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E N O A E S S S L T A E A C R C I N S M S E E H C C TI N O CA Summer 2008 Vol. LXXXVI, No. 10 N • AMERI

2008 Norris Award Reports on NSYCC To David K. Gosser, Jr., Jack A. Kampmeier and Activities Pratibha Varma-Nelson Summerthing 2008 Interviewing in the Tickets Available to Futures at Fenway - August 9, Bio-Pharma Industry 2008 Part 3 - The Scientific Presentation by Megan Driscoll 2 The Nucleus Summer 2008 The Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society, Inc. Contents Office: Marilou Cashman, 23 Cottage St., Natick, MA 01360. 1-800-872-2054 Announcements 4,5 (Voice or FAX) or 508-653-6329. ______e-mail: mcash0953(at)aol.com Summerthing 2008, 2008 Norris Award Recipients, Lyman C. Newell Grants, Any Section business may be conducted via the business office above. Summer Scholarship Awards, NESACS Members Receive Awards NESACS Homepage: A Report on NSYCC Activities 6 http://www.NESACS.org ______David Cunningham, Webmaster The NSYCC, Spring 2008 and Beyond 7 ACS Hotline, Washington, D.C.: ______1-800-227-5558 NESACS Students Win Awards in Germany 9 Officers 2008 ______Chair: Marietta Schwartz Langer Wins Millennium Technology Prize 10 Chemistry Department, UMASS-Boston ______Boston, MA 02125 Chemists Celebrate Earth Day 2008 10 617-287-6146; marietta.schwartz(at)umb.edu ______Chair-Elect: 29th Alma Conference 11 Dr. E. Joseph Billo ______13 Shattuck Street October 15-17, Waltham, MA Natick, MA 01760 508-653-3074, joseph.billo(at)verizon.net National Chemistry Week Events 12 Immediate Past Chair: ______Mukund Chorghade NESACS Members Raise Money for Cancer Research 13 14 Carlson Circle, Natick, MA 01360 ______508-651-7809 and 308-3891 NESACS and NSYCC Election Results 14 Chorghade(at)comcast.net ______Secretary: Report from Istanbul 15 Michael Singer Sigma-Aldrich ______3 Strathmore Rd., Natick, MA 01360 Historical Notes 15 508-651-8151X291; msinger(at)sial.com ______Treasurer: Summary of Governance Actions/Reports 16 James Piper ______19 Mill Rd., Harvard, MA 01451 Interviewing in the Bio-Pharmaceutical Industry 18 978-456-3155, piper28(at)attglobal.net ______Auditor: Part 3-The Scientific Presentation by Megan Driscoll Anthony Rosner Summer Historical Events in Chemistry 24 Archivist: ______Myron S. Simon Cover: 20 Somerset Rd. The winning team from the 4th Annual NESACS Golf Tournament held Newton, MA 02465; 617-332-5273 Romysimon(at)mindspring.com on June 25, 2008. L to R: Jeff Wilson, Aptuit; Paul Delfino, Delfino Marketing Trustees: Communications; Stu Needleman, Aptuit; Jim Bannister, Aptuit. (Photo by Amy Joseph A. Lima, Esther A. H. Hopkins, Tapper) Michael E. Strem Deadlines: Councilors Alternate Councilors October 2008 Issue: August 15, 2008 Term Ends 12/31/2008 November 2008 Issue: September 15, 2008 Doris I. Lewis Patrick M. Gordon Morton Z. Hoffman Michael P. Filosa Christine Jaworek-Lopes Lawrence Scott Mary Burgess Liming Shao Donald O. Rickter S.B. Rajur Term Ends 12/31/2009 The Nucleus is published monthly, except June and August by the Northeastern Section of the American Catherine Costello Julia H.Miwa Chemical Society, Inc. Forms close for advertising on the 1st of the month of the preceding issue. Text Patricia Mabrouk Alfred Viola Michaeline F. Chen Jerry P. Jasinski must be received by the editor six weeks before the date of issue. Dorothy J. Phillips Eva B. Binnun Editor: Michael P. Filosa, Ph.D., ZINK Imaging, Inc., 16 Crosby Drive, Building 4G, Amy Tapper Barney Grubbs Bedford, MA 01730 Email: Michael.filosa(at)zink.com; Tel: 508-843-9070 Term Ends 12/31/2010 Associate Editors: Myron S. Simon, 20 Somerset Rd., W. Newton, MA 02465, Tel: 617-332-5273 Thomas R. Gilbert Timothy B. Frigo Sheila E Rodman, Konarka Techologies Inc., 116 John St. Suite 12, Lowell, MA Pamela Nagafuji Mark Froimowitz 01852 email:srodman(at)konarka.com tel 978-569-1414 Robert Lichter David Cunningham Michael Singer Erik Rozners Board of Publications: Mary Mahaney (Chair), David Cunningham, 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, E. Joseph Billo residing within the section area is an ex officio Webmaster: David Cunningham, webmaster(at)nesacs.org member of the Board of Directors. Copyright 2008, Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society, Inc. The Nucleus Summer 2008 3 Summerthing 2008 Norris Corporate Patrons ($2000+) Abbott Laboratories 2008 Award Lyophilization Service of New England Merck NESACS AT FENWAY! David K. Gosser, Jr., National ACS Jack A. Kampmeier, and Novartis We have tickets for you Pratibha Varma-Nelson to Pfizer Sepracor for Futures at Fenway on receive 2008 James Flack Saturday, August 9th Strem Chemicals Norris Award Vertex Pharmaceuticals The annual doubleheader will feature David K. Gosser, Jr., Professor of Patrons ($1000-$1999) family-friendly ticket prices and kid- Chemistry at the City University of Astra-Zeneca R&D Boston friendly activities. Get this: $12 covers New York (City College), Jack A. IRIX Pharmaceuticals a ticket and all handling fees! The Kampmeier, Professor of Chemistry Millennium Pharmaceuticals day will begin with the Red Sox’ short- Emeritus at the University of Rochester Shasun Pharmaceuticals season Single-A affiliate, Lowell Spin- and Pratibha Varma-Nelson, Professor ZINK Imaging ners, squaring off against the Hudson of Chemistry and Executive Director Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. Valley Renegades (Tampa Bay organi- of the Center for Teaching and Learn- zation) at 12:05 p.m. That game will be ing at Indiana University-Purdue Uni- Donors ($300-$999) followed by the Triple-A Pawtucket versity, Indianapolis have been Cambridge Major Laboratories Red Sox battling the Charlotte Knights selected as the recipients of the 2008 Occidental Petroleum (Chicago White Sox organization) in James Flack Norris Award for Out- Organix the second half of the doubleheader. standing Achievement in the Teaching PCI Synthesis Your admission fee covers both games! of Chemistry. The award will be pre- Royal Society of Chemistry In addition to autograph sessions, sented on Thursday, November 13, Serono Research Institute kids attending the event will be 2008. The award is made annually by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals selected randomly throughout the day the Northeastern section of the Ameri- to participate in a number of exciting can Chemical Society to recognize an activities, such as participating in mas- individual whose dedication and excel- college and university campuses to cot races and taking part in other on- lence in the teaching of chemistry have facilitate Workshops for more than field activities. At this price you can had wide-ranging effects on the profes- 20,000 students per year. bring your friends and family for a sion. Professors Gosser, Kampmeier, Gosser, Kampmeier and Varma- wonderful day at Fenway Park seeing and Varma-Nelson are jointly recog- Nelson led the research and develop- the Red Sox stars of the future. nized for their leadership work to ment of the PLTL model following its This NESACS Summerthing develop the Peer-Led Team Learn- initial pilot at CCNY in the early event honors the late Wally Gleekman ing (PLTL) Workshop model for teach- 1990’s. Supported by a National Sci- who in one of his many services to ing chemistry. ence Foundation “Systemic Change in NESACS acquired our Fenway tickets. PLTL is a national partnership of Chemistry” grant, they worked with To receive your tickets, send a faculty, learning specialists and peer colleagues to formulate and imple- check made out to NESACS to Mar- leaders to help students build concep- ment the “Critical Components” for ilou Cashman, 23 Cottage Street, tual understanding and problem-solv- successful PLTL programs, to broaden Natick, MA 01760. Requests will be ing skills in their science and math the dissemination in chemistry teach- honored until tickets are gone, so get N courses. The model introduces a new ing and beyond by encouraging PLTL your tickets soon! structure, the peer-led Workshop, leadership in biology, physics, mathe- where students work together to solve matics and computer science, and to challenging problems designed by the develop models for institutionalization faculty to engage them with the of PLTL. PLTL continues to be a Looking for seminars subject material and with each other. national partnership that builds on the in the Boston area? The team is guided by a peer who is contributions of hundreds of individu- trained to lead the Workshop. PLTL als; this team of three provided the N Check out the provides an active learning experience essential continuity and leadership. NESACS Calendar for the students, a leadership role for Your one-stop source to career-related the undergraduate peer leader and a links in the Chemical Sciences www.nesacs.org/seminars creative new dimension to faculty teaching. Currently, 1500-2000 peer WWW.NESACS.ORG/CAREERS leaders are engaged on more than 150 4 The Nucleus Summer 2008 Lyman C. Summer NESACS Newell Scholarships Members Grants Awarded Receive ACS for the 70th NEACT Summer The James Flack Norris and Awards Conference Theodore William Richards “Nano-Fibers, High Tech Undergraduate Summer Two NESACS members were recog- Research Scholarships for nized by the ACS at the Awards Cere- Textiles, and Structural Color” mony held on Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 2008 th August 4-7, 2008 in conjunction with the 235 National The Northeastern Section of the Amer- Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana: University of Massachusetts, ican Chemical Society (NESACS) Dartmouth, MA established the James Flack Norris and Joanna Aizenberg (Harvard Univer- sity) – Ronald Breslow Award for The Northeastern Section of the Amer- Theodore William Richards Under- graduate Summer Scholarships to Achievement in Biomimetic ican Chemical Society is again offering Chemistry sponsored by Ronald four Lyman C. Newell Grants for the honor the memories of Professors Nor- ris and Richards by promoting research Breslow Endowment. For her New England Association of Chem- seminal studies of biomineraliza- istry Teachers’70th Annual Summer interactions between undergraduate students and faculty. Research awards tion mechanisms and their cre- Conference. The total fees for Monday ative application in the pioneering evening through Thursday morning, of $3250 have been given for the sum- mer of 2008. The student stipend is work on biomimetic inorganic including registration, room and board, materials synthesis. banquets and socials are $315.00. $2750 for a minimum commitment of Each Newell Grant will be for $225, ten weeks of full-time research work. Eric N. Jacobsen (Harvard Univer- paid to the NEACT Summer Confer- The remaining $500 of the award goes sity) – Herbert C. Brown Award ence Registrar/Treasurer. to the research advisor to use on sup- for Creative Research in Synthetic While preference will be given to plies, travel, and other items relevant Methods sponsored by Herbert C. teachers who are new to teaching or to the student project. The 2008 schol- Brown Award Endowment. For returning to teaching, the awards are arships have been awarded to: his development of new methodol- open to all secondary school chemistry Derek Kong, Tufts University, ogy based on fundamental insights teachers. Applicants need not be mem- Understanding P8 and PELP: in mechanistic chemistry. bers of the Northeastern Section of the Stress Induced Transcriptional In addition, Dennis A. Dougherty American Chemical Society or of Coregulators of Matrix Metallo- (California Institute of Technology) NEACT. Apply to NEACT directly. protease-9 in Heart Disease, was presented with the James Flack Please email Kathy Siok , the Registrar Krishna Kumar, Advisor Norris Award in Physical Organic -Treasurer at NEACT at neac- Samuel Beal Chemistry sponsored by the ACS tks(at)cox.net or contact her by mail at: , Wheaton College, Chemical Weathering in the Northeastern Section by Marietta 86 Spring Road, North Kingstown, RI Hydrological System of the Green- Schwartz, NESACS Chair: For his 02852, or via phone at 401.885.1608. physical organic chemistry studies of Please make contact as soon as possi- land Ice Sheet, Evans Matthew, Advisor high-spin polyradicals, the cation-II ble. There is no deadline for apply- interaction in molecular recognition, ing for the Grant. You will be asked Devon Heath, Stonehill College, and structure-function relationships in N to provide the following information: Synthesis of 1,1,1-trifluoro-4- neuroreceptors and ion channels. Name, Address and home telephone trimethylsilyl-2-butanone-3,3-d2: number Beta-Deuterium Isotope Effects of Electron-Deficicent Gamma-Silyl Award winners are required to submit Number of years you have been Cations, Leon Tilley, Advisor teaching a report of their summer projects by Alexander Gitlin, Harvard College, November 2008 for publication in Present school, the courses you Molecular Regulation and Modu- THE NUCLEUS. They are also taught this year and the courses lation of Beta Cell Identity and required to participate in the Northeast you expect to teach next year Function, Student Chemistry Research Confer- Stuart Schreiber, Advi- N Why you are a good candidate for a sor ence (NSCRC) in April 2009. grant Continued on page 20

