American Chemical Society Division of the History of Chemistry

Newsletter, Program and Abstracts

240th ACS National Meeting Boston, MA August 22-26, 2010

S. C. Rasmussen, Program Chair

Chair: Janan M. Hayes Bulletin Editor: Paul R. Jones Merced College (retired) University of Michigan 6829 Barbara Lee Circle Department of Chemistry Sacramento, CA 95842 Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1055 Phone: (916) 331-6886 Fax: (734) 647-4865 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

Chair-Elect: E. Thomas Strom Councilor: Mary Virginia Orna Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Department of Chemistry University of Texas at Arlington College of New Rochelle P. O. Box 19065 New Rochelle, NY 10805 Arlington, TX 76019-0065 Phone: (914) 654-5302 Phone: (817) 272-5441 Fax: (914) 654-5387 Fax: (817) 272-3808 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Councilor: Carmen Giunta Past Chair: Roger A. Egolf Le Moyne College Pennsylvania State University - 1419 Salt Springs Rd. Lehigh Valley Campus Syracuse, NY 13214-1399 8380 Mohr Lane Phone: (315) 445-4128 Fogelsville, PA 18051-9999 Fax: (315) 445-4540 Phone: (610) 285-5110 Email: [email protected] Fax: (610) 285-5220 Email: [email protected] Alternate Councilor: James L. Marshall Box 305070, Department of Chemistry Secretary-Treasurer: Vera V. Mainz University of North Texas University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Denton, TX 76203-5070 School of Chemical Sciences Phone; (940) 565-3377 142B RAL, Box 34 Noyes Lab Fax: (940) 565-4318 600 S. Mathews Ave. Email: [email protected] Urbana, IL 61801 Phone: (217) 244-0564 Historian: James J. Bohning Fax: (217) 244-8068 Department of Chemistry, Lehigh University Email: [email protected] 6 E. Packer Ave., Bethlehem, PA 18015 Phone: (610) 758-3582 Program Chair: Seth C. Rasmussen Fax: (610) 758-6536 Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry Email: [email protected] North Dakota State University NDSU Dept. 2735, P.O Box 6050 Archivist: John Sharkey Fargo, ND 58108-6050 Pace University Phone: (701) 231-8747 Department of Chemistry & Physical Sciences Fax: (701) 231-8831 One Pace Plaza Email: [email protected] New York, NY 10038-1502 Phone: (610) 758-3582 Email: [email protected]

2 Mission Statement The Division of the History of Chemistry (HIST - http://www.scs.uiuc.edu/~mainzv/HIST/) of the American Chemical Society (ACS) seeks to advance knowledge and appreciation of the history of the chemical sciences among chemists, students, historians of science, and the broader public by

• Encouraging research and scholarship in history of the chemical sciences; • Providing a welcoming environment for the discussion of history of chemistry in a variety of venues, particularly in symposia at national ACS meetings; • Serving as a resource for chemical scientists in general, and members of the ACS in particular, who seek to understand the roots of their discipline, sub-discipline, or interdisciplinary subject; • Recognizing major achievements from the past in the chemical sciences and the individuals who made those achievements; • Publishing a scholarly journal in history of chemistry; • Interacting with other organizations interested in the history of science; and • Adding value to the ACS by helping it achieve its vision and missions.

Message from Jan Hayes, HIST Division Chair It is hard to believe that this is my last newsletter report to you as chair of HIST. Thank you all for being a part of this wonderful part of ACS. The past two years have been a time of change for HIST, for ACS, and for most of us as professionals and individuals. What has happened and what is coming for HIST? First - Meeting programming: Seth Rasmussen has done a wonderful job as our new program chair. He has tried to encourage new and different programming for our national meetings. I encourage each of you to work with him to bring new symposia into our future national meetings and to regional meetings. Archeological Chemistry symposia have been a reoccurring feature in HIST. There is a group interested in organizing the Twelfth Symposium. Are you interested in being a part of this? If so, please contact Joe Lambert, Ruth Ann Armitage, James Burton, Kathryn Jakes ([email protected]), and/or Tom Strom, 2011 HIST Chair ([email protected]). We would like to add cosponsoring divisions, so we need your help. Spring 2009 ACS meeting was the initial presentation of a planned semi-regular series of symposia on the Science and Legacy of Former ACS Presidents. The first program was honoring Henry Eyring of the University of Utah. At the upcoming Fall 2010, HIST will present, with co-sponsor WCC, the second of the series honoring Anna Jane Harrison of Mt. Holyoke College, the first woman ACS president. See below for a more complete description of the Harrison symposium. We welcome your attendance and invite your participation by sharing your remembrances of Dr. Harrison. Plans are underway for three addition symposium. More details later. Regional meeting programming is an arena in which we would like to be more active. At the December 2010 Joint SouthEast/SouthWest Regional Meeting in New Orleans we will be sponsoring a symposium honoring Jack Stocker. Come and be a part of this remembrance of our faithful HIST member. HIST is also cooperating with the graduate students at MIT in presenting Chemistry and Policy: Solving Problems at the Interface on Monday, August 23, 1:30pm at the Seaport Hotel, Plaza Ballroom A. We will also be a part of the Graduate Student reception on Sunday evening.

