ISOTOPICS The Cleveland Section of the American Chemical Society Volume 88 Issue 4 April 2012 April Meeting Notice On Deck: Education Night Wednesday, April 18, 2012 GrafTech International, Parma May 23, 2012 Joint Meeting with SAS and JCU May Conf. and Morley Award Dr. Malcolm Chisholm, OSU Reservations by RSVP only 4:30 pm 5:30 pm 6:30 pm 7:30 pm Executive Committee Meeting Social Hour (with lab tours and science demo tables) Dinner Award presentations and Main presentation The NCW Awards are WERE Missing! Cleveland ACS Officers Chair: Kat Wollyung PerkinElmer, Inc., Akron 330-686-0056 ACS.NCW.Kat@gmail.com Chair-Elect: Don 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/ While making last minute preparations for the annual awards program in April, the event organizers learned that the packet containing the names of award recipients and the awards was missing. The CSI team (Chemical Science Investigator) from Case Western Reserve University was called in to find the culprit of this dastardly deed. The Awards must be found before the event in April. The crack team of CSI from CWRU did solve this crime and have recovered the Awards. Now we need your help to apprehend the guilty party. Before and after dinner, CSI from CWRU will reenact the steps taken to solve this crime. Guests will be able to collect data to determine the guilty party and earn their own CSI credential. Clues will be analyzed using chemical and physical properties and these will guide the aspiring CSI to identify the culprit from among the guests in attendance that evening. YES! The guilty party will be present and must be brought to justice. The CSI Team is lead by Dr. Michael Kenney. Each member of the team has been thoroughly trained in the art of forensic analysis and will be on hand to assist any and all CSI recruits. Dr. Kenney teaches a course specifically for this purpose and his current class will provide the assistance needed during this investigation. Each member of the class is prepared to answer your individual questions and will guide you on the path to solving the crime. Dr. Kenney was last year’s awards show presenter and is back this year with a new interactive event that will involve all of the attendees at the awards ceremony. (He has also hinted that there may be some other cool chemistry happening that evening as well.) CSI Recruits can be any age and we encourage partnerships between young and not so young. DINNER RESERVATIONS REQUIRED: Unless instructed otherwise by letters sent to award winners and other special guests, please RSVP by contacting Kat Wollyung by phone at 330-686-0056 or at acs.ncw.kat@gmail.com by Tuesday, April 10th by 10pm. Please provide your name, the number of people in your party, and a return phone number. Reservations will be confirmed by a return phone call or email and should not be considered complete until then. Cost of the dinner is $20 for members & guests, $5 for students, and $10 for retirees/unemployed. Special/Discounted costs for award winners and special guests are stated in letters received; please follow any special instructions in the letter received for making reservations for the event. Payment must be made by cash or check, with checks made out to “Cleveland ACS”. Social hour to include popcorn, pretzels, chips, soft drinks and water. Dinner will include a buffet of lemon chicken, rice pilaf, vegetables du jour, pasta with marinara sauce, tossed salad with dressing, ice cream dessert bar with toppings, coffee, soft drinks and water. Page 2 Isotopics April 2012 Directions to GrafTech International 12900 Snow Road, Parma, OH 44130 From the East or West: Take I-480 to the W 130th exit. Go south on W 130th. Turn left on Snow Road. GrafTech will be on your left. The entrance to the parking lot is after the main building. Enter the building using the side employee entrance. From the North or South: Take I-71 to the Snow Road exit. Turn east on Snow Road, toward Parma. GrafTech will be three miles on your left. The entrance to the parking lot is after the main building. Enter the building using the side employee entrance. American Chemical Society Cleveland Section Then click on "ACS Cleveland Section Job Manual" pdf or Word versions. Please send your nominations or self-nomination by mail, phone, or email (preferred) to: John D. Protasiewicz Department of Chemistry Case Western Reserve University 10900 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7078 phone 216-368-5060 email: protasiewicz@case.edu Announcement: Heller Award Winner Irene C. Heller Annual Award Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher in the Cleveland Section Congratulations to: Beth A. Smith Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School Call for Nominations By John Protasiewicz (past Chair) The ACS Cleveland Section is still accepting nominations (or self-nominations) of potential candidates to run for the following open positions in the Executive Committee: Selected from ACS Discoveries! 1- Chair-Elect 2- Treasurer 3- Councilor 4- Alternate Councilor 5- Director 6- Trustee ACS Nano The description of the various positions can be found at our section's website at: In the study, Dhiraj Prasai and colleagues point out that rusting and other corrosion of metals is a serious global problem, and intense efforts are underway to find new ways to slow or prevent it. http://www.csuohio.edu/sciences/dept/cleveland_ acs/documents.htm “Miracle material” graphene is thinnest known anti-corrosion coating New research has established the “miracle material” called graphene as the world’s thinnest known coating for protecting metals against corrosion. Their study on this potential new use of graphene appears in ACS Nano. Page 3 Isotopics April 2012 Corrosion results from contact of the metal’s surface with air, water or other substances. One major approach involves coating metals with materials that shield the metal surface, but currently used materials have limitations. The scientists decided to evaluate graphene as a new coating. