EDUCATION
The $2,500,000 science hall dedicated in honor of Father Nieuwland (inset)
Nieuwland Science Hall Dedicated Notre Dame's new $2.5 million building houses
chemistry, physics, and mathematics "JULIUS ARTHUR
NIEUWLAND, priest-
J scientist, was bom in Hansbocke, Belgium, on Feb. 14, 1878. Seventyfive years later-on Oct. 30 to 31, 1953, the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind., dedicated its new $2.5 million science building—the Nieuw land Science Hall to this great inspira tional figure in the presence of a large group of distinguished religious, scien tists, technologists, and industrialists. Those 75 years constitute a fascinat ing story—the saga of a man who de liberately sought obscurity but achieved lasting fame as a scientist, who cared nothing for the material things of liic yet pioneered one of the great indus trial chemical developments in histor\. .ι priest-scientist who believed firmly that "All things Cod has made are good, and each of them serves its turn." By his personal example he demon strated continually that there is nothing incompatible between science and re ligion. The 14 words inscribed high above the entrance to the new Nieuwland Sci ence Hall epitomizes the spirit of the late Father Nieuwland and the scien tists and students who work in the building that bears his name. The parents of Nieuwland migrated 4696
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to the United States when Julius was two. They settled at South Bend al most within the shadow of the Golden Dome. Very little has been recorded of his childhood days. In 1899, he graduated from the school of arts and letters of Notre Dame with a thor ough tiaining in Latin, Greek, botany, and zoology, but with a minimum of contact with the field of chemistry. Young Nieuwland by this time had determined to spend his life in the service of God and his order sent him to Catholic University in Washington for graduate work. It was his inten tion to major in botany under Edward Green, but then one of those sudden quirks of fortune intervened. Green accepted a position with the Smithsonian Institution and Nieuw land very quickly came under the in fluence of the professor of chemistry, John Griffin. Urged by Griffin, Nieuw land switched his interest to chemistry —more specifically to the chemistry of acetylene. The story is told that the reason why Nieuwland picked acety lene was its simple formula—C2H2. l'or -10 years much of his life was spent in exploring the complexities of acety lene chemistry. Nieuwland's doctorate thesis was C H E M I C A L
entitled "Some Reactions of Acetylene." Fourteen years later certain of Nieuwland's discoveries and observations be came the basis for further research by W. Lee Lewis of the Chemical Warperfecting of the poison gas "lewis ite." in 1903, Nieuwland became Father Nieuwland—a year later Doctor Nieuw land. In the same year he returned to Notre Dame to teach botany and chemistry. Slowly but surely botany became an avocation as Nieuwland continued his exploratory studies into reactions of acetylene with many ele ments and compounds. For 2 1 years he continued these studies before any practical applications appeared on the horizon. The name of Nieuwland will always be closely associated with that of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. At the
1925 Fall Meeting of the ACS held in Rochester, Ν. Υ., Nieuwland presented a paper on his research work on divinylacetylene that expressed a suspi cion of the presence of monovinylacetylene in one particular reaction. Unknown to Nieuwland, D u Pont researchers under the leadership of the brilliant chemist Wallace Carothers. were feverishly working in the field of acetylene chemistry with the hope of developing a synthetic rubber with special properties. The detailed story of the difficulties and discouragements the Carothers group were experiencAND
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suddenly on June 11, 1936 while vacationing at the Holy Cross house of studies located on Catholic University campus in Washington. The inspiration he conveyed to others, however, has been instrumentai in creating in the past several decades on the Notre Dame campus a strong interest in the physical sciences. The new Nieuwiand Science Hall houses the departments of chemistry, mathematics, and physics. More than 30 large, modern laboratories, several amphitheatre-type classrooms, a large library, and dozens of shops and offices are contained in the buff brick and limestone building. The building in modern functional design blends well with the prevailing collegiate Gothic architecture of the other buildings. The new structure adjoins the old science and engineering building. The engineering departments, particularly chemical engineering, now G. E. Uhlenbeck of University of Michi- have greatly enlarged facilities as a gan addresses a Notre Dame convocation result of the opening of Nieuwiand Sciafter receiving an honorary doctor of science degree. He is a renowned physicist ence Hall. Largest of 16 modern laboratories provides working space for 96 students and can accommodate four ing would take considerable space to class sections alternately. Each student relate. station is equipped with outlets for Sufficient here to say that Du Pont hot and cold water, gas, air, vacuum, chemist, Elmer K. Bolton, heard high pressure steam, and variable elecNieuwland's paper and sensed immedi- tric current. Special hooded stations ately it was a challenging piece of re- at the end of each aisle provide prosearch and possibly the clue the tection for nicrhlv flammable or exCarothers group was seeking. It was, plosive experiments. Each laboratory and many thousands of dollars in roy- desk is movable for easy access to servalties poured into Notre Dame Uni- ice lines and for maintenance. Also versity coffers after the synthetic rub- housed in the chemistry wing is a new mass spectrometer employed for anaber neoprene became a reality. Nieuwiand did not live to see the lyzing gases in research being conerection of the impressive science hall ducted for the Atomic Energy Comthat now hears his name. He died mission. A large library shared by all J· F. O'Hara, C.S.C. (right), Archbishop of Philadelphia, inspects a chemistry laboratory at Nieuwiand Science Hall. T. M. Hesburgh, C.S«C (left), president of university, looks on
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departments occupies two floors in the center of the main wing. The undergraduate section of the physics department occupies the three floors at the north end of the main wing. The south wing houses the undergraduate activities of the chemistry department. Adequate space has been assigned for the graduate schools of physics and chemistry. The latter is the largest graduate school on the Notre D a m e campus. Much space has been provided for graduate study in such fields of research as nucleonics, electronics, and polymers. The new building, six years in the planning stages, contains everyfacility for conducting advanced original research of a very high order. Notre Dame's graduate school of chemistry has attracted a number of topflight teachers and researchers, including such men as C. C. Price, Milton Burton, and Kenneth N. Campbell. The present staff of the chemistry department, including the graduate school, totals 1 7 full-time members and 22 teaching fellows. Nieuwiand in his few spare hours made and sold microscopical botanical sections in order to buy scientific books for the library. H e would be very impressed with the equipment in science hall that now bears his illustrious name. Perhaps much of it would seem too pretentious for his simple needs. The physical assets of the building might appear strange to him, but not the spirit that pervades within its four walls. Even this very humble servant of G o d and man could not fail to recognize t h e same longing for the truth that motivated him throughout his years dedicated to the service of others.
