Mrs. C. A. Thomas; Charles A, Thomas, president-elect of the ACS and vice president and technical director of Monsanto Chemical Co,; R. J, Kryter9 Esterline Angus Co.; and W. W. Hilty9 Eli Lilly and Co,9 chairman of the Indiana Section
Indiana Students See Chemistry in Action • A s guests of the Indiana Section of the AMERICAN
CHEMICAL SOCIETY,
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stu-
dents and teachers of chemistry and chemical engineering from the colleges and universities of Indiana, including five from Miami University in Ohio, gathered in Indianapolis recently to spend two clays seeing chemistry in action. Translating the words into action, the section planned a series of plant tours which enabled the student guests to view a cross section of industrial chemical activity. Among plants visited were the P. R. Mallory and Co., manufacturers of electronic equipment; Stokely-Van Camp, Inc., food processors; Reilly Chemical Co. and Reilly Laboratories, producers of direct coal-tar products ; Beveridge Paper Co., cardboard products; U. S. Tire Co., inner tubes and bicycle tires; Marion Manufacturing Co., contact sulfuric acid plant; and Eli Lilly and Co., pharmaceutical manufacturers. A dinner and dance climaxed the first da\ r 's activities. At the dinner Charles A. Thomas, president-elect of the ACS and vice president of the Monsanto Chemical Co., delivered an inspirational address on "Peacetime Applications of Atomic Energy". Dr. Thomas told the aspiring chemists and chemical engineers that as they were living on the brink of an atomic age, they had an opportunity to apply the knowledge gained through research on the atomic bomb to solve peacetime problems. He pointed out that radioactive tracers were useful research tools and that they would be helpful in solving problems in biochemistry, chemical synthesis, and in the fields of rubber, petroleum, and distillation research. While the student group spent the second morning of the two-day session inspecting the sanitary and water facilities of Indianapolis, a symposium on teaching problems was held for the assembled
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facility members under the» chairmanship of Ned Guthrie of Hanover College. Xoxris W. llakestraw, editor of the Journal of Chemical Education, addressed this group on "Sidelights on Chemical Education". H e said that in 1941 there were 1,500,000 students in American colleges and universities, and by 1950 it was the opinion o f those who are supposed t o know t h a t the average attendance in American colLegcs and universities would be close to 3,000,000 persons. Dr. Rakestraw said t h a t a very small percentage of those graduating from our colleges and universi-
ties choose teaching as a profession. As a whole the teaching profession is underpaid and something will have to be done to raise the economic status of teachers of ehemistry «and chemical engineering t o make teaching attractive to the graduate. The entire group then reassembled for a luncheon a t the Lincoln Hotel at which (Veil Calvert, Indianapolis Water Co., spoke t o the group on "What Industry Expects of You". A film, "The Making of Chemical Glassware", shown through .the courtesy of the Corning Glass Works, concluded the luncheon.
Ne dO ut h rie, Hœnover College, clvaimxan of the faculty symposii^m, and IWorris ΙΓ'· Rakes traiv, editor of the Jomirnal of Chemicœl Ed tic at ion
Student group visiting the P. R. Mallory and Co. inspects one of tlr.e research la b or a to rie s iη ele c ironies CHEMICAL
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ENGINEERING
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