3 Second – New Bulletin Editor: We are pleased to announce that Carmen Guinta, a current associate editor of the Bulletin, has agreed to follow Paul Jones and become our new Bulletin Editor. There are insufficient words to express our graditude to Paul for his leadership and hard work as the Editor. We know that Carmen will continue in reaching the high standards which are referred journal have reached. But Paul promises he will not go away but still stay active in HIST as this assignment closes. Thank you Paul. Third – Awards: As you may be aware, no Edelstein Award will be given in 2010 as a result of changes in funding. Starting in 2010, we will change the title of this award to the HIST Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry, established by Sidney M. Edelstein, with support from Vera Mainz and Gregory Girolami and the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Check this website in a few weeks for details on nominations for the 2011 HIST Award. We are continuing with our other two awards for Outstanding Papers in The Bulletin and recognitions of Citations for Chemical Breakthroughs Fourth – Elections: A nomination committee is now working in preparation for a Fall 2010 election for Chair Elect 2011-12 (who will become chair for 2013-14); Secretary-Treasurer; and Councilor. If you have interest in sharing your talents with your division, please contact me. Again, thank you for your support. I look forward to continuing to serve you as Past Chair in support of Tom Strom as 2011 chair. HIST is your division to meet your needs for your professional and personal interests. Let us hear from you on how we can better serve you. Jan Hayes, 2009/2010 HIST Chair

Message from Tom Strom, HIST Division Chair-Elect I am feeling a little intimidated by the thought that I will become Chair of HIST this next January 1. The intimidation factor comes about because of the high quality of preceding chairs, such as Jan Hayes, Roger Egolf, and Jeff Seeman, to name just the three most recent. However, I reflect that, with the wonderful slate of HIST officers, both present and those to be elected, and with the diverse, intelligent group of HIST members, I can’t go very far wrong. My goals are the expected ones of increasing the numbers in and visibility of HIST. Surely all of you share those goals and are willing to help HIST achieve them. I think we can partner with other divisions to present and celebrate their individual histories. The Baekeland symposium of last spring, which POLY and PMSE co-sponsored, and the upcoming “Pioneers of Quantum Chemistry” symposium, cosponsored by COMP and PHYS, can be models for partnerships of this type. One ongoing concern that I have are the relatively small numbers of contributed papers. The contributed papers this spring went up over those from last fall, but the number for Boston has declined again. I think EVERY member of HIST has an oral presentation lurking in his/her consciousness. It might involve a mentor, a colleague, an institution, a research path, a book, an instrument, etc. It’s there if you dig deep, and remember, with HIST you can be sure of an oral presentation. Please contact me via e-mail at ([email protected]) to share your ideas. I look forward to meeting many of you personally in the next few years. E. Thomas (Tom) Strom, HIST Chair-Elect

4 Report of Councilors, Division of the History of Chemistry ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, March 24, 2010

Election Results • The Committee on Nominations and Elections presented to the Council the following nominees for selection as candidates for President-Elect, 2011: Luis A. Echegoyen, John P. Fackler, Jr., and Bassam Z. Shakhashiri. A fourth candidate withdrew on February 3 for personal reasons. At that time, the Committee on Nominations and Elections voted to continue the search for a replacement nominee based on the ranking previously developed by the Committee. Committee action specified that if no replacement nominee was found by March 12, 2010, then the original nominee list and biographical data, without the nominee who withdrew, would be sent to the Council. As no nominee was identified, three nominees were presented. By electronic ballot, the Council selected Luis A. Echegoyen and Bassam Z. Shakhashiri as candidates for 2011 President-Elect. These two candidates, along with any candidates selected via petitions, will stand for election in the Fall National Election. • The Committee on Nominations and Elections announced the results of the election to select candidates from the list of nominees to represent District II and District IV on the Board of Directors for the term 2011-2013. Nominees for District II included: George M. Bodner, Andrew D. Jorgensen, V. Michael Mautino, and Joseph R. Peterson. Nominees for District IV included John W. Finley, Larry K. Krannich, Will E. Lynch, and Ingrid Montes. By mail ballot, the Councilors from these districts selected George M. Bodner and Joseph R. Peterson as District II candidates; and Larry K. Krannich and Will E. Lynch as District IV candidates. Ballots will be mailed on or before October 10 to all members in District II and District IV for election of a Director from each District.

Candidates for Directors-at-Large • The Committee on Nominations and Elections announced the selection of the following candidates for Directors-at-Large for a 2011-2013 term: Janan M. Hayes, Robert L. Lichter, Kathleen M. Schulz, and Kent J. Voorhees. The election of two Directors-at-Large will be conducted in the fall. Ballots will be mailed to the Council on or before October 10.

Petitions to Amend the Constitution and Bylaws (For Action) • The Council received three amendments to the ACS Constitution and Bylaws for action: The Petition on Admissions Committee, the Petition on Candidate Selection by Member Petition, and the Petition on Election Timelines 2009. • The Council VOTED to approve the Petition on Admissions Committee. This petition removes the Admission Committee from the Bylaws and transfers its functions to the Council Committee on Membership Affairs. • After considerable debate, a motion to approve the Petition on Candidate Selection by Member Petition FAILED. The Petition on Candidate Selection by Member Petition would have amended the Constitution to emphasize that candidates selected by a petition process from members will have no further screening. • The Council also thoroughly debated the merits of the Petition on Election Timelines 2009. The motion to approve this petition FAILED. The Petition on Election Timelines 2009 would have shortened certain national election timelines.

5 • The Board of Directors will vote within 90 days on whether to ratify the Petition on Admissions Committee.

