EDUCATION
According to Campbell, a survey made b y t h e Southeast Texas Section of
increased Acreage-— Bigger Crops!
Safflower
Oil Keeps Pace With Growing Demand
the
AMERICAN CHEIMICAL S O C I E T Y
showed that more than one third of t h e chemistry teachers in 70 area high schools h a d neither majored n o r minored in chemistry. Some of t h e schools had no course in chemistry. The scholarship exam, especially t h e team competition feature, Campbell says, almost automatically assures u p grading the chemistry a n d other science courses in the high schools entering t h e competition. Exam questions a r e h a r d and stress fundamental principles a n d logical reasoning rather than data memorized from textbooks. Some of the immediate benefits of team com petition are: • In competing high schools the qual ity of education will b e improved for the whole class.
"Talent Scout" Winners 1 1956 yield of SaiHower ^ a s by far t h e biggest i n history. For 1957, greater acreage and advanced crop management promise at least 2 0 % increase.
A C S committee chooses four students for four-year, $ 4 0 0 0 Victor scholarships Jt* OUR IDEAS w h i c h can h e l p i n d u s t r y to encourage careers in science will send four young men t o college in t h e fall. Ideas were the best entries in "Talent Scout," Victor Chemical's na
• Make-up of the exam questions, which stress modern technology a n d theories, will upgrade course content. • T e a m scores rate high schools in t h e area fairly accurately. In the first competitive exam 211 students from 4 0 high schools took part. There were 30 teams entered in the competition and scholarships a w a r d e d totaled $2000. Campbell is very enthusiastic about t h e results of the first annual competi tion. In fact, h e thinks the program succeeded so well that competitive exams of this type should be conducted o n a nation-wide basis. If this were clone, the team scores would rate the cnudity of high school science education in all the regions of the United States. Publication of the scores, Campbell says, should stimulate weaker regions t o improve their programs.
tionwide science scholarship contest (C&EN, Sept. 10, 1956, page 4 3 7 7 ) . W i n n i n g students were named by each of the contestants for a four-year, S40O0 scholarship in science or engi neering. From the suggestions submitted, the best 20 were selected and 20 high school seniors graduating this year were nominated for an award. T h e contest then passed to a six-man com mittee, appointed by the AMERICAN CHEMICAL
SOCIETY,
which
screened
Β PVO's long range Safflower program has been geared to meet your growing requirements for Safflower oil. Your future supply is assured. B9 Make your long-term contract now for 1957 deliveries of Safflower Oil. Check Your Local PVO Representative far Information,
Winners of the Victor C h e m i c a l competition will enter college this fall o n four-year, $4000 scholarships. A t the award luncheon in Chicago (left t o r i g h t ) : winner Ralpli C. Christensen; Walter Bartky, University of Chicago; Rothe Weigel., Victor president; winner John D a n n e n b e r g ; Ralph A. Morgen, Pur due; winner William G. E . Blair; Richard M. Sutton, Case Institute of Tech nology; winner Joseph W. M a g a n n , Jr.; August Kochs, chairman of Victor; a n d Joel H . Hildebrand, University of California. Other judges were Farrington Daniels, University of Wisconsin, and Ralph E . Cleland, Indiana University 50
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Want a Carload of Rare Earths? They're available for prompt
shipment
in a gram to a carload
a report by L I N D S A Y
electrode cores. Aluminum and mag nesium alloys. Lighter flints. Radiationproof glass. Waterproofing. Textile pro duction. Color TV tube's . . . and the list goes on and on.
Back in the early 20's, it would never have occurred to us that in a few years we would be shipping rare earth salts in carload quantities for a surprising variety of chemical and industrial ap plications. F o r a long time, as you may know, the rare earths were simply a by product of our regular business of pro ducing thorium nitrate for gas mantles. Up to 3 5 years ago, rare earths were little more than scientific curiosities. Industrv had not yet discovered them as a practical scientific tool. But, as time sped by, we learned more about these unusual elements and how to produce them in larger quan tities, in higher purities and at lower cost. And with their increasing avail ability, industry began to find ways to use them profitably in their operations. In the last ten years, we've seen a sharplv increasing rise in the demand for rare earths from a rather amazing variety of industries.
was a sort of chain reaction that is still increasing in velocity.