Symposium on Development of Science at University of Notre Dame. Left to right, Andrew Boyle, chemistrv department head; H. Bolger, C.S.C., head of the physics department· L. Baldinger, dean of college of science; and A. Ross, head of the mathematics department. Symposium marked dedication of Nieuwiand Hall
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NafioneS M a n p o w e r Council Confers on Scientific M a n p o w e r Sixty-six leaders in the fields or engineering, medicine, education, science, industry, government, and the armed services from all over the United Statestook part in a conference on Columbia University's Harriman campus at Harriman, New York. The conference sought practical methods or carrying out the recent recommendations on manpower utilization by the National Manpower Council in its book, "A Policy for Scientific and Professional Manpower." In addition to general sessions, conference program provided for meetings by three working groups in the fields of engineering, medical, and teaching personnel. T h e engineering group was under the chairmanship of Frank W. Pierce, a director of Standard Oil of New Jersey a n d a member of the National Manpower Council. The engineering group agreed on the following points for securing improved utilization of engineering manpower: 1. To increase focus of genuine and continuing attention at all levels of an enterprise. 2. To improve training, not only in colle oes and on the iob, but also in elementary and secondary schools.
3 . To learn much more about the jobs w h i c h engineers and related supporting personnel are doing for necessary reassignment of duties. 4 . T o see that engineers have the best available tools and instruments as well as good supporting personnel. 5 . To make more effective communication from management to engineering personnel about work objectives. 6. T o change organization of enterprises to open up new possibilities for the b e t t e r utilization of personnel. 7. T o keep technologically trained people at technological jobs for which they are best fitted through incentives in form of status, recognition, and money rewards. 8. To recognize that an individual's effectiveness and interest on the job is affected b y things outside of his work. 9. To take into account normal human resistance to changes in setup. 10. T o develop potential capacities of engineering personnel through imaginary assignment and training. i I. T o distinguish among w h a t can be accomplished to secure immediate gains, w h a t may yield results only after some investment, and w h a t changes are fundamental and long range. 12. T o effect utilization not through any single device, but by the use of many reluted measures.
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C H E M I C A L
High School Seniors Receive C I T Scholarships l'en four-year scholarships at Carnegie Institute of Technology will be awarded to high school senior m e n in the Spring of 1954. Called George VVestinghouse scholarships, sponsored by Westinghouse Educational Foundation, they are valued a t $3170 each. Scholarships provide $980 for the freshman year, $830 for the sophomore year, $680 for the junior year, and $680 for the senior year. Men who will b e g r a d u a t e d from secondary school within the period Jan. to Sept. 1954 and who rank in the upper q u a r t e r of their class are eligible. Scholarships may b e applied toward a course in chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical or metallurgical engineering; chemistry, physics or industrial management. Appointments are for a period of one year and reappointment is d e p e n d e n t upon meeting scholarship standards of Carnegie. Requests must b e received h>y Oee. 1, 1953 and should be sent to Chairman of Admissions, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh 13, Pa. Oak Ridge Institute Elects Sponsoring Universities Council of the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies held its eighth annual meeting at Oak Ridge, Tenn., on Oct. 20. T h e Council unanimously elected Southern Methodist University and Tuskegee Institute as the 31st and 32nd sponsoring universities of t h e institute. Named to vacancies for three year terms were C. K. Beck, (physics) North Carolina State College; J. R. Dunning, (engineering) Columbia University; W. Johnson, (chemistry) University of Chicago; C. E. Larson, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and M. D . Peterson, (chemistry) Vanderbilt University. Retiring board mem hers are S. C. LincL Carbide and Carbon; and T. S. Painter, University of Texas. High School Forum G i v e s Pointers on Science C a r e e r s On Oct. 22, the Philadelphia Section of the ACS cooperated with the Philadelphia Board of Public Education in presenting a forum for careers in science. The forum, attended by over 4 0 0 students from all of t h e Philadelphia junior and senior high schools, was h e l d in the auditorium of t h e Philadelphia High School for Girls. Purpose of the meeting was t o present to students, faced with t h e problem of choosing a career, a balanced discussion of the fields of chemistry, biology, physics, and engineering. T h e discussions w e r e led by educators and by members of each profession. AND
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