l’actualité chimique canadienne canadian chemical news ACCN
MARCH | MARS • 2007 • Vol. 59, No./no 3
PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF CHEMISTRY Training the Next Generation— le défi majeur China's Chemical Industry
Candy Chromatography Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program
SWEET DECEIT
National Chemistry Week
ACCN
A publication of the CIC | Une publication de l’ICC
MARCH | MARS • 2007 • Vol. 59, No./no 3
Ta bl e o f C o n t e n t s | Ta bl e d e s m a t i è r e s
Ar ticles
Guest Column Chroniqueur invité . . . . . . 2 Training the Next Generation—le défi majeur Christian Detellier, FCIC
10
Chemists’ Understanding of the Public
12
The Public Understanding of Chemistry in the U.K.
14
Of Science and Slime
16
Checking in with China’s Chemical Industry
News Nouvelles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Letters Lettres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Patent Quest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Daphne C. Lainson, MCIC
Chemfusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Joe Schwarcz, MCIC
Recognition Reconnaissance. . . . . . . . . 26
Careers Carrières
Peter Mahaffy, FCIC
The anti-chemical messages of NGOs so widely broadcast during the past 30 years must now become pro-chemistry messages for the next 30 years. John Emsley
Outreach program conveys excitement of science to young students. Edward Eng
Valuable insight from the 12th Annual China Chemical Industry Conference John Margeson, MCIC
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Events Événements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Cover: “Science is the way of the future,” explains third-year biochemistry student, Alura Riley. Her current interest is stem cell and cancer research. She explains that working alongside some of the field’s best, brightest, and most innovative researchers at the University of Ottawa has allowed her to acquire important training and knowledge in a field that is still new and developing. She has a strong desire for social action and is committed to making a difference—fostering a link between ethics and science. Photo printed with permission from the University of Ottawa.
GUEST COLUMN CHRONIQUEUR INVITÉ
Editor-in-Chief/Rédactrice en chef Michelle Piquette Managing Editor/Directrice de la rédaction Heather Dana Munroe Graphic Designer/Infographiste Krista Leroux
Training the Next Generation—le défi majeur
Christian Detellier, FCIC
B
ernard and Joanne West gave a clear description of the necessity of strategic planning for any institution in the October 2006 issue of ACCN. A sound strategic plan provides milestones for the next few years. It defines the main directions of a collective effort. In the February 2007 issue of ACCN, CIC chair, Cathy Cardy, MCIC, presented the CIC strategic plan, “Towards 2015.” Feedback from our membership is now crucial to its successful implementation. A strategic plan should be highly flexible, adaptive, and reactive. In the next years, the deliverables will have to be continuously critiqued, revised, and re-examined. Yes, “chemistry is central to the well-being of society.” J’ajouterais que sans chimie, il n’y a pas de futur. Au cours des prochaines décennies, notre espèce va faire face à un des défis majeurs de sa jeune histoire. Si on se réfère au temps de vie des espèces d’hominidés dans le passé, normalement, homo sapiens devrait encore être là pour 1.0 à 1.5 millions d’années. Mais le changement climatique est une réalité, qu’il soit du à des causes anthropogéniques ou naturelles, et la Terre connaît sa 6e extinction majeure. La vie a toujours résisté dans le passé, et la vie résistera encore. Mais notre espèce survivra-t-elle? Chemistry, and more generally molecular sciences, will play an essential role in the adaptation of our species to the new environment, and will play a crucial role in the design of renewable energy sources.This signifies a challenge for the next generation of chemical technologists, engineers, and scientists. We are already challenged to train the future generations and to attract the brightest minds to our disciplines. Education is one of the core focus areas of the CIC strategic plan. We must participate in the global effort to raise more vocation to the
2 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
chemical enterprise. The Molecular Frontiers initiative serves as an example of this mission to attract youngsters. It was launched at the First European Chemistry Congress in the Summer of 2006, and details are provided at http://web.mit.edu/molecularfrontiers/. Maintenant que la technologie est nano et que la médecine est moléculaire, maintenant que le climat change et que de nombreuses espèces vivantes disparaissent à toute allure, quel rôle avons-nous à jouer? Après Bhopal et Seveso, après le DDT et l’agent orange, après la guerre chimique et les nombreuses marées noires, pourquoi les jeunes choisiraient-ils une carrière qui est vue par le public comme destructive de l’environnement? La réponse, c’est tout simplement que notre société a désespérément besoin d’eux… The future of humanity will rely on the advances of chemical sciences and discoveries yet to come. The next generation of chemists, chemical engineers, and technologists will have to find solutions in a proper ethical context. Biobased economies and sources of energy have to be built in consideration of green chemistry. And it is now our duty to properly train future scientists in a multidisciplinary context—scientific, ethical, and sociological. It is also our duty to attract the brightest young people to careers in chemical sciences and technology. This will only be possible if chemistry has a positive image, and if the public perception of chemistry improves. Chemical companies have a major role to play in that respect, in adopting responsible approaches toward environmental issues, and giving top priority to the environmental impact of their activities. Christian Detellier, FCIC, is CIC vice-chair and a professor of chemistry at the University of Ottawa. He was dean of science from 1997 to 2006.
Editorial Board/Conseil de rédaction Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, chair/président Cathleen Crudden, MCIC John Margeson, MCIC Milena Sejnoha, MCIC Steve Thornton, MCIC Bernard West, MCIC Editorial Office/Bureau de la rédaction 130, rue Slater Street, Suite/bureau 550 Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 613-232-6252 • Fax/Téléc. 613-232-5862 editorial@accn.ca • www.accn.ca Advertising/Publicité advertising@accn.ca Subscription Rates/Tarifs d’abonnement Non CIC members/Non-membres de l’ICC : in/au Canada CAN$55; outside/à l’extérieur du Canada US$50. Single copy/Un exemplaire CAN$8 or US$7. L’Actualité chimique canadienne/Canadian Chemical News (ACCN) is published 10 times a year by The Chemical Institute of Canada / est publié 10 fois par année par l’Institut de chimie du Canada. www.cheminst.ca. Recommended by The Chemical Institute of Canada, the Canadian Society for Chemistry, the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, and the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology. Views expressed do not necessarily represent the official position of the Institute, or of the societies that recommend the magazine. Recommandé par l’Institut de chimie du Canada, la Société canadienne de chimie, la Société canadienne de génie chimique et la Société canadienne de technologie chimique. Les opinions exprimées ne reflètent pas nécessairement la position officielle de l’Institut ou des sociétés constituantes qui soutiennent la revue. Change of Address/Changement d’adresse circulation@cheminst.ca Printed in Canada by Gilmore Printing Services Inc. and postage paid in Ottawa, ON./ Imprimé au Canada par Gilmore Printing Services Inc. et port payé à Ottawa, ON. Publications Mail Agreement Number/ No de convention de la Poste-publications : 40021620. (USPS# 0007-718) Indexed in the Canadian Business Index and available on-line in the Canadian Business and Current Affairs database. / Répertorié dans la Canadian Business Index et accessible en ligne dans la banque de données Canadian Business and Current Affairs. ISSN 0823-5228
www.accn.ca
NEWS NOUVELLES
Novel props like coffee filters and coloured pens are just tools of the trade from the portable lab of Sophie Lavieri, MCIC.
Creating a Chemical Bond with Students Simon Fraser University (SFU) chemist, Sophie Lavieri, MCIC, is bonding with children across Canada. Wearing a white lab coat, latex gloves, and protective goggles fringed by a mass of curly hair, the assistant lecturer takes a portable lab into public schools. Lavieri puts on workshops called “Experimental Chemistry for Us” at no cost to the schools. They are the first workshops in Canada to engage elementary school children in real chemistry experiments. They are also the first in Canada to feature an academic teaching chemistry to children in kindergarten through Grade 7. Canadian students don’t usually study chemistry until Grade 10. “That’s too late for students to be exposed to chemistry concepts. By then they might have preconceived notions about the subject,” says Lavieri. She uses a quick clap of her hands to rivet the attention of her disciples. On this occasion, she is turning a Grade 4 class of 45 children at Roy Stibbs Elementary School in Coquitlam, BC, into budding chemists. The class’s teacher, Janette Walker, is in awe of Lavieri’s incorporation of various lab utensils into imaginative, interactive experiments, and of her ability to talk in child-friendly terms. “Being a chemist myself, I know that the language adaptation would be a challenge,” says Walker.
Photo by Carol Thorbes
A coffee filter, coloured felt pens, and rock salt are essential props in an experiment that shows children how chromatography, a process for separating chemical components, works. “Not only do these workshops introduce chemistry concepts, the scientific method, critical thinking, and safety rules,” says Lavieri, “they make students realize how much fun science can be.” Thanks to financial support from SFU, The Chemical Institute of Canada, and NSERC’s PromoScience program, Lavieri has helped more than 2,000 children in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island bond with chemistry. She says she needs more support from private donors to bring her portable lab into more inner city and remote schools across Canada. Simon Fraser University
Beams Benefit Materials Research Canadian and international research teams involved in molecular and materials research at Vancouver’s TRIUMF accelerator facility will soon benefit from a new project.
