LETTERS
MISGUIDED INITIATIVE OKAY. My mind is thoroughly boggled. A
guest editorial by Sunil Kumar announces a program sponsored by the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) America International Group to introduce American undergraduate chemistry and chemical engineering majors to careers in the chemical industry (C&EN, Nov. 16, 2009, page 3). This is certainly a generous offer. In the same issue of C&EN (page 5) is news that Pfizer has HOW TO R E AC H US CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
■ Our e-mail address is
[email protected]. ■ Our fax number is (202) 872-8727. ■ Or you can send your letter to: C&EN Editor-in-Chief 1155—16th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 ■ Letters should generally be 400 words or fewer and should include the writer’s full name, address, and home telephone; letters may be edited for purposes of clarity and space. Because of the heavy volume of mail received at C&EN, writers are limited to one letter in a six-month period.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
■ Send all new and renewal subscriptions and requests for subscription rates to ACS, Dept. L-0011, Columbus, OH 43268-0011. ■ Changes of address, claims for missing issues, subscription orders, status of records, and accounts should be directed to Manager, Member & Subscriber Services, ACS, P.O. Box 3337, Columbus, OH 43210; telephone (800) 333-9511 or (614) 447-3776; or send an e-mail to
[email protected].
REPRINTS AND PERMISSIONS
■ Information on obtaining permission for copying articles is available at pubs.acs.org/cen/copyright.html. ■ For quotes and information on ordering bulk reprints, call CJS Reprint Services at (866) 487-5625 or (410) 943-3683, e-mail:
[email protected].
ADVERTISING
■ For advertising rates and our editorial calendar, contact ACS Publications’ Advertising Sales Group, 480 East Swedesford Rd., Suite 220, Wayne, PA 19087; telephone (610) 9648061; or fax (610) 964-8071.
ACS INFORMATION
■ For more information about American Chemical Society activities and departments, call (800) 227-5558. When prompted, ask for operator assistance. Or visit the ACS website, www.acs.org.
already terminated or is about to terminate approximately 19,000 employees. Am I the only one who sees the irony in this? In my opinion, it would be much more generous and conscientious if SCI America International, whose membership includes more than 40 of the country’s largest chemical companies, were to do something to help those 19,000 people and the many more thousands of unemployed chemists and chemical engineers who have already committed their careers to the American chemical industry. From what I have read in C&EN recently, the most helpful things SCI America International can do for U.S. undergraduate chemistry and chemical engineering majors is to buy them lessons in Mandarin and Hindi and tickets to Shanghai, Singapore, and Mumbai, because that’s where the jobs are. Gerard J. Putz Jefferson, Md. I APPRECIATE the spirit of the SCI initia-
tive, but like so many, it does not address the real issue. If we want to create more scientists, we need to create more highpaying scientific jobs. If the reward is there, the students will enroll. Getting a degree in the sciences is hard, finding a job in the sciences is hard, performing on the job is hard. So why would a student go into this field with all of these challenges when the reward in the form of compensation is not there? Why would someone go through all this when they could earn twice as much in a nonscience business field? Initiatives that deal with these disparities are what I would like to see. Matt S. Melvin Winston-Salem, N.C. GENDER EQUITY IN SCIENCE EDUCATION A BASIC PREMISE behind the push for
gender equity is wrong (C&EN, Aug. 24, 2009, page 31). In the process of structuring our schools to encourage girls, we’ve inadvertently taken out of the schools something necessary for all children, and especially boys, to learn. This nation used to be a nation of small schools where there was plenty of open space for vigorous play. Besides that, children were required to perform everyday chores, which included hunting, farming, building fences, and lots of work around the home. WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
4
JANUARY 2 5, 20 10
Now, we have big schools with limited outdoor recreational facilities, and our children have few, if any, chores at home. This means school athletes are the only children who have assured access to an abundance of vigorous exercise. The rest get structured recesses and physical education classes and have to trade vigorous fun-filled play for adultdirected physical exercise. From this we get fidgety kids who have trouble sitting still in class. So we tell parents their children have attention deficit disorder and encourage placing them on drugs such as Ritalin. We’re doping our kids because they aren’t getting enough exercise and so are having trouble learning. If you look at the statistics, you’ll see the vast majority of the children taking these drugs are boys. And we wonder why our children, especially the boys, are having problems. Michael Jemiola Redondo Beach, Calif. ‘AFRICAN AMERICANS AND SCIENCE’ THE INFORMATIVE guest editorial by
Sibrina N. Collins calls to mind the accomplishments of W. Lincoln Hawkins (Linc, to his friends), an alumnus of Rensselaer (B.Ch.E. 1932) (C&EN, Oct. 26, 2009, page 3). Hawkins was a recipient of the National Medal of Technology and the first African American engineer inducted into the National Academy of Engineering. More information is on the Web at web.mit.edu/ invent/iow/hawkins.html. James A. Moore Troy, N.Y. THANK YOU for publishing “African Amer-
icans And Science.” I do not usually see articles of this type outside of Black History Month. Thank you for taking the time to recognize this important issue. Delwin Elder Allentown, Pa. ONLINE CHEMISTRY EDUCATION I READ WITH great interest the article
“Learning Chemistry Online” (C&EN, Sept. 7, 2009, page 97). It is a pleasure to know that online education has finally caught up with the chemistry academic community.
