E D U C A T I O N

Chemistry Teachers Visit Industry Pilot institute program explores ways of using industrial experience to aid science teachers

Seventeen high school chemistry teachers from Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania met at Rutgers University late last month to test the feasibility of using the experi­ence and facilities of industry in the classroom.

The teachers went through a three-day program of lectures and plant trips related to inorganic, organic, and polymer chemistry. This was specifi­cally designed to emphasize modern chemical technology as an illustration of more classical chemistry subjects.

The inorganic section of the pro­gram centered around National Lead's titanium dioxide plant in Sayreville, N.J.; the organic sessions were de­tailed at American Cyanamid's di-phenylamine plant in Bound Brook, N.J.; and Union Carbide's plastics plant, also in Bound Brook, developed the polymer part of the program.

The lectures and demonstrations held at Rutgers spelled out the basic

INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY INSTITUTE. A group of the high school teachers at­tending the sessions watches a lab demonstration by Rutgers University professor of chemistry Dr. Rolfe H. Herber. Left to right are P. L. Lovett-Janison, Taft School, Watertown, Conn., Dr. Herber, Lewis Marderness, Reading (Pa.), Senior High School, and Sister Frances Eileen, St. Aloysius High School, Jersey City, N.J.

DIPHENYLAMINE PRODUCTION. Institute teachers learn how industry produces organic chemicals during a visit to American Cyanamid's intermediates department at Bound Brook, N.J. Here, Dr. Allen G. Potter, Cyanamid chemist and tour guide (right), explains the DPA process controls

INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. Teachers in­spect a sulfuric acid-producing unit at the titanium pigment plant of National Lead, Sayreville, N.J.

J U L Y 9, 1962 C & E N 43

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chemical principles of industrial proc­esses. They covered such things as catalysts and equilibrium and how these variables can be manipulated to boost yields and ultimately improve the economics of a process. Later, industrial officials developed the ideas behind the large-scale technology in­volved in the processes. For example, a Cyanamid official explained how the production of diphenylamine had pro­gressed from an autoclave process to a vapor phase technique.

These classroom-style meetings were then followed by plant visits to see the actual equipment used in vari­ous processes.

After the tours, plant managers dis­cussed economic considerations of the processes. They covered raw ma­terial costs, plant depreciation, and profit margins. Methods of distribut­ing products, effects of technological advances on cost, human relations, and social implications of the plants were also talked about.

When the formal institute program was completed, teachers and company officials evaluated the three-day ses­sion.

In general the group felt that the program was well worth the effort. The teachers said it gave them a chance to see fundamental principles of chemistry in use and a better under­standing of the economics of the chemical industry.

Some of the teachers were sur­prised at the low profit ratios of the industry and the extent of overcapac­ity. They said that they had not been exposed to this important phase of the industry until this time. Also, in meeting industry scientists face-to-face, they had gained a knowledge of the varied activities in chemistry to help them in career guidance.

One teacher found it difficult to pinpoint the benefits he had derived from the program, but he concluded that teachers could hardly attend the sessions without gaining an insight into the chemical industry that would be reflected in their classrooms in the future.

The pilot institute was sponsored by the New York Chemical Industry Council in cooperation with Rutgers University. Dr. Harvey R. Russell, manager of education services at American Cyanamid and director of the institute, hopes that this year's program will inspire other colleges and universities to try similar programs with the industries in their areas.

Cornell's Materials Science Center Adds Analytical Labs A new facility that will emphasize ul­tratrace analysis of high purity mate­rials has just been completed at the Materials Science Center (MSC) of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

The MSC labs will establish a lead­ing research center devoted to trace analysis, says its director Dr. George H. Morrison. Not only does it have full-time chemists who are providing specialized analyses for MSC projects, it also has graduate students and post­doctoral fellows working on research in trace methods of analysis.

Among the many ultratrace tech­niques now used at the labs are acti­vation analyses, made in conjunction with Cornell's TRIGA reactor, spark source mass spectroscopy, emission spectroscopy, flame photometry, x-ray fluorescence, and various wet chemical methods. Thus, Dr. Morrison points out, students at the center gain expe­rience in all areas of trace analysis. They also benefit from their contacts with scientists from the university de­partments that are doing research on materials.

A unique feature of the new labs is a solids mass spectrograph. This in­strument has many novel refinements to make it more applicable for analyz­ing high purity solids. It will provide electrical as well as photographic de­tection.

MSC Activities. Cornell's Materials Science Center is an interdisciplinary laboratory set up to promote research and training in all phases of the sci­ence of materials. Its programs are supported by funds from the Ad­vanced Research Projects Agency as well as the funds granted by other agencies and institutions for MSC re­search. Currently, the departments of chemistry, engineering physics, ma­terials science, and physics are en­gaged in these projects. Some indi­vidual members of the geology and electrical engineering staffs are also participating.

Present research emphasis at the center is on solid state physics, with roughly 507c of the present staff work­ing in this field. The primary effort is on physical processes rather than on specific detailed systems. MSC ex­pects to develop its programs, exploit­ing advances in solid state physics, chemistry, and mathematics for under­standing and improving materials.

MSC's broad objectives are:

44 C & E N J U L Y 9, 1962

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