Petitions (For Consideration) • The Council received three petitions for consideration: The Petition on International Chemical Sciences Chapters, Petition on President-Elect Eligibility, and Petition on Recorded Votes. The Petition on International Chemical Sciences Chapters provides for travel funds for either the Chair or Chair-Elect of International Chemical Sciences Chapters to attend governance meetings at twice the amount allotted for a Councilor. The Petition on President-Elect Eligibility requires that nominees or candidates for President-Elect come from an academic background every other election, and that only those from non-academic backgrounds would be eligible in the alternate years. The Petition on Recorded Votes provides for additional voting methods, e.g., clickers that have been recently used at Council meetings, when conducting recorded votes. Action is expected on these petitions at the fall Council meeting.

The Society’s Finances • The Council and Board of Directors learned that the Society’s total 2009 revenue ($460 million) was up +1% from 2008, but fell short of the 2009 approved budget by $19.5 million or 4.1%. Fortunately, the revenue shortfall was fully anticipated in early 2009. Therefore, contingency planning actions and cost containment initiatives were implemented across the Society, resulting in expense savings totaling $22.5 million. Significant reductions were realized in salaries and fringe benefits, and in discretionary accounts such as travel, training, and professional services. As a result, the Society’s Net Return from Operations was $13.7 million, or $3.0 million greater than anticipated in the 2009 Approved Budget. • Unrestricted Net Assets rebounded in 2009 to approximately $124 million, from a previous $60 million at the end of 2008. The significant increase can be attributed to the favorable operating results, investment gains, and a net reduction in the Society’s post-retirement benefit plan liabilities. The Society ended the year in compliance with four of the five Board-established financial guidelines. The Fund Balance Ratio Guideline, which measures the adequacy of the Society’s unrestricted net assets, was not met. The financial outlook for 2010 is better, and ACS management expects the Society to meet the 2010 approved budget.

2011 Member Dues • The Council VOTED to set the member dues for 2011 at the fully escalated rate of $146. This rate is established pursuant to an inflation-adjustment formula in the ACS Constitution and Bylaws.

Local Section Allotment Calculator • The Council VOTED to continue for three years the current formula for determining allotments to local sections.

Member Statistics • At the close of 2009, Society membership totaled 161,783 compared to 154,024 for year-end 2008. The number of new membership applications received last year was the highest ever. The 2009 number also reflects the transition of 6,658 former Student Affiliates to the new student member category in June 2009 and the recruitment of 6,341 new student member undergraduates.

6 Attendance Report • As of March 24, 2010, the ACS spring national meeting had attracted 18,076 registrants as follows: Regular attendees, 9,715; Students, 5,705; Exhibitors, 1,219; Exposition only, 923; and Guests, 514.

Board Committees and Task Force Actions • The Executive Committee closely examined its role and that of the Planning Committee, and concluded that both committees add value and are important to the overall work of the Board of Directors. • The Committee on Grants and Awards presented the Board with a screened list of nominees for the 2011 Priestley Medal, the Volunteer Service Award, and the Parsons Award. The Board agreed to review the screened list and announce the winners of these three awards after its June meeting. • The Board’s Committee on Planning met with the Board in executive session. At that point, the Board Chair announced that the Board of Directors had VOTED to grant full voting rights on the Planning Committee to the chairs of the Committees on Local Section Activities and Divisional Activities. (CPC & B&F already vote.) The committee and the Board then discussed the results of an external environmental scan and offered suggestions that could be used to refine the Society’s Strategic Plan for 2011 and Beyond. The committee and the Board also reviewed the committee’s role and considered some modifications to its charge and to its frequency of meetings. • The Board received a report from the President’s Task Force on Diversity Reports. The task force was charged with assessing the recommendations from the diversity workshop reports in the context of current efforts and committees of the Society, and developing a road map for the implementation of the recommendations. The task force also urged that the ACS move into a leadership role in promoting the education, professional development, and inclusion and equity of present and future generations of chemical professionals that reflect the diversity of America. The Presidential succession and the full Board VOTED to refer the task force report to the Board Standing Committee on Professional and Member Relations for prioritization, assignment of accountability, and development of implementation timelines, and discharged the task force with sincere thanks for its excellent work.

The Executive Director/CEO Report • The Executive Director/CEO, along with several of her direct reports, updated the Board on the activities of Chemical Abstracts Service, the Publications Division, and the Society’s General Counsel. As a follow-up, the Board VOTED to approve a new appointment and three reappointments of journal editors. • On the recommendation of the ACS Governing Board for Publishing, the Board VOTED to accept a recommendation to authorize an additional member position on the Governing Board whenever additional expertise or perspective would help it execute its duties.

Compensation of Society Staff • On the recommendation of the Committee on Executive Compensation, the Board VOTED to approve several actions relative to compensation for the Society’s Executive staff. The compensation of the Society’s executive staff receives regular review from the Board.

