Canadian Chemical News articles from September 2008

Canadian Chemical News archives from September 2008

Step up to the plate: why do so few scientists and engineers enter the political arena?(GUEST COLUMN/CHRONIQUEUR INVITE)
September 1, 2008... Over the last several years, I have asked many Canadian and international chemical scientists and engineers this question. I posed it at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Board of Directors' meeting in New Orleans, LA, this spring and,...

Further developments ...(LETTERS/LETTRES)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2008... DEAR EDITOR, I want to thank Jennifer Clarke, MCIC, for kindly including my development with Alan Marshall of FT-ICR Spectroscopy as one of the highlights of Canadian chemistry in the last 100 years ("Canadian Chemical Discoveries...

Nanotubes Combat Explosives.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] They're the ultimate high tech material. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) are about 100 times stronger than steel but just one-sixth the weight. Some day, their anti-ballistic potential may be used to protect...

Atlantica BioEnergy task force unveiled.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
September 1, 2008... A task force of forest industry stakeholders from Eastern Canada and Maine was launched this summer to explore bio-related opportunities within the forestry sector across the region. The study will seek to map the most effective use of wood...

Trouts' sense of smell--something's fishy.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
September 1, 2008... Pesticides are causing rainbow trout to lose their delicate sense of smell. That could harm the fish's ability to avoid predators, find mates and migrate back from the sea, according to a study by a team of Simon Fraser University (SFU)...

Nuclear power for Jordan?(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
September 1, 2008... Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and SNC-Lavalin are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission in Amman, Jordan. The agreement covers a range of areas of cooperation...

Longue vie aux moteurs d'avions.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Un des meilleurs moyens de reduire le cout d'entretien des avions commerciaux et militaires consiste a creer de meilleurs revetements pour les pieces de moteurs. Un partenariat entre le CNRC et Innovative Materials...

Clarification.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)(Correction notice)
September 1, 2008... Our sincere apologies to W. G. Forbes, FCIC, whose name was mistakenly omitted from the 2005 list of CIC 50-Year Members. ACCN is pleased to include him in this year's list on p. 8.

Engineering contact lenses.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
September 1, 2008... Chemical engineering researchers at McMaster University have shown that a common fluid found in our bodies can be used as a natural moisturizing agent in contact lenses. This is a step up from the current wave of self-moisturizing contact...

PPI builds U.S. biofuels facility.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
September 1, 2008... One of North America's leading biofuels and food biotechnology companies, Performance Plants Inc. (PPI) of Kingston, ON, has established an American research centre to develop specialized non-food crops for industries seeking renewable...

Edmonton pioneers waste [right arrow] biofuel.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
September 1, 2008... Edmonton will be home to the world's first industrial scale facility to produce biofuels from municipal solid waste. The city has signed a 25-year agreement with Canada's largest ethanol producer, GreenField Ethanol, and Enerkem, a leading...

AkzoNobel paints come to Canada.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
September 1, 2008... AkzoNobel has signed an agreement to sell its Para[R] and Crown Diamond[R] decorative paint brands in Canada to General Paint Corp. The sale is in line with the commitment package which was agreed with the Canadian authorities in connection...

Canada's largest conservation commitment.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ForestEthics applauds the Ontario government's July 14, 2008, commitment to legislate protection of 50 percent (or 22.5 million hectares) of Ontario's vast Northern Boreal Forest from industrial development. This...

Canada--dig deep for Arctic development.(NEWS/NOUVELLES)
September 1, 2008... Canada lags behind in efforts to find, develop and produce hydrocarbons from the Arctic, says an Alberta-based expert. Dave Russum, vice-president of geoscience with AJM Petroleum Consultants, focused on Canada's Arctic opportunities during a...

Pest Management Regulator finds 2,4-D can be used safely.(REGULATORY NEWS)(Pest Management Regulatory Agency)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) concluded its re-evaluation of the popular herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). The agency concluded that the herbicide can be used safely according to label directions for a...

