Industry-academic ties to be examined again
1
GULFBTDA FOR TOUGHER \ / BTDA \ ^ . c (3,3,4,4—benzophenone C II tetracarboxyiic dianhydride) || Ο Ο BTDA crosslinks epoxies to pro- duce durable products that are characterized by superior tem- perature properties, toughness, excellent dielectrics and good chemical/solvent resistance. BTDA, a high-melting solid supplied as a fine powder, can be used to upgrade many other polymer coatings. Also add it to polyimides, alkyds, polyurethane, poly- pryrrones and/or polyesters to improve physical properties and upgrade performance. Gulf PA-18 ( Hydrophobic and hydrophflk. _CH-CH2 -CH C H 4*· A À CH3 Ο Ο Ο PA-18 is a solid linear, medium molecular weight polyanhydride resin derived from octadecene-1 and maleic anhydride. It is a unique copolymer that is hydro- phobic as well as hydrophilic. PA-18 offers a wide range of useful products through reaction with aqueous bases, ammonia, amines, alcohols and epoxides. It can be crosslinked, too. For information on either of these unique materials, write on your company letterhead to Gulf Advanced Materials, Dept. 126, P.O. Box2900, Shawnee Mis- sion, KS 66201. Or call (913) 722-3200. Advanced Materials Gulf Oil Chemicals Company A division of Gulf Oil Corporation sense, it also complicates the choice of just where to start, but that's the subject of a more philosophical problem facing organic chemists. Meanwhile, a 40-year-old puzzle is well on its way toward being unrav- eled. SRS is made and released by* mast cells, which can congregate in lung tissue. The trigger for such re- lease is, at least in some cases, arrival of antibodies of the IgE family that, in turn, are responding to foreign substances, such as allergens. That cascade can cause dramatic effects, as anyone who has seen or had an asth- ma attack will testify. In its severest form, that cascade can develop into anaphylactic shock and death. Though SRS certainly is an im- portant end product in that cascade, Corey speculates that the molecule also takes part in other physiologic activities under normal conditions. "We don't yet know a lot of its func- tions," he says. SRS is present in only picogram quantities under normal conditions, a factor which has contributed to the slow progress toward finding and understanding it. Having plentiful quantities in hand is helping various groups to develop assay proced- ures for measuring SRS in vivo. The molecule also is amenable to the design of structural analogs, some of which conceivably will lead to drugs for treating asthma. "The molecule has beautiful geometry," Corey says. He describes a space- filling model of it as being "cross- shaped," with the arms and the top of the cross having the polar groups of the molecule's three carboxylates at each end, and the base of the cross being the nonpolar hydrocarbon portion of the molecule. It's easy to imagine such a molecule inserting very deliberately into a re- ceptor in a biological membrane, triggering a cell response. The parts of the molecule at the corners of the cross lend themselves to a systematic approach of chemical modification. "I think the whole field will sharp- en up, and a lot of good general con- cepts for drug design will come cranking out of this thing," Corey says. "I don't know how fast it will develop, and there's a lot of work to be done." But some of that work is clearly under way at Harvard and in Sweden, he admits, and it's really only a matter of time before some of these questions begin to produce some lively results. Jeffrey L. Fox, C&EN Washington Industry-academic ties to be examined again "I am hopeful that in future we will look back at the 'Dow meeting' as a real turning point for chemistry in this country." So writes one partici- pant in the Dow Chemical-sponsored meeting that last October pulled top people from industrial research and academia into Midland, Mich., for two days to examine the state of the industry/academic interface in chemistry (C&EN, Oct. 29,1979, page 20). This gathering seems to have hit a responsive nerve within the chemistry community. Judged by responses to a questionnaire sent to participants, it is being perceived by many as a starting point from which chemists in industry and the universities can take the initiative, without waiting for government action, in handling some of the problems they see both for their science and for innovation in this country, especially in the chemical industry. A followup meeting has been ar- ranged. It will be held at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., next Sept. 15-17. Air Products & Chemi- cals will be the host; Lehigh, cohost. Attendance will be about 200— mostly R&D executives from major corporations and chairmen of major chemistry and chemical engineering faculties. The plan is to present participants at the Lehigh meeting with specific initiatives on which they can act. These initiatives are being drawn up by a task force cochaired by Charles Galloway, vice president for corporate planning and development for Stauffer Chemical, and Robert Rei- sen, chairman of the chemistry de- partment at Brown University. The returned questionnaires from the Midland, Mich., meeting, which will provide one of the major inputs from which the Lehigh agenda will be drawn up, illustrate the wide range of views of just what is wrong with in- dustry/academic relations today and what can be done about it. But there is a consensus that such relations are not what they should be, and they certainly are not as fruitful as they were 20 years ago. Part of the problem is attitudinal, and part of it is finan- cial. One specific recommendation that likely will be examined at the Lehigh meeting will be for establishment of a Chemical Research Institute. This would collect funds for basic research from industry and distribute them to university researchers. The idea was first proposed at Midland, where it received a rather cautious initial re- sponse from some of the academics present. • 30 C&EN Feb. 18, 1980 Gulf
Transcript of Industry-academic ties to be examined again
GULFBTDA FOR TOUGHER
\ / BTDA \ ^ . c (3 ,3 ,4 ,4—benzophenone C II tetracarboxyiic dianhydride) || Ο Ο
BTDA crosslinks epoxies to produce durable products that are characterized by superior temperature properties, toughness, excellent dielectrics and good chemical/solvent resistance.
