Newscripts by Κ. Μ. Reese

New way to restore serial numbers Stanley G. Young of the Nation­al Aeronautics and Space Ad­ministration has worked out a new means of restoring serial numbers when criminals have removed them from stolen metal goods by grinding or filing. Young is at NASA's Lewis Re­search Center, Cleveland, Ohio. His method is based on cavita­tion, the formation of teeny vac­uumlike cavities as a result of uneven pressure gradients in a liquid. The NASA scientist de­scribed the technique at a recent seminar of the California Associ­ation of Criminalists, in Palo Alto.

In practice, the surface to be restored is immersed in water. An ultrasonic generator creates the pressure gradients in the liq­uid and, in consequence, mil­lions of microscopic cavitation bubbles. The bubbles strike the surface of the metal at thou­sands of pounds per square inch. They scour away the metal smeared into the grooves of the serial number, which becomes visible again. The method has been shown clearly to be a feasi­ble, low-cost tool for crime labo­ratories, Young believes. The necessary ultrasonic generator costs less than $1500.

The new technique grew out of an ultrasonic etching procedure developed by Young for metallo-graphic studies of alloys. A NASA technology transfer team at Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, Calif., suggested its use in restoring serial numbers. Young tried it, and it worked. In the course of the effort, he found that numbers restored on a sam­ple of brass appeared as a ghost image, rather than a cleaned-out groove. Young believes that the cavitation attack may be sensi­tive to the microstructural changes that result when the se­rial number is first stamped into the metal.

Mangrove in trouble in southwest Florida The nature lover's dilemma can be discerned in the discovery that a wood-boring crustacean, Sphaeroma terebrans, is under­mining the red mangroves along the southwestern coast of Flori­da (1). The problem was uncov­ered by two scientists from the University of South Florida: An­drew Rehm of the department of biology, Tampa, and Harold Humm of the department of ma­rine science, St. Petersburg. The attack is centered in the Ten Thousand Islands region, site of the greatest stand of mangroves in North America and one of the greatest in the world. Sphaero­ma, in essence, is gradually cut­ting away the shoreline of the mainland and of the mangrove islands.

Rehm and Humm were

studying algae that grow under­water on the prop roots of the red mangrove. Then they discov­ered that on "a major portion" of the trees in the area there were no such algae because the prop roots had been cut off at about the level of mean high water. Further investigation tied the depredations directly to Sphaeroma. With their prop roots cut off, the trees are left standing on their main axes or oldest prop roots. Waves and current cut away the soil, main­ly peat, and summer squalls and hurricanes topple trees on the margin into the water.

The shrinkage has been under way for a long time. An aerial photograph taken in 1953, for example, shows an isthmus and several islands that were gone by 1964. The visible evidence di­verges sharply from a prediction of 1914 that a bay in the area would be filled in by proliferat­ing mangrove islands. A second scientist predicted, in 1940, that the Ten Thousand Islands might coalesce one day because of the mangroves.

One gets the impression that the mangrove was the pest then. Sphaeroma appears to have been on the scene in 1940, but nothing as so destructive as today. Rehm and Humm say that "An ecocatastrophe of seri­ous magnitude . . . appears to be in progress, " and one can draw the conclusion that they or somebody else will want to do something to save the man­groves. Therein lies the dilemma mentioned earlier. Previous pre­

dictions haven't held up, so why should any made now. The Ten Thousand Islands are in big trouble, but Sphaeroma seems never to have had it so good. Which one to zap? (1) Science, 182,173(1973).

Other voices, same glooms " T h e position of the United States in regard to oil can best be characterized as precarious . . it is not a minute too early to take counsel with ourselves and call the attention of . . . geolo­gists, engineers, capitalists, and legislators to the need of an oil supply for the future. '

"[The speaker] concludes by recommending that American capital be encouraged to assist in the development of foreign oil fields, thus assuring the addi­tional supply of oil required to cover our needs for a long time to come." The Nautical Gazette, Jan. 20, 1920.

Department of obscure information

• The sheep population of the U.S. declined from 30 million in 1950 to 17.7 million at the start of 1973.

• The width of truck trailers may not exceed 96 inches in the state of Alaska.

• Terrorist bombings in the U.S. are occurring currently at an average rate of about 163 monthly.

