Jan 2006: ACCN, the Canadian Chemical News

ACCN JANUARY | JANVIER • 2006 • Vol. 58, No./no 1

l�actualité chimique canadiennecanadian chemical news

The Role of Government in Canadian Science

NRC Looking Forward

Chemistry in Halifax

TRIUMF Facility

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Ar ticles

Looking Forward �S&T for the 21st CenturyThe NRC�s research into world trends and global priorities has shown that there are tremendous opportunities for science and technology to help build Canada�s competitiveness , and enhance our quality of life.

Pierre Coulombe

Hand in HandThe role of government laboratories in Canada�s system of innovation

John Marrone

The CIC Promotes Government Science

Radioactive BeamsA world-class Canadian facility offers exciting new tools for research.

John M. D�Auria, MCIC, and Michael Trinczek

Chemistry in Nova ScotiaDonald L. Hooper, FCIC

Guest Column Chroniqueur invité . . . . . . 2The importance of Federal support for science and innovation Arthur J. Carty, HFCIC

Personals Personnalités . . . . . . . . . . . 3

News Briefs Nouvelles en bref . . . . . . . 5

Chemfusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Joe Schwarcz, MCIC

And in Regulatory News … . . . . . . . . . 24Ontario Bill 133 —Opposing Views

CIC Bulletin ICC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

CSChE Bulletin SCGCh . . . . . . . . . . . 29

CSCT Bulletin SCTC . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Local Section News Nouvelles des sections locales . . . . . . . . 32

Student News Nouvelles des étudiants . . . 34

Events Événements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Careers Carrières . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

ACCN JANUARY | JANVIER � 2006 � Vol. 58, No./no 1A publication of the CIC | Une publication de l�ICC

T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s | T a b l e d e s m a t i è r e s

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Cover photo: When construction of the NRC Research Facilities at 100 Sussex Drive in Ottawa was completed in 1932, newspaper reports named it the “Temple of Science .” Photo by Krista Leroux

2 L�ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE JANVIER 2006

Editor-in-Chief/Rédactrice en chefMichelle Piquette

Managing Editor/Directrice de la rédactionHeather Dana Munroe

Graphic Designer/InfographisteKrista Leroux

Editorial Board/Conseil de rédactionJoe Schwarcz, MCIC, chair/président

Catherine A. Cardy, MCICCathleen Crudden, MCIC

John Margeson, MCICMilena Sejnoha, MCICBernard West, MCIC

Editorial Office/Bureau de la rédaction130, rue Slater Street, Suite/bureau 550

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L’Actualité chimique canadienne/Canadian Chemical News (ACCN) is published 10 times a year by The Chemical Institute of Canada / est publié 10 fois par année par l’Institut de chimie du Canada. www.cheminst.ca.

Recommended by The Chemical Institute of Canada, the Canadian Society for Chemistry, the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, and the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology. Views expressed do not necessarily represent the official position of the Institute, or of the societies that recommend the magazine.

Recommandé par l’Institut de chimie du Canada, la Société canadienne de chimie, la Société canadienne de génie chimique et la Société canadienne de technologie chimique. Les opinions exprimées ne reflètent pas nécessairement la position officielle de l’Institut ou des sociétés constituantes qui soutiennent la revue.

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In 1945, Vannevar Bush, director of the Office of Scientific Research and Devel-opment transmitted his now legendary

report “Science—the Endless Frontier” to U.S. president Harry Truman, a treatise that envisioned a pivotal role for publicly funded science. Yet even Bush’s prescience could not have anticipated the extraordinary impact of science and technology on society, 60 years later. Advances in science have: enabled space exploration; powered the computer and global communications revolution; and transformed medical diagnosis and treatment amongst many other developments.

Today, science and technology are central to almost all issues facing governments and play an increasingly important role in meeting the complex challenges facing nations around the globe, including climate change, energy, global health, and industrial competitiveness. Through incremental public investments in science over the last eight years, Canada has built a strong research base, transformed the research environment, and gained stature in the global community. The stage is set for Canada to lead the world in scientific discovery and reap the social and economic benefits of technology development in the years ahead.

The Federal government has reinvigorated the research scene through new funding vehicles such as the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Canada Research Chairs, Genome Canada, and Canada Graduate Scholarships. These, combined with a doubling of the Grant-ing Council budgets and provision of A-base funding to the Networks of Centres of Excel-lence, have contributed to a per-capita funding of university research that is the highest in the G8. The enhanced university research environment has also been complemented by a revitalized National Research Council that conducts not only leading edge research in areas of strategic importance to Canada, but also supports industry through joint R&D projects , co-location, and shared facilities.

Another critically important element of the Canadian innovation system is “public good” science carried out in government laboratories . Investments in intramural research have not kept pace with those in academia—equipment and infrastructure are increasingly obsolete and the ability to undertake mission critical science has been diminished. However a new vision for federal science has been articulated, which includes: focused S&T programs aligned with mission critical goals; a talented and committed work-force; state-of-the-art equipment and clusters of core infrastructure ; commitment to part-nerships and networks to lever resources and research capacity ; and an enabling administrative and fiscal environment. To achieve this vision, an integrated, collabora-tive approach is needed to meet current and emerging national challenges such as water and pandemics. Equally, to reverse the de-cline of federal science, a new commitment by government to targeted investments in infra-structure and program funding is essential.

The Federal government does not just support R&D, but also the training of highly qualified people and the critical process of reaping economic and social benefits through knowledge transfer and commercialization. Investing in people includes supporting young talent, developing new research and business skills, and facilitating interactions between aca demia , industry, and government. A stron-ger culture of creativity, innovation, and en-trepreneurship is the ultimate target.

But more can and should be done to build on these successes. I am committed to working with academia, government, and industry to ensure Canada’s past and future investments in science, technology, and innovation reap real rewards for society and the economy.

GUEST COLUMN CHRONIQUEUR INVITÉ

THE IMPORTANCE OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR SCIENCE AND INNOVATION

Arthur J. Carty, HFCIC, is the National Science

Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada.

Arthur J. Carty, HFCIC

JANUARY 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 3

PERSONALS PERSONNALITÉS

department and teaches nutrition and alternative medicine in McGill’s Medical School. He is well known for his informative and entertaining pub-lic lectures on topics ranging from the chemistry of love to the science of aging. Schwarcz has received numer-ous awards for teaching chemistry and for interpreting science for the public. Among these are the Royal Society of Canada’s McNeil Award and the American Chemical Society’s prestigious Grady-Stack Award. Previ-ous winners of the Grady-Stack have included famed science writer Isaac Asimov, New York Times columnist Walter Sullivan, and Don Herbert of TV’s “Mr. Wizard” fame. Schwarcz is the only non-American ever to be honoured with this prize.