A research team headed by chemistry professor Paul Percival, MCIC, has developed a proposal to build a new muon beam line at TRIUMF. The Canadian Foundation for Innovation, through its New Initiatives Fund, is committing $2.4 million toward the project, which is located on The University of British Columbia’s campus. The project is also supported by 16 Canadian universities. Muons are subatomic particles that can be used to probe extremely small, local magnetic fields of electronic or nuclear origin, in any form of matter. Existing muon beam lines at TRIUMF are outdated and no longer meet the needs of researchers. “This upgrade will help to capture the full scientific potential of the muon as a probe,” says Percival. “It will satisfy the increasing demands of the users, both in availablity and quality of muon beams.” Modern tools for investigating the properties of materials often require complex infrastructure only available at national laboratories such as TRIUMF, adds Percival. “Improving our understanding of the science that underlies the properties of materials is essential to the development of new materials.” TRIUMF is managed by a consortium of Canadian universities. For additional information on TRIUMF, visit www.triumf.info. Simon Fraser University
Samsung Donates to IUPAC Samsung Total Petrochemical Co., Ltd. of South Korea donated US$25,000 to the IUPAC Polymer Division. The donation will be added to the Samsung Total Petrochemical Company Endowment Fund. The income from the endowment fund is used by the Polymer Division to support excellent researchers and students in polymer science, especially by providing opportunities for younger researchers and students from economically disadvantaged countries to attend IUPAC-sponsored conferences. The fund is also used to support the educational projects of the Polymer Division with the intention of making them more accessible to researchers from economically disadvantaged countries. IUPAC
MARCH 2007 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 3
NEWS NOUVELLES
NOVA to Crank Up PE Capacity NOVA Chemicals Corporation is planning to add 250 million pounds of polyethylene (PE) capacity in Alberta for early 2008. NOVA reports that the Alberta ethylene feedstock advantage is still quite strong. The average for 2006 was expected to be around US$0.11 per pound. The company believes 2007 will also be quite good for the advantage. PE experienced a sharp price decline in North America during the fourth quarter of 2006 since North American markets were hit much harder than other markets around the world, as there was a large inventory build here in anticipation of hurricanes. The underlying PE demand remains quite strong, but converter purchases are lagging. Inventory throughout the chain is declining. Camford Chemical Report
Dirt-Dwelling Workhorse Unearthed A microorganism capable of digesting pollutants and producing industrially significant compounds might sound like a miracle sent from the future. But as two researchers recently discovered, one of nature’s most versatile workhorses has been lurking in the soil for hundreds of millions of years. Fiona Brinkman, molecular biology and biochemistry associate professor at Simon Fraser University, and graduate student William Hsiao played a key role in the analysis of the Rhodococcus genome. This dirt-dwelling bacterium has industrial applications ranging from the production of acrylic acid—a compound used to manufacture plastics, paints, and adhesives—to the breakdown of PCB pollutants. Using IslandPath, a computational tool developed in the Brinkman lab, the pair uncovered the evolutionary history of this multi-talented microbe. “We wanted to understand how the Rhodococcus genome became so large and so versatile,” says Hsiao. “We discovered that both its large size and its ability to use diverse compounds found in soil evolved
4 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
mainly through ancient gene acquisitions and duplications.” These evolutionary events may have also facilitated more recent adaptations in the bacterium. “The ancient core pathways may have given Rhodococcus enough versatility to survive in a complex environment like soil,” Brinkman explains. “This then predisposes the bug to obtain other genes from other organisms in that same environment, making it even more versatile.” Their findings, part of a study led by The University of British Columbia researcher Lindsay Eltis, were included in a Rhodococcus genome paper published in last October’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The University of British Columbia
Real Estate Funds Health Research A large-scale research project that could help revolutionize medical procedures in Canada is one of the first recipients of money from the Community Trust Endowment Fund (CTEF) at Simon Fraser University (SFU). Created last November, the CTEF invests funds from the lease of land in UniverCity, SFU’s mountain-top neighbourhood, in multidisciplinary research. Each grant recipient will receive up to half a million dollars annually for five years, with the option of renewed funding. Neil Branda, MCIC, is a Canada Research Chair in Materials Science and director of molecular systems at 4D LABS. Branda leads one project called Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology for Medical Applications. It involves eight collaborators from chemistry, molecular biology, biochemistry, kinesiology, mathematics, applied sciences, and business. His project will take novel molecules and nanomaterials from the chemistry lab into the clinical setting to treat kidney stones and prostate cancer to start. The project’s team will manipulate molecules and marry them to designer agents to improve the accuracy and reduce the bodily impact of medical imaging, diagnostics, surgery, and drug delivery. SFU’s CTEF fund supports multidisciplinary research that advances the university’s efforts
to excel in five major areas—communication, computation and technology; culture, society and human behaviour; economic organization, public policy and global community; environment; and health.The fund has earned $3.5 million in its first year of operation. Simon Fraser University
Tembec Closes Market Pulp Mill Tembec has announced the permanent closure of its market pulp mill located in Smooth Rock Falls, ON. The mill had been indefinitely idled at the end of July 2006. After a thorough analysis of the current situation, the company has concluded that a sustainable and secure long-term operation at this site is not possible. “The vintage and scale of this mill and its manufacturing costs relative to global competition, including the availability of affordable fibre, were all key factors in this decision,” said Yvon Pelletier, Tembec executive vice-president and president of the pulp group. “After thoroughly reviewing current and future economic conditions, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close the mill.” The mill used sodium chlorate and had a capacity to produce 200 kt/yr of elemental-chlorine-free, bleached softwood kraft market pulps. Tembec
What’s
?
NEWS
Send the latest to editorial@accn.ca.
NEWS NOUVELLES
The Projected Biomass Boom Alcohol production Enerkem Technologies and its consortium member companies—Abengoa Bioenergy R&D, Novera Energy, and Tred’SI—are proposing a sustainable alcohols facility in East Angus, QC. The facility would be based on a gasification process to convert biomass (such as municipal solid waste, sludge, treated wood waste, and construction and demolition wood) into alcohols (methanol and ethanol). The facility will also process residual forest and agricultural biomass. A demonstration plant will treat 12 kt/yr of biomass-rich residues and produce 4 million litres per year of alcohols. It is expected that a successful demonstration will be followed by a commercial plant at the same site producing 50 million litres per year of alcohols. The project has recently won funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada.
Ethanol production Meanwhile, GreenField Ethanol has officially launched its largest state-of-the-art ethanol production facility in Johnstown, ON. The 200 million litre per year ethanol plant will be GreenField Ethanol’s largest facility to date. Approximately 20 million bushels per year of Ontario corn will be used to produce ethanol at the plant, which will be operational by mid-2008. “Both the Government of Ontario and the Municipality of Edwardsburgh-Cardinal have been very supportive of our business,” said Bob Gallant, president and CEO of GreenField Ethanol. “That support along with the fact that eastern Ontario is a major corn-producing region made the decision to invest in Johnstown an easy one.” To combat greenhouse gas emissions, the Ontario government has mandated that all gasoline sold in the province contain an average of five percent ethanol this year. The figure will double to ten percent by 2010. The federal government has also promised that all gasolines in Canada will average five percent renewable fuel content by 2010.
This is equivalent to two billion litres of required renewables, of which ethanol is the dominant fuel. Other renewable fuels are expected to enter the marketplace as the technology evolves. GreenField Ethanol produces 215 million litres per year of ethanol in Ontario at its plants in Chatham and Tiverton. Additional facilities are slated to open this year in Varennes, QC, and Hensall, ON.
Canola oil production Bunge North America announced that it will resume canola operations at its oilseed processing plant in Hamilton, ON. Once the needed modifications are complete in December 2007, the plant will have the capacity to crush 240 kt/yr of canola. The plant will continue to process soybeans. “We want to process canola in Hamilton to meet the growing demand for canola oil from our customers in food manufacturing who want the oil with the lowest saturate level of all vegetable oils, and from our customers in the biodiesel industry,” said Herb Schafer, Canada country manager, Bunge North America. “As an added benefit, processing
MARCH 2007 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 5
NEWS NOUVELLES
canola in Hamilton will provide our farmers in Ontario and Quebec with a convenient market for their seed.” The project includes the installation of odour abatement equipment that will reduce odour emissions to well below the current level. The Hamilton plant uses hexane in the oil extraction process. The company does not expect the plant’s requirements for hexane to increase significantly once canola oil production resumes. Supply will remain historically high. Prices are forecast to rise in response to higher U.S. soybean prices.
Biofuel and fertilizer production The U.S. Sustainable Energy Corporation (USSEC) has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire a controlling interest in Alcar Chemicals Group.
Hydrogen on the Hill Air Liquide Canada will be an active participant in the innovative “Hydrogen on the Hill” project. Industry Canada, Ford Canada, ATFCAN, and other Canadian government, non-government, and industry partners have introduced three shuttle buses powered by hydrogen. These will operate on Parliament Hill as part of the Senate shuttle fleet. This
6 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
John Rivera, CEO of USSEC said, “We are very pleased to announce this preliminary milestone. Alcar has totally unique and proprietary technologies that separate it from the very few competitors in the renewable natural resources and biofuels marketplace. Alcar utilizes the most advanced biomass conversion technology to manufacture plastic and polymer raw materials and biofuels from non-food crops as main feedstock. They will provide us with additional complementary technologies that will further lower our manufacturing costs and provide further economies of scale. We will now be able to offer ethanol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and ethyl ester (biodiesel) synthesized from ethanol and vegetable oil in addition to our existing suite of products, which include organic fertilizer and unique biofuels derived from soy and corn.”
Alcar will work closely with USSEC to design and implement the reactors in both Canada and the U.S. USSEC holds patent pending technology for a new breakthrough biofuel and carbon-based fertilizer and has successfully demonstrated a method of producing biofuel for an estimated US$0.50 per gallon. The company has developed the process, units, and catalyst that will transform agricultural biomass into biofuel and fertilizer. Unlike virtually all other approaches for biomass to energy, which deplete soil nutrients, USSEC says its process restores and enhances soil mineral and carbon content. As a result, the company says its process effectively removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and can do so before the value of green certificates and carbon credits are considered.
unique pilot project will test these vehicles in real-life conditions. This is the first time in Canada that Ford buses equipped with hydrogen internal combustion engines (H2ICEs) will operate in everyday service. In addition to providing expert advice and support, Air Liquide will supply the hydrogen fuel and a hydrogen refuelling station for the buses. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)’s Canadian transportation fuel cell alliance is cofunding the H2 fuelling station, which
will be located at NRCan’s Booth Street complex. Air Liquide Canada president and COO Luc Doyon said, “Air Liquide has a global vision of hydrogen as a principal energy carrier. Our involvement is consistent with our commitment to sustainable development and represents a major step in our strategy to be an active partner in Canada’s hydrogen energy supply.”
Camford Chemical Report
Industry Canada
Photo courtesy of Senate of Canada-Sénat du Canada
LETTERS LETTRES
THREE CHEERS Three cheers for Joe Schwarcz (“Yikes—There Are Chemicals In Our Blood!” ACCN January 2007). Three boos for Sarah Winterton! Anyone who can write, “Chemicals were detected in the blood and urine of everyone who took part ... ” is part of the problem. Furthermore, I spent part of my professional career worrying about analysts who always found something if I told them it was there. This must have gotten much worse with modern ultra-sensitive methods. There are no absolute values in the article (nor in a brief look at the Web site), and no evidence that proper blind blanks were sent through the system. Fortunately, our bodies seem designed (intelligently?) to deal with minor amounts of toxins, and the Bloody Caesar I’m sipping as I type will probably do me more harm than Winterton’s “chemicals!” Hugh Rowlinson, FCIC DETECTION CORRECTION Writing as an analytical chemist, I can say that you can find anything you are looking for in anything that you look at. Detection means so little. Yet ones like Winterton (“Living in a Chemical World” ACCN January 2007) can bring about fear on the basis of detection of “chemicals.” And be sure to bring out the babies for conviction. Walter Harris, FCIC KUDOS FOR ACCN I recently became a member of the CIC. I greatly appreciated the very efficient administration and process paperwork. Also thank you very much for the excellent magazine. I really enjoyed the relevancy of topics and the style in which they were written/presented. Runine Visser, MCIC
Are we on target?
Quest
Patent
Lawyer and patent agent, Daphne C. Lainson, MCIC, answers your questions on patenting your discoveries. Send your questions to patentquest@accn.ca.
