Table of Contents:
I am proud to announce that Genia Berk, wife of the late Bernard
Berk, BA'37, MA'38, PhD'40, has established the Bernard Berk Fellowship in
Chemistry. The fellowship, which will exist in perpetuity, was established to award a
student studying organic chemistry who shows great promise as a chemist and has
demonstrated financial need to complete the graduate program.
Three new faculty members have been hired and will be joining the
department during the 1996-97 academic year. Martha G. Oakley (bioorganic)
received her undergraduate education from Carleton College (BA in chemistry) and Oxford
University (Rhodes Scholar, BA in biochemistry), and her PhD from the California Insti
tute of Technology. She recently completed a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellowship at
the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Mass. Her research interests
involve protein biomolecular recognition.
William G. Scott (biophysical chemistry) received his undergraduate
education at Bates College, and his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. He is
a postdoctoral fellow of the American Cancer Society at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular
Biology, Cambridge, England. His research interests are in the areas of X-ray
crystallographic techniques to investigate the structures of nucleic acids and proteins
and their complexes and the structure and catalytic mechanisms of RNA enzymes.< BR>
Jeffrey M. Zaleski (inorganic chemistry) received his undergraduate
education at SUNY at Geneseo, N.Y His PhD and postdoctoral studies were completed at
Stanford. His research interests involve the design and study of novel pharmaceutical
agents based on transition metal complexes -- one of the frontiers of inorganic chemistry.
Nine of our professors have been honored recently. Professors Ernest
Davidson and Charles Parmenter have been elected as fellows of
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The academy, founded in 1780, serves a dual
function: to honor achievement in science, scholarship, the arts, and public affairs, and
to conduct a varied program of studies that reflects the interes ts of its members and is
responsive to the needs and problems of society and the intellectual community. Election
to the academy recognizes distinguished contributions to one's field and is the result of
an extensive selection process involving the entire membership of the academy --
approximately 3,350 fellows and 570 foreign honorary members. Davidson and Parmenter will
attend an induction ceremony on Oct. 5 at the House of the Academy in Cambridge, Mass.
Other chemistry faculty members have received major Indiana University and national awards
this past semester as well. Professor Peter Ortoleva was named
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the annual Founders Day ceremony on March 2. A
Distinguished Professorship is the most prestigious academic appointment Indiana
University can offer a faculty member. Significant recognition by peers, based on
distinctive scholarly research and creativity or extraordinary success as a teacher, is an
essential requirement for this appointment.
Professor Andrew Ellington has recently been notified that he is the
recipient of a 1996 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. The Dreyfus Foundation
established this award program to strengthen the teaching and research careers of talented
young faculty in the chemical sciences. Criteria for selection include a commitment to
education and an independent body of scholarship that shows promise of future outstanding
contributions to both research and teaching. A portion of the award is to be used to
enhance the undergraduate research experience. In addition, Ellington has been selected to
receive a 1995-96 Indiana University Outstanding Junior Faculty Award. These highly
selective awards are given each year to faculty whose academic records of research and t
eaching clearly indicate a career of excellence and significance. Ellington's research
involves isolation of molecules that selectively block the development of certain viruses
and others that can specifically inhibit a key regulatory enzyme.
Professor Shuming Nie has recently been informed that he will receive a
1996 Beckman Young Investigator Award. The Beckman Young Investigator Program provides
research support to the most promising young faculty members in the early stage s of their
academic careers in the chemical and life sciences. The proposed research must show
promise for contributing to significant advances in the research fields of interest to the
Beckman Foundation. Nie's award will provide two years of support for his research into
new methods for the manipulation and analysis of DNA molecules.
Professors David Clemmer, Glenn Martyna, and Martin
Stone have been named as recipients of NSF Faculty Early Career Development
Awards. These awards are given to support junior faculty who have begun a fi rst or second
full-time, tenure-track appointment on or after July 1, 1991. The intent of the award is
to provide stable support at a sufficient level and duration to enable awardees to achieve
the education and research career development objectives of t he program.
Distinguished Professor Gary Hieftje has been selected to receive a
Humboldt Research Award for Senior U.S. Scientists. These awards are granted to
internationally esteemed U.S. scientists in recognition of their past research and teachin
g accomplishments. Nominations can be made only by leading German researchers, and final
selections are made by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The purpose of the award is
to promote the interchange of ideas between German and American researchers and
institutions.Congratulations to all!
The department will host a complimentary alumni breakfast at the
summer ACS meeting in Orlando, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at 7:30 a.m., in the Orange Room
of the Embassy Suites-South hotel. Please make reservations with me by Aug. 5 at (812)
855-6239, and plan to join us.
Thank you to each of you who has supported the Department of Chemistry
through your generous donations in 1995-96. We are most grateful for your loyalty and
commitment to excellence in chemistry.
-- Paul A. Grieco
More than 50 years ago, a special military program was begun at Indiana
University. The details can be found in Development of Chemistry at Indiana
University 1829-1991, by H.G. Day, 1992, (pp 301-304).1 Here are my recollectio ns of
my involvement with that program.
Soon after Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7, 1941, it became apparent that the United States might
be committed to a long war. With many of the young men drafted and serving in the
military, the supply of medical students was drying up. There was fear that the su pply of
such personnel would be greatly reduced in future years. Thus a new program for enlisted
men, called the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) was created. Indiana University
obtained a contract to train premedical and predental students, and the first wave of 206
enlisted men arrived on campus in June 1943. Ten days later, there were more than 400 on
campus, and, before it was over, more than 2,000 men were involved in the program. This
big infl ux of premedical and predental students put a lot of pressure on the small
chemistry faculty.
At the Organic Chemistry Symposium, held in Ann Arbor, Michigan in December 1941, I met
Ralph Shriner and asked him about the possibilities of faculty appointment at Indiana
University, where rumor had it that he was to be the chair of the department, com e July
1942. He admitted that he was moving from Illinois to IU that summer, but did not expect
any openings then. He suggested I keep in touch, however. In June 1942, I accepted an
appointment in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University
of Texas Medical School in Galveston. This was a subterfuge, as my real job was as a
biochemist in the M.D. Anderson Hospital for Cancer Research, an entity in the process of
creation.
The staff of the M.D. Anderson Hospital at that point consisted of the head of the
laboratories, Dr. Joseph Cline, a medicinal chemist from the Merck Laboratories, who had
collaborated with Dr. R.R. Williams in synthesizing vitamin B1; Dr. Fritz Schlenk, a
German bacteriologist and son of the famous Wilhelm Schlenk, organometallic chemist; and
me. I was trained in organic and biochemistry. By summer 1943, this staff was busy
planning to move the laboratories from the old pathology labs of the medical school in
Galveston to new quarters to be built on the M.D. Anderson estate on South Main Street in
Houston. My project was to convert a four-car garage into a suitable organic laboratory.
But the war intervened and changed my career.
In August 1943, an Army lieutenant visited the laboratories and pointed out to me that the
Chemical Warfare Service needed chemists. I explained to him that I was working on cancer,
which I thought was important work. "We'll tell you what's important," said the
lieutenant.
The next day I wrote to Ralph Shriner, asking about work at Indiana University. I received
an immediate reply, mentioning the ASTP, and asking me to visit Bloomington on my way to
Pittsburgh for the fall ACS meeting. After inquiring about my research interests and
reviewing my teaching experience, the final question put to me by Dr. Shriner was Ò;Do
you play bridge?Ó; I admitted that my wife, Jean, and I sometimes played, and Ralph said,
Ò;Good. You will make it possible to have six tables.Ó; And that's how I learned that I
would be the 12th faculty member.
I rushed back to Galveston, gave them a one-month notice, and arrived in Bloomington on
Oct. 1, 1943. By this time, there were nearly 1,800 ASTP students, and a new sequence of
beginning chemistry C205 was under way. All of the faculty, with the exception of Drs.