The Nucleus Summer 2008 5 2008 Northeast Student Chemist A Report on NSYCC Research Conference (NSCRC) Following the German Exchange Pro- Activities gram 2008, the Northeastern Section Younger Chemists Committee Connect, Talk and Elect, but are you 35? (NSYCC) and its local Tufts YCC By Laila Dafik – NSYCC Chair (07-08) organized the tenth annual Northeast Student Chemist Research Conference th 2008 German-NSYCC Exchange on Saturday April 19 at the Chemistry Department of Tufts University. The The German Chemical Society keynote speaker was Professor Stuart Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker ( , L. Schreiber from the Broad Institute GDCh), and its Young Chemists with a lecture titled “Small-molecule Jung-Chemikerforum, JCF Forum ( ), Probe and Drug Discovery”. The one welcomed to Germany 12 representa- day long conference consisted of oral tives of the NESACS Younger Chemists presentations given by the younger Committee (YCC) who had been The participants of the 2008 German Exchange chemists from the Northeastern region selected by the German Exchange pro- program during their visit to the Dow Chemical laboratories followed by a poster session where gram steering committee. The dele- participants discussed their research gates were accompanied by Prof. Ruth In addition to the scientific talks, with their peers and were judged by a Tanner (University of Massachusetts the program included a four-day stay NSYCC judging committee. This Lowell), Prof. Mort Hoffman (Boston in Hamburg, where students had the years NSCRC distributed eight awards University- Professor Emeritus) Mike chance to visit Hamburg University (see below for names and affiliation). Strem (Strem Chemicals) and Dr. Bob and local laboratories such as Dow Lichter (Merrimack Consultants, Chemical. At the end of the week, Dr. LLC). The visit came as the eight Kurt Begitt, Deputy Executive Director annual exchange program between the and Director of Education and Profes- NESACS-YCC and GDCh-JCF, high- sional Affairs of the GDCh accompa- lighting the close connection between nied by representatives of the Young the NESACS and the GDCh. Chemists Forum (Jung-Chemikerfo- The weeklong program began on th rum, JCF) hosted a farewell dinner in Wednesday, March 26 , with a day in honor of the American delegation. Rostock and a tour of Rostock Univer- Looking ahead to the 2009 sity. On Thursday Wendy Iskenderian exchange program, the application will 2008 NSCRC during the poster session at the (MIT) spoke in Frühjahrssymposium be available at the end of the summer. Remis scuplure (Tufts University). about her research. At the end of the A delegation from NESACS will travel day, a poster session was held where to Essen, March 11-18 for the Früh- the American graduate and undergrad- jahrssymposium. We hope that uate students displayed their research NESACS-YCC and GDCh-JCF posters and discussed their scientific exchange continues and we look for- progress. In addition, on Friday two ward to greeting JCF to Boston in students, Brett Fors (MIT) and Ray- August 2010. mond Moellering (Harvard University), contributed oral presentations while the rest of the American group dis- Prof. Schreiber during the keynote lecture. cussed their posters. At the end of the day, Frühjahrssymposium hosted a 2008 NSCRC awardees dinner coupled with a social evening Carl Christianson (Boston College) - where the American contingent had the Strem Excellent Oral Presentation opportunity to network with their Ger- Award man peers. On Saturday morning, Patrick Cappillino (Boston University) The exchange participants were invited to Erin Iski (Tufts University)- Vertex gave an oral presentation and received attend Opera. Back row (l-r) Brett Fors, Adam Excellent Oral Presentation Award Schell, Martin T., Carl Christianson, Dominik the third place award for best oral pres- Margraf, Raymond Moellering, Jens Breffke, Adam Schell (Boston University) - entation. In addition, Shuyu Wang and Patrick Cappillino. Front row (l-r) Lynell Vertex Excellent Undergraduate (Harvard University) was awarded a Skewis, Jolene Schuster, Naho Fujimoto, Wendy Research Award prize for best poster presentation. Iskenderian, Gülbenk Anarat, and Laila Dafik. Continued on page 20