BTDA, a high-melting solid supplied as a fine powder, can be used to upgrade many other polymer coatings.
Also add it to polyimides, alkyds, polyurethane, poly-pryrrones and/or polyesters to improve physical properties and upgrade performance.
Gulf PA-18( Hydrophobic
and hydrophflk. _CH-CH2-CH C H
4*· A À CH3 Ο Ο Ο
PA-18 is a solid linear, medium molecular weight polyanhydride resin derived from octadecene-1 and maleic anhydride. It is a unique copolymer that is hydrophobic as well as hydrophilic.
PA-18 offers a wide range of useful products through reaction with aqueous bases, ammonia, amines, alcohols and epoxides. It can be crosslinked, too.
For information on either of these unique materials, write on your company letterhead to Gulf Advanced Materials, Dept. 126, P.O. Box2900, Shawnee Mission, KS 66201. Or call (913) 722-3200.
Advanced Materials Gulf Oil Chemicals Company
A division of Gulf Oil Corporation
sense, it also complicates the choice of just where to start, but that's the subject of a more philosophical problem facing organic chemists.
Meanwhile, a 40-year-old puzzle is well on its way toward being unraveled. SRS is made and released by* mast cells, which can congregate in lung tissue. The trigger for such release is, at least in some cases, arrival of antibodies of the IgE family that, in turn, are responding to foreign substances, such as allergens. That cascade can cause dramatic effects, as anyone who has seen or had an asthma attack will testify. In its severest form, that cascade can develop into anaphylactic shock and death.
Though SRS certainly is an important end product in that cascade, Corey speculates that the molecule also takes part in other physiologic activities under normal conditions. "We don't yet know a lot of its functions," he says.
SRS is present in only picogram quantities under normal conditions, a factor which has contributed to the slow progress toward finding and understanding it. Having plentiful quantities in hand is helping various groups to develop assay procedures for measuring SRS in vivo.
The molecule also is amenable to the design of structural analogs, some of which conceivably will lead to drugs for treating asthma. "The molecule has beautiful geometry," Corey says. He describes a spacefilling model of it as being "cross-shaped," with the arms and the top of the cross having the polar groups of the molecule's three carboxylates at each end, and the base of the cross being the nonpolar hydrocarbon portion of the molecule.
It's easy to imagine such a molecule inserting very deliberately into a receptor in a biological membrane, triggering a cell response. The parts of the molecule at the corners of the cross lend themselves to a systematic approach of chemical modification.
"I think the whole field will sharpen up, and a lot of good general concepts for drug design will come cranking out of this thing," Corey says. "I don't know how fast it will develop, and there's a lot of work to be done." But some of that work is clearly under way at Harvard and in Sweden, he admits, and it's really only a matter of time before some of these questions begin to produce some lively results. Jeffrey L. Fox, C&EN Washington
Industry-academic ties to be examined again "I am hopeful that in future we will look back at the 'Dow meeting' as a real turning point for chemistry in this country." So writes one participant in the Dow Chemical-sponsored meeting that last October pulled top people from industrial research and academia into Midland, Mich., for two days to examine the state of the industry/academic interface in chemistry (C&EN, Oct. 29,1979, page 20).
This gathering seems to have hit a responsive nerve within the chemistry community. Judged by responses to a questionnaire sent to participants, it is being perceived by many as a starting point from which chemists in industry and the universities can take the initiative, without waiting for government action, in handling some of the problems they see both for their science and for innovation in this country, especially in the chemical industry.
A followup meeting has been arranged. It will be held at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., next Sept. 15-17. Air Products & Chemicals will be the host; Lehigh, cohost. Attendance will be about 200— mostly R&D executives from major corporations and chairmen of major chemistry and chemical engineering faculties.
The plan is to present participants at the Lehigh meeting with specific initiatives on which they can act. These initiatives are being drawn up by a task force cochaired by Charles Galloway, vice president for corporate planning and development for Stauffer Chemical, and Robert Rei-sen, chairman of the chemistry department at Brown University.
The returned questionnaires from the Midland, Mich., meeting, which will provide one of the major inputs from which the Lehigh agenda will be drawn up, illustrate the wide range of views of just what is wrong with industry/academic relations today and what can be done about it. But there is a consensus that such relations are not what they should be, and they certainly are not as fruitful as they were 20 years ago. Part of the problem is attitudinal, and part of it is financial.
One specific recommendation that likely will be examined at the Lehigh meeting will be for establishment of a Chemical Research Institute. This would collect funds for basic research from industry and distribute them to university researchers. The idea was first proposed at Midland, where it received a rather cautious initial response from some of the academics present. •
30 C&EN Feb. 18, 1980
Gulf
