Penn State and the Second Centennial of Chemistry
The Third Biennial Conference on Chemical Education and The Second "Centennial of Chemistry" Celebration held a t The Pennsylvania State University in University Park and at the Joseph Priestley House in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, July 30 to August 3 of this year were festive, relaxing, and edifying occasions, marked by moments of great inspiration and graced by the dignity of honoring the past. The conference itself consisted of four plenary lectures, two symposia, six sessions of contributed papers, and at least four largely unstructured sessions on special topics, in addition to Oxygen Day (August 1)-a day-long excursion to Priestley's home and grave at Northumberland and the Second Centennial of Chemistry Celebration. All major events focused on observing the occasion of the Second Centennial of Chemistry-the 200th Anniversary of Joseph Priestley's discovery of oxygen on August 1, 1774, an event considered by early American chemists as "the most important link in the chain" causing "the overthrow of the time-honored phlogistic theory and the foundation of chemistry on its present basis." The four plenary lectures were wisely chosen and brilliantly delivered. Philip S. Skell of Pennsylvania State University opened the conference sessions with his talk, "Reactions of Atoms." Ronald Breslow of Columbia University gave a positively magnificent presentation of his work on "Remote Oxidation and Related Reactions." Michel Lazdunski of the Universite de Nice delivered a ponderous summary of our present understanding of "Molecular Aspects of Nerve Conduction." And Paul Saltman of the University of California at San Diego warmed the hearts of all within hearing distance with his let-it-allhang-out presentation "Some of My Best Friends are Teachers." Priestley's work in chemistry was commemorated by the two symposia--one centered on reactions of oxygen; the other on lecture experiments. The former consisted of papers by Michael Kasha, Florida State University: "Singlet Molecular Oxygen Sensitized Luminescences"; Christopher S . Foote, University of California, Los Angeles: "Singlet Oxygen and its Quenchers in Organic and Biological Chemistry"; T . G . Traylor, University of California, San Diego: "Reactions of Oxygen with Hemes and Heme Proteins"; Joe M. McCord, Duke University: "Superoxide, Superoxide Dismutase and Oxygen Toxicity." The symposium on lecture experiments was organized to recognize Priestley's most famous lecture experiment: I easily conjectured that inflammable air would explode with more violence, and a louder report, by the help of dephlogistieated than of common air; but the effect far exceeded my expectations, and it has never failed to surprise every person before whom I have made the experiment. Participants in the symposium-0. Theodor Benfey, Guilford College; Robert C. Brasted, University of Minnesota; Derek A. Davenport, Purdue University; George L. Gilbert, Denison University; W. H. Eberhardt, Georgia Tech; G. P. Haight, University of Illinois; L. Carroll King, Northwestern University; Kenneth Schug, Illinois Institute of Technology-generally upheld the great Priestley tradition. Many of their experiments were striking; some appeared to be based on pure conjecture; others far exceeded every expectation; some produced surprises-often the demonstrator was more surprised than the audience; in a few, the ghost of some disgruntled lecture demonstra-
editorially speaking tor of the past appeared to he present to disturb the concentration or to decimate the coordination of the lecturer. All-in-all it was a memorable series of performances, a cogent reminder that we really should do more lecture experiments. Contributed papers reflected the wide spectrum of activity in contemporary chemical education. Topics presentkd ranged frbm course and curricular innovation of many varieties-interdisciplinary, unconventional intradisciplinary, self-paced, work-study, case-study-oriented, research-oriented, history-oriented, applications-oriented (environment, food, etc.); through methodology and philosophy of instruction-thermodynamics made interesting, prehiological molecular evolution, "basics made heautiful," "A Piaget Approach"; and on to audio-tutorial and computer-aided techniques in various degrees of sophistication. The unstructured sessions included: "Concerns in High School Chemistry Teaching," "History-Assisted Instruction," Computers in Chemical Education," and "SelfPaced Instruction." Oxygen Day began with a visit to Priestley's graveparticipants passed in file, each placing a red rose near the ,headstone. This was followed by readings from the 1874 eulogies: ". . . He had the spirit of the old heroes of science and art who fell beside their retorts, or who bowed their heads in sleep over immortal manuscripts. . . ." Ceremonies continued a t the Priestley House with speeches, introductions, and resolutions. Highlights were the unveiling of an historical plaque commemorating the origin of the American Chemical Society by ACS President Bernard J. Friedman. Two awards were presented: The First Centennial of Chemistry Award was presented posthumously to Joseph Priestley "for his discovery of oxygen, an event that symbolizes the beginning of modern chemistry." The Second Centennial of Chemistry Award was presented to Sir Derek H. R. Barton of the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, "for putting the third dimension into the teaching of organic chemistry through his contributions to the concept of conformation." In accepting the award, Barton delighted the assembly with one reason he was especially pleased to receive this honor: "Since i t is given every 100 years, none of my friends or competitors will get it." The morning's festivities continued with the keynote address, "The Priestley Heritage: Prospects for Chemistry in its Third 100 Years" given by Franklin Long of Cornell University. In the evening, Sir Derek Barton revealed his mastery of teaching and research in his address "Forbidden Reactions of Triplet Oxygen." It is perhaps a disappointment that despite an excellent program, excellent facilities and an ideal location, not more than three hundred attended the conference. Somehow, the great commonality of purpose and spirit that so completely permeated Holyoke was never quite achieved in Pennsylvania. Yet this conference had an important dimension all its own: It brought us, as chemical educators, together again not only with our historic past in all its richness, tradition and valuable lessons, but also with some of our highly creative colleagues whose imagination, insight and sagacity have moved back the frontiers of chemical science, and made our work as teachers more exciting, more vital, and more rewarding. WTL Volume 51. Number 9, September 1974
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