6 The Nucleus Summer 2008 The NSYCC, Spring 2008, and Beyond…

This account was submitted by incom- greater participation by some of our Margaret Thompson (Wellesley)- ing Chair, Leland (Lee) Johnson area younger chemists in the pharma- NESACS/NSYCC Excellent ([email protected], Novartis- ceutical and biotech industry. Undergraduate Research Award NIBR), with contributions by incoming During the buildup to this year’s Raymond Moellering (Harvard) - Vice-Chair Deniz Yüksel (Tufts), and NSCRC at Tufts University, planning Vertex Excellent Graduate incoming Career Chair Lynell Skewis took place on the Tufts campus. Laila Research Award (Boston University). Note that while Dafik led the effort, reserving rooms, the German Exchange is one of our space, and contacting professors who Gülbenk Anarat (Boston Univer- most important programs, details of might be available to share their work sity) -NESACS/NSYCC Excellent this year’s exchange will be submitted with the NSYCC. Deniz Yüksel has Graduate Research Award for next month’s The Nucleus. played an increasingly greater role in Jeffrey Garber (Dartmouth College) For the past three years, we each have planning this annual event since her - The Brauner Book Award been involved with the NSYCC and first association with the NSCRC in 2006. Held at MIT in 2006, Deniz vol- Wendy Iskenderian (MIT) - GWIS our respective university YCCs. Dur- Award ing this time, a real effort has been unteered at the registration desk and made to improve upon the successes of presented a poster. According to Deniz, A few years back, I was appointed to the our predecessors. We have the prover- since 2006, there has been a tremen- position of Career Chair, and I immedi- bial “big shoes to fill,” considering the dous improvement in the organization ately identified certain challenges facing strong past leadership of Amy Tapper, of the conference and, pleasantly, the organization. Establishing, re-estab- Lauren Wolf, Ivan Korendovych, and higher attendance. For the past two lishing, and maintaining a network of most recently, Laila Dafik. Centered years, there have been scores of posters YCC supporters in the regional corpo- around networking and professional and eight oral presentations each year. rate community was one big hurdle to development of younger chemists in the We have been fortunate to have clear; the other was convincing corpora- Northeastern Section, the committee’s several major sponsors of the NSCRC, tions that the NSYCC, an organization activities have been heavily concen- including Vertex Pharmaceuticals run completely by younger chemist vol- trated around certain key spring events, (2007, 2008), AstraZeneca (2007), unteers, was able to provide real value including the German Exchange, the Strem Chemicals, NESACS, Graduate in recruiting new hires for positions in Northeast Student Chemistry Research Women in Science (GWIS, Alpha industry and publishing. I believe we Conference (NSCRC), the Northeast Omega Chapter), the Broad Institute have made significant progress on both Student Chemistry Career Fair (2008), Pfizer (2007), and Ziopharm of these fronts. (NSCCF), as well as YCC social Oncology (2007). For their dedication Last year, the pharmaceutical and events. These programs have focused to the regional younger chemists, the biotech economy seemed to be in great on bringing together younger chemists NSYCC would like to thank the shape, the corporate forecasts for hiring still in school with their counterparts in friends of the YCC at each of these were also good, and the real challenge professional careers in industry and companies and organizations. Because was re-establishing communications government. of these very generous financial gifts, with, what turned out to be, multiple This spring, the committee, under the NSYCC was honored to host Pro- moving targets. Lists of corporate con- the direction of Laila Dafik (Tufts), fessor Stuart Schreiber (the Broad tacts were a great place to start, and I executed several successful events. Institute) who gave his keynote lecture remember starting with a contact at a Small-Molecule Probe and For example, Alex Taylor (MIT) entitled “ well-known pharmaceutical company Drug Discovery” headed up a social event at Flat Top . Following his located very close to the Alewife T-sta- Johnny’s in Cambridge’s Kendall informative lecture, the NSYCC pre- tion. His name was on the contact list, Square. Alex relied on word-of-mouth sented the following monetary and and their logo was online as a recruit- and the growing NSYCC emailing list memorial awards (sponsors listed): ing sponsor from previous years, so I to advertise the event. Eight two-per- Carl Christianson (Boston College) gave a call…no answer, voicemail. son 8-ball teams competed to the bitter - Strem Excellent Oral Presenta- Thankfully, this scientist left an alter- end, making networking connections tion, Top Award nate contact number on the voicemail and enjoying appetizers and refreshing greeting, so I tried again. As it turned Erin Iski (Tufts) - Vertex Excellent beverages for a few hours one evening out, Steve Tam (Wyeth) was quite a Oral Presentation Award in April. Cash prizes were awarded to sport, taking my call and talking with the top two teams, and overall, the Adam Schell (Boston University) - me at length about Wyeth continuing event was a great success. For the next Vertex Excellent Undergraduate their recruiting sponsorship at the 2007 pool tournament, we hope to have Research Award continued on page 8

The Nucleus Summer 2008 7 NSYCC, 08 & Beyond porate recruiters, the corporate repre- tion, and provide sponsoring compa- sentatives, and job seekers for their nies with a pool of strong job appli- Continued from page 7 participation this year. cants. To do this, she intends to build Career Fair. They joined, as did eleven So, what’s next? upon the already growing network of other recruiting sponsors in 2007, corporate contacts built over the past enabling the NSCCF to be “in the Overall, the NSYCC executive com- several years by Lee Johnson and his black,” for the first time in years. We mittee wishes to honor our past leaders predecessors. In doing so, she will con- did this with a lot of work from by building on the excellent foundation tinue the important work by reaching NSYCC volunteers from several established during their tenures. We out to regional companies that employ regional universities, as well as help will expand our social activities, aim- green, inorganic, physical and compu- from faculty and staff from colleges ing for events that are interesting to tational chemists. She is actively seek- and universities within, and adjacent younger chemists of all types, whether ing contacts ([email protected]) to, the Northeastern Section. The con- in school or out. Currently, our execu- in the corporations in the area that gen- tacts initiated in 2007 have paid divi- tive committee is focusing on several erally spend thousands of dollars dends again this year. key goals (and accepting suggestions recruiting. These corporations will In early 2008, however, the econ- and new ideas on our website, find that a small investment in the omy and hiring environment had http://www.nsycc.org). First, we seek NSYCC could potentially save thou- changed, and prospects for securing to connect and reconnect with our sec- sands of dollars in recruiting per appli- recruiting corporations for the Career tion’s academic institutions. We will cant. The NSCCF offers the Fair seemed pretty bleak. We decided also build our network of younger opportunity to meet these applicants to offer more value to our recruiting chemists who have already started before offering an on-site visit. By sponsors, with pre- and post-event their careers. Be ready, as we will be seeking corporate sponsors of the online resume access, free parking at emailing! As for next year, we will organization, instead of one event here the event, and data CDs of resumes, to move toward an integrated set of and one event there, the NSYCC hopes name a few. Our recruiters came from spring activities. Returning to a two- to minimize paperwork and give trans- past lists, new phone calls, and day symposium on networking, profes- parency to our budget in an effort to responses to our announcements in The sional development and career building reassure our corporate sponsors. To Nucleus. Recruiters this year included may help our sponsors and our mem- increase the number of younger Adante Staffing, the Broad Institute, bers more efficiently accomplish their chemists as participants and regis- CreaGen Biosciences, Eisai (ERI), PCI individual goals without breaking cor- trants, our committees will, with the Synthesis, Merck, Nature Publishing porate budgets for recruiting, discre- help of the NSYCC publicity chairs, Group, and Sigma-Aldrich. As in the tionary YCC support, or personal bank reach out to all of the colleges and uni- past, job seekers could also use the accounts. versities in the section. Specifically, event to learn a bit about the job-seek- Specifically for the NSCRC, we Lynell seeks to engage graduate and ing process. The ACS Career Services would like the keynote lecture selec- undergraduate student leaders in chem- team, led by Dan Eustace, provided tion to come from the area’s younger istry at colleges and universities in the valuable and sometimes eye-opening chemists. As a student-invited lecture, section who have not yet fully bene- advice regarding resume writing, inter- Deniz ([email protected]) has fited from the NSYCC functions in the view preparation and techniques, as joined the committee with this as one past. Unfortunately, younger chemists, well as turning unexpected (bad) news goal for the NSCRC. With a student- their corporate and academic advisors from interviews into a positive learn- invited lecture, the selection of profes- and representatives may not be aware ing experience. While the number of sors will be limited only by the number of the opportunities available to them NSCCF job seekers and recruiting cor- of individual suggestions. We all agree through the NSYCC. In an effort to porations was down from 2007, the that the NSCRC has the potential to keep our goals innovative and fresh, overall event was still a success. One- become a premier chemistry student our leadership must be cultivated on an on-one conversations between moti- symposium, and to this end, the public- ongoing basis. vated job seekers and corporate ity and social committees have dedi- To make our annual leadership recruiters, small group analysis and cated their focus to establishing and transitions as smooth as possible, the demonstration of interview skills, and expanding networks while executing a NSYCC has pledged to adopt a consti- personal attention to resumé content plan to keep the attendees and the continued on page 20 and style ruled the day. The number of sponsors pleased by the number of par- younger chemist organizers and volun- ticipants and the breadth of activities teers for the event increased from offered. 2007, including UMass Boston, For the 2009 NSCCF, Lynell has a UMass Dartmouth, and Boston Uni- plan to increase the scale of the event, versity YCC members. We would to provide expanded career opportuni- again like to thank NESACS, the cor- ties for younger chemists in our sec-

