LETTERS
CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS 1155—16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036 (202) 872-4600 or (800) 227-5558 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Rudy M. Baum DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: A. Maureen Rouhi MANAGING EDITOR: Robin M. Giroux SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER: Marvel A. Wills NEWS William G. Schulz, Editor BUSINESS Michael McCoy, Assistant Managing Editor NORTHEAST: (732) 906-8300 Lisa M. Jarvis (Senior Editor), Rick Mullin (Senior Editor), Marc S. Reisch (Senior Correspondent), Alexander H. Tullo (Senior Editor), Melody M. Bomgardner (Senior Editor), Rachel Eskenazi (Administrative Assistant). HONG KONG: 852 2984 9072 Jean-François Tremblay (Senior Correspondent). HOUSTON: (281) 486-3900 Ann M. Thayer (Senior Correspondent). MUNICH: 49 89 8955 6137 Paige Marie Morse (Contributing Editor) GOVERNMENT & POLICY Susan R. Morrissey, Assistant Managing Editor Britt E. Erickson (Senior Editor), David J. Hanson (Senior Correspondent), Glenn Hess (Senior Editor), Cheryl Hogue (Senior Correspondent), Jeff Johnson (Senior Correspondent) SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY/EDUCATION BOSTON: (617) 395-4163 Amanda Yarnell, Assistant Managing Editor. WASHINGTON: Stuart A. Borman (Deputy Assistant Managing Editor), Celia Henry Arnaud (Senior Editor), Carmen Drahl (Associate Editor), Stephen K. Ritter (Senior Correspondent), Lauren K. Wolf (Associate Editor). BERLIN: 49 30 2123 3740 Sarah Everts (Associate Editor). CHICAGO: (847) 679-1156 Mitch Jacoby (Senior Editor). NORTHEAST: (732) 9068302 Bethany Halford (Senior Editor). WEST COAST: (925) 485-1034 Jyllian Kemsley (Associate Editor), (510) 870-1617 Elizabeth K. Wilson (Senior Editor), Aaron A. Rowe (Contributing Editor). BEIJING: 150 1138 8372 Jessie Jiang (Contributing Editor). JOURNAL NEWS & COMMUNITY: (202) 872-6039 Lila Guterman (Senior Editor), (626) 765-6767 Michael Torrice (Assistant Editor) ACS NEWS & SPECIAL FEATURES Sophie L. Rovner, Assistant Managing Editor Linda Wang (Associate Editor). DALLAS: (972) 529-4351 Susan J. Ainsworth (Senior Editor) EDITING & PRODUCTION Kimberly R. Twambly, Senior Editor Sophia L. Cai (Assistant Editor), Kenneth J. Moore (Assistant Editor) Arlene Goldberg-Gist, Senior Editor Jeff A. Huber (Assistant Editor), Gail M. Mortenson (Associate Editor) ART & DESIGN Robert Bryson, Design Director Robin L. Braverman (Senior Art Director) Yang H. Ku (Associate Designer) C&EN ONLINE Rachel Sheremeta Pepling, Editor Tchad K. Blair (Visual Designer), Luis A. Carrillo (Production Manager), Ty A. Finocchiaro (Web Associate), Pamela Rigden Snead (Web Products Manager) PRODUCTION & IMAGING Renee L. Zerby, Lead Digital Production Specialist Tim Bauer, Sidney Buckle, and Steven J. Lovasz (Digital Production Associates) SALES & MARKETING Elise Swinehart, Assistant Director Elaine Facciolli Jarrett (Marketing Manager) Angela Yeo (Associate Marketing Manager) ADVISORY BOARD Paul J. Bracher, Jean-Claude Bradley, Gary Calabrese, David Clary, Rita R. Colwell, Daryl W. Ditz, Michael P. Doyle, Malika Jeffries-El, Roger LaForce, Derek Lowe, Michael W. Major, Andrew D. Maynard, Harold Meckler, Stephen A. Munk, Nick Roelofs, John M. Schwab, Thomas R. Tritton, Paul Turgeon, Paul A. Wender, Elias Zerhouni, David Zimmermann, Dorothy Zolandz Published by the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY Madeleine Jacobs, Executive Director & CEO Brian Crawford, President, Publications Division EDITORIAL BOARD: Kevin P. Gable (Chair); ACS Board of Directors Chair: Bonnie A. Charpentier; ACS President: Nancy B. Jackson; Ned D. Heindel, John N. Russell Jr., Leah Solla, Peter J. Stang Copyright 2011, American Chemical Society Canadian GST Reg. No. R127571347 Volume 89, Number 11
