LETTERS
The dirt on soap
T
HE I N T E R E S T I N G P I E C E ON SOAP
bubbles by Rachel Pepling came up short in one respect (C&EN, April 28, page 34). The beautiful array of dozens of interconnected bubbles pictured was hardly adequately described as "a spherical layer of soap film." I can't find a single truly spherical bubble in the lot. An opportunity was missed here to introduce readers to the storied realm of research into bubble geometry; its usefulness in the charac-
ROUND AND ROUND WE GO Labeling soap bubbles as simple spheres inadequately describes their complex geometry.
terization of soap and nonsoap foams; and the very basic set of geometric rules, worked out by mathematicians Fred Almgren andJean Taylor in the 1970s, that govern bubble interactions (as a consequence of the mentioned minimization of surface areas). One of those three basic rules resonates well with stereochemistry: Three bubble surfaces meet along an edge at equal angles to each other of 120° (trigonal planar geometry), and the edges thus formed themselves meet at vertices with angles between edges of about 109.5° (tetrahedral geometry). M I K E ROUNDY
Brain drain READ M. P. DUDUKOVIC'S EDITORIAL,
"The Chemical Engineering Paradox," with great interest (C&EN, May 12, page 3). It appears to me that industry, as well as academia, is fleeing from a need for chemical engineers to a desire for bioengineers, nanotechnologists, and others with modern-sounding backgrounds. I fear that such a switch will be a detriment to society in the long term. I have done chemical engineering R&D for diversified manufacturers for nearly 25 years and have used the unifying principles named by Dudukovic for solving a wide 4
C&EN
/ J U N E
• June 2, page 40: Continental drift may be a real phenomenon, but it has not yet switched the locations of Long Beach and Pittsburgh. C&EN accidentally swapped the captions on these photos, as at least a dozen readers pointed out.
range of problems, including polymorph control during crystallization, polymer process development, composite formation from reactive materials, batch process control, and nanoparticle formation. In the past few years, however, I have found that being labeled a "traditional chemical engineer" limits the view of others about how my skills can be applied in new projects. I have found that recent graduates, although highly skilled in topics such as surface science, have only a shallow understanding of process basics such as thermodynamics and energy and mass flows. This leads to proposed processes with safety and resource utilization issues. At present, there are still enough traditionalists to catch these situations before they become serious problems, but will that be true in the future? I suggest that instead of transforming chemical engineering into something else, we just make sure that students have broad backgrounds in all the sciences and see examples of how unifying principles can be applied to biological systems, nanotechnology, and whatever else comes along in the future, as well as to "unit operations."This should provide an ample supply of people who can devise processes and products that are safe and responsibly address the overall needs of our world. ROBERT S. DAVIDSON
Minneapolis
Recognition
Westfield, Mass.
I
CORRECTION
16,
2003
T
HE
EDITORIAL
"iN
PRAISE
OF
Teachers" was an important, and perhaps too rare, recognition of the teaching profession (C&EN, April 14, page 5). Teachers are a vital part of society, and skilled, caring, and effective teachers like Sam Scholes Jr. should be supported and honored for their important contributions. Not all societies are blessed with such a talent-laden group of teachers, and it seems clear that the limitations of those societies are in part a consequence of that deficiency It is true, as noted in the editorial, that some K-12 teachers, as well as teachers at the college level, are not well paid for their efforts. It is also true that the educational
bureaucracy is found to be, well, bureaucratic, and maddeningly so. In the face of these observations, one must ask whether eight of the nine teachers winning ACS Regional Awards in High School Chemistry Teaching is a reflection of the skill of the female gender or a consequence of many males deserting less remunerative positions. Hopefully one day we will arrive at a situation where the best and brightest of both genders will compete hard for places in well-funded and well-run schools. On a personal note, as a student at Alfred University, Alfred, N. Y, and later as a faculty colleague, I knew Scholes well and can confirm that he was inspirational in both roles. HARVEY PAIGE
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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