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Supplementary Materials
Glenn T. Seaborg
The number of supplementary materials that accompany print articles has grown and also become more varied. The new guidelines for lab experiments call for supplementary materials in most cases, so that the actual materials used in lab can be made available. The From Past Issues column edited by Kathryn Williams and many of the technology columns frequently have supplements for JCE Online. An especially interesting supplement that we would like to call to the attention of readers is a collection of videos from the E. O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, based on interviews with nuclear chemists who have discovered and studied the heaviest elements. These movies accompany the Viewpoints article, “Chemistry of the Heaviest Elements— One Atom at a Time” by Darleane C. Hoffman and Diana M. Lee. The titles of the movies are listed below; illustrative stills are shown at the bottom of the page. Researchers involved with the segments about Lawrencium include Robert Silva, Torbjorn Sikkeland, Matti Nurmia, Robert Latimer, and Albert Ghiorso, all of whom are from the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. (QuickTime 3 is needed in order to view the videos; it can be downloaded free from http://www.apple.com.) • A Brief Note about Plutonium, by Glenn Seaborg • Plutonium and Why It Was Kept a Secret • The Prediction of the Actinide Series, by Glenn Seaborg • First Chemical Separation of Lawrencium at Lawrence Radiation Laboratory in 1970 • The HILAC or Heavy-Ion Linear Accelerator • Discovery of Lawrencium • How To Collect Lawrencium Atoms • The Discovery of Element 106—Finally • The Naming of Element 106 • The Limits of Discovering the Heavy Elements • What Good Is a Heavy Element?
Glenn Seaborg, frequent contributor and faithful supporter of this Journal, died February 25, 1999, at his home in Lafayette, California, at the age of 86. At the Fall 1998 ACS Meeting in Boston he suffered a serious fall following a stroke, from which he never recovered. One of his last photographs, taken the previous day at a Journal luncheon, appears on page 1360 of the November 1998 issue. His commentary on his long career in chemistry and education appears on page 1520 of the December 1998 issue. Seaborg was a Nobel laureate, discoverer of elements, scientific advisor to presidents, former chancellor of the University of California, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, chairman of the steering committee of the CHEM Study project, founder of Lawrence Hall of Science, …, the list goes on and on. He was at the same time a passionate supporter of education. Seaborg published fourteen articles in the Journal between 1951 and 1998. He was interviewed in 1975 by David Ridgway as part of the Impact series (JCE 1975, 52, 70), and that interview is highly recommended reading (available as supplementary material on JCE Online at http://JChemEd. chem.wisc.edu/Journal/Issues/1999/May/abs590.html). He received the 1994 ACS George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education; his award address was published in the ACS Division of Chemical Education’s CHED Newsletter, Fall 1995. Memorial articles with details of his life and his scientific contributions have appeared in The New York Times (Saturday, February 27, 1999, page 1) and Chemical & Engineering News (March 8, 1999, page 29). But there is also the spirit of the man, what he believed in, what he tried to do, what he hoped he had accomplished. A sense of that can be gained from the excerpts that are reprinted below, taken first from the Impact interview and then from the award address.
To see these videos on JCE Online+, go to http://JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu/Journal/Issues/1999/Mar/Supp/ supp331.html.
RIDGWAY: On reflection, now, out of your many contributions to chemistry, is there one that you feel has had more of an impact than others? S EABORG: The discovery of plutonium would answer that question. The impact there is probably nearly as great as any single chemical discovery.
continued on page 604
Selected still shots from the supplementary video materials that accompany “Chemistry of the Heaviest Elements— One Atom at a Time”, the Viewpoints article by Darleane C. Hoffman and Diana M. Lee.
http://JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu/Journal/Issues/1999/Mar/Supp/supp331.html 590
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 76 No. 5 May 1999 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
Chemical Education Today
News & Announcements continued from page 590 RIDGWAY: What was the state of the “art” in your field when you first decided to bend your energies in this direction? SEABORG: In nuclear science? Very crude. I mean we had difficulty even making the simplest Geiger counter work. This facet alone was always a challenge.
