Chemical Education Today
Editorial
My Favorite Elements This issue is all about the chemical elements—the building Those of you who have visited JCE booths at meetings or blocks from which come the more than 49 million inorganic wanted JCE publicity materials shipped to you will be familiar and organic compounds registered by the Chemical Abstracts with Linda Fanis. Like the elements whose symbols adorn her Service (http://www.cas.org/cgi-bin/cas/regreport.pl) and the name, Linda reacts rapidly and completely to such requests. many benefits those substances bring to our society. I hope that Linda’s activity level is very high and will be higher in the future you learn a lot more about the elements from this issue and the now that she is business manager for the Journal. JCE issues are resources it refers to. I also hope that you will pass along what prepared for JCE Online by Ed Fedosky. It seems fitting that you learn to your students and colleagues. the technical aspects of Journal production would involve iron, One of the features this month is a series of articles by an element that in one way or another has long been associated chemists/teachers about their favorwith information storage. ite elements and why those elements Another important element These essential elements of the JCE are so likeable (pp 1131–1141). in our success is Erica Jacobsen. Every one of these articles contains Currently she serves as the high deserve your strongest possible thanks. tidbits that you can use to spice up school editor, as editor of the JCE your teaching and bring more of the Classroom Activity column, and in They certainly have mine. human element to your students. several other capacities. Like erbium, Another article describes the EleErica never tarnishes. Every time the ments on Facebook project, which enables anyone to become a bar is raised she clears it handily. She is a joy to work with and fan of one or more elements (p 1168). A good assignment would she continually comes up with new, useful, interesting ideas. Not be for students to choose a favorite element, do research on its only that, she carries them out—on time and at the highest level properties, uses, and other characteristics, and then enter inforof quality. Erbium is a super element. mation into the element’s page in Facebook. A similar project Next are the most important elements of all. Sulfur, holmium, and molybdenum. Mary Saecker, Jon Holmes, and Elizabeth that does not involve Facebook is described on p 1142. Moore have been associate editors for the JCE since 1996; before With all the talk about favorite elements, I started thinking that Jon and Betty did essential work for JCE Software. about my favorite elements, but with a slight twist. My favorite Mary supervises submissions from acceptance to publicaelements are those that have been the building blocks of success tion. She supports serendipity by juxtaposing articles that are for this Journal during the 13 years of my editorship. In this my related, and performs myriad other tasks that take the Journal’s last editorial I want to thank those elements that have made your quality to the highest plane. Like sulfur she is bright, cheery, Journal what it is. and creatively involved in a broad range of contributions to Let’s begin with cerium (Ce). Copy editing is essential to everyone’s well being. maintaining high quality in any journal. Bernadette Caldwell, Holmium is a rare earth that is always found in combinaArrietta Clauss, and Liana Lamont have many properties that tion with other elements. Jon Holmes is a rare combination of have helped authors to improve their manuscripts beyond the technical expertise and ability to make technical information many comments the reviewers have made. That is attested to in understandable to those who need to know. He has been inthe letter to the editor that appears on p 1190. Like all but one strumental in devising and implementing the many technical of the elements whose symbols begin their names, they readadvances the JCE has made during the past 13 years. Many of ily react to content that is unclear or poorly stated, providing these, such as JCE Online are visible, but others, such as our authors with suggestions and clarifications. Even the unreactive manuscript handling data base are not. All work to perfection. Ar can enlighten when an electric discharge passes through it, More than 80% of molybdenum is used in alloys, and it also and Arrietta is always highly charged, so these favorite elements is contained in many catalysts. Betty Moore has alloyed herself are well suited to their responsibilities. with every aspect of JCE (and earlier JCE Software); she has also Next we have germanium (Ge). Graphics editing for the catalyzed much of the work all of us have done in bringing the JCE has been handled for nearly all of my 13 years by Randy Journal to where it stands today. That she has transformed the Wildman. Sometimes he seems to emanate radiation, so great is Chemical Education Today section in support of JCE and ACS his enthusiasm for his job, but usually he provides a steady light, outreach is obvious in every issue and especially in this one. This as does a tungsten filament. High quality graphics, both drawJournal would be a much duller place without her efforts. ings and photographs, have been Randy’s responsibility and his These essential elements of the JCE deserve your strongest passion—to our benefit. possible thanks. They certainly have mine. Another favorite is meitnerium (Mt). Manuscript tracking is an essential service that Alice Teter has provided for all of my 13 years. Interacting with the authors and reviewers of more than Supporting JCE Online Material 700 papers every year is a big task that requires both tact and toughness. Pure aluminum is soft, but when alloyed it is much http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2009/Oct/abs1113.html stronger—even when alloyed with tellurium. Alice has displayed Full text (HTML and PDF) with links to cited URLs the qualities of pure and alloyed aluminum in just the right mix Blogged at http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/chemeddl/ throughout her tenure with the JCE. © Division of Chemical Education • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • Vol. 86 No. 10 October 2009 • Journal of Chemical Education
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