Canadian Chemical News articles from May 2003

Canadian Chemical News archives from May 2003

Why chemical professionals choose term life insurance for affordable protection. (Advertorial).
May 1, 2003... If you have loved ones who depend on you, your life insurance policy could be one of the most important things you'll ever buy. When faced with so many decisions, its important to know what to look for when shopping for life insurance. Here...

Taking a public position on issues: chemical professionals have a societal responsibility to become involved. (Executive Director's Column).(Column)
May 1, 2003... In the complex world of 2003, scientists can no longer stay silent on societal issues and challenges. We must take public positions and become better communicators. The one issue that binds all chemical professionals together is our...

Letters/lettres.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Hats Off This is just to let you know that I like the latest version of ACCN after over 50 years of exposure to earlier versions. The use of colour is attractive and the variety of topics appeals to me. Some of the technical details of...

Industry. (Personals/Personnalites).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada (PAPTAC), based in Montreal, QC, has awarded an honorary life membership to Donald B. Mutton, FCIC. He and Wilf Hall, FCIC, conceived the idea of a Canadian Wood Symposium jointly sponsored by...

University. (Personals/Personnalites).(Richard J. Currie, chancellor at University of New Brunswick)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The University of New Brunswick announced the appointment of new chancellor, Richard J. Currie. Currie studied chemical engineering at UNB in 1955 as a Beaverbrook scholar. Following a career at Atlantic Sugar, he earned an MBA at Harvard...

Government. (Personals/Personnalites).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... David Bryce, MCIC, of Dalhousie University has been awarded a 2003 Doctoral Prize by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). His doctoral research focuses on nuclear magnetic resonance, and he is the first to characterize...

Distinction. (Personals/Personnalites).(multiple briefs)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Howard Alper, FCIC, president of the Royal Society of Canada, nominated Simon Fraser University computing science professor Stella Atkins as the Canadian representative to NATO advisory panel on computer networking. And the NATO Science...

Obituaries.(Obituary)
May 1, 2003... Recently, I lost a very close friend, Charles Engel, FCIC, my mentor and colleague at Universite Laval since 1964. I'm sure that many chemists in Canada, the United States and Europe will remember him well so I need not remind them how proud he...

Business opportunities abound between Canada and Japan. (News Briefs/Nouvelles en Bref).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Canadian Minister of Industry, Allan Rock, spoke to key Japanese business leaders about the benefits of expanded investment in Canada and building partnerships with Canadian companies. Included on the agenda was a roundtable discussion on...

Chemical engineering program expands at Laurentian. (News Briefs/Nouvelles en Bref).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Laurentian University's School of Engineering is pleased to announce the expansion of their partial two-year chemical engineering program into a full program offering a four-year chemical engineering degree, starting in the fall of 2003. The...

Emergencies regulations incorporate industry. (News Briefs/Nouvelles en Bref).
May 1, 2003... When the new Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Section 200 regulation comes into force, point-qualifying sites will have 90 days to notify Environment Canada. They will have six months to develop an environmental emergency plan, and...

Investors sought for mobile mini-plants. (News Briefs/Nouvelles en Bref).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Science Network will supply countries and developing regions the technology and necessary support for production of mini-plants in mobile forty-foot containers. The mini-plant system is designed so that all the production machinery is fixed on...

Keystep will help business-bound researchers. (News Briefs/Nouvelles en Bref).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Carleton University's Technology and Research Development Office announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Keystep Growth & Finance to help connect research and commercialization. Keystep will play an integral part in the...

BASF and Stochem Specialty Chemicals shake hands. (News Briefs/Nouvelles en Bref).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... BASF Canada and Stochem Specialty Chemicals, a division of Univar Canada, Ltd., have entered into a distribution agreement that will enhance the level of service and technical support throughout Canada for users of coating, adhesive, selalant...

Sterling becomes ERCO and revives its roots. (News Briefs/Nouvelles en Bref).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Sterling Pulp Chemicals needed a name change when it sold its business to Superior Propane of Calgary, AB. So it reached back to its historical roots in 19th century Quebec to find its new name -- ERCO Worldwide. The name dates back to the...

Canadian biotech mentoring program. (Heads Up).(Brief Article)(Calendar)
May 1, 2003... Saturday, June 8, 2003 the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade will host the Springboard Mentoring Program (SMP) in Toronto, ON. The role of the SMP is twofold: to help prepare the early stage biotech firms develop strong...