May, Mathers, and Shriner, were teaching sections of the ASTP course. A crash program of
writing a special laboratory manual with accompanying notebook was undertaken. All nine
younger faculty contributed to the lab manual/notebook, and 1,000 copies were printed by
Edwards Bros. of Ann Arbor, and delivered by December, in time for a new sequence of
courses.
Teaching in the ASTP was continuous, six days a week, with a new semester beginning the
day after the old one was completed. On Sundays, the detail was taken for a hike, to
remind them they were still in the Army. Of course, all the military students were in
uniform. The make up of the class was interesting, since students of almost any background
were allowed to apply. We had several divinity students, at least one with a BS in
chemistry (We let him assist in the courses for credit.) and several with various graduate
school backgrounds. I struck up a good relationship with D.D. Lowe, who had a law degree
from one of the western universities. Lowe was a classic sea-lawyer, who managed to talk
himself out of going on Sunday hikes, made straight A's, and used to sit in my office
telling me how much a waste of time it was to study chemistry and medicine, since he had a
great career in the law ahead of him.
Each day with this group brought some surprises. Once we found a Kentucky man who had
begun to ferment sugar at his lab bench, hiding the mash in the cupboard underneath. He
was prepared to distill his moonshine. We gave him credit for the experiment, but didn't
let him keep the product.
My nine o'clock ASTP course was followed by a small class of yound women, taught by L.L.
Merritt. One morning, Merritt rushed in to get my help. On the ceiling of the lecture hall
was a huge long obscene balloon, obviously filled after my lecture demonstrating helium.
Merritt finally brought this dirigible down with a well-placed dart from a glass tube
doubling as a blow-gun.
Every month, the military would decide to reduce the size of the program by ordering the
bottom 10 percent of the class to report for duty. We were required to keep an accurate
record of numerical grades and rank the students by the numbers. Sometimes a student
simply got bored and deliberately flunked the next examination to transfer out. Other
students, desperate to stay in the program, tried all the well-known methods of cheating.
We were especially careful about grades. The program was officially ended on March 1,
1944, but the last class was allowed to finish the second semester of organic chemistry
and so complete requirements for admission to the medical program.
This was by far the best class I have ever taught. By attrition, removing the poorer
students every three weeks or so, some 2,000 students had been reduced to 44. Of course,
Lowe was one of these.
After each class, I assigned the next chapter in Fieser and Fieser's Organic Chemistry,
a new text of 1,100 pages. At the next class meeting there was no lecture. I just asked
for questions, and a lively discussion followed, filling the hour. I like to think that I
did have some influence on these students. I learned later that Lowe had entered medical
school and completed his degree. Fifty years later, another former ASTP student stopped by
my office to tell me that the cour se had inspired him to complete his degree in pharmacy,
and he had become a prominent West Coast pharmacist. -- E. Campaigne
1 Copies of this 668 page book may be obtained through the chair's
office of the Department of Chemistry at Bloomington. Costs are $20 paperback, $25
hardback, plus $2.50 shipping per copy. Make checks to Indiana University Foun
dation/Friends of Chemistry.
Eight distinguished lecturers visited the department during the spring
semester. In addition, on Feb. 9 the Southern Indiana Section of the American Chemical
Society sponsored a lecture by Patrick J. Hannan (retired, Naval Research
Laboratory), on "The Environment, Public Apathy, and Chemistry.";
On Feb. 7, the Amoco Distinguished Lecture was given by Lawrence F. Dahl.
He is the R.E. Rundle Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a
member of the National Academy of Sciences. His subject was "New Fron tiers in
High-Nuclearity Transition Metal Cluster Chemistry."
Richard N. Zare was the DuPont Distinguished Lecturer on Feb. 21. He is
the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University. Recently, he
was appointed chair of the National Science Board. Zare is also a member of th e National
Academy of Sciences. &Quot;Advances in Capillary Electrophoresis" was the title
of his lecture.
The Briscoe Distinguished Lecture in Chemical Education was presented on Feb. 28 by Jerry
R. Mohrig, Laurence McKinley Gould Professor at Carleton College, Northfield,
Minn. Among his honors is the James Flack Norris Award of the Northeastern Section of the
American Chemical Society (1989). He discussed "Teaching and Learning Chemistry --
What Have We Learned?" Mohrig also gave a seminar on "Stereochemistry of
Conjugate Addition-Elimination React ions: Is There an Evolutionary Message?"
A Dow Distinguished Lecture was given on March 6 by Michael A. Marletta,
John G. Searle Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Michigan Medical
School at Ann Arbor. The subject was "Molecular Mechanisms of Signalling with Nitric
Oxide."
April 3 was the date for a Shell Distinguished Lecture by Richard J. Puddephatt,
of the Department of Chemistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. He spoke
on "Models for Platinum-Rhenium Bimetallic Catalysts." Pud dephatt is a recent
recipient of the Steacie Award of the Chemical Society of Canada.
Memorial lectures
Several lectureships honoring retired or deceased faculty members of the chemistry
department have been established. These have been made possible by contributions from
former students, colleagues, family, and friends. The income from these funds is used to
bring outstanding scientists to the campus periodically to present lectures in the area of
their research. This semester, three such lectures were given.
The Frank T. Gucker Lecturer was Susan Solomon of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, Colo. She is a senior scientist at NOAA and head
of the Aeronomy Laboratory's middle atmosphere group. "Ozone Depletion at the Ends of
the Earth and Points in Between" was the title of her April 10 Lecture. The late
Frank Gucker is remembered not only for his seminal research on the chemistry of aerosols,
but also for his outstanding tenure as chair of the D epartment of Chemistry, 1947-51, and
as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, 1951-65.
H. Gobind Khorana presented the Harry G. Day Lecture on April 24. His
subject was "Light Transduction in Two Systems: Bacteriorhodopsin and Mammalian
Rhodopsin." He is Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Biology and Chemistry at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Khorana is a co-recipient of the 1968 Nobel Prize
in Medicine or Physiology. He is an author of more than 650 research publications.
Harry Day, who reaches age 90 this year, continues to fill an active role
in chemistry department affairs. Alumni and other visitors gravitate to his office, where
they invariably find an enthusiastic welcome as well as a display of his remarkable memory
of the history of the department and of nutritional science in general.
Among visitors attending the Day Lecture were Nolan Sommer, PhD'44, and
his wife, Gloria; Leslie and Michael Klevay; and Burt Appleton, PhD'58.
Edward C. Taylor, the A. Barton Hepburn Professor of Organic Chemistry at
Princeton University, gave the Carmack Lecture in the department on May 8. Taylor's topic
was "Inhibitors of Folate-Dependent Enzymes As Antitumor Agents." ; With
beautiful slides, he displayed a remarkable collection of folic acid inhibitors that show
promise in the treatment of tumors.
Marvin Carmack was able to come from his home in Green Valley, Ariz., to
attend the lecture and spend a week in the department. A reception at the Woodburn House
after the lecture was attended by faculty and friends, including former stud ents Mohammed
Behforouz, PhD'65, and his wife; Bob Weir, BS'40; and John
Burks, PhD'79.
A small group of alumni and friends gathered for the
departmental breakfast at the Sheraton New Orleans on March 26. Those who signed the guest
book include Frank Guthrie, PhD'62, and Marcella; Ted Logan,
BA'53; Willie Lau, PhD'82; Robert Ake, BA'60; Richard
Wells, PhD'62;, Michael J. DiPiero, postdoc' 84; Kenneth
Henry PhD'93; Raymond Gross, postdoc'90; and Jay McGill,
PhD'90. Also attending were graduate students David Barda and Lance
Pfeifer, and faculty members Gary Hieftje,Jack Crandall,
and V.J. Shiner.
