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[email protected] C&EN Online: http://pubs.acs.org/cen EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Madeleine Jacobs MANAGING EDITOR: Rudy M. Baum ART DIRECTOR: Robin L. Braverman SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS: Lois R. Ember, Wilbert C. Lepkowski NEWS EDITOR: Janice R. Long ONLINE EDITION EDITOR: Melody Voith EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Michael Heylin ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Patricia Oates PROGRAM ASSISTANT: Kevin R. MacDermott BUSINESS William J. Storck, Assistant Managing Editor Northeast: (732) 9068300. Michael McCoy (Senior Editor), Marc S. Reisch (Senior Editor), Ronald S. Rogers (Associate Editor), Rachel Eskenazi (Administrative Assistant). Houston: (281) 486-3900, Ann M. Thayer (Bureau Head), (281) 4966382, Paige Marie Morse (Associate Editor). Hong Kong: 852-2984-9072. JeanFrançois Tremblay (Bureau Head). London: 4A 181 8706884. Patricia Layman (Senior Editor) GOVERNMENT David J. Hanson, Assistant Managing Editor Washington: (202) 872-4495. Bette Hileman (Senior Editor), Jeffrey W. Johnson (Senior Editor), Linda R. Raber (Associate Editor) SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY/EDUCATION Pamela S. Zurer, Assistant Managing Editor Washington: (202) 8724505. Stuart A. Borman (Senior Correspondent), Mairin B. Brennan (Senior Editor), Doron Dagani (Senior Correspondent), Rebecca L. Rawls (Senior Correspondent), A. Maureen Rouhi (Senior Editor), Sophie L. Wilkinson (Associate Editor). Northeast· (732) 9068301. Stephen C. Stinson (Senior Editor). Chicago: (773) 463-2371. Mitch Jacoby (Assistant Editor). West Coast: (510) 849^575. Elizabeth K. Wilson (Associate Editor). London: 44 1256θ11052. Michael Freemantle (Senior Editor) ACS NEWS William G. Schulz (ACS News Editor), Diana L. Slade (Assistant Editor) EDITING & PRODUCTION Ernest L. Carpenter, Assistant Managing Editor Janet S. Dodd (Associate Editor), Robin M. Giroux (Se nior Editor), Arlene Goldberg-Gist (Associate Editor), Julie L. Grisham (Associate Editor), Rita E. Johnson (Assistant Editor), Stephen K. Ritter (Associate Editor) PUBLISHING & CREATIVE SERVICES William R. Succolosky (Head), Linda Mattingly (Staff Artist). Composition Systems: Vincent L. Parker (Manager), Meltem Akbasli (Assistant) CIRCULATION Circulation Manager: Scott Nathan ADVISORY BOARD Jeannene Ackerman, Steven W. Baldwin, Ronald Breslow, Vincent A. Calarco, Marvin Cassman, Mar garet A. Cavanaugh, Debbie C. Crans, Frank L. Doug las, John G. Ekerdt, Slayton A. Evans Jr., J. Michael Fitzpatrick, Renée G. Ford, Mary L. Good, Carlos G. Gutierrez, Dudley R. Herschbach, J. Roger Hirl, Robert J. Huggett, Robert S. Langer, Robert L. Lichter, Stephen J. Lippard, Leo E. Manzer, Gary L. Mossman, Hans C. Noetzli, Jane Margaret O'Brien, Gregory A. Petsko, Douglas J. Raber, Alan Schriesheim, Ian Shott, Richard E. Smalley, Gabor A. Somorjai, Enrique J. Sosa, Kathleen C. Taylor Published by AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY (202) 872-4600; TDD (202) 872-4432 John Kistler Crum, Executive Director Robert D. Bovenschulte, Director, Publications Division EDITORIAL BOARD Michael P. Doyle (Chair); ACS Board of Directors Chair: Henry F. Whalen; ACS President: Ed Wasserman; Daryle H. Busch, Lura J. Powell, Joan E. Shields, Paul H. L. Walter. © Copyright 1999, American Chemical Society Canadian GST Reg. No. R127571347
•EDITOR'S PAGE
Chemistry On My Mind
A
colleague who is also an editor recently asked me, "How do you find your muse each week?" I think he was amazed—or maybe he was horrified—that I write an Editor's Page nearly every week. It's true that periodically my muse goes on vacation or hides in the closet. But when that happens, I'm fairly lucky because I can find inspiration about chemistry in almost anything in my daily routine. And that's because since the age of 13, I have thought about everything in terms of chemistry—even when I'm relaxing. Take last weekend. I was in La Jolla, Calif., for a weekend business meeting. The weather was divine, as it can sometimes be in January in California; it was especially divine because I had just left 5 inches of snow in Washington. Anyhow, the meeting recessed at 3 PM, and several of us immediately set off on a hike in Torrey Pines State Reserve, a magnificent wilderness island in San Diego's urban sea. It's a small place—just 2,000 acres—but it has something for everyone. Perched 300 feet above the Pacific, the park has nifty hiking trails, chaparral plants, prickly pear cactuses, wildflowers, the nation's rarest pine tree (Pinus torreyand), unspoiled beaches, and a lagoon that attracts migrating birds. As I strolled in the bright sunshine down a steep, rock-strewn path toward the beach below, a sweaty and determined young jogger came charging past—throwing up a spray of sand from the trail. He didn't seem all that happy—come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a jogger smile. But I digress. All I could think about when I saw this jogger was: "Twenty years from now, if he keeps that up, he'll be a perfect candidate for a knee replacement." Then I thought about my father and his knee replacement—and how that surgery hadn't gone so well. Several months after the operation, when my dad was still having problems walking, the surgeon learned that the
Views expressed
lack of success was due to a materials failure in the implant—a rare but troublesome complication. One thought soon led to another and pretty soon I was thinking about the story on biomaterials by Senior Editor Maureen Rouhi that I had just reviewed for this week's issue of C&EN (see page 51). Heart valves, blood vessel prostheses, hip and knee joint replacements, pacemakers, intraocular lens implants, dental implants, and contact lensesjust to name a few biomaterials—have saved millions of lives and made life better for millions more, Rouhi writes. But the performance of most medical implant materials is far from perfect. That's because most biomaterials were developed from a materials perspective only, with a concern for mechanical properties, physical properties, and ease of fabrication. Today, researchers recognize that the biological response to any implanted material is determined by both the chemistry and the morphology of the implant's surface. Researchers are applying advances in cellular and molecular biology and surface characterization techniques to better engineer and design implants. This is fascinating, cutting-edge research in an area where chemists and chemical engineers are making an obvious and major contribution to health and quality of life. By the way, I want to make it clear to all you joggers who plan to write me that I have nothing against joggers. Some of my best friends are joggers, but let's be honest: You may befitas a fiddle, but your knees are a disaster waiting to happen. As for me, this time of year my preference is spectator sitting—it's inexpensive, independent of the weather, doesn't require travel, and has a low injury rate. So why not curl up in your easy chair with this week's issue of Chemical & Engineering News? Now that's what I call fun!
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JANUARY 18, 1999 C&EN 5
