Promoting HS Science - C&EN Global Enterprise (ACS Publications)

YOUNG PEOPLE planning careers as high school science and mathematics teachers are competing for 25 new college scholarships this year. Funds to start ...
0 downloads 0 Views 508KB Size
EDUCATION ÏENGINEERÎS S T A R r SCHOOL MÉÏMSSÏ... Icnrolimènts (Thousands)

FiNiSH LSKE THIS mmemmem&mmmmmJsmwEfi

Source: U. S. Office of Education

Source: U . δ. O f f i c e of Education

College Rolls Bulge Again U. S. colleges continue to enroll more students than ever before; 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 engineers are now in school Ο

VER 3

MILLION STUDENTS entered

U . S. colleges and universities last fall — 121,000 more than enrolled in 1956. T h e U . S. Office of Education, report­ ing these figures, says it expects total entrants for the school year to reach 3.46 million, a record-breaker for t h e sixth year in a row. Technological schools surveyed b y the education agency gained at least 3000 students over last year, even though first-year enrollments dropped off. Total engineering majors, how­ ever, increased 20,000 this year to about 300,000. In all schools, 730,000 freshmen topped 1956 first-termers b y about 6600. • N e w Crop of Engineers. A sepa­ rate survey of engineering school activ­ ity, just completed by t h e Office of Education and the American Society for Engineering Education, shows 37,039 engineers received degrees in t h e 74

C&EN

J A N . 2 0,

1958

1956-57 school year. This is 10,000 more than in one recent low year, 1953-54. But it is 21,000 fewer than awarded in 1949-50, a high year, when many engineers were assisted in their schooling under the GI Bill. Of the new 1956-57 engineers, 8108 are electrical, 7907 mechanical, 4683 civil, 2818 chemical, 1926 industrial, I 1 0 9 aeronautical, 838 general, 650 pe­ troleum, 577 metallurgical, 401 agricul­ tural, and 331 architectural. • More People Finish College. An­ other firs t-of-the-y ear education re­ port says more young people now complete their college work. This one comes from the Census Bureau a n d is based on a March 1957 population study. One in 10 persons in t h e U. S., 2 5 to 34 years old, t h e bureau says, has finished college. But in the 35-andover age bracket, only one in 15 has that much education.

T h e Census report also says there are now 7.5 million college graduates in t h e country. This is some 2 million more than t h e bureau recorded in a 1950 survey. On the average, American adults 'have completed 10.5 years of schooling. Women have a slightly higher average than men.

Promoting HS Science Shell Foundation will a i d as m a n y as 2 0 0 new high school science a n d mathematics teachers a y e a r JL OUNG PEOPLE

planning careers

as

high school science and mathematics teachers are competing for 25 new col­ lege scholarships this year. Funds to start t h e program have just been al­ lotted b y t h e Shell Companies Foun­ dation. M . E . Spaght, foundation president and Shell Oil vice president, says t h e p r o g r a m is an attack on the science famine at t h e place where the cure must begin—the secondary schools. Developing good teachers, he adds, is

partly a matter of providing money to train them. But it is also a matter of generating \vider ρ blic interest in the profession, giving teachers more pres­ tige, and making teaching attractive to more young people. Shell's new program, cailed Shell Merit Scholarships, will provide 25 scholarships this year for high school seniors planning teaching careers in high school chemistry, physics, general science, and mathematics. The foun­ dation intends to add 25 scholarships each year until it has a total of 100. The National Merit Scholarship Corp., which is administering Shell's plan, will also match the scholarship funds to provide another 100 science teaching giants a year. More than 7500 students have just finished semi­ final exams leading to the award of Shell's new grants and hundreds of others made through the scholarship corporation. Shell Foundation's aid-to-education budget this year also calls for 50 "assists" to colleges and universities. These funds, about $1500 each, are given to further the professional devel­ opment of college teachers. T h e col­ leges to receive the aid will be formally notified on Feb. 1, 1958.

A third provision of Shell's plan pro­ vides fellowships for 100 high school physics, chemistry, and mathematics teachers for special study next summer. Half these teachers will attend full ses­ sions at Stanford University, and the other half will go to Cornell. Applica­ tions for the summer fellowships will b e received until Feb. 1, 1958.