We have been having these complimentary breakfasts at ACS meetings since spring 1990.
Attendance has ranged from about 50 at the highest to fewer than 10 on one occasion. This
can be expensive since the department must guarantee a minimum. We are open to suggestions
for improving the attendance at the AIUC get-togethers. If you have any suggestions,
please contact Paul Grieco, (812) 855-6239, fax (812) 855-8300,
or email (chemchair@indiana.edu).
Russ Bonham, who joined the faculty of chemistry
at Indiana University in 1958, officially retired in December 1995, after 37 years of
distinguished service. The event was celebrated by a gala banquet, held in the Tudor Room
on March 29, 1996. Russ and Miriam, who now make their home in Chicago, greeted a host of
their former colleagues, faculty, and staff. Professor Charles Parmenter,
master of ceremonies, introduced a number of former associates of the Bonhams, who regaled
the audience with reminiscences. Among the speakers were former student Hollace
Cox, PhD'67; adjunct professors Walter Moore and Max
Marsh; faculty members Ed Bair, Ernie Davidson,
Harry Day, George Ewing, and Jim Reilly;
and instrument makers John Dorsett, Bob Ensman, and Ray
Sporleder.
The Bonhams were given a gift of sailor's rain gear to enable them to enjoy their boat --
ship? yacht? -- which they keep in the Chicago Yacht Harbor. Russ plans to spend some time
at the Illinois Institute of Technology and the Argonne Laboratories, while Miriam
continues as reference librarian at Nutrasweet Corp.
Ken Caulton will be on sabbatical leave for the fall semester of '96-'97.
He will spend most of his leave at the University of Minnesota, interacting with the
inorganic faculty in the area of organometallic and materials chemistry.
Gary M. Hieftje, in addition to receiving the Humboldt Fellowship (see
"Note from the Chair"), serves on the Heinrich Emanuel Merck Prize Committee,
which consists of a small group of senior scientists from a number of countries who
collectively decide the winner of the Heinrich Emanuel Merck Prize, given to scientists in
the field of analytical chemistry who have not yet reached 45 years of age. The prize is
becoming one of the chief forms of recognition internationally for such people and carries
with it a stipend of DM 25,000. He continues to serve as chair of the Divisional Review
Committee for the Chemical Sciences and Technology (CST) Division at Los Alamos National
Laboratory. This division, the largest in Los Alamos, employs a number of our own
graduates.
In April, Hieftje attended a meeting in Amsterdam (sponsored by Elsevier) to discuss the
probable fate of scientific publication in the coming era of electronic communication. In
July, he is presenting the plenary lecture at the Biennial National Atomic Spectroscopy
Symposium (BNASS) in Norwich, England. In late August and early September, he will attend
the Euroanalysis meeting in Bologna, Italy, to deliver the "Laudatio" for the
recipient of the Heinrich Emanuel Merck Prize. Immediately following that meeting, he will
attend a symposium in Darmstadt, sponsored by the E. Merck Co., to discuss analytical
chemistry in the 21st century. Beginning on Sept. 15, he will attend the "Reunión
Nacional de Espectro-scopía" in Oviedo, Spain, to present the conference keynote
lecture. Immediately following that gathering will be the Asilomar Conference on Mass
Spectrometry, held in Pacific Grove, Calif. This conference, only recently an annual
event, emphasizes each year a different topic of mass spectrometry. This year, the topic
will be elemental mass spectrometry. Hieftje will serve as program chair. The week
following the Asilomar conference is the annual Federation of Analytical Chemistry and
Spectroscopy Societies meeting. The Hieftje group will present several lectures at that
meeting.
Oct. 13-20, Hieftje will be in Korea, attending the Korean Chemical Society Conference,
where he will present the plenary lecture. Nov. 24-29, he will present an invited lecture
at the fourth Rio Symposium, scheduled (somewhat strangely) for Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In December, he will present a number of lectures in China, including one at the Xiamen
International Symposium on Spectrochemistry.
In mid-March, Dennis Peters chaired a session and presented an invited
paper, "Nickel(II) Salen: Its Anodic Polymerization and Its Use for Electrochemical
Carbon-Carbon Bond Formation," at the First Electrochemical Meeting of Fontevraud,
held at the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, France. In early May in Los Angeles, he chaired a
session and gave an invited paper on "Salen Complexes of Cobalt(I) and Copper(I) as
Electrogenerated Catalysts for Reductions of Organic Compounds," coauthored with
graduate students Kent Alleman and Michael Samide, at
the 189th meeting of the Electrochemical Society. Peters continues to serve as a member of
the executive committee of the Division of Organic and Biological Electrochemistry of the
Electrochemical Society.
David Williams presented a talk titled "Total Synthesis of Rhizoxin
D" at the 211th American Chemical Society meeting, held in New Orleans. He also
traveled this spring to Northwestern University and the University of Minnesota to present
invited lectures on his current research. Williams was the recipient of two faculty
research awards given by Merck and Co. and by Bayer Corp., and he continues his
appointment on the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Contract
Review Board. One of his former students, Rick Gaston, PhD'87, has
recently accepted a visiting professorship in our Department of Chemistry to teach organic
courses for the 1996-97 academic year.
From January through May, the IU nuclear chemistry group carried out the first
comprehensive measurements of exploding nuclear matter induced by GeV protons and pi
mesons. The experiment was performed by bombarding a thin gold target and observing the
debris with the Indiana Silicon Sphere 4p detector array. It was carried out at the
Brookhaven (N.Y.) National Laboratory AGS accelerator, in collaboration with colleagues
from Simon Fraser University, Texas A&M, the University of Maryland, Michigan State,
and BNL. IU participants were Kris Kwiatkowski, project manager, Dave
Bracken, Earl Cornell, David Ginger, Wen-Chien
Hsi, Gang Wang, and Vic Viola. Recently,
invited talks by the group were made by Kwiatkowski (CRIS '96, Catania, Italy), Romualdo
de Souza (Nuclear Dynamics Workshop, Snowbird, Utah), and Viola (Argonne National
Laboratory, American Physical Society Spring Meeting, and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory).
Both Viola and de Souza will give invited talks at the 1996 Nuclear Chemistry Gordon
Conference.
Comes now Jack K. Crandall to attest that the
previously published correction (Newsletter XLI, No. 1, p. 5) is incorrect. The real
"last instructor" was Jack Crandall, appointed in the fall of 1964.
Alice Dobie-Galuska was named the recipient of the
1996 Chemistry Staff Award at the annual chemistry staff reception, held at the Woodburn
House on May 2. Dobie-Galuska's main responsibility in the department is supervision of
the freshman chemistry preparations laboratories. This is a large operation requiring a
trained chemist with managerial skills. She also assists the faculty with lecture
demonstrations and the development with curriculum and instructional materials. Further,
Dobie-Galuska trains new AI's during orientation and oversees compliance with safety rules
by students and staff. She does all of these things, plus many more incidental duties
beyond the basic requirements, with enthusiasm and creativity. Her outstanding work is
greatly appreciated by the faculty who teach freshman chemistry.
Don Fowler, who served 37 years in the department, retired on March 29.
Fowler started as an assistant glassblower and stockroom attendant and rose to become the
supervisor of glass instrument services. He is a skilled master glassblower and received
the Chemistry Staff Award in 1984. Visiting high school tour participants anticipated his
talk and demonstrations. He often made swans and trick pieces for lucky students. Don,
with his wife, Linda, who retired recently as well, will spend parts of the winters at
Myrtle Beach, where there are numerous golf courses.
