Newsletter January 1999

Santa Clara Valley Section American Chemical Society Volume 21 No. 1 1998 Mosher Award Address Dr. Glenn A. Crosby January Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science, State University Dinner Meeting An Outline of Educational Rubbish Date: Thursday, January 21 Place: FAZ Restaurant Abstract spectroscopy of inorganic 1108 N. Mathilda Avenue Webster’s Dictionary complexes and solids and Sunnyvale defines a fad as “a custom, for his educational pro- hobby, style, etc. adopted grams for teachers and Schedule: and pursued by many students. He has received 6 PM Reception people for a time with numerous honors for both 7 PM Dinner ($25.00) undue zeal”. Fads range his research and educa- 8PM Presentation from the truly inspired to tional activities, including “An Outline of Education Rubbish” the incredibly ridiculous. the CMA Catalyst Award, by Dr. Glenn A. Crosby They infect many groups, variously the ACS Award for Education in Reservations: defined by age, race, profession, continued on next page political leanings or what not. Fads Shirley Radding (408) 246-2564 e-mail: [email protected] usually do not last long enough to Moffett Field inflict genuine damage – except in Lockheed Sally Peters (650) 854-4614 the field of education. Education is FAZ Moffett Park Dr. Smoked pork chops with apple almost unique in its propensity for To San Francisco HWY 237 the propagation of fads, for the sauce, Spit roasted one-half chicken, or Vegetarian ravioli length of time they remain in 101 vogue, and for the extent of their Expressway Lawrence Dinner reservations damage. Moreover, in the field of To San Jose are required by Mathilda Avenue Sunnyvale Monday, January 18 education fads often come in the North guise of policy statements fes- tooned with practical justifications and pontifically proclaimed theo- Chairman’s Message retical rationales. Drawing on over I hope that all of you had a happy holiday season. This is my first time forty years of experience in public that I had the privilege of addressing you as the Chairman of the Santa Clara education, the author will discuss section. I would like to thank all of you for giving the honor to serve you for educational fads, past, present and this year. With this honor comes responsibilities. My promise to you is to likely in the future, employing meet these responsibilities and make this section a leader in the American examples from the literature and Chemical Society. personal experience. The strength of any organization can be measured by the collective Biography cooperation and efforts of all the members working together toward the Dr. Glenn A. Crosby, Professor same goal. We have several national and local programs for this year. First, of Chemistry and Materials Science for this year only, the National Chemistry Week is replaced with the at Washington State University. A International Chemistry Celebration year. As the title indicates, it is going to graduate of Waynesburg College, emphasize on cooperation and camaraderie among chemists world-wide. Crosby is nationally and interna- The themes will be colors and polymers. We will be planning programs and tionally recognized for his research events for this occasion and we will be asking for your ideas and input. in the field of molecular electronic continued on page 4 Mosher Award, continued from front page 1985 and the James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry in 1986. Washington State University has honored him three Shirley B. Radding times: for research (Distinguished Faculty Address, 1981), for education (President’s Excellence Award in 2994 Cottonwood Court Santa Clara, CA 95051-6111 Instruction, 1984), and for public service (President’s Excellence Award for Public Service, 1989). Recently he was honored by his alma mater, Waynesburg College, 408-246-2564 Fax: 408-296-8625 with its most prestigious award, the Presidential e-mail: [email protected] Medallion for lifetime achievement. An expanded biography of Dr. Crosby was printed LITERATURE SEARCHES in our August Issue.