"

FROM 1/10 MG TO 200 GRAMS

Ford Foundation Score The Ford Foundation took a look at its past year last week, totaled u p these funds spent to advance education: Millions U. S. education (direct grants) Humanities and arts Public affairs Urban problems Economic development Behavioral sciences International affairs European program Overseas development Total

$32.0 5.8 2.9 2.6 5.2 12.6 7.2 3.7 12.8 $84.8

Largest single grant made by t h e foundation in 1957 was $24.5 million to expand Woodrow Wilson fellowships to combat the shortage of college

WITH THIS NEW SEMI-AUTOMATIC ONE-PAN ANALYTICAL BALANCE ir T e n T h o u s a n d D i v i s i o n Optical Readout if Exclusive T w o - B e a m Construc­ tion Ε verything you have ever wanted in an analytical balance is incorporated in the design of this new Christian Becker model —ease of operation, speed, accuracy, craftsmanship. Ε / e n an unskilled oper­ a t o r with very little practice can obtain final readings within 15 seconds on objects weighing from 1/10 mg. to 200 grams. A. new concept in reticles and verniers makes the balance easy to read and re­ duces eye fatigue. Instead of staring at a hazy projected image while adjusting t h e weight loaders, eye level amber lights indicate which way t h e weight control knobs should be turned. Small red and green lights located a t the base show whether the balance is on "rough" or "fine" weighing beams. Other features include: temperature compensation . . . longer "pan to stirrup" dimension . . . conveniently placed weight control knobs . . . built-in stainless steel weights (adjusted to better than Class M tolerances) . . . oil damping, plus many others. Write for new descriptive Range

Precision

1 / 1 0 mg. t o 2 0 0 grams

±0.03 ™3·

Pioneers in Boy Scout Science First Boy Scout science unit, sponsored by Helipot Division, Beckman Instru­ ment, is chartered at Newport Beach, Calif. The new group, called Helipot Science Explorers Post 2 0 1 , is wholly devoted to scientific pursuits. Its 28 members, all of high school age, plan projects that range from building a small cyclotron to solid state difiFusion research. Following charter ceremonies, Roy Slagle (center), Helipot engineer and the post's advisory committee chair­ man, conducted other officers and members of the explorer's unit on a tour of the engineering lab in Beckman's Helipot plant. Others are (left to right) Ross J. Taylor, Douglas MacLaghlan, Slagle, Stan Lewis, and Ron Keeler.

brochure.

Sensitivity

Readability

I 0.1 mg. | 0.05 mg. I I

B-1 3 6 2 Christian Becker Bal­ ance, M o d e l N A - 1 , for 110 volt A C $1,185.00 Yd LAB ORATORY t APPARATUS

INSTRUMENTS > ^ÈMCCALSÎ

Get ougher, more flexible polymers through

>

fctbOÎMMIELD

JAN.

2 0,

·;j N E W

I958

JERSEY^

C&EN

75

EDUCATION

Excerpts From The Chemical Hall of FAME

William Henry Perkin (1838 - 1907)

Knighted in England in 1906 for his contributions to pure chemical research which included the discovery of the reaction depending on the condensation of aldehydes with fatty acids. By 1906, Foremost's El Dorado Division had been a prime supplier of coconut oil to American chemists and manufacturers for more than a decade.

FATTY METHYL ESTERS OF COCONUT OIL •

feïifess.^iSNiSMaj^œîï^w-^^'^^w^^seîcsss^Îca^

rally

Caprvlic

Acids jWlpthvl Ceforc

Eldhvco*

Coconut

Capric

Palmitic

Myristic

Caprylate Eldo 18* Caprate Coconate Myristate Caproate

For Example:

Laurie

Laurate Palmitate

ELDO LAURBC ACID 96-99% pure. (Purest Laurie Acid commercially produced.) Readily available at an attractive price. Eldo's high standards give you a better, more uniform end product.

For samples and specifications, write Dept. /Y *f*OREMOSf F O O D A N D C H E M I C A L C O M P A N Y P. O. Box 5 9 9 , Oakland 4, Calif.

ELDORADO In Minneapolis: M. H. Baker Co.

76

In New York: H. Reismsn Corp.

In Detroit: Harry Holland & Son, Inc.

In Boston: i. S. Wilson & Sons

in Chicago: M. B. Sweet Co.

In Cincinnati: Howard Dock

In Cleveland: F. W. Kamin Co.

C&EN

JAN.

2 0,

1958

teachers in t h e U. S. Now on a national basis, this program awards 1000 graduate fellowships a year for the next five years. Colleges and universities where the fellows enroll receive grants for graduate instruction. These schools, through faculty members, now search out potential teachers on 1000 campuses. Educational Facilities Laboratories was established by t h e foundation in 1957. I t is financed for five years with $4.5 million. Laboratories in the program support research leading to improved school and college buildings. Smaller grants by Ford Foundation gave M I T $500,000 to complete a project upgrading high school instruction in physics. Another $44S,000 helped develop educational television.

Du Pont Grants-1958 D u Pont's aid-to-education b u d g e t for the next school year approaches $1.15 million. Grants exceeding 1957 awards by about $100,000 have been made to 135 colleges and universities. More than half of D u Pont's funds are again earmarked for strengthening the education of scientists and engineers (C&EN, Jan. 21, 1957, page 4 2 ) . T h e y support liberal arts subjects as well as sciences and mathematics. Major parts of Du Pont's plan for the next school year include: Teaching: Awards totaling $664,000 go to 100 private colleges, including 12 medical schools, to maintain standards in teaching technical subjects—chemistry, biochemistry, and engineering. Fundamental research: 20 universities will receive $309,000 in grants of $10,000 and $15,000. T h e schools will use the money to finance research in chemistry of their own choosing. Postgraduate fellowships: 40 fellowships in science a n d engineering, shared b y 2 5 schools, are worth $155,000.