“Dr. Joe” appears on the Canadian Discovery Channel, TV Ontario, Global Television , CBC-TV, CTV-TV, and various radio stations. He hosts the “Dr. Joe Show” on Montréal’s CJAD every Sunday from 3 to 4 p.m. He was also the host of “Science To Go,” a 13-episode program on the Discovery Channel that focused on common foods. Schwarcz writes a weekly newspaper column in the Montréal Gazette entitled “The Right Chemistry,” as well as our monthly column , “Chemfusion.” He was the chief consultant on the Reader’s Digest bestsellers Foods That Harm, Foods That Heal (1997) and The Healing Power of Vitamins, Min-erals and Herbs (1999). His book Radar, Hula Hoops, and Playful Pigs, published in 1999, was a Canadian bestseller. The Genie in the Bottle, also a bestseller, was published in May 2001. That’s the Way the Cookie

Crumbles was released in November 2002 and made the bestseller list in its very first week. It also received the 2003 Independent Publishers Award for science books. His latest bestseller is Dr. Joe and What You Didn’t Know. Schwarcz was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Athabasca University in the spring of 2002.

Government

Tom Brzustowski, FCIC, former president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Canada Canada (NSERC), has become senior advisor to the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Com-puting. His first task will be to assemble and then chair an international strategic advisory committee for the Institute. Brzustowski will also serve at the School of Management at the University of Ottawa as holder of the RBC Financial Group Professorship in the Commercialization of Innovation.

FORTIER NEW NSERC PRESIDENT Suzanne Fortier, FCIC, has been appointed president of NSERC.

“With her leadership, experi-ence and expertise , I am pleased to welcome Dr. Fortier as president of NSERC,” said David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry and Minister re-sponsible for NSERC. “I am confident that her contributions will enable Canada to remain at the forefront of growth and advancement in univer-sity research and researcher training.”

Having held research positions at the Medical Foundation of Buffalo

Industry

The BC Innovation Council is pleased to an-nounce the appointment of David Dolphin, FCIC, as its Chief Executive Officer. “I am excited to be joining the Council and look for-ward to building upon its enviable history of assisting the research and technology sector in BC,” said Dolphin. “At this juncture, it’s imperative that the Council put plans that tan-gibly support the commercialization of BC’s world-class technologies into action.”

An internationally renowned scientist and entrepreneur, Dolphin’s extensive background includes the research, development, and com-mercialization of the lead product of one of the world’s first profitable biotechnology compa-nies, QLT Inc.

Sharonna Greenberg is one of two recipients of the 2005 L’Oréal Canada Mentor Fellow-ships. For the past three years, the fellowship has been awarded to young female scientists at the doctoral level in order to encourage them to continue their studies and become a source of inspiration for young Canadian girls.

Greenberg is currently working on her PhD in chemistry at the University of Windsor under the supervision of Douglas Stephan, FCIC. Her research focuses on the organome-tallic chemistry of titanium and zirconium. She is specifically interested in the development of novel routes towards carbon-hydrogen bond activation, which could have potential appli-cations in the recycling of plastics and in the petroleum industry. Upon completion of her doctorate degree, Greenberg wishes to pursue research in chemistry, either with a position in the chemical industry or in academia.

For more information on L’Oréal Canada Mentor Fellowships, see p. 8.

SCHWARCZ CHAIRS ACCN BOARDThe Chemical Institute of Canada and ACCN are proud to announce the appointment of Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, as the new chair of the ACCN Editorial Board.

Schwarcz is one of North America ’s foremost educators and is the director of McGill University’s Office for Sci-ence and Society, which is dedicated to demystifying science for the public, the media, and students . Schwarcz is also a professor in the chemistry

Joe Schwarcz, MCIC

Suzanne Fortier, FCIC


PERSONALS PERSONNALITÉS

and National Research Council Canada, Fortier joined the faculty of Queen’s University as assistant professor in the department of chem-istry. She went on to hold the posi-tions of associate dean of the school of graduate studies and research; acting vice-principal of research, and dean of graduate studies and research; vice-principal of research; and vice-principal, academic. In addition , she served on the board of directors for the Ontario Centres of Excellence, Inc. and is currently serv-ing on the board of governors for the Royal Military College of Canada.

Fortier earned her BSc and PhD from McGill University. In 2005, she received a Distinguished Service Award from the Queen’s University Council for her excep-tional contributions to research and academics and her devotion to Queen’s University .

DistinctionNewly recruited chemist, Richard Bowles, MCIC, was one of three University of Saskatchewan scientists to be awarded funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The CFI funding is intended to provide cutting-edge infrastructure for research. Bowles’ award will go toward super-computing equipment to advance his molecular simulation-based research . He is investigating nanometre-sized metal particles important to a variety of industries that develop structures for electronic devices . He is also studying nanometre-sized pollutant particles that affect the formation and behaviour of clouds.

Neil Branda, MCIC, is one of only three recent Canada Research Chairs appointees across Canada to be elevated from a Tier 2 five-year junior chair in material science, which he received five years ago, to a seven-year Tier 1 senior chair. The appointment includes a Canada Fund for Innovation (CFI) grant.

Branda’s work with researchers at Vancouver General Hospital could lead to new treatments for prostate cancer, including drug delivery systems that will enable drugs to directly target tumours when activated with light.

Claude Béchard, ministre du Développe-ment économique, de l’Innovation et de l’Exportation, a remis le prix Lionel-Boulet à Henry Buijs, MCIC. Ce prix représente la plus haute distinction du gouvernement du Québec dans le domaine de la recherche et du déve-loppement en milieu industriel. Lionel Boulet a été à l’origine de l’Institut de recherche en électricité du Québec (IREQ). Le prix qui porte son nom honore les personnalités qui se sont illustrées par leurs activités de recherche et de développement en milieu industriel.

Buijs est l’un des premiers ingénieurs physiciens à avoir mis au point, au cours des années 1970, la technologie permettant de mesurer l’état précis de la couche d’ozone. Ses grandes contributions scientifiques consistent à avoir raffiné des méthodes de calcul dans le domaine de la spectromé-trie pour créer des instruments de mesure sophistiqués .

Jim Frazee, MCIC, was re-elected as presi-dent of the Nova Scotia Chemists’ Society (NSCS). The NSCS was registered in 2004. Its object is to regulate and bring standards to the practice of chemistry in the Prov-ince of Nova Scotia similar to that of their sister organizations in Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta .

CANADIAN ELECTED IUPAC PRESIDENT On January 1, 2006, Bryan Henry, FCIC, assumed his role as president of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). He will serve a two-year mandate. His many accomplishments include chairing the Committee of Chemis-try, Department Chairs of Ontario Universities (1990–1993), serving as

CSC president (1992–1993) and vice-president (1991–1992), and also CIC chair (1997–1998) and vice-chair (1996–1997). Henry was also the 2001 recipient of the Montréal Medal. He is currently a professor emeri-tus at the University of Guelph. His research focuses on “the experimen-tal and theoretical study of highly vibrationally excited molecules.”

Dale Keefe, MCIC, associate professor of chemistry at Cape Breton University, was awarded a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in molecular spectroscopy. Keefe will also receive funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation for a Raman spectrometer and high-performance computer to support his continued work.

“I am honoured to receive such recognition today. This will allow me to establish a unique world-class laboratory, right here at Cape Breton University, to study important chemical interactions in the liquid phase,” notes Keefe. “Chemistry at Cape Breton University is mak-ing great strides and this award is recognition of not only my research but also some of the very talented students who have worked in my group.” Keefe, a faculty member at Cape Breton University since 1996, indicates that undergraduate students are an integral part of his research group. “Now there will be even more opportunities for our students to push the boundaries of chemistry.”

