E D U C A T I O N

New Lab for College of Forestry Hugh P. Baker l a b looks to more research in w o o d products, ranks a m o n g most complete of its kind

JL ο PROVIDE MOBE educational and research facilities for both academic and industrial purposes. This is a major reason for the new $4 million Hugh P. Baker wood products lab at the State University College of Fores­try a t Syracuse University.

T h e lab was dedicated last week. It took 10 years t o plan and build and was designed to rank among the most up-to-date facilities for research and education in wood and polymer chem­istry, plant biochemistry, wood tech­nology, and wood utilization.

These programs will be handled by four departments of the college: forest chemistry, forest utilization, pulp and paper technology, and wood tech­nology. Some work will also be done by t he recently-formed Cellulose Re­search Institute which has its offices and labs in the new building (C&EN, March 18, page 4 1).

• Much Chemistry. Although just dedicated, Baker Lab has been in use since early this year. Wood products studies require m a n y research pro­

grams—both fundamental and applied. Some now in progress:

• Kinetic studies of free radical re­actions. This work should help to ex­plain the polymerization process.

• Paper-plastic combinations, im­portant in industrial applications such as wet-strength papers, coated papers, and artificial leathers.

• Photosynthesis research. Program here includes a look at reaction kinetics photosensitized by chlorophyll and various earotenoiels.

β Gas permeability of polymer films and treated papers. Already this pro­gram has turned up much informa­tion regarding diffusion phenomena and solubility of gas and vapors in poly­mers.

• Hydrogénation pulping studies to produce commercially useful lignin as well as improved pulps.

• Research to improve mechanical processing of wood.

• Completely Equipped. About $500,000 a year goes into research at the College of Forestry. The state

pays part of this, and a large share comes from grants from 42 organiza­tions. With Baker lab, it is expected that research programs will b e acceler­ated. One reason is that the lab is among the most completely equipxDed facilities of its kind in the country. Included is specialized equipment such as a mass spectrometer, spectro­photometers, gas chromatography units, a countercurrent distribution ap­paratus, x-ray equipment, and tempera­ture and humidity facilities. The lab also has an electron microscope, and college officials say it is the only wood science center in the nation to have one.

For research at the pilot-plant level the lab has facilities for studying wood preservation methods and wood drying techniques. Also in the lab are tools covering all phases of woodworking.

All labs and equipment are spread over some 120,000 square feet of floor space divided, in turn, into 70 teach­ing and research labs, 22 graduate offices and labs, four classrooms, and three libraries.

Summer Sessions Boston College: MODERN INDUS­

TRIAL SPECTROGRAPHS, July 15 to 26. Lectures and laboratory work designed especially for chemists and physicists from industries in the process of in­stalling spectrographic equipment.

Illinois Institute of Technology: STRESS WAVE PROPAGATION IN SOLIDS, June 10 to July 3. Deals with latest-theoretical principles and experimental techniques.

Massachusetts Institute of Tech­nology: THERMODYNAMICS, July 1 to 12. Principles and concepts of avail­able techniques for studying thermo­dynamic systems, and application of these techniques to a variety of cur­rent problems.

PRINCIPLES OF RADIOISOTOPE U T I L I ­ZATION, July 8 to 19. Lectures on necessary basic information for radio­isotope application, discussions of se­lected industrial or medical applica­tions.

T H E PSYCHOLOGY OF MAN-MACHINE SYSTEMS, July 8 to 12. Aims at cor­relating some of the problems arising in current man-machine systems and relevant psychological results and theo­ries.

University of California: NUCLEAR ENGINEERING SURVEY, July 8 to 12. Lecture, demonstration, and discussion course for executives in industry who wish a grounding in atomic energy and its industrial applications.

NUCLEAR ENGINEERING SHORT COURSE, July 1 to Aug. 30. Brief, in­tensive training in basics of nuclear energy and its applications to industry.