The Harry and Carol Mosher Award

The award was established in the Mosher Award Committee, American Chemical Society, P.O. 1980 by the Santa Clara Valley Santa Clara Valley Section – Box 395, Palo Alto, California 94302. Section of ACS to: (1) recognize and encourage outstanding work in chemistry; (2) advance chemistry as a profession; (3) recognize service to ACS. The award is named for Dr. Harry S. Mosher of Stanford PAST RECIPIENTS University, Palo Alto, California, OF THE MOSHER AWARD and Dr. Carol W. Mosher of SRI, Menlo Park, California, husband 1980 Harry and Carol Mosher Stanford Univ. & SRI International and wife, charter members and long-time supporters of this section. 1981 Robert C. Brasted The first scientists to receive this 1982 Ernest L. Eliel University of North Carolina award were Doctors Harry and 1983 Alfred and Helen Free Miles Laboratories Carol Mosher in recognition of the 1984 Albert C. Zettlemoyer Lehigh University inspiration of their example. The 1985 Malcolm Renfrew University of committee noted that the Moshers, including a brother, Dr. William A. 1986 Robert and Gloria Lyle Southwest Research Institute & UTSA Mosher, also a chemist and former 1987 John G. Verkade Iowa State University Chairman of the Department of 1988 Richard M. Lemmon Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, UCB Chemistry at the University of 1989 Arthur W. Adamson University of Southern California Delaware, are outstanding exam- ples of the qualities to be recog- 1990 Fred Basolo Northwestern University nized and honored by this award. 1991 Jean’ne M. Shreeve Any scientist residing in the 1992 Carl R. Johnson Wayne State University United States who is a member of 1993 Koji Nakanishi Columbia University the ACS is eligible to be nominated 1994 Peter Beak University of Illinois for the Mosher Award. Five copies of the nomination, including print- 1995 Ned D. Heindel Lehigh University ed materials (reprints) should be 1996 Joginder Lal Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company furnished for distribution to the 1997 Joseph A. Dixon Pennsylvania State University award Selection Committee. The nomination and its accompanying material must be sent to the Award committee by May 15: Chairman of National Chemistry Week, 1998 Santa Clara Valley Section

National Chemistry Week projection was proven completely who visited the booth. Three chem- (NCW) was celebrated in the Santa wrong as we had hundreds of eager istry demonstrations were present- Clara Valley Section with a wide scientists rush the tent between ed: 1) levitating magnet on a super- variety of activities. The NCW cele- games. The actual experiment was conductor, 2) making slime and bration was made successful with also well chosen; it was easy, quick, superballs, and 3) computer model- the help of 60 dedicated volunteers. and colorful, yet still applied some ing of molecules. San Jose State NCW was recognized with procla- basic chemical concepts to discuss University Professors and students mations from mayors of area cities with the kids. The tent was well worked hard and did a wonderful including Palo Alto, Los Altos, worth the effort, and the balloons, job in organizing this event. Our Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara. food, and Halloween decorations special thanks to Dr. Paul We began our celebration on added a professional touch. Over- Wagenknect for making this event October 31 with some hands-on all, I had a terrific time.” possible. We acknowledge the par- experiments at a soccer field where The following volunteers made ticipation of following volunteers: six games were in progress the soccer day event a great success: Robert Jackson, Bich Thanh Le, throughout the day. We set up an Jonathan Touster, Sangeeta Tiwari, Tommy Chang, Alma Guerrero, outdoor booth where children Linda Brunauer, Anil Tiwari, Brenda Meguel Vardu, Thanh thao Le, could mix a polyvinyl alcohol solu- Waller, Bernie Aitchison, Bonnie Deborah Moore, Kristina Mulyono, tion with a sodium borate solution Charpentier, Ankur Nagaraja, Lisa Grace Monis, Joy Nguyen, Edward to produce a thick and gooey poly- Yiu, Beth Appleman, Simonette Tzuang, Khoi Nguyen, Angela mer, slime. More than 500 kids vis- Jones, Nalini Calamur, Benjamin Bolger, Hieu Van, Aarti Kuver, ited our booth. The children and Staehlin, Jessica Chow, Vipin Nastaran Ghajari, Alex Calvillo, adults alike had a good time, and in Narang, Pete Sclafani, Laura Karen Pontius, Samantha Mirands, so doing were exposed to chemistry Crowley, Mimi Jobes, Carmen Dr. Wagenknect, Dr. Kesler, Dr. and the ACS in a positive light. Rodriguez, Lois Durham, Peter Djurovich, Dr. Collins, Dr. Terrill, We had a large number of vol- Rusch, Ean Warren, William Dr. Okuda, and Dr. Chin. We also unteers for the soccer field event, Penohist, Loi Kha, Tono Estradu, thank Dr. Herb Silber for his sup- including some professors and stu- and Barry Elledge. port. dents from Stanford and Santa Volunteers from San Jose State We set up a table at the chil- Clara University chemistry depart- University chemistry department dren’s library in Palo Alto with ments. The following quote from some children’s chemistry books one of the volunteers sums up the and other chemistry fun items dur- event nicely: “I was really im- ing the NCW. We also provided a pressed by the whole operation. subscription for WonderScience to Although I initially had doubts the library. We acknowledge help about whether or not the kids from the Children’s library staff in would be interested, especially set organizing this event. against the soccer background, my A workshop for teachers spon- sored by Roche Palo Alto was held on Saturday, November 7. San Jose State University students at the Tech Museum booth demonstrating At all these events we gave chemistry activities away copies of Chem Matters and WonderScience to the kids and set up a booth on October 31 and teachers. We also distributed these November 1, 1998 during the open- publications to various schools in ing celebration of the new San Jose the Palo Alto School District. We Tech museum. In this event the fun provided career materials to and excitement of doing chemistry Stanford, Santa Clara and San Jose as well as its impact on technology Soccer Field: volunteers getting ready for kids University students to help them chemistry event was shown to over 1000 people continued on next page National Chemistry Week, continued from previous page with resume writing and interview skills and also on options for careers in chemistry. Overall, it was an Editor’s Corner active, fun week with a lot of chemistry. Our thanks to Roche Bioscience, Dr. Paul Cook of the Stanford Reach Out and Touch Someone? Research Institute, and Hobee’s Restaurants for their This month I would like to high- generous donations which made the celebration of light the SETI@Home project at NCW possible in the Santa Clara Valley Section. http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/. The purpose of this web site is to get your help in the search for extraterrestri- al intelligence! Software is being devel- oped that will use thousands of personal computers to sift through the terabytes of data that is being collected from radio- telescopes. The search will take place as part of a screen saver so the process will not slow your computer down. Visit the site to sign up. You just might be the one that makes the first contact...

