On November 21, 2009, Walter Stern died. Walter was a chemical engineer who, in 1946, helped design the production process for saccharin, the first product of Sigma Chemical Company. When Monsanto entered the saccharin market, Sigma almost foundered. In searching for new opportunities, Sigma soon turned to ATP (adenosine triphosphate, the high-energy intermediate in almost […]
The cover story in the November 2, 2009, issue of Chemical & Engineering News focused on the job outlook for chemists, amid a bleak employment scene in almost all segments of the workforce. To put a human face on the statistics, the experiences of Marcel Madaras were featured: first as a research chemist for Kodak in Rochester,
William J Sun, a senior at Parkway Central High School, took second place in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search. His project, undertaken with David Haslam of Washington University School of Medicine, studied the effect of golgicide A on the Golgi secretory apparatus. Each year, 40 finalists are chosen from a national pool of candidates to visit Washington,
Milorad P Dudukovic, chemical engineering professor at Washington University has been named 2009 winner of the E V Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. The Saint Louis Section had previously recognized Dr Dudukovic withy the 1995 Saint Louis Award. The Murphree Award is sponsored by ExxonMobil Research and Engineering. Dr Dudukovic was cited for his work
Scientists at the University of Missouri–St Louis and the University of Kentucky have developed a device to help protect premature infants from the toxic effects of aluminum in their intravenous feeding solutions. A small filter removes the metal by chelation. This technology could be in hospitals as early as 2010. More than 12 percent of
Another long-standing member of the American Chemical Society and the Saint Louis Section has died. Robert E Keller had been a member of both since 1949. He was 86. Keller served as a Pharmacist’s Mate in the Navy during WWII, then returned home to earn BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Chemistry from the University
It is with sadness and sympathy for his surviving children and grandchildren that we note the passing of a 62-year member of the ACS. Donald G Leavitt died on December 31, 2008, at the age of 84. Don was a patent attorney specializing in chemical and pharmaceutical patents for the Senniger, Powers firm in St
Ted Gast, president of Arch Paper Company in St Louis and former Chair of St Louis Section–ACS, told St Louis News 4 today about making paper entirely from discarded cotton garments: “no trees, no chlorine, no bleach, no dyes” … and of course, reduced demand for landfill volume. Does anyone else remember when “20% rag
Andrew Liu, a top finisher in the Advanced Division of the local high school chemistry contest for two straight years, has gone all the way. He is one of the four-chemist team who will represent the USA at the International Chemistry Olympiad in Budapest, July 12–21. The road to the final four is an arduous
The award citation refers to Dr Minteer’s research on immobilized dehydrogenase enzymes at the anode of biofuel cells. Her work has resulted in enzymes stable at the bioanode for over a year, but she and her research group are working on improved immobilization membranes that can tolerate higher concentrations of biofuels such as glucose, methanol,