Letters A Bas les Traites Theoretiques SIR: A great many so-called scientists (of which I happen to be one)/ Wouldn't know a genuine phenomenon if they should hap­pen to see one./ So versed are they in computerized electron perturbations/ That they are quite inept at ordinary laboratory manipulations./ Now it's not that I can't hack theoretical chemistry myself;/ After all, I've got Cotton and Coulson and Co. sitting on my shelf;/ It's just that all these massive tomes with their surfeit of theory/ Don't do the least to help me answer my client's query./ Never has anyone asked me what ligand field theory is good for:/ Instead they ask how much copper is in their ore./ So, down with Schrodinger and Dirac, and down with Hartree and Fock;/ What I need is someone to help me ana­lyze a rock./

Jerry F. O'Donnell, Ph.D. Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, Tex.

On with achievement SIR: A week before the ACS national con­vention, I picked up my copy of C&EN and read the editorial comment. Did I find an article praising chemistry for achieve­ments? Did I find an article acclaiming the wonders of science and the benefits that

science has given the people of the U.S.; and is in fact, the sole reason that the peo­ple of the U.S. enjoy the best standard of living in the world? No indeed. In fact, what I found was a nicely worded, carefully phrased statement about giving in to the "antiscience" voices in the country; an ar­ticle which might as well have been titled ''Retreat from reason. ''

I have no argument with the author; he has felt pressures, and feels appeasement may offer a solution. I say not. How does one appease the reactionary? What those who oppose scientific advances want science to say is that facts are theory, and theories are fabrications. Can we scientists afford this? We cannot. And for the sake of the country, we must not retreat from our position that strong scientific research is vitally necessary to the maintenance of the country as a world power. Do we need an- * other great Soviet advance, such as in 1957, to spur interest in scientific re­search? Our people have been too spoiled by the fact that no matter what the crisis, no matter what the trouble, no matter what the circumstances, American science has been able to make the necessary strives and achievements to end threats. This is not always going to be the case. Where would we have been in World War II if some of the scientific achievements had been two or three years later? Perhaps we would be speaking German, and only when told we could speak.

I disagree that people with strong reli­gious convictions oppose science. I have

strong convictions, and am even a "crea­tionist"; but I certainly do not deny science and the evidences of discoveries. I say the two go hand in hand. If one wants to know where the greatest reserves of oil and nat­ural gas are, I say, look for the Garden of Eden. And what do you find—a map of the Arab oil fields!

It may be true that war is too important to be left to the generals, and law too im­portant to be left to the lawyers, and many others. However, science is too important NOT to be left to the scientists. It is the nonscientists in government who have cut budgets and eliminated programs. Let these same people confine themselves to their own areas. In fact, with all the budget cuts science administrators have been forced to live with, I would be willing to bet they could produce a national budget that would be $5 billion in the black. So forget the economists, forget the lawyers, forget the whiners and criers, forget the dropouts, and let us concentrate on maintaining our record of achievements. And I say, hooray for the technocrats.

Larry R. Camp

Federal R&D funding SIR: I have read a series of articles in C&EN with a rapidly increasing sense of disbelief. The latest of these epistles was titled "New funding highs for academic R&D" (C&EN, Sept. 10, page 3) based on a National Science Foundation report.

Continued on page 34

36 C&EN Nov. 5, 1973

Organic/Analytical: Ph.D. 71. Post Doctoral experi­ence with F19 aromatic and natural product (azabicy-clic) synthesis. Specialist in application of instrumen­tal techniques to synthetic and analytical problems. Expert in Varian NMR instrumentation: A-60 series, T-60 and XL-100. Box 405-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., Washington, D.C. 20036

Organic/Polymer Chemist: M.Sc, Ph.D., D.Sc. (Venia Legendi, Germany). Formerly MIT staff member. Three languages. Diversified industrial· and academic research experience. Novel reactions, industrial prod­ucts. Flame retardants, organophosphorus, organohal-ogen and organosulfur chemistry. Vinylics, polycarbo­nates, polyurethanes, graft polymers. Several patents, publications. Seeks challenging position in industry, Government, academia. Location: open. Box 406-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Organic Polymer Chemist: Ph.D. 1960. Desires R&D industrial position. Diversified polymer experiences. Polymer syntheses and evaluation. Property-Struc­ture Relationships. Fluorocarbon and Aromatic-Het-erocyclic polymers, modified silicones and chlorine containing polymers. UV and RF Plasma polymeriza­tions. Supervisory experiences. Patents and publica­tions. No agencies. Box 407-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Physical-Analytical Chemist: Ph.D. 1968. Extensive research experience in molecular spectroscopy (UV, VIS, IR, NMR, AA, CD, and ORD), various chromato­graphic separation techniques, and methods develop­ment. Flexible with many publications. Seek indus­trial R&D position. Available now. (412) 793-2835, C. Ke, 159 Lansdowne Dr., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15147