LETTERS
At Illinois Institute of Technology, we implemented distance learning in chemistry in 1996. It started with our professional master’s programs, which are course-based degrees. Students in this program are chemists working in various chemical industrial sectors. Their research projects are their work projects. At first, the program was offered via satellite TV to students in the Chicago area. With advances in Internet access, the lectures were streamed live and posted on the Web. Over a 10-year period, we have received numerous comments from students who say they are so happy they found us. Recently, one graduate from an industrial mineral company remarked, “Without the online option, I simply could not have obtained a higher degree in my area.” It is gratifying to hear comments like this, and it is time that chemistry education online receives its due recognition. Diep Nguyen Chicago COALITION BUILDING THROUGH HUMAN RIGHTS
ing that the coalition fulfills its important mission. Mona Younis Washington, D.C. LET’S LIGHTEN UP AUDRA J. WOLFE’S review of “The Invis-
ible Kingdom” by Idan Ben-Barak claims that American readers are likely to find the book “puerile” (C&EN, Oct. 12, 2009, page 57). She then goes on to imply that the author writes that microbes “transform atmospheric nitrogen into a form we can breathe.” I think Wolfe is dead wrong on both counts. The book is a lively, funny, almost witty, certainly snarky, and colorful introduction to many of the modern facts and theories about our invisible world. Ben-Barak makes no statement or implication that we need the help of microbes to breathe atmospheric nitrogen. If Wolfe wants literature references, I suggest she pick up an upper-level textbook. I believe all scientific fields would
AS THE FORMER director of the Science
& Human Rights Program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), I was delighted to read Linda Wang’s article on the July 2009 meeting of the program’s Science & Human Rights Coalition (C&EN, Aug. 24, 2009, page 28). The article does a nice job of highlighting the need for scientists to participate in efforts to advance human rights throughout the world. By bringing together scientific associations with decades-long experience in calling attention to human-rights violations endured by scientists, the coalition should be able to enhance and expand the efforts that Zafra Lerman rightly notes as so important. The article points to some of the ways scientists can help, including bringing their expertise to bear on human-rights challenges and addressing the violations that result from “bad science.” ACS has much to contribute to this more ambitious vision of scientists’ engagement in human rights. AAAS should be commended for its leadership in mobilizing more science and scientists for efforts to realize human rights. Rather than waiting to see how the coalition does, I very much hope ACS will join the coalition and bring its weight and experience to bear in ensur-
benefit from a popular, humorous treatment, especially my own field of organic chemistry. If we insist on being pompous and elitist (or “mature” as Wolfe terms it), we confirm our status as out of touch with real people. Tom Flechtner Richmond Heights, Ohio BEATEN TO THE PUNCH I FULLY SUPPORT E. Ellsworth Hack-
man’s position that nuclear fission is the most logical and best developed alternative energy source for the U.S. (C&EN, Sept. 14, 2009, page 4). I also found his comments on crude oil and natural gas to be interesting. However, he was beaten to the punch on that by Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the former shah of Iran, who suggested back in the 1970s that crude oil be valued as a chemical feedstock. At the time, crude was selling for about $3.00 to $5.00 per barrel. He wanted to charge $20/bbl. Stephen Swedberg Anthem, Ariz.
O
N
N
S
O
N
559139
O
194019
O
O F
N
F
Purity.
N
F
F
784867
N
O
Availability. Value.
S
N
296966
NH N
N
HO
N
O N+ O–
H 2N N
274569
O
N NH
O O N
299849
286642
5
JANUARY 2 5, 20 10
NH NH 2
296461
HO
N
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
NH2
795523
Available In North America Exclusively From:
O Cl
N
Cl
www.jk-scientific.com
784835
N
N H
O
O
Cl
O
