CINTACS Newsletter of the Cincinnati Section of the  American Chemical Society  Vol. 38, No. 5 - January 2001

CINTACS is published nine times a year (September through May) by the Cincinnati Section of the American Chemical Society. All changes of address should be sent to Emel Yakali at Raymond Walters College, 9555 Plainfield Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236, phone 745-5686, FAX 745-5767, or email mc.acs@uc.edu.

SUBMISSION DEADLINES

The submission deadline will be approximately January 16, 2001 for the February  issue. Electronic submission is strongly preferred, except for original photos. All materials should be sent to:

Dr. Bruce Ault
Department of Chemistry
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH 45221
Phone: 513-556-9238
FAX: 513-556-9239
E-mail: bruce.ault@uc.edu

Our meeting this month will be Joint with Iota Sigma Pi and  held at Givaudan Flavors Corporation. The topic for the evening will be “TasteTrek^TM – Fruits of the Central African Rain Forest”, presented by Jeff Peppet and Xiaogen Yang, both from Givaudan Flavors. Jeff and Xiaogen will describe their adventures trekking trough the Gabon Rain Forest collecting new aromas and exotic fruits for evaluation back in the laboratory.  We will also have Bio-Chemistry Discussion Group and the Teachers Committee meeting. The Bio-Chemistry group will have Professor Kenneth A. Skau , University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy, give a presentation entitled, “Novel Actions of Acetylcholinesterase”. The Teachers Committee organized by Linda Ford will meet to discuss a Saturday Workshop scheduled for March 10.

We are privileged to once again have Rick White, Proctor and Gamble, afford his time to organize a workshop in April or May on LC/MS:  Fundamentals and Applications by Instructors O. David Sparkman and Frederick E. Klink. Those interested can contact Rick at white.dr.2@pg.com. Also see Rick’s invitation in this month’s newsletter.

I would like to thank Phil Christenson and the Givaudan Flavors Corporation for their support, and efforts toward organizing this meeting. The Section appreciates the opportunity to conduct its meeting at Givaudan’s Corporate site.

So far the year has gone pretty well. I thank everyone for their support. Please do not hesitate to contact me with suggestions and desires for additional involvement. See you at the January meeting.

Rick Fayter - Cognis Corporation - (513) 482-3156 - Rick.fayter@cognis-us.com

It has been well accepted for 75 years that acetylcholinesterase (AChE) has a major catalytic function of hydrolyzing acetylcholine at neuromuscular junctions and at cholinergic nerve synapses.  However, this enzyme is also distributed in tissues of the body where acetylcholine would not normally be found.  This has led to speculation that the enzyme has additional, perhaps noncatalytic, functions one of which may be participation in cell adhesion.  We have been investigating characteristics of AChE in Caco-2 cells.  These cells are derived from a human colon carcinoma and, when grown in culture, show properties similar to intestinal enterocytes.  AChE exists as a single molecular form, membrane bound with the catalytic site facing the external mileau.  The enzyme is anchored to the membrane by a unique mechanism that is usually found primarily in hematological cells.  The unusual characteristics of this enzyme may make it a target for drug-therapy of human cancers.

Kenneth A. Skau received his B.S. in Pharmacy at the Ohio State University in 1970.  After a brief tour of duty in the army he returned to the Ohio State University and earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology in 1977.  After 2 years of post-doctoral training at the Mayo Clinic he was appointed as Assistant Professor of pharmacology at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy.  In 1982 he joined the faculty at the University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy where he is currently Professor of Pharmacology.  He has devoted more than 20 years to the study of biochemical and pharmacological aspects of cholinesterase enzymes.

On October 10th, The Cincinnati Younger Chemists Committee (CYCC) sponsored a brown bag luncheon for University of Cincinnati graduate students.  The featured speaker was Dr. Ron Webb of Procter & Gamble, Senior Manager, Doctoral Recruiting, and his talk was entitled, “How Do Employers Hire Chemists in the New Electronic Era?” Dr. Webb discussed traditional hiring methods and how those methods have changed with the success of the internet. He talked about how employers attract chemists on-line, how chemists can use the internet to find employers, and internet job applications. Dr. Webb also provided helpful websites for resume and interview advice, as well as job search engines. A question and answer session followed, giving students the opportunity to interact with the speaker. Dr. Webb generously provided a copy of his slides to students for future reference. The event was well received and feedback was very positive.