This prestigious award will allow Keefe and his team to take a multi-disciplinary approach to research, with a potential to have outcomes that affect areas of chemistry, biochemistry , biology, and chemical physics. For more information, visit the Canada Research Chair Web site at www.chairs.gc.ca.

ClarificationIn the October 2005 issue of ACCN, there was a misprint in the article entitled , “Talented Flowers Women in Chemistry —a century of progress?” by Geoff Rayner-Canham , FCIC, and Marelene Rayner-Canham. The first recipient of the Clara Benson Award, Viola Birss, was referred to as Violet in Table 2 on p. 23.

Bryan Henry, FCIC


NEWS BRIEFS NOUVELLES EN BREF

Targeting Blood Stem CellsA team of bioengineers at the University of Toronto (U of T) has discovered a way to increase the yield of stem cells from umbilical cord blood, to an extent that could broaden therapeutic use of these cells.

In a paper published in Experimental Hematology , researchers working in the U of T’s stem cell bioengineering laboratory have identified an important component block-ing the growth of stem cells. U of T scientists discovered stem cells in 1961, and for about two decades, researchers around the world have been searching for a way to expand the number of stem cells harvested from umbili-cal cord blood, which can be used instead of bone marrow for transplantation into patients with blood cancers.

“It’s been very hard to grow blood stem cells at all,” says Peter W. Zandstra, MCIC, of the University of Toronto’s Institute of Biomaterials

and Biomedical Engineering, and head of the laboratory in which the research was con-ducted. “We’ve tried to understand how those cells talk to each other, and by controlling that, trying to get the ones we want to grow better.”

In any culture, blood stem cells are very rare, Zandstra explains—typically less than one in 100 cells. “If you want to grow that one cell among the other cells that are more aggressive , you have to target that cell.”

The research team developed a way to remove the non-stem cells—differentiated cells, or “lineage-positive” cells—to create an environment that allows stem cells to grow better. “A mature (lineage-positive) cell ex-presses markers of differentiated lineages, and a stem cell is typically negative for these markers,” Zandstra says. “So we removed the lineage-positive cells. They secrete molecules, or cytokines, which inhibit growth of stem cells. So, by removing them, we’re making the environment better for stem cells.”

Typically, the umbilical cord does not yield a large volume of stem cells—perhaps enough

to treat a child, but rarely an adult. The new research findings may allow new cord-blood stem cells to be developed in the laboratory—enough to treat adult patients as well as chil-dren. The major use of blood stem cells is for transplantation into patients with leukemia and other blood-borne cancers.

From their studies in mice, the researchers know that new stem cells obtained through their expansion technology can engraft in bone marrow and maintain special properties such as the ability to migrate in the body. The researchers have further refined their system by developing a “bioreactor”—a vessel in which to grow the stem cells in a closed and controlled environment, away from environ-mental contaminants.

“The hope is that very soon, if the results are the same with the bioreactor as they were with our experiments to date, we will move to clinical trials,” says Zandstra—ideally within the next year.

University of Toronto


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ACCN

Governments Fail to Make the Grade on Energy UseThe Canadian Chemical Producers Associa-tion (CCPA) has given governments a failing grade for their inability to make full use of the value-added elements of energy re-sources—a mistake that is costing the entire economy and eroding Canada’s competitive advantage. Chemical producers are asking governments to make energy policies that will encourage upgrading resources into value-added products.

“As a user and supplier of energy, Canada should consider energy policy a serious national priority,” said Richard Paton, president of the CCPA. “When we don’t use energy resources to their fullest, we lose opportunity and investment. Without new

investment, we cannot maintain a competi-tive advantage.”

Paton cited the example that natural gas is used to heat homes, but the liquid components of that natural gas could be used to produce materials such as vinyl or plastic. In fact, natural gas can yield 50 times its cur-rent value if those liquid components were used to create chemical products.

The CCPA wants all MPs to get involved in the issues industrial consumers and produc-ers have been raising with energy ministers. “We need MPs to move beyond household-only solutions and ensure federal policies also address energy issues facing manufacturers, like the chemical industry. Governments are not paying enough attention to the way energy impacts the economy, costing jobs in the chemical industry and, more broadly, in the resource sector. Consider this a wake-up call.”

Camford Chemical Report

Photo by Heather Dana Munroe


Engineers WantedOntario firms are looking to hire engineers and engineering graduates. A survey of or-ganizations in Ontario employing engineers found that almost 70 percent of respondents plan to hire engineers in the coming year and that almost 80 percent of those plan to hire engineering graduates.

“This will be music to the ears of engineering students and recent graduates,” said Mo Elbestawi, dean, faculty of engi-neering, McMaster University. “The survey confirms what we know anecdotally. Firms are counting on engineers to lead innova-tion and stimulate growth by developing new products, advancing product design, and finding technical solutions in a range of fields from manufacturing to computing to the environment to medicine .”

Sixty-four percent of respondents indicated that engineering design was an emerging development that would have the most impact on their organization; 46 percent said software developments; 36 percent said environmental regulations; and 28 percent technology transfer. Other responses included: commercialization (17 percent); computational engineering (17 percent); public policy (12 percent); mechatronics (11 percent); and nanotech-nology (6 percent ).

“It’s essential that educators, employers, and the profession get the word out to students that engineering is redefin-ing the economy and society they live in and that they can make a real difference,” said Elbestawi . “There are careers waiting for enterprising men and women in both traditional and emerging areas of engineer-ing such as software, entertainment, the environment , mechatronics, and biomedical engineering. We’re introducing new programs in all these areas at McMaster .”

As to the skills and qualities organiza-tions look for when hiring a graduate, related work experience gained through such programs as co-op and internships ranked 99 percent. This was followed by soft skills (leadership, teamwork, collabora-tion) at 94 percent, specialized knowledge (93 percent ), high marks (84 percent), and post-graduate education (74 percent).

More than 79 percent of respondents said they hired students for co-op or internship work terms.


Contract for Bruce A RefurbishmentBruce Power and the Ontario government have finalized an agreement that will allow Bruce Power to refurbish and restart two nuclear reactors at the Bruce A nuclear gen-erating station. The Ontario government has agreed to purchase all power from the Bruce A units for 6.3 cents/kWh.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bruce Power will first refurbish Bruce Units 1 and 2. Units 3 and 4 will be refurbished when the first two units enter service. When complete, the refurbishment will allow the reactors to operate for a further 25 years. Without refur-bishment, the restarted Bruce A Units 3 and 4 would have to close starting in 2009.

The total cost of the project is forecast at $4.25 billion. The project is being financed by the owners of the Bruce A Limited Part-nership (BALP), consisting of Trans Canada Pipelines and BPC Generation Infrastructure Trust, each with 47.4 percent interest, with the remainder shared between the Power Workers Union and the Society of Energy Professionals. Cameco Corporation is not part of the BALP, but retains its share of the Bruce B nuclear power plant.

The project has three main goals: to enhance the safety of the Bruce A station; to increase the capacity of Bruce A to generate electricity; and to ensure that the Bruce A sta-tion remains safe and fit for service through to the end of Bruce Power’s lease in 2043.

