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National Chemistry Week - Articles |
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Research
for this material was made possible by sponsorship from
Dow Chemical Canada, Inc.
A Chemist in Profile - Dr. Raymond Urgel
Lemieux
Raymond (Ray) U. Lemieux is a prominent Canadian chemist
who has been acknowledged as the world’s leading
scientist is his chosen field of study...
A
Juvenile Disease with Lasting Effects
Juvenile is defined as youthful, and diabetes (in Greek
diabetes means 'running through') is a disease that is
named for the excessive urination that results if
inflicted with this disorder. Juvenile diabetes is a
disease...
A Reluctant Fuel Is Put To Use
One of the biggest pollution problems that exits in the
world today is car exhaust. Wouldn’t it be great to
have a fuel that burned cleanly? Well, there is! The fuel
is called methanol. There is only one really large
hurdle...
Abraham
Gesner: Inventor
of Kerosene Oil, Founder of Modern Petroleum Industry, and Saver of
Whales
Prior to the 1800s, light was provided by
torches, candles made from tallow, and lamps which burned
oils rendered from animal fat. Because it burned with
less odour...
Amazing
Photochemistry!
Did you know that integrated circuits or
"chips" can be made with light? Ross H. Hill at
Simon Fraser University has developed a new photochemical
method to produce circuits. The new technique involves
covering a spinning wafer...
Amber:
Prehistoric Preservations
Did you know that amber isn’t a fossil but
cross-linked polymerized terpenes? Amber is the result of
sticky plant secretions (resins) that harden when
exposed...
And
You Thought You Were Under Pressure!
When the pressure
gets to be too much, something has to give. That's as
true for molecules as for anything else, and scientists
like Ian Butler at McGill University in Montreal are
studying...
Another
Canadian Nobel Prize Connection
It is often overlooked that the 1949 winner of the Nobel
Prize in Chemistry has a Canadian connection. William
Francis Giauque was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario...
Anti-chemical
Warfare
Chemical warfare agents, as defined by the United
National Chemical Weapons Convention, are "any
chemical which, through its chemical effect on living
processes, may cause death, temporary loss of
performance, or permanent injury...
Antimatter
and Positron Emission Tomography
What do Star Trek and Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
have in common? ..... ANTIMATTER! PET is a noninvasive
diagnostic technique that takes...
Atmospheric Chemists Win 1995 Nobel Prize
in Chemistry
The 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three
atmospheric chemists, Paul Crutzen (Dutch), Director of
the Atmospheric Chemistry...
Big
Accomplishments for a Small Particle
In 1990, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) received an
award for developing one of the 100 most-significant
technical products of the year. This product is a family
of electron accelerators that are called IMPELA...
Butyl
Rubber And Bubble Gum
Butyl rubber has unique properties. The most important
property of butyl rubber is that it is the best sealant
of all the known rubbers. The major application of butyl
rubber is in the lining of tires...
Can a career in Chemistry be rewarding and
gratifying?
Rhonda Smerchanski of Border Chemical Company Ltd
certainly thinks so! Rhonda has had a lifelong interest
in science...
Can Electricity Really be Produced from
Sulphur?
Consider the following list: hydroelectric dam; nuclear
power station; coal; fields of windmills, and sulphur.
You are probably thinking that it is a list of methods
used to produce electricity and that sulphur does not
belong on the list. Well, you are mistaken, and Dr. Peter
Clark will make you see things differently
Canadian-Born
Chemist Wins 1992 Nobel Prize
Rudolph Marcus, a native of Montréal who received his
PhD in chemistry from McGill University in 1946, won the
Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1992. He earned the 1.2
million dollar award for his...
Canadian Chem History
Originally chemistry had its beginnings in medieval
alchemy. Alchemy was a form of chemistry that was
principally concerned with transforming lead into gold.
Finding a universal solvent and the elixir of life were
also high on an alchemist's list...
Canadian
Chemists Make Molecular Bracelet
Dr. Roland Pomeroy and Weng Kee Leong of Simon Fraser
University (Burnaby, BC) have made a new compound with an
unprecedented...
Canadian Chemists Who Have Made A
Difference
Ronald Gillespie, Kelvin Kenneth Ogilvie, Geraldine
Kenney-Wallace, and Abraham Gesner, and their
contributions to Canadian chemistry...