8 The Nucleus Summer 2008 Two NESACS Students Garner Awards in Germany

By Morton Z. Hoffman Patrick Cappillino, a graduate student University), Adam Schell (undergradu- at Boston University, and Shuyu Wang, ate, Boston University), Jolene Schus- a graduating senior at Harvard Univer- ter (graduate student, Dartmouth sity, were recognized for their presen- College), Lynell Skewis (graduate stu- tations at the 10th Young Scientists dent, Boston University), and Ka-Lo Conference on Chemistry, which was Yeh (graduate student, MIT). Accom- held at the University of Rostock, Ger- panying the students were Mike Strem many, March 27-29, 2008. (Strem Chemicals), Ruth Tanner (Uni- Cappillino, who anticipates versity of Massachusetts Lowell), Bob receiving his Ph.D. at the end of the Lichter (Merrimack Consultants), Laila year, received the third place award for Dafik (Tufts University), and Morton his oral presentation, “Iron Com- Hoffman (Boston University). pounds with fac-N2O1, cis-N2O2, and Cappillino (at left) and Wang proudly display This year’s trip to Germany marks N2O3 Donor Ligands as Models of the their award certificates. Photo by M.Z. Hoffman the fifth occasion of a visit by a dele- Structure and Reactivity of Mononu- gation from NESACS; previous clear Non-heme Iron Oxygenase included Gulbenk Anarat (graduate exchanges took place in 2002 Active Sites,” in which he described student, Boston University), Koyel (Cologne and Aachen), 2003 (Munich his doctoral research in the laboratory Bhattacharyya (undergraduate, MIT), and Dresden), 2005 (Berlin), and 2006 of Professor John Caradonna. Wang, Carl Christianson (graduate student, (Konstanz). In 2001, 2004, and 2007, who was one of ten students to be hon- Boston College), Brett Fors (graduate delegations of German graduate stu- ored for the exceptional quality of their student, MIT), Wendy Iskenderian dents visited Boston. The next Früh- poster presentations, described her jahrssymposium will be held in Essen (graduate student, MIT), Raymond N work with Professor Gregory Verdine, Moellering (graduate student, Harvard at the end of March 2009. “Capturing AlkA in Action: X-ray Crystallography of a DNA Repair Gly- cosylase with Unusually Broad Sub- strate Specificity.” The conference, which was organ- ized by the Jungchemikerforum (JCF) of the German Chemical Society (GDCh), was attended by almost 400 students from 20 nations, including the group of three undergraduates and nine graduate students from NESACS, who traveled in the exchange program of the Education Committee and the Younger Chemists Committee. A total of 27 oral and 216 poster presentations were made. In addition to Cappillino and Wang, the NESACS delegation What’s Yours? Many local employers post positions on the NESACS job board. Find yours at www.nesacs.org/jobs

The Nucleus Summer 2008 9 Professor Chemists Celebrate Earth Langer Wins Day 2008

Millennium Streaming Chemistry Illustrated Haiku Contest By Christine Jaworek-Lopes Winners Technology On April 22, 2008, NESACS partnered As part of the Chemists Celebrate with the Massachusetts Bays Estuary Earth Day celebration, the American Association (MBEA) and the Malden Chemical Society sponsors an illus- Prize High School Chemistry Club for a day- trated haiku contest for students in long event at the Boston Children’s grades K-12. The three haikus sent on The following announcement is from a Museum. More than 2000 individuals to the national contest are below. Each press release by the Technology Acad- visited the museum that day. The student will receive an Earth Day 2008 emy Finland (June 11, 2008). MBEA provided an Enviroscape t-shirt. The mentors will each receive The 2008 Millennium Technology Model and demonstrated how pollu- either Apples, Bubbles, and Crystals – Prize was presented to Professor tants from our homes ultimately end up Your Science ABC’s or Real World Robert Langer today in Helsinki for in our water supply. Children used Cases in Green Chemistry. developing innovative biomaterials for spray bottles to simulate rain and wash Grades K-2: Zacary Carelli – controlled drug release. The world’s away the waste products (food color- Shaker Lane School, Littleton largest technology prize is awarded by ing and spices). Mother Earth is good. Technology Academy Finland for a Rivers, her good creation. technological innovation that signifi- Save all of the streams. cantly improves the quality of human life and promotes sustainable develop- Grades 3-5: Jennifer Bindman, – ment. President of the Republic of Fin- Franklin Elementary School, West land Tarja Halonen handed Professor Newton Langer the prize of EUR 800,000 and Water, drip drop splash! ”Peak”, the prize trophy, at the Grand Splatter rain pour, steam ice snow Award Ceremony on Wednesday after- Vapor, gas, water. noon. Museum visitors provide rain to the enviroscape model. Professor Robert Langer’s innova- Grades 9-12: Ashley McGuiness, – tions have had a significant impact on In addition, the MBEA provided Norwood High School, Norwood, MA fighting cancer, heart disease, and water samples from two Massachusetts A tiny goldfish Pollution destroyed his home numerous other diseases. His work has bays. The Malden High School Chem- N also brought about significant advances istry Club showed visitors to the PLEASE! Keep water clean. in tissue engineering, including syn- museum how to colorimetrically test thetic replacement for biological tissues for pH, water hardness, nitrates, iron, such as artificial skin. Over 100 million people a year are already using advanced drug delivery systems and this number is rising rapidly. In the future, tissue engineering may revolu- tionize medical treatment that could affect millions of other individuals. “Tissue engineering holds the promise of creating virtually any new tissue or organ,” said Professor Langer. Malden High School students discussing pH with museum visitors. Known as the father of controlled Photographs by Christine H. Jaworek-Lopes drug delivery and tissue engineering, and phosphates in these water samples. ples of hard water and soft water. Professor Langer has been cited as In addition, visitors to the museum Children and adults alike were amazed “one of history’s most prolific inven- could test the pH of common house- by the difference in lathering ability of tors in medicine”. Professor Langer’s hold items such as soda and orange these two extremes. research laboratory at MIT is the juice. Finally, the Malden High School The 2009 Chemists Celebrate largest biomedical engineering labora- Chemistry Club demonstrated water Earth Day theme is Atmosphere: “Air N N tory in the world. hardness by adding detergent to sam- – The Sky’s the Limit”.

10 The Nucleus Summer 2008 29th ALMA Conference October 15-17, 2008 Waltham, MA The 29th Annual conference “Tools of ter, just off Rte. 95 in Waltham, MA. •Applying Lean Principles in the the Trade” for the Association of Lab Don’t miss this opportunity to add to Analytical Laboratory. Derek Lake Managers will be occurring October your “tool belt” and to network with and David Zoller, SABIC Innovative 15-17, 2008 at the Conference Center other lab managers. Plastics at Waltham Woods, Waltham, MA. For This year’s theme of “Tools of the •Essentials of Laboratory Safety. the first time in the history of this con- Trade” promises to bring skills to the Wayne Collins, Agilent ference, the event will be held in New experienced as well as the inexperi- England. This is a unique opportunity enced technical managers. Below is a •Leadership for the Twenty-First for members of the Northeastern sec- list of the topics and speakers: Century: What is Your Style? Alan Cabelly, Portland State University tion of the American Chemical Society •Communication Across Cultures. to be able to conveniently participate Mary Adams Viola, Tufts University. • Maximizing Efficiency and Efficacy in this conference. in the Global Analytical Labora- This conference promises to bring •Wait a Minute! Hear me out…. tory. Jan Damm and Alexander new management tools to everyone Daniel J. Schneck, Virginia Tech. Debets, Organon who attends. The workshops and con- • Going Paperless - Converting from •The Analytical Laboratory in a ference cover a variety of topics of Paper Forms to an Electronic Lab- Regulated Environment. Tony interest to all lab managers. And this oratory Notebook for Routine Montana, Garden State Nutritionals year ALMA brings attendees a first - Analyses. Dale Seabrooke, Labtron- the opportunity to participate in team ics, Inc. • Practical Management of the Mod- building activities where they will ern Analytical Laboratory. Claude •Results of Pilot Trial with Elec- Luchesi, Northwestern University learn skills to share with colleagues tronic Laboratory Notebooks, back home. Be sure to bring sneakers! Norm Lucas, Air Products and Chem- •Talent Management in the Lab: There’s even a tour of a state of the art icals, Inc. How Do You Get the Most Out of R&D facility, and for those craving a Your Workers. Alan Cabelly, Port- bit of culture, a reception at a local •Becoming an Effective Mentor. land State University John Ford, Project Solutions. museum. •Influence Without Authority- So As we New Englanders know, the • The Leadership Challenge: Getting Logic Won’t Work…Now What Do Boston area is a hot bed for new ideas. Things Done in White Water. You Do to Influence Difficult Peo- We hope to share these with you in the Samuel H. Liggero, AirPrint Net- ple? Mary Adams Viola, Gordon comfortable and beautiful setting of works. Institute, Tufts University the Waltham Woods Conference Cen- • Creating Innovative Space. Robin On the last day of the conference, there de la Parra, Millipore Corporation. will be a three hour team building • Can Anyone Document Processes? exercise, “Exploring the Dynamics of New Members Scott Helmers, Harvard Computing Teamwork” which will bring into Group, Inc. action multiple concepts of project Invitation to attend a meeting •Management the Hard Way… management: planning, implementing, You are cordially invited to attend one A Scientist in the King’s Robes. resource management, communication, of our upcoming Section meetings as a Mike Neag, ICI TechDirect. leadership, problem solving, conflict guest of the Section at the social hour management, change management, and dinner preceding the meeting. Prior to the start of the conference, execution and quality. Each attendee at Please call Marilou Cashman at there will be multiple workshops giv- the conference will have the opportu- 800-872-2054, 508-653-6329 or: ing managers the chance to learn “best nity to participate in three distinct Mcash(at)aol.com by noon of the first practices” from experienced laboratory team-oriented exercises during this ses- Thursday of the month, letting her managers in a small classroom setting N sion. At the end of the exercises, there know that you are a new member. on the following subjects: will be a debriefing session to discover the lessons learned during the exercises The NESACS website and discussions focused on how these Updated frequently • Late-breaking news • position postings lessons can be applied back at work. Back issues of the Nucleus archived • Career-related Links • Awards and Scholarships If you need more information WWW NESACS and/or would like to register please go . .org N to www.labmanagers.org