The project has seven key requirements:• required maintenance of Units 1 and 2

during lay-up;• fuel channel replacement in Units 1–4;• nuclear systems upgrade, including steam

generators, in Units 1–4;• balance of plant upgrade in Units 1–4;• refuelling Units 1 and 2 with initial fuel

load;• restarting Units 1 and 2 and operating

through their extended lives including maintenance;

• potential use of low void-reactivity fuel with subsequent operation at a higher power factor.The project is expected to create 1,500

jobs to complete the work program.

Canadian Nuclear Association

Of the respondents planning to hire, 79.4 percent plan to hire recent engineer-ing graduates (i.e., have less than the four years’ work experience required to qualify as a PEng). 96.4 percent of these organiza-tions plan to hire graduates with a bachelor’s degree , 35.7 percent with a master’s degree, and 15.2 percent with a PhD.

The survey was conducted by the faculty of engineering at McMaster University in the summer of 2005. The purpose of the study was to better understand the engineering hiring plans of Ontario organizations, and the skills and knowledge they will require in future. Personnel and human resource managers , owners, senior executives, and engineering managers at 760 organizations in Ontario employing engineers were surveyed . The results are considered accurate plus or minus 7.5 percent 19 out of 20 times.

Survey highlights:• 69 percent of respondents forecasted

hiring engineers in the next 12 months; 62 percent forecast hiring in three years;

• Of the respondents hiring, 79.4 percent plan to hire recent engineering graduates (i.e., have less than the four year’s work experience required to qualify as a PEng);

• 96.4 percent of organizations plan to hire graduates with a bachelor’s degree, 35.7 percent with a master’s degree and 15.2 percent with a PhD.*Types of engineers organizations plan

to hire*:• mechanical (59.5 percent) • electrical (46.3 percent)• software (27.3 percent) • computer (26.4 percent)• chemical (24.8 percent)

* Totals do not always add up to 100 percent as re-spondents are allowed to provide multiple answers to some questions.

Further information from the survey can be found at www.eng.mcmaster.ca.

McMaster University



L�Oréal/UNESCO �For Women in Science� Program ExtendedAt a ceremony held to honour the winners of the 2005 L’Oréal Canada Mentor Fellow-ships, Pierre-Yves Arzel, president and CEO of L’Oréal Canada, announced the creation of two new fellowships aimed at supporting women scientists in Canada. These Canadian fellowships are part of the international L’Oréal/UNESCO “For Women in Science” program that honours women scientists around the world through awards and fellow-ships. Since its creation in 1998, 242 women from 63 countries have been recognized for their contribution to scientific progress and influence.

“These two new fellowships will reward excellence and will enable Canadian women scientists to pursue and expand their research projects,” stated Arzel.

For the past three years, the L’Oréal Canada Mentor Fellowships have been awarded to

young female scientists at the doctoral level in order to encourage them to continue their studies and become a source of inspiration for young Canadian girls. Beginning in 2006, Greenberg and Ottensmeyer will participate in mentoring sessions organized by Actua and L’Oréal in universities across Canada. They will share their experiences and their passion for science with young girls aged 8 to 17 at summer camps, workshops and clubs, and by means of a dedicated Web site: www.girls.actua.ca.

The “Mentorship Program for Girls” was officially launched in July 2003 and has since benefitted 2,500 young girls throughout the country. The two new L’Oréal Canada Fellow-ships that will be added in 2006 will aim to support major research projects undertaken by women scientists at the post-doctoral level in Canada. The two Fellows will be selected by an expert panel of judges specialized in their field and will alternate each year between life sciences and engineering/pure and applied sciences.

L’Oréal Canada

To mark World Science Day for Peace and Development, Pierre-Yves Arzel from L�Oréal Canada and David Walden of UNESCO�s Canadian Commission presented Sharonna Greenberg and Andrea Ottensmeyer with the 2005 L�Oréal Canada Mentor Fellowships. Journalist Denise Bombardier (centre) was the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

New Research Centre A new era of discovery in the prevention and treatment of disease has begun since the University of Toronto officially opened the Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research. The new centre will foster collaborative and interdisciplinary biomedical research, building on the success of the human genome project. Researchers from several faculties—medicine, pharmacy, applied science and engineering, and arts and science—will come together in state-of-the-art laboratory and teaching facilities on ten open-concept floors to identify both the cause and cure of disease.

The $105 million project was funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario government, the university’s infra-structure investment fund, and the support of private donors. The 221,120 square foot facility signals a strong presence to the city’s Discovery District and affirms the university’s commitment to basic scientific research.

University of Toronto

Photo by CNW Group/L’Oréal Canada Inc.


CHEMFUSIONIs there a conspiracy to keep a safe, non-caloric, “natural” sugar substitute off the market? That is what promoters of

various stevia preparations claim. And who is behind the conspiracy? Sugar producers and manufacturers of artificial sweeten-ers, of course, who worry that their profits will nosedive if stevia is allowed as a food additive . Malarkey, according to the FDA and Health Canada. Stevia is not allowed as a food additive because there are outstand-ing questions about its safety.

The Guarani Indians of Paraguay don’t have a problem with stevia. They have sweetened their traditional brew of “yerba mate” with it for centuries. Stevia rebaudiana is a shrub native to South America that contains a num-ber of naturally occurring compounds with a remarkably sweet taste. Stevioside and the related rebaudiosides are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar. In Japan, purified stevio-side is widely used as an additive in foods and beverages like Diet Coke and sugar-free gums. Ditto in China, Korea, and South America. So why is stevia deemed safe in these countries, but not in Canada or the U.S.? Our authorities claim there is a simple answer. We have a very stringent regulatory system and stevia produc-ers have not furnished the required documen-tation to establish its safety.

If stevia producers want to market their product as a food additive, they have to meet the same standards as the manufacturers of any other artificial sweetener. According to both the Canadian and American govern-ments, questions about the safety of stevia have not been properly answered. Govern-ment scientists point to studies in which male rats fed high doses for 22 months showed a reduction in sperm production and

an increase in cell proliferation in the testi-cles. In female rats, large doses of steviol, a breakdown product of stevioside, reduced the number of offspring as well as their weights. Obviously, the countries that have approved stevioside don’t attach much importance to these studies. And apparently they haven’t seen any adverse reactions in humans. But the amount of artificially sweetened products consumed in those countries is small. That would hardly be the case in North America if stevia were approved as an additive. North Americans who hop on the stevia band-wagon would, in all likelihood, indulge to a far greater extent than the Japanese, who are presently the biggest users of stevia.

Both Canada and the U.S. would consider approval of stevia as a food additive if manu-facturers were to provide data on long-term safe use. In the meantime, stevia preparations can be legally sold as dietary supplements, which are regulated differently from food additives . Tablets containing the crushed leaves, liquid extracts of the leaves, and puri-fied stevioside are all available. Judging by the historical evidence, use of these products in moderate doses is likely to be safe. As far as frequent use goes—no one can say.