7 Other Society Issues • The Board was briefed by its working group monitoring 2010 Board Logistical Training. This plan, which currently includes four broad topic areas, is designed to enhance overall Board effectiveness. The Board also received reports from several international guests representing the following scientific societies: Brazilian Chemical Society, the Chemical Society for Canada, the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

Activities of HIST Councilors Carmen Giunta is chair of the Constitution and Bylaws subcommittee of the Divisional Activities Committee (DAC) and liaison from DAC to the Council Committee on Constitution and Bylaws. He participated in meetings of both of those committees. In addition, he is a member of the Committee on Nomenclature, Terminology, and Symbols (NTS), and he participated in its meeting. Mary Virginia Orna is serving the last year of her three-year term on the Council Policy Committee. In this capacity she is also serving as a member of the subcommittee on Long-Range Planning and the subcommittee on Constitution and Bylaws. If nominated by the Committee on Nominations and Elections, she will be eligible to run for re-election for another three-year term. Carmen Giunta, Mary Virginia Orna, Councilors

Bulletin for the History of Chemistry This is to notify HIST members and library subscribers that Carmen J. Giunta will succeed Paul R. Jones as editor of the Bulletin for the History of Chemistry, effective January 1, 2011. He will become the third editor of this HIST periodical, which was founded in 1988 by William B. Jensen. Dr. Jensen served as editor until 1995, when Dr. Jones was appointed to the post. After the publication of the Fall 2010 issue of the Bulletin (volume 35, number 2), all correspondence and inquires about manuscripts, book reviews, letters, and other features should be directed to Dr. Giunta: Dr. Carmen J. Giunta Le Moyne College Department of Chemistry 1419 Salt Springs Rd. Syracuse, NY 13214-1399 [email protected] Dr. Vera V. Mainz, HIST Secretary-Treasurer, will continue to handle HIST membership, subscription payments, and back issues. Paul R. Jones and Carmen J. Giunta

HIST and the ACS Symposium Series The ACS Symposium Series publishes peer-reviewed books developed from the ACS technical divisions’ symposia. Several recent HIST symposia are the basis of forthcoming books at various stages of preparation in this series. “A Festival of Chemistry Entertainments” was a full-day symposium at the Spring 2008 national meeting in New Orleans. Jack Stocker organized the symposium, sponsored by HIST and cosponsored by the Bolton Society, an association of chemical bibliophiles connected to the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Dr. Stocker began work as editor of the symposium volume, and Natalie Foster picked up that task after he passed away in 2009.

8 The series will also bring out a book based on the Fall 2008 HIST symposium Carmen Giunta organized in honor of the 200th anniversary of Dalton’s A New System of Chemical Philosophy. The symposium was titled “200 Years of Atoms in Chemistry: From Dalton’s Atoms to Nanotechnology.” The book, which is currently at the production stage, will be called Atoms in Chemistry: From Dalton’s Predecessors to Complex Atoms and Beyond. The Bolton Society has held a series of symposia on classic chemistry books at several recent national meetings. The first was “Landmark Chemistry Books of the 20th Century” in Fall 2005 (Washington), organized by James Bohning. That series continues at the Fall 2010 meeting with “Classic Books in Chemistry VII: Physical Chemistry Books from New England,” organized by Gary Patterson and Ned Heindel. James Bohning is working with the ACS Symposium Series to develop a book from the Bolton Society symposia. This project is in the developmental stage. Finally, the Symposium Series has accepted a proposal to publish a book based on the Spring 2010 symposium “100+ Years of Plastics. Leo Baekeland and Beyond.” Tom Strom organized the symposium, held in San Francisco, sponsored by HIST and cosponsored by the Divisions of Polymer Chemistry and Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering. He and Seth Rasmussen are editing the book, which is at the stage of manuscript submission and review. ACS Symposium Series books are distributed by Oxford University Press. Books and chapters can be searched from the ACS Publications home page (pubs.acs.org), just like ACS journals. Carmen J. Giunta

Message from the HIST Program Chair While at a conference in Japan last month, I was introduced to a traditional Japanese saying - "Cherishing Old Knowledge, Acquiring New", which seemed to nicely sum up our activities in HIST. Of course, to do this we need to continue our historical activities and just as importantly, make sure to share them with the rest of the ACS community. We had very successful programming for San Francisco (thanks much to everyone involved!), however, we again have a fairly light schedule for Boston and only a single poster representing us in SciMix. Please consider submitting an abstract for one of the upcoming meetings and if you have ideas for symposia, please let me know. Even if you are not able to organize the symposia in mind, the Executive Committee and I may be able to find the appropriate person to do so. I know that the difficulties with the new PACS system may be keeping some from dealing with submitting an abstract. Know that I and ACS are doing what we can to improve the system and in the meantime, do not hesitate to contact me if you need help submitting an abstract. We will be trying another new idea in programming with the upcoming meeting in Anaheim with our HIST Tutorial series. The idea will be to have one (possibly two) presentations each meeting that will be a review tutorial on a historical subject to bring HIST members and the general ACS community up to speed on a topic of general interest. We possible, we will also try to tie these talks into the ACS Thematic Programming. If there is a topic you would like to see added to the series, or better yet, if there is a topic you would like to talk about, please let me know. As always, please feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions ([email protected]). Of course, if you have questions about potential talks or symposia, please (really, PLEASE!!) contact me. Seth C. Rasmussen, HIST Program Chair

9 HIST Symposia, 240th ACS Meeting in Boston August 22-26, 2010 Schedules and abstracts are listed at the end of this Newsletter.