Chemical shifts: a little bit of Lanthanum goes a long way. (Chemical Shifts).
May 1, 2003... Phosphate bonds are ubiquitous in biological systems. DNA and RNA are held together by these bonds and thus understanding the mechanism of their cleavage is critical. Many enzymes have evolved to break these bonds by hydrolyzing them with...

Aunt Abigail creates order from chaos. (Chemputing).
May 1, 2003... The Second Law of Thermodynamics tells us that the entropy of the universe will always increase and that chaos will reign supreme. Our experience with computer files certainly backs that up. We spend years trying to organize them and as fast as...

"Nothing up my sleeve...": an antique text reveals some time-tested chemical illusions. (Chemfusion).
May 1, 2003... The curtain went up in 'Heller's Wonder Theatre' on Broadway to reveal a blindfolded lady comfortably seated centre stage. A volunteer from the audience was solicited to "pick a card, any card!" She did so, thinking of course that it was a free...

Diversity, the main element: Universite de Montreal recruits top women scientists and reaps the benefits of gender diversity. (Articles).
May 1, 2003... Ever since the Native Americans experienced the arrival of the Europeans, Montreal has been a North American center of ethnic and cultural diversity. Many are enchanted by the rich variety of cultural, culinary and creative delights in...

Bridging the gap: with a boost from the NRC, a small biotech company called PharmaGap limits the growth of cancer cells through gap junction modulation. (Articles).
May 1, 2003... About ten years ago, Jenny Phipps received a strange Christmas gift. After spending some spare time during her Christmas holidays sifting through data on the phenomena of anarchic cell growth cancerous tumours, she confirmed her hypothesis...

New executive director for the CLS. (Articles).
May 1, 2003... Excitement is starting to build now that the $174 million Canadian Light Source [CLS] synchrotron is less than a year from completion and has recruited a world-class synchrotron scientist to lead it. Bill Thomlinson, who took over November...

A chemist's eye view of technology transfer: Eureka! Experts chart a road map from discovery to commericialization. (Articles).
May 1, 2003... It happens all the time. You are working in your lab and you achieve results that you know are not only significant to your research project but constitute a discovery that may very well have commercial potential. So what is it worth? Today,...

Get more bang from your R&D dollar. (Articles).
May 1, 2003... If you plan to start up a new process or develop a new product, it's highly likely that you will start by carrying out sufficient R&D to ensure that you fully understand the process and know how to optimize its operation. If you have the...

CSC Executive meets with ACS Board of directors. (CSC Bulletin SCC).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Members of the CSC Executive met with ACS Board and senior level staff members at their national meeting in New Orleans, LA, on March 23-27, 2003. Topics discussed included the ACS/CSC Bilateral Membership Agreement, the Pacifichem 2005...

Paper making 101. (Local Section News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... About a dozen members of the Ottawa CIC Local Section went on a tour of Domtar's Gatineau mill. Dennis Foran, from Domtar, was the coordinator of our tour. After our welcome and introduction, we walked around the plant following the steps from...

Boomer Memorial Lectures. (Local Section News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The 2003 Edward Herbert Boomer Memorial Lectures, sponsored by the University of Alberta department of chemistry will take place May 7-9. The 2003 Lectures are the 43rd in a series inaugurated in 1958 to recognize the contributions of professor...

Experiment. (Local Section News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Are you looking for ideas of simple experiments to use for your school visits or mall displays? ACCN will print some experiments throughout the year to assist you. Additional experiments can be found on the National chemistry Week website at...

Student Symposium. (Student News).
May 1, 2003... The 3rd Annual CSCT Western Student Symposium was hosted by the chemical technology program at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) -- Kelsey Campus, in Saskatoon, SK, from March 14-15, 2003. The symposium...

Award recipients. (Student News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... CSCT First: Kate Farren, NAIT CSCT Second: Ashley Ponak, SIAST CSCT Third: Gwen Wood, Lakeland College SASTT First: Lynda Easthope, SAIT SASTT Second: Andria Belsher, SIAST CSCT Kelsey Student Chapter: Heather Fox, SAIT...

Meetings/reunions.(Calendar)
May 1, 2003... Canada May 14-17, 2003. Saskatchewan Green Chemistry Conference - Alternative Feedstocks, Alternative Solvents, Alternative Processes and Sustainable Development, Regina, SK. Website: www.chem.uregina.ca. May 21-22, 2003. PEICE Natural...