ISOTOPICS
The Cleveland Section of the American Chemical Society
Volume 88
Issue 1
January 2012
January Meeting Notice
On Deck:
February 15, 2012
Joint meeting with SAS
Market Garden Brewery
Tours of brewery and distillery
throughout the evening
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
John Carroll University, Science Center
4:30 pm
5:30 pm
6:30 pm
7:30 pm
Executive Committee Meeting
Social/Networking Hour
Dinner
Presentation
Phycal’s development of algae based advanced biofuels
Cleveland ACS Officers
Chair:
Kat Wollyung
PerkinElmer, Inc., Akron
330-686-0056
ACS.NCW.Kat@gmail.com
Chair-Elect:
Donald Jaworske
NASA Glenn Research Center
216-433-2312
Donald.A.Jaworske@nasa.gov
Treasurer:
John Moran
Department of Science and
Mathematics
Phone: 216-373-6380
jmoran@ndc.edu
Secretary:
Anna Bowman
a.bowman@neu.edu
Cleveland Section Web Site:
http://www.csuohio.edu/sciences
/dept/cleveland_acs/
Andrew K. Swanson, PhD, Vice President Research and Development,
Phycal Inc.
Despite on-going controversy of so-called “first generation biofuels”, such
as corn ethanol, the U.S. biofuel industry in the past 15 years has developed
from largely academia-based research, to a genuine global industry which
now competes, subsidy-free, with traditional fossil fuels, is on track to
command nearly 10% of the U.S. liquid transportation fuel market. Largely
based on this rapid past commercial success novel “second” and “third”
generation biofuels”, such as algae, have been the beneficiaries of an
unprecedented period of governmental and venture capitalist support for
less controversial, cleaner, and domestically sourced liquid transportation
fuels. Despite a challenging global economy, this period of biofuel industry
growth has fostered the founding, and rapid expansion of tens of domestic
companies, and perhaps several hundred globally. Phycal Inc., founded and
based in Cleveland, is one such success story which is now in the process
of scaling its’ technologies to a 35 acre, 150,000 gallon/yr algae to biofuel
pilot facility for Hawaii. A general overview of the algae biofuel industry,
Phycal’s process, its’ evolution, and future plans will be discussed.
DINNER RESERVATIONS REQUIRED: Please RSVP by contacting
Kat Wollyung by phone at 330-686-0056 or by email at
acs.ncw.kat@gmail.com by Wednesday January 11 with your name, total
number of guests in your party, and a phone number. Checks made out to
“Cleveland ACS” are greatly appreciated; cash otherwise. $20 for members
and guests, $10 for retirees or unemployed, $5 for students. Dinner will
include Caesar Salad, Broccoli with Lemon Zest, Fresh Garlic Bread,
Chicken Parmesan, Rotini Marinara, Biscotti, served with Fair Trade
Certified Coffee, iced tea and sodas. It will be served buffet style.
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Isotopics January 2012
Directions to John Carroll University
From I-271: Take I-271 to Exit 32 (Cedar/
Brainard Roads). Follow Cedar Road west for 2.5
miles to South Belvoir Blvd. Turn left onto South
Belvoir and travel south 0.7 miles. The entrance
to campus will be on your right after crossing
Washington Blvd. The Dolan Science Center is
highlighted on the map above. The campus can be
accessed off 480 by the Warrensville center road
exit and that the campus is just off the Fairmount
circle on the map.
For directions from other locations, please see:
www.jcu.edu/map.htm. For the campus map, see:
http://www.jcu.edu/pubaff/ABOUTJCU/campus_
map.htm.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Swanson was born and raised near Toronto,
Ontario and obtained his B.S. and M.Sc. in Plant
and Environmental Sciences from the University
of Western Ontario. He received his PhD in
Biological Sciences from Simon Fraser University
(Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre) in Vancouver,
British Columbia. His work focused on how
human influenced environmental parameters
affect
the
secondary
metabolism
(phenylpropanoids, isoprenoid) of marine algae,
and indirectly, impact the functional stability of
American Chemical Society Cleveland Section
nearshore coastal eco-systems. Following graduate
school he worked as a research scientist for the
Canadian Ministry of Agriculture on a functional
genomic program to identify the enzymatic
pathway of a commercially valuable plant (Stevia
rebaudiana) secondary metabolite. He then moved
to Cleveland, working as an assistant professor of
biology at Case Western Reserve University in the
field of global change biology. Prior to joining
Phycal Inc., he co-founded an algae-based
bioprocess company (Limnos Energy) which
focused on sustainable protein-rich feeds for the
growing aquaculture market. At Phycal Inc., a
Cleveland-based algae/plant to biofuel company of
>50 staff scientists and engineers, he manages
R&D of the Highland Heights Ohio subpilot
facility as vice president of research and
development, and assists Phycal’s operations at
its’ St. Louis Missouri Biotechnology Laboratory,
and at a $65 million DOE funded algae to biofuel
pilot plant currently under construction in Oahu,
Hawaii. He is co-inventor and author of over 20
patents and research articles, and has over 5 years
working experience with the nascent, but rapidly
expanding, algae to biofuels and bio-chemicals
industry.