Looking into the stevia situation whetted my appetite for the sweetener. And what bet-ter way to try it than adding it to a traditional brew of yerba mate? I had seen plenty of ads on the Web boasting of this potion’s “power-ful rejuvenating effects.” Who couldn’t use a little rejuvenation? It turns out that yerba mate is a tea brewed from the dried leaves of the Ilex paraguariensis plant, a small shrub that, like stevia, grows in South American coun-tries. The tea is also known as Paraguay tea and has a reputation for boosting energy levels and even intelligence. In Europe, mate is often used for weight loss, although there is no sci-entific evidence to show that the plant boosts metabolism or acts as an appetite suppressant. But what about the rejuvenation claims?

An analysis of extracts taken from the mate plant reveals a couple of hundred compounds, as one would expect for any plant material. There are vitamins and minerals and the usual array of antioxidants, but no magical ingredi-ents are apparent. Any stimulation from the beverage can probably be ascribed to caffeine, although yerba contains less than coffee or other teas. Claims about yerba mate being “nature ’s most perfect beverage” or “the bever-age of the Gods” are just hot air. And speaking

of hot, that’s how yerba mate is traditionally consumed. That can be a problem. Drinking mate tea has been linked to esophageal cancer in South America where the beverage is con-sumed at extremely high temperatures.

Maybe I didn’t brew my yerba properly, but to me it tasted like a mix of bad coffee, green tea, and fermenting grass. I felt more nauseated than rejuvenated. Incidentally, the Guarani Indians traditionally drink yerba mate out of a bull’s horn, which seems appropriate, given some of the outlandish claims that are made on behalf of the beverage. The stevia leaves I added certainly improved the taste! While we may not know enough about the long-term effects of high-dose stevia consump-tion, I can attest to the amazing sweetening power of the leaves of this remarkable plant.

Popular science writer, Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, is

a chemistry professor and the director of McGill

University’s Office for Science and Society.

He hosts the Dr. Joe Show every Sunday from

3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Montréal ’s radio station

CJAD and on CFRB in Toronto. The broadcast

is available on the Web at www.CJAD.com.

It�s not conspiracy

that is keeping stevia

from being marketed

in North America as a

food additive�it is lack

of submitted evidence

of safety.

Joe Schwarcz, MCIC

Anywhere But Here


It is increasingly clear that science and technology are key to an innovative economy. It is also clear that if Canada is to con-tinue to enjoy economic and social growth, we must ensure

that our science and technology (S&T) capabilities and resources are focused within a global context and on what matters most to Canada and Canadians.

A recent National Research Council Canada (NRC) analysis of world trends and Canadian priorities for the next five to 15 years identifies enormous opportunities for S&T to help build our country’s competitiveness and to enhance our quality of life.

Our demographic research showed us that by 2020, the world will number eight billion people. Much of that growth will occur in Asia where 56 percent of all people will live just 15 years from now.

With this expansion of Asian populations will come profound cultural changes for all the world’s countries. Our workforce will

change dramatically. Immigration patterns will alter; the most homo-geneous countries will become more diverse.

The median age of the world’s population is increasing, which will radically alter what consumers expect from industry and government. By 2026, one in five Canadians will be 65 years of age or older, which will certainly affect the priorities of our healthcare systems.

Globalization has brought to our doorsteps both opportunity and threat. We can quickly recognize global challenges to our safety and security. Large-scale population movements, the spread of disease, ecosystem breakdown, the spread of deadly armaments—all these developments have created a new age of anxiety with profound implications for science and innovation.

The overriding global issues in the next ten to 15 years are likely to be in the domains of energy, the environment, and health and wellness . Our very success as a country depends upon our capac-ity to respond to these challenges and our willingness and ability to innovate and produce what the world economy needs.

Energy concerns will dominate innovation for decades, the study found. In fact, some say that energy is the number one problem facing humanity for the next 50 years. Canada, as the fifth largest energy producer, certainly has the potential to command the world’s attention in the years ahead. We have huge oil reserves at this point in time, and a distinct advantage in nuclear power technology . Developing more efficient extraction processes, improving traditional energy alternatives such as nuclear power, and advancing

Pierre Coulombe

The NRC�s research into world trends and global priorities has shown that there are tremendous opportunities for science and technology to help build Canada�s competitiveness, and enhance our quality of life.

Looking Forward�S&T for the 21st Century


technologies in alternative fuels such as hydrogen are some S&T applications relevant to the energy challenges of the future .

Environmental challenges facing the world are no less significant. Research shows that the global context for key issues such as global warming and access to potable water will position Canada as a major player in the decades ahead. Advances in water management , environmental monitoring, and sustainable practices for agriculture, for-estry, and manufacturing will help Canada meet its environmental commitments.

And it is no surprise that health and well-ness are priorities. The simple fact that the median age of populations worldwide is increasing will make health and wellness technologies of critical importance over the next 15 years. Scientists and companies are racing to increase their understanding of the detailed functioning of cells and tissues in living organisms. They are developing tech-niques in early and advanced diagnostics, monitoring of infectious pathogens, and therapy that will radically improve the effi-ciency, efficacy, and quality of health care in Canada and around the world.

Science and technology will have an essential role to play in helping solve some of the key quality of life issues that, as a society , we will be trying to overcome in the 21st century.

Our job now as innovators is to under-stand the drivers and trends shaping our world and to apply that understanding to groundbreaking research that will inspire

Canadians and help secure our standing in the world. Canada has the natural resources, the knowledge base, and expertise necessary to become a highly influential mid-size nation in our global economy.

NRC’s research into trends and priorities is part of our Renewal Project that will see the development of a new strategic plan for the Council.

For the complete version of NRC’s Looking Forward: S&T for the 21st Century visit www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/aboutUs/ren/ren_e.html.

Pierre Coulombe was appointed

National Research Council Canada

president in February 2005.


The Government of Canada has been investing in science and technology for close to 100 years. National S&T institutions such as NRC and CANMET are closing in on their 100th

anniversaries and the Geological Survey of Canada, the grandaddy of government S&T institutions, is over 150 years old. Work performed by government laboratories has resulted in numerous world-class scientific and technical advances as diverse as the development of rust resistant wheat, pacemakers, and computer animation.

What is less well known is that the work from government laboratories , and by extension, government S&T experts, has filled important gaps in the innovation system, and thereby helped assure economic development and industry competitiveness. Government S&T experts have also assisted in regulatory, public safety, and policy -making functions by providing authoritative, non-partisan information to government.

The Speech from the Throne to open the first session of the 37th Parliament of Canada (2003) recognized the importance of R&D in assuring continued economic growth and competitiveness with our main trading partners. With the goal of moving Canada from 15th place to 5th in R&D investment as a percentage of GNP, the Government of Canada provided a significant infusion of funding into university R&D. This resulted in renewed effort and interest in

research from this sector and propelled Canada to the top of the G8 with such support.

On the downside, Statistics Canada data shows that even with tax incentives such as the SR&ED, the expansion of class 43.1 accelerated depreciation of assets and other financial incentives, private sector investment in R&D remains low. Although such incentives help in mitigating economic risks, they do not help industry mitigate the performance risk of adopting new technologies. Furthermore, since many knowledge and technology-based companies do not become profitable for many years, tax incentives have little or no immediate cash value. Government labs help mitigate technology risks faced by companies in areas of public benefit, and as such, represent one more way that governments provide direct assistance to industry.

