December JO, 1927
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Local Section Activities The following items of general interest have been submitted by local section correspondents recently:
The Erie Regional Meeting About seventy-five regional members and guests spent a profit able and a pleasant time visiting Erie and Meadville, Pa., on the occasion of the sixth Regional Meeting of Ohio, Michigan, Lexington, Ky., and Erie, Pa., Sections of t h e Society. As usual the first day, November 11, was devoted to the presen tation of papers of which there was a variety. The sessions of the day were held in t h e auditorium of the Central High School. Starting off with "An Adventure in Research," b y A. W. Browne of Cornell University, the audience was immediately trans ported to a planet in which the role of water was taken by hydronitrogen compounds. T^urnerous demonstrations accompanied this novel adventure of Dr. Browne. This talk was followed by Warren W. Hilditch, Erie, Pa., on " T h e Toxicity of Some Or ganic Acids," and Harry N". Holmes of Oberlin on "The Colloid Chemistry of Soaps" i n which he emphasized the differences between the saturated arid unsaturated fatty acid types of soaps. Several sol va ted soap gels were exhibited. T h e last paper of the morning, "New Aspects in the Use of Liquid Chlorine," was read by A. H. Hooker of Niagara Falls, Ν . Υ. After lunch at the new Cameo restaurant, t h e presentation of papers was resumed a t the Central High School. H. E. Howe spoke briefly on "The New Competition" citing instances to show how chemistry a n d research affect the nation's business. An announcement of a recent discovery t o protect aluminum alloys from corrosion w a s made b y F. C. Frary of New Κ msington, Pa. He stated t h a t a thin covering of aluminum in excess of 99.9 per cent purity prevents corrosion much in the same manner in which galvanized iron is protected from corrosion by zinc. A symposium on chemical education, aided and abetted by the remarks of R. A. Baker of Syracuse University and R. B . Lee of Allegheny College, "brought forth an interesting discussion on the philosophic and the scientific methods of teaching. The final paper on t h e program proved to be a most interesting account of t h e properties of solid carbon dioxide, sold under the name "Dry-Ice," b y J. D . Small of New York city who ex hibited a large cake of this material. On Saturday morning, NOvember 12, several industrial plants in Erie were visited, a n d the afternoon was spent in Meadville as guests of Allegheny- College. After a buffet luncheon t h e visitors witnessed the Allegheny-Geneva football game. T h e enjoyable hospitality of Dr. Lee and his associates a t the College will long be remembered.
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Hinman of The Frederick Post Company addressed the In organic Group on "Some Photo-Sensitive Papers," and F. E. Hartman of the United States Ozone Company spoke to the Electrochemical Group on "Ozone." The meetings of the Section continue to t a x t h e capacity of the facilities at the City Club and if the interest in the Sec tion's meetings is to continue a t its present r a t e of expansion it will be necessary to seek new headquarters irL the near future.
Delaware Section The program of the Delaware Section for December and January is as follows : December 21, 1927—Wilder D. Bancroft of Cornell University, "The Colloid Chemistry of Proteins." January 18, 1928—J. C. Detwiler of the Texas Company, "Recent Developments in the Petroleum Industry."
Florida Section The Florida Section of the American Chemical Society re cently elected the following members to serve as officers of the Section during the coming year: Chairman, Prof. A. P. Black; 1st Vice Chairman, Prof. O. J. Sieplein; 2nd Vice Chairman, S. S. Walker; Sec'y & Treas., Prof. R. C. Goodwin; Councilor, Prof. R. S. Bly. These men assumed the duties of their offices after December 1, 1927.
Indiana Section Ernest Wildman of Earlham College, Richmond, Ind., ad dressed the November meeting, giving an account of the Insti tute of Chemistry held last summer a t State College, Pa., and summarizing some of the more important papers. Dr. Powell of EH Lilly & Co. spoke a t the T u e s i a y luncheon meeting, No vember 15, his subject being "Immunity." The Biennial Student Meeting of the Indiana Section will be held in April, just before the meeting in St. Louis. Professors and their junior and senior students in chemistry from all colleges in the state are to come for a two-day meeting. Talks by na tionally known men en route to St. Louis are planned, as well as trips to chemical industries in and about Indianapolis, t o supply advice, instruction, and enthusiasm to future chemists.