Message from the Parting Chair
Dear Members of the Cleveland Section,
The past year has passed by very quickly for me as
Chair of the section. A great number of excellent
meetings, activities, and events have occurred.
Many of these have been described in our
newsletters, our website, and on our Facebook
page.
My time as Chair has allowed me to truly learn in
greater detail of all that happens in the section. I
encourage all of you to not only consider
participating in some of our activities, but to also
consider running for our offices! You may find it
work at time, but the friends and connections you
make will prove extremely rewarding. I have too
many people to thank to mention all by name.
They have helped me oversee the section's
activities and keep things running smoothly this
past year and I am very grateful for their
assistance.
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Isotopics January 2012
As I now transition to become a "past-Chair", it is
my pleasure to announce the winners of our latest
election.
Chair-Elect: Donald Jaworske
Secretary: Anna Bowman
Trustee: Daniel Scherson
Director: Genevieve Sauve
Please join me in congratulating these latest
additions to our leadership team. I look forward
to a very bright year under Don's leadership.
I hope to have the opportunity to meet more of
you at our future meetings.
Best,
John Protasiewicz
2011 Chair, 2012 Past-Chair,
Cleveland Section of the American Chemical
Society
Impossible Crystals, Quasicrystals:
Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2011
By Leopold May
Quasicrystals that were supposed not to exist were
discovered by Daniel Shechtman of the Technicon
Institute of Haifa, Israel. Examining the electron
diffraction pattern of a rapidly solidified alloy of
aluminum and manganese on April 8, 1982, he
found that the atoms were not packed in
symmetrical patterns that were repeated
periodically in the crystal as was found with
crystals previously. He had prepared the first
quasicrystal. Aperiodic mosaics that are found in
medieval Islamic mosaics of the Alhambra Palace
in Spain and the Darb-I-Imam Shrine in Iran help
to understand the appearance of quasicrystals at
the atomic level. The patterns are regular but
never repeat themselves. In the course of
defending this very controversial discovery, he
was asked to leave his research group. As more
examples of quasicrystals were found in the
laboratory and in mineral samples from a Russian
river, the concept of quasicrystals was accepted
leading to awarding of the 2011 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry to Daniel Shechtman for the discovery
of quasicrystals. Who said that there is nothing
new under the sun.
American Chemical Society Cleveland Section
Call for Nominations
Irene C. Heller Award Presented to an
Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher
by the Cleveland Section of the American
Chemical Society
The Cleveland Section of the American Chemical
Society annually sponsors an award to recognize
an outstanding high school chemistry teacher in
the Cleveland Section. The award consists of an
honorarium of $1,000 and a framed certificate.
The award is named for Irene Heller of North
Olmsted High School in recognition of her
contributions as an outstanding high school
chemistry teacher and her service to the Cleveland
Section.
Nominations for the award should be presented to
Kenneth Street, NASA-GRC, MS- 23-2, 21000
Brookpark Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44135 by close
of business Friday, March 2, 2012. The
nominations should consist of information on the
candidate's education, professional experience and
activities, awards and honors, offices held and
specifics on significant contributions. The letter of
nomination should highlight these significant
contributions. Seconding letters are suggested. A
detailed curriculum vita of the candidate may also
be included. Nominations should be sponsored by
at least one member of the Cleveland Section. If
you do not know a local section ACS member
willing to serve as Champion for your candidate,
contact Ken Street and he will provide one for
you. The Cleveland Section is geographically
confined to the counties of Cuyahoga, Geauga,
Lorain, Medina, Huron, and Erie. Electronic
nominations using Word or PDF Files mailed to
kenneth.w.street@nasa.gov will be greatly
appreciated. Ken Street may be contacted at 216433-5032 during business hours for assistance
with submissions.