Q: My company has discovered a new drug treatment. We are planning on filing a submission with Health Canada to obtain approval to sell the drug in Canada, and we are also planning on filing a patent application directed to our discovery. Our strategy is to file the regulatory submission first, and once it is close to being allowed, file a patent application. Does this strategy make sense? A: No, not if you want to take full advantage of the benefits provided under Canadian law to the makers of innovative drug products. Filing a patent application with the Canadian Patent Office before filing a regulatory submission with Health Canada may later permit you to delay a generic drug company from obtaining regulatory approval from Health Canada to sell a generic version of your patented medicine. This delay could result in significant revenues for your company. But, you might lose this advantage if your regulatory submission is filed before your patent application. Parties interested in acquiring or licensing your patent asset or investing in your company may be less interested in the asset or the company if this important timeline is missed. Canada is not unique in having special laws that relate to pharmaceutical products and have an impact on patenting. It is important to let your patent agent or lawyer know in advance of filing a patent application if you plan on obtaining marketing approval to sell a product that is to be claimed in the patent application. Daphne C. Lainson, MCIC, is a lawyer and patent agent with the law firm Smart & Biggar in Ottawa, ON. Smart & Biggar is Canada’s largest firm practising exclusively in intellectual property and technology law.
editorial@accn.ca
Disclaimer: The preceding is intended as informational only, and does not constitute professional advice.
MARCH 2007 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 7
CHEMFUSION Joe Schwarcz, MCIC
SWEET DECEIT
S
plenda’s enemies would have us believe that the artificial sweetener sucralose should be avoided like the plague. Its defenders maintain that when used as directed, it can be helpful for diabetics, as well as for people looking to reduce their caloric intake. So, who is who in this battle? On one side we have the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada, and the regulatory agencies of some 80 countries around the world. These are staffed by a selection of PhDs and MDs, trained in chemistry, biology, toxicology, physiology, and epidemiology. On the other side we have a mélange of ... well, let us just say, eclectic personalities. Here are some of the names that dominate the anti-sucralose crusade—Dr. Janet Starr Hull, Dr. Betty Martini, Dr. James Bowen, and Dr. Joseph Mercola. Let’s meet them. Dr. Janet Starr Hull received her Doctorate in Nutrition from a nonaccredited correspondence school that offers courses in detoxification and healing, iridology, homeopathy, and human energy fields. Conveniently, the college even sells healing products on-line. Students, or indeed anyone else, can purchase a variety of homeopathics and herbal supplements, and they can even load up on supplements for their companion animals. I note that the college does offer a course on basic chemistry, but I suspect Hull didn’t
8 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
check her mailbox the day that package arrived. Otherwise, how could she possibly make statements such as “Splenda is 1/4 sugar, 3/4 chemical” and that “chlorine found in nature is different from chlorine that has been manmade and adulterated.” Hull also explains that in order for volatile chlorine to be “locked in,” manufacturers of sucralose rely on acetone, benzene, formaldehyde, and methanol—all of which are “used” in gasoline and petroleum. What a cacophony of nonsense! Hull, in her chemically confused way, implies that sucralose is toxic because it contains the “deadly chemical” chlorine. Yes, sucralose does contain chlorine. In fact each molecule has three chlorine atoms. But these are bonded to the framework of a sugar molecule and have nothing whatsoever to do with chlorine gas. So Hull is plainly wrong when she says that to understand the illhealth caused by sucralose you “must look for chlorine poisoning symptoms.” No chlorine gas is released from sucralose. About 85 percent of a dose is completely unabsorbed by the body. While the rest is broken down to simpler compounds, there is no dechlorination—no chlorine is retained in the body in any way. It is also the chlorine issue that is addressed with religious zeal by Dr. Betty Martini, whose mission is to rid the world of nasty substances such as artificial sweeteners. It seems she knows more chemistry than the manufacturer of sucralose, as she makes clear in a letter to the company: “If you don’t understand the dangers of chlorine, then you need to step down as a manufacturer or start calling your product DDT-Lite. Do you think the consumer public is so stupid they don’t understand that sucralose is a chlorocarbon poison?” Martini is filled with the milk of human kindness, even offering to send her documentation of adverse effects to the company executives and researchers in Braille, since they must obviously be blind—unable to read the evidence about the adverse effects of chlorinated substances like DDT. Yes, DDT is a chlorinated compound, but this has nothing whatsoever to do with sucralose. Toxicity is determined by the exact threedimensional structure of a molecule, not by its constituent atoms. But how can Martini be expected to know that? Her degree is an honorary Doctor of Humanities from some obscure religious organization.
Martini, however, does recognize her scientific limitations and constantly refers to the work of others. Repeatedly, she brings up Dr. James Bowen, “a noted physician, researcher, and biochemist.” There is no record of this researcher having published anything in the scientific litreature, but he has “researched sweeteners for 20 years after discovering that he developed Lou Gehrig’s disease after being poisoned with aspartame.” He regards chlorine as “nature’s Doberman attack dog, a ferocious atomic element employed as a biocide, as a World War I poison gas, and a reagent to make hydrochloric acid.” None of this has anything to do with sucralose, of course. But as it turns out, Bowen exudes more than chemical ignorance. He has another agenda. It seems that substances like aspartame and sucralose are being unleashed on the American public to affect “mind control.” Who is behind this? According to Bowen, Zionists. “They see it as their patriotic duty to Zionism and Israel to see to it that we succumb to aspartame! Masons and Satanists have likewise done everything they could to destroy me and my ministry.” Bowen goes on to say that “aspartame’s marketing by Rumsfeld (once president of the company that sold the sweetener) was an organized crime, protected by Zionists, Mossad, B’nai B’rith, Masonry, and all other satanic organizations.” He also maintains that the sinking of the Titanic was a plot to kill influential Christians and that the twin towers were brought down by explosives in a clever plot engineered by Satanists like President Bush. This is the man of whom Martini thinks so highly. Bowen is also referenced as an authority on toxicity by osteopath Dr. Joseph Mercola, who maintains a popular health Web site and sells a variety of supplements. In all fairness, I doubt that Mercola is aware of Bowen’s personal toxicity. Mercola bases his anti-sucralose arguments on undocumented anecdotal accounts, the tired argument that sucralose, like PCBs, contains chlorine, and that the studies used to prove the sweetener’s safety were inadequate. The message is that all chlorinated compounds are bad. I wonder if he’s ever heard of vancomycin, a chlorinated antibiotic? But then again, osteopathy is not the most appropriate preparation for an analysis of complex scientific studies—or, it seems, of nutritional concepts. Recently, Mercola has received two letters from the FDA warning him to stop making
… continues on p. 27
CHEMISTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF THE PUBLIC Peter Mahaffy, FCIC
The King’s University College undergraduate student, Megan Rosborough and Peter Mahaffy, FCIC, following the presentation of the Public Understanding of Chemistry task group report at the IUPAC Congress in Beijing.
D
oes the title above read like a test for dyslexia? The chemistry profession usually inverts the order of those words to highlight the challenges associated with winning increased public understanding and appreciation. As everyone involved in the profession of chemistry knows, those challenges are profound. An International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Committee on Chemistry Education (CCE) task force with substantial Canadian participation recently completed a project that clarifies IUPAC’s niche in meeting the global challenges of increasing public understanding of chemistry. One significant recommendation is that we turn the phrase “public understanding of chemistry” around, and focus considerable attention on helping IUPAC chemists identify and understand their diverse publics, so focused and effective strategies for science communication can be developed. Since the challenges faced by IUPAC in communicating with its publics have parallels in national chemical societies such as The Chemical Institute of Canada, this IUPAC project is summarized here. It is worth noting that some of the key ideas in this report first emerged in conversations involving industry, government, academia, and the media in three interlinked symposia titled “The Flow of Ideas Between Chemistry and the Public,” held at the 2003 IUPAC/CSC Congress in Ottawa (just before the lights went out!). An overarching goal for the project was to provide a framework that will bring the same level of intellectual rigor to IUPAC’s science communication activities as to IUPAC’s scientific activities. Thus work
10 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
began with a thorough review of the extensive literature in the public understanding of science and paid careful attention to the nomenclature used to describe these activities. The report recommends that IUPAC clearly define its most appropriate target audiences, articulate goals and motives for public understanding of chemistry (PUC) initiatives to reach those audiences, and design PUC projects with a plan for rigorous evaluation of outcomes. The project task group included CCE members Peter Mahaffy, FCIC (Canada, chair), Tony Ashmore (U.K.), Bob Bucat (Australia), Choon Do (Korea), and The King’s University College (Canada) undergraduate student Megan Rosborough, who carried out an extensive literature review and assisted in the development of the project report. The report was presented in a well-attended joint workshop of the three IUPAC standing committees (CCE, COCI, and CHEMRAWN) at the 2005 General Assembly in Beijing, was finalized following the 19th International Conference on Chemistry Education in Seoul, August 12 to 17, 2006, and approved by the IUPAC Bureau in October 2006. Highlights from the report, followed by conclusions and recommendations are listed below, and the full task group report is available from the project Web page at www.iupac.org/projects/2004/2004-047-1-050.html. Many organizations and associations consider themselves stakeholders in the public understanding and appreciation of science. One of the task group challenges was to think about the strengths and limitations of IUPAC as an organization for communicating chemistry to the public. Strengths include IUPAC’s international make-up, with special attention given to the needs of developing countries; IUPAC’s considerable scientific credibility in setting global standards on nomenclature, physical constants, and other areas; IUPAC’s links to other unions and international organizations; and IUPAC’s track record of support for formal chemistry education through the work of the former CTC and the present CCE. On the other hand, IUPAC’s effectiveness in public understanding of chemistry initiatives may be limited by: • a lack of IUPAC chemists’ understanding of the public(s) who might be served by initiatives; limited knowledge within IUPAC of the research base for educational and PUC initiatives; insufficient articulation of motives, goals, and outcomes for PUC initiatives; • limitations of a largely volunteer organization without central resources to support substantial PUC initiatives; • a lack of public knowledge about IUPAC. The task group felt it helpful to clarify nomenclature. The report gives generally accepted meanings for terms such as: public understanding of chemistry, public appreciation for chemistry, and public
ic
che PAC
mists • Adh er in go rg a
national chem i c a and l so ns cie t
ie
he Teac s• ist t ien
bl
• IU
tio za ni
rs • Studen ts • La yp u
I
nd its Pub a C A lic UP
s
s
GO •N
National governm ent s• s
•S c
awareness of chemistry, and notes that confusion is created when these terms are often used interchangeably. Insights are drawn from the research literature on public understanding of science, including observations that the general public in highly developed countries often has a remarkably high level of expressed and demonstrated interest in science-related programs, higher than scientists in these countries perceive to be the case. Despite this, there is evidence that the mass media are an ineffective vehicle for enhancement of understanding of scientific content of adults. It appears that the role of school level (K–12) formal education is far more important than subsequent exposure to science communication. Building on insights from the literature review, the task group articulates the following motivation for IUPAC’s involvement in public understanding of chemistry initiatives, and notes that the media and the public will see through any imbalance or confusion of motives and will spot anything that is self-serving. • IUPAC wants to provide leadership to enable chemists to address global issues that involve the molecular sciences. • IUPAC acknowledges that the public ultimately decides whether and to what extent the benefits of chemistry are realized. • Chemists therefore need to engage with the public to create a climate in which the potential benefits of chemistry can be realized. • To create and support effective two-way communication, chemists need to understand the needs and concerns of the public. • Good decision making in society depends on mutual understanding and trust between chemists and the public. • IUPAC needs strategies to promote this mutual understanding. Our literature review notes that science communication activities most often fall into one of only two categories—peer communication aimed at fellow scientists and public communication aimed at everyone else. Noting that “one size fits all messages” are ineffective, the report addresses the question: Who are the public(s) IUPAC should be trying to reach? Figure 1 shows that IUPAC can be considered to be at the centre of a set of concentric circles. Each circle represents a “public” with which IUPAC may wish to interact in relation to the public understanding of chemistry.