Canadian Students
Show Their Knowledge
Now's
the time to start honing your chemistry skills and
studying your textbooks for the next National High School
Chemistry Exam (NHSCE) and Canadian Chemistry Olympiad
(CCO) selection exam. The exam is held each spring, and
it is open to all high school students...
Canadian Women Chemists at work
Dr Geraldine Kenney-Wallace, chemist and president of
McMaster University, is a pioneer in the development of
ultrafast laser spectroscopy...
Canadians At The Top Of Explosive
Detection
The first Explosives Vapour Detector (EVD) was recently
invented by Dr. Lorne Elias of the National Aeronautic
Division of Canada's National Research Council in Ottawa,
Ontario...
Career Focus: Chemistry and
Pharmaceuticals
The pharmaceutical industry is constantly growing as the
need for new and improved drugs increases. Pharmaceutical
companies employ chemists...
Chemical and Chemical Engineering
Technologists
The time is
now past when a university degree, or even a doctorate,
was compulsory for science or laboratory work. The world
of research is expanding rapidly, both in large factories
and small private companies, and in government or
university laboratories. All these laboratories and
companies, without exception, need the support
Chemical
Breakthrough
Quesnel, British Columbia, for those who
don’t know, lies in the centre of the province,
about 600 km northeast of Vancouver. This town of 8,300
people is known for its logging, not as a breeding ground
for new materials chemists. Not until this year, anyway.
That was before Quesnel (pronounced Quen-nel) native Mark
MacLachlan, a doctoral student...
Chemical Genius in the Pulp and Paper Industry:
An Overview
The pulp and paper industry is one of Canada’s most
widely distributed industries. Development of this
industry is owed in part to the work of chemical
engineers
Chemical
Research On Titanic
Her makers said that she was unsinkable, but they were
very, very wrong. The year was 1912 when the Titanic
tragically sank on her maiden voyage. It was in 1985 that
the ship’s remains were finally located...
Chemically
Active Careers
Every day we use many different chemical products. We
take for granted the many chemical things around us.
Those people who have not lived through a war or visited
a deprived country find it difficult to imagine life
without the products of chemistry...
Chemistry
At The Centre Of Forensic Science
The study of forensic science first began in Canada, in
April of 1859, when Professor Henry Holmes Croft
testified at the trial of Dr. William Henry King.
Professor Croft testified that he had found eleven grains
of arsenic...
Chemistry Defending Plants
According to Dr. Soledade C. Pedras,
her greatest success and pride is in being able to apply
her passion for and knowledge of chemistry in the field
of plant biology...
Chemistry in
Cosmetics
It
is often the search for excellence which leads us on to
bigger and better things. Just ask John and Lotte Davis,
who founded Advance Group Hair Products Ltd. (AG) in
Burnaby, British Columbia in 1989. John had previously
been with a hair product company...
Chemistry is Fun
You're in the lab, trying to crystallize something. The
solution sits there and does nothing. Then, in front of
your eyes, it forms...
Chemistry Makes Light Work
That computer game of yours might just get a little
light-hearted boost if you could do something special to
upgrade your PC. When your electrons just can't keep up,
it may be time to give your computer some light chips.
Enter Optics, Optoelectronics...
Chemistry
on the Web
There are a great number of very useful web sites dealing
with chemistry only a computer keyboard away. Below is a
short list to get started using the WWW for your
chemistry interests...
Chemistry of Paintballs
Who can guess what mild hypnotic medication, a cardiac
drug, cough and cold preparations, stage blood, Easter
egg colouring kits and PAINTBALLS all have in common? One
common feature in a gelatin...
Cleaning Up with Crystal
Engineering
Crystal engineering, a relatively new field of chemistry,
has been rapidly expanding since it was first introduced
in 1971...
Cobalt
Radiation Therapy
In 1951 at the Chalk River Nuclear Plant, in Chalk River,
Ontario a group of Canadian scientists isolated a source
of radiation even stronger than X-rays. It was, and still
is, widely used to treat cancer patients...
Computers
Take Over Test Tubes
Computers are the way of the future for chemists.
Industrial and research labs use the computer to acquire
information...
Copper Conducts
Computers
These words could be
the slogan for a new car, but they are also the three
driving forces behind computer chip technology. If there
is something that makes one chip better than another...
