http://chicagoacs.org MAY • 2007 THE NINETY-SIXTH PRESENTATION OF THE WILLARD GIBBS MEDAL (Founded by William A. Converse) to PROFESSOR SYLVIA T. CEYER sponsored by the CHICAGO SECTION AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2007 The Arboretum Club paid dues to the Local Chicago Sec- tions of product molecules from a sur- 401 Half Day Road tion ($15 per year), the price is $47. face chemical reaction. (Route 22 and Buffalo Grove Road) Note: Professors must make student Buffalo Grove, IL 60089 reservations. Acceptance of the Award From O’Hare International Airport: (continued on page 2, Column 2) Take the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) north into Lake County. It will become I-94 in AWARD CEREMONY 8:30 PM Lake County. Exit west on Route 22 and travel about 4 miles to the restaurant The Willard Gibbs Medal Dr. Kenneth Fivizzani, Chair From Chicago: Chicago Section, ACS Take the Tri-State (I-294) north, or take Edens north to the Tri-State spur. Take Introduction of the Medalist the Tri-State north into Lake County Charles P. Casey and follow the directions above. Past President, ACS Parking: Free Presentation of the Medal Dr. Bruce Bursten RECEPTION 6:00-7:00 P.M. President-Elect, ACS Hors-d’oeuvres Champagne Punch and Non-alcoholic Citation: For seminal work in Punch molecule-surface reaction dynamics as related to heterogeneous catalysis DINNER 7:00 P.M. and semiconductor etching. This pioneering work has uncovered Dr. Sylvia Teresse Ceyer new mechanisms for dissociative Dinner reservations are required. To J. C. Sheehan Professor of Chemistry, chemisorption, desorption and reserve your tickets, please call the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Chicago Section office at 847-647- absorption, thus extending the under- 8405 or register at standing of molecular precursors. http://ChicagoACS.org by Friday, Experimental results include ACCEPTANCE ADDRESS May 18 and pay $45 at the door, or fill remarkable achievements using "Bulk H: A New Kind of Surface out the reservation form on page 7 molecular beam-surface scattering, Species with a Chemistry of Its Own" and mail it with your payment of $45 coupled with optical and electron by Friday, May 11 to the address spectroscopies, to measure the given on the form. If you have not angular, energy and mass distribu- (continued on page 2) 5/07 2 (continued from page 1, column 3)dissociation of a product of a surface (continued from page 1, column 2) reaction, identified and clarified the site Abstract: Experiments that document conversion process, and extended the Tables of 10 may be reserved. If you the distinctive reactivity of H embedded understanding of molecular precursors. request seating for a group, please in the bulk of a Ni metal catalyst are Ceyer is a fellow of the National include a list of names of the people in described. Specifically, a transient H Academy of Sciences and the former your group and their meal choices. atom emerging from the bulk onto the chair of its chemistry section, the sec- Tickets and nametags will be available surface is observed to be the reactive retary of the Physical and Mathemati- at the door. No refunds will be made species in hydrogenation of ethylene cal Sciences Class of the National after noon, on Friday, May 18, 2007. and acetylene adsorbed on Ni to form Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the (continued on page 2) ethane and ethylene, respectively. An H American Academy of Arts and Sci- atom adsorbed on the Ni surface does ences, a fellow of the American Associ- THE MENU: Caesar Salad; Entree not hydrogenate ethylene or acetylene. ation for the Advancement of Science choice of Pecan Asiago Chicken with However, a surface bound H atom will and a fellow of the American Physical Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Hazelnut react with adsorbed acetylene to form Society. She has been awarded the Crusted Grouper with Wild Rice Pilaf, or ethylidyne, a precursor to coke that poi- Hope College Distinguished Alumni Butternut Squash Ravioli tossed in Gar- sons the catalyst. The different reactivi- Award, the Edgerton Prize, the Ameri- lic Cream Sauce; Flourless Chocolate ties of bulk and surface bound H arise can Association of University Women's Cake; Wine from the very different energetics of the Young Scholar Award and has been two kinds of H atoms. A bulk H atom the holder of a Sloan Fellowship and a reacts with an adsorbate while it is a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher- IN THIS ISSUE transiently energetic species emerging Scholar award. Ceyer has received the from the bulk onto the surface with as Baker Award for undergraduate teach- much as 24 kcal/mol more energy than ing, the School of Science Teaching 1 – Gibbs Medal Award a reacting surface bound H atom. Prize and the Nobel Laureate Signa- These results demonstrate that bulk H ture Award for Graduate Education and Dinner is not solely a source of surface bound from the American Chemical Society. 