Chemical world This Week
The Top Stories Dr. Frederick Wall retires as Executive Director of ACS; Dr. Robert Cairns becomes Board Chairman 7
U.S. basic chemical makers are optimistic about foreign sales and earnings 16
The Administration is expected to propose trade legislation next year despite complications 22
Former patent chiefs take on lobbying role and fight critics of patent system 25
Two topics from AAAS meeting: managing scientific information and harnessing fusion 27
Concern over environmental pollution is now main influence in reassessing solar energy 39
Two experts offer those planning to buy minicomputers a working vocabulary 42
NO DEC. 27 ISSUE Chemical & Engineering News w ill not publish an issue on Dec. 27, 1971. The editors wish all readers a very happy holiday season.
December 20, 1971
WALL RETIRES FROM AGS POST At the ACS Board of Directors meeting on Dec. 10, Dr. Byron Riegel, Chairman of the Board, announced that Dr. Frederick T. Wall, Executive Director of ACS since August 1969, had "exercised his privilege to elect early retirement/' Dr. Wall's decision was reached early in November 1971, Dr. Riegel pointed out, and his retirement will become effective on Sept. 14, 1972. The coming nine months will enable the Board to seek a successor to Dr. Wall and should permit an orderly transition of official duties. Dr. Riegel also said, ' T h e Board expresses its appreciation to Dr. Wall for his services as the Society's first Executive Director." Before becoming ACS Executive Director, Dr. Wall was vice chancellor for graduate studies and research and was professor of chemistry at the University of California, San Diego. A member of the National Academy of Sciences and many other organizations, he was editor of ACS's Journal of Physical Chemistry from 1965 to 1969. Dr. Wall, who is 59, has not announced his plans beyond next September, although it is likely that he will return to academic life. Dr. Riegel, who is visiting professor of chemistry and chemical engineering at Northwestern University and was President of ACS in 1970, completes his service on the Board this year. To succeed him as Board Chairman, the Board elected Dr. Robert W. Cairns. Dr. Cairns was formerly a vice president of Hercules and, earlier this year, was appointed deputy assistant secretary for science and technology at the Department of Commerce. He has been a Board member since 1961 and was President of ACS in 1968. At its recent meeting, the Board elected as the 1972 members of its Executive Committee Dr. Milton Harris, Dr. William A. Mosher, Dr. Alan C. Nixon, and Dr. Max Tishler. Dr. Wall is an ex officio nonvoting member of the Executive Commit-
tee, and Dr. Cairns, as Chairman of the Board, is chairman of the committee. Following the meeting, Dr. Cairns announced his appointments of the 1972 chairmen of the Board's six Standing Committees (see box). The Board approved the 1972 ACS budget as prepared by the ACS staff and presented by the Board Committee on Finance. In 1972, the hoped-for revenues of $34,695,000 and budgeted expenses of $34,180,000 should result in an increase of $515,000 in the Society's reserves. In another action, the Board authorized the Petroleum Research Fund to increase its fellowship support for postdoctoral scientists. A special authorization of up to $200,000 may be used to augment recent Petroleum Research Fund grants that include fellowships for graduate students. By the Board's new action, such fellowships, if not already assigned to a graduate student, may now be used to support a postdoctoral fellow. A supplementary grant from the $200,000 authorization will pay for the higher costs of supporting Ph.D.'s rather than graduate students. This program is expected to help between 40 and 50 postdoctoral scientists, many of whom are having difficulty finding employment in today's tight job market.
Dr. Cairns
Dr. Wall DEC.