Iowa Section The following officers were elected by the Iowa Section for the year 1928: Chairman, J. L. Whitman; Vice Chairman, Stephen Popoff; Secretary-Treasurer, H. L. Olin; Councilor, L. C. Raiford.
Heuer to Address Philadelphia Section Russell P. Heuer, of the Chemistry Department, university of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, will discuss "Refractories" a t the meeting of the Philadelphia Section of the American Chemi cal Society on Thursday evening, December 15, 1927, a t John Harrison Laboratory of Chemistry (University of Pennsyl vania), 34th and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia. Dr. Heuer plans to. discuss refractories from the viewpoint of chemistry rather than that of ceramics or technology. This will undoubtedly bring valuable suggestions to the makers and users of all kinds of refractories.
Chicago Section Wheeler P. Davey of Pennsylvania State College addressed the Chicago Section a t its November meeting on the subject " W h a t a Chemist Should Learn from X - R a y examination of Crystals." Doctor Davey prefaced his lecture with some of his ideas on the teaching of physical chemistry to students and the value of this particular branch of chemistry to the student. His lecture was illustrated with many slides, which showed the type of apparatus employed, the kind of records obtained, and the types of space models which have resulted from the in vestigations. He concluded his talk with tables showing how the experimental data compared with the calculated values and he gave several examples of the interpretation of t h e x-ray analysis for practical use. An unusually strong program of group meetings followed the main speaker. J. W. K. Glattfeld of the University of Chicago spoke to the Organic Group on "Saccharinic Acid Formation from Sugars," and the Biochemical Group heard an interesting discussion on "The p H of the Gut in Relation to Chemical Bacteriology," by Lloyd Arnold of the University of Illinois College of Medicine. W. F. Faragher of t h e Universal Oil Products addressed t h e Physico-chemical Group on "Studies on the Sweating of Paraffin Wax." The Chemical Education Group continued their lively discussion on t h e teaching of chemistry through a talk: b y A. L. Smith of the Bnglewood High School on "Chemistry, Then and Now." Walker M .
Rochester Section An "Open House" meeting t o which the wives or lady friends of the members were especially invited was held by the Rochester Section on Monday evening, November 2 1 . Arrangements, which were in the hands of a committee consisting of L. R. Adkins, Chairman, Norman Prince, and Ralph Doody, were well thought out and executed. The meeting opened a t six o'clock with a dinner in the dining room adjoining the Kodak Auditorium in which the meeting itself was held. About ninety attended the dinner and about as many more came for the latter part of the program only. Edward G. Miner, President of the Pfaudler Company, gave a short paper on "National Hysteria, with an Illustration," taking as his topic the " T r e n t Affair" of Civil War days and coupling the general excitement which that caused with propa ganda 4 in general and with its especial application during the recent ^world conflict. The paper was well received and aroused considerable discussion. A group of songs was rendered by Ben Weaver and a group of three^motion pictures was shown. Two of these illustrated re cent work in natural color motion picture technic. One was a section from Mack Sennett's "Girls from everywhere" and^was notable for more than its color rendition. The other was a short feature "Buffalo Bill." The third reel was a "scenic" of Grasshopper Glacier Park, Montana. To guarantee that everyone left in a h a p p y mood, the ever thoughtful Billings provided cider, coffee, and doughnuts which, like everything else on the program, were well received.