Figure 1 graphs the progress of technology from early R&D to market acceptance and identifies the different contributions made by

The role of government laboratories in Canada�s system of innovationJohn Marrone

Hand in Hand

� we find government labs working

with industry along the full spectrum of

the innovation curve.


government labs and other players. For the sake of illustration, milestones on the tech-nology development path have been adopted from NASA’s Technology Readiness Level index with the assumption that a typical S-shaped R&D effort or cost curve is obeyed. Government laboratories today provide the important link between research conducted by academia and the technical and economic demonstration projects industry receptors need to facilitate their decisions to take busi-ness risk in adopting these new technologies.

Federal and provincial governments are in a position to maintain unique laboratory assets and expertise for shared use, usually on a cost recovery basis or by co-locating or “incubating” spin-off high-tech companies . Governments are also in a position to contribute by developing transformational technologies for commercialization by industry and by contributing funds to tech-nology demonstrations on industry sites.

Because of this unique position, we find government labs working with industry along the full spectrum of the innovation curve. Government labs are involved in making Canada a leader in transformational technologies. Examples range from stem cells to hydrogen fuel cells and from nanotechnology to CO2 capture and storage . These technologies are still many years from market-readiness and have return-on-investment horizons that are longer

than shareholders are prepared to accept . In later stages of development, industry requires pilot scale facilities that are not typi-cally available at educational institutions and are too expensive for any single company. In some cases, an industrial sector is composed of small companies without the resources to conduct R&D. In other cases, the technology advance may be in the public interest but not the company’s financial interest.

Encouraging far-sighted strategic invest-ments that serve national goals and industry goals is good national policy. Witness the impact on our economy of government investments in aerospace, instrumenta-tion, telecommunications, and information technology in previous decades. Canada is not alone in making such strategic invest-ments. For example, strategic investments in wind energy technology by Denmark and Germany have helped those countries meet their need for clean electric power and have created a major new export industry for those countries.

The expertise gained from this active involvement in economic development through innovation also helps govern-ments excel in their primary role—gover-nance. Government scientific experts share their knowledge gained from research activities and from contacts with industrial and academic partners with their political masters . Among other things, they make key

contributions to policy development, regu-lations, and the development of codes and standards. Government experts represent Canada at international technical symposia and are responsible for Canada’s contribu-tions to international RD&D projects. They provide technical due diligence on publicly funded extramural S&T programs. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, they also contribute to public education, awareness, and outreach to ensure that Canadians are informed about scientific issues that affect their lives.

Governments are increasingly facing issues of a complex and technical nature that require unbiased input from senior scientific staff whose knowledge and expertise are based on hands-on experience and familiarity with the domestic and international market. As such there will be a role for government labs in Canada’s system of innovation as we face the threats like pandemics, climate change, and energy and water supply issues.

John Marrone is director general of the

CANMET Energy Technology Centre in Ottawa,

ON. CANMET is part of Natural Resources

Canada (NRCan). He has been involved

in technology development for 24 years,

working for such diverse organizations as QIT,

Noranda, Alcan, Dofasco, and the Canadian

Space Agency before joining NRCan.

Figure 1


1. Support for Government-Wide Perspectives on Canada�s S&T Effort

The recently created Office of the National Science Advisor (NSA) to the Prime Minister as well as the Canadian Academies of Science have significant potential to assist the government to ensure sustainability of our R&D capacity in areas critical to our economy. The National Science Advisor can carry out assessments of the value of federal in-vestments in S&T and the Academies can evaluate Canada’s science performance and other issues of importance to Canadians such as the contribution of science and technology to national policy issues.

The mandate of the NSA is daunting and expectations for this Office are high, within both government and S&T circles. However, the Office of the National Science Advisor requires stable (perma-nent) support staff to deliver on its responsibility to provide quality advice to the highest levels of federal decision makers and the Office must have direct access to those levels.

Government science capacity

The National Science Advisor has been charged with identifying better ways to coordinate and integrate Canada’s scientific assets across the in-novation system and thereby enhance their productivity. Science-Based Departments and Agencies (SBDAs) and Research Support Agencies (RSAs) are vital components of the nation’s capacity for innovation. In addition to monitoring and regulatory work, they conduct in-house process-oriented, thematic research to meet departmental mandates and government priorities. Moreover, they do so with a breadth of focus and a long-term perspective that is not common in other research sec-tors. Such a perspective is especially critical with respect to research in key resource and environmental areas. The effectiveness of SBDAs and RSAs, however, has been diminished in recent years by the erosion of their A-base funding. The federal partners in collaborative research programs that involve both government and academic researchers need increased funding: to permit them to carry out those roles that must be performed by government; to provide strategic leadership; to

The Chemical Institute of Canada, through its active membership and leadership roles in both the Partnership Group for Science

and Engineering (PAGSE) and Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR), advocates for the strengthening of government science.

Both PAGSE and CCR submitted briefs to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. This was followed up by oralpresentations to the Committee on October 27, 2005 in Ottawa, ON.

Excerpts from both the PAGSE and CCR briefs follow, pertaining to the support and recommendations on government science.

The briefs may be viewed in their entirety at www.cheminst.ca/govrel/docs/pagse/PAGSE_Brief_2005_Final.pdf and www.cheminst.ca/govrel/docs/ccr/CCR_Brief_2005_Final.pdf.

THE PARTNERSHIP GROUP FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERINGAdvancing Canada�s Global Competiveness in R&DA submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance pre-budget consultation September 2005

THE CIC PROMOTES GOVERNMENT SCIENCE


allow them to participate as full research partners with their Canadian and international academic colleagues; and to enable them to reap the benefits of knowledge transfer for application to policy.

In previous submissions to this committee, PAGSE has strongly recommended that the Government of Canada should evaluate its recent investments and prioritize its future funding of govern-ment science . PAGSE commends those SBDAs that have adopted the guidelines formulated by the Council of Scientific and Technological Advisors (CSTA) with respect to the need for alignment of federal S&T with government issues and priorities (e.g. BEST and STEPS reports). Now it is time to apply these guidelines across all federal SBDAs. Furthermore , a horizontal approach to federal S&T should integrate as-pects of complementary university- and industry-based research with government S&T programs in innovative and productive partnerships.

Canada’s vast landmass, inland and territorial waters, across its provinces and territories, present daunting logistical and financial chal-lenges for scientific research that are unique in the developed world. PAGSE commends the government for its renewed investment in the Polar Continental Shelf Project (PCSP), its new commitment to the International Polar Year in 2007–2008 and to the ArcticNet consortium. However, the costs of access and daily maintenance, shipboard opera-tions and long-term field observatories are beyond the capabilities of these organizations. The logistical support for Canadian researchers operating in the remote parts of Canada needs to be better coordinated and broadened. A long-term, strategic vision is now needed, including

local capacity building, to ensure that Canada ’s research and policy needs are met in remote areas across the country and that Canada is able to take its rightful place in relevant international activities.