Several new staff members have joined the department since the last newsletter. Shelley
Scott is now secretary for Professor Hieftje. She transferred from physics, where
she worked for nearly nine years. Lori Schulz left the business office on
March 13 and gave birth to a son a few days later. She was replaced by Canan Aker,
who works as a secretary and billing clerk and is married to one of our graduate students.
Becky Baugh has taken the position of senior secretary in the
instructional support office. She transferred from the office of the registrar.
Steven Kan joined the department as our senior mass spectroscopist on
April 15. Kan received his PhD in analytical/physical chemistry from the University of
British Columbia. He worked as a research chemist in their botany department before
joining Purdue University in 1994 as a postdoctoral research associate. Steven
Wietstock came to the department on May 1 as coordinator of instructional
programs in the instructional support office (formerly the freshman and undergraduate
offices). Wietstock received his PhD in biochemistry at Uniformed Services University of
the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md., in 1988. Since then, he has been chair and assistant
professor of biochemistry at Alma College in Michigan.
Also honored at the staff reception were several persons with significant anniversaries.
Honored for 25 years of service: Ken Bastin, mechanical instrument
services; Richard Landgrebe, computer services; and Deon Osman,
NMR Labs. For 15 years: Jackie Drake, purchasing coordinator; Cheryl
Johnson, secretary for professors Crandall, Montgomery, and Roush; Becky
Vadas, coordinator of student records and schedules. For 10 years of service: Kelly
Blackwell, secretary for professors Davidson, Reilly, and Viola; Sondra
Flynn, secretary for professors Caulton, Christou, and Todd; and Mike
Squires, manager of instructional computing.
There have been two changes within the staff as well. Ken DeHart has
assumed full-time duties as a UNIX system administrator under the supervision of Marty
Pagel in the molecular visualization/NMR area. Bob Addleman has m oved
from the NMR area to a new office, where he will continue to develop the relatively new
position of major instrument systems engineer. He will remain in charge of the Electron
Paramagnetic Resonance Lab.
Gary Wiggins spoke on ";Internet
Overview/Issues " at the first Drug Information Association Pharmaceutical R&D
Information Management meeting in Philadelphia this spring. Gary also presented a workshop
on chemical information sources on the Internet at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati. His
paper, "Use of the Internet in Teaching Chemical Information Courses," was one
of nine included in the ACS Division of Chemical Education's "New Init iatives in
Chemical Education: An Online Symposium," held on the Internet on June 3 to July 19.
This summer marks the final months of a multiyear grant project that produced BioTech, the
Internet Directory of Biotechnology Resources (http://biotech.chem.indiana.edu). Despite
the expiration of the grant, we hope to continue work on the directory, which includes the
largest Internet dictionary covering biotechnology topics. Pro fessors Andrew
Ellington and David Daleke are also working on this project.
Roger Beckman presented a paper last November at the second International
Conference for Chemical Information Users at Manchester, England. The title was "A
Chemical Information Sabbatical: Information Provision and Training in an Ac ademic
Setting."
Current MLS/MIS chemical information specialist candidate Keith Schreiber
is spending this summer as an intern at Dow Chemical Co, Midland, Mich. He works with
alumna Anne Rogers, a graduate of both the Department of Chem istry and
the School of Library and Information Science at IU.
You can find out the latest news and information about the Graduate
Program in the Department of Chemistry and Indiana University by visiting our Web sites on
the Internet. The URLs are (http://www.indiana.edu/iub/) for the Indiana University
Bloomington campus, and (http://www.iumsc.indiana. edu/chem/) for the Department of
Chemistry. There are many home pages for individuals and research groups as well as
specialized web servers located in the department, and all of these can be accessed
through the departmental server.
During the 1995-96 school year, Professor Lawrence K. Montgomery was
graduate adviser. Serving with him on the Standards Committee were professors Milos
Novotny, James P. Reilly, John P. Richardson, Lee
J. Todd, and Theodore S. Widlanski.
Professor William R. Roush chaired the Graduate Admissions Committee.
Evaluating the hundreds of dossiers submitted to the department were professors
George Christou, David E. Clemmer, Romualdo T. de Souza,
Andrew D. Ellington, Joseph J. Gajewski, Gary M.
Hieftje, Shuming Nie, Dennis G. Peters, James
P. Reilly, Martin J. Stone, and David R. Williams.
Dave Bracken will receive his PhD in July and has accepted a position at
the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Fellowship holders
Five industrial fellowships were awarded to chemistry graduate students in the 1995-96
academic year.
The Abbott Fellowship was awarded to David S. Coffey, a graduate student
in Professor William R. Roush's research group. He received his undergraduate degree from
Western Kentucky University in 1992. His research focuses on the synthesis of structurally
complex natural products belonging to the ansamycin family of antibiotics. He has
completed a synthesis of the aromatic nucleus of awamycin, and is currently pursuing the
total synthsis of streptovaricin D by a route that proceeds via damavaricin D.
The General Electric Fellowship was awarded to Darin B. Tiedtke. He
completed his undergraduate studies in chemistry at the University of Iowa. He joined
Distinguished Professor Malcolm H. Chisholm's research group in fall 1992. His research
focuses on synthetic and mechanistic inorganic and organometallic chemistry, catalysis.
Daniel L. Burden, an analytical student working under the guidance of
Professor Gary M. Hieftje, received the Eli Lilly Fellowship. He received his BS degree in
1992 from Taylor University. His research entails work in molecular fluoresce nce and
fiber optic chemical sensors.
The Lubrizol Fellowship was awarded to Jason D. Speake, who received a BS
degree in 1992 from Oral Roberts University. He is a graduate student in Professor Paul A.
Grieco's research group. His research includes the successful total synth esis of a novel
quassinoid analogue, and he is currently progressing toward the total synthesis of the
cytotoxic macrolide scytophycin C.
Patrick P. Mahoney received the Procter & Gamble Fellowship. Mahoney
completed his undergraduate work at the University of Vermont in1992. He is working under
the direction of Professor Gary M. Hieftje. His research includes the use o f a
time-of-flight (TOF) mass analyzer for atomic mass spectrometry. TOF mass analyzers offer
a high transmission efficiency and the ability to determine simultaneously all elements
and isotopes. The high repetition rate available with TOF mass analyzers allows for the
multi-element/isotope analysis of transient signals.
Two students held National Science Foundation Fellowships. Robert S. Dailey,
a graduate of Eastern Nazarene College, is a third-year student of Professor Ernest R.
Davidson. Matthew A. Lynn, a graduate of Ohio State Unive rsity, is a
second-year student of Professor Malcolm H. Chisholm.
Other fellowship winners were Jan Sudor, American Chemical Society,
Analytical Division, Summer Fellowship; Jill V. Lyles, American Heart
Association Fellowship, Indiana Affiliate; Hilary J. Eppley, College of
Arts and Sciences Dissertation Year Research Fellowship; Daniel L. Burden,
National Science Foundation Summer Fellowship; Jeffrey D. Mills,
Palace-Knight Fellowship (U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research); Tamara D.
Hopkins, Theodore C. Mays Fellowship; and Kristen J. Leckrone,
University Graduate School Dissertation Year Fellowship.
Annual awards
At the Chemistry Honors Banquet in April, the following students received DuPont
Associate Instructor Awards for excellence in teaching: Angelica D. Brown,
Scott A. Frank, Lance A. Pfeifer, Krista M.
Prentice, and Elisa J. Seddon.
