Alum Newsltr11/18

P. O. Box 951569 607 Charles E. Young Drive East Los Angeles, California 90095-1569 310-825-4219 www.chem.ucla.edu contribute substantively to new long-time collaborator. Finally, plans Volume 24, Number 1 Vol- research and outreach initiatives within are well in place for an exciting Seaborg ume the California NanoSystems Institute Symposium on December 6 (see pages (CNSI) and the Materials Creation 10 and 12) to help commemorate the Training Program (MCTP) described installation of our new 800 Mhz NMR for the first time in the last Newsletter. facility and to honor Seaborg Medal- A special forum – the “Cram Debate” ists Ad Bax of the NIH and Alex Pines – was initiated on September 22 as Jim of Berkeley for their pioneering con- Heath and Ed Chandross argued the tributions to NMR. We look forward cases for and against a future for mo- to seeing as many of you as possible at lecular computers before an audience this and other departmental occasions of hundreds. A heartwarming surge of in the near future. contributions to the Daniel Kivelson Undergraduate Fellowship Fund will Very best wishes, make it possible for the first student to benefit from this support as early as next quarter. And the 2nd Kivelson William M. Gelbart, Chair Lecture will be given on December 1 by Gilles Tarjus, Dan’s most recent and First I want to thank the large number of you who were generous enough to respond to our recent appeals for contributions to help offset the severe bud- get cuts that have been levied on us (along with all other departments in the College here at UCLA). This past year has been particularly hard, as we re- bounded from our first round of cuts only to face additional and larger ones for the current and upcoming years. But the good news is that our faculty and staff continue to rise to the occasion and to excel on all fronts. In addition to the prestigious awards won by Fred Hawthorne, Ken Houk, and Wayne Hubbell that are described on the next page, we have just learned that Fraser Stoddart is the winner of the 2004 Nagoya Medal of Organic Chemistry, to be conferred on him in Japan at next summer’s 15th International Congress of Organic Synthesis. And faculty June 2003 Chemistry and Biochemistry Commencement throughout the Department continue to 1 Chemistry Biochemistry Wayne L. Hubbell tigated the structure and interactions received the Zavoisky of heavy polyaromatic molecules Award of the Russian known as asphaltenes that pose Academy of Sciences, problems in refining crude oils. His NEWS ITEM #1 established in 1991 to postdoctoral experience includes inter- Faculty Awards honor the contrib- disciplinary research in chemical utions of E. K. engineering at the Johns Hopkins M. Frederick Hawthorne Zavoisky to the discovery of EPR over University, where he studied the is the 2003 Winner of the fifty years ago. The award was mechanical properties of biopolymer Monie A. Ferst Award. presented at a public ceremony on the solutions, and in physical chemistry at This award, administered 19th of September, in Kazan, Russia, the Paul Pascal Research Center in by the Georgia Institute of attended by officials of Tararstan Bordeaux, France, where he studied Technology Chapter of the Republic, Kazan City, and Kazan State emulsification. University. The ceremony was the Tom’s primary research interests lie Sigma Xi Society, recognizes those who have capstone of a two-day workshop on in developing a fundamental under- made notable contributions to motivation Modern Developments in Magnetic standing of the structure and mechani- and encouragement of research through Resonance, and included receptions, cal flow properties, or “rheology”, of education. The award is made every year to banquets, and performances by a full soft materials including dense a person who has touched and inspired his string orchestra, all in honor of Wayne particulate suspensions, highly concen- or her research colleagues in a manner that and his work. trated emulsions, and entangled can be documented by their subsequent polymer solutions. The shapes of and scientific accomplishments. The award was New Faculty interactions between the microscale and named after the late Monie A. Ferst, an Tom Mason nanoscale structures of the constituent outstanding engineer and businessman, who particles, droplets, and polymers can in 1933 co-founded the Georgia Tech profoundly influence the macroscopic Research Institute out of personal funds. phase behavior and rheology of these Believing strongly in the idea that basic suspensions. His research group at research conducted by science faculty would UCLA will be exploring the following significantly enhance the effectiveness of areas: (1) designing and studying the their teaching, he endowed the $5,000 Ferst phase behavior of new kinds of colloi- Medal to honor those who have made dal particles using optical and e-beam notable contributions to the training of lithographic methods, (2) creating scientists