Anna Jane Harrison: ACS President, Her Science and Her Legacy HIST is sponsoring the second in a series of symposia on the Science and Legacy of former ACS Presidents. The presentations will highlight her life as a research chemist, chemical educator, leader of the ACS and other scientific societies/organizations, mentor and friend. Speakers include former ACS presidents Mary Good and Helen Free; Mt. Holyoke professor emeritus Mary Campbell; Lucy Eubanks, CHED; Mary Singleton, WCC; and Jan Hayes, HIST. The symposium is co-sponsored by WCC. The program will end with a panel discussion. Please join us to learn about this remarkable chemist and share your experiences, remembrances, and/or encounters with her. The symposium will be Monday morning, August 23, in the Seaport Hotel – Constitution. Jan M. Hayes, Organizer

Classic Books in Chemistry VII: Physical Chemistry Books from New England Cosponsored by the Bolton Society An eclectic and stimulating mixture of "book reports" and whimsy will be presented. Bill Jensen will provide a solid foundation for a consideration of the physical chemistry legacy of Harvard with a discussion of the textbooks of Josiah Parsons Cooke. Roger Egolf will continue the focus on Harvard with a presentation on the work of the historian Henry Adams and his application of thermodynamic paradigms to historical analysis. Cathy Cobb will bring her Magick, Mayhem and Mavericks to the study of J. Willard Gibbs of Yale. Another notable from Harvard, Theodore William Richards, will be discussed by Paul Karol. One of the great contributions of MIT and Yale, "Chemical Thermodynamics" by Kirkwood and Oppenheim will be discussed by the current Boston University disciple of the masters, Tom Keyes. Finally, the legacy of the Physical Chemistry Laboratory of A.A. Noyes at MIT will be celebrated with a consideration of the magnus opus of Charles Kraus of Clark University and later Brown on Electrical Conductivity. This will be presented by symposium organizer, Gary Patterson. The symposium will be Monday afternoon, August 23, in the Seaport Hotel – Constitution. Ned Heindel, Gary Patterson, Organizers

UPCOMING NATIONAL MEETINGS AND HIST DEADLINE Offerings are subject to change. Check the HIST website ( http://www.scs.uiuc.edu/~mainzv/HIST/) for updates.

ANAHEIM, March 27-31, 2010 Submit your abstract via the ACS Electronic Submission System (PACS - http://abstracts.acs.org/) by October 29, 2010. If you do not have access to a computer for use in the submission or are having difficulties in submitting your abstract, contact Seth Rasmussen. Check the call for papers in Chem and Eng News (http://pubs.acs.org/cen/) or the ACS website (http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content) for changes in the abstract deadlines. Symposia ideas are still being accepted.

General Papers. (Seeking contributors) Seth C. Rasmussen, Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105, Phone: (701) 231-8747, Email: [email protected]

Pioneers of Quantum Chemistry (Seeking contributors) [Cosponsorship is being sought with COMP] E. Thomas Strom, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Arlington, P. O. Box 19065, Arlington, TX 76019-0065, Phone: (817) 272-5441, Email: [email protected]

What's in a name? Histories of units and constants (Seeking contributors) Carmen Giunta, Le Moyne College, 1419 Salt Springs Rd., Syracuse, NY 13214-1399, Phone: (315) 445-4128, Fax: (315) 445-4540, Email: [email protected]

DENVER, March 27-31, 2011

IYC'11: A Philatelic Celebration. (Invited and seeking contributors) Dan Rabinovich, Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223, Phone: (704) 687-4442, Email: [email protected]; Ron Hill, 7590 West Caley Drive, Littleton, CO 80123, Phone: (303) 241-5409, Email: [email protected]

News from the Chemical Heritage Foundation The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF - http://www.chemheritage.org/) serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future. CHF maintains a world-class collection of materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries; encourages research in its collections; and carries out a program of outreach and interpretation in order to advance an understanding of the role of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries in shaping society. Michal Meyer Named Editor-in-Chief The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) has named Michal Meyer, PhD, editor in chief of Chemical Heritage magazine and executive producer of the Distillations podcast. In this role, she will be responsible for day-to-day operations and strategic planning for the magazine and the podcast as well as leading efforts to reach new audiences with stories from the history of the chemical and molecular sciences. Meyer recently earned a doctoral degree from the University of Florida at Gainesville. Her work experience includes serving as a writer and editor at The Jerusalem Post, managing editor of the History of Science Society (HSS) Newsletter and webmaster of the HSS site. She has also worked as a meteorologist both in New Zealand and Fiji. 2010 SCI Perkin Medal will go to Ronald Breslow The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI), America International Group, will award the SCI Perkin Medal to Ronald Breslow, S.L. Mitchill Professor of Chemistry and University Professor at Columbia University. He will be presented with the medal at the Perkin Medal dinner, now in its 104th year, during Innovation Day 2010 at Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) in Philadelphia on 23 September. Innovation Day gathers more than 200 scientific leaders from the chemical and molecular science industries to discuss cutting edge research.