WHY THIS DEMAND? Well, as we see it, it's due largely to the enormous tech nological strides m a d e since World W a r II. Industry itself sparked much of this interest b y its own explorations of the rare earth group in a search for materials to improve p r o d u c t s a n d processes. Their studies in relation to specific p r o b l e m s often u n c o v e r e d totally u n s u s p e c t e d applications. It
HOW THEY ARE USED. T h e fascinat ing description of industrial applica tions of the rare earths would fill many books. W e work with these materials every day and we're constantly amazed at the variety of ways in which they're used. Here are only a few. Glass polish ing. Steel additives. Catalysts. Colorizer a n d dccolorizer for glass. Medications. Ultra-violet light absorber. Arc carbon
PLEASE ADDRESS
INQUIRIES T O :
LINDSAY BUILT NEW PLANT. W e saw what an industrial revolution the rare earths were creating. And antici p a t i n g heavy demands, we constructed our modern plant in 1953. T h e Lind s a y p l a n t facilities, i n c l u d i n g m o r e recently developed and improved sep aration processes (such as our ion ex c h a n g e systems), i n c r e a s e d our production capacity manyfold. WHAT ARE THE RARE EARTHS? Rare earths are not rare—nor are they e a r t h s . This g r o u p of 1 5 e l e m e n t s (atomic numbers 57 through 71) are trivalent metals found together with thorium and yttrium primarily in monazite ore. In chemical properties they are almost identical, a fact w h i c h makes them difficult to separate and at the same time makes them valuable tools for research and industry.
RARE EARTH SALTS- Lindsay pro duces rare eartli salts in large tonnages and in varying purities. Most of them a r e surprisingly l o w in cost. Bare earth chloride —for ©cample—a mixture of several of these e l e m e n t s - i s only about 25(* a pound and available in virtually unlimited quantities, High purity sep arated rare earths are, of course, more expensive, but economical in relation to t h e wonders they perform. HUGE SOURCE OF SUPPLY. T o keep u p with the demand and assure indus tries of a steady supply, w e maintain in our p l a n t a stockpile of monazite t h a t is n o w 24,000,000 pounds. And we're constantly prospecting in various p a r t s of the world for "this miracle ore — source of the versatile rare earths.
WORTH INVESTIGATING. Your re search people m a y find it rewarding a n d profitable to study the possibilities of the application of rare earths to your o w n products a.nd processes. W e will b e happy to supply pertinent data and t o make available to you the help of L i n d s a y s technical staff.
LINDSAY CHEMICAL (ΡΜΡΑΝΎ 266 A N N STREET · WEST CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
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EDUCATION t h e programs and interviewed t h e nom inees. Winners w e r e announced this mo at a luncheon held by Victor in Chicago for t h e 20 candidates and the a w a r d s committee. Winners were William G. E . Blair, Milwaukee, Wis.; Ralph C. Christensen, L a Mesa, Calif.; John E . Dannenberg, El Cerrito, Calif., and Joseph W. Magann, Jr., Oklahoma ^ity, Okla. T h e awards committee included Walter Bartky, vice president of t h e Univer sity of Chicago; Ralph E . Cleland, dean of the University of Indiana's
graduate school; Farrington Daniels, chairman of the d e p a r t m e n t of chem istry, University of Wisconsin; Joel Hildebrand, University of California department of chemistry and chemical engineering; Ralph A. Morgen, re search director of the P u r d u e Research Foundation; and Richard M. Sutton, associate director for science and tech nology for Case Institute's manage ment development program. The ideas of the contestants will be sifted and t h e better ones offered to industry generally.