3 – ChemShorts for H in catalytic hydrogenation as pro- In 1998, she was named a MacVicar Kids: Homemade posed 50 years ago, but rather, a reac- teaching fellow at MIT. tant with a chemistry of its own. Professor Ceyer is presently a mem- Floam ber of the Basic Energy Sciences Advi- 3 – Notice to Illinois sory Committee for the Department of Teachers THE MEDALIST Energy, a member of the National Sylvia T. Ceyer is the Associate Chair Research Council's Benchmarking the 4 – Willard Gibbs Award of the Department of Chemistry and the Research Competitiveness of US History J. C. Sheehan Professor of Chemistry Chemistry Committee and a member of 5 – State Fair Project at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- the editorial board of Chemical Physics. nology. She received her B.A. summa Most recently, she served as an associ- Volunteers Needed cum laude in chemistry from Hope Col- ate editor of Physical Review Letters, a 5 – Old Athletic Shoes lege in 1974 and her Ph.D. from the member of the Program Committee of Needed University of California at Berkeley in the American Association for the 1979. After a postdoctoral appointment Advancement of Science, and a coun- 6 – U of I Extension Sci- at the National Bureau of Standards, cilor of the American Physical Society. ence Volunteer Pro- she accepted a position as assistant She has held numerous named lecture- gram professor at MIT in 1981. ships including the Dreyfus Lecturer at Professor Ceyer is a physical chemist Dartmouth University, Willard Lecturer 7 – Gibbs Dinner Reser- with research interests in the area of at the University of Wisconsin, Tetel- vation Form molecule-surface reaction dynamics as man Lecturer at Yale University, 7 – Death Notices related to heterogeneous catalysis and Harkins Lecturer at the University of semiconductor etching. She has uncov- Chicago, Welch Foundation Lecturer, 7 – WCC Article Authors ered sources of the apparent lack of Chancellor's Distinguished Lecturer at Needed surface reactivity under ultrahigh vacu- the University of California Berkeley 7 – Ad Index um conditions and then used that and the Langmuir Lecturer of the Amer- knowledge to effect high-pressure het- ican Chemical Society. 8 – Calendar erogeneous catalytic reactions in an ultrahigh vacuum environment where microscopic reaction steps can be dis- cerned. Specifically, she has uncovered new mechanisms for dissociative chemisorption and desorption such as atom abstraction and collision induced activation, absorption and desorption. She has provided new methods for adsorbate synthesis, demonstrated the use of electron spectroscopy as a vibra- tional spectroscopy sensitive to bulk species, discovered the role of bulk hydrogen in hydrogenation reactions, observed and verified the gas phase 5/07 3 1 bags or dolls. Or, for more hands-- on fun, you can grind StyrofoamTM May, 2007 Vol. 94, No. 5. Published cups using a cheese grater. by the Chicago Section of The American Chemical Society, Editori- The Elementary Education Committee References: al Staff: Cherlyn Bradley, Editor; of the Chicago Section ACS presents Anne Marie Helmenstine’s “About Fran Kravitz, Associate Editor; this column. They hope that it will reach Chemistry” at http://chemistry.about. Fadwa Al-Taher and Richard Trep- young children and help increase their com/od/chemistryhowtoguide/ht/ tow, Proofreaders; Frank Jarzem- science literacy. Please cut it out and floam.htm bowski, Publications Business Man- pass it on to your children, grandchil- ager. Address: 7173 North Austin, dren, or elementary school teachers. It Edited by K. A. Carrado, Argonne Niles, Illinois 60714; 847/647-8405. is hoped that teachers will incorporate National Laboratory Subscription rates: $15 per year. some of the projects in this column into Frequency: monthly-September their lesson plans. All past “ChemShorts”: http://member through June. ship.acs.org/C/Chicago/ChmShort/ Homemade Floam kidindex.html. NOTICE TO ILLINOIS Kids, what is like slime with polystyrene beads in it that can be molded into TEACHERS shapes? It’s a really fun toy called The Chicago Section ACS is an TM Floam . You can sculpt with this color- ISBE provider for professional ful goop or use it to coat other objects. development units for Illinois teach- You can store it to reuse it or allow it to ers. Teachers who register for this dry, if you want permanent creations. month's meeting will have the It's a lot of fun, but not always easy to opportunity to earn up to 3 CPDU's. locate. So, you can make a type of 'Floam' yourself. Like slime, it is gener- ally safe, though anything containing food coloring can stain surfaces (don’t eat it though, because polystyrene beads simply aren't food!). Here is what to do: 1. Dissolve 2 tsp. borax completely in 1/2-cup water.