Aerosol Food Chemist: M.S., physical chemistry 1950; M.S. Food Technology 1973. Six year's aerosol formu­lation and supervisory experience as Chief Aerosol Chemist. Can assume full responsibility in aerosol lab­oratory. Wide instrumentation experience. Available immediately. From $11,000. Box 410-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Chemist-Biologist: 31, MS 1971 in Resource Chemis­try. Experience in pesticide analysis, organic matter in soil and water, organic synthesis, and teaching. Fa­miliar with instrumental analysis, especially gas chro­matography. Actively interested in environmental as-, pects of chemicals and organisms. Prefer New En­gland or Northwest location. Harold R. Day, 50 Forest Park Drive, North Kingstown, Rhode Island 02852

Idle Test Tube Jockey: Ph.D. 1970 (organic), age 29, three years postdoctoral research. Experience in­cludes main group and transition metal organics, ho­mogeneous catalysis, and classical and innovative or­ganic syntheses. Desires intellectually challenging ac­ademic, industrial, or governmental position. Box 412-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Marketing/Sales. Laboratory Instrumentation. Two years Sales Management, four years Product Manage­ment, six years field sales, all in instrumentation. ΑΜΑ courses; Leaders Course in Principles of Professional Salesmanship, Field Management of Salesmen, Product and Brand Management. Age 42. Available as result of divisional restructuring. M. A. Sweet, 1888 Brandy-wine Drive, Allison Park, Pa. 15101 (412) 364-2036.

Product Development Manager: Ph.D. Internationally oriented. Extensive experience in supervising, staffing, planning, organizing, decision making, etc. Worked closely with production and marketing department. Unusual record in product and processs development, coatings, industrial textiles, elastomers, films, foams, corrosion prevention, lamination, acoustical and vibra­tion damping materials. Enrolled in M.B.A. program. No agencies. Box 414-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Surfactants and Detergents specialist seeking research management position with industry involved in. produc­tion and development of surface active agents. Profit­able accomplishments with many years of diversified experience. Publications. Box 415-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Theoretical Surface Chemist: Ph.D. Four years post­doctoral. Background in chemical engineering (B.S.). Experience in surface chemistry, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, mixtures, rheology, polymers, capil­lary condensation, computer programming, applied mathematics and air pollution. Desires industrial posi­tion. Will start from any level or be re-trained. Box 416-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Air Pollution Engineer: Member NSPE, AlChE, EEIB, APCA committees. Familiar with industry operations and control methods. Extensive survey experience— source, industrial hygiene, ambient, permitting, inven­tories, measurements, expert witness, etc. Prefer inter-discipline opportunity South or East. Box 417-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Analytical-Environmental and Food Chemistry, Ph.D. 1971. Two years experience with contract research organization analyzing environmental samples for pesti­cides and hydrocarbons of petroleum origin. Flavor chemistry of dairy and meat products. Familiar with GC, GC-MS, UV and IR. Publications. Seek academ­ic, government, or industrial position. Box 418-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Business, Product or Marketing Manager: Experienced Ρ and L, budgets, forecasts, planning and market re­search. Fifteen years experience specialty chemicals

in the textile, paper, leather metals, plastics and chemi­cal industries. B.S. Chemistry plus MBA. Age 39. Will relocate. Box 419-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Experienced Chemist M.S. Product and Process de­velopment. Experience in leading industries for four­teen years. Profit making contributions in industrial catalytic processes, catalysts, oxidation and hydrogé­nation in petrochemical and catalyst manufacturing in­dustries. Background in chemical engineering. Capa­ble of undertaking difficult assignments and leadership. Box 421-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C.20036

Organic Chemist: Ph.D. 1970. Three years college teaching, two years postdoctoral experience, consultant experience. Familiar with spectral, analytical tech­niques. Research in organometallic, organosilicon synthesis transition and precious metal catalysts. De­sire teaching four or two year college, or industrial re­search. Available immediately. Box 422-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Production Management and Sales experience includes paint plant management and sales of raw materials and industrial chemicals. Desire opportunity in either man­agement or sales. Will travel and relocate. Write for resume. Box 423-A-10, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Marketing/Sales Management: Professional seeking participation in profits arrangement in New York area chemical specialties business. Prime account con­tacts in food and pharmaceutical houses. Solid spe­cialty sales management background includes pharma­ceuticals, fine organics, essential oils, dairy cultures, enzymes, terpene and tall oil derivatives. Box 413-D-9, ACS, 1155 16th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Analytical Chemist: B.S. in Ch.E.; graduate chem courses. Varied experience. N.Y. Consulting Lab; su­pervisor plastics physical testing; edible oils; rubber p.s. adhesives; N.Y. City area. Phone: 212-733-0682. Box 400-D-8, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