CCE Staff Committees Divisions Executives
Figure 1. “IUPAC has neither the resources, nor the expertise to address all of these ‘publics.’ It needs to concentrate its activities with those publics with which it is well placed (and perhaps better placed than others), while interacting indirectly with those publics that are more remote (and who are better addressed by others).” —IUPAC task group report IUPAC is closest to and/or can readily interact with its own adhering bodies and national chemical societies, other multinational organizations and the scientific and educational arms of national governments. It is relatively remote from most chemists, who are members of national bodies rather than of IUPAC itself, and very remote from teachers, students, and the general public. This final point brings us back to our title, “Chemists’ Understanding of the Public.” Primary publics for IUPAC are those chemists that are closely associated with IUPAC, and one of the first steps for IUPAC is to assist its chemist-members in understanding the needs and aspirations of their target audiences. The report concludes with the following recommendations: 1. In keeping with its mission to “contribute to the worldwide understanding and application of the chemical sciences, to the betterment of the human condition,” IUPAC has an important role to play in enhancing public understanding of chemistry. 2. Public understanding of chemistry activities aimed at supporting teachers and
students within the formal school system are often more effective than those aimed at the general public. 3. IUPAC is just one of many actors in public understanding of science, and will frequently need to work collaboratively with the other scientific unions and other bodies. IUPAC cannot cover the full range of possible activities and address all audiences, not least because it is remote from the general public. IUPAC’s primary targeted public should be IUPAC chemists and educators, and IUPAC’s most important role is to help them understand and work with a variety of other publics. 4. We propose IUPAC’s niche as focusing on activities that indirectly enhance public understanding, such as the following: a. Helping scientists identify and understand their publics; b. Influencing international organizations; c. Supporting science education systems, particularly in countries in transition; d. Supporting scientists and educators by communicating relevant findings from IUPAC projects and activities at an appropriate level; e. Supporting national chemical societies and other organizations, particularly in countries in transition. Do you see parallels in Canada? Who are the publics in the spheres of influence of the CIC? For which of those publics is CIC best placed to communicate effectively? Are there ways in which CIC and IUPAC can work together? What role might CIC and its Chemical Education Division play in helping Canadian chemists understand and communicate with the publics in their spheres of influence? Your comments or suggestions are welcome. Please send them to the author at peter. mahaffy@kingsu.ca. Excerpts from this article first appeared in the July/August 2006 issue of Chemistry International and are reprinted with permission from IUPAC.
Peter Mahaffy, FCIC, is professor of chemistry at The King’s University College in Edmonton, AB, and chair of IUPAC’s Committee on Chemistry Education. He has a strong interest in helping chemists create two-way communication with their publics.
MARCH 2007 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 11
THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF CHEMISTRY IN THE U.K. The anti-chemical messages of NGOs so widely broadcast during the past 30 years must now become pro-chemistry messages for the next 30 years.
I
n the spring of 2006, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-UK) tested the blood of eight well-known personalities. They discovered traces of 104 different chemicals including DDT, brominated flame-retardants, and PCBs. They issued a press release to the effect that we were all likely to be “contaminated with toxic chemicals,” and gave details of what these could do to us. They did not reveal that the levels of contamination were in parts per trillion (p.p.t.). The media dutifully spread the scare story and yet another nail was driven into the chemical industry’s coffin, ready for the day when WWF-UK will bury it. Their aim is “to stop the chemicals industry contaminating us all in our day-to-day lives.” Instead of mocking what was little more than mischief making, the media gave the story lots of publicity, which highlights the sad lack of understanding of all things chemical by both media and public alike. In autumn of 2006, WWF-UK launched a similar scare—this time about traces of the same “toxic chemicals” in foods—but the response by the media was now more skeptical. Indeed, some balanced the WWF-UK reports with comments from experts who dismissed the story as alarmist nonsense. Things are starting to change. Surveys of public opinion carried out by the U.K. Chemical Industry Association (CIA) reveal how suspicious people in the U.K. are of all things “chemical.” The word “chemical” now resonates with overtones meaning poisonous and polluting. Ironically, as the meaning of the word chemical has changed for the worse, its associated word “chemistry” has changed for the better, and is now a synonym for sexual attraction. Those who talk glibly of chemicals appear to be blissfully ignorant of what this term really means. Witness another CIA survey in which people were shown a list of common items and asked to identify those which the chemical industry produced. In fact, all of the items originated from this source. Not unsurprisingly, people readily identified weedkillers and detergents as chemicals, but failed to identify toothpaste, carpets, and sports clothing as chemical products. Chemists in the U.K. have struggled for many years to improve their image, sometimes via projects financed by the government—and rightly so, because the chemical and pharmaceutical industries are important contributors to the national wealth. In the 1980s, the esteemed
12 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
John Emsley
Royal Society looked into the problem of why science in general was declining. Under its guidance, the Committee for the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS) was set up to redress the decline. It singularly failed to remedy the situation, mainly because it was staffed with academics, and while it identified the causes and made recommendations, it ultimately failed in its purpose because it did not understand the needs of the media. All that remains of COPUS today are the annual science book prize, now sponsored by Aventis, and the academic journal Public Understanding of Science, which it founded. For a time the government science funding agency even awarded grants to young scientists to enable them to take time off to write about their work with a view to gaining favourable publicity, but that program also failed and ceased in 2004.
… many chemists still shy away from contact with journalists … If action from the top was ultimately unfruitful, how about action at the coal face? London newspapers still dominate the news output in the U.K., with daily sales in excess of ten million copies. And they cater to all social classes. However, newspapers have been in decline for some years as younger people look to electronic media for their news, and they have responded by becoming more sensational. Indeed, the press is now driven by the need to serve up sensational stories on a regular basis, which is why they so readily accept press releases from NGOs such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, WWF-UK, the Soil Association (promoters of organic farming), and alternative medicine. These sources tend to provide the sort of shock horror news that hardpressed journalists seek. The tricks these NGOs use are worth looking at more closely because they could be employed by chemists and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries to get our message across. Their technique is always to suggest a threat to something we naturally feel sympathetic towards—such as pregnant or nursing women, babies and young children, wildlife, and the environment. The threat itself targets chemicals
that can be linked to things like cancer and heart disease, which worries the middle-aged and elderly, or infertility and the possibility of a malformed foetus or baby, which concern younger audiences. A typical press release would report that a toxic chemical “X” has been found in human tissue and that this might explain the growing number of people with disease “Y.” Of course the level of X is not spelled out, being only present in p.p.t. (in terms of time, one p.p.t. is equivalent to one second in 30,000 years). Inevitably, the presence of X will invariably be described as “worrying.” The news item will dwell on the toxicity, carcinogenicity, or mutagenicity of the chemical in its pure form—something that has been well established in tests on laboratory rodents. The link between the chemical and the disease in humans is invariably based on little more than amateur epidemiology. This is worthless as a scientific tool because it is compromised by unsuspected or uncontrolled variables. Nevertheless, the conclusion is drafted using carefully crafted phrases such as “X suggests a link to Y” or “X could be the reason for Y.” A good journalist will seek independent verification of such a report and balance it with a quote from a bona fide scientist who can expose it as grossly exaggerated. Such refutations only appear at the end of a news item and are often overlooked. What are U.K. chemists doing about all of this? It is not possible to control the media but there are attempts to counteract scare stories. One thing we should realize is that a good news story must have a strong emotional hook if it is to hit the headlines and penetrate the psyche of the general public. We must stress the benefits of what we do in terms of improving health, safety, and the quality of life for vulnerable sections of the community—emphasizing where necessary the human aspects of the problem we are solving. The various organizations of chemists in the U.K. have tried to improve their members’ and the industry’s public image. This has been hampered by a lack of a single voice speaking for all chemists. The CIA had initiatives that for a few years included a £10,000 prize for journalists and broadcasters. While this is no longer awarded, that organization cooperated in 1998 to set up the Chemical Industry Education Centre at The University of York in the U.K. In the past few years, this has published 80 books and booklets for use by
teachers and students covering all age groups including those as young as five. Most are aimed at teenagers. The Royal Society of Chemistry has also been active and publishes the award-winning Chemistry World, which is accessible to non-chemists. They employ a full-time public relations officer who has been successful in devising newsworthy events that have been taken up by the media. There is also the Society for Chemical Industry (SCI), which has its InSCIght initiative. The Royal Institution hosts the Science Media Centre (“where science meets the headlines”), and they do a superb job dealing quickly with reporters’ queries and directing them to scientists who can provide sensible answers. Sadly, many chemists still shy away from contact with journalists—no doubt believing they will be misquoted, as sometimes happens.
… people readily identified weedkillers and detergents as chemicals, but failed to identify toothpaste, carpets, and sports clothing as chemical products There is also a newer organization called Sense About Science. It plays a more proactive role and it can take credit for the skepticism with which some journalists now treat scare stories like those of WWF-UK. Sense About Science is willing to confront junk science head on, which they did in January last year when they published a booklet Making Sense of Chemical Stories. The booklet was aimed at editors in lifestyle magazines who often quote uncritically the information they receive from those pushing alternative therapies. This booklet was launched after Christmas, when the detox brigade springs into action offering numerous remedies based on herbal products sold at exorbitant prices. These remedies are intended for those who have over-indulged during the festive season and who believe they have become saturated with toxic chemicals.