in the academic arena. nanoemulsions of liquid droplets that have zeptoliter volumes in another immiscible liquid for applications in Kendall N. Houk is one coatings and drug delivery, (3) measur- of three American ing the mechanical flow properties of scientists to be elected this very small volumes, or microrheology, year to the International Dr. Thomas G. Mason has recently of biopolymer solutions using particle Academy of Quantum joined the chemistry and biochemistry tracking, laser tweezers, and light Molecular Science. The faculty as an assistant professor in July, scattering, and (4) performing neutron 2003. He holds the John McTague Academy was founded in 1967 in Menton, scattering experiments at national Career Development Chair and has a France, to honor scientists of all countries beamline facilities in order to measure joint appointment in the department of “who have distinguished themselves by the the structures of hydrocarbons in bulk physics and astronomy. Prior to value of their scientific work and their role suspensions. coming to UCLA, Tom worked as an as pioneer or leader of a school in the broad Tom’s laboratory space has just been industrial scientist in the field of field of the application of quantum mechanics completely renovated, and his group is complex fluids for nearly six years at to the study of molecules and in the process of setting up emulsifica- ExxonMobil Research and Engineering macromolecules.” Membership involving tion, rheology, light scattering, laser Co. in Annandale, New Jersey. There, scientists under the age of 65 is limited to 35 tweezers, and lithography experiments. he developed polarized laser tweezers worldwide, and includes photochemists and that can be used to trap and rotate molecular scattering theorists as well as More information about Tom’s research birefringent microscopic particles quantum chemists. program is available on his website: suspended in a liquid, and, using http://www.chem.ucla.edu/dept/ Faculty/Mason/. 2 Santa Rosa. He also maintains a law practice in Ukiah and Santa Rosa specializing in Social Security Disability law. He writes: “Following New Faculty Appointment graduation and in medical school, I Tom Mason worked as a bench chemist for faculty S. Kathleen Tendick, BS’50, MS’52 on research projects, but have done Fred T. Weiss, BS’38 (Young), PhD’41 (Crowell), retired from Los Angeles (Harvard), is still active in the Judah L. nothing similar since finishing medical Harbor College in June 2002. She writes school. Indeed my next-to-last such job Magnus Museum of Jewish Studies in that she “missed last year’s Seaborg Berkeley, which recently purchased a was as a student technician in Willard Dinner because we were in southeast Libby’s lab until he fired me for going new building and will rebuild it with Asia, returning to Nepal from Thai- more extensive galleries. He writes that to medical school instead of graduate land”, but expects to attend the dinner school.” it takes “a different sort of chemistry to in December. get many people involved.” Bruce Rickborn, PhD’60 (Cram), is Robert V. St. Louis, BS’54, PhD’63 Arthur Furst, MA’40 (Stone), PhD’48 emeritus professor of chemistry at UC (Minnesota), is emeritus professor of Santa Barbara, having retired in 2001. (Stanford), is still active at age 88. He chemistry at the University of Wiscon- Edwin C. Friedrich, PhD’61 recently published two papers in the sin – Eau Claire, having served there (Winstein) is emeritus professor of International Journal of Toxicology and from 1968 to 1998. He has been active chemistry at UC Davis. Food and Chemical Toxicology. His book in the Central Wisconsin Section of the “151 Myths in Everyday Science“ has ACS, serving as newsletter editor, chair, Eugene N. Garcia, PhD’61 (McKee), just been published. and National Chemistry Week is emeritus professor of chemistry at Stanley Singer, BS’46, PhD’50 organizer. CSU Dominguez Hills. (Jacobs), is director of research at Noriko (Chiwaki) Clement, MS’55 David E. Whittington, BS’63, JD’66 Athenex Research in Pasadena. (James), widow of Robert A. Clement, (Hastings), practiced law from 1966 to Ross I. Wagner, BS’47, PhD’54 (USC) PhD’54 (Young), is doing Japanese 1996, but now is on inactive status. His is, since July 2000, a research associate translation and interpretation, as a last position was county counsel of El in the Loker Hydrocarbon Research business entity, Clemenor, LLC. Dorado County, California. He writes that “Since 1971 I have also owned and Institute at USC. Cornelius Steelink, PhD’56 operated a small farm where I now grow Ursula (Solnitz) Osborne, BS’48, (Geissman), emeritus professor of wine grapes.” He also serves on the writes that her BS allowed her to work chemistry at the University of Arizona, board of directors of the Georgetown as a lab assistant in university labs at is president-elect of the Southern Divide Public Utilities District.

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