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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 CORRESPONDENT: Lois R. Ember NEWS EDITOR: Janice R. Long ONLINE EDITION EDITOR: Melody Voith EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Michael Heylin CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Wilbert C. Lepkowski ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Patricia Oates PROGRAM ASSISTANT: Stephanie Wahl BUSINESS William J. Storck, Assistant Managing Editor Northeast: (732) 906-8300. 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) 496-6382, Paige Marie Morse (Associate Editor). Hong Kong: 852-2984-9072. Jean-François Tremblay (Bureau Head). London: 44 1818706884. Patricia Layman (Senior Editor) GOVERNMENT & POLICY David J. Hanson, Assistant Managing Editor Washington: (202) 872-4495. Julie L. Grisham (Associate Editor), Bette Hileman (Senior Editor), Jeffrey W. Johnson (Senior Editor), William G. Schulz (Associate Editor) SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY/EDUCAnON Pamela S. Zurer, Assistant Managing Editor Washington: (202) 8724411. 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) 906-8301. Stephen C. Stinson (Senior Editor). Chicago: (773) 463-2371. Mitch Jacoby (Associate Editor). West Coast (510) 849-0575. Elizabeth Κ Wilson (Associate Editor). London: 44 1256-811052. Michael Freemantle (Senior Editor) ACS NEWS Linda R. Raber (ACS News Editor), Kevin R. MacDermott (Program Assistant) E D n i N G & PRODUCTION Ernest L Carpenter, Assistant Managing Editor JanetS. Dodd (Associate Editor), Robin M. Giroux (Senior Editor), Arlene Goldberg-Gist (Associate Editor), Rita E. Johnson (Assistant Editor), Stephen Κ Ritter (Associate Editor), Diana L Slade (Assistant Editor)
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•EDITOR'S PAGE
Guilty As Charged!
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In another story, Jeff Johnson re n avid and mightily annoyed C&EN reader chided me for my Editor's ports on the challenges of storing highPage of March 15, titled "Chem level radioactive and hazardous waste in ists—and Proud of It," as well as for other the government's first underground editorials in which I've praised the accom waste repository. Bette Hileman looks at plishments of chemists. He wrote, "One the latest efforts to evaluate the effective expects individuals to defend their profes ness of the Commerce Department's Ad vanced Technology Program, which sion. However, enough is enough." In case you breezed past that partic over the course of its existence has in ular Editor's Page, the offending words volved numerous cooperative programs pointed out a continuing challenge for among chemical professionals in indus our profession: That too often other dis try, academia, and government. ciplines get credit for the work of chem Chemists work at the most funda ists. "As the central science," I wrote, mental levels in understanding life. In her "chemistry has long been involved in story 'Taking a Clue from Biology," Re work at the interface of many disciplines, becca Rawls describes work in the hot especially biology. But chemists risk the field of molecular recognition—"a tantaliz danger of becoming invisible unless they ing target for chemists trying to develop actively tell their success stories to a synthetic materials that capture some of broader audience." the exquisite sensitivity that some biologi These statements sent my reader cal systems have to recognize specific over the edge! He fumed: 'There is this molecules." Mitch Jacoby reports on the business of chemistry, the central sci cooperation of heavy-element theoreti ence. Who came up with this misleading cians and experimentalists to address en and empty statement? Thousands of sci vironmental cleanup of nuclear wastes. entists don't use any chemistry in their And for the ultimate in centrality, Sophie work. . . . What is the central science? I Wilkinson reports on the latest research on the health-related benefits of coffee don't care." It is, however, our business to care. and chocolate. (Imagine life without cof As the newsmagazine of the chemical fee and chocolate!) The ACS meeting briefs present a world, Chemical & Engineering News has the responsibility to capture those sto cornucopia of examples of chemistry's ries that illustrate just how central chem usefulness, from the development of a istry is to our daily lives and livelihoods. breathable, shirtweight fabric that can To do this, we write about all the areas protect agricultural workers by detoxify that chemistry touches—agriculture, ing pesticides to which they're exposed, electronics, biology, medicine, environ to the synthesis of a folic acid derivative mental science, computer science, engi that could be used as an imaging agent neering, geology, physics, metallurgy, for a wide variety of tumors. mineralogy—the list goes on. Elsewhere in this issue, Stephen This week's issue is a good example Stinson describes a unique course at of the centrality—and breadth—of chem Cornell University that exposes chemis istry. The News of the Week features, try and other science majors to the nuts among others, stories by Lois Ember, and bolts of entrepreneurship. I am tempted to say to my aggrieved Pamela Zurer, and Michael Freemantle on, respectively, Baxter Labs' commit reader, "I rest my case." But in fact, we ment to develop alternatives to PVC intra never do rest here at C&EN. Our job is venous bags; an efficient, cost-effective to continually report on the impact— method of removing trichlorethylene from both positive and negative—of chemis clay soils; and the incorporation of a try in our daily lives. This takes nothing fullerene derivative into a photovoltaic cell. away from the important work of other Marc Reisch explores chemistry's disciplines. If I'm an advocate on occa role in providing personal care products sion for the positive cause of chemistry for the growing ethnic market, Paige and chemists, well, all I can say is, Morse writes about the effect on consum "Guilty as charged!" ers and the industry of California's phaseout of MTBE as a gasoline oxygenate, and Ronald Rogers details the impact on small chemical makers of the requirements to Editor-in-chief test high-production-volume chemicals.
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