August 3–6: College of Charleston, Charleston, SC August 16–19: TBA, Seattle, WA
For further information contact Laboratory Safety Workshop, 192 Worcester Road, Natick, MA 01760-2552; phone: 508/647-1900; fax: 508/647-0062; email:
[email protected].
RIDGWAY: What do you look for in a young person who wishes to work with you in your research program? SEABORG: Certainly I try to identify intelligence and creativity and very importantly, industry, that is the willingness to work hard which leads to dedication. RIDGWAY: …research and teaching or research versus teaching. Do you consider in your own pursuits in the academic life a dichotomy between teaching and research? SEABORG: Definitely not! I think they go together very well. I teach freshman chemistry and it’s a joy to meet my freshman chemistry sections. It gives me a better perspective even though it’s at the beginning level. In addition, the fact that I’m conducting research helps (in my opinion) freshman chemistry. As your readers well know, freshman chemistry is a sophisticated and complicated subject these days.
Pimentel Award Address: Regarding the CHEM Study project: Although my heavy schedule as Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, and numerous other commitments should have made me decline this added responsibility, the unusual circumstances of our meeting and the ardor of the group led to my somewhat bewildered acceptance.
Report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983): If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, We have allowed this to happen to ourselves…
Discussing Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS):
Proposal Deadlines National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) • •
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For further information about NSF DUE programs consult the DUE Web site at http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/DUE/start.htm. Program deadlines are at http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/DUE/programs/programs.htm. Contact the DUE Information Center at phone: 703/306-1666; email:
[email protected].
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. • • • •
It is an unfortunate fact, borne out by research and much anecdotal experience, that by the time they reach high school most students have already decided whether or not they like chemistry, and whether or not they are good at it.
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In summary:
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Having served in many capacities, educational and governmental over my career, I have no illusions about the complexities involved in implementing change. Yet there is really no choice if we are to survive and thrive as a nation. We must shine a strong spotlight on education, with special and lasting emphasis on science and technology, and the real-world connections so apparent to us in chemistry and all the sciences.
Courses, Seminars, Meetings, Opportunities Lab Safety Training The Laboratory Safety Workshop announces laboratory safety training in six locations this summer. The 24-hour short courses are for secondary and college/university science educators. The dates and locations are: June 16–19: TBA, Minneapolis, MN June 23–26: Southwest Texas State Univ., San Marcos, TX July 7–10: University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, NV July 14–17: Northeastern University, Boston, MA 604
Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) June 7, 1999 NSF Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP) Preliminary proposals, Track 1 May 1, 1999 Formal proposals, Track 1 September 1, 1999 DUE online 1999 guidelines, NSF 99-53 available at http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf9953
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Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program: November 16, 1998 Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program: July 1, 1999 New Faculty Awards Program: May 14, 1999 Faculty Start-up Grants for Undergraduate Institutions: May 14, 1999 Scholar/Fellow Program for Undergraduate Institutions: July 1, 1999 Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences: July 15, 1999 Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry: February 26, 1999
Further information may be obtained from The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc., 555 Madison Avenue, Suite 1305, New York, NY 10022; phone: 212/753-1760; email:
[email protected]; www: http://www.dreyfus.org/
Research Corporation • • • • •
Cottrell College Science Awards: May 15 and November 15 Cottrell Scholars: First regular business day in September Partners in Science: December 1 (the final year for this program is summer 1999) Research Opportunity Awards: May 1 and October 1 Research Innovation Awards: May 1
Further information may be obtained from Research Corporation, 101 North Wilmot Road, Suite 250, Tucson, AZ 85711-3332; phone: 520/571-1111; fax: 520/571-1119; email:
[email protected]; www: http://www.rescorp.org
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 76 No. 5 May 1999 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