The Nucleus Summer 2008 11 National Chemistry Week Events Celebrating Having a Ball with Chemistry – October 18 -25, 2008

October 18, 2008 – Museum of Science Boston • Phyllis A. Brauner Memorial Lecture by Dr. Bassam Shakhashiri Dr. Bassam Shakhashiri is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is the William T. Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea. Professor Shakhashiri has captivated audiences with his scientific demonstrations at a variety of locations including Boston’s Museum of Science, the National Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.

Taking place in Cahners Theatre (2nd floor, Blue Wing) at 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm.

* Admission to the museum is required for the 1:00 pm show. Free tickets to Dr. Shakhashiri’s show will be available on a first come, first serve basis.

* Admission to the museum is NOT required for the 4:00 pm show. Tickets are available via advance reservation. To reserve tickets, please contact Marilou Cashman either via email [email protected] (preferred) or by phone 1-800-872-2054 before October 15, 2008. Tickets will be available for pick-up in the lobby of the museum at the ACS table. Admission to the museum is required.

• Kicking off National Chemistry Week 2008 festivities Join us in a variety of hands-on activities related to the yearly theme. Taking place from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm on October 18, 2008 in the lower level of the Blue Wing.

October 25, 2008 – Boston Children’s Museum From 10:30 am – 4 pm, NCW volunteers will be on-hand throughout the museum to perform demonstrations and assist in hands-on activities related to the yearly theme.

September 1 – October 15, 2008 K-12 students participate in the NCW poster competition. Visit www.nesacs.org and http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_ARTICLEMAIN&node_id=1 055&use_sec=false for more information.

October 1 – 31, 2008 Grades 1-12 may participate in the puzzle contest. See www.nesacs.org or the October 2008 issue of the Nucleus for the puzzles and contest information.

12 The Nucleus Summer 2008 NESACS Members Ride to Raise Money for Cancer Research

By Michael Filosa with contributions by Michael Serrano-Wu Team Novartis impressively, 100 % of each dollar dedicated group of riders collectively This is the second year that Team donated to support riders went to the raised over $240,000. Novartis is riding in the Pan Mass Jimmy Fund. The expenses of the Pamela Chen Challenge (PMC) to raise funds for the event were totally covered by riders’ Last year the Nucleus reprinted a Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). fees, sponsorships, donated products story from the Needham Times about The Pan Mass Challenge will be held and services and an army of 2700 vol- Pamela Chen, daughter of long-time August 2-3, 2008. In 2007 Team unteers. In a new feature this year you NESACS Board Member, Michaeline Novartis raised $78,000 and the team can follow the progress towards the Chen. Pamela, though stricken with has a goal of raising $100,000 this $34,000,000 goal on the homepage of th pancreatic cancer a year earlier, was year. Team Novartis is composed of As of July 7 the PMC: www.pmc.org striving to ride 84 miles from Welles- eleven riders including three NESACS there remains $24,000,000 to raise! ley to Bourne in last year’s PMC. She members: Michael Serrano-Wu, Cary Team ZINK raised $6600 for the Jimmy Fund with Fridrich and Greg Paris. Novartis has her effort but, unfortunately, became ill been very supportive of the team by very soon after the June article and, providing funding and also raising sadly, passed away on the Sunday awareness for the PMC and the team’s morning of the PMC after her family ambitious fundraising goal. In addi- had completed her route relay style on tion, Novartis matches donations from Saturday. This year Pamela’s brother $25 up to $5000, per employee. More Philip has dusted off his road bike and information can be found at the Team will ride the 84-mile route from Novartis blog: http://teamnovartis. Wellesley to Bourne in her memory. blogspot.com/ Team ZINK (l-r) Tom LeBlanc, Deanna Clarance Pamela is just one example of the rea- and Michael Filosa in Sturbridge after their tra- sons we ride. verse of Western Massachusetts in 2007. Cancer remains a scourge in our Team ZINK is composed of 10-year lives. President Jimmy Carter said, PMC veteran Tom LeBlanc, 3rd-year “There’s a cure for Cancer…it’s called rider, Deanna Clarance and, 2nd year research!” You can support the rider, Nucleus Editor, Michael Filosa. PMC/Dana Farber/Jimmy Fund by Riding the traditional 192-mile ride donating in the name of a PMC rider, a from Sturbridge to Provincetown is not team, or the PMC in general at enough for this team. In 2001 Tom www.pmc.org The easiest way to sup- Team Novartis 2007 pictured at the Mass Mar- itime Academy in Bourne at the end of day 1. decided that he wanted to truly ride port the NESACS riders in this event is Michael Serrano-Wu is third from the right. “pan-Massachusetts.” On the Friday to make an online donation. This can before the PMC, he rode 87 miles with be accomplished by clicking the Egift The PMC was created by Billy a friend from Hillsdale, NY to Stur- button on the PMC home page and Starr in 1980 as a memorial to his bridge via Route 23 and Route 20. This entering the riders Egift ID: Michael mother who died at age 49 from route is a scenic trip through the Berk- Serrano-Wu (EgiftID=MS0286), melanoma. In its first year the ride was shires punctuated by a stiff climb to Michael Filosa (MF0153), Cary composed of 36 riders who raised a Blandford, an exhilarating downhill Fridrich (CF0087), Charles (Greg) total of $10,200 riding from Spring- ride to Springfield and back uphill to Paris (CP0127), Philip Chen (PC0150). field to Provincetown. Since then the Sturbridge. This ride has grown over Alternatively, you can search for any PMC has grown exponentially to the years to include riders from other participating rider by using the search become the most successful athletic teams such as the Norton Wheels, feature located within “PMC Profiles” fundraiser in the country and responsi- PMC Monsters, Big Blue Bottle for the and entering their name. A common ble for more than half of the funds Cure, Fidelity Investments and alternative to an electronic gift is a raised annually in support of the Brielle’s Brigade. In 2007 twenty-four check written to the Jimmy Fund, DFCI’s Jimmy Fund. Last year the riders started the ride from Hillsdale PMC or DFCI and delivered/mailed PMC and its 5400 riders smashed the riding in a specially designed “Team directly to the individual rider. The goal of $26 million by raising $33 mil- LeBlanc” shirt. Although Team rider will then send the check to the lion. The goal this year is an even more N LeBlanc is not an official team, this organizers of the PMC. ambitious $34 million. Even more The Nucleus Summer 2008 13 NESACS Election Results NSYCC

