Canadian Chemical News articles from April 2008

Canadian Chemical News archives from April 2008

Chemist collectors.(GUEST COLUMN/CHRONIQUEUR INVITE)(Column)
April 1, 2008... Some chemists are serious collectors of paintings. Carl Djerassi, with whom I went to school in Vienna from 1930 to 1938, has a most diverse collection of art. It ranges from pre-Columbian art, which he is leaving to the Kunsthistorisches...

Chemist by any other name.(LETTERS/LETTRES)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... DEAR EDITOR, I was saddened to note that yet another provincial body has been established (February 2008 ACCN p. 19). Now you can become a professional chemist in BC. I voiced objection when I was asked for comment; I asked that my...

Les surfaces antimicrobiennes en cuivre.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)(atimicrobial properties of metal)
April 1, 2008... Les proprietes antimicrobiennes du cuivre sont connues depuis des milliers d'annees. Ce n'est que depuis peu qu'on far des recherches exhaustives pour comprendre pourquoi le cuivre et ses alliages ont des proprietes curatives et comment on...

Bridging art and science.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Canadian Light Source (CLS) executive director William Thomlinson and artist Carol Wylie stand before one of Wylie's three paintings entitled First Light that hang in the building's mezzanine. Wiley recently...

Bottoms up for bisphenol A?(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] According to Health Canada officials, concerns regarding the safety of polycarbonate bottles help explain why it was one of the first chemicals identified as part of the government's challenge to industry and...

Du ble resistant a l'hiver canadien.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)(University of Quebec professor Jean Danyluk wins research grant to study effects of snow on wheat)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Jean Danyluk, professeur au Departement des sciences biologiques, specialiste de la biologie moleculaire et de la biotechnologie de l'Universite du Quebec a Montreal (UQAM), a obtenu une subvention totalisant un demi-million de dollars qui lui...

Charging batteries--a walk in the park.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Simon Fraser University (SFU) researchers have developed a new wearable technology that generates electricity from the natural motion of walking. It promises to revolutionize the way we charge portable...

Hot off the press.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Bilingual scientific dictionary publisher Editorial Castilla La Vieja has released the Dictionary of Chemistry--Diccionario de Quimica (English-Spanish/Spanish-English). It comprises 1,637 pages of terminology and illustrative sample sentences...

Emergency Response Guidebook 2008.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Emergency Response Guidebook 2008 (ERG2008) is being developed jointly by Transport Canada, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Secretariat of Transport and Communications of Mexico with the...

Call for Chemical Engineering Papers Opens.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Call for Chemical Engineering Papers Opens. The organizing committee of the 58th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference, to be held in Ottawa, ON, October 19 to 22, 2008, extends an invitation to all to...

Canada/U.S. reciprocal recognition of containers.(REGULATORY NEWS)(Reprint)
April 1, 2008... A modification negotiated under the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) now eases the transportation of dangerous goods between Canada and the U.S. The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration revised its...

Air Liquide Group.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
April 1, 2008... Senior executive vice-president Pierre Dufour of the Paris-based Air Liquide Group, the leading global provider of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, is pleased to announce that the worldwide company has appointed Luc Doyon, currently...

BASF Canada Inc.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
April 1, 2008... BASF Canada Inc. has won IAPA's Level III Health and Safety Achievement Award. This award recognizes the company's commitment to health and safety excellence.

ecoAgriculture Biofuels Capital.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
April 1, 2008... As a result of the new federal ecoAgriculture Biofuels Capital initiative, a new ethanol plant will be built in Unity, SK, with a $5 million boost. The plant is scheduled to begin production in September 2008 under the operation of North West...

Lignol Energy Corp.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
April 1, 2008... Lignol Energy Corp. announced several additions to its management, plant operations, and research teams, including the hiring of Jeff Charpentier as vice-president of finance and corporate secretary.

MDS Nordion.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
April 1, 2008... MDS Nordion has appointed Peter Covitz to the new position of senior vice-president of innovation with responsibility for driving new technology to commercialization.

Patheon Inc.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
April 1, 2008... Patheon Inc. has appointed Terry Novak as president of North American Operations and chief marketing officer.

Suncor Energy.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
April 1, 2008... Suncor Energy announced that its board of directors has given final approval to a $20.6 billion investment that is expected to boost crude oil production at the company's oil sands operation, located north of Fort McMurray, AB, by 200,000...

A painter's problems: could van Gogh's torment be attributed to chemistry?(CHEMFUSION)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On December 23, 1888, a prostitute in the town of Arles, France received a strange Christmas present. The package, wrapped in newsprint, contained part of a human ear--the ear of Vincent van Gogh. Why the artist...

State of the art: Art Conservation in Canada.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many chemists have never thought of a career in art conservation. Yet few areas allow such close contact with beautiful, historic objects--whether a ceramic piece with a lustrous glaze or an intricate watercolour....

The whole picture: ACCN asks the Canadian Conservation Institute what chemical techniques can reveal about paintings.(Interview)
April 1, 2008... When considering pigments, it is easy to see how chemistry plays an integral part in the creation of artistic paintings. Early pigments were derived from the earth and from minerals. Later pigments were made from animal and vegetable dyes. More...

The Public Image of Chemistry.
April 1, 2008... Are chemists creative benefactors of humankind? Or sorcerer's apprentices who befoul the environment and manufacture chemical weapons? The public's "chemophobia" has long and grounded historical roots, and it is in direct opposition to the way...

Science on stage: why would a chemist wish to write plays?
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To write "science-in-theatre" does not require that the author be a scientist. But what about the converse? Why have so few "hard" scientists--and no chemists at all, as far as I am aware--become recognized...

