1464
NEWS
EDITION
Vol. 19, No. 24
Two Brothers Awarded Chandler M e d a l
Robert R. and Roger J. Williams AWARDS of the Charles Frederick Chandler Medal of Columbia University to two brothers outstanding in chemical science, Robert R. Williams, chemical director of the Bell Telephone Labora tories of New York, and Roger J. Williams of the University of Texas are announced. Robert R. Williams was cited for "his years of work on the isolation of vitamin Bi and his contributions to the elucida tion of its chemical structure". The award t o Roger J. Williams was made in recognition of his discovery of pantothenic
acid, powerful regulator of growth popu larly known as the acid of life, and for his contributions t o the knowledge of the vitamin Β complex. This is the first double award of the medal since it was established in 1910 in honor of Charles Frederick Chandler, pioneer in industrial chemistry and a founder
of
the
Chemists Needed in Production T H E country having declared war. Selective Service officials have sent communications to local draft boards ordering careful scrutiny of present classi fications. Principles arc unchanged. Production and supply are still the most important factors contributing to victory in this war. Without chemists and chemical engineers, production and supply are certain to be retarded. Trained personnel is necessary to maintain and increase production tempo. T h e few chemists and chemical engineers who have been inducted into the Army are being used largely in such miscellaneous assign ments as stretcher bearers, pharmacists' clerks, clinical technicians in the Medical Corps, etc. In such duties their long and specialized training and experience are en tirely lost to the country. As a patriotic duty, chemists and chemi cal engineers in defense or other necessary industry when drafted should request, de ferment of their local boards and, if de clined, should appeal to the state boards with the aid of their Government Appeal Agents. As a patriotic duty, employers in all instances should give strong support using Form 42A, for there is no place in the Army for chemists and chemical engi-. neers to function as such. Those em ployed b y the Chemical Warfare Service or the Ordnance Department are obtained a s civilian employees through the Civil Service Commission. In this war private industry is respon-
AMERICAN
CHEMICAL
SOCIETY. T h e formal presentation will take place in February at a ceremony in Havermeyer Hall, at which each recipient will receive a medal and deliver a lecture.
Army
sible for the production of munitions and other material necessary for defense and for this purpose must have chemists and chemical engineers if it is to function. If you are not in a necessary industry and are a well-trained chemist or chemical engineer, you should make a strenuous effort to obtain employment in some work essential t o national defense, for you are seriously needed. Contacts must he made b y you with individual firms since no Na tion-wide employment agency for pro fessional personnel has been established. T h e SOCIETY is assisting by conducting a t its semi-annual meetings an Employ ment Clearing House, open only to mem bers of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
and its student affiliates, and by publishing Employment Information pages in its semi-monthly N E W S EDITION.
Most American chemists and chemical engineers have filled out a questionnaire and filed it with the National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel. Any who have not done so should write t o the AMERICAN
CHEMICAL
SOCIETY
for
the
proper forms and should place the infor mation o n file. This is not an application for a position and does not guarantee or even presuppose employment. The records constitute an index t o the special abilities of American manpower to which govern ment agencies may turn when in search of men with specific training and experience. Naturally, only a small portion of those who register will be contacted but the
Roster has proved to be useful t o several defense agencies, and many individuals, whose qualifications might otherwise have remained unknown, have been found and assigned intelligently to specific problems. If you are eligible for the draft and your number is called, the National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel, Washington, D . C , on your request will examine your questionnaire and, with ad vice of experts, will, where warranted, i n form the National Headquarters of Selec tive Service that in the opinion of Roster officials you are a necessary man who should be retained on "production and supply" or "in training therefor". The number and address of your local board should be given when making such a request, but do not yourself write to Selective Service Head quarters. Draftees can deal only with local boards or, on appeal, with state boards. Many chemists and chemical engineers are offering their services and making in quiries regarding commissions in t h e Army. Volunteers cannot choose the branch of the Army in which they wish t o serve, and selectees have no right to choice of assignment. Those who are already en gaged in the "production army" should re tain that status. That work is more im portant t o the country than any possible service in the armed forces. Commissions are being obtained chiefly by young men who have had special training in the R. O. T. C. ; there are apparently no short cuts. This training, which has been given for many years, appears to have furnished an adequate supply; indeed, owing t o commitments made when receiving this training, many proficient chemists and chemical engineers are now serving as officers in the Infantry, the Coast Artil lery, the Marine Corps, and the N a v y . Their services as chemists and chemical engineers have been lost to the important field of production and supply in which there is a more critical shortage than in the armed services and in which, because of their training, they might render maxi mum service. Many reserve officers who are chemists or chemical engineers have been placed in the Officers Reserve Pool in order that their special training and experience may be utilized by industry. However, owing to the increasing emergency, the pool is being rapidly depleted and this is aggra vating an already critical situation. If you are a qualified chemist or chemi cal engineer, your duty t o America is in the "production army" not in the combat forces. All necessary production and supply are defense jobs. An alarming situation is developing in that many chemical and chemical engi neering students in our colleges and uni versities, enrolled for advanced R. O. T . C. work, apparently soon will be called into the armed forces. Every effort should be made t o conserve those whose technical training is not yet finished, in order that there may be personnel to carry on pro duction one, two, and three years hence.