Making Sense of Chemical Stories deals with six popular misconceptions: 1. we can lead a “chemical-free” lifestyle; 2. synthetic chemicals are inherently dangerous; 3. synthetic chemicals cause cancer; 4. we are exposed to time bomb cocktails of chemicals; 5. it is beneficial to health to avoid synthetic chemicals; 6. the chemical industry is carrying out an unregulated, uncontrolled experiment on the population at large. The Sense About Science message, publicized on numerous radio stations and newspapers, was that detox regimes were a waste of money and that our body has a wonderful in-built detox system—the liver. Most of what it removes are natural chemicals. All it requires are time and water. So what needs to be done? Ideally, we would like to restore the public image that chemists once enjoyed, when they were admired for the benefits they and their industry produced such as new colours, plastics, healing drugs, fabrics, and paints. Clearly the world has moved on from those days and those benefits are now either taken for granted or are seen as part of the problem of an overcrowded world of people seeking a lifestyle like that of the West. What chemists now need to do is to push the green message. Primarily, we need to show that our products are safe as far as consumers are concerned. We also have to show that, given the will and enough young people joining our industry, we can continue to deliver the goods we currently enjoy from sustainable sources and that nothing we produce will impact longterm on the environment. The anti-chemical messages of NGOS so widely broadcast during the past 30 years must now become pro-chemistry messages for the next 30 years. Of course, it remains to be seen whether the media will want to report the success stories that today’s young chemists will have to tell as they achieve the goals of making the chemical industry a sustainable one. The trouble is that good news never sold newspapers.
John Emsley is based at the University of Cambridge, U.K. and is the author of several popular science books dealing with chemical issues such as Vanity, Vitality, and Virility and Elements of Murder.
MARCH 2007 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 13
OF SCIENCE AND SLIME Outreach program conveys excitement of science to young students.
S
cience surrounds us—whether we are watching television, strolling on the beach, riding the subway, or even sitting on a lawn chair staring at a blue sky. However, many people do not realize just how important science is in our lives. The Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program aims to change that. Let’s Talk Science is a national charitable organization dedicated to improving science literacy through leadership, innovative educational programs, research, and advocacy. Its award-winning Partnership Program has been serving the scientific community since 1991 and is the only national graduate student-driven science outreach program in the world. The program currently operates on 23 university and community college campuses across Canada and engages over 1,200 volunteers who interact with about 45,000 children every year. The program is supported nationally by Pfizer, Petro-Canada, the Honda Canada Foundation, and the RBC Foundation. At the University of Toronto (U of T) Scarborough, Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program graduate students volunteer their time and share the excitement and wonder of science through this unique outreach
14 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
Edward Eng
program. They go out into the community to share their love of science, partnering with schools and other groups to organize activities that convey their passion for all things scientific. The participants conduct hands-on experiments and demonstrations for schoolchildren from kindergarten to Grade 12 to contribute to science literacy and understanding in the community. The activities are aimed at making science more relevant to students’ daily lives. The young, dynamic graduate students in the program’s U of T Scarborough chapter visit classrooms to show children that science can be fun. Students are exposed to science that is cool. One of the most popular activities is the mock crime scene investigation (CSI) demonstration. Everyday household materials such as soap, detergent, and alcohol are used to show children how to extract DNA from an onion or banana—they can actually see and touch DNA. Mock crime scenes are created, teaching the children how to separate different molecules by size to convey the concept of unique “genetic fingerprints.” In order to figure out “whodunnit,” the children compare and match the unknown DNA from the crime scene to the known Above: Girl Guides test the theory that science can be fun. Photo by Norman Lee
samples. Samples are labelled with celebrities’ names—such as Snoop Dogg and Hilary Duff—to keep it fun for our young audience. From this activity, children learn that science helps solve crime. Children are never too young to learn science. Pollination is taught to kindergarten students by putting on a play and assigning students various roles as bees or flowers in a garden. For Grades 3 and 4, the principles of gravity and friction are demonstrated by dropping rocks or pieces of paper. “I can’t believe science is so cool!” is the reaction we usually get. Even when graduate students demonstrate what they consider very simple science, the children love it. The slime demonstration is used to show the principles of matter and how larger molecules can
be made by combining smaller ones. This activity is such a hit that the graduate students are invited to birthday parties to repeat it. Grades 7 and 8 classes enjoy demonstrations of more complex issues like solubility through attempts to mix different substances such as sugar, salt, and oil with water. They teach electricity and magnetism, demonstrating the creation of electromagnets to give students a better understanding of electrical and magnetic properties. At the high school level, they move into more advanced science like genetics, where sock models are used to demonstrate the duplication and separation (rearrangement) of chromosomes during cell division. The graduate students also benefit from the program. Speaking in front of children helps to improve or refine teaching and
Above: Graduate student volunteer, Joelle de la Paz, demonstrates the fundamentals of gel electrophoresis as part of the YSTOP rural outreach program of the Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program. Photo by Edward Eng
presentation skills. They also give demonstrations outside classrooms, visiting Girl Guide meetings, summer day camps, and various other special events. Over the past year, the Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program at U of T Scarborough has reached more than 400 students at 14 different events. Visit Let’s Talk Science at www.letstalkscience. ca for additional information.
Edward Eng is coordinator of the Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus. He is a PhD student in cell biology.
MARCH 2007 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 15
CHECKING IN WITH CHINA’S CHEMICAL INDUSTRY Valuable insight from the 12th Annual China Chemical Industry Conference
T
he attraction for global companies to invest in China cannot be denied. China is already a large market for chemical products, with very strong growth projections into the future. There is also an economic driver for these investments, with production costs that cannot be matched in most other regions of the world. I attended the 12th Annual China Chemical Industry Conference, organized by Chemical Week in Shanghai in mid-September 2006. There were 280 delegates including 100 from Chinese companies. Based on my assessment, this cost differential can only narrow in the coming years due to three main factors. Labour costs are already growing quickly in China. As unions achieve more real bargaining power, one would expect this trend to accelerate. Environmental compliance is expected to be more rigorously enforced in the future, placing higher control and compliance costs on companies operating in China. As the flow of product from the Middle East builds, China is going to be viewed as the main market for this capacity. This is likely to place stronger downward pressure on selling prices in China than in other parts of the world. This price pressure will likely result in the closure of older Chinese capacity.
16 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
John Margeson, MCIC
The conference was preceded with a tour of the Shanghai Chemical Industrial Park (SCIP), which is located on the coast about 50 km from the central part of Shanghai. It presently occupies 29.4 sq. km of land that was reclaimed from the ocean. There are plans to expand the site to 60 sq. km to link it to an existing cracker complex operated by Shanghai Petrochemical Corp. Site preparation began in 1996, and the first chemical plant began construction in 2001. There are currently 66 chemical companies in production or under construction in the park. Total investment to date has been US$9.2 billion. The work force on the site is 5,000, and it is projected that this will grow to 10,000 by 2010. The large-scale foreign investors to date are BP, Bayer, BASF, and Degussa. Centralized and shared common services include industrial gas supply, water supply, waste water treatment, incineration, co-generation of electricity and steam, customs clearing, and logistics. SCIP is one of six such industrial parks in the Shanghai region. Others are focused on automotive, ship building, information technologies, steel, and equipment. The state government has said that
any new investments in any of these sectors must be located in their designated industrial park. The tour also included a new deep-water port that is nearing completion. Shanghai is a very busy port already, but it cannot handle the heaviest vessels without constant dredging. To avoid this, a new deep-water port has been built far out in the ocean and connected to the mainland by a 32 km, fourlane bridge. The port itself has been built amid a series of naturally occurring islands. The heaviest ships will dock at this off-shore port and the containers moved to and from shore by truck. The introductory talk for the conference listed the issues that China’s chemical industry is facing. Most of these are common refrains for the North American chemical industry, such as: • high and rising feedstock costs; • the looming surge in Middle East supply; • increasingly stricter environmental regulations. At the same time, there are a number of new opportunities for chemical companies in China: • emerging as an exporter in certain products; • potential for using coal as feedstock; • development of homegrown chemical production technology.
China is expected to become the world’s largest economy by the middle of this century. Whether they can sustain that position is an open question. The country has a history of making 180 degree turns. China has been the world’s largest economy twice in recent history. In the 1820s, it accounted for 35 percent of global GDP. By 1970, this was down to two percent. Since 1980, economic liberalization has reduced the proportion of the population living in poverty from 25 percent to 2 percent. Four hundred million people have moved above the poverty line. Urban populations have grown by a factor of 2.5, and the contribution of agriculture to total GDP has been cut in half. China’s status as the world’s manufacturing floor is borne out in its share of global production for the following consumer goods: • DVD players (90 percent); • air conditioners (70 percent); • microwave ovens (80 percent); • colour TVs (60 percent); • toys (75 percent); • clothing (60 percent). China has been a net importer of oil since 1993, and now 40 percent of demand is imported.
China facts
There are an estimated 30,000 chemical firms in China. Output reached US$250 billion in 2005. Chemicals is a big industry in China, accounting for 10 percent of national GDP. There is fierce price competition resulting from too much capacity, making it hard to raise prices to compensate for higher energy and feedstock prices. Consolidation is already occurring and is expected to continue. In 2005, there were 112 chemical company acquisitions, but the average value was only $13 million so these tended to be small and medium-sized companies. Undertaking research for possible acquisition of state-owned enterprises is very complex due to the potential for environmental liabilities, and legacy employee issues such as overmanning, and unrecorded pension and medical benefit obligations. Acquiring private companies is not much easier. It is very challenging to undertake proper due diligence because of a lack of reliable financial records.
The central government is promoting a “Go West” policy to try to spread economic growth away from the coastal regions and into the central and western parts of the country. So far, this is having no impact in convincing chemical companies to leave the coast. Depending upon how hard the central government chooses to push, the drive toward regional diversification may lead to less efficient investments occurring in the future. China is now the fourth largest economy in the world, but ranks about 100th based on per capita income. In 2002, the middle class represented five percent of the population, which is equal in size to the middle class in Japan. The size of the middle class is projected to grow to ten percent of the population this year, which would be equal to the size of the middle class in the U.S. It is also projected to rise to 20 percent in 2015, which is equal to the entire U.S. population.
Chinese chemical industry
As a rule, the industry produces a low value-added, high energy-intensity product mix. There is a large degree of dependence on imported raw materials. Environmental problems are wide-ranging and becoming an area of heightened concern. There are currently 9 million tonnes of ethylene cracker capacity in China. Three new crackers have been built with partial foreign ownership (BP, Shell, and BASF). The top 20 chemical companies in China produce 45 percent of total basic chemicals. There is beginning to be a stronger emphasis on R&D inside China and a growing focus on developing higher value-added products.
Impact of high energy costs China is relatively deficient in oil and gas, but has abundant reserves of coal. To insulate itself from the impacts of energy prices on its competitiveness, China is ambitiously developing projects to produce fuel and chemicals from coal. The central government has a goal to substitute 10 percent of oil demand with coal-derived products by 2015. Sasol is the only company that currently operates a commercial coal-to-fuel and coalto-chemicals technology at a plant in South Africa. They are working with Chinese partners on a similar project. There are 27 coal-to-liquid
There are an estimated 30,000 chemical firms in China. projects and 30 coal-to-chemicals projects at various stages of consideration within China. Coal conversion projects fit well with the Go West policy because the coal deposits are in the central and western regions of the country. The Sasol process requires a lot of water, which may be a problem for China. The current plant in South Africa is not capturing carbon dioxide emissions, but Sasol is looking to address this issue in newer generation technology. International Finance Corp. (a financing arm of the World Bank) has agreed to support a plant that will produce methanol from coal. In turn, the methanol will be converted into 400 ktpa of dimethyl ether (DME) for use as fuel. This is a large volume of DME; current global production is 250 ktpa.