Kids enjoying making slime at the soccer field

Chairman’s Message, continued from front page Second, this year the American For local activities, we would tact me, or you may sign up at the Chemical Society is focusing on like to remind you that we have registration tables for the Mosher California for a State Capital Day. several committees addressing spe- Award evening dinner. The Office of Legislators and cific interests such as: Analytical We always try to provide you Government Affairs (OLGA) has chemists groups, medicinal and bio- with monthly dinner programs designated April 28, 1999 as ACS technology group, retired chemists which address interesting topics. California State Capital Day. On group, Women in Chemistry group, This year is no exception. The this day, chemists will be visiting Chemistry Olympiad committee, Mosher Award is the most presti- Sacramento and meeting with our Kids-in-Chemistry, National Chemi- gious award that our section offers. government leaders and Chairs of stry Week (this year will be Inter- I would like to encourage your par- key legislative committees and the national Chemistry Celebration), ticipation on January 21, 1999, local members of the legislators. and MTBE group affiliate. We are where we will be able to hear Dr. This occasion will give us the also planning new committees such Glenn Crosby’s address, which we opportunity to discuss with our as: Chemistry Teachers committee expect to be very interesting. If you leaders issues like environment, and Industrial Relations committee. have any preference for an activity education, regulations, trade and Our aim is to provide you with dif- or a topic to be addressed, please other issues that concern us both as ferent venues for your participa- contact me, or any member of the Californians and chemists. A lun- tion. To sign up you may either con- executive committee. cheon will be arranged by the ACS I will be looking forward to and an invitation to the Governor to seeing you at the reception of the be a key-note speaker will be Mosher Award dinner and to lis- extended. The Santa Clara section ten to your suggestions and con- will be arranging the transporta- cerns. tion. We would like from you to keep the day of April 28, 1999 open on your calendars, signup early for the trip and give us your feedback on issues you would like to see addressed. Teacher Workshop was Finale of National Chemistry Week Celebration