A passion for chemistry and art.
April 1, 2008... The world opened up for me at Columbia College in New York City. My chemistry courses were routine, but a core curriculum in great books and a poetry course taught by Mark Van Doren as well as one in Japanese literature and two in history of...

Complex clay and complex ions: the chemistry of ceramics from Earth to fired finish.
April 1, 2008... Decorate your home, furnish your reception area, or brush up on the chemistry of materials and light emission--with ceramics. The ceramic process first began with the earliest discovery that earth mixed with water can be moulded into...

Ten outstanding Canadian researchers have been awarded Killam Research Fellowships, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.(Recognition/reconnaissance)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Ten outstanding Canadian researchers have been awarded Killam Research Fellowships, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. The awards support scholars engaged in research projects of outstanding merit. The fellowships are valued at...

Kevin J. Kennedy has won the 2008 George S. Glinski Award for Excellence in Research in the Faculty of Engineering.(Recognition/reconnaissance)
April 1, 2008... Kevin J. Kennedy has won the 2008 George S. Glinski Award for Excellence in Research in the Faculty of Engineering. He is a professor of civil engineering cross-appointed to chemical engineering at the University of Ottawa. [ILLUSTRATION...

NSERC president Suzanne Fortier, FCIC, has announced that Nobel Laureate John C. Polanyi, HFCIC, is the winner of the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering.(Recognition/reconnaissance)
April 1, 2008... NSERC president Suzanne Fortier, FCIC, has announced that Nobel Laureate John C. Polanyi, HFCIC, is the winner of the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering. Polanyi is a professor of chemistry at the University of...

Named for Canadian Nobel laureate Gerhard Herzberg.(Recognition/reconnaissance)
April 1, 2008... Named for Canadian Nobel laureate Gerhard Herzberg, the annual prize is widely recognized as the country's most prestigious science award.

Dans le cadre de son 94e Congres annuel au Palais des Congres de Montreal, I'ATPPC a rendu hommage a plusieurs personnes qui se sont distinguees par l'excellence de leurs travaux de recherche, de leurs presentations techniques et de leurs services rendus a l'industrie canadienne des pates et papiers. Les recipiendaires sont.(Recognition/reconnaissance)(recognition of individuals in paper industy)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Dans le cadre de son 94e Congres annuel au Palais des Congres de Montreal, I'ATPPC a rendu hommage a plusieurs personnes qui se sont distinguees par l'excellence de leurs travaux de recherche, de leurs presentations techniques et de leurs...

Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE) president Milena Sejnoha, MCIC, received a medal from the Mexican Institute of Chemical Engineers, Instituto Mexicano De Ingenieros Quimicos (IMIQ) on the occasion commemorating IMIQ's 50th anniversary.(Recognition/reconnaissance)
April 1, 2008... Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE) president Milena Sejnoha, MCIC, received a medal from the Mexican Institute of Chemical Engineers, Instituto Mexicano De Ingenieros Quimicos (IMIQ) on the occasion commemorating IMIQ's 50th...

In memoriam.(Obituary)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The CIC extends its condolences to the family of: L'ICC desire offrir ses condoleances aux familles de : Gustav Lawrence (Larry) Osberg, FCIC, passed away in Ottawa, ON, on January 28, 2008, at the age of 90. Larry was one of the early...

CNC-IUPAC Travel Awards for 2008/Bourses de vovaqe du CNC-UICPA pour 2008.(RECOGNITION/RECONNAISSANCE)
April 1, 2008... The Canadian National Committee for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (CNC-IUPAC) established a program of Travel Awards for young Canadian scientists in 1982. These awards are financed jointly by the Canadian Society for...

Canadian Society for Chemical Technology Board of Directors' nominees 2008-2010.(RECOGNITION/RECONNAISSANCE)
April 1, 2008... The Nominating Committee chaired by Tom Sutton, FCIC, for the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology, appointed under the terms of CSCT bylaws Section V, 5.01 Nominating Committee, has proposed the candidates listed below to serve as CSCT...

2007 CIC Society Silver Medalists: the CIC is proud to announce the 2007 Silver Medal winners. The medals are awarded to undergraduate students on behalf of each society/Les medailles d'argent 2007 des societes de l'ICC: l'ICC est fiere d'annoncer les gagnants des medailles d'argent 2007. Chaque societe octroie ces medailles a des etudiantes et des etudiants de premier cycle.(RECOGNITION/RECONNAISSANCE)
April 1, 2008... CSC Silver Medal Winners The CSC encourages undergraduate students in chemistry and related subjects by offering an award to the student with the highest marks, in his or her penultimate year of studies at each chemistry and/or...

SNC-LAVALIN plant design competition.(RECOGNITION/RECONNAISSANCE)
April 1, 2008... The Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering offers the SNC--LAVALIN Undergraduate Plant Design Competition for students enrolled in undergraduate chemical engineering programs at Canadian Universities. Individuals and groups of undergraduate...

Iain Stewart, director general, Science and Innovation Sector at Industry Canada, spoke at the Canadian Consortium for Research meeting in Ottawa, ON, on February 20, 2008.(RECOGNITION/RECONNAISSANCE)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Iain Stewart, director general, Science and Innovation Sector at Industry Canada, spoke at the Canadian Consortium for Research meeting in Ottawa, ON, on February 20, 2008. He presented the current Canadian...

Conferences.(EVENTS/EVENEMENTS)(Calendar)
April 1, 2008... Canada May 24-28, 2008. 91st Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition, Edmonton, AB, www.csc2008.ca May 26, 2008. Short Course in Industrial Oilfield Chemistry at the 91st Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition, Edmonton, AB,...