Sacramento Section At the thirty-eighth regular meeting of the Sacramento Section of the American Chemical Society held Monday evening, No vember 21, 1927, the following officers were elected for the year 1928: Chairman, H. C. Davis, Techow and Davis, Commerical Chemists, Sacramento; Vice Chairman, R . A. Stevenson, (Continued on page 8)
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INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Western New York Section The Western New York Section of the American Chemical Society held its second meeting of the season a t the Niagara Falls Public Library auditorium, Tuesday evening, November S, 1927, the speaker being Prof. É . Raymond Riegel of the University of Buffalo who discussed "Recent Developments in Chemical Industry." The lecture was a very thorough and clearly explained review of the most important recent new processes in the petroleum, fertilizer, acid, fuel, and other industries, and served as the stimulas for some very interesting discussion. The meeting was preceded by a very pleasant informal dinner a t Pfeiffer's new restaurant, Niagara Falls.
Research Program of Michigan Gas Association Impressed with the necessity of expanding and accelerating t h e amount of research work now being done in the gas industry, t h e Michigan Gas Association h a s launched a program at the University of Michigan, and has employed Elmore S. Pettyjohn as director of research. Mr. Pettyjohn will be able to follow u p t h e laboratory work a t t h e University with actual operating tests on any of t h e gas plants in Michigan, intending to direct his investigations into present-day problems, which would make necessary t h e use of plant and service °quipment to test the value of laboratory studies under the limitations of operating conditions. This will be t h e second important gas research program to b e inaugurated a t the University of Michigan in 1927. Early in the year the American Gas Association appropriated §10,000 a year for five years toward a study of gas for h e a t treating of metals, and this work is now going forward under the direction of the Department of Engineering Research. Since 1900 t h e Michigan Gas Association has maintained a fellowship for making studies in various processes used in gas plants, which has investigated a number of important problems, including the removal of naphthalene, coal-gas manufacture, case hardening, the weathering of coal, gas in japanning and treatment of brass, complete gasification, use of oxygen in gas producers, instantaneous carbonization, and ammonium sulfate production and disposal.
Pulp and Paper Chemical Engineer Wanted Applications for senior chemical engineer (pulp and paper) may be filed with the U. S. Civil Service Commission at Washington, D. C , up to December 27. T h e examination is to fill a vacancy in the Forest Products l a b o r a t o r y at Madison, Wis., a n d vacancies occurring in positions requiring similar qualifications. The salary ranges from $5200 to S6000 a year, the entrance salary within the range stated depending upon the qualifications of the appointee as shown in t h e examination a n d the duty to which assigned. The duties are to plan, conduct, and direct research in chemical engineering dealing with forest products and promote the commercial application of laboratory-proved methods and processes. The duties of the position now vacant a t the Laboratory involve the technical and administrative supervision of the Pulp and Paper Section of the Laboratory in trie conduct of chemical and chemical engineering research in the pulp and paper field. Competitors will not be required t o report for examination a t any place, but will be rated on their education, training, experience, and fitness; and writings t o be filed with t h e application.
Leaves from t h e Notebook of the C h e m i s t The following radio program is being broadcast from the University of Pittsburgh studio of station KDKIA Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 7:15 P. M. by members of the chemistry staff of the University of Pittsburgh, under the heading "Leaves from the Notebook of the Chemist." November 30, " H i s Job and How He Goes about It," D r . Stegenian. December 7, "Grinding Away: Abrasives," Dr. Roche. December 14, " T h e Newer Protective Coatings," Dr. Baldwin. December 21, "Making Pictures—After the Snapshot," Dr. Hjort, January 4, "Like Ivory and Amber: Condensation. Products," Dr. Corn well. January 11. "Approved Food Colors," Dr. King. January 18, "Making Medicines," Dr. L,owy. January 25, "Radium: From Watchdial to Hospital," Professor Silverman.
Edition
Graduate A p p o i n t m e n t s i n Chemistry a t Northwestern
Local Section Activities {Continued from page 3) Superintendent Sacramento Filtration Plant, Sacramento; Councilor, J. H. Jon te, College of the Pacific, Stockton ; Senator, J . H. Norton, Sacramento Junior College, Sacramento; Secretary-Treasurer, R. P. Tucker, State Department of Agriculture, Sacramento.