11 HIST

DIVISION OF THE HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY

Final Program, 240th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 22-26, 2010

S. C. Rasmussen, Program Chair

SUNDAY AFTERNOON Seaport Hotel – Flagship A

General Papers S. C. Rasmussen, Organizer, Presiding 1:30 — 1. On the trail of a Thomas Thomson work published in Philadelphia. B. Charton

2:00 — 2. Charles Darwin and chemistry. M. Saltzman 2:30 — 3. Dawn of biological activity prediction. M. Charton 3:00 — Intermission. 3:15 — 4. Did John Frederick William Herschel discover molecular chirality before Louis Pasteur? J. Gal 3:45 — 5. Robert L. Alldredge, Chemical Engineer, Inventor, Entrepreneur, Developer of Octolig®. D. Martin 4:15 — 6. Hydrogen to Copernicium: An elemental history of the periodic table. D. Rabinovich

MONDAY MORNING Seaport Hotel – Constitution

Anna Jane Harrison: ACS President, Her Science and Her Legacy J. Hayes, Organizer, Presiding 8:15 — Introductory Remarks. 8:25 — 7. Anna J. Harrison: Teacher and leader. L. P. Eubanks 8:55 — 8. Anna Jane Harrison at Mount Holyoke College. M. Campbell 9:25 — 9. From Toxic Smoke to the Structure and Reactions of Organic Compounds; the Chemical Research of Anna Jane Harrison. J. Hayes 9:55 — Intermission. 10:15 — 10. Anna Jane Harrison: First Woman Elected as ACS President. H. Free 10:45 — 11. Anna Jane Harrison: Policy Leader. M. Good 11:15 — 12. Anna Jane Harrison from Afar. M. Singleton 11:45 — Panel Discussion

12 MONDAY AFTERNOON Seaport Hotel – Constitution

Classic Books in Chemistry VII: Physical Chemistry Books from New England N. Heindel, Organizer G. Patterson, Organizer, Presiding 1:30 — 13. Physical chemistry before Ostwald; The textbooks of Josiah Parsons Cooke. W. Jensen 2:10 — 14. Henry Adams and the application of thermodynamics to history. R. Egolf 2:40 — 15. Measures of the spread: The influence of statistics on J. Willard Gibbs and the influence of Gibbs on statistics. C. Cobb 3:10 — Intermission. 3:30 — 16. Richards the First. P. Karol 4:00 — 17. "Chemical Thermodynamics", by Kirkwood and Oppenheim. T. Keyes 4:30 — 18. MIT and the Physical Chemistry Laboratory: Charles Kraus and "The Properties of Electrically Conducting Systems". G. Patterson

MONDAY EVENING Hall D Exhibit Hall C, BCEC

Sci-Mix S. C. Rasmussen, Organizer 8:00 - 10:00 14. See previous listings.

13 Abstracts

HIST 1: On the trail of a Thomas Thomson work published in Philadelphia Barbara Charton, [email protected], 200 Willoughby Avenue, ARC, Brooklyn, New York NY 11205. Department of Mathematics and Science, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York NY 11205, United States Thomas Thomson is a famous name in the history of chemistry. His first major work appeared in the 2- volume Supplement to the Encyclopedia Britannica's 3rd edition. Building on and expanding this work, Thomson produced his single volume "A New System of Chemistry..." in Edinburgh in 1802. However, the Philadelphia publisher Thomas Dobson produced a volume entitled "A New System of Chemistry comprehending the Latest Discoveries..." in 1800. Dobson was a well-established publisher of scientific, medical and technical books. While this was an important publishing house it was certainly not the only one; there was significant interest in science and technology early in American history. But what was this volume?

HIST 2: Charles Darwin and chemistry Martin D Saltzman, [email protected], 1 Cunningham Square, Providence RI 02918, United States . Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is always associated with the development of modern biological thinking through his theory of the origin of species through means of natural selection. However it is little appreciated that Darwin during his formative years had an interest in chemistry that if it was nurtured could have entirely changed the trajectory of his career. In this presentation I will try to present the chemistry that the young Darwin was exposed to during his student days at Edinburgh and Cambridge. At Edinburgh he attended the lectures of Thomas Charles Hope(1766-1844) and at Cambridge James Cumming (1777- 1861). Reasons for Darwin's loss of interest in chemistry will be discussed in the context of the state of chemical education and research in Great Britain during the first three decades of the nineteenth century. Darwin would maintain an interest in chemistry and call upon chemists when it was helpful to his work in natural history. From the Darwin correspondence that has been published by Cambridge University I will discuss certain items that show this.

HIST 3: Dawn of biological activity prediction Marvin Charton, [email protected], 200 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn, New York NY 11205, United States. Department of Mathematics and Science, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York NY 11205, United States One of the major occupations of modern chemistry is the prediction of biological activity. Such predictions are useful for the design of bioactive molecules such as medicinal drugs and pesticides, and in the identification of potentially toxic chemicals for environmental purposes. From a historical viewpoint it is necessary to start with the development of the theory of chemical structure. The earliest characterization of chemical substances was by composition. A complication was introduced by the discovery of isomerism. Not surprisingly, the earliest attempts at bioactivity prediction were based on this. The earliest effort to study relationships between composition and bioactivity and between bioactivity and a physical property of a chemical substance as well is due to James Blake. Blake who trained as a physician was active between 1837 and 1885. he studied the toxicity of metalllic salts in dogs. In 1819 Mitscherlich discovered the existence of isomorphism in crystals of inorganic salts. In 1841 Blake found a qualitative relationship between toxicity and isomorphism in these compounds. Further studies were carried out and he summarized his results in 18731. In the Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of

14 Science for 1850 E.N. Horsford reported a relationship between composition and taste for a number of compounds2. Thus these authors appear to have been the first to look for a qualitative relationship between chemical constitution and a biological property. 1. J. Blake, Amer.J.Sci.Arts. 7, 39 (1874) 2. E.N. Horsford, Amer.J.Sci.Arts 2nd Series.XII, 195-199 (1851)

