fellow at St. Michael's College. Winooski Park, Vt. His specialty is potassium trac ing in nerve conduction.
PEOPLE
NEWS-MAKERS Gordon Dean N e w H e a d of Atomic Energy Commission
Gordon D e a n , w h o was itceiitly confinned by t h e Senate as a m e m b e r of t h e Atomic Energy Commission for a threeyear term, has been appointed by Presi dent T r u m a n as chairman of the A E C . Mr. Dean has b e e n a m e m b e r of t h e commis sion since May 1949, and has served as acting chairman since July 1. 1950. His appointment as chairman will not require Senate confirmation. Mr. Dean first entered the government service in 1934, serving as Λ\\ attorney in the D e p a r t m e n t of Justice. In 1937 he was made special e\rcutiv e assistant
E d w a r d Abrams, textile research sci entist, has been appointed head of t h e textile section of t h e Southern Research Institute. U n d e r his direction, t h e Insti tute plans immediate inauguration of an e x p a n d e d a n d diversified service xerogram to t h e textile industry. Dr. Abrams lias practiced recently as a textile consultant in N e w York City. R a l p h L. Beach, formerly engineer m a n ager a n d district engineer ot York Corp.'s southern district, Atlanta, Ga., has b e e n promoted to assistant general service m a n a g e r of t h e air conditioning and re frigeration firm. H e will be located in York, Pa. Sidney W . Benson, associate professor of chemistry, University of Southern Cali fornia, has been a w a r d e d a scholarship 2538
to Attorney G e n eral H o m e r C u m mings a n d later to Attorney General Robert H. Jackson. From 1940 to 1948 he e n g a g e d in t h e private practice of law in W a s h i n g ton, D . C., a n d served from 1940 to 1944 on t h e Supreme Court Advisory Commit tee to draft rules of criminal proce dure for the I . S. district courts. Mr. Dean is a former assistant dean and law instructor at Duke University. During World W a r II he served in the Navy and from 1945 to 1946 he acted as assistant to Justice Jackson in the prosecution of Nazi war crimi nals, having charge of all public relations at the Nurenberg trials. O t h e r members of t h e commission re cently approved b y t h e Senate are H e n r y Dewolf Smyth, confirmed for one year; T h o m a s E. Murray, for t w o years; a n d Sumner Pike, for four years. Mr. Pike w a s confirmed by t h e Senate after being r e jected by a S e n a t e committee. He was acting chairman from David E . Lilienthal's resignation on F e b . 15, 1950, until J u n e 30. T h e President is expected to submit an additional nomination to t h e Senate to complete the five-man commission.
tor work at the University of Paris u n d e r the terms of t h e F u l b r i g h t Act. H e is also recipient of a G u g g e n h e i m Fellow ship for the a o a d e m i c year, 1 9 5 0 - 5 1 . H e will b e engaged in writing a book on chemical kinetics during his stay in E u rope. E. \V. Blind, s u p e r i n t e n d e n t . John Adolphson, assistant superintendent, a n d Joseph Kohlberg, chief chemist, h a v e joined Great Lakes C a r b o n Corp. T h e y will continue in their present capacities at the St. Louis coke plant which t h e corporation has recently taken over from t h e Laclede O a s Light Co. M. Bohun-Greene, formerly with M e morial Foundation, W i l m i n g t o n , Del., has been appointed privat-docent a n d research C H E M I C A L
E . C. Bothwell, a director and vice president ot the Gulf Oil Corp., Pitts burg}), Pa., has retired after 3 5 years of u n i n t e r r u p t e d service with Gulf. K. C. H e a l d has been elected a director to fill t h e vacancy. Joseph E. B r a d b u r y has been promoted to manager of the alloy sales section of t h e valve and fitting d e p a r t m e n t , Crane Co., Chicago, III. H e has been a m e m b e r of the d e p a r t m e n t since it was organized in 1940. H u g h B. Brankstone has been ap pointed employee relations advisor at the Fort W o r t h production division of t h e Gulf Oil Corp. He was formerlv assistant to the employee relations advisor of t h e production and p i p e line department. J a m e s A. B r o w n , formerly chief chem ist for W a s h i n g t o n Laboratories, Inc., Seattle, has joined the staff of t h e research a n d development group in t h e analytical d e p a r t m e n t at Eli Lilly & Co.. Indianapoli ., Ind. Stanley M. Cash has been a p p o i n t e d technical director of II. Blacker Printing Inks. Inc., Cincin nati. Ohio. l i e has been m a n a g e r of t h e p r o d u c t development d e p a r t m e n t , plastics division of Conti nental C a n Co.. I n c .