MARCH 2007 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 17
complaints lodged related to environmental pollution. The central government is concerned that this has the potential for causing social instability, and as a result they are starting to take environmental protection more seriously. Chemical plants are a target for stricter scrutiny.
Labour force
Shanghai’s busy port is not deep enough to handle the area’s heavy traffic. A four-lane bridge runs to a new off-shore port 32 km out to sea. Utilization of bio-feedstocks is another area of strong research interest. China has imposed a naphtha tax that is reducing the profitability of companies that use it as a feedstock, such as BP, which operates its new cracker on naphtha feed. BP and others are lobbying for relief in the belief that the government intended to tax naphtha used for gasoline blending, but not for feedstock uses.
Middle East supply China will be the prime destination for the massive volumes of ethylene derivatives coming on-stream in the Middle East toward the end of the decade. Combined with the planned expansion in its own domestic supply, China will be unable to absorb all of the new Mideast capacity. This will mean that Mideast product will flow to other parts of the world as well, although it is likely that some of the older ethylene derivative capacity in China will be rendered non-competitive and
18 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
close. The situation is much more balanced with respect to propylene. China will be able to absorb most or all of the new propylene derivative capacity that will originate from the Mideast provided its economy continues to grow as forecast.
Environmental regulations China has a very comprehensive set of environment, health and safety laws, and regulations are getting stronger. Enforcement, however, continues to lag. In the past, economic considerations have tended to trump environmental protection. Cases have surfaced of officials receiving inducements not to enforce regulations. In other cases there have been fraudulent environmental assessments done. There is no strong ENGO community to challenge government and industry, and nothing comparable to citizen or class action suits to give the public a deterrent for polluting behaviour on the part of industry. Last year, there were 510,000
The new cracker partially owned by BP has 1,148 employees and the company is working to reduce this number. Already, this stands in stark contrast to some of the older crackers in China that were operated by state-owned enterprises (SOE). It was common for these sites to employ 5,000 to 10,000 people as a result of over-manning. BP is seeing 30 to 40 percent annual turnover in its skilled labour force. Despite the population of the country, the supply/demand balance for skilled labour is tight, at least in the heavily industrializing regions. Workers at the BP site are “unionized.” When asked, the BP representative stated that they enjoy a very cordial relationship with the union as opposed to their experience in Europe. It became clear through the conference, however, that these are not unions in the Western sense of the word. Chinese unions are really more of an employer-sponsored social club for the workers. This is changing however, as the state government is enacting laws that will give more teeth to worker unions. A representative from Air Liquide stated that the salary cost for a skilled operator has doubled since they first began operations at SCIP four years ago. In summary, China has become the dominant force influencing international trade and investment flows in many sectors, including chemicals. As its growth projection continues to be strong, this trend is expected to continue. But the Chinese chemical industry faces its own set of competitiveness challenges, many of which are not all that different from those being felt in Canada.
John Margeson, MCIC, has worked at Industry Canada for the past 17 years. He is the sector specialist with responsibilities for the chemicals and plastics industries. He received a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Ottawa.
National Chemistry Week La semaine nationale de la chimie 2006 At the Mall
Groups of volunteers, students, professors, friends, and colleagues across Canada set up stations at their local shopping malls to demonstrate the Wonders of Chemistry. Mall displays with children making slime are always the biggest drawing card for introducing the public to chemistry, and that was evident during National Chemistry Week / La Semaine nationale de la chimie 2006. As usual, we couldn’t do it without all of our volunteers. Thanks to everyone who participated!
20 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
Photos courtesy of Paul Ragogna, MCIC
MARCH 2007 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 21
EXPERIMENT
y d Chromatography n Ca
Ever wondered why candies are different colours? Many candies contain coloured dyes. Bags of Skittles® or M&M® candies contain various colours. The labels tell us the names of the dyes used in the candies. But which dyes are used in which candies? We can answer this by dissolving the dyes out of the candies and separating them using a method called chromatography.
For this experiment you will need: • Skittles or M&M candies (one of each colour) • coffee filter paper • a tall glass • water • table salt • a pencil (ink is not good for this experiment) • scissors • a ruler • six toothpicks • aluminum foil • an empty 2 litre bottle with cap 22 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
Cut the coffee filter paper into a 3 in. by 3 in. (8 cm by 8 cm) square. Draw a line with the pencil about 1/2 in. (1 cm) from one edge of the paper. Make six dots with the pencil equally spaced along the line, leaving about 1/4 in. (0.5 cm) between the first and last dots and the edge of the paper. Below the line, use the pencil to label each dot for the different colours of candy that you have. For example, Y for yellow, G for green, BU for blue, BR for brown, etc. Next we’ll make solutions of the colours in each candy. Take an 8 in. by 4 in. (20 cm by 10 cm) piece of aluminum foil and lay it flat on a table. Place six drops of water spaced evenly along the foil. Place one colour of candy on each drop. Wait about a minute for the colour to come off the candy and dissolve in the water. Remove and dispose of the candies. Now we’ll “spot” the colours onto the filter paper. Dampen the tip of one of the toothpicks in one of the coloured solutions and lightly touch it to the corresponding labeled dot on your coffee filter paper. Use a light touch, so that the dot of colour stays small—less than 1/16 in. (2 mm) is best. Then, using a different toothpick for each colour, similarly place a different colour solution on each of the other five dots. After all the colour spots on the filter paper have dried, go back and repeat the process with the toothpicks to get more colour on each spot. Do this three times, waiting for the spots to dry each time. When the paper is dry, fold it in half so that it stands up on its own, with the fold standing vertically and the dots on the bottom. Next we’ll make what is called a developing solution. Make sure your 2 litre bottle or milk jug is rinsed out, and add to it 1/8 tsp. of salt and three cups of water (or use 1 cm3 of salt and 1 litre of water). Then screw the cap on tightly and shake the contents until all of the salt is dissolved in the water. You have just made a one percent salt solution. Now pour the salt solution into the tall glass to a depth of about 1/4 in. (0.5 cm). The level of the solution should be low enough so that when you put the filter paper in, the dots will initially be above the water level. Hold the filter paper with the dots at the bottom and set it in the glass with the salt solution. What does the salt solution do? It climbs up the paper! It seems to defy gravity, while
in fact it is really moving through the paper by a process called capillary action. As the solution climbs up the filter paper, what do you begin to see? The colour spots climb up the paper along with the salt solution, and some colours start to separate into different bands. The colours of some candies are made from more than one dye, and the colours that are mixtures separate as the bands move up the paper. The dyes separate because some dyes stick more to the paper while other dyes are more soluble in the salt solution. These differences will lead to the dyes ending up at different heights on the paper. This process is called chromatography. The word “chromatography” is derived from the Greek words “chroma” meaning colour and “graphein” to write. The salt solution is called the mobile phase, and the paper the stationary phase. We use the word “affinity” to refer to the tendency of the dyes to prefer one phase over the other. The dyes that travel the furthest have more affinity for the salt solution (the mobile phase); the dyes that travel the least have more affinity for the paper (the stationary phase). When the salt solution is about 1/2 in. (1 cm) from the top edge of the paper, remove the paper from the solution. Lay the paper on a clean, flat surface to dry. Compare the spots from the different candies, noting similarities and differences. Which candies contained mixtures of dyes? Which ones seem to have just one dye? Can you match any of the colours on the paper with the names of the dyes on the label? Do similar colours from different candies travel up the paper the same distance? You can do another experiment with a different type of candy. Do you get the same results for the different kinds of candy or are they different? For example, do green M&Ms give the same results as green Skittles? You can also use chromatography to separate the colours in products like coloured markers, food colouring, and Kool Aid. Try the experiment again using these products.
National Chemistry Week October 14 to 21, 2007
La semaine nationale de la chimi e Du 14 au 21 octobre 2007
Printed with permission from Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, University of Wisconsin. For more home experiments, visit his site at scifun. chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/homeexpts.html.
MARCH 2007 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 23
Public Understanding of Chemistry’s National Chemistry Week would like to thank …
Canada’s 2006 National Crystal Growing Competition
The 2006 Sponsors Gold BASF CIC Chemical Education Fund Dow Chemical Canada Inc. Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research NOVA Chemicals Corporation
Silver Anachemia Science Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. H.L. Blachford Ltd. L.V. Lomas Ltd. Recochem Inc. Rhodia Canada Rohm and Haas Canada Inc. Syncrude Canada
Bronze Arkema Inc. Bruker BioSpin Ltd. CropLife Canada Cognis Canada Corporation Imperial Oil Manulife Financial Maxxam Analytics Inc. NAEJA Pharmaceutical Inc. Seastar Chemical Syngenta Crop Protection (Canada) Inc.
Crystals submitted for the Best Overall Category—top prize goes to Number 8. As a holiday gift, I was greeted with dozens of beautiful and transparent crystals. They ranged from about one to more than 84 grams and came from 12 different places coast to coast. We are very proud of the accomplishments of our students—as some of the judges said, “amazing!” A passerby even asked whether the crystals could be used to make jewelry. I want to send my warmest congratulations to all who participated across Canada and I hope this competition was an occasion to discover some of the greatness of the nature around us. A special thank you to: Anachemia Science for providing the potassium-aluminum sulphate for the contest; BASF for providing the prizes; the many teachers who supervised their students and gave a lot of their own time; CIC volunteers who coordinated the contest in their local area; and the panel of 7 judges who volunteered to evaluate the crystals at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi just before Christmas. Best Overall Crystals were: First place: Mathew Sigurdson, of St. John’s-Ravenscourt School, MB; Second place: Suvi Vinayagamoorthy and Apina Ketheeswaran of Middlefield Collegiate Institute, Markham, ON; and Third place: Laura Morissette of Polyvalente des Abénaquis, St-Prosper, QC. Best Quality Crystal went to Justin Chan, Eva Cheng, Ka Chun Yuen and Michael Choi of York Mills Collegiate Institute, Toronto, ON. Best Teacher Category went to Steven Kim of Northern Secondary School, Toronto, ON. Full results listings are available at ncwsnc.cheminst.ca/crystal/xl2006.html. Denis Bussières, MCIC National Coordinator CIC Crystal Growing Competition
24 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
RECOGNITION RECONNAISSANCE
Howard Alper, O.C., HFCIC, elected IAP co-chair
The InterAcademy Panel (IAP) on International Issues elected Howard Alper, O.C., HFCIC, as IAP co-chair for a three-year term. China serves as the other co-chair. Alper is currently vice-president of research at the University of Ottawa and past-president and foreign secretary of RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada. The IAP is a global network of the world’s science academies. The IAP, comprising Academies of Sciences from 90 countries, provides science advice to governments on international science-based issues and issues statements to governments on pressing matters. The IAP has programs, activities, and initiatives including, among others, natural disaster mitigation, water management and research, women’s health and education, biosecurity, science education, and access to scientific information. Alper’s appointment as co-chair of the IAP places Canada in a leading role in a global science-based organization. Heather Munroe-Blum, principal and vice-chancellor of McGill University said, “I can think of no one more superbly qualified to serve as co-chair of the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues than Howard Alper. Alper is a distinguished Canadian scientist who has shaped science policy, conducted outstanding research, and travelled extensively to engage in collaborative scientific undertakings. His work has contributed to the development of public policy relating to research, in the developing world as well as in developed countries. His scientific leadership uniquely qualifies him to serve in this role, and is a source of pride for Canada.”