Professional Engineers Ontario.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
September 1, 2008... J. David Adams has been appointed president of Professional Engineers Ontario.

Biophage Pharma.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
September 1, 2008... Biophage Pharma announced that Robert Burr has resigned as member of the company board of directors.

Lignol Energy Corporation.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
September 1, 2008... Lignol Energy Corporation announced that Jeff Charpentier, vice-president, finance and corporate secretary, has been appointed chief financial officer of the company.

Catalyst Paper.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
September 1, 2008... Catalyst Paper is pleased to announce the appointment of William (Bill) Dickson to its board of directors.

Biophage Pharma announced the appointment of Luc Dubois and Jocelyn R. Pelchat.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
September 1, 2008... Biophage Pharma announced the appointment of Luc Dubois and Jocelyn R. Pelchat to its board of directors.

AbitibiBowater Canada Inc.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
September 1, 2008... The following individuals have been appointed sole officers of AbitibiBowater Canada Inc.: David J. Paterson as president; Alain Grandmont as vice-president; William G. Harvey as vice-president and treasurer; Pierre Rougeau as vice-president;...

BioSyntech, Inc.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
September 1, 2008... BioSyntech, Inc. is pleased to announce that Michel Lagueux, Karen Hong, Eric W. Linsley and Winston Black have been appointed to the board of directors. Michel Lagueux has been appointed chair of the board, replacing Joseph Benarrosh.

Genome Prairie.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
September 1, 2008... Genome Prairie announced the appointment of Wilf Keller as the new president and CEO of the company.

Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE).(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
September 1, 2008... The Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) elected John Leggat as president of the academy.

Canadian Light Source Inc. (CLSI).(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
September 1, 2008... Rafik Loutfy has been elected chair of the board of directors of Canadian Light Source Inc. (CLSI), Canada's national synchrotron research facility.

Novadaq[R] Technologies Inc.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
September 1, 2008... Novadaq[R] Technologies Inc., a developer of real-time imaging and image guidance systems for use in the operating room, announced that John T. Reidy has been appointed chief financial officer.

Nobel Biocare.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
September 1, 2008... Nobel Biocare announced the appointment of William J. Ryan as senior advisor to the CEO.

MedMira Inc.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)
September 1, 2008... MedMira Inc., a developer and marketer of rapid diagnostics, announced that Michael Thompson has resigned from the board of directors.

Chew on this.(CHEMFUSION)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] So... do you stop chewing gum? Get rid of your hair spray? Forget about using latex paints? Take white glue away from your children? It's a sticky situation we encounter here. Why? The Canadian government has...

Water works: groundwater is under attack from a growing number of polluting sources. A counterattack has been launched by two Canadian geochemistry scientists and their teams. James Hendry and David Blowes stand at the forefront of research to protect water supplies and, in particular, minimize the harmful impact of acid mine drainage.
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Waste at mine sites is widely acknowledged as the biggest and most costly environmental challenge facing the industry--and a threat to the existence of clean, pure water. In Canada's West and across the...

Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board's Geoscience Research Centre.
September 1, 2008... The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board's Geoscience Research Centre (GRC) provides geological and geophysical information and services for the Nova Scotia offshore area. The GRC also houses the board's new digital data management...

Gold prospects: gold can be found anywhere by anyone.
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bassanio knew the way to Portia's heart was not through gold. The same cannot be said for the rest of the world. From the mountains of Minais Gerais in Brazil and up to the Western Cordillera of British...

Petrochemical trends: major factors affecting the global and Canadian petrochemical industries.(Industry overview)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Chemical Market Associates, Inc. (CMAI) projects that the profitability of the global chemical industry likely peaked in 2007. The persistent high price of oil, combined with a slowdown in U.S. demand and the...

Collaborating for carbon storage: economically feasible storage of C[O.sub.2] provides a real tactic to mitigate the environmental impact of oil production.
September 1, 2008... The world is demanding much more energy for development--which currently means more fossil fuels--and a solution to climate change. The seemingly insurmountable task might be offset by safe and cost effective ways of capturing and storing...