3 6 C & E N M A Y 2 0, 1957

Unlimited Markets Could Bring Those

Solvent «H Developed

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N a S H 4 I S H A N D L E D EASILY AND CAN BE USED IN! S T A M D A R O ' E Q I

E X P A N D S A P P L I C A T I O N O F M H I S O D I U M B O R O H Y D R I D E T O F A S T , H I G H - Y I E L D E S T E R R E D U C T I O N S

Widely known as a top-notch reducing agent for a l ­dehydes, ketones, acid chlorides and acid anhydrides, sodium borohydride (NaBEL) now c a n be used ef­fectively and profitably for ester reductions! A n e w solvent system has been developed to make this possible.*

I n the presence of a luminum chloride in d ig lyme (dimethylether of diethylene glycol) sodium boro­hydride rapidly reduces saturated aliphatic a n d aro­matic monoesters wi th extremely h igh yields. R e d u c ­t ions can be carried o u t at low temperature, 2 5 ° — 100°C, using the standard reaction equipment y o u n o w have in your plant.

W i t h this new solvent system, sodium borohydride reduces ethyl benzoate. Upon completion o f t h e reduction, and hydrolysis, the yield o f benzyl alcohol is 100%, based on hydrogen consumed.

Here's the equation: Ο diglyme

2 <A~"Vc-OCH + NaBH + ~Al CI >

2 < /~A-CHOH + 2CHOH (product after hydrolysis)

Another example of interest is e thyl stéarate reduced t o stearyl alcohol. T h e reduction works out like this:

Ο diglyme 2CH(CH) C-OCH-*-NaBH4---AlCl >

S 2 16 2 5 4 3 3

2CH (CH ) CHOH + 2CHOH 3 2 16 2 2 5

Easy t o use, sodium borohydride is stable in dry air to 300°C. A white crystall ine solid, it decomposes in vacuum at 400°C. Typical assay is 98.0%. Complete information regarding sodium borohydride is available immediately upon request. Write or call now. Meta l Hydrides Incorporated sales engineers will gladly assist y o u with any hydride chemistry problem.

•Journal of the American Chemical Society, 77. 3164 (1955) Herbert C Brown B. C Subba Rao

C H E M I C A L H Y D R I D E S D I V I S I O N

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E D U C A T I O N

• A one-day school for chemical engi­neering teachers will be held by The Lummus Co. of Houston, Tex., on May 24—one of the industry-sponsored programs initiated by Kenneth A. Kobe, professor of chemical engineering a t the University of Texas, through an education committee of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Sub­ject of the Lummus program: Devel­opment of a Project from Inquiry t o Acceptance by the Customer.

• New York University will establish a graduate study center at Bell Tele­phone Laboratories this fall, making i t possible for certain lab employees t o earn advanced engineering degrees during their regular working hours . Courses, emphasizing mathematics, physics, and basic communications, are designed t o develop a strong hack-ground for engineers who plan careers in communications. T h e employees will receive full-time pay while they attend classes and work part t ime.

• More than $500,000 of the 1957-58 Shell Foundation contributions is ear­marked for educational programs. Shell will provide 5 2 graduate fellow­ships and 20 research grants to 4 3 colleges and universities, plus 90 sum­mer-term fellowships for high school science a n d mathematics teachers. Schools are given full responsibility for selecting both the regular and summer fellows and for utilizing their research funds.

r Two summer programs for high school g radua te s who plan college careers have been scheduled a t t he University of Oklahoma. One, a pre-freshman mathematics workshop, aims at preparing a potential college s tudent for college math and for engineering and scientific pursuits. This course will be held from Aug. 5 to 30. Another session, a college readiness program, is scheduled from June 13 to Aug. 9. Classes will cover reading, writing, vo­cabulary, and mathematics, and aim at increasing proficiency in the skills nec­essary for college work,

• One n e w educat ional b o o k l e t , issued by the National Association of Manufacturers, aims at easing t he short­age of technicians by introducing the junior and senior high school student to this relatively ,: young occupation. Called "Your Opportunities in Indus­try as a Technician," the booklet de­scribes a technician's work and qualifi­cations in nine specific categories. Also included are the steps which prepare a student for a technician's career. Cop­ies may b e obtained from the educa­tional department, NAM, 2 East 48th St., New York 17, Ν. Υ.

3 8 C & E N M A Y 2 0, 1957

Unlimited Markets Could Bring Those Unlimited Markets Could Bring Those