HIST 4: Did John Frederick William Herschel discover molecular chirality before Louis Pasteur? Joseph Gal, [email protected], Aurora Colorado 80045.Division of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora Colorado 80045, United States Louis Pasteur is universally credited with the discovery of molecular chirality in 1848, but such accounts ignore earlier inferences by John Herschel, a British astronomer, physicist, and chemist. In 1822 Herschel wrote the following on Biot's observations of optical rotation by certain substances in the liquid or gas phase or in solution: "[T]he general impression left on our minds is that of a want of symmetry in the disposition within the molecules themselves, of some of the elementary forces by which they act on light." In 1827 Herschel further elaborated: "[T]o produce such phenomena, each individual molecule must be conceived as unsymmetrically constituted, i.e., as having a right and left side." These statements no doubt constitute a basic formulation of molecular chirality, and Pasteur was probably aware of them. However, Herschel's suggestions remained theoretical speculations, and it was Pasteur's monumental experimental work that established the existence of chiral molecules.

HIST 5: Robert L. Alldredge, chemical engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, developer of Octolig® Dean F. Martin, [email protected], CHE 205, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa Florida 33620, United States. Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa Florida 33620, United States Robert L. Alldredge (1922-2008) developed a life-long interest in chemistry that was strongly influenced by his father, a high school chemistry teacher. He entered the University of Denver at 16, and upon graduation worked as a chemical engineer for DuPont for a year before being drafted by the Army. He was sent to Los Alamos where he was part of the team that developed a detonation system for the atomic bomb. Subsequently, he and his wife settled in the Denver area, where they raised a family, and where he set up three businesses over the years. He was an active inventor with some 60 patents, US and foreign, to his credit. One product that he developed through Metre-General, Inc. was Octolig®, a polyamine ligand covalently attached to a high-surface- area silica. In his later years, we had the chance to collaborate on novel uses of Octolig®.

HIST 6: Hydrogen to Copernicium: An elemental history of the periodic table Daniel Rabinovich, [email protected], 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte North Carolina 28223, United States. Department of Chemistry, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte North Carolina 28223, United States This presentation will feature some highlights of the history of the periodic table and the discovery of several elements, as illustrated on postage stamps and related philatelic materials. From alchemy to nuclear fission, a surprisingly large number of postage stamps show various aspects of the history of chemistry and its main characters and accomplishments, and thus constitute an inexpensive and engaging way of communicating science to a general audience. Since the International Year of Chemistry (2011) is just a

15 few months away, a few recent (and even some yet-to-be released) stamps related to chemistry will be shown as a tribute to the “central science”.

HIST 7: Anna J. Harrison: Teacher and leader Lucy P. Eubanks, [email protected], Department of Chemistry, Clemson University, Clemson SC 29634, United States Anna Harrison was my freshman chemistry teacher at Mount Holyoke College. I knew at the time that she was a knowledgeable and effective teacher, reaffirming my decision to choose this liberal arts college for pursuing a major in chemistry. However, I had little idea how Anna would come to affect the rest of my professional life as a chemistry educator, author, and active member of ACS.This paper will detail some of the ways in which her influence has expanded my networks and enriched my understanding of the relationships among science and society. Along the way, I've also learned about some surprising aspects of her early life, both back in Missouri and in her chemistry career.

HIST 8: Anna Jane Harrison at Mount Holyoke College Mary Campbell, [email protected], Mount Holyoke College, Tucson AR 85718, United States Dr. Anna Jane Harrison began teaching and research at Mount Holyoke College in 1945. She became a full professor in 1950, served as chair of the Chemistry Department from 1960-69, and retired in 1979. This presentation will explore her experiences and her legacy at Mount Holyoke.

HIST 9: From toxic smoke to the structure and reactions of organic compounds: The chemical research of Anna Jane Harrison Janan M. Hayes, [email protected], Retired, Merced College, Sacramento CA 95842, United States Dr. Anna Jane Harrison began her career teaching at Sophie Newcomb College during World War II. At the same time, she did research on toxic smoke culminating with the American Ceramic Society honoring her for this research. In 1950 she moved to Mount Holyoke College. In addition to her noted work in chemical education, she did research concerning the structure of organic molecules, the absorption of organic compounds in ultraviolet and far ultraviolet regions, and photolysis. Often her published research was co-authored with her students and fellow chemists at Mount Holyoke.

HIST 10: Anna Jane Harrison: First woman elected as ACS President Helen M. Free, [email protected], 3752 E Jackson Blvd, Elkhardt IN 46516, United States; Janan M Hayes, Merced College, Sacramento CA 95842, United States

Anna Jane Harrison is a pioneer example in the chemical sciences, working as an educator and researcher, and actively serving her discipline in a number of various organizations. Harrison was the 93rd person and first woman to be elected as 1978 ACS President. As such, she had three major goals: (1) to develop ACS's ability to constructively interact with various regulatory agencies, (2) to develop programs at the high school, college and university level aimed at the general or non-science major student, and (3) to expand the self-image of the roles that are appropriate and honorable for professional chemists. In this presentation, Harrison's accomplishments as ACS president will be discussed as well as some of her impact as past ACS president.