Recommendations

• that the government provide stable support to the NSA’s Office and facilitate its access to the highest level of decision makers;

• that the Government of Canada reinforce the mandate and the means of the National Science Advisor to review, rationalize and focus research in government laboratories on the regula-tory and service requirements of programs of national strategic importance that the federal government is best positioned to undertake;

• that the government re-affirm its commitment to ongoing long-term monitoring of variables essential to understanding Canada’s natural environment and resources and for related ongoing longer-term research by the provision of adequate A-base budgets to the relevant governmental departments;

• that the Government of Canada specifically mandate and fund opera-tional support for scientific programs in remote areas and create an inter-agency body to provide coordinated logistical support to the full spectrum of scientific research conducted in Canada’s vast remote lands and oceans. The National Science Advisor should be tasked with determining how to structure and implement such a body.

CANADIAN CONSORTIUM FOR RESEARCHA Brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance September 2005

Recommendation three�re-invest in government research infrastructure

Increased support for post-secondary institutions and the research granting agencies is essential, but the government must also re-invest in its own research infrastructure. In addition to a myriad of day-to-day policy choices, Canada also faces major challenges on climate change, energy, pandemic response, drug safety, and national security. To deal effectively with this array of issues, it is imperative that the government have its own reliable, disinterested source of research, knowledge, and advice to rely upon. Government departments and agencies, such as Natural Resources Canada, Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Health Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the National Research Council Canada (NRC) can fill this role.

In addition to being independent, these organizations also engage in extraordinary work. At a time when the government is experi-menting with new mechanisms for facilitating research, it must not forget the successes of traditional models. Canadian Nobel Laureate Gerhard Herzberg’s pioneering achievements in molecular spectros-copy at the NRC is one example of that organization ’s outstanding

contribution to science. Similar success stories can be found within government departments. The groundbreaking work of Keith Downey at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (together with Burton Craig at the NRC) led to the development of the modern canola industry, an industry that contributes more than $6 billion annually to the Cana-dian economy.

Despite the extraordinary service these departments and agencies have rendered to Canadians, they are all suffering from the lack of necessary financial support. In preparing this brief, the Consortium turned to Statistics Canada for basic quantitative data on Canada’s economy, population, and education systems. We found an agency struggling to provide information in an atmosphere of chronic under-staffing—beset by retirements and without money to replace departing employees. To correct this particular situation, and the broader problem, the government must direct attention to assessing and supporting the research expenditure needs of its own depart-ments and agencies. The Consortium was pleased with the creation and mandate of the National Science Advisor (NSA) several years ago. This office should be sufficiently funded to properly undertake major projects including a review of the government’s research infra-structure and its needs.


R A D I O A C T I V E B E A M SA world-class Canadian facility offers exciting new tools for research.

John M. D�Auria, MCIC, and Michael Trinczek


There is a world-class facility in Vancouver, BC, that is doing state-of-the-art research in the area of

nuclear science. The research uses a probe previously unavailable, namely, accelerated radioactive beams. While most of the re-search in progress may appear to be in the domain of physics, there is a rich overlap between disciplines with chemists contribut-ing a major part. The roles of the federal and provincial governments are also important in the success of the TRIUMF-ISAC facility, which can be used as a model of how such major science facilities can be organized.

Radioactive beams

Approximately 115 elements are known. While some are radioactive only, most have a range of stable and unstable (radioactive) iso-topes. For about 50 years, nuclear scientists had only stable isotopes available as projec-tiles for acceleration to the high velocities required for probing the nature of the nucleus and its many dynamic interactions. A great deal has been learned, but many important questions remain. Can we predict the limits of nuclear stability? What are the heaviest nuclei possible? What constitutes a stable nucleus, especially at the extreme limits of stability? Within the past decade, we have learned how to produce energetic beams of most isotopes, stable or radioactive. These advances have opened up new avenues of re-search as the ratio of protons to neutrons can be varied and studied in a controlled fashion. A great deal is being learned as these new techniques are improved.

Radioactive beams are usually produced by one of two different methods—the iso-tope separation on-line (ISOL) method and the projectile fragmentation approach. In the ISOL approach, energetic protons, neutrons, heavy ions, or even electrons can be used to produce radioactive species. Following extraction from the target and then ioniza-tion in an ion source, the radioactive spe-cies as an ion beam is mass analyzed and either stopped (for studies of its properties) or accelerated using an appropriate accel-erator. In the fragmentation approach, a very energetic heavy-ion beam is allowed to pass through a thin foil in which the beam fragments into a number of species, many of which are radioactive . Electromagnetic devices are then used to select a desired

fragment , which is usually the radioactive species of interest. This species, which moves essentially as fast as the particles in the original beam, is used in various ways. At the Isotope Separation and ACcel-erator (ISAC) facility in Vancouver, the ISOL method is used, and we will focus on this.

Using a variety of different targets and ion sources (e.g. heated surface ioniza-tion for alkali elements, electron cyclotron resonance ionization for volatile elements, laser ionization for metals), a wide range of radioisotopic beams can be and have been produced. Based upon years of experience in Canada and elsewhere, beams from about 80 elements and their associated isotopes can be extracted (refer to the Web sites listed at the end of this article for specific elements).

Radioactive beam facilities worldwide

Over the last 15 years, there has been a gradual transition from accelerators of stable heavy ions to radioactive beam facilities. At present, there are four major fragmentation facilities in the world—the NSCL at Michigan State University in the U.S.; GSI in Germany; the GANIL in France; and RIKEN in Japan.

In addition to the TRIUMF-ISAC facility in Canada, radioactive beam facilities based upon the ISOL approach exist at HRIBF in Oak Ridge, TN, in the U.S., ISOLDE at CERN in Switzerland, SPIRAL at the GANIL in France, and at Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium. There are other facilities based upon differ-ent production approaches at Texas A&M University, ATLAS at the Argonne National Laboratory in the U.S., Jyväskylä in Finland, the Tokai facility in Japan, and Catania in Italy. The next generation radioactive beam facilities are being planned in the U.S. with the RIA project and in Europe with the EURISOL project. At present, ISAC has the highest radioactive beam intensities in the world due to the high intensity of energetic protons, which are used in beam production.

The TRIUMF-ISAC facility

TRIUMF is Canada’s National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics. It was built in the early 1970s and was operated by collaboration between four universities—The University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria , and the University of Alberta. The full membership collaboration has grown over the years to include the University of

Toronto and Carleton University and there are now seven

associate member

Figure 1. Illustration of the ISAC-I facility at TRIUMF. The 500 MeV protons from the cyclotron strike a thick target producing the radioisotopes. Extraction with the ion source and mass analysis through the separator allow radioisotopic beams to be delivered to any of the experimental facilities. The RFQ and DTL accelerators allow beams to be accelerated up to 1.8 MeV/u.

ISAC at TRIUMF


universities . For many years, the main science at TRIUMF was intermediate-energy physics along with condensed matter physics using muons but, in the last ten years, the ISAC Ra-dioactive Beam facility was constructed and now the focus of the science is more directed onto low-energy subatomic physics along with studies of material science. In addition, there is strong interest in high-energy phys-ics and further, TRIUMF houses one part of the MDS Nordion organization, the largest producer of radiopharmaceutical isotopes in the world. Related to these is the extensive program in the life sciences for which radio-tracers are produced and utilized in a wide range of disciplines including botany, chemi-cal engineering, earth sciences, medicine, and chemistry.