The award will be presented at the April, 2012
meeting of the Cleveland Section.
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Isotopics January 2012
Selected from ACS Discoveries!
First practical scientific test to date and
authenticate priceless silk masterpieces
Analytical Chemistry
Scientists are reporting development of the first
fast and reliable scientific method to determine
the age and authenticity of priceless silk tapestries
and other treasures — such as Civil War General
Phillip Sheridan’s famous red-and-white battle
flag — in museums and other collections around
the world. A report on their work appears in ACS’
journal Analytical Chemistry.
Mehdi Moini and colleagues at the Smithsonian
Institution point out that for thousands of years,
silk fibers, consisting of natural protein unwound
from the cocoons of the silkworm, have been
woven into not just garments, but wall hangings,
tapestries, carpets and painted silk artworks. Until
now, however, there has been no practical
scientific way to tell whether a silk tapestry is a
well-preserved example from the Fontainebleu
series from the 1540s or a copy made just last
week. In many cases, scientists could not use the
familiar carbon-14 dating process, because it
involves taking samples of material large enough
to cause visible damage to the silk object.
Their solution is a new test that tracks timerelated deterioration the amino acid building
blocks in silk protein. As silk ages, the so-called
L-amino acids in its protein changed into socalled D-amino acids. The D/L ratio provides a
highly accurate measure of a silk object’s age, age
to within 50-100 years and whether it is
deteriorating and needs conservation work.
Archaeologists had used the D/L approach to date
ancient teeth and bone, but Moini’s team
simplified it and adapted it for silk. The
researchers demonstrated the test, called “CEMS,” on Sheridan’s flag, a Fontainebleu tapestry,
ancient silks from China and other old samples
from masterpieces in museums around the world.
The method only takes 20 minutes and requires
only microscopic samples of silk — a major
improvement over the familiar carbon-14 dating
method, which requires large samples that may
cause visible damage to the object.
American Chemical Society Cleveland Section
DayGlo Named National
Chemical Landmark
Historic
By Helen Mayer
DayGlo, a Cleveland-based manufacturer of
daylight fluorescent pigments, has received
notification that it will be named a National
Historic Chemical Landmark in 2012. DayGlo
was founded in the 1930’s by Bob and Joe Switzer
who patented the first fluorescent dyes that were
practical for use in packaging, billboards, plastics
and textiles. DayGlo is the Cleveland Section’s
7th National Historic Chemical Landmark, which
is the most of any section in the United States.
The Archive Committee thanks Tom DiPietro ,
Vice President of Research and Development at
DayGlo, for his work on the nomination.
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Isotopics January 2012
American Chemical Society Cleveland Section
December and January Historical Events in Chemistry
By Leopold May
The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC
Jan. 4, 1891
Henry H. Dow prepared bromine from brine on this date.
Jan. 10, 1923
Chemical and Engineering News was started on this day as the bimonthly News Edition
of Industrial and Engineering News. It was changed to CEN in 1942 and became weekly
on January 6, 1947.
Dec. 11, 1911
One hundred years ago on this date, Marja S. Curie (later Marie) gave her Nobel Lecture.
Radium and the New Concepts in Chemistry, when she was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Chemistry in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the
discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study
of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element.
Jan. 18, 1861
One hundred and fifty years ago, Hans Goldschmidt was born. In 1893, he discovered
the alumino thermite process (Goldschmidt Process) and patented it in 1895. He was
interested in producing very pure metals by avoiding the use of carbon in smelting but
realized its value in welding.
ISOTOPICS STAFF
Editor:
Daniel Tyson
Day-Glo Color Corporation
Phone: 216-391-7384
daniel_s_tyson@yahoo.com
Business and Advertising:
Anna Bowman
a.bowman@neu.edu
Associate Editor
Dwight Chasar
dwight.chasar@yahoo.com
Associate Editor
Richard L. Middaugh
Phone: 440-785-0293
rlmiddaugh@ameritech.net
Associate Editor
Meenakshi Hardi
Phone: 440-941-6467
minaxie@gmail.com
Associate Editor
Daniel Scheiman
QSC/NASA GRC
Phone: 216-433-3223
daniel.a.scheiman@nasa.gov
Isotopics is looking to highlight local chemistry professionals, companies, teachers, research groups, students,
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for local members to join our staff. Time commitments for staff members are minimal (a few hours a year!) and
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