Position/Candidates Votes Director-at-Large Election Myron Simon 305 Chair-Elect Ralph Scannell 288 John McKew 215 Mukund Chorghade 205 Results Norton Peet 197 Nominating Committee Elections for the 2008-2009 NSYCC Treasurer Amy Tapper 324 offices were held on Saturday May 31, James Piper 401 Dorothy Phillips 280 2008, at Tufts University. We would Auditor Jerry P. Jasinski 223 like to thank everyone who partici- Anthony Rosner 400 pated and the Tufts YCC for hosting Norris Award Committee the event. It is our pleasure to Trustee Kathi Browne 244 announce the following elected offi- Michael Strem 415 Jerry Jasinski 219 cials: Ralph Scannell 193 Councilor/Alternate Raj Rajur 155 Chair: Leland “Lee” Johnson, Doris Lewis 357 ##-3 yrs. Novartis-NIBR (BU) (Those elected to positions in this elec- Mary Burgess 332 ##-3 yrs. tion are underlined. Those elected Vice-Chair: Deniz Yüksel, Tufts Uni- Morton Hoffman 332 ##-3 yrs. councilor (##) and alternate councilor versity Michael Filosa 330 ##-3 yrs. N (#) serve for three years.) Career Chair: Lynell Skewis, Boston Kathi Browne 330 ##-3 yrs. University C. Jaworek-Lopes 321 #-3 yrs. Patrick Gordon 316 #-3 yrs. For late breaking news, job postings Treasurer: Olga Makhlynets, Tufts Lawrence Scott 312 #-3 yrs. and the latest meeting and event University Donald Rickter 294 #-3 yrs. information please visit us at Co-Webmasters T. K. Subrahmanian, Liming Shao 253 #-3 yrs. WWW.NESACS.ORG Tufts University and Pat Cappillino, Raj Rajur 238 Boston University Mukund Chorghade 221 Publicity Co-Chairs: Kathryn Bew- ley, Boston University and Shanadeen Begay, Boston University Social Co-Chairs: Gülbenk Anarat, Boston University and Gökçe Su Pulcu, Boston University The NSYCC wishes to thank NESACS, all of our corporate sponsors and corporate recruiters, and profes- sional mentors for their financial sup- port and advice over the past few years. We are looking forward to maintaining and growing these con- structive networks as we plan for upcoming events. If you are a younger chemist in our section, please contact Lee Johnson, leland.johnson@ nsycc.org with any comments/ sugges- tions, or just to get involved! Sincerely, N 2008-2009 NSYCC Officers

What exactly goes on at NESACS’ monthly Board meetings? www.nesacs.org/reports

14 The Nucleus Summer 2008 Report from Istanbul Historical Frontiers of Chemical Sciences: Research and Education Notes in the Middle East by Morton Z. Hoffman We present here short biographies of Three members of NESACS, Cather- chemists and chemical engineers whose ine Costello (Boston University School deaths have been reported to us during of Medicine), Chuck Kolb (Aerodyne the past year. We thank members of the Research, Inc.), and Morton Hoffman Northeastern Section who have sent us (Boston University), served on the obituary notices appearing in newspa- Organizing Committee and attended pers we do not see. the third “Malta” Conference in Istan- William E. Adams bul, December 8-13, 2007, which, like 1945-2008 its predecessors in 2003 and 2005, was (l-r) Morton Hoffman, Catherine Costello, dedicated to providing a bridge to Chuck Kolb photos by Morton Z. Hoffman William E. Adams, 62, of Bradford, peace and international development in MA, died of cardiac arrest on Sunday, the Middle East. Attended by more March 2, 2008 after being stricken sud- than 80 scientists from 14 Middle East- denly at home. ern countries (Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq. Born in Red Bank, NJ, on Decem- Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, ber 22, 1945, to parents William and Libya, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Mayflower Adams, now deceased, he Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab grew up along the New Jersey shore. A Emirates), Malta-III was sponsored by graduate of Bucknell University, PA, IUPAC, ACS, the Royal Society of he earned his PhD in Chemistry at Lehigh University. Bill met his wife Chemistry (RSC), the German Chemi- Ann Nalley (at right), Immediate Past-President cal Society (GDCh), UNESCO, and of the ACS, with Sultan Abu-Orabi, President of Lorraine through a Lehigh friend as he Columbia College Chicago. Zafra Ler- the Jordanian Chemical Society was doing post-doctorate research at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, man of the latter institution, who initi- ronmental air and water quality. NH. Married in 1978, Bill and Lorraine ated the conference series with the Compared to the restrained atmos- lived in their home in Bradford, work- hope that cooperation in science, espe- phere at the first two Malta confer- ing hard to update their 1880’s Queen cially chemistry, could transcend the ences, which were, indeed, held on Anne farmhouse. Bill began teaching politics and tensions of the region, Malta, this meeting was far more open in 1980 at Salem State College, where served as the conference chair. with often heated, but respectful, dis- he served as Chair of the Department Also attending the conference, in cussions of the intersections of science, of Physics and Chemistry for one two- addition to representatives from the politics, religion, and philosophy. A year term and was Professor of Chem- sponsoring organizations, were six female professor from Saudi Arabia istry there at the time of his death. Nobel Laureates who gave plenary lec- openly described the status of women Bill had an interest in many things, tures: Aaron Ciechanover (Israel), scientists in her country, and a chemist and was often seen walking in local Chemistry, 2004; Richard Ernst from the Gaza Strip evoked strong neighborhoods while listening to audio (Switzerland), Chemistry, 1991; Roald emotions as he spoke about the danger- books on many different topics. He Hoffmann (U.S.A.), Chemistry, 1981; ous quality of the groundwater in the loved nature, feeding the birds, recy- R. Timothy Hunt (U.K.), Medicine, area. This latter presentation led to the cling, yard work, growing tomatoes for 2001; Walter Kohn (U.S.A.), 1998; F. unanimous acceptance of a resolution family, friends and neighbors, trying to Sherwood Rowland (U.S.A.), Chem- calling on the governments of the istry, 1995. The opening lecture was photograph osprey and eagles in flight region and international agencies to continued on page 19 given by Peter Atkins (Oxford Univer- “ignore their current disagreements sity) on “The Nature of Energy.” The and by drawing on scientific expertise tenuous. The attendees of Malta-III participants in the conference had the urgently address the issue of water in enthusiastically asked for the establish- opportunity to exhibit posters on their the Gaza Strip, taking into account the ment of Malta-IV in 2009 at an appro- scientific or educational projects, and whole cycle from collection to reuse.” priate location in the Middle East. make oral presentations at workshops The conference gave scientists in More details about Malta-III can on medicinal and natural products; countries, which have strained relations be found in Chemical & Engineering nanotechnology and material science; with each other or worse, opportunities News, vol. 86, pp. 59-61, 28 January, alternative energy sources; science to interact, network, and establish col- 2008, and in Nachrichten aus der N education and green chemistry; envi- laborations and connections, however Chemie, vol. 56, pp.207-8, 2008.

The Nucleus Summer 2008 15 SUMMARY OF GOVERNANCE ACTIONS/REPORTS AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 235rd ACS NATIONAL MEETING NEW ORLEANS, LA APRIL 6-10, 2008 ACTIONS OF THE at-Large will be conducted in the ify the approved petitions. The COUNCIL fall. Ballots will be mailed to the Petition on Membership Cate- Council on or before October 10. gories and Requirements contains Election Results changes to the ACS Constitution, • The Committee on Nominations and Petitions and not just the Bylaws. There- Elections presented to the Council • The Council received three amend- fore, these changes must be the following nominees for selection ments to the ACS Bylaws (Petitions) approved by ACS members in the as candidates for President-Elect, for action: the Petition on Election fall to be valid. Procedures for President-Elect and 2009: Thomas Barton, R. Stephen • The Council received one petition Berry, Joseph Francisco, and Josef District Director, the Petition on Election Procedures 2006, Part 2, for consideration: the Petition on Michl. By written ballot, the Coun- Society Affiliate Dues. This petition cil selected Joseph Francisco and and the Petition on Membership Cat- egories and Requirements. sets Society Affiliate dues equal to Josef Michl as candidates for 2009 the (full) membership dues, and not President-Elect. These two candi- • The Council VOTED to approve subject to any of the discounts other- dates will stand for election in the the Petition on Election Proce- wise applicable to membership dues. Fall National Election. dures for President Elect and Dis- Action is expected on the petition at • The Committee on Nominations and trict Director. This petition seeks the fall national meeting. Elections announced the results of to make the balloting procedure more uniform and to avoid the • The Petition on Local Section and the election to select candidates from Division Election Procedures was the list of nominees to represent Dis- complications and expense of run- off elections. withdrawn. This petition offers res- trict III and District VI on the Board olutions for handling tie votes in • The Council engaged in a lively of Directors for the term 2009-2011. Councilor or Alternate Councilor debate on the Petition on Election Nominees for District III included: elections in a local section or divi- Procedures 2006, Part 2, and Pat Confalone, Alan Cooper, Cather- sion. ine Fenselau, and Judith Summers- entertained two motions: a motion Gates. Nominees for District VI to recommit and a motion for a 2009 Member Dues included Bonnie Charpentier, Gary recorded voted. Both motions • The Council VOTED to set the Christian, David Dooley, and Dennis failed. The Council ultimately member dues for 2009 at the fully Lichtenberger. By mail ballot, the VOTED by a show of hands to escalated rate of $140. This rate is Councilors from these districts approve the Petition on Election established pursuant to an inflation- selected Pat Confalone and Alan B. Procedures 2006, Part 2. This adjustment formula in the ACS Con- Cooper as District III candidates; petition standardizes election stitution and Bylaws. processes for President-Elect and and as District VI candidates, Bon- The Society’s Finances nie Charpentier and Dennis Lichten- all Director positions based on percentages of voting members, • The Society ended 2007 with a net berger. Ballots will be mailed on or from operations of $9.6 million, and increases the number of before October 10 to all members in which was $2.2 million favorable to required signatures. District III and District VI for elec- the approved budget. This was • The Council also debated the mer- tion of a Director from each District. based on total revenues of $444.2 its of the Petition on Membership million and total expenses of $434.6 Candidates for Directors-at-Large Categories and Requirements and million. The Society ended the year • The Committee on Nominations and ultimately VOTED to approve this in full compliance with the Board Elections announced the selection of petition via a recorded vote. This established financial guidelines. the following candidates for Direc- petition broadens qualifications tors-at-Large for a 2009-2011 term: for membership and creates a new Attendance Report William Carroll, Richard Deming, category of student membership. • As of April 9, 2008, the ACS spring Thomas Gilbert, and Marinda Li The Board of Directors will vote national meeting had attracted Wu. The election of two Directors- within 90 days on whether to rat- 13,302 registrants as follows: Regu-