On October 28th, CYCC held its annual “Kickoff Meeting” to generate new event ideas for the upcoming year.  Past events were first highlighted in order to get an idea as to what type of events have not yet been organized.  It was realized, in this process, that most of the events/topics in the past have been centered around the needs and interests of UC graduate students. In order to help in the recruitment of chemists from industry, it was decided that the CYCC needs to make a concerted effort to try and balance its events/topics with those that interest the local industrial chemists.  Luckily, there were enough industrial chemists at this kickoff meeting to spur some good ideas. The first idea was to hold a discussion group entitled “Industrial Politics 101” where the politics of industry could be discussed, compared to those in academia, and advise could be given as to how best to manage such politics.  Another idea was to ask an employee from the downtown library to come and talk about  “on-line literature searches”.  This topic could be of interest to those chemists in the area working for smaller companies that might not have a large library on site.  A panel discussion was also suggested which would be comprised of chemists from both big and small companies.  The discussion would be centered around aspects that are different in working for a “big vs. small” company.  Another idea was to invite a member of the ACS Office of Legislative & Government Affairs to discuss topics of science policy, including R&D funding and grant proposal writing.  Yet another idea was to hold a “Science Demo Training Session” where either a member of the ACS Kids & Chemistry or someone who does science demos locally would teach us some of their favorite demos.  Another ideas was to invite someone from the EPA to come and talk about the chemical regulatory process, and finally, it was suggested that we have an event to help us all in our “Oral Presentation Skills”.  As you can see, the CYCC is full of ideas.  If anyone has ideas or is  interested in organizing any of the above ideas, contact either Rhonda Patschke (rpatschke@yahoo.com) or Ron Horwitz (rhorwitz@ImperialAdhesives.com) to discuss.

Science Club members from Seven Hills School in Cincinnati, Ohio visit Lincoln Park Public Library to “cook up” some interest in chemistry through demonstrations and hands-on activities during National Chemistry Week. The students prepared their presentation during club meetings during the month of October along with their advisor, Linda Ford. Rose Fu and Stephanie Safdi mystified the children with messages that magically appeared and then disappeared. Alla Khaskelis led the children through the “Mystery Powder” activity to illustrate how chemists can identify an unknown from careful observation of known behavior. Yuri Goykman helped the children make Cartesian divers filled with baking powder. The grand finale was a series of dry ice demonstrations performed by Eric Steichen.

The teachers will gather in Linda Ford’s classroom at Seven Hills School on the evening of January 31st for a DEMO DERBY. Demonstrators will perform the demo and provide an instruction sheet to explain how you can recreate it in your classroom. This evening will be especially helpful to teachers who want to expand their demo repertoire. We will start with a social time at 6:30 PM and then do demos from 7 to 8:30 PM. Seven Hills is easy to find. Exit Interstate 71 at Red Bank Expressway. Travel to the first traffic light and turn right onto Duck Creek. Stay to the right and take the first right onto Old Red Bank Road. Travel a short distance and you will see the school on your right. Park and follow the signs to Linda’s classroom. Bring a friend! The University of Cincinnati demonstrator has promised to do 2 favorites. Linda will do the Will o’ the Wisp. We will have a cool door prize provided by MeasureNet. I know I have said it before but … OH! What a night!

At the January 24th ACS meeting, Linda has reserved a room to have a meeting with all teachers interested in organizing the March 10th workshop entitled “Buddies in Chemistry”. The meeting will be from 5:30 to 6:30 at the meeting site, Givaudan Flavors. You will find directions to this company in the meeting announcement within this newsletter. It will take many dedicated educators to make this workshop a success. Please consider the way that you can contribute by attending this meeting or contacting Linda via e-mail at linda.ford@7hills.org.

Now for some professional activities of interest to educators. The T³ International Conference will be in Columbus, Ohio on March 16-18, 2001. This conference is for educators, K through university, interested in using educational technology to enhance their teaching of math and science. T³ stands for “Teachers Teaching with Technology”. These 3 days will be jam-packed with create uses of affordable technology. Visit www.t3ww.org/t3 for more details. Texas Instruments also maintains an web site of neat activities at http://www.ti.com/calc/activities. The Midwestern Area NSTA Convention will also be held in Columbus on November 8-10, 2001. The deadline for presentation proposals is January 15th. If you have a nifty activity to share, why not make your debut at a regional event? To download a session proposal form, visit the presenter page at www.nsta.org/conv/presenters/pjustforms.asp. You can also have the forms faxed to you by calling the fax on demand service at 1-888-400-NSTA. It is an exciting way to meet colleagues from all over the map. The Institute for Chemical Education has announced two workshops for summer 2001. One is called “Super Science Connections” for K through 3rd grade teachers. The other is called “Chemistry and Materials Science” for high school teachers. Learn more about ICE at http://ice.chem.wisc.edu or e-mail interest to ICE@chem.wisc.edu.