Ecologically Friendly Inventions
A company called Spilkleen in North York, Ontario is
making great strides in the chemistry of absorbent
materials. This company was founded in 1976 as a family
effort to promote the scientific thinking...
Environmental Analysis Through
Chemistry
Since the industrial revolution in the
19th century and the numerous technological breakthroughs
that have occurred up to the present day, a large number
of companies have emerged in Canada...
Exploring the Mysteries of Metal Compounds
Irene Waller at the
University of British Columbia in Vancouver uses a high
energy laser to remove electrons from molecules in the
gas phase...
Finding
Cures In Our Trees
It is no joke to say that everything in our world is
chemical. Even trees have chemistry! Trees have been and
always will be one of the greatest renewable chemical
resources available...
Flying
Gold Molecules
Organometallic chemists are finding new ways to make gold
molecules that "fly," and to control where they
land. The result is a new way to make thin gold films...
Friendly
Fertilizers
Softgels are also used in the fertilizer industry. The
perfect fertilizer in one that will provide that plant
with the right nutrients at the precise times and in the
exact quantities that the plant requires for...
From
Pottery to Ceramic Sensors
Most Canadians are familiar with the black and bluish
green pottery, called Blue Mountain Pottery. The Blue
Mountain Pottery Company was founded in 1947, in
Collingwood, Ontario. This pottery is made from clays
mined in the Collingwood area...
Fuel
Cells
The first fuel cell was built in 1839 by Sir William
Grove. A Fuel cell is an electrochemical device that
directly converts the chemical...
Fuel
from Waste
Ensyn Technologies Inc. of Ottawa, with the help of
Maurice Bergougnou, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Department, of the University of Western Ontario (UWO),
has developed a process called Rapid Thermal...
Future Fuel Research At Sherbrooke
In 1980, two scientists at l'Université de Sherbrooke
began research on hydrogen. This was not any ordinary research, however. Dr. Frank Kimmerle and Dr. Jean
Lessard were working on a way to store hydrogen...
Goats and
Spiders: Do You Think They Make a Good Match?
What could this little arthropod that scares so many
people possibly have in common with a mammal such as a
goat? If you ask Jeffrey Turner, President and Chief
Executive Officer at Nexia Biotechnologies Inc., he will
tell you...
Hats
Off to Another Renowned Canadian Scientist
Being the recipient of a Nobel Prize is one of the
greatest global honours a person can achieve. This
experience was made possible by a man named Alfred Nobel
who left most...
High
School Students Excel at the International Chemistry
Olympiad
In July of 1995, the 27th International Chemistry
Olympiad was held in Beijing, China. Canada was
represented by Chun Fung Man from John Oliver Secondary
School in Vancouver, Christopher Mason from Sir...
Hot Solution To A Large Problem
Dr. Christian Roy is a chemical engineer at Univeristé
Laval in Quebec. Over the last ten years Dr. Roy has
developed an entirely new process that uses temperatures
between 400 oC and 500 oC to break
down...
Howard Alper: Our First Herzberg Medalist
After
a lifetime of scientific accomplishments and advancements
to chemistry, Howard Alper was recently awarded the first
Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and
Engineering. The medal is Canada's top award for
science...
Interesting Chemistry in Seabird Eggs
Sheryl Tittlemier went to high school in
Selkirk, Manitoba and decided to go into chemistry in
university because she had fun in chemistry class in high
school. When attending the University of Manitoba she
worked summers in the chemistry research labs and at the
Freshwater Institute
Is
There a Green Way to Stop Paper Turning Yellow?
Ever wonder why your newspaper goes yellow? It's because
newsprint is made from a mechanical wood pulp, produced
from ground wood that goes...
Is
There Water on the Sun?
Peter Bernath of the University of Waterloo has made an
amazing discovery. He has found water on the sun! The sun
being 5700 C is too hot for liquid water to exist;
however, it is present as vapour in the cooler sunspots
(2900 C)...
It’s All Elemental
Can you guess which rare metal is used in the manufacture
of nuclear reactor, aircraft and missile parts, special
glass for camera lenses, and is the only known metal
not...
Milestones Of Canadian Chemistry
In The 20th Century
More Canadian Born Nobel Prize Winners In
Chemistry
Nanomaterials
Aboard the Space Shuttle
Can you imagine working with materials that are only
nanometers in length and can sort out different types of
molecules? Dr. Geoffrey Ozin and Ph.D. student Carol
Bowes at the University of Toronto do because...