A workshop for teachers sponsored by Roche pated in laboratory tours hosted by Roche scien- Palo Alto and The Santa Clara Valley Section of tists. Teachers received the materials needed to American Chemical Society was held on Saturday, carry out workshop experiments in their class- November 7, as the last event in our National rooms, other gifts and educational materials, and Chemistry Week celebration. Elementary and mid- subscriptions to WonderScience or Chem Matters dle school teachers from the five counties covered (depending on grade level). A generous grant from by the Section were invited; teachers from some 55 Roche allowed us to provide the workshop and all schools attended. The teachers participated in materials at no charge to teachers. Thanks go to hands-on experiments and listened to presenta- Roche for funding, to the instructors mentioned tions by teacher/instructors Juanita Ryan, Julie above who took so muchtime and energy to pre- Shultz, Cheryl Connolly, and Gail Chaid. The focus pare and present wonderful activities, and to the of the workshop was the chemistry of color and volunteers from Roche and from the Section who included topics ranging from the chemistry of gave generously of their time and effort to make color change markers, cabbage and tie-dye to rain- the workshop possible. Volunteers included bows and astronomy. Morning refreshments and Sangeeta Tiwari, Jamil Talhouk, Carmen lunch were included in the workshop to provide Rodriguez, Karen Ramsay, Steve Smith, Mike opportunities for further discussions and interac- Maddox, Gary Hedden, Barbara Murphy-Wesley, tions. Teachers also heard a presentation on drug Shavonne Wilson, Joyce Filppi, Chris Conroy, development from Dr. Joyce Filppi, Site Head for Bonnie Charpentier, and Alexander, Austin, and Roche Global Development Palo Alto, and partici- Barry Elledge.

Teachers listen to introduction by Teachers concentrate during workshop Bonnie Carpentier experiments

Banner welcoming teachers to the workshop

Workshop participants performing experiments Teachers gather materials to take back to their classrooms Teacher experimenting with the chemistry of tie-dye FREE Bioscience/Technical Job Fairs for all BS, MS and PhD level job seekers

January 11 11:00AM - 6:00PM Marriott Hotel 55 Fourth Street, San Francisco ❖❖❖ January 20 11:00AM - 6:00PM Westin Hotel 5101 Great America Pkwy, Santa Clara Bring plenty of resumes for your on-the-spot interviews. Sponsored by Life Science Assoc./Lendman Group West. e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.bayareajobfair.com Telephone: 510-436-3976 Non-Profit Organization SANTA CLARA VALLEY SECTION U.S. Postage AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY PAID P.O. Box 395, Palo Alto, CA 94302 Permit No. 344 Palo Alto, CA

JANUARY 1999 NEWSLETTER TOPICS: 1998 Mosher Award Address Chairman’s Message January Dinner Meeting The Harry and Carol Mosher Award Past Recipients of the Mosher Award National Chemistry Week, Santa Clara Valley Section Teacher Workshop was Finale of NCW Celebration Editor’s Corner

CHEMPLOYMENT ABSTRACTS

ur web s o ite it s a i t : V

http://www.scvacs.org

SANTA CLARA VALLEY SECTION FUTURE MEETINGS 1998 SECTION OFFICERS Chair Jamil Talhouk 925-449-2664 Jan 6 Executive Committee Meeting Chair-Elect Ean Warren 650-329-4554 Jan 21 Mosher Award Secretary Karl Marhenke 408-479-6263 Feb 18 SCV Dinner Meeting Treasurer Hong Gao 650-494-5197 “Conference on MTBE” Past-Chair Herb Silber 408-924-4954 Mar 18 SCV Dinner Meeting Councilors “Use of Gas Plasma in the Polymer Industry” 1998-00 Sally Peters 650-812-4994 Stephen Kaplan 1998-00 Linda Brunauer 408-554-6947 1997-99 Carol Mosher 650-322-3120 May 20 Student Affiliates 1997-99 Maureen Scharberg 408-924-4966 Stanford University 1999-01 Bonnie Charpentier650-354-2344 1999-01 Herb Silber 408-924-4954 For the latest information, please visit the Alternate Councilors SCVACS Web Site: http://www.scvacs.org 1998-00 Shirley Radding408-246-2564 1998-99 Lois Durham 650-723-1610 1997-99 Peter Rusch 650-948-0237 1997-99 Jamil Talhouk 510-449-2664 1999-01 Jonathan Touster 650-723-4340 1999-01 Ean Warren 650-329-4554 CHEMPLOYMENT ABSTRACTS Newsletter Editor Shirley B. Radding, Director Steven Colby 650-938-4502 2994 Cottonwood Court, Santa Clara, CA 95051 Phone: 408-246-2564 FAX: 408-296-8625 e-mail: [email protected] Printed on Web Site: www.sisweb.com e-mail: [email protected] recycled paper.