Guillem B. Aromi, who is doing research with Professor George Christou,
was awarded the C500 Research Award; Radislav A. Potyrailo received the
Felix Haurowitz Award; Lukas Zidek received the Henry R. Mah ler Memorial
Award; Scott A. May received the Wendell P. Metzner Memorial Award; David
D. Weis received the Reilley-Upjohn Award.
-- Pat Stapleton
The 1995-96 academic year saw several major changes in the
undergraduate program. Professor Dennis G. Peters, Briscoe Professor of
Chemistry, continued as coordinator of undergraduate studies. In December, Holly
Willett, academic counselor and manager of the Chemistry Placement Office, and Carole
Lettelleir, senior secretary in the freshman office, both retired after many
years of distinguished service to the chemistry depa rtment. In January, the functions of
the freshman office and the undergraduate office were combined to form the instructional
support office (ISO). Steven M. Wietstock, the new coordinator of
instructional programs, will manage the ISO. In addition, Becky Baugh
joined the office in March as senior secretary for the ISO. The other members of the ISO
are Mike Squires, manager of instructional computing, Alice
Dobie-Galuska, general chemistry assistant coordinator, and Becky Vadas,
scheduling officer and records coordinator. The ISO will continue the functions of
academic advising, recruiting, scheduling of classes, maintaining undergraduate academic
computer support, and supporting the freshman laboratories, and will add the function of
serving as a center of information for curricular and pedagogical reform in undergraduate
chemical education.
This year's honors banquet was held in the Frangipani Room of the IMU on April 4, with 180
students, faculty, and guests attending. Awards went to these undergraduate students:
- Russell and Trula Sidwell Hardy Scholarship: Van Anh Thi Huynh
- Merck Index Awards: Andrew J. LaFollette, Patricia A. Mowery,
Danny P. Ngo
- Enola Rentschler Van Valer Trafford Scholarship: Cara A. Tracewell
- Courson-Greeves Prize: David S. Ginger
- William H. Bell Awards: Adrian L. Butler, Benjamin V. Tibbals
- Joseph B. Schwartzkopf Award: Lee A. Mack
- ACS Award: Sara K. Leisure
- Outstanding Senior Award: Denise M. Dorman
- Ira E. Lee Summer Scholarships: Jennifer Anderson, Adrian L.
Butler
- Harry G. Day Summer Research Scholarship: Van Anh Thi Huynh
- Honors Division Summer Research Scholarships: David Ginger, Andrew
LaFollette, Michelle Misener, Michael Oldham, Benjamin
Tibbals (These students receive half support from the H.G. Day
Scholarship fund)
- Lilly Undergraduate Summer Research Scholarship: Gary Koch
- Votaw Undergraduate Summer Research Scholarship: Cara A. Tracewell
- Frank Mathers Undergraduate Summer Research Scholarships: Michael Pacold,
Ezra Still
- 1995-96 R.J. Grim Scholarships:
Class of 1998:
Van Anh Thi Huynh, Neeraj K. Surana
Class of 1997: Adrian L. Butler, David S.
Ginger, Andrew J. LaFollette, Patricia A. Mowery,
Danny Phuc Ngo
Class of 1996: Eric A. Bushong, Junzo P. Chino,
Denise M. Dorman, Chris C. Lee, Sara K. Leisure,
Lee A. Mack
- Bill Mays Award: Marlon A. Franklin, Brian T. Williams
- Lubrizol Scholarships for 1995-96: Denise M. Dorman, Lee A.
Mack
- Outstanding in First-Year Chemistry:
C105:
Jennifer A. Milosavljevic, Chetana M. Reddy,
Brendan D. Thomason
C125: Rachel Henry, Jennifer L. Medenwald,
Jennifer A. Milosavljevic
S105: Jeffrey M. Dick, Ravishankar Hasanadka,
Steven Tresker
S125: Fred M. Rauscher
C106: Stacey Johansson
C126: Kathryn DeStefano, James M. Lohman
- Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry: Adrian L. Butler
- Hypercube Scholar Award: Denise M. Dorman
Congratulations to these students on their achievements, and best wishes for long
and successful careers to all of our graduating seniors.
Mark Anderson, BS'83, in 1995 was promoted to
associate professor of chemistry at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va. With his wife and their
two small children, he has moved to a wooded acreage near Blacksburg. Like many academic
alumni, he w orks long hours in teaching, research, applying for research grants, and
preparing articles for publication. His parents and 95-year-old grandfather live in
Bloomington.
Kevin Baer, BA'86, JD'93, in 1995 became an associate solicitor at the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He will represent the commissioner of the office in
court proceedings. Baer has contributed to the Enola Van Valer Trafford Scholarsh ip Fund,
in part because the "fund gives a preference to female students."
Heidi Berven, MS'89, who studied in the P.A. Grieco group, in 1995
started her work towards a JD degree at the University of Iowa College of Law.
Scott W. Borst, BS'80, has recently become vice president, international,
at Angus Chemical Co., Buffalo Grove, Ill. He is responsible for developing and
implementing market opportunities in high growth areas of Angus' export business in the
Pacific Rim, India, Latin America, and China. The company is reported to be the principal
producer of nitroparaffins and their derivatives. Before joining Angus in 1989, Borst was
international sales manager for the Radiation-Cure Coatings Group of DeSoto Inc. After
leaving IU, Scott received his MBA at Indiana State.
Talmage R. Bosin, PhD'67, in 1995 had "a profound experience"
in Eldoret, Kenya. He deeply felt the marked differences between our culture and that in
Eldoret. The visit was in connection withhis responsibility as director of th e IU Medical
Science Program at Bloomington, exploring possible links with the program here. During the
1995-96 year, there were 60 medical students under Bosin's general direction.
Otis R. Bowen, MD'42, LLD'76, and premedicine at IU with a strong
concentration in chemistry, has been a discerning friend of this department at least since
he was governor of Indiana, 1973-81. He is distinctive in various ways, including his
service as the first appointee, in 1989, to the Distinguished Citizen Fellows Program of
the IU Institute for Advanced Study. In this role, Bowen, now in retirement, has visited
and lectured at all eight of the IU campuses and at some more than once. Near the end of
the Reagan administration, he was secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Services.
Ludwig Brand, PhD'60, is a member of the editorial board of the Journal
of Protein Chemistry. After finishing his degree work at IU under the direction of
the late Henry Mahler, he received postdoctoral experience at Brandeis University before
joining the faculty at Johns Hopkins University, where he eventually became professor of
biophysics and biology.
Stanley L. Burden, PhD'66, in 1995 was reelected to another term as a
member of the Foundation Committee of the Indiana Academy of Science. He is a past
president of the academy. For several years, he has been an associate dean in the Division
of Natural Science and chair of the Department of Chemistry at Taylor University.
Erin Renshaw Foxford, PhD'94, is now a system test engineer with
Microsoft in Seattle.
Lyman R. Caswell, BS'49, and his wife, Ruth, moved to Seattle, where they
already "feel very much at home." Perhaps Caz' last professional paper based on
research was published in the May-June 1995 Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry. In
early 1995, he was in the Washington, D.C., area briefly. He has been a field reader of
proposals for the U.S. Department of Education, and has served as a reader of the essay
portion of advanced placement examinations in chemistry for the Educational Testing
Service.
Lowry Caudill, PhD'83, and Alfred G. Childers, PhD'86,
have started a company named Magellan Enterprises, Research Triangle Park, N.C. Their firm
now employs 120 people and with their success has expanded rapidly. Caudill was in the
Wightman group, and Childers was Hieftje's student.
Stephanie T. Chacom Olson, PhD'92, and her husband Lief Olson,
PhD'92, live at Gurnee, Ill., and have a young child. Stephanie did her graduate work
under the direction of Chisholm and Lief worked with Gajewski.
Vincent DiStasi, PhD'93, has an appointment in the Molecular Structure
Center of this department. His graduate research was directed by Chisholm.
Michael P. Doherty, MS'83, is a tenured associate professor with East
Stroudsburg University, Stroudsburg, Pa. The Dohertys have two children, Kathleen, 5, and
Paul, nearly 2. His mentor while here was Hieftje.