Research and Development Chemists T h e newly-created Research Division of the Curtiss-Wright Cor poration has several responsible positions available for qualified individuals in the field of Plastics and Chemical Research. Salaries are flexible to reward unusual qualifications, and there is a liberal employee benefit program. The separate research facil ities, located in the picturesque mountain area of north central Pennsylvania, provide the atmosphere of a small organization with a unified purpose and effort conducive to research and de velopment work. Immediate openings are available for: P L A S T I C S P R O C E S S C H E M I S T - to supervise and direct the work of several assistants in t h e formulation, testing, and fabrica tion of plastic materials and products for jet engines, automotive parts, household utensils, etc. Prefer P h . D . with two to five years' experience, but will consider B.S. with equivalent work experience. O R G A N I C R E S E A R C H C H E M I S T - to plan and direct the work of several chemists in research on new chemicals and chem ical processing methods. Will include research on combination organic and inorganic materials and the preparation of new raw materials and new monomers for plastics. Prefer P h . D . with two to five years' work experience, but will consider B.S. with equiv alent experience. C O A L C H E M I S T — to assist in the planning and execution of programs aimed at deriving new chemicals and by-products from coal. Duties will involve actual chemical processing and separa tion and identification of chemicals from coal. Prefer M.S. or Ph.D. with processing and development background in organic chemistry. F o r appointment for interview, call R . L. Hauck, collect, at G R e g o r y 1-3000, in Clifton, N e w Jersey, or send resume giving details of education, experience, and current earnings, to: R. G. Conrad, Mgr. Engr. Recruitment, Dept. RD-21 Curtiss-Wright Corporation, Wood-Ridge, N.J. REPLIES STRICTLY
CONFIDENTIAL
CURTISS-WRIGHT ; Vv
CORPORATION · WOOD-RldGE, N : J ;
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10 Traveling Teachers T e n n e w traveling teachers will carry on t h e second Oak Ridge Traveling Science Demonstration Lecture Pro gram, a joint project of t h e National Science Foundation a n d the U . S. Atomic Energy Commission (C&EN, April 2, 1956, page 1 5 6 8 ) . As last year, t h e teachers will tour assigned areas in specially e q u i p p e d station wagons, presenting lecture-demonstra tions a t a different school each week. T h e 10 teachers selected for t h e 1 9 5 7 - 5 8 school year are John Paul H i n d m a n , Casa G r a n d e Union High School, Casa Grande, Ariz.; Ervin H. Hoffart, York High School, York, Neb.; Kenneth V. Jackman, T h e Hill School, Pottstown, Pa.; Jack Everett Jines, Santa F e High School, Santa F e Springs, Calif.; W o o d r o w Light, Gor don Military College, Barnesville, Ga.; D o n a l d W . Mayes, Bald Eagle-Nittany High School, Mill Hall, Pa.; Harold P. Pluimer, Renville Public Schools, Ren ville, Minn.; Thomas J. Ritzinger, Rice Lake High School, Rice Lake, Wis.; William B. Sanford, Painted Post High School, Painted Post, Ν . Υ.; and Ernest C. Spafford, Stockton College, Stock ton, Calif. The seven teachers now on tour return t o Oak Ridge in May.
• F e d e r a l financial s u p p o r t of gradu ate students appears to have leveled off at a constant value. Replies to a questionnaire sent to all schools giving g r a d u a t e degrees in chemistry shows t h a t federal support of graduate stu dents in 1955-56 was about t h e same as that reported b y the National Science Foundation in its survey "Federal Sup port for Science Students in Higher Education," 1954 (C&EN, Oct. 8, 1956, page 4 8 7 2 ) . Boris Musulin, Southern Illinois University Chem. Ed.
• O n e of t h e first experimental aca demic year institutes for high school chemistry teachers sponsored by t h e National Science Foundation is nearing t h e end of its first year at t h e Uni versity of Wisconsin. Of t h e 47 teach ers enrolled, more t h a n half are study ing basic general inorganic chemistry to increase their knowledge of chem istry. ( T w o of the chemistry teachers had never studied the subject; t w o h a d one year of high school chemistry.) I n t h e 1 9 5 7 - 5 8 academic year N S F plans to spend $4.5 million on similar teacher institutes for science and mathematics teachers (C&EN, Dec. 10, 1956, p a g e 6074). C. H. Sorum, University of Wisconsin Chem. Ed.
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