New
Canadian Studies On Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic Fibrosis ("CF") is an inherited disease
that affects the epithelial ("surface" or
"lining") tissue throughout the body. A defect
in the protein molecules that conduct chloride ions
across cell membranes causes a wide array of symptoms...
New Cancer Drug Given the Green Light for
a Red Light Solution
A Canadian scientific team led by Dr. Julia Levy and Dr.
David Dolphin from the University of British Columbia has
developed a new technique that fights the war against
cancer tumours. The technique is called...
No
Simple Rx for Developing a Medication
A new medication is seldom really new-the search for a
new drug usually starts 10 or 15 years before it is ready
for patients to use...
Nobel Impact
Canadians can be proud of yet another Nobel Prize in
Chemistry. The newest winner in Dr. Michael Smith of the
University of British Columbia for his discovery in DNA
based chemistry...
One Hundred Years of Radioactivity
Radioactivity is the spontaneous emission of penetrating
rays by an unstable atomic nucleus which is
subsequently...
Organic Chemistry Hand in Hand with
Pharmaceuticals
The field of medicine encompasses much more than
physicians, nurses and pharmacists. Behind their work
with patients is a very complex world of researchers who
are continuously trying to improve medical techniques and
drugs to be used for treating patients. One of the most
outstanding advances is the success in synthesizing a new
organic molecule
Perfume Chemistry
Perfumes, fragrances, or scents are al part of our daily
lives, often without us even knowing it. Shampoos, soaps,
detergents, and food all have...
Petrochemical Engineering in
Canada:
Plant Hormones
Dr. Sue Abram's Biological Chemistry group at the Plant
Biotechnology Institute of the National Research Council
in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is investigating the
chemistry of abscisic acid (ABA)...
Plant
Research that Towers Above the Rest
Sean Connery had the right idea when he headed to the
jungles of South Africa to find a cure for cancer in
the...
Polymer
Research in Canadian Industry
Polymers are molecules of very high molecular weight that
are made up of many repeated units of low molecular
weight. Polyethylene is a polymer made up of ethylene
units. Many polymers are used extensively in
commercial...
Searching For Answers
Using
state-of-the-art laser techniques, Cornelia Bohne is
starting a new research program at the University of
Victoria, in Victoria, B.C. She examines how easily
certain molecules...
Separation of Compounds by Chromatography
Suppose you had a mixture of compounds. Would it be
possible to separate them from one another? Can you think
of a way...
Shedding the Light on Diseases
Suppose there was a technology that enabled medical
doctors to diagnose a disease just as it was beginning to
develop? Say, for instance, that this technology...
Slick
Manoeuvres
There is a company in Canada that really knows how to get
around. They have been hired to work in places such as
Scotland, South America, Kuwait, and most recently,
Russia. Can you think...
Smoke And Mirrors
Mirror,
mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all? The
trouble is, if the mir ror is on a bathroom wall, then,
after a shower, we cannot tell at all. Vanity aside, all
that condensation on the mirror certainly makes life
difficult...
Solution
for Blood Shortages
Have you ever wondered what is done to blood after it has
been donated? Donated blood is screened, tested, and
stored for up to 6 weeks. If it is kept longer that 6
weeks it is considered outdated and can't be used for
transfusions...
Some
Warming News
Everyone who lives in Canada has had a taste of what
"cold" really feels like. Have you ever been
skating on a lake or out skiing on a very cold winter day
just shivering and wishing you could just get a little
warmer? Well, a scientist named Dr. Larry Wang...
Speeding up Organic Reactions with
Microwaves
By the early 1980s people had been using microwave ovens
to heat and cook food quickly for many years. Microwave
ovens had revolutionized the...
Student
Highlights
Ivan Kassal’s Chemistry Site is an impressive
website created by high school student Ivan Kassal of
Mississauga, Ontario. This website contains some
excellent...
Synthetic
polymers are everywhere
Synthetic polymers are Space Age materials. They're
everywhere - from nylon fibres in clothes to reinforced
plastics in canoes and...
The
Aluminum-air battery
Aluminum. It's recyclable, easily stored, noncombustible,
and it stores a lot of energy...
The
Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved?