William DuBay, postdoc'94-95, is now with the Wychoff Chemical Co.,
Kalamazoo, Mich. His research work here was supervised by P.A. Grieco.
Richard L. Ellis, PhD'67, is director of chemistry and toxicology, food
and safety inspection, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Much of his time is spent in other
countries, including at meetings of the Food and Agricultural Association/World Health
Organization. His attention is on food testing, analysis, residues in food, and on
veterinary medicine. A current special concern is "Mad Cow" disease. He and his
family live in Washington, D.C. He was a recent visitor to the department. Campaigne was
his graduate research advisor.
William Foye, PhD'48, seems to write most of the time. The fourth edition
of his textbook on medicinal chemistry was published in 1995. This year, he has given much
time to writing on radiation protection. Even so, he is semiretired.
Minas Georgiadis, PhD'64, in 1995 received from Greek writers a scroll in
recognition of his achievements in Greece. Perhaps the level of his continuing scientific
efforts after retirement in his country is rare. He still works in the Institute of
Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry in Greece.
David E. Honigs, PhD'84, continues to be successful with his company,
Katrina Inc., Hagerstown, Md. The company specializes in designing and developing
light-emitting-diode-based, near-infrared, process-control spectrometers. His research was
directed by Hieftje.
The late Grover C. Hutcherson, BA'10, MA'12, was highlighted by the IDS
in its April 2 issue, in a special article taken from The Logansport Pharos-Tribune.
The headline was "Indiana becomes famous for tomatoes." The article featured
"Red Gold, the state's largest tomato processor." It pointed out that "Red
Gold, a privately held company, was founded by Grover Hutcherson who had already retired
from the canning business when he refurbished a burned out cannery just before World War
II. He rebuilt the Orestes Canning Company and continued his quest for the best fancy
tomato he could pick from a vine." Long after Hutcherson's death, the company has
grown and prospered -- still controlled and managed by his descendants. During
Hutcherson's undergraduate years he was a close friend of Fusanobe (Paul) Isobe,
BA'09, who became a very successful industrial chemist after he returned to his native
Japan. The friendship continued throughout Hutcherson's lifetime.
Noel W. Jacobsen, postdoc'61-'62 and '71-'72, with Campaigne during both
appointments, has retired from his long-held faculty position at the University of
Queensland, Australia. However, he continues an active program of consulting in "a
broad range of chemical topics." His wife, their four children, and nine
grandchildren are well and active. One son was born in Indiana.
Nicholas J. Kartinos, PhD'47, and his wife, Marjorie
"Peg" Smith Kartinos, MA'46, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary
in January. They first met in this department and were married in Bloom-ington. They have
maintained strong attachments to IU for more than 50 years! All of Nick's professional
life has been in the Chicago area. The inseparable couple continue to live in Park Ridge. May
they have many more happy anniversaries!
Peter F. King, BS'51, MA'52, son of Cecil V. King,
BA'19, has retired from his professional life in industry as a specialist devoted to work
in the surface treatment of metals. After leaving IU, he studied at MIT where he received
his ScD degree in 1957. Most of his career was spent in the Parker Rust Proof Division of
the Hooker Chemical Co. and its successors. For him, his career was fascinating. Over the
years, his work was "problem solving and seeing the solution work in a manufacturing
plant." He has published papers, and he has eleven patents. In retirement, he lives
on the family farm where his father grew up. He does a little farm work, engages in
community activities, and every two weeks reads "a section (Corrosion) of Chemical
Abstracts." As for many others, for him, "there's not enough time."
Guenter Kuehl, postdoc'57-'59, recently finished an article for a
textbook on Zeolites and Catalysis and one on molecular sieves for Kirk-Othmer's Encyclopaedia
of Chemical Technology. Guenter and Christine have done extensive traveling in
Germany, including repeated family gatherings in different parts of their native land.
This was followed by considerable traveling in the United States, including a visit to
Quebec, Canada, where Guenter attended an International Zeolite Symposium. Finally, they
spent some time in Bloomington (especially in the department), where Florence Nebergall,
widow of Guenter's mentor and director, was especially hospitable. They returned to their
home in New Jersey assured that "the campus is as pretty -- and warm in spirit -- as
ever."
Ted J. Logan, BA'53, manager of technical recruiting in research and
product development at Procter & Gamble, retired on June 30. Over the years, he has
kept in close touch with chemistry at IU in different ways, including service on the
department's board of overseers for several years. The board was established in 1979 by
then-chair Allerhand "to advise the chairman on the use of the (Friends of Chemistry)
fund and related restricted funds." In retirement, Ted will continue to be active in
the ACS and elsewhere.
Angelo P. Lobo, PhD'66, since 1970 has been a research scientist at the
New York State Department of Health. His recent work, with colleagues, is focused on
thymidylate synthase and deoxycytidylate deaminase, which are important in DNA
biosynthesis. One son, Stephen, is a graduate student at the University of Utah. The other
son, Michael, has recently transferred to an engineering position at the Peterson Air
Force Base at Colorado Springs. Vicky, whom he met at IU, has an MS in education. Now she
is a customer service representative at a bank in Albany. Lobo and Michael visited here
briefly in April. His graduate school mentor was W.L. Meyer.
Nancy S. Marchant, PhD'86, for some time has held an appointment at the
Research and Development Center of the B.F. Goodrich Co., Brecksville, Ohio. Her research
was under the direction of Chisholm.
Astley McLaughlin, PhD'81, a citizen of the Cayman Islands, British West
Indies, has been "transferred out of research and back into administration at the
Government Administration Building" at Grand Cayman. But he believes there is still
much research in his future. One of his diversions is carpentry and related woodwork.
Recently, his energies have been devoted to the construction of a deck, "about 40 ft.
by 16 ft." for his very attractive house. His undergraduate work in chemistry was at
SUNY at Binghampton, N.Y. Campaigne directed his research at IU.
Edward T. "Tom" Marquis, BA'61, in 1992 attained the rare
designation of research fellow at the Texaco Chemical Co. (now Huntsman Corp.), where he
has been in research since he received his PhD degree at the University of Texas in 1966.
During the last year or two, he has devoted his chemistry time primarily to
troubleshooting/consulting at the Huntsman facilities in Texas. In some degree, these
roles include propylene oxide catalyst development; glycol plant consultation assistance;
styrene plant consultation assistance; and consultation in HF acid alkylation mitigation
problems. The effect of these special responsibilities on Marquis are
reflected in this portion of a letter from his wife, Suzy, last Dec. 1: "Much of the
(1995) summer, he was troubleshooting/consulting. It was fun to see how excited and
exhilarated he was about both the challenge and then the successful completion of the
assignment." Tom Marquis remains very mindful and proud of the fact
that he is the author or coauthor of more than 100 patents, many of which are in effect
and some are important in environmental protection and safety. He merits all the
recognition he has received.
Verlin "Bud" Miller, BA'37, has retired from his long-time
position with PPG Industries, received his 50 years of ACS membership pin, and moved to
Venice, Fla. He was born and raised in Bloomington. His retirement activities include
membership on the local (Venice) hospital board and in the chamber of commerce and church
work.
Fred W. Neuman, PhD'45, in his retirement from Dow Chemical, continues to
be productive in Bluegrass music, both in performance and in producing instruction books.
Recently, his second instruction book -- 375 Bluegrass Bass Charts -- was
published. The first edition "has been selling for 20 years now." He still plays
golf, but physically he is slowing down because of osteoarthritis, a "lazy"
right leg, and perhaps the fact that he is approaching 80. But, in 1995, he and Betty
traveled extensively abroad and in this country. In his characteristically optimistic way,
Neuman is "thinking of writing a new book" on old age.