26 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
Bruce J. Balcom, MCIC, has been named the new chair of the Advisory Board for CISTI (ABC). ABC is made up of leading national and international stakeholders from the academic, business, library, and publishing sectors. They provide key advice to Council and the NRC Executive on CISTI priorities, strategic directions, and management. Balcom is a respected researcher and professor with the department of physics and chemistry at the University of New Brunswick.
Ajay Dalai, MCIC, of the University of Saskatchewan department of chemical engineering has been awarded the Chemcon-NEERI Distinguished Speaker Award from the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers.
McGill University chemistry professor, Ariel Fenster, MCIC, was one of the recipients of NSERC’s Michael Smith Awards for Science Promotion. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in raising public awareness about Canadian research. Fenster won the individual award. He teaches science courses to students who normally study subjects outside the fields of science and engineering. He appears frequently in the media and was the chief organizer of the exhibit La chimie en fête. The exhibit was on display at the Old Port of Montréal and was seen by more than 370,000 people.
Masahiro Kawaji, FCIC, and Phillip (Rocky) Simmons, MCIC Photo by Barry Roden. Courtesy of OPSE.
Over 450 guests celebrated the achievements of ten professional engineers at the Ontario
Professional Engineers Award Gala. Among those honoured were Mashiro Kawaji, FCIC, recipient of the Research and Development Award, and Phillip (Rocky) Simmons, MCIC, recipient of the Entrepreneurship Medal.
The Société de chimie industrielle American Section has named Jeffrey Lipton the winner of the 2007 International Palladium Medal. Lipton is president and CEO of the NOVA Chemicals Corporation. The award acknowledges Lipton’s many distinguished contributions to the chemical industry that enhance the international aims and objectives of the Société de chimie industrielle. He has more than 40 years’ experience in the chemical industry. He is a director and chair of the board of the American Chemistry Council and a director of the Society of Chemical Industry—American Section. He is also a director of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. Lipton will receive the medal at a dinner in his honour on May 10, 2007.
Genesis Genomics has elected James Skinner, MCIC, to the position of chair of the board of directors. He has been president and CEO of three publicly traded biotechnology companies as well as CEO and start-up entrepreneur of a number of other biotechnology and life sciences firms. Genesis Genomics is a private biotechnology company focused on developing products and services based on its core mitochondrial DNA technology. The company conducts research and commercial operations from its facilities in Ontario and the U.K.
John Sorensen, MCIC, has joined the University of Manitoba chemistry department as an assistant professor. Sorensen will be offering courses in organic chemistry and natural products biosynthesis. He will also be conducting research aimed at examining the biosynthesis of natural products produced by fungi. Sorensen received his PhD in 2003 from the University of Alberta where he worked in the research group of John Vederas, FCIC.
RECOGNITION RECONNAISSANCE
Student Chapter Merit Awards The Student Chapter Merit Awards are offered as a means of recognizing and encouraging initiative and originality in Student Chapter programming in the areas of chemistry, chemical technology, and chemical engineering. One award is given out per Society annually.
Kevin Wilkinson, MCIC L’Université de Montréal est fière d’annoncer la venue au département de chimie, en qualité de professeur agrégé, de Kevin Wilkinson, MCIC. Celui-ci a reçu son Ph.D. en chimie analytique de l’environnement de l’INRS-eau sous la direction de Peter Campbell, puis a effectué des études post-doctorales à l’Université de Genève sous la direction de Jacques Buffle. Il s’est par la suite joint au département de chimie de l’Université de Genève où il a été professeur pendant huit ans. Il s’intéresse au développement de biosenseurs sensibles et hautements sélectifs pour mesurer la biodisponibilité par des microorganismes des ions métalliques sous des conditions environnementales.
In Memoriam The CIC extends its condolences to the families of:
April 1 for the Canadian Society for Chemistry April 1 for the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology June 1 for the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering For more information, visit www.cheminst.ca/merit_awards.
Les prix du mérite des sections étudiantes Les prix du mérite des sections étudiantes sont offerts en vue de reconnaître et d’encourager l’esprit d’initiative et la créativité dans la programmation des activités des sections étudiantes dans les domaines de la chimie, du génie chimique et de la technologie chimique. Un prix est décerné par chaque société chaque année.
Dates limites le 1er avril pour la Société canadienne de chimie le 1er avril pour la Société canadienne de technologie chimique le 1er juin pour la Société canadienne de génie chimique
R. Peter Brown, MCIC Keith Yates, FCIC
CHEMFUSION
Deadlines
… continued from p. 8
illegal claims about his supplements’ ability to cure or mitigate disease. Having said all of this, I’ll admit that I am no great fan of artificial sweeteners—mainly because they take the focus away from promoting an overall healthy lifestyle. They are not the answer to our obesity problem. In rare cases, they can, like any substance, cause adverse health effects. But when it comes to evaluating their overall risk/ benefit ratio, I’d rather consult peer-reviewed scientific litreature than the confused ramblings of doctors Hull, Martini, Bowen, and Mercola.
Pour davantage de renseignements, visitez le www.cheminst.ca/merit_awards.
EMPLOYMENT WANTED
Chemist seeks position. PhD in analytical chemistry. Experience in atomic spectroscopy, AAS, GFAAS, hydride generation, cold vapors, ICP-AES, ICP-AF and chromatography GC, HPLC, EC. Research and development of
Popular science writer, Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, is the director of
analytical methods environmental mentoring. Analysis of trace and ultra
McGill University’s Office for Science and Society. He hosts
trace of elements and substances in different kinds of matrixes. Please contact
the Dr. Joe Show on Montréal’s radio station CJAD. The broadcast is available on the Web at www.CJAD.com. You
mssalman1953@yahoo.com.
can contact him at joe.schwarcz@mcgill.ca.
MARCH 2007 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 27
ON-LINE SERVICES We want to help simplify your busy schedule with our on-line services, restricted to members only. Ensure your current e-mail address has been entered on your “Profile” page.
• Renew your CIC membership for 2007 on-line • Update your own personal profile • Perform an on-line membership search
28 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
To access on-line renewal and member services, go to https://secure.cheminst.ca/default.asp. For the protection of your personal information, the on-line membership services are restricted to CIC members only, and you will be asked to log on your own personal secure account with a username and password. The “username” is composed of the first letter of your first name and the five (or less for short surnames) first letters of your surname. The middle name is not used (e.g. “John A. Dalton” would become: jdalto). The “password” is your CIC membership reference number, which you can find written on all correspondence from the CIC, including your membership card (e.g. 223 or 27890). Once you have logged on the first time, you will be required to change your password to something other than your membership number. If you forget your password, you have the option to request your password to be reset to your membership number. If you experience any difficulty, call CIC Membership Services at our toll-free number 1-888-542-2242, ext. 230, or e-mail membership@cheminst.ca. The CIC values your privacy and encourages membership networking.
COLLEGE CHEMISTRY CANADA LA CHIMIE COLLÉGIALE AU CANADA The 34th conference of College Chemistry Canada will be held jointly with the Chemical Society of Canada, May 26–31, 2007, in Winnipeg, MB. The host college for C 3 members will be the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface, who will organize the social and special events. For more information go to: http://sp.cusb.ca/cusb/c3conference/index.html.
MARCH 2007 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 29
CAREERS CARRIÈRES
University of Utah As part of the Utah Science, Technology and Research (USTAR) Initiative for economic development in the State of Utah in the area of fossil energy, The University of Utah seeks an outstanding senior individual for a tenured faculty position at the rank of Professor or Associate Professor who demonstrates expertise and extensive experience in the area of oil sands/oil shale research and development. The successful candidate will be expected to be a national leader in his/her area and bring a significant externally funded research program to the University of Utah and have a demonstrated record in leadership, publication and teaching excellence. Applicants must have an earned Ph.D. in chemical engineering, or a closely related field. Before hiring, the selected candidate must provide proof of U.S. citizenship or authorization to work in the U.S. Interested persons should send a cover letter, vitae, detailed statement of research and teaching interests and at least three reference contacts to: Search Committee Department of Chemical Engineering University of Utah 50 S Central Campus Dr. Rm 3290 Salt Lake City, UT 84112 Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. The position will be available as of July 1, 2007. Applicants should reference this announcement in their cover letters.
The University of Utah, an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer, encourages applications from women and minorities, and provides reasonable accommodation to the known disabilities of applicants and employees.