"The mysterious loss of a ship and all of its
crew." "The disappearance of aircraft and the
pilots as well." These mysterious phenomena have
been reported over a certain area of the Atlantic Ocean
near Bermuda. While studying gas hydrates...
The
Buzz Word is Pheromones
Have you ever fantasized about being a queen bee before?
Well, if you haven't, maybe you will now. Did you know
that a queen bee just has to be present and worker bees
will collect food for her...
The
Chemical Detective
Is apple juice made just from apples? It sounds like a
simple question that has an easy answer. However, Dr.
Nick Low of the Department of Applied...
The Chemistry of Chocolate
"Chocoholics"
everywhere will tell you that eating chocolate makes them
feel good, but why? Chocolate contains more than 300
known chemicals, some of which react within the human
brain...
The Chemistry of the Loonie
It all started when people realized that dollar bills
were wearing out too fast. So why not switch to a coin?
But in Canada...
The
Discovery of Buckyballs
The 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to
Professors Robert F. Curl, Jr., and Richard E. Smalley,
Rice University, Houston, USA, and Professor...
The Electron: A Major Player in Chemistry
Did you know that 1997 is the centennial of the discovery
of the electron? The electron was discovered on April 30,
1897 by British...
The
Invention Of Green Ink
The green ink that has been used since 1862 to print U.S.
banknotes was invented in 1857 by Thomas Sterry Hunt
while he was a professor at McGill University in Montréal...
The light treatment
There's a class of chemicals that can do a rather
extraordinary thing - absorb energy from light and pass
it on as chemical...
The
Technology Behind Drug Patches
A company called Pharma Patch plc in Toronto, Ontario is
involved in the study and development of through the skin
(transdermal) delivery of difficult-to-deliver drugs. The
company was created in 1993 as the result of...
The
Oil Sands Of Alberta
Canada is the largest user of oil per capita in the world
but is also one of its largest producers. It is estimated
that the potential...
The
World of Polymers
Polymers occur naturally and are also man-made. Polymers
are large molecules composed of many smaller repeating
units...
There
is a Lot More to Shell Fish than Meets the Eye
At one time or another, you've probably sat down to
dinner and feasted on oysters, clams, squid, crabs,
shrimp, prawns, lobster, and/or crayfish...
Thinking Small
Jed Harrison, a
professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, is
shrinking his laboratory down to the size of a shoe
box...
This
little red bug is important
In the mid-1970s, the United States banned several
synthetic red dyes because people were increasingly
concerned about the...
Thomas
Leopold Willson
Did you know that a discovery made by a Canadian chemist
helped to establish the automobile industry? Thomas
Leopold Willson, a notable Canadian chemist and...
Toxins
In The Food We Eat
Yes, there are known toxins in the food we eat. Apple
seeds contain cyanide but you would have to eat kilograms
of apple seeds to do yourself any harm. If we chew the
occasional apple seed we are not in any danger...
Treating
Ulcers with Bismuth
Did you know that stomach ulcers can be caused by a
bacterial infection? The main cause of ulcers is an
imbalance between acid secretion...
University
Chemical Engineering Students Place First
In October of 1995, the SNC Lavalin Plant Design
Competition was held at the 45th Canadian Chemical
Engineering Conference in Quebec City. Chemical
engineering students Al Eggum...
Virus-Detecting Plastics!
They are part of our everyday life. We
touch them, often without thinking about it. Without
them, our life would be entirely different. They are used
to build, to protect, to tie, to support, to display, to
contain. They can even help us detect the presence of a
virus. Science-fiction? No!
Vitamin
E: Nature’s Antioxidant
The chemical definition of oxidation is that part of an
oxidation-reduction reaction characterized by electron
loss or by an algebraic increase...
WES Program - Helping Women Change The
World
Each year, the Women in Engineering and
Science program (WES) places 25 young women from across
Canada with professional mentors who are in research
positions. The WES program was set up by the National
Research Council of Canada (NRC) in answer to the
continuing dilemma of under-representation of women....
What,
A Career in Chemistry?
When choosing a career, you must be very careful to
choose one that you know you will enjoy since it will probably be yours for the rest of your life.
Consequently, there are many things to think...
Women
in Chemistry
Women have always been involved in chemistry. In fact,
the first chemist to be identified by name was
Tapputi-Belatekallum from Babylonia who made perfumes and
cosmetics. In recent times other women such as Marie
Curie...