Adriano F. Parisi, PhD'86, is now head of the Spectroscopy Section at
INTEVEP, a research institution sponsored by the petroleum industry and by the government
in Venezuela. He also won the National Prize of Science and Technology, awarded by
CONICIT, recently. His doctoral research was directed by Hieftje.
Axel Harding Peterson, PhD'52, was one of the late F.T. Gucker's students
who transferred with him when Gucker came from Northwestern University to this department
as chair in 1947. After Peterson's creditable doctoral work here, he had
responsible positions in industry and at the Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh. But his
unique and great ability in an unusual sport (stair climbing) might have been found in the
Guiness Book of World Records if safety regulations in tall buildings had not prevented
him from proving his exceptional talent. In response to a recent letter to him by Harry
Day, Peterson says: "I became an athlete at the age of 55 and was on
the program 'To Tell the Truth' in November 1976. Replays of this program go on and on. I
am a long distance stair climber." A stimulus to this unusual form of special
exercising was his reading about a record set by the Polish Olympic Ski Team when they
climbed the stairs of the Empire State Building in 1932 and the event was recorded in the
Guiness Book. Peterson desired to beat the record officially, but by 1972
safety regulations absolutely prevented him from undertaking the effort.
J. Michael Ramsey, PhD'79, whose graduate work at IU was under the
direction of Hieftje, in 1996 was the recipient of the Oak Ridge special prize called the
Lockheed Martin Energy Systems Scientist of the Year Award. A long press release on June 7
by Caliper Technologies stated in part: "A new technology, called LabChip, that could
dramatically shorten time in the lab, is one of 35 inventions honored by Discover
Magazine as part of their 'Discover Awards for Technological Innovation.' The
technology, pioneered by J. Michael Ramsey, PhD, at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, uses microchip technology to move
fluid through microscopic channels." Also, as quoted in the release: "This new
technology will revolutionize the way that diagnostic analysis is done. By automating
these techniques, accessing critical scientific information will no longer be only for the
highly trained." It will be enlightening to IU-oriented enthusiasts that the title of
the doctoral thesis submitted by Ramsey in January 1979 was "New Approaches for the
Measurement of Subnanosecond Chemical Phenomena." Yes, the mother lab and
department at IU indeed congratulate Mike on this signal recognition!
William G. Roessler, BA'40, MA'42, PhD'50, for several years was
chief in the "Bacteriology III branch of governmental service" at Fort Detrick,
Md. Before retiring in 1977, his responsibilities were in the Office of Pesticide Programs
of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In June 1995, he and his wife, Priscilla,
whose training in nursing was at IU, were given an extraordinarily pleasing -- and even
surprising -- 50th wedding anniversary celebration by their four children, their spouses,
and 10 grandchildren. This close family group was joined by many other relatives and
friends "from all over the country" at the senior Roessler's home in Frederick,
Md., for an evening of fellowship, fun, and wonderful food." All four of the children
have degrees from IU and some of the grandchildren are also alumni. A granddaughter, Lisa,
began her undergraduate work at IU in 1995.
Al P. Sattelberger, PhD'75, has been elevated to director of science and
technology programs at the Los Alamos National Laboratories. At IU, his research was under
the guidance of Chisholm.
Stewart Schneller, PhD'68, has completed about two years as a dean at
Auburn University, Auburn, Ala.. Amidst diverse demands on his time and judgment, he finds
all of it a rewarding experience. He is maintaining a small research group and attends
professional meetings. The family early obtained tickets to attend the Olympics in
Atlanta.
Dale A. Schoeller, PhD'74, went to the Argonne National Laboratory after
leaving IU, and since 1976 at the University of Chicago, Schoeller and
his colleagues have validated and continued to refine and adapt the application of the
isotopically doubly labeled water technique for the measurement of human energy
expenditure in a free-living environment. This was a long overdue and marked revision of
the classical and limited methods of living-systems calorimetry. In a responsible and
comprehensive 1995 review of applications of the Schoeller "ideal method,"
reviewers concluded that "This sophisticated technique has enhanced our understanding
of energy requirements across the life cycle and in a variety of physiological
conditions" (Nutrition Today 30, 254-260, Nov./Dec. 1995). During the past
two decades, Schoeller has given innumerable lectures before diverse
groups and conferences in this country and internationally. With a wide range of
colleagues, he has published scores of articles in diverse journals. At IU, his mentor was
John Hayes.
Nolan B. Sommer, PhD'44, continues to serve on the industrial advisory
board of the Department of Chemistry at his first alma mater, the University of Nebraska.
Recently, a Gloria and Nolan B. Sommer Lectureship in Chemistry was established at
Nebraska. The first lecture was given in early 1995 by the highly honored Arthur Kornberg.
The Sommers have been at IUB this year for various purposes, including attendance at the
lecture by Nobel Laureate H.G. Khorana, in the Harry G. Day Lectureship program.
William J. Sparks, BA'26, MS'29, LLD'66, died in 1976, but reminders of
his high achievements continue to appear. Especially notable is the inclusion of an
impressive biographical sketch of him in W.D. Miles and R.F. Gould's new (1994) issue of American
Chemists and Chemical Engineers (Vol. 2). Many readers of the sketch will be glad to
note that while the young student at IU was beginning a major in another field he was
taking a chemistry course taught by Professor Frank Mathers (1881-1973). The professor
advised him to change his major to chemistry. The student took the advice. As portrayed so
fully in the sketch, many of the achievements were indeed major. With others, he was
co-inventor of many highly useful processes, largely in polymer chemistry, including the
key to butyl rubber, which was so important in World War II. As a beginning chemist,
perhaps his most notable reaction at IU was his marriage to a fellow chemistry student, Meredith
Sparks. After each had received master's degrees here, they earned their PhD
degrees at Illinois. During the latter portion of his student life and until his death,
the couple were inseparable in everything. This included Meredith's earning a law degree
in 1958 and then her active participation in patent law. Sadly, Bill's death occurred
before Meredith became president of the National Association of Women Lawyers (1981-82).
In 1966, Bill was president of the American Chemical Society. He received many prestigious
recognitions. What a chemical bond made by the Sparks!
Timothy K. Starn, PhD'94, was a postdoc at Purdue for two years and has
accepted a tenure-track position at West Chester University in Malvern, Pa. His research
at IU was directed by Hieftje.
George K. Stookey, BA'57, MSD'62, PhD'71, as reported in the IU Newspaper
of May 3, and Yiming Li, an associate scientist at the IU Dental School's Oral Health
Research Institute, have been appointed to honorary positions on the faculties of two
institutions in China. Stookey was given the title of honorary professor at Shanghai
Second Medical University, which signed an agreement of friendship and cooperation with
IU's dental school in 1994. He is associate dean for dental research and director of the
School's Oral Health Research Institute.
David A. Templer, PhD'68, after 27 years with Rohm and Haas, took early
retirement and became director of technology and business development in a privately owned
company, Polysciences. We are informed that it was difficult for him to decide on making
the change, but he "is now enjoying the atmosphere of a small company."
Nicholas M. Timm, BS'71, MD'75, continues to be a full-time emergency
physician at St. Josephs Medical Center in South Bend. In spite of long hours doing good
in the emergency section, he has several diversions from health care. One is writing.
Recently, he "was lucky enough to get a short story published in a book titled Emergency,
published by Vilhard Books." A second diversion is furnished by the Timm's
"bucolic farm" near South Bend, where they have "dogs, cats, birds, a
horse, and a herd of llamas." As a productive undergraduate under the direction of
J.K. Crandall, he finished a satisfactory thesis concerned with the synthesis and
photolysis of an interesting organic compound. Also, he was constructively involved with
actual problems of local air pollution and general campus untidiness at that time. He
behaved himself well in these undertakings even at the height of student unrest during
those years.
