NEWS
1991 Summer Intern Program
Heat Gauge
The American Chemical Society's Division of Analytical Chemistry is seeking applicants and employers for the 1991 Summer Intern Program. The program is designed to intro duce talented students to modern analytical chemistry. The students will be employed by industrial, government, or academic laboratories, where they will carry out funda mental or applied research. Participating laboratories will hire one or more students during the summer. Applications are screened by the Divi sion's Professional Status Committee, which acts as a bro ker by soliciting applications from students and positions from laboratories. Applications and reference letters for qualified students are then sent to participating laborato ries, which select the individuals best suited for their needs. Salary and details of employment are negotiated by the organization and the student. Junior and senior undergraduate and graduate students with a strong interest in analytical chemistry are eligible for consideration, provided that they have completed an in strumental analysis course or the equivalent. Seniors grad uating in 1991 must have applied to graduate school with the intention of majoring in analytical chemistry; graduate students must be enrolled in an analytical program. Employer participation forms, student application forms, and further information may be obtained from D. J. Curran, Chairman, Professional Status Committee, ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry, c/o Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003. Applications from students must be received by February 15. In 1990 the following students were placed with the or ganizations listed below. American Cyanamid Co., Stamford Research Labs, Stamford, CT Mitchell J. LaBuda, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana Atochem North America, Somerville, NJ Ying Liu, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, Research Triangle Park, NC George T. McGrady, Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA Colgate-Palmolive, Piscataway, NJ Jeanne L. Pfaff, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, DE Daniel W. Grossman, Luther College, Decorah, IA Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Labs, West Point, PA Hang Lu, Albright College, Reading, PA Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., Technical Center, Granville, OH Michael A. Dotlich, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, IN Phillips Petroleum Co., Bartlesville, OK Eric W. Nelson, Alma College, Alma, MI Rorer Central Research, Horsham, PA Kevin H. Hazen, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA University of Wisconsin, Madison Kimberly A. Fredrick, Lawrence Univ., Appleton, WI Wyatt Technology Corp., Santa Barbara, CA Trang Vo-Nguyen, Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Engineers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University are developing a small sensor that could monitor surface heat flow in extreme environments, such as aircraft engines or steel furnaces. Unlike most sen sors that are glued to sur faces, this new heat sensor takes advantage of microfabrication techniques and is incorporated onto the sur face. The university researchers, led by mechanical engi neer Tom Diller and electrical engineer Shinzo Onishi, have worked with the Vatell Corporation to construct test sensors measuring 3 X 4 mm and < 2 jcm thick that func tion at temperatures as high as 500 °C with a response time of only 20 μ& (see photograph). This unique sensor could also have medical applications. Placed on the skin, it could provide heat flow measure ments to detect breast tumors, vascular thrombosis, or in flammation caused by injury. The heat flux microsensor consists of six layers. Two of the layers are thermocouple pairs, such as copper and nick el. The thermocouples are covered by a thermal resistance material such as silicone monoxide and by two more layers of metal to create an upper set of thermocouple pairs. A to tal of 96 thermocouple pairs is squeezed onto the microsen sor, with each upper and lower thermocouple connected. Across the surface the thermocouples are wired together in series, thereby adding voltages to generate a measurable signal. An overcoat of silicone monoxide forms a final pro tective top layer. The thermocouple layers are deposited onto the substrate by high-vacuum sputtering. A stainless steel mask is used to define the deposition pattern. Recently the Virginia engineers manufactured and tested a new heat flux microsensor that they believe is better suit ed for high-temperature measurements. The sensor con sists of layers of platinum, nichrome, and silicone monox ide deposited onto an aluminum nitride substrate. The re searchers hope to produce a sensor that operates at temperatures as high as 1000 °C. • M pHHd s ΓΓΓΤΤνννΤίΊ £ •vS W! WFTW^ ^v | ^
For Your Information The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is offering two new standard reference materi als. For studies of airborne toxic metals, the institute has prepared a series of cellulose filters, similar to those used to sample air, which contain certified concentrations of Ba, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mg, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn. The metals are easily removed for analysis by washing with acid. The second standard, created for X-ray fluorescence determination of elements in rocks, ores, and clay, consists of a silica glass disk. Contained in the disk are certified amounts of Al, Ba, Ca, Fe, Mg, Ρ, Κ, Si, Sr, and Ti. For more information, con tact Standard Reference Materials Program, Room 215, Bldg. 202, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD 20899 (301-975-6776).
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 62, NO. 20, OCTOBER 15, 1990 · 1047 A