TOO MANY PH.D. CHEMISTS? IS THERE AN EXCESS of Ph.D. chemists (C&EN, Jan. 31, page 46)? Given the present economic situation, we are creating too many carpenters, steel workers, janitors, production workers, and the like. Unemployment is over 9%. U6, the comprehensive unemployment rate that measures total unemployment, is over 16%, and the total of unemployment and underemployment is estimated to be 19%. The problem is not overproduction of skills; it is the economic situation that has dried up venture capital. Venture capitalists expect about a 30% success rate. That means successes have to pay back more than a factor of four to make the risk worthwhile. Current tax and regulatory policies make this return unlikely. However, it’s not just the current regulations and taxes, but rather the continuing changes and additions to these taxes and regulations. I am part-owner of a start-up with two other chemists. We doubled sales from last year and believe we will exceed the breakeven point this year. We could grow faster with additional capital, but it is not available. We have potential projects for additional technical talent, but the company does not have the capital to pursue them. I am also the principal owner of two other companies that I am keeping alive until the business climate changes. I will not attempt to grow these companies only to see my retirement jeopardized. My potential venture funds are reserved for my retirement and are mostly invested outside the U.S., in countries such as Australia, Canada, and Thailand. At one time, a Ph.D. with a good idea and a businessperson could get funding for a start-up, hire technicians and patent attorneys, buy lab equipment, and follow their dream. Today, very little of this type of capital exists. Robert H. Black Jacksonville, Fla.
assignments. I am disappointed that the recruitment of Ph.D.s is worse than before I left France in 2002. Of course, this is partly due to the economic crisis, but mostly it is also because nearly nothing has been done since then to counteract a situation that was already in place. Indeed, at that time, chemistry Ph.D.s already were having trouble finding positions other than in academia and industrial R&D. In the case of the latter, they always have faced strong competition with engineers, who in France graduate from H OW TO R EAC H US CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ■ Our e-mail address is
[email protected]. ■ Our fax number is (202) 872-8727. ■ Or you can send your letter to: C&EN Editor-in-Chief 1155—16th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 ■ Letters should generally be 400 words or fewer and should include the writer’s full name, address, and home telephone; letters may be edited for purposes of clarity and space. Because of the heavy volume of mail received at C&EN, writers are limited to one letter in a six-month period.
SUBSCRIPTIONS ■ Send all new and renewal subscriptions and requests for subscription rates to ACS, Dept. L-0011, Columbus, OH 43268-0011. ■ Changes of address, claims for missing issues, subscription orders, status of records, and accounts should be directed to Manager, Member & Subscriber Services, ACS, P.O. Box 3337, Columbus, OH 43210; telephone (800) 333-9511 or (614) 447-3776; or send an e-mail to
[email protected].
REPRINTS AND PERMISSIONS ■ Information on obtaining permission for copying articles is available at pubs.acs.org/cen/copyright.html. ■ For quotes and information on ordering bulk reprints, call CJS Reprint Services at (866) 487-5625 or (410) 943-3683, e-mail:
[email protected].
ADVERTISING I READ “DOCTORAL DILEMMA” with
great interest. The present critical situation facing Ph.D. chemists highlighted in this article and in the editor’s page of the same issue (page 5) is not unique to the U.S. In some countries, such as France, it is a persistent state. Having been a postdoc in the U.S. and Canada for more than six years, I have been back in my home country for almost one-and-a-half years, still on temporary WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
5
MARCH 14, 2011
■ For advertising rates and our editorial calendar, contact ACS Publications’ Advertising Sales Group, 480 East Swedesford Rd., Suite 220, Wayne, PA 19087; telephone (610) 9648061; or fax (610) 964-8071.
ACS INFORMATION ■ For more information about American Chemical Society activities and departments, call (800) 227-5558. When prompted, ask for operator assistance. Or visit the ACS website, www.acs.org.