16 The Nucleus Summer 2008 lar attendees 6,681; Students 4,659; received a report on the screened and tools to more effectively lead Exhibitors 1,156; Exposition only list of candidates for the 2009 ACS volunteer initiatives. 374; and Guests 432. Priestley Medal, Volunteer Serv- Strategic Mega Challenges ice Award and Parsons Award. Revision of the Division Funding The Board agreed to announce the • The Board of Directors recently Formula winners of these three awards agreed to devote a significant por- • After considerable discussion, the after its June meeting. tion of its meeting to deliberation of Council VOTED to recommit the • On the recommendation of the strategic mega challenges of impor- revised division funding formula, as Committee on Public Affairs and tance to chemistry and the American presented by the Divisional Activi- Public Relations, the Board Chemical Society. At this meeting, ties Committee, to the committee for VOTED to approve the tagline the Board reviewed its committee further action at the fall national “Chemistry for Life” as the cen- infrastructure and VOTED to amend meeting. tral theme of the Communications its Regulations to reclassify all Local Section Name Change Strategic Plan and for use on Board committees as either Standing or Special Committees. As a follow- • The Council VOTED to change the appropriate Society materials. up, the Board of Directors met with name of the University of Kansas • On the recommendation of the Local Section to the Wakarusa Val- Committee on Professional and the Committee on Committees to ley Local Section. Although many Member Relations, the Board engage in further discussions on the of the section’s members work for VOTED to adopt the ACS Diver- overall enhancement of ACS com- the University of Kansas, supporters sity Partners Program – a three- mittees. said that the geographically and year pilot program designed to • The Board also spent considerable occupationally diverse interests of broaden participation in the time deliberating the strategic mega the members would be much better chemical sciences among diverse issue – Global Scientific Challenges. represented under the name and traditionally underrepre- In general, global scientific chal- Wakarusa Valley Local Section. sented groups. lenges are those areas of concern • On the recommendation of the where chemistry can make a sub- Member Statistics Committee on Budget and stantial contribution in improving • At the close of 2007, Society mem- Finance, the Board VOTED to people’s lives. The Board plans to bership totaled 160,052, despite a support having the Committee on complete its discussions on this topic net loss of 439 members at the end Education (SOCED) pursue the at the June meeting. of the year. Also, 2007 recorded the US hosting of the International Compensation of Society Staff second highest number of new appli- Chemistry Olympiad in 2012. cations – 16,533. • On the recommendation of the Com- Activities of the Board’s Task Forces mittee on Executive Compensation, Academic Professional Guidelines • The Board of Directors received sta- the Board VOTED to approve sev- • The Council VOTED to approve the tus reports from two of its task eral actions relative to compensation Academic Professional Guidelines forces: the International Strategy for the Society’s Executive staff. as submitted by the Committee on Implementation Task Force, and the The compensation of the Society’s Economic and Professional Affairs. New Ventures Task Force. The Inter- executive staff receives regular These guidelines apply to those national Strategy Implementation review from the Board. members of the academic commu- Task Force is charged with imple- The Executive Director/CEO Report nity whose job function impacts menting the recently approved Soci- • The Executive Director/CEO, along directly or indirectly on scientists ety International Strategy, and the practicing the profession of chem- New Ventures Task Force reviews with several of her direct reports, istry. new mission-related business oppor- updated the Board on the following tunities. items: Policy issues for a newly ACTIONS OF THE BOARD revised IRS Form 990 and the activi- • The Board also received updates ties of Chemical Abstracts Service, OF DIRECTORS from two Society initiatives: the Committees Actions the Publications Division, and the Web Presence Initiative and the ACS Society’s General Counsel. • The Board received reports from the Leadership Development System Committees on Grants and Awards, (LDS). The newly re-invented ACS Joint Board/Nominations and Elec- Public Affairs and Public Relations, website launched September 30, tions Luncheon Professional and Member Relations, 2007, and features a unifying global • Following its regular meeting, the and Budget and Finance. On the rec- navigation and dramatically Board of Directors, at the invitation ommendation of these committees, improved user experience. The LDS of the Committee on Nominations the Board took the following actions: offers a comprehensive leadership and Elections, met to enhance their As presented by the Committee on mutual understanding of each other’s • curriculum that provides practical N Grants and Awards, the Board courses for managing one’s career needs and processes.

The Nucleus Summer 2008 17 Interviewing in the Bio-Pharma Industry

Megan Driscoll, President, PharmaLogics Recruiting www.PharmaLogicsRecruiting.com www.MeganDriscoll.com 3rd of a 4 part series: the hiring manager for advice on topic • Statement of the problem or project. selection. If the hiring manager is Part 1- The Telephone Screen • Identification of the expected out- excited about your talk, it is very likely Part 2- The Face-to-Face Interview come or theory. that the rest of the group will be too. Part 3-The Scientific Presentation This direction will also help you • Description of the methods and tools Part 4-The Offer Stage understand what subject matter is rele- used and results of those “tests.” Part 3- The Scientific Presentation vant to his or her groups focus. To • Discussion of the problems or obsta- The presentation portion of your inter- some hiring managers it might not cles encountered, either expected or view is make or break. If your scien- matter what you talk about. These hir- unexpected. tific presentation is poor, it is highly ing managers are using the presenta- • Outcome, and if different from unlikely that you will get the job you tion to evaluate your communication expected outcome, why. are interviewing for. To avoid this skills and assess how you field ques- misfortune, there are 3 things you can tions. However, as you interview for If at all possible, compose your scien- do to increase your chances of success. more senior level positions, what you tific data in this way. It will allow the 1-Ask the hiring manager for guid- actually choose to talk about will be attendees to see how you think through ance on choosing your topic evaluated and the best person to put a process and overcome obstacles, a you on the right track is the hiring skill everyone in the Bio-Pharma 2-Practic, Practice, Practice manager. Your asking for help on industry is interested in. 3-Anticipate questions and prepare topic selection shows you are inter- 2-Practice, Practice, Practice answers ested in fully preparing for your inter- Be sure your presentation is peer view. 1-Ask the hiring manager for guid- reviewed and one that you have given ance on choosing your topic Generally, hiring managers appreciate several times before. If this is a new Don’t be shy about calling or e-mailing presentations in the following format: presentation for you, take the time to give the presentation as many times as possible to your colleagues or scien- tific friends and make sure to solicit feedback from them. You are better off knowing the truth about your presenta- tion before you get into an interview setting. It is also important to know your audience. Because there will likely be employees from all parts of the organi- zation at your presentation, be sure to speak at a level that everyone can understand. Therefore, when practic- ing, invite people to your presentation that are both junior and senior to you. 3-Anticipate questions and prepare answers Preparation for the question and answer session is key. During your practice rounds, encourage your peers to ask questions and write down those that were asked. Reflect on those ques- tions and come up with clear and con- cise answers. This preparation will help you avoid giving only yes or no answers on the day of your interview. continued on page 19