Radioactive beams are produced at ISAC by target fragmentation using the intense beam of energetic (up to 520 MeV) protons from the largest cyclotron in the world. As many as five beams of such protons can be extracted from the cyclotron simultaneously and can be used in different experimental systems. The proton beam for ISAC then intercepts a thick (approximately 19 cm in length) target leading to the production of the isotope of interest followed by on-line extraction, mass separation, and accelera-tion. The diffusion of an isotope/element in a thick target matrix, typically heated up to 2200ºC is basically high-temperature chem-istry, and the successful development of a good target can take years of testing. ISAC-I was built to perform studies in elemental synthesis by measuring nuclear astrophysi-cal cross sections and rates, nuclear struc-ture, fundamental symmetries, and material science. An upgrade to ISAC-II to give higher accelerated radioactive beam energies to get above the coulomb barrier for reactions is in progress and will be ready in 2006 for the first experiments.

Experimental program

There is an extensive research program at ISAC that ranges from measuring the distribu-tion of protons within the very neutron-rich Li nucleus, magneto-optical trapping to allow the study of the helicity of neutrino emission in β decay in a search for the new physics grail, surveying and analyzing the very weird shapes the nucleus can take, and exploring possible approaches to produce

new superheavy elements using radioactive beams. However, for brevity, two studies will be used to illustrate the unique, world-class research in progress.

The first involves using a low-velocity , polarized beam of 8Li ions to examine the properties of thin films and interfaces. Andrew MacFarlane and Rob Kiefl from The University of British Columbia, Kim Chow from the University of Alberta, and their collaborators have recently shown it is possible to perform β-detected NMR on a nanometre-length scale by adjusting the energy of implantation of the polarized beam. The method was first demonstrated with a thin (19 nm) Ag film deposited on a SrTiO3 substrate.1,2 These studies revealed two sharp resonances attributed to Li at the interstitial and substitutional sites in the ultra thin Ag film. Since Ag is relatively inert, one can use this technique to measure mag-netic field distributions with a resolution of roughly 0.5 G near any surface or interface . In essence the polarized Li acts like a local magnetometer, which can be used to char-acterize the local magnetic field at the depth

of implantation. This has many possible applications , e.g. studies of the vortex lattice near the surface of a superconductor or the magnetic properties of a monolayer of mag-netic molecules. Depth-resolved β-NMR is an extension of a very successful program at TRIUMF using muons to probe the magnetic properties of bulk materials. The spectrom-eter coupled with the polarized 8Li beam is unmatched in the world.

The second study is in the area of elemen-tal synthesis in the universe. While a good deal is now known on the production of elements in stellar factories, it is clear that elemental production also occurs in explo-sive scenario such as novae, X-ray bursts, and supernovae. The problem has been that it was impossible to measure the rates when one of the reactants was short lived, e.g. a half-life of seconds. Such studies can now be done when the short-lived reactant is ac-celerated onto a gas target. ISAC is one of the few places in the world where such studies can be done and uses the unique DRAGON facility.3 While full details can be found else-where,4,5 a beam of 21Na ions with energy

Figure 2. Illustration of the main components of the DRAGON recoil mass spectrometer; the inset shows a photo of the actual device. The unique DRAGON facility allows the measurement of reaction strengths important to understanding elemental synthesis in the universe. DRAGON filters out the interesting product nuclei from these weak reactions with suppression factors of 109 to 1013 possible, depending on the detector configuration and the specific reaction under study.


matching that of inside an exploding star was directed onto a H2 gas target, the resul-tant recoiling 22Mg products are separated from the beam ions and detected at the end of DRAGON in conjunction with emitted γ rays. The rate of the 21Na(p,γ) 22Mg reaction was measured and it is now understood why the accompanying isotope 22Na, produced in such explosions, has not yet been observed as predicted with orbiting γ-ray telescopes.

The role of government and the universities

For such a facility as ISAC, support from both the provincial and federal governments is essential . All of the buildings at TRIUMF were constructed with funds from the Government of British Columbia and the federal Govern-ment of Canada through the National Research Council Canada-supplied operational funds. Funds for all experimental programs are sup-plied through peer-reviewed agencies such as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The unique aspect of TRIUMF has been the role of the universities, who have successfully managed (financially and safely) the labora-tory together since its initial funding in 1968. At present, TRIUMF is on a five-year funding cycle, which allows for proper planning and the building of the complex facilities needed at a world-class laboratory . A thorough review of the laboratory is performed several times a year by a federally appointed committee, Advisory Committee On TRIUMF (ACOT), and a detailed evaluation is performed prior to funding every five years. Only experiments approved by a committee of international scientists are allowed to be pursued at TRIUMF.

Conclusion

There exists in Vancouver a world-class experimental facility performing state-of-the-art studies in subatomic and condensed matter science using radioactive beams. The ISAC facility is open to any good experiment and the role of the government has been basically a hands-off approach to the micromanaging of the facility with care-ful, periodic reviews of the facility’s status. It is useful to point out that research at TRIUMF underwent a major revision from

intermediate -energy science using ener-getic protons to low-energy science using accelerated radioactive beams, successfully. Simultaneously, TRIUMF has maintained a strong connection to high-energy physics by providing the infrastructure for required experimental apparatus used in laboratories around the world. The TRIUMF site is also the location of a MDS Nordion facility, the largest producer of radiopharmaceutical iso-topes in the world, and a successful example of technology transfer . TRIUMF is a useful model for big science projects being consid-ered for development in Canada.

References

1. R. F. Kiefl, Nuclear Physics News 14 (2004), 28–34.

2. G. D. Morris et. al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 (2004), 157601.

3. S. Engel et. al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods A 553 (2005), 491–500.

4. S. Bishop et. al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 90 (2003), 162501.

5. J. M. D’Auria et. al, Phys. Rev. C 69 (2004), 065803.

For further information visit:

TRIUMF www.triumf.info

Simon Fraser University www.sfu.ca/triumf/

Radioactive Beam Availability www.triumf.ca/people/marik/Yields.html http://isolde.web.cern.ch/ISOLDE/

John M. D’Auria, MCIC, is a professor emeritus

in the department of chemistry at Simon Fraser

University in Burnaby, BC, who conducts his

research at TRIUMF. At present he serves as

coordinator of the DRAGON program used

for studies in nuclear astrochemistry. Learn

more at www.sfu.ca/chemistry/faculty/Retired/

DAuria/jda_home.htm.

Michael Trinczek is a post-doctoral research

associate at TRIUMF currently working on

elemental synthesis studies and the production

of radioactive beams. He received his PhD

in nuclear chemistry from Simon Fraser

University in 2001.

ACCN 2006

FebruaryPulp and paper

MarchChemistry—from the central to the shrinking science?

AprilMedicinal chemistry

MayEnvironmental contaminationSite remediation

JunePolymers/coatings

July/AugustMarine science

SeptemberClean energy

OctoberBiotechnology

November/DecemberForensic chemistry

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Chemistry in Nova Scotia

Above: The Halifax downtown waterfront �just a short walk away from the site of the CSC 2006 Conference and Exhibition.

Donald L. Hooper, FCIC

The 89th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition will take place in Halifax, NS, May 27–31 of this year. The theme for the conference is “Charting a New Course/Vers

de nouveaux horizons,” indicating the many new directions in chemistry that will be highlighted in a maritime city