30 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MARS 2007
University of Saskatchewan The Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan is seeking to hire a tenure-track faculty member at the Assistant Professor level. The University of Saskatchewan is home to the new Canadian Light Source (Synchrotron). The successful incumbent will have ample opportunity to make use of this extremely powerful technology to support their research. Also, a new building with large, modern research laboratories (over 4500 m2) was occupied in 2002. The Department has three major research themes: Oil and Gas Processing, Environment, and Biochemical Engineering. More information about the Department can be found at our website: http://www.engr.usask.ca/dept/cen. We are looking for candidates with research and teaching expertise in our strategic area of oil and gas processing or oil and gas recovery. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to both teaching (undergraduate and graduate) and research. In addition, the preferred candidate will be eligible to be registered as a Professional Engineer in Saskatchewan. The closing date for applications is March 30, 2007. Anticipated appointment start date is July 1, 2007. Applications (including detailed curriculum vitae, statement of current research interests, plans for future research, teaching interests, and the names of three referees) should be submitted in confidence to: Dr. G.A. Hill, Head, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9. (gord.hill@usask.ca) The University is committed to Employment Equity. Members of Designated Groups (women, aboriginal people, people with disabilities and visible minorities) are encouraged to self-identify on their applications. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply, however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
EVENTS ÉVÉNEMENTS
CAREERS CARRIÈRES
Canada Conferences May 26–30, 2007. 90th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition, Winnipeg, MB, www.csc2007.ca May 29–June 1, 2007. International Chemical Recovery Conference “Efficiency and Energy Management,” Québec, QC, 514-392-6964 July 8–12, 2007. CHEMRAWN-XVII and ICCDU-IX Conference on GREENHOUSE GASES: Mitigation and Utilization, Kingston, ON October 28–31, 2007. 57th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference, Edmonton, AB, www.csche2007.ca May 24–28, 2008. 91st Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition, Edmonton, AB, www.csc2008.ca October 19–22, 2008. 58th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference, Ottawa, ON, www.csche2008.ca August 23–27, 2009. 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering and 59th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference, Montréal, QC, www.wcce8.org
Student Conferences May 4–6 2007. Western Undergraduate Student Chemistry Conference, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, mam598@mail.us ask.ca May 2007. 32nd CIC-APICS Undergraduate Chemistry Conference (ChemCon2007), Acadia University, Wolfville, NS October 26, 2007. Colloque annuel des étudiants et étudiantes de 1er cycle en chimie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Pierre.Harvey@usherbrooke.ca
U.S. and Overseas May 29–June 10. 2007 NSF Pan-American Advanced Studies on Sustainability and Green Chemistry 2007, Mexico City, Mexico June 21–23, 2007. Chemtech 2007, Institute of Chemistry, Ceylon, Colombo, Sri Lanka, info@ichemc.com, www.ichemc.com June 25–28, 2007. 11th Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference, Washington, D.C. July 1–5, 2007. 3rd International Conference on Green and Sustainable Chemistry, Delft, The Netherlands July 22–26, 2007. 23rd Annual Meeting of the International Society of Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany, www.chemecol.org/meetings/ meetings.htm September 16–21 2007. 6th European Congress of Chemical Engineering (ECCE-6) Copenhagen, Denmark, www.ecce6.kt.dtu.dk MARCH 2007 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 31
90th CANADIAN CHEMISTRY CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION
Undergraduate Student Poster Competition Are you working on a research project and want to share your results? Do you have a paper to present at a Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) Undergraduate Student Chemistry Conference and would like to present it again in poster format? Are you interested in presenting a poster for the first time? Here is an opportunity to show your peers and chemical professionals what you can do. The CSC’s 90th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition will be taking place May 26–30 in Winnipeg, MB. We invite you to participate in the undergraduate poster competition that will be organized during this event. Posters will be accepted in the general areas of analytical, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry, as well as in biochemistry. Two awards will be given in each area ($150 for 1st prize and $50 for 2nd prize). The amount may increase depending on the number of participants. Some travel assistance is available to undergraduate students attending the conference.
Eligibility This competition is open to current undergraduate students, or students who graduated within the last four months, in all branches of chemistry. Posters may be based on research done as part of an undergraduate course, co-op project, or summer job in a university, government or industrial setting. Graduate students, who have not completed more than two semesters of their graduate studies program, may present a poster on work done as an undergraduate student on the condition that the poster topic is different from their current research topic.
Abstract Submission Dates Abstracts must be submitted on-line beginning March 10, 2007; the deadline for receipt of abstracts for the Undergraduate Student Poster Competition is midnight (EST), Wednesday, April 18, 2007. Please visit the conference Web site (www.csc2007.ca) for more information about poster specifications, travel assistance, conference registration, and accommodation.
DEADLINE:
April 18,
2007
90e CONGRÈS ET EXPOSITION CANADIENS DE CHIMIE
Présentation d’affiches des étudiants de 1er cycle Travaillez-vous présentement à un projet de recherche et souhaitez-vous partager vos résultats? Présentez-vous un exposé à un Congrès pour étudiants de 1er cycle en chimie de la Société canadienne de chimie (SCC) et aimeriez-vous le présenter à nouveau sous forme d’affiche? Aimeriez-vous présenter une affiche pour la première fois? Voici l’occasion de démontrer à vos pairs et aux professionnels en chimie ce dont vous êtes capable. Le 90e Congrès et exposition canadiens de chimie de la SCC aura lieu du 26 au 30 mai 2007 à Winnipeg (Manitoba). Nous vous invitons à participer à la présentation d’affiches des étudiants de 1er cycle que se tiendra durant l’événement. Les affiches peuvent être présentées dans les domaines de la chimie analytique, inorganique, organique et physique ainsi que de la biochimie. Deux prix seront remis dans chaque domaine (1er prix de 150 $ et 2e prix de 50 $). Ces montants peuvent augmenter selon le nombre de participants. Une aide de voyage est disponible pour les étudiants de 1er cycle qui assistent au congrès.
Admissibilité
Ce concours est ouvert aux étudiants actuellement au 1er cycle, ou aux étudiants qui ont obtenu leur diplôme moins de quatre mois auparavant, dans tous les secteurs de la chimie. Les affiches peuvent traiter de la recherche effectuée dans le cadre d’un cours de 1er cycle, d’un projet coopératif ou d’un emploi d’été dans un environnement universitaire, gouvernemental ou industriel. Les étudiants des cycles supérieurs qui n’ont pas complété plus de deux trimestres de leur programme peuvent soumettre une affiche portant sur le travail effectué en tant qu’étudiant de 1er cycle, à condition que le sujet de l’affiche diffère de celui du sujet de recherche actuel.
Dates de soumission des résumés Les résumés doivent être transmis en ligne à compter du 10 mars 2007. La date limite de réception pour la présentation des affiches des étudiants de 1er cycle est le mercredi 18 avril 2007 à minuit (HNE). Veuillez consulter le site Web du congrès (www.csc2007.ca) pour de plus amples renseignements sur les caractéristiques des affiches, l’aide de voyage, l’inscription au congrès et l’hébergement.
DATE LIMITE : le
18 avril
2007
Nominations are now open for
The Chemical Institute of Canada
2008AWARDSAct now!
Do you know an outstanding person who deserves to be recognized?
The Chemical Institute of Canada Medal is presented as a mark of distinction and recognition to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to the science of chemistry or chemical engineering in Canada. Sponsored by the Chemical Institute of Canada. Award: A medal and travel expenses.
The MontrĂŠal Medal is presented as a mark of distinction and honour to a resident in Canada who has shown significant leadership in or has made an outstanding contribution to the profession of chemistry or chemical engineering in Canada. In determining the eligibility for nominations for the award, administrative contributions within The Chemical Institute of Canada and other professional organizations that contribute to the advancement of the professions of chemistry and chemical engineering shall be given due consideration. Contributions to the sciences of chemistry and chemical engineering are not to be considered. Sponsored by the MontrĂŠal CIC Local Section. Award: A medal and travel expenses.
The Environmental Improvement Award is presented to a Canadian company, individual, team, or organization for a significant achievement in pollution prevention, treatment, or remediation. Sponsored by the Environment Division. Award: A plaque and travel assistance.
The Macromolecular Science and Engineering Award is presented to an individual who, while residing in Canada, has made a distinguished contribution to macromolecular science or engineering. Sponsored by NOVA Chemicals Ltd. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize, and travel expenses.
The CIC Award for Chemical Education (formerly the Union Carbide Award) is presented as a mark of recognition to a person who has made an outstanding contribution in Canada to education at the post-secondary level in the field of chemistry or chemical engineering. Sponsored by the CIC Chemical Education Fund. Award: A framed scroll and a cash prize.
Deadlines The deadline for all CIC awards is July 3, 2007 for the 2008 selection.
Nomination Procedure Submit your nominations to: Awards Manager The Chemical Institute of Canada 130 Slater Street, Suite 550 Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 Tel.: 613-232-6252, ext. 223 Fax: 613-232-5862 awards@cheminst.ca Nomination forms and the full Terms of Reference for these awards are available at www.cheminst.ca/awards
Nominations are now open for
The Canadian Society for Chemistry
2008AWARDSAct now!
Do you know an outstanding person who deserves to be recognized?
The Alcan Award is presented to a scientist residing in Canada who has made a distinguished contribution in the fields of inorganic chemistry or electrochemistry while working in Canada. Sponsored by Alcan International Ltd. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize, and travel expenses.
The Alfred Bader Award is presented as a mark of distinction and recognition for excellence in research in organic chemistry carried out in Canada. Sponsored by Alfred Bader, HFCIC. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize, and travel expenses.
The Strem Chemicals Award for Pure or Applied Inorganic Chemistry is presented to a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant who has made an outstanding contribution to inorganic chemistry while working in Canada, and who is within ten years of his or her first professional appointment as an independent researcher in an academic, government, or industrial sector. Sponsored by Strem Chemicals Ltd. Award: A framed scroll and travel expenses for a lecture tour.
The Boehringer Ingelheim Award
of University Chemistry Chairs (CCUCC).
Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize, and travel expenses.
The Maxxam Award is presented to a scientist residing in Canada who has made a distinguished contribution in the field of analytical chemistry while working in Canada. Sponsored by Maxxam Analytics Inc. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize, and travel expenses. The R. U. Lemieux Award is presented to an organic chemist who has made a distinguished contribution to any area of organic chemistry while working in Canada. Sponsored by the Organic Chemistry Division. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize, and travel expenses.
The Merck Frosst Cenre for Therapeutic Reasearch Award is presented to a scientist residing in Canada, who shall not have reached the age of 40 years by April 1 of the year of nomination and who has made a distinguished contribution in the fields of organic chemistry or biochemistry while working in Canada. Sponsored by Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize, and travel expenses.
is presented to a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant whose PhD thesis in the field of organic or bioorganic chemistry was formally accepted by a Canadian university in the 12-month period preceding the nomination deadline of July 3 and whose doctoral research is judged to be of outstanding quality. Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize, and travel expenses.
to a scientist residing in Canada who has made a distinguished contribution to the field of medicinal chemistry through research involving biochemical or organic chemical mechanisms. Sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb Canada Co. Award: A framed scroll and a cash prize.
The Clara Benson Award is presented in recognition of a distinguished contribution to chemistry by a woman while working in Canada. Sponsored by the Canadian Council
an individual who demonstrates innovation in research in the field of analytical chemistry, where the research is anticipated to have significant potential for practical applications. The award is open to new faculty members at
The Bernard Belleau Award is presented
The Fred Beamish Award is presented to
a Canadian university and they must be recent graduates with six years of appointment. Sponsored by Eli Lilly Canada Inc. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize, and travel expenses.
The Keith Laidler Award is presented to a scientist who has made a distinguished contribution in the field of physical chemistry while working in Canada . The award recognizes early achievement in the awardee’s independent research career. Sponsored by Systems for Research. Award: A framed scroll and a cash prize. The W. A. E. McBryde Medal is presented to a young scientist working in Canada who has made a significant achievement in pure or applied analytical chemistry. Sponsored by Sciex Inc., Division of MDS Health Group. Award: A medal and a cash prize.
Deadline The deadline for all CSC awards is July 3, 2007 for the 2008 selection.
Nomination Procedure Submit your nominations to: Awards Manager The Canadian Society for Chemistry 130 Slater Street, Suite 550 Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 Tel.: 613-232-6252, ext. 223 Fax: 613-232-5862 awards@cheminst.ca Nomination forms and the full Terms of Reference for these awards are available at www.chemistry.ca/awards
PM40021620