News
Applications for graduate appointments in chemistry a t Northwestern University, Evanston, 111., should be sent to F r a n k C. Whitmore, National Research Council, Washington, D. C , before March 1, 1928. Before t h a t date each applicant should send the following directly t o the Chemistry D e p a r t m e n t of t h e University : 1. An official transcript of his academic work. 2. A recent inexpensive photograph of himself. I n addition, each applicant should arrange for two former teachers or employers t o write directly to the Chemistry D e p a r t m e n t regarding his qualifications for graduate work. T h e positions which will be open for 1928-29 are of three t y p e s : 1.
2.
3.
Graduate Assistantships Stipends—six hundred and fifty to eight hundred dollars Service required—a maximum of twelve hours service per week in connection with instructional work during the academic year with the exception of the Christmas and Easter vacations Tuition—one hundred and twenty-five dollars per year Registration—eighty per cent of full graduate registration Research Fellowships Stipends—five hundred to one thousand dollars Service required—none Tuition—sixty-three dollars per year Registration—full graduate registration University Fellowships Stipends—five hundred dollars Service required—three hours per week Tuition—none Registration—full graduate registration
All appointments are on the basis of t h e academic year, which begins September 17, 1928, a n d ends J u n e 17, 1929. All n e w graduate students pay a matriculation fee of ten dollars. R e search chemicals are supplied, b u t breakage is charged.
Investigation of Goal Classification T h e initial meetings of the three technical committees of the Sectional Committee on Coal Classification, sponsored b y the American Society for Testing Materials, were held N o v e m b e r 17 in the New York headquarters of the American I n s t i t u t e of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. A. C. Fieldner of the Bureau of Mines, chairman of t h e Sectional Committee, a n d H a r r y L. Gandy, executive secretary of the National Coal Association and secretary of t h e Sectional Committee, were in attendance. In explaining the duties of t h e three committees, Dr. Fieldner said t h a t t h e Committee on Scientific Classification was to make a study of the possibilities of formulating a system for the classification of coal, based principally upon its constitution, composition, and geological occurrence; t h a t the Committee on Use Classification was charged with making a s t u d y of t h e possibilities in t h e development of such a classification, based principally upon the uses of coal and t h e commercial practice, b u t also correlated with t h e scientific classification. T h e Committee on Marketing Practice is to obtain, collect, a n d correlate marketing practice on coals ar. connected with classification. T h e next meetings of t h e technical committees a n d also of the Sectional Committee on Coal Classification are to be held in New York March 29, 1928. T h e following officers were elected: Committee on Scientific Classification: H . J. Rose, c h a i r m a n ; W. H. Cunningham, vice chairman; W. T . Thorn, secretary. Subcommittees organized: on t h e nature, location, and occurrence of types of American coal; on t h e composition a n d p r o p erties of coal and methods for their determination; and on the proposed classifications of coals. Committee on Use Classification: W. H. Fulweiler, c h a i r m a n ; Malcolm MacFarlane, vice chairman; Gilbert Francklyn, secretary. Committee on Marketing Practice: F . R. Wadleigh, c h a i r m a n ; E . W. Parker, vice chairman; S. B . Crowell, secretary.
An Opportunity i n Books T h e Chemical Foundation, Inc., 85 Beaver St., N e w York, Ν . Υ., is offering at five dollars its set of eight books, w h i c h is a great opportunity for one t o a d d to his library a n d to recom m e n d to others a purchase t h a t is certain t o be profitable. T h e eight books, all fully bound in cloth, could n o t be purchased singly for three times t h a t sum. T h e y are "Life of Pasteur, by Vallery-Radot. "Creative Chemistry," by E. E . Slosson. " T h e Riddle of the R h i n e , " b y Victor Lefebure. "Discovery, t h e Spirit and Service of Science," by Sir R i c h a r d Gregory. " T h e F u t u r e Independence and Progress of American Medicine in the Age of Chemistry," by a committee of American scientists. "Chemistry in Agriculture," edited by J. S. C h a m b e r l a i n a n d C. A. Browne. "Chemistry in Industry," Vols. I a n d I I , edited b y Κ . Ε . H o w e .
