA 3:30 PM “Probing Transient Photoconductivity in MIT, Rm6-120 4:00p–6:00PM Nanostructured Materials using Time-Resolved Mar 5 THz Spectroscopy” Notices for the Nucleus Sunney Xie (Harvard Univ.) MIT, 56-114 4:30 PM Calendar should be sent to: “Holding Single Molecules up to the Light: Homme Hellinga (Duke Univ.) Sheila E Rodman From In Vitro to In Vivo Investigations in TBA 250 Kennedy Drive Biophysical Chemistry” Harvard, Pfizer Lecture Hall Unit #403, Malden, MA 02148. MIT, 56-114 4:30pm 4:15 pm to 5:15 pm E-MAIL: serodman(at)hotmail.com