Research integrity: increased attention has been paid to the issue of research integrity in recent years, with some cases attracting considerable notoriety.
September 1, 2008... Let us consider what research integrity and misconduct are and the approaches that can reduce violations of acceptable practice. Research integrity can be defined as the firm adherence to a code of high moral values, principles, and...

A bas les flavones, flavanols et flavanones, les hydroxycinnamates, hydroxybenzoates et carotenoides.(hype surrounding antioxidents )
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Non, je ne veux pas dire qu'il faut bannir ces antioxydants, et tous les autres, de notre alimentation. Ils jouent un role essentiel pour la sante. Mais supprimons-les du vocabulaire ou le terme est utilise a toutes...

L'Universite du Quebec a Montreal (l'UQAM) rend hommage a Claude Hillaire-Marcel.(RECOGNITION/RECONNAISSANCE)(Science professor awarded medal from University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] L'Universite du Quebec a Montreal (l'UQAM) rend hommage a Claude Hillaire-Marcel, professeur au departement des sciences de la terre et de l'atmosphere et specialiste mondial de la geochimie isotopique, en lui...

Synergy Awards.(RECOGNITION/RECONNAISSANCE)
September 1, 2008... Dalhousie University chemistry professor Bruce Grindley, FCIC, has been appointed as member of the Synergy Awards for Innovation Selection Committee for a three-year term ending Match 31, 2011.

At the Canada Chemical Producers' Association's (CCPA) board of directors dinner in Edmonton, AB, June 4, 2008, Tom Blaney of Northwest Tank Lines.(RECOGNITION/RECONNAISSANCE)
September 1, 2008... At the Canada Chemical Producers' Association's (CCPA) board of directors dinner in Edmonton, AB, June 4, 2008, Tom Blaney of Northwest Tank Lines was presented with a plaque recognizing Northwest's leadership and continuous improvement in...

At the inaugural Mississauga, ON, Technology Awards held on June 16, 2008, Fielding Chemical Technologies received the award for best small business.(RECOGNITION/RECONNAISSANCE)
September 1, 2008... At the inaugural Mississauga, ON, Technology Awards held on June 16, 2008, Fielding Chemical Technologies received the award for best small business. In her acceptance speech, Ellen McGregor, CEO of the chemical recycling company her father...

Uttandaraman Sundararaj.(RECOGNITION/RECONNAISSANCE)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Uttandaraman Sundararaj, MCIC, professor in chemical and materials engineering at the University of Alberta, received the national Engineering Medal of Distinction in Engineering Education for his exemplary...

Gino DiLabio, MCIC, research council officer at the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) in Edmonton, AB, has been awarded the 2008 Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry Award for Early Excellence in the Field of Physical Organic Chemistry.(RECOGNITION/RECONNAISSANCE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Gino DiLabio, MCIC, research council officer at the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) in Edmonton, AB, has been awarded the 2008 Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry Award for Early Excellence in the...

The CIC Macromolecular Science and Engineering Division (MSED) sponsors an award that recognizes research excellence by two graduate students working in polymer science and engineering in Canada.(RECOGNITION/RECONNAISSANCE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The CIC Macromolecular Science and Engineering Division (MSED) sponsors an award that recognizes research excellence by two graduate students working in polymer science and engineering in Canada. The 2008...

National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT).(RECOGNITION/RECONNAISSANCE)
September 1, 2008... Martha Cook Piper, a national leader in research and post-secondary education, has been named chair of the board of trustees of the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT). Piper, former president of The University of British Columbia...

Events/Evenements.(Conference news)(Calendar)
September 1, 2008... Canada Conferences October 19-22, 2008. 58th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference, Ottawa, ON, www.csche2008.ca U.S. and Overseas October 20-22, 2008. LABTECH Conference & Exhibition 2008, Manama, Bahrain,...