BGM student wins state chemistry challenge; national next STAFF REPORTS powcr@dmreg.com Elaina Maltas, a 7th grade student from BGM in Brooklyn, competed against other fifth through eighth grade students to win the Iowa State You Be the Chemist Challenge. She will represent Iowa at the 10th annual National You Be The Chemist Challenge in Philadelphia in June. This is the first time the state of Iowa has participated in the challenge. BGMs Elaina Maltas, front row, right, was the champion of the first ever Iowa State You Be The Chemist Challenge held in Malcom. She will represent Iowa in the upcoming national challenge. Participants, volunteers and BASF employees who took part in the competition include; front row, from left Dawn Hamilton, local challenge organizer and BASF employee; third runner up Wright Hilpipre, grade 8; second runner up Avrie Bayse, grade eight; first runner up Lara Hilpipre, grade eight; and Iowa state champion Elaina Maltas, grade seven. Back row are Anna Hilpipre, BASF employee; Al Ribby, BASF employee; Andy Schuster, co-organizer and BASF employee; Chad Stonebraker, BASF employee; Brad Hamilton, BASF employee; and Danya Crites, volunteer educator. Developed by the Chemical Educational Foundation (CEF), the challenge is an exciting question-and-answer competition … Continue reading →

Bergman wins Welch Award May 2, 2014 Chemistry Professor Robert Bergman. Chemistry Professor Robert Bergman has been named the 2014 recipient of the Welch Award in Chemical Research for pioneering work in alkane activation and mechanisms of organometallic reactions. The Houston-based Welch Foundation is one of the nations oldest and largest sources of private funding for basic research in chemistry. The foundation also cited Bergmans vital contributions to the understanding of organometallic chemistry and particularly carbon-hydrogen bond activation and its application to drug development and cleaner energy. Bob Bergman is a trail-blazing researcher whose interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to science has led to significant contributions to chemistry throughout his career, said Marye Anne Fox, chair of the Foundations Scientific Advisory Board and a former UCSD Chancellor. He was a pioneer in taking the methods and reasoning of physical organic chemistry and using them to help grow the new field of organometallic chemistry, where mechanistic insights were not always obvious until revealed by his work. His work has revolutionized the field of C-H activation, one of the most important in chemistry, and he continues to expand our insights in this area, providing the foundation of organometallic chemistry as we know it … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 5-May-2014 Contact: Nicole Patten media@monash.edu 61-399-034-841 Monash University Monash University Professor Cameron Jones was surprised to discover he has won the Royal Society of Chemistry 's coveted Frankland Award, thus joining an elite field of international scientists. The award recognises outstanding contributions to pure and applied research in organometallic chemistry or coordination chemistry. Professor Jones admits he was surprised at having won the award, given the nature of its global status. "It was a great and unexpected honour for me, especially given this award is open to inorganic chemists from across the globe," he said. When Professor Jones looked at the list of previous winners of the Frankland Award, he was impressed to see all the 'giants' of the field who have helped shape its direction over the past 30 years. "Being added to that list is nothing short of humbling. Although Australia has a very strong tradition of organometallic chemistry, when I returned to the country in 2007 my plan was to introduce a new subarea of this field that was rapidly emerging in Europe and North America. "I think we have succeeded in that goal, and this international recognition of our efforts will only help … Continue reading →

ZEI's proprietary dust control chemistry that can save you money and keep dust under control. CLEVELAND, -- ZEI announced today the release of a premium dust control product line, DustREADY for haul roads, underground mine roads, and general industrial and public roads or pathways. DustREADY(TM) is a variety of dust control products specifically developed to not only sustain low airborne dust from unpaved roads, but also to stabilize and seal the roads, while still being cost effective. This dust control line will also allow oilfield service, exploration, and industrial manufacturing companies to minimize roadway maintenance and unnecessary cost due to erosion. Take advantage of ZEI's new DustREADY dust control products specifically developed to reduce costs associated with high dust levels. "DustREADY allows our customer to reduce costs associated with high dust levels," said Dr. Timothy Drake, ZEI's Vice President of Marketing and Product Development. "In the ever evolving safety environments, we are proud of this new technology that serves the best interest of our customers by improving the integrity of their roadways and minimizing maintenance costs. While most industries rely on water as their preferred dust suppressant due to cost, what we have observed is just the opposite and in … Continue reading →

Science is neat. Carbon monoxide, meanwhile, is rather unpleasant. It steals the oxygen from your blood one atom at a time. So what could be neater than using science to convert carbon monoxide to its rather more benign cousin, carbon dioxide? How about using a giant X-ray to peer into the molecular structure of an alloy that can catalyze this chemical reaction more cheaply than existing technologies? It is exciting, said Peng Zhang, an associate professor of chemistry at Dalhousie University. On Tuesday, Zhang was patiently explaining to a reporter who only has his Grade 10 chemistry why his research is important to anyone who drives a car. Basically, it goes like this: every car has a thingy called a catalytic converter attached to its exhaust system. The catalytic converter turns toxic emissions like carbon monoxide into less dangerous pollutants like carbon dioxide by using platinum to encourage a chemical reaction. But platinum is very expensive. Continue reading here: Dalhousie chemists work on cutting cost of cleaner air … Continue reading →