HIST 11: Anna Jane Harrison: Policy leader

16 Mary L. Good, [email protected], Donaghey College, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock AK 72204, United States; Margaret A. Cavanaugh, Directorate for Geosciences, National Science Foundation, Arlington VA 22230, United States After her service on the ACS Board of Directors and as President of the Society, Dr. Anna J. Harrison continued as a member of the Council of the ACS for over 20 years. She was elected president of AAAS in 1983-84. In addition, she was active in leadership of Sigma Xi and of the U.S. National Committee of IUPAC. These major roles of service to society were very important to the scientific enterprise and her influence on professional and governmental policies is still felt.

HIST 12: Anna Jane Harrison from afar

Mary F. Singleton, [email protected], Women Chemists Committee, Central New Mexico Section - ACS, Cordova NM 87523, United States A look at Anna Jane Harrison from the perspective of one of her admirers who did not know her personally and was never one of her students. She served as an iconic figure and an inspiration even from afar to women who entered the chemistry professions prior to the 1970s.

HIST 13: Physical chemistry before Ostwald: The textbooks of Josiah Parsons Cooke

William B. Jensen, [email protected], Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Ohio 45221, United States The usual story is that the discipline of physical chemistry was born of the efforts of the German chemist Wilhelm Ostwald in the 1880s. In fact there were at least two earlier traditions of theoretical chemistry textbooks which preceded those of Ostwald and his students by at least three decades. The talk will review these earlier traditions as exemplified in the textbooks of the Harvard chemist Josiah Parsons Cooke.

HIST 14: Henry Adams and the application of thermodynamics to history

Roger A. Egolf, [email protected], Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University - Lehigh Valley Campus, Center Valley PA 18034, United States ; Peter A. Khoury, Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University - Lehigh Valley Campus, Center Valley PA 18034, United States The topic of this symposium is the history of physical chemistry books written by authors from New

England. This paper turns this topic on its ear by looking at a few essays written by a prominent New Englander which applied physical chemistry to history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, social sciences ranging from psychology and economics to political science began to attempt to apply the methods of the natural sciences to their problems with much apparent success. In this intellectual atmosphere, more than a few historians became enamored with the idea that they could use the methods of physics and biology to turn their field into a predictive science. Henry Adams, an author, editor, world traveler, former history professor at Harvard, and descendent of two American presidents, wrote several long essays in which he attempted to apply entropy and Gibb's phase rule to historical processes. There is much controversy whether Adams truly believed in the ideas he proposed, or if he might have been playing a joke on his historian peers. This paper will discuss the ideas he presented in his essays “A letter to American Teachers of History” and “The Rule of Phase Applied to History”.

HIST 15: Measures of the spread: The influence of statistics on J. Willard Gibbs and the influence of Gibbs on statistics

17 Cathy Cobb, [email protected], Aiken Preparatory School, Aiken South Carolina 29801- 6901, United States As chemists, we tend to claim J. Willard Gibbs as our own. Is he not, after all, the father of physical chemistry? It seems, however, that several disciplines can trace their lineage through Willard Gibbs. This presentation will offer a brief history of the field of statistics up to the time of J. Willard Gibbs, explore Gibbs's masterful use of statistics to establish the theoretical foundations of chemical thermodynamics, and then investigate how fields as diverse as economics, evolutionary biology, and literature have adapted and profited from the mathematics of J. Willard Gibbs.

HIST 16: Richards the First Paul J Karol, [email protected], Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15213, United States Theodore William Richards received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry - the first American so recognized - in 1914 for his careful measurements of atomic weights. Richards attended Haverford College and then Harvard. He received his Ph.D. in 1888 with Josiah Cooke and subsequently studied with Ostwald and Nernst. Richards published prolifically on precision analysis, and thermodynamics, often in collaboration with the Carnegie Institution in Washington. I will review “Determinations of Atomic Weights” and “Fundamental Properties of the Elements”.

HIST 17: "Chemical Thermodynamics", by Kirkwood and Oppenheim Tom Keyes, [email protected], Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston MA 02215, United States John G. Kirkwood, who spent most of his career at Yale University, had an enormous influence on the development of statistical mechanics in the USA, both through his own ideas and through the extraordinary number and accomplishments of his students. "Chemical Thermodynamics", by Kirkwood and Oppenheim, is based upon notes from Kirkwood's graduate course, by Irwin Oppenheim, Martin Karplus and Alex Rich. The result is a clear, consistent, and sometimes novel approach that has been an important component of the graduate education of theoretical chemists since publication in 1961. The notable features of "Chemical Thermodynamics" will be discussed, including a focus on measurable quantities throughout, a derivation of the second law incorporating Caratheodory's principle as a consequence of the physical statement of Kelvin and Clausius, the conditions for equilibrium and stability, and the rigorous thermodynamics of systems in electromagnetic fields as applied to electrochemical systems.

HIST 18: MIT and the physical chemistry laboratory: Charles Kraus and "The Properties of Electrically Conducting Systems" Gary D Patterson, [email protected], Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA 15213, United States New England produced many communities of physical chemists that led to significant books. MIT is noted for the Laboratory of Physical Chemistry founded by A.A. Noyes. One of the most notable books that issued from work at this laboratory was written at the invitation of Noyes by Charles A. Kraus: “The Properties of Electrically Conducting Systems.” It appeared in 1922 as Number 7 in the famous series of ACS Monographs( before the existence of the Debye-Huckel theory). It exhaustively reviewed the available data for both conductivity and ionic equilibrium in electrolyte solutions. It also surveyed the available theories and concluded that no successful theory yet existed. The present paper will discuss the book in its context as a representative work from MIT and as a contribution to the paradigm of electrolyte solutions.