20, 1971 C&EN 7
Chemical world This week The Board also approved the spending of up to $35,000 to enable C&EN to continue its current practice of allowing unemployed ACS members to place Situations Wanted advertisements in the magazine without charge. An unemployed member may run such an ad free for as many weeks as necessary, although he must change the wording of his ad after it has appeared in six issues. Funds for this program will be derived from the dues paid by ACS Corporation Associates. In another move, the Board voted to continue paying out of general ACS funds the administrative costs of Project SEED, which is designed to improve the education and career motivation of disadvantaged young people. Previously, the ACS Council had recommended that these administrative costs be paid for out of member and corporate contributions specifically earmarked for Project SEED. By its latest action, the Board reaffirmed its commitment to continue the Society's assistance to this project. Following a recommendation of the Younger Chemists Task Force, the Board approved the spending of $5000 to support the first year of activity of a new Member Advisory Board. This group, which will be formed next year, will serve primarily to recommend new programs or changes in existing ACS programs. The Member Advisory Board (to convene at ACS national meetings), will be open to members of all ages, as well as to student affiliates. Board has four new members:
THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY:
Getting better all the time The report is somewhat naive and a little confused. And in parts it is hard to believe. But the message comes through. The Manufacturing Chemists Association says that things will continue to get better for the chemical industry next year. President William J. Driver's yearend statement presents a picture of increased business volume and steadying prices in 1971 followed by further business improvements in 1972. The report is based on a survey of 34 MCA member companies. And according to the association "a whopping 97 %" of them predict that 1972 chemical industry sales will be up " 1 % to 5% or more" over the 1971 level. Of course, this is not really saying very much. Sales of the chemical and allied products industry have grown at an average annual rate of 8.5% for the past decade. And since 1950 they have declined only twice, in 1952 and 1958. Two thirds of the executives in the survey anticipate that profit margins for 1972 will be up " 1 % to 5% or more." Again this is not too exciting as the 1971 profit margin was the lowest since World War II. About one half of the respondents expect chemical industry R&D spending to increase between 1 and 5% next year. About a third of them expect a decline. Although MCA does not say so, these figures seem to indicate that total industry spending will fall shy of the year-to-
Good, Nixon, Stanerson, Venable
1972 Members of ACS Board of Directors Robert W. Cairns, Chairman Herman S. Bloch Melvin Calvin Bryce L. Crawford, Jr. Mary L Good* Milton Harris Henry A. Hill William A. Mosher
Alan C. Nixon* John C. Sheehan Gardner W. Stacy B. R. Stanerson* Max Tishler Emerson Venable* George W. Watt Frederick T. Wall, ex officio (Nonvoting)
*New members.
Chairmen of ACS Board Executive and Standing Committees Executive Committee: Robert W. Cairns Chemical Abstracts Service: Bryce L. Crawford, Jr. Education and Students: Gardner W. Stacy 8 C&EN DEC. 20, 1971
Finance: Milton Harris Grants and Awards: John C. Sheehan Publications: William A. Mosher Public, Professional, and Member Relations: Henry A. Hill
U.S. chemical shipments this year will total $52 billion 1966
Total shipments ($ billions) Production index (1967=100) Net income after taxes ($ billions) Capital outlays ($ billions) Funds for R&D ($ billions)
1971
$27.3 $40.8 $52.0 55.5
92.8 125.0
$2.0
$3.5
$3.8
$1.58 $3.26 $3.45 $0.88 $1.27 $1.62
Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce; Federal Reserve Board; Federal Trade Commission-Securities and Exchange Commission; National Science Foundation
year increase needed to keep up with inflating R&D costs. One half of the companies reporting to MCA indicate that their chemical exports went up an average of 20% in 1971. If they really did, the rest of the industry must be having a miserable time as total U.S. chemical exports will be up only 5 to 10% this year. MCA's picture of the capital spending outlook for chemical makers next year is incomplete. The report just states that more than half of the industry executives queried anticipate capital expenditures in 1972 will be up some 1 to 5% over 1971. There is no comment on what the others think. STEELMAKING:
Q-BOF process U.S. Steel Corp. introduces a steelmaking process that promises to cut deeply into the output of coal chemicals. The process, called Q-BOF, permits the use of about 20% more scrap per furnace heat in making steel than the conventional basic oxygen furnace (BOF). The use of higher scrap loadings in making a ton of steel reduces consumption of molten pig iron and thus reduces coke and coal chemical output. U.S. Steel chairman Edwin Gott says his firm will install two 200-ton Q-BOF furnaces at its Fairfield, Ala., works. The process was invented by Eisenwerkgesellschaft-Maximilianschutte, mbH. The process was adapted to U.S. steelmaking techniques and large volume by further R&D at U.S. Steel's South Chicago research laboratory. Mr. Gott adds that U.S. Steel's subsidiary, USS Engineers and Consult-