18 The Nucleus Summer 2008 Historical Notes 2008, when his family’s history of car- feline companions Misty, Tigger and N diovascular disease caught up with Mittens. Lorraine Adams Continued from page 15 him, he had never been hospitalized in Maine. He collected many tidbits of for illness. Robert H. Linnell family history, proud of his British her- Bill was a member of a number of itage through his mother, to whom he chemical professional organizations 1922-2006 was very close and devoted. He was and often traveled and presented at We regret to inform you that Dr. hoping to equal her long life of 97 chemical meetings. For many years he Robert H. Linnell died at age 84 on years. He enjoyed his role as a parent was an active member of the Univer- November 5, 2006 in White River to his two daughters, whom he loved salist-Unitarian Church of Haverhill, Junction, VT. so much. Bill found ways to support where he exhibited his dedication to Linnell was born in Kalkasa, MI, them as they grew, from building sled preserving the history and permanent August 15, 1922 to Earl and Constance runs in the back yard, presenting fun funds of the church. A life member of Linnell. His secondary schools were at science lessons in their elementary the Haverhill Historical Society, he South Royalston, VT and Coe-Brown school classes, or helping with chem- enjoyed working with children in the Academy, Norwood, NH and he istry homework, to more young adult summer past-finders camping sessions earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees activities like cheering on Elizabeth in on archeology, providing pottery rem- in chemistry at UNH. His WWII serv- her first marathon and helping Emily nants from his own back yard. Bill ice in the Navy was working with with car maintenance. loved repeating a pleasant experience, radar and electronic systems. In 1950, And of course he was full of such as the annual camping trip with he received his Ph.D. degree in physi- fatherly cautions and advice, not family for more than fifteen years to cal chemistry from U. Rochester. He always outwardly appreciated. The the same campsite on the shore of married Myrle Elizabeth Talbot, also a family’s three cats became his surro- Somes Sound in Mount Desert, ME U. Rochester graduate, and they started gate children as the girls left home. near Acadia National Park. It was a careers at the American University in Bill had a number of aspirations that place of spiritual renewal for him and Beirut, Lebanon, where Robert rose were left unfulfilled—writing a chem- his wife through the ranks of the chemistry istry text for middle school science Bill had an affable, easy-going, department to department chairman. teachers, formalizing his family history gentle, sweet nature that endeared him In 1955 he became Vice President research, traveling to his British roots, to family and friends. He enjoyed din- for Research and Development at New becoming a grandparent, finishing ing out with friends and the conversa- Jersey Chemical Co. They moved to U. many home renovation projects, enjoy- tions that ensued. He was a cautious Vermont in 1958, then moved on to ing retirement with his wife. Until man, the consummate researcher, even Pennsylvania to head an air pollution for relatively minor purchases. His research laboratory. In 1962 he was good humor was evident, and he liked physical chemistry program director at Bio-Pharma Interview to write humorous descriptions of the National Science Foundation in Washington, DC. In 1969 he became Continued from page 18 events in the family’s holiday letters. His smile was always at the ready, as if professor of chemistry at the Univer- Hopefully you will not be asked he knew you’d say something funny. sity of Southern California, ultimately something that you don’t know the While his family was always making becoming dean of the College of Arts answer to, but if you are, never make fun of Bill as he would break into tears and Letters. up an answer! State that you would at commercials, human interest stories Retiring in 1985, he became presi- like to think further about it and get and movies, they were in fact touched dent of the nonprofit Harmony Insti- back to them with the appropriate by his show of sentimentality. He tute, conducting research in several response. If this happens, do follow up became especially so in recent months, safety areas. In 1992 he moved to with that person after the interview expressing frequently his love for his White River Junction and devoted with a reply. family. During his recent illness he himself to a variety of local issues: If you are interested in learning was overwhelmed by the demonstra- Habitat for Humanity, The Upper Val- more interviewing techniques, please tion of caring and support from family, ley Community Foundation, and Com- visit www.megandriscoll.com or friends and colleagues. munity Colleges of Vermont. www.pharmalogicsrecruiting.com Surviving him are his wife of 29 In 1969 Linnell received an Out- Megan Driscoll is the President and years, Lorraine, of Bradford, MA; his standing Achievement Award from Founder of PharmaLogics Recruiting two daughters Elizabeth of Columbia, UNH. He was a leader in the Chemical and the author of, “I Would Consider MD and Emily of Bradford, MA; sister Education Division of the Americam Any Reasonable Offer,” The only inter- Margaret and husband Fred of Blacks- Chemical Society. viewing guide devoted exclusively to burg, VA; brother Russ and wife He is survived by his wife of 56 interviewing in the Bio-Pharma Indus- Annette of Rolla, MO; several cousins, years, four children, grandchildren and N N try. nieces and nephews; dear friends, and great-grandchildren. MSS The Nucleus Summer 2008 19 DIRECTORY Newell Grants NSYCC Activities SERVICES

Continued from page 5 Continued from page 6 Whether you are interested in a par- Margaret Thompson (Wellesley Col- tial or full grant. lege) - NESACS/YCC Excellent The Lyman C. Newell Grants com- Undergraduate Research Award memorate a former chair of the North- Raymond Moellering (Harvard Uni- eastern Section who was a versity)- Vertex Excellent Gradu- distinguished chemist, teacher, and his- ate Research Award torian of chemistry. For many years he Gülbenk Anarat (Boston University)- was chair of the Chemistry Department NESACS/YCC Excellent Gradu- at Boston University. Lyman Newell ate Research Award served as the first president of NEACT from 1898 to 1900 and expressed a Jeffrey Garber (Darmouth College) - continuing interest in training chem- The Brauner Book Award istry students throughout his long Wendy Iskenderian (MIT)- GWIS career. His efforts are continued by Award N grants that bear his name. 2008 NSYCC elections For the first time, elections for the 2008-2009 NSYCC officers were held on Saturday May 31, 2008 at the NSYCC, 08 & Beyond Chemistry department of Tufts Univer- Continued from page 8 sity. The elections were organized by the Tufts Younger Chemist Committee. tution over the summer. The continu- This first round of elections generated ity offered by a functional governing new positions such as publicity and document, coupled with motivated social vice-chairs. The publicity co- leaders seeking well-defined positions, chairs will be solely responsible for will keep the NSYCC moving forward. advertising and reaching out to the As mentioned, the NSYCC executive entire Northeastern Section. Another committee has devised a plan to inte- noteworthy outcome of the election grate our growing networks of volun- was the appointment a vice-chair who teers, members, recruiters, and would help with the committee tasks sponsors. This is where we need the and activities planning. This event most assistance and support from the marked the beginning of a new tradi- chemists in the geographic area within tion, an annual conference followed by and around the Northeastern Section. a round of elections for future NSYCC As many have found, establishing and officers, who are not necessarily under maintaining functioning networks 35. Being an ACS member and under which include a dynamic membership 35 seems to be no longer a limitation is a difficult task. to becoming a position holder in the We thank everyone again, and we committee. If the present committee encourage volunteers, members, spon- or the future one decides to implement sors and recruiters to contact us when- the National Younger Chemist guide- ever they have a question or comment. lines, the question is, does being older We look forward to growing the N than 35 matter? NSYCC with your help. For more information about the present committee please refer to our N website www.nsycc.org.

Q. Exactly, how many awards and scholarships does NESACS sponsor? A) One b) Two c) Many www.nesacs.org/awards

20 The Nucleus Summer 2008 BUSINESS DIRECTORY SERVICES SERVICES SERVICES

The Nucleus Summer 2008 21 BUSINESS DIRECTORY SERVICES SERVICES SERVICES

22 The Nucleus Summer 2008 BUSINESS DIRECTORY SERVICES CAREER SERVICES CAREER SERVICES

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The Nucleus Summer 2008 23 NN Seventy-five years ago, Seventy-five Richard R. Ernst was born. He did research in NMR development and in received the Nobel 1991 Prize in Chem- istry for his contributionsdevelopment to the of the methodology of high-resolution nuclearnetic mag- resonance troscopy. (NMR) spec- Seventy-five yearsdate, RobertCurl, F. wasJr., born.ago on this He is a researcher in microwaveand infrared spectroscopyshared the Nobel Prize inand Chem- Kroto W. in Harold with istry 1996 and Richard E. Smalley for their fullerenes. of discovery Antoine L. Lavoisier, the “founder of modern chemistry”, was born on this date. He stated the law of conservation of determined matter, sulfu- and nitric of composition the ric acids, “made water”, invented and the introduced gasometer, new nomenclature chemical August 14, 1933 August 23, 1933 August 26, 1743 Joseph M. F. Lassone, whoborn wason this date, discovered car- 1776. in dioxide bon Rosalind Franklin, who was born on this date, did research in the X- ray crystallography ofbonucleic deoxyri- acid (DNA) that led to the discovery of the double helix DNA. of Fifty years ago on this date,U.S. nuclear powered submarines,the Nautilus and Skate, crossed under cap. ice polar the During theseNational Meeting of theACS was days, RI. Newport, in held the first Seventy-five yearsdate, Bristol-Myersago on was thisincorpo- rated. July 23, 1717 July 25, 1920 August 3, 1958 August 6-7, 1890 August 11,1933

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID NORTHEASTERN SECTION AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 19 Mill Road Harvard, MA 01451

William H. Bragg, a researcher in X-rays and crystal structure; was born on this date.shared the NobelIn Prize in1915, Physics he with his son,Lawrence W. Bragg, for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of rays. X- William Robert Grove, who was born on this date, created a fore- runner of modern fuel cells: He first the was battery. voltaic gas the the dissoci- thermal to demonstrate and ation of had a molecules crater him. after named moon the on Rosalyn S.Yalow, who was born on this date, developed the tech- nique of radioimmunoassay. 1977, she received the Nobel Prize In the for Medicine and Physiology in of development radioimmunoassay of peptide hormones and shared it with Roger Andrew Guillemin and V. Schally for their discoveriesconcerning the peptide hormonebrain. the of production

July 11, 1811 1811 July 11, July 19, 1921 July 2, 1862 Summer Historical Events In Chemistry Events Summer Historical May Leopold by 20064 DC Washington, America, of University Catholic The