Chemical Education Today
From Past Issues
The More Things Change… Volume 1, Number 6 The June 1924 issue began with a paper by J. G. Dely, Chief Chemist of the Atmospheric Nitrogen Corporation, who interrelated chemical education and chemists’ work in industry. Dely suggested that undergraduate courses did not pay enough attention to practical application of principles, argued that college graduates failed to apply common sense and did not use their imagination when they took on industrial work, and listed eight important characteristics of an industrial chemist. In a major article, G. H. Cartledge of the Johns Hopkins University characterized physical chemistry as “the stepchild” of the undergraduate curriculum and said that it had not received “the same original thought, practical application, and pedagogical skill” that had been applied to general chemistry. Nevertheless, Cartledge characterized general chemistry as crowded with “an ever increasing mass of principles” to the extent that it was “much larger than we can teach with any degree of thoroughness”. He argued that for beginners a foundation of facts should be laid before an edifice of theory is constructed and that physical-chemistry principles should be integrated within organic and inorganic courses. The New England Association of Chemistry Teachers reported on a meeting that commemorated its 25th anniversary, and on availability of an unabridged version of “The Earlier and Later Days of Chemistry in New England”, which contained photographs of many prominent New England chemists. (This current issue also contains a report from NEACT, beginning on page 679.) Volume 25, Number 6 The June 1948 issue was also replete with history of chemistry. Three papers were devoted to the activities of Ernst Cohen and Charles Albert Browne as chemical historians. Another paper was filled with chemical caricatures, such as the one of Jean-Baptiste Dumas (by Honoré Daumier) shown here. P. R. 650
Ray, University College of Science and Technology, Calcutta, provided a detailed view of chemistry in ancient and medieval India. N. S. MacDonald, Occidental College, described construction of a model for the potential-energy surface for the reaction of a chlorine atom with a hydrogen molecule. Made by cutting Lucite layers according to the potentialenergy contours, gluing them together, and then sanding the surfaces smooth, the model occupied a cube approximately four inches on a side. A lecture demonstration showing anodization of aluminum was presented by R. C. Spooner and H. P. Godard of Aluminum Laboratories Ltd., Kingston, Ontario. Volume 50, Number 6 The Chemical Instrumentation feature contained a paper by E. M. Winkler and M. van Swaay, Kansas State University, on microelectronics and miniatur-
ization. The rapidity of developments in this area can be seen by comparing the devices described in this article with our March 1998 cover, which shows an eight-inch wafer that contains more electronic components than there are people on earth. A paper titled “Synthesis Sheets” by W. Clark Still discussed approaches to multi-step organic syntheses, advocating retrosynthetic analysis and 11⫻14-in. sheets like the one shown (which appeared on the cover). W. J. le Noble and Y-S. Chang described the ranges of rate constants needed for a transient intermediate to be visible during a reaction and provided an example: reaction of
Jean-Baptiste Dumas (by Honoré Daumier). J. Chem. Educ. 1948, 25 , 323–326.
chloracetylhydrazide hydrochloride with concentrated aqueous base, in which a yellow intermediate could be seen during conversion of a colorless reactant to a colorless product. Syntheses of several interesting compounds were available. An undergraduate preparation of dimethylsilicone oil, from which “bouncing putty” could be made, was provided by D. A. Armitage, M. N. Hughes, and A. W. Sinden of Queen Elizabeth College, London. Synthesis of a photochromic spiropyran was reported by R. Guglielmetti, R. Meyer, and C. Dupuy, University of Occidental Britain and University of Provence-St-Jerome. In his editorial, Tom Lippincott described an NSF-sponsored study of innovations and innovators that examined the development of the heart pacemaker, the Green Revolution, electrophotography, input–output economic analysis, organophosphorus insecticides, oral contraceptives, magnetic ferrites, and the videotape recorder. Six of these would not have been possible without chemical research. Knowledge, motivation, communication, and interdisciplinary connections were important in all of them, and an individual was instrumental in making each innovation happen. Lippincott concluded, “the ‘system’ is programmed to maintain the status quo; only individuals of unusual courage, dedication, and ability can propel it to progress”. Would that we had more individuals like Tom Lippincott to help propel us to progress.
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 75 No. 6 June 1998 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