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms, many layers of which are in lead pencils and charcoal, and is the thinnest, strongest known material. That’s why it is called the miracle material. In graphene, the carbon atoms are arranged like a chicken-wire fence in a layer so thin that is transparent, and an ounce would cover 28 football fields. They found that graphene, whether made directly on copper or nickel or transferred onto another metal, provides protection against corrosion. Copper coated by growing a single layer of graphene through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) corroded seven times slower than bare copper, and nickel coated by growing multiple layers of graphene corroded 20 times slower than bare nickel. Remarkably, a single layer of graphene provides the same corrosion protection as conventional organic coatings that are more than five times thicker. Graphene coatings could be ideal corrosion-inhibiting coatings in applications where a thin coating is favorable, such as microelectronic components (e.g., interconnects, aircraft components and implantable devices), say the scientists. The researchers acknowledge funding from the National Science Foundation. ACS Special Award Winners at the 2012 Northeastern Ohio Science and Engineering Fair By Michael Lienhard The 2012 NEOSEF was held at Cleveland State University on March 12–15, 2012. Over 600 students in grades 7-12 participated in the fair. During the judging session on March 13, volunteer judges for the Cleveland section of the ACS reviewed approximately 150 projects entered into the Chemistry Category and selected the award winners: American Chemical Society Cleveland Section First Place ($100): John Boykin, St Peter Chanel High. “Can recycled plastics and polymers be used in structural masonry block?” Second Place ($75): Krish Shah, Westlake High. “Electrochemical Detection of NO from Biological Cells” Third Place ($50): Nicholas Neill, St Vincent St Mary High. “The effect of carbohydrate base on polymer wound/burn applicant” Honorable Mention ($25): Ariana Starkman, Agnon. “How does solute type and concentration affect capillarity?” Honorable Mention ($25): Paige Rogozinski, St Raphael. “Get the lead out: effects of pH in extracting lead” Honorable Mention ($25): Abrar Alniemi, St Vincent St Mary High. “Modifying Microgel Characteristics via Starting Molecular Weight” Honorable Mention ($25): Ian Bell, Garfield Middle. “How does solute concentration affect color density in cyanotype paper production?” Honorable Mention ($25): Preston Hollopeter, St Vincent St Mary High. “Comparing the Stability of X- and B- Alamine Peptide B- Sheets for Recyclable Rubber” Honorable Mention ($25): Shreyas Tallamraju, Solon High. “Biodiesel from Jatropha Oil” In recognition of their achievements, the award winners have been invited to attend the April ACS meeting, display their posters at the social hour, and receive their awards. The election slate will be printed and announced in our May meeting and ballots will be sent out in the beginning in August 2012. Page 4 Isotopics April 2012 American Chemical Society Cleveland Section May Conference Meeting-in-Miniature Student Awards By Brian Perry Students Receiving Awards for Excellent Presentations at the 2012 Meeting-in-Miniature of the Cleveland Section of the American Chemical Society The 56th Annual May Conference will be held on Wed. May 23 at John Carroll University. The conference is being co-sponsored by the SAS, ACS, AVS, and Microscopy Society. The program will include a keynote address from Dr. Melissa Knothe Tate, the Yeager Award presentation, and the Morley lecture from Dr. Malcolm Chisholm. We are currently putting the program together and are looking for papers. Please contact Brian Perry at brian_perry@lord.com if you are interested in presenting. Registration information will be sent at a later date but the conference and lunch will be free to students. Graduate Students ($300) Bhagya Gunasekera - Cleveland State University Vasily Ignatenko - Case Western University Satya Nandana Narla - Cleveland State University Celalettin Topbas - Cleveland State University Undergraduate Awards ($250) Adam Birdsall - Oberlin College Liv Dedon - Oberlin College Joseph Hamilton - Oberlin College Ryan Kowalski - Case Western Reserve University March Historical Events in Chemistry By Leopold May The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC April 6, 1928 Fifty years ago in 1962, James D. Watson shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with F. H. C. Crick and M. H. F. Wilkins for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material. He was born on this date and is a researcher on the double helix structure of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule. April 10, 1790 The U. S. Patent Office was established on this date according to Article 8, Section 1 of the Constitution. The first patent was on potash and pearl ash granted to Samuel Hopkins. April 22, 1919 Twenty-five years ago in 1987, Donald J. Cram shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with C. J. Pedersen and J-M. P. Lehn for their development and use of molecules with structure-specific interactions of high selectivity. He did research in the application of stereochemical techniques to organic reaction mechanism; invented carceplexes or guest molecules completely encapsulated by the host, synthesized a variety of host-guest complexes including crown ether complexes and was born on this date. April 28, 1937 Seventy-five years ago in 1837, Champion International was incorporated on this date. Page 5 Isotopics April 2012 American Chemical Society Cleveland Section Morley Award Winner The Morley Award is an annual award recognizing significant contributions to chemistry through achievements in research, teaching, engineering, research administration and public service, outstanding service to humanity, or to industrial progress in the region. Congratulations to: Prof. Malcolm Chisholm The Ohio State University The Medal will be presented at the Cleveland Section meeting in May 2012. 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, events, and more. If you have an idea for an Isotopics article, please contact the editor. Isotopics is also looking for local members to join our staff. Time commitments for staff members are minimal (a few hours a year!) and your contributions will be invaluable to our local section. If you are interested in joining Isotopics, please contact the editor.