NEWS M. Bonner Denton, professor of chemistry at the University of Arizona, will receive the Division's 1989 Award in Chemical Instrumentation (sponsored by the Dow Chemical Co.). Denton's research interests include applications of technological advances in electronics, physics, optics, astronomy, acoustics, mechanical engineering, and computer science to the development of new and improved methods of chemical analysis and automation. Currently his work includes selective single photoionization of complex real-world mixtures, new hollow anode cathode discharges as spectroscopic sources, the application of charge-injection array detectors in new classes of intelligent instrumentation, the use of chargecoupled array detectors in rapid-scan and low-photon flux spectroscopy, and new modes of automation using improved sample-handling methods. Denton received undergraduate degrees in chemistry and psychology from Lamar University in Beaumont, TX (1967). He received his Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Illinois (1972) under the direction of Howard Malmstadt and then joined the University of Arizona faculty. Gary Hieftje, professor of chemistry at Indiana University, will be honored as the 1989 recipient of the Division's Award in Spectrochemical Analysis (sponsored by Perkin-Elmer Corp.). Hieftje's research interests include the investigation of basic mechanisms in atomic emission, absorption, and fluorescence spectrometric analysis, and the development of atomic methods of analysis. He is also interested in on-line computer control of chemical instrumentation and experiments, time-resolved luminescence processes for analysis, information theory as it applies to analytical chemistry, near-IR reflectance analysis, and stochastic processes to extract basic and kinetic chemical information. Hieftje received an undergraduate degree from Hope College, Holland, MI (1964) and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois (1969) under the direction of Howard Malmstadt. He has been a member of the Indiana University faculty since 1969. Theodore Williams, professor of chemistry at the College of Wooster (Wooster, OH), has been chosen as the 1989 recipient of the Division's Award for Excellence in Teaching (cosponsored by the Division and E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.). Williams is the seventh recipient of the award and the first from an undergraduate liberal arts institution; previous winners were all from major research universities. "I am especially pleased that this award serves to recognize the quality of teaching that is found at liberal arts colleges such as Wooster," said Williams. "I consider this an endorsement of Wooster's science program and others like ours." Williams received a B.S. degree in chemistry from Howard University (1952), an M.S. degree in physical chemistry from The Pennsylvania State University (1954), and a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Connecticut (1960). 586 A · ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 61, NO. 9, MAY 1, 1989
Mitchell Joins National Academy of Engineers James Mitchell, head of Bell Laboratories's Analytical Chemistry Research Department in Murray Hill, NJ, has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineers. Mitchell was honored for developing techniques to identify contaminants and trace elements in high-purity materials. After receiving his B.S. degree in chemistry from the Agriculture and Technical State University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1965, Mitchell earned his Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1970 and joined Bell Laboratories that year.
Taking the Cholesterol Out Lowering cholesterol levels in foods is now possible. Scientists at Cornell University and the Food Research Society in Japan, working independently, have developed practical methods for supercritical fluid extraction of cholesterol from milk. "What makes our process particularly exciting," says Syed Rizvi, Cornell professor of food engineering, "is that it not only reduces cholesterol by 90%, but also recovers up to 85% of decholesterolized butterfat." Returning the decholesterolized butterfat to skim milk opens the door for a host of low-cholesterol dairy products including butter, cheese, ice cream, and, of course, milk. To obtain the decholesterolized fat, the Cornell group injects CO2 at 40 °C and pressures as high as 4000 psi into butterfat. The supercritical CO2 removes cholesterol along with some triglycerides and carries it into a second unit, where changes in pressure and temperature help to selectively precipitate the cholesterol. In a third unit the pressure drops to atmospheric level, and the now-gaseous CO2 dissipates, leaving the triglycerides behind to be restored to the butterfat. The Japanese approach is similar, and an 84% reduction in cholesterol and 87% recovery of butterfat have been reported. Both procedures borrow from the commercial methods for supercritical fluid extraction of caffeine from coffee and of beer's characteristic bitter flavor from hops. Dairy producers hope that lowering cholesterol will boost milk sales. Recent surveys of American beverage preferences find that milk—once the country's number one drink—now trails soft drinks, coffee, and even beer in popularity.
For Your Information A recently completed merger ties Kratos, based in England, to Shimadzu Corporation, providing the Japanese firm with a strong base in Western Europe. Kratos will continue as a separate subsidiary within Shimadzu, marketing products under its own name. Since 1984 Hitachi Instruments, Inc. and EM Science have marketed HPLC instruments in the United States under a shared label. That collaboration ended recently when Hitachi acquired EM Science's HPLC division. However, E. Merck, EM's parent company, continues to represent Hitachi HPLC products in Europe.
