NEWS understanding of solvation phenomena, specifically with respect to chemical separations. Roland Hirsch, the current chairman of the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry, will serve as ex officio member of the board. Hirsch a t t e n d e d Oberlin College and the University of Michigan before joining the faculty of Seton Hall University in 1965. His research interests include chemometrics and ion exchange. H e served on the board from 1983 to 1985 and is currently on leave from Seton Hall to serve as program manager for separations and analytical chemistry with the Chemical Sciences Division of the U.S. D e p a r t m e n t of Energy.
Arnold Beckman Awarded Vermilye Medal T h e board of trustees of T h e Franklin Institute recently honored Arnold Beckman with the Vermilye Medal, one of the most prestigious awards offered by the Institute. T h e medal is given to individuals who have "exemplified outstanding leadership in business and industry, particularly those industries relating to the fields of science and technology." Beckman was cited for his work on the potentiometer, t h e manufacture of ultracentrifuges and electrophoresis instruments, the development of the glucose analyzer and the automated stat routine analyzer (ASTRA), and for his role in merging SmithKline Corp. and Beckman I n s t r u m e n t s into one of the most significant health care corporations in the United States. T h e Vermilye Medal was established in 1937 by William Vermilye, a member of t h e Institute's board of managers. Since its inception, only 18 medals have been awarded. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of this award. Because this coincided with the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution, the Institute's board of trustees decided to incorporate this award into a new series of Benjamin Franklin National Awards. These awards will be given for outstanding achievement in the various fields in which Benjamin Franklin excelled. Beckman received a B.S. degree in chemical engineering (1922) and an M.S. degree in physical chemistry (1923) from the University of Illinois. H e received a P h . D . degree (1928) from the California Institute of Technology and was on the faculty there until 1940, when he resigned to devote his time to the development and manufacture of scientific instruments. He founded Beckman Instruments, Inc., in 1935 with t h e development of the p H meter. In 1940 he improved the design of one of the parts of the p H meter—the potentiometer—making it suitable for use on new radar equipment. T h e end result was the development of the helipot, which has numerous applications in computers and control systems, scientific instruments, and electronic games. In 1954 Beckman acquired the Specialized Instruments Corp., which focused on the design and manufacture of ultracentrifuges and electrophoresis instruments. T h e Beckman centrifuges were instrumental in isolating the polio virus, a discovery t h a t led to the development of the vaccine. In 1968 a clinical instruments division was formed to address the growing needs of the hospital laboratory. In 1969 the glucose analyzer was designed to measure the level of
glucose in serum. Other instruments were developed shortly thereafter to measure levels of various compounds in serum, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid. In 1978 the company developed ASTRA, a system t h a t combines the capabilities of several instruments into one. T h e union of SmithKline and Beckman in 1982 allowed a merging of technologies, markets, people, and products. Through its divisions and subsidiaries the corporation has been able to service a wide spectrum of health care. Beckman has served on the board of Caltech and is a member of the advisory board of California State University, Fullerton, and the President's Club of the University of Illinois. He is the founder of the I n s t r u m e n t Society of America. Through the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, Beckman and his wife have made philanthropic contributions for the advancement of education and research. Previous recipients of the Vermilye Medal include T h o m a s Watson Jr., (chairman of the board, I B M Corp., 1967), William Hewlett (chairman and president) and David Packard (chief executive officer) of Hewlett-Packard Co. (1975), and K e n n e t h Olsen (founder and president, Digital E q u i p m e n t Corp., 1980).
Harry Drickamer Receives Welch Award in Chemistry Harry Drickamer, professor of chemistry, chemical engineering, and physics at the University of Illinois, U r b a n a Champaign, recently received the 1987 Welch Award in Chemistry. T h e Houston-based Welch Foundation annually honors one of "the world's outstanding researchers for career contributions to chemistry for the ' b e t t e r m e n t of mankind.' " T h e Foundation's board of trustees selects the award recipient on the basis of recommendations from their scientific advisory board, which is composed of eight of the world's leading chemists. T h e award consists of a certificate and $225,000. According to Jack Josey, president of the Welch Foundation, Drickamer was recognized for "his discovery of pressure-tuning spectroscopy at very high pressures, which has contributed greatly to the world's understanding of modern science including chemistry, physics, biochemistry, geology, geophysics, and other disciplines." T h e Welch Foundation, established 33 years ago to foster basic research in chemistry and related sciences, administers major research grants to outstanding research professors and their aides at various Texas universities and colleges, as well as to other programs for the advancement of the chemical sciences. Drickamer received B.S.E. (1941), M.S. (1942), and Ph.D. (1946) degrees from the University of Michigan before joining the staff at the University of Illinois in 1946. He has received numerous awards, including the Buckley Solid-State Physics Award (1967), the Ipatieff Prize (1956), the Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics (1974), and the Chemical Pioneers Award (1983). Examples of developments made possible by his controlled high-pressure techniques include LEDs, q u a n t u m well lasers, reversible denaturation of proteins and m u t a n t viruses, new and more efficient superconductors and semiconductors, a greater understanding of the composition of planets, synthetic diamonds, advanced elucidation of the photographic process, improvement of phosphor efficiency, and the design of practical energy recovery systems.
20 A · ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 60, NO. 1, JANUARY 1, 1988