• Science information research careers will be promoted by Western Reserve University and Esso Research and Engineering Co. next fall. T h e cosponsors provide a work-study plan to allow a graduate chemist or chemical engineer to earn an advanced library science degree. Recipient of the award will alternate semesters of study at Western Reserve with semesters of

p-I¥IENTHANE HYDROPEROXIDE work at Esso Research u n t i l h e has his degree. F o r further d a t a on t h e pro­ gram address Jesse H . Shera, School of Library Science, Western Reserve University, Cleveland 6, Ohio. • industrial

hygiene

fellowships at

Harvard University and t h e University of Pittsburgh are open t o master's de­ gree candidates. Administered for the Atomic E n e r g y Commission by the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies, Oak Ridge, Tenn., t h e fellowships carry a stipend of $2500, plus tuition, fees, travel, a n d d e p e n d e n c y allowances. Application deadline: March 1, 1958. • A b r a h a m ΑΛ. Stein has been awarded the first Deuel Award in biochemistry and nutrition b y t h e University of Southern California. Stein i s a post­ doctoral fellow i n the biochemistry de­ partment of Brandeis University. T h e new award honors H a r r y J. D e u e l , Jr., deceased dean of California's biochem­ istry and nutrition d e p a r t m e n t . • Cornell S u m m e r L a b o r a t o r y Course

in use of t h e electron microscope is scheduled from J u n e 16 through July 3 . The course is supported by a National Science Foundation g r a n t . Basic prin­ ciples, methods, and applications of t h e electron microscope will be covered. Application for t h e course s h o u l d b e made t o Benjamin M . Siegel, Cornell University, I t h a c a , Ν. Υ. • Two s u m m e r i n s t i t u t e s for secondary school science teachers, sponsored b y Atomic Energy Commission and N a ­ tional Science F o u n d a t i o n , will be held at Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies. O n e institute, o p e n i n g July 1 4 and running for four weeks, will b e patterned after similar institutes held for three previous summers. The sec­ ond institute, eight w e e k s long, will b e cosponsored b y the Physical Science Study Committee, w h i c h proposes a new program in high school physics. • Fifty science t e a c h e r s from high schools and colleges in t h e E a s t will re­ ceive six weeks of graduate training a t Union College, Schenectady, Ν. Υ., this summer. T h e courses, sponsored b y General Electric, a r e scheduled for June 29 to Aug. 28. They will cover chemistry and physics with special at­ tention to atomic theories, m o d e r n chemistry theory and experiment, elec­ tricity and modern physics, a n d chem­ istry a n d physics in industry. Appli­ cations, available from the school, a r e due back b y March 1, 1958.

OH

A n E x c e l l e n t C a t a l y s t for» E m u l s i o n a n d PoSyesSe? R e d o x Polymerization Systems ^œ^S#|:ïoNJ|^

p - M e n t h a n e Hydroperoxide A c t i v e Oxygen

5 0 . 0 % (min.) 4.65%(mln.)

Lucidol p - M E N T H A N E H Y D R O P E R O X I D E is a stable, nonvolatile liquid hydroperoxide useful as a vinyl type polymerization catalyst both at low and h i g h temperatures. It offers low cost, com­ parability with other catalysts, resistance to catalyst inhibitors and good storage stability. As indicated above, the hydroperoxide group may be attached in any one of three positions. p - M E N T H A N E H Y D R O P E R O X I D E is an effective catalyst in the production of "cold rubber." In polymerization tests at 5 ° C , using Butadiene-Styrene in either a low-sugar redox or an amine formula, it gave much greater percent conversions than other hydroperoxides tested. It can be used in polyester applications requiring a low or room temperature catalyst by incorporating metallic or amine promoters in the resin recipe. Pot life and cure time of the catalyzed resin will be determined by the type of resin and promoter system used. Although it exhibits a low peak exotherm at 180°F. (S.P.I, testing procedure) using general purpose polyester resins, a t temperatures around 240°F. it is equivalent to LUCIDOL benzoyl peroxide and LUPERSOL D D M (methyl ethyl ketone peroxide). Modifying or reinforcing agents in polyester-styrene systems generally do not affect it. Write for Data Sheet

LUCII>OL

DIVISION

Wallace and Tiernan incorporated

O i G A NIC PERftXIDES

Oept. 2 1 7 4 0 MILITARY ROAD B U F F A L O S, N . Y ,

JAN.

20, I 95 8 C & E N

77