And finally some curious chemistry found in C&EN. The “Sharper Image” catalog is advertising the Fisher Space Pen Futura which writes upside-down, over grease, and under water. What is the secret? The pen’s viscoelastic ink is fed from a sealed cartridge pressurized at 40 psi by 78% nitrogen. Isn’t that an interesting way to describe air? On a continually gaseous note, what gas is used in the Nike heels for buoyancy? Originally, they used sulfur hexafluoride. When environmental concerns were brought to their attention, they switched to nitrogen.

The Section Nominating Committee requests nominations for the following elected positions within the section: First Vice-Chair Chair-Elect, Second Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Auditor, Alternate Councilor and Councilor. The deadline for nominations is March 1, 2001. Nominations should be sent to:

Frank H. Ebetino
Procter & Gamble
PO Box 8006
8700 Mason-Montgomery Mason, OH  45040-8006
Work:  513-622-3630
Fax:   513-622-1195
ebetino.fh@pg.com

The Retired Engineers and Scientists of Cincinnati – RESC for short – invite those who are retired or semi-retired and would like to share good fellowship while pursuing interests in technical, community, nostalgia, travel, and business, or industry developments. Activities include monthly luncheon meetings, periodic plant tours, and golf in season. For example; fall 2000 events began with an OKI Transportation Staff presentation on “Plans for Light Rail along the I-71 Corridor”, a tour of the “state of the art” high speed printing presses at Dayton Daily News, and golf rounds.

Luncheon meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month from October through May, usually on the lower level the Unity Center, 1401 McMillan Ave. at Grandview Ave., just east of the former Engineering Society building.

RESERVATIONS and INFORMATION available by telephoning RESC contacts at either (513) 231-7831 or
(513) 751-8035.

 Jim will present the natural history of our great heartland rivers since earliest exploration and the changes as viewed from steamboats of earlier times to present day journeys aboard the steamboats of the Delta Queen Co., for which he presents nature programs. A former science teacher, he also has important roles at the Cincinnati Nature Center and Hamilton County Fair.
 
 TOPICS of luncheon meetings later on winter / spring schedule include:

For more information on this group, please contact:

Jack C. Reed     (513) 231-7831
Jreed5SW@AOL.com
1147 Stormy Way, Cincinnati,  OH  45230-3625

This widely acclaimed 2-day ACS course will be offered locally at a substantial discount (a 50% savings!!) to what you would pay at Pittcon or at the ACS National Meeting.  To facilitate planning, we ask that you please e-mail or mail your intent to register for this course by Friday, January 19 to:

white.dr.2@pg.com
D. Richard White
The Procter & Gamble Company
Winton Hill Technical Center
6210 Center Hill Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45224
(513)634-5500

[NOTE:  An indication of your intent will not obligate you to register for the course and you will not incur any charges at this time.  This is for planning purposes only.  A FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT with dates, location, and registration details will appear in the March issue of CINTACS, and e-mailed to you if you provide your e-mail address.]

Anticipated Costs (includes 2-day course, all materials, lunches, refreshment breaks)

ACS Members:     $450  (regularly $845)
Nonmembers:    $550  (regularly $945)

Who Should Attend This Course:  Researchers, practitioners, technicians, and others who are currently using LC, LC/MS, or plan to use LC/MS in the future, and those dealing with data produced by LC/MS.  Chromatographers just embarking on the technique will gain insight to select the appropriate instrument for different applications, and those currently using LC/MS and its data will develop an appreciation for, and an understanding of, the complexities of the data generated.

About the Instructors:

O. David Sparkman has been teaching ACS Short Courses in mass spectrometry since 1978 and is consistently one of the highest rated ACS instructors in the program. He has numerous publications in computer applications to mass spectrometry and has been involved in the development of a number of several different data systems for hyphenated techniques in mass spectrometry.

Frederick E. Klink, currently a consultant in LC, LC/MS, and other scientific instrumentation  has worked with a variety of industrial clients.  He has 16 years of experience in the analytical instrument industry, where he held a variety of technical and management positions.

Finding the position that is right for you has just gotten easier.  The Chemical & Engineering News' online employment classifieds page has an exciting new look that is faster to navigate.  Just log on to C&EN Online at http://pubs.acs.org/cen and click on ACS Job Bank at the top of the home page.  At the heart of the new website are the most recent listings from C&EN print classified ads as well as access to the ACS Career Services Professional Data Bank.  The page also features free career articles from the magazine on topics ranging from salaries to starting your new laboratory.  There are links for both job seekers and employers looking to match talented chemists with their dream jobs.  Searching the classifieds is free to all ACS members.

Formatted and uploaded December 30, 2000 by cinacs@www.che.uc.edu