SITUATIONS WANTED (Retired Chemists and Ch.E.'s)

Retired Biochemist: Age 60, with patents and CIBS-award papers in chemistry, and broad experience with creative problem solving, seeks consulting or literary work in area of creativity and innovation. Established reputation in this field, book and journal publications, university teaching, seminars, lectures, synectics train­ing. Box 425-A-11, ACS, 1155 16th St., Washington, D.C. 20036

Chemical Engineer: Thirty eight years engineering, production and management experience in lengthy inorganic process involving many unit operations plus experience in environmental problems; economic eval­uations; literature searches; report writing. Full or part time work desired in -similar fields. Northern New Jer­sey. Box 426-A-11, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Wash­ington, D.C. 20036

Consultant: M.I.T. graduate, recently retired, thirty five years broad experience, industrial operation, R&D, pro­duction, management, sales development, process im­provement, new product development and evaluation in wide range of specialty chemicals. Full knowledge EPA and FDA requirements. Technical and business problems invited. References. Phone (301) 367-3992 or write William Schulman, 1810 Tanbark Drive, Balti­more, Md. 21209

R&D Management and Liaison position sought by Ph.D. Chemist with graduate business degree and record of productive leadership in major industry R&D and con­tract research. Outstanding skills and results in prod­uct and process innovation, technical and business planning, multi-institutional liaison and technology transfer involving industry, government, research insti­tutes, and universities. Box 428-A-11, ACS, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

HUNTING? "Courtesy is the true alchemy, turning to gold all it touches . . ."—Meredith. Answer all ad inquiries. Ignoring replies to your ads is unfair to the company and other applicants. With your cooperation C&EN can fulfill its obligations to readers and advertisers

Letters Continued from page 36

Somehow I felt that, on the basis of this article, my colleagues should be in a jovial frame of mind. I find instead a great deal of gloom.

I do not question the amount expended for R&D, but I strongly question the state­ment that ". . . fully $2.5 billion was allocat­ed for basic research." I have sat on re­search evaluation panels and I can tell you that what is now called basic research by many of the government agencies bears little resemblance to definitions used in 1967.

As a practical measure of the support of basic research, it would be interesting to know relative allocations to science de­partments during the period 1968-72. I would not be surprised if there was a 30% decrease. Surely there is some reason for the mood of despair which is so prevalent today in chemistry departments. In addition there has been a catastrophic drop in the number of graduate students in the major departments which you can easily see in the ACS survey of graduate work.

C. R. Mueller Prof, of Chemistry, Purdue University, La­

fayette, Ind.

Editor's Note: C&EN feels that over the years it has presented as accurate a pic­ture of the R&D funding situation as is pos­sible in such a complex area. We're sorry Dr. Mueller apparently feels otherwise.

ACS elections SIR: It was with considerable distaste that I returned my ballot in the ACS elections. A crude attempt is being made, in the name of majority balloting, to assure the election of a Tory. The power struggle be­tween the popularly elected President and the Council and Board is also reflected in many other developments summarized by one of the candidates. Perhaps the time has come for a nationwide campaign to af­fect two reforms: 1. Direct popular elec­tion, by mail ballot, of ALL local and na­tional officers except for administrative staff. 2. Initiative and referendum in all so­ciety affairs.

The ACS seems to have reacted against the election of two populist Presidents in a row by attempting to insure that no such aberration occur again. We are constantly reminded of the scholarly activities of the ACS and its sacred-cow tax position. I sus­pect that we, as chemists, would lose nothing if the Journals and CA were donat­ed to the NSF and the National Meetings abolished. A healthier local section struc­ture, better regional meetings, and a good dose of participatory democracy would do wonders for the old organization. I fear continued erosion of support, especially if the election ploy is successful. My own feeling of ambivalence extends to indeci­sion as to whether staying and fighting is worthwhile, or whether I would simply drop out. As its stands, my best reason for staying is the group insurance! That reali­zation really saddens me, since I was once a gung-ho member, frequent committee chairman, local section officer,, and even tried to organize a new section where I used to live. Sic transit gloria Societatis!

Marvin J. Albinak Baltimore, Md.

34 C&EN Nov. 5, 1973

JOB