LETTERS
THIS WEEK
ONLINE
cen-online.org/thisweek The Purity Of Pomegranate Juice
Was the pomegranate juice you drank really as pure as its label claimed? Researchers have developed a method to test whether expensive fruit juices have been adulterated with cheaper ones. cenm.ag/anl12
SHUTTERSTOCK (BOTH)
Greening China’s Indoor Fuel Use About 700 million people live in China’s rural provinces, where many burn coal, wood, and crop waste for fuel. But if they switched to a fuel produced from animal waste, they would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study. cenm.ag/env13
More Is Less When Growing Crops For Ethanol To increase food crop yields, farmers routinely feed corn plants high levels of nitrogen fertilizer. So you can hardly blame them for doing the same thing when growing corn for biofuels. But researchers now report data that suggest a better approach is to use less fertilizer. cenm.ag/env14
Dark-Colored Sodas’ Toxic Backwash, Or Not “Caramel coloring,” used in soft drinks and food products such as soy sauce, has become the substance of a scientific debate. The consumer group Center for Science in the Public
the specific higher education structures known as the Grandes Écoles. Since the early 2000s, French universities have made some efforts in training graduate students to work in industry or to seek other job opportunities, but these initiatives are scarce and too late for the generation of Ph.D.s who graduated during the past decade. Personally, I think that France has been awarding many more Ph.D. degrees than necessary for more than a decade now. This has two consequences. First, cohorts of Ph.D.s are locked in the loop of temporary assignments or have quit the domain for which they have been educated. Second, beyond this sacrifice of human beings and talent, because the French educational system is strongly subsidized at all levels, an incredible amount of French citizens’ taxes are wasted or benefit—for a few lucky Ph.D.s—other countries. To the credit of the U.S., it seems that there are many chemists who are concerned by this problem and are willing to find solutions to it. Thus, asking the question of whether a country is awarding too many Ph.D. degrees in chemistry and/or if the training given to them is adequate or not is an important societal inquiry. Marc Reinholdt Montpellier, France AFTER READING this article, I could only
think about my own Ph.D. training. After graduation in 1969 in physical chemistry, I pursued a postdoc. After a one-year postdoc and approximately 200 applications for university and industrial positions, I went into two-year community college teaching for 40 years! It appears that not much has changed in the interim. Byron K. Leles Boaz, Ala.
2. The claim that etidronic acid, or 1-hydroxyethane-1,1-diphosphonate (HEDP), is as effective at 0.5% phosphorus as sodium tripolyphosphate at 7% implies a 14-fold effectiveness multiplier, which would be hard to document. Although it is photodegradable, etidronic acid is not biodegradable, and its toxicology (it and similar phosphonates have drug uses) is somewhat questionable. 3. Polycarboxylates are also nonbiodegradable but appear harmless in the environment. 4. The failings of the new nonphosphate dishwashing detergents are not just cosmetic. The Consumer Reports data suggest that they are deficient in food residue removal and hence in sanitation. Could there be added unfavorable publicity when the first biofilm accident occurs, especially in the industrial and institutional field of hospitals and restaurants where sanitation is essential? 5. Phosphates are not only a “wonder ingredient” in detergents, they are present in DNA; in human and animal milk, cheese, and meat; and in every food. 6. Could it be that the activists’ campaign to ban phosphates is not environmentally sound? They argue that phosphates cause aquatic plant growth. Indeed, the raw material for photosynthesis or plant growth is atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is at an all-time high in the atmosphere, actually accelerating photosynthesis if phosphates, essential for life, are available. Phosphates in off-waters would result in lowered atmospheric carbon dioxide. One can calculate substantial quantities from published equations of the type (phosphoric acid) + (carbon dioxide) = (biomass). Edwin A. Matzner St. Louis CYSTEINE CONFUSION
GOOD-BYE, PHOSPHATES WITH REGARD TO the concentrate THE COVER STORY on dishwashing de-
Interest has claimed that it contains the carcinogenic chemicals 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole. But cola companies dispute the claim, stating that the science behind it is unsound. cenm.ag/blg5
tergent is comprehensive and well written but would benefit from including a few facts that were not mentioned (C&EN, Jan. 24, page 12): 1. This is not a new emergency. The detergent and chemical industries have been searching and testing for so-called builder replacements for sodium tripolyphosphate for over 50 years, a very long time, since the first bans were enacted. Evidently, none of the many patented products have made the grade so far. WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
6
MARCH 14, 2011
“Peptide Is Reduced to Killing Microbes” (C&EN, Jan. 24, page 31): Am I getting old and uninformed about naming, or does the article referring to “the peptide’s three cysteine bridges” contain a mistake? Last I knew, cysteine is the amino acid that has the “–SH” residue. Cystine is the one that has the “–S–S–” bridge. How can there be a bridge between two cysteines when, by identity, they are not bridged to any other? James Hill Emporia, Kan.