M.C. Wani, PhD'62, experienced double bypass heart surgery in October
1995. Happily, there seem to be no complications. Although his productive research was
impaired for many months before this action, the most recent report is clear that he is
again searching diligently for plant antitumor agents.
Ziling "Ben" Xue, postdoc'90-'92, is a member of the chemistry
faculty at the University of Tennessee, at Knoxville. His research here was with Chisholm.
Julie C. Yang, MA'52, is rightfully looking forward to a major event at
Nankai University in China when in 1997 the institution will memorialize her honored
father, Shih-hsien Yang, on the centennial of his birth. This will include a special
research seminar in which several of his now-notable students will participate. Several
are fellows of the Chinese Academy of Science. Julie, as the oldest of the Yang children,
will speak for the family. The event will include the dedication of a bronze statue of the
revered chemist who first became president of the university in 1957. But during 1966-77,
he, like many scholars in China, was evicted from office and victimized by the "Gang
of Four." Finally, after the despotic quartet had been overthrown, in 1978, Yang was
restored to the presidency of Nankai. For background: Soon after the end of World War II,
the elder Yang, then a professor of chemistry and dean of science at Nankai, came to this
department on a kind of sabbatical mission primarily for natural product chemical
research. Then the rising unrest in China impelled his return to Nankai in the winter of
1947. Happily, before the elderly Yang died in 1985, he contributed much to the
arrangements for a limited level of faculty and student exchanges between Nankai and IU.
Another measure of the strong bonds between us and Nankai is Shuming Nie, who received his
BS in chemistry at Nankai in 1983, and is now a member of our chemistry faculty. In 1996,
Nie received the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator Award.
-- Harry G. Day and Elizabeth Greene
We have learned of the deaths of the following alumni:
Wesley L. Archer, PhD'53, died on Feb. 1, 1996, in Midland, Mich., where
he had been a research chemist at the Dow Chemical Co. from 1956 until his retirement in
1994. For three years prior to this appointment, he was in laboratory r esearch at the
Irwin Neisler Pharmaceutical Co., Decatur, Ill. Soon after retirement, he had started a
consulting service in new product development, existing product improvement and
professionally unique customer problems. He had expertise in problem solving, including
the use of structure-activity relationships in chemical applications. He had in-depth
knowledge of physical and chemical aspects of solvents. Also he was skilled in the use of
computer spreadsheets in data collection, correlation, and utilizing such data to predict
chemical behavior. His 19-chapter Handbook of Industrial Solvents is scheduled to
be published in 1996. One chapter is on computer-aided solvent and resin comparisons. His
many patents include a solvent blend for cleaning aerospace electronic assemblies, a
solvent formulation for stripping photoresist from printed wiring boards and development
of inhibitors for high temperature lubricants. Archer's survivors include his wife, Mary
Susan Archer, and their son, James Wesley Archer. His graduate work was directed by
Campaigne.
Archer was listed in recent editions of Who's Who in the Midwest and in some
other reference works. He was an active member of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Midland
and was active in community programs, such as Jaycees, Boy Scouts, Midland Computer Club,
and the Antique Society of Midland. His recreational activities included photography and
sailing. He was diversely and productively active all of his life.
Raymond E. Boucher, PhD'50, died on Dec. 19, 1995, at his home in Naples,
Fla. A native of Brunswick, Maine, he became a graduate, in 1945, of the esteemed local
college Bowdoin, where he won varsity letters in several sports. Throughout his five years
in chemistry here, Campaigne was his mentor. After leaving IU, Boucher's
industrial experiences included, successively, positions in research and management at the
Eli Lilly Co., Polsk's Frutal Works, Anken Chemical, and Geigy Chemical. Then, as he wrote
in a two-page letter to Harry Day in 1992: "My chemistry career ended rather
unexpectedly in 1967 when I was drafted to run a family business (Seven-Up Bottling Co.,
Plainfield, N.J.) when Pat's (his wife) father became ill. Fortunately, the business
became very successful and was sold in 1978, and I was too far from chemistry to get back,
so the early retirement." Until his final illness (cancer), Ray was active and
progressively more successful in senior golf. He belonged to several major golf
associations. In 1988, he was elected president of Southern(golf) Seniors. He is survived
by his first wife, Phyllis R. Boucher, MA'46, and his second wife,
Jeannette M. Boucher, two sons and two stepsons. Boucher always kept in touch with friends
in chemistry at IU and other friends in Bloomington.
Jens Traetteberg, postdoc'62-'64, '67, died from cancer in January 1995
at Trondheim, Norway. Traetteberg's field at IU was electron microscopy. He was working
with Walter Moore on brain research while his wife, Marit, was doing gas electron
diffraction work as a member of Russ Bonham's group. At the time of his death, Traetteberg
was heading a group working on instrumentation and measurments at Norway's largest
research institute, SINTEF. Both Jens and Marit have kept in touch with members of the
department in the years since they were here.
- We also have learned of the following deaths, all reported in the Hexagon of Alpha
Chi Sigma, spring 1996, but have no further information:
Kenneth O. Henke, BA'23
Alvin John Schorr, BA'32
Alumni Profile
Ensman instrumental in department's success
Robert Ensman, '59-'61, is a native of Ohio. After receiving his
undergraduate degree at Bowling Green State University, he began graduate study at IU.
While working with Professor Lynne Merritt, Bob helped develop one of the first
electrobalances. After a brief period on the staff of Rose Polytechnic Institute, he
returned to the IU chemistry department in 1963 as an instrumentation specialist. In these
succeeding years, he has designed and constructed many types of state-of-the art
electronic instruments. Bob has also taught several instrumentation courses.
Outside consulting activities under the name Ensman Instrumentation, have involved Bob in
many research programs around the world. EI has supplied about 75 fastscan instruments for
cyclic voltammetry to laboratories using micro- and ultra-microelectrodes. Forty-six
research groups in the U.S. and nine more around the world now use EI potentiostats.
Bob serves on the advisory board of the electronics department of Ivy Tech, Bloomington.
Representing EI, he also underwrites the national SEAC Young Investigator Award of the
Society for Electro-Analytical Chemistry. His current position in the chemistry department
is as manager of electronic instrument services.
ACS honors IU chemists for 50-year membership
In 1995, at least two IU alumni and two retired faculty members were
among the more than 600 ACS members honored by local sections and the national society for
reaching 50 years of membership in the society.
Alumni known to be IU-connected are Edward G. Howard, PhD'48, and Paul
N. Rylander, PhD'48. Others with IU connections are Edward J. Bair,
who joined the chemistry faculty in 1954, became professor emeritus in 1992, and Lyle
V. Beck, who joined the pharmacology faculty (School of Medicine, Bloomington,
1964; professor emeritus, 1976).
One of Howard's notable recognitions was winning DuPont's Lavoisier Medal in 1991. This
included induction into the Lavoisier Academy, as signified on a bronze plaque on display
in the DuPont Experimental Station. Rylander is noted for his extensive
publications, books, patents, and other contributions regarding catalytic hydrogenation
over platinum metals.
This newsletter is published annually for graduates of
the IU Department of Chemistry by the Department of Chemistry and the IU Alumni
Association, in cooperation with the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Association, to
encourage alumni interest in and support for IU. For membership or activities information,
call (800) 824-3044, or e-mail the Alumni
Association.
College of Arts and Sciences
Dean, Morton Lowengrub
Director of Development, Susan Green
Department of Chemistry
Chair, Paul A. Grieco
News Editors, E. Campaigne, Max Marsh
Assistant News Editors, H. G. Day, E. Greene, V.J. Shiner
IU Alumni Association
University Director of Alumni Affairs, Jerry F. Tardy
Assistant Alumni Director, Bloomington, Jodi Hollowitz
Editor, Constituent Publications, Carol Edge
Editorial Assistant, Leora Baude