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M
Cas
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Frank F . C a s t a n o received his P h . D . degree in agricultural biochemistry at t h e Pennsylvania State College recently, a n d has joined t h e research staff of t h e Beacon Milling Co.. Cayuga, Ν. Υ. Lt. Col. Carl S. Casto has assumed c o m m a n d of the Chemical Corps Procure ment Agency, Army Chemical Center, F d g e w o o d , Md. A. C. C e r e g h i n o , Jr., is t h e technical representative for Atlas Powder Co.'s in dustrial chemicals in Michigan, Indiana, a n d Chicago, with h e a d q u a r t e r s in Chi cago. H e h a s b e e n w i t h t h e Wilmington office of the company. Guy W . Clark, technical director of Lederle Laboratories division of American C y a n a m i d Co., has transferred his activi ties with the company to Napa, Calif. C. S. Davis, Jr., has been elevated to t h e presidency of the Norge Heat Divi sion of Borg-Warner. He will have his offices in Detroit He was formerly gen eral manager of Norge Heat. L. A. Dixon, Jr., h a s b e e n named as sistant vice president of t h e meter a n d valve division of t h e Rockwell Mfg. Co., Pittsburgh, Pa. AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
facts you should k n o w about
SODIUM DISPERSIONS SODIUM DISPERSIONS These are stable dispersions of metallic sodium in inert media which boil at a temperature above the melting point of sodium. They con tain up to .">()';/ I by weight ι of sodium and are easily handled in pipes at room temperature.
can be carried out in your own plant for either pilot or full-scale operation. Our technical staff has d e v e l o p e d tvpicul equipment diagrams and layouts covering the entire range of produc tion requirements.
SODIUM DISPERSION USES PARTICLE SIZE Size of sodium particles in these concentrated dispersions varies with the method of prepara tion. Particle sizes ranging from submieron to 20 microns can be obtained easily.
ADVANTAGES T h e fine subdivision of sodium tremendously increases the surface area of the metal available for reaction. T h e resulting increased reactivity now o p e n s up a new field of sodium chemistry. Reaction rates are stepped up w h i l e tempera tures can be lowered with corresponding in creases in yields. Side reactions also are reduced.
MANUFACTURE Sodium dispersions are m a d e in a commerciallyavailable colloid mill. T h e process is simple and
.\ational Distillers Metallic Sodium is available in tank cars, 80,000 lbs., net, or in open-topped 55-gal. steel bbls., 290 lbs. net, containing 1, 22/>, 5 or l2l/2 lb. bricks.
Sodium dispersions offer advantages in t h e fol lowing a p p l i c a t i o n s : Claisen condensation re actions: in desidfurizhtg and purifying hydro carbons; in preparing sodium alcoholates: i n Wurtz reactions: in the preparation of anhy drous cellulose ethers: in the preparation of finely-divided metals. Many other reactions may be visualized where increased reactivity and control are critical factors.
SAMPLES Samples of sodium dispersions are available i n research quantities. Dispersions in inert media such as toluene, xylene, naphtha, kerosene, white oil, N u j o l , petroleum jelly, naphthalene or paraffin can be supplied on request.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE The Research Division of National Distillers Chemical Corporation can help you on any problem involving the preparation, use and h a n d l i n g of sodium dispersions, or on the use and h a n d l i n g of metallic sodium. On request, we shall be pleased to have a technical repre sentative call upon you. Please address your inquiries to National Distillers Chemical Cor poration, 120 Broadway, New York 5, Ν. Y.
National
Distillers
C H E M I C A L CORPORATION V O L U M E
2 8,
NO.
30
JULY
2 4,
1950
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NEWS-MAKERS The research and development .stuff of Sun Oil Co., Marcus Hook, Pa., has added the following members to the staff: Chem ists: Irl N. Duling and Brian Casey, MIT; Joseph F. Paulson, Boston College; and Peter B. Murray, Swarthmore College. Chenncal Engineers: William E. Bonnet, University of Delaware, Warren C. Shultis, S>Taeuse University; Neil J. Bricker, C r m e City College: Wilbert J. Magers, University of Illinois; and Millard F . Brown. Carnegie Institute of Technology. C T. Elvey, formerly deput> head of the research department. Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, Calif., has been appointed senior research associate on the staff of the associate director for research and development. William L. Fields, former assistant manager of district offices of Standard Oil Co. of California at Oakland, has been appointed manager of the Salt Lake dis trict offices. He succeeds F . C. Eastman, who is retiring after heading the local offices for the past 10 years. Sam D. Fine has been transferred from the Cincinnati district of the U. S. Food and Drug Administration, where he was employed as a chemist, to their Denver district. He succeeds L. H. ChernofF as chief chemist of the district laboratory. Dr. ChernofF has retired from Govern ment service. Richard E. Githens, Jr. is currently on loan to G. E. Hanford Works for one year as a chemical engineer. He comes from Oak Ridge where he has been em ployed for t h e past three years by the Fairchild Engine a n d Airplane Corp. as a chemical engineer assigned to the ΝΕΡΑ project. Clark Griffin, assistant professor of chemistry at Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., attended the Fifth International Cancer Congress held in Paris during July. The meeting coincided with special programs marking the 50th anniversary of the discovery of radium. David Jorysch, technical director of the flavor division of H. Kohnstamm & Co., Inc., N e w York City, has recently returned from a trip to Vienna. Austria, where he received the Doctor of Science degree from the Vienna Polytechnic In stitute. Howard R. Lillie, research physicist for Corning Glass Works and president-elect of the American Ceramic Society, attended meetings on glass technology in London, England, and Berne, Switzerland. D. W. McLenegan has assumed the responsibility for the operation of the General Electric Graduate School of Nu clear Engineering, Richland, Wash. He succeeds F . Ellis Johnson, retired. Coleman J. Major has been appointed associate professor of chemical engineer ing at the State University of Iowa, Iowa
2540
NECROLOGY O t > . Iowa. He will resign his present position as superintendent of the service department for Sharpies Chemicals, Inc., Wyandotte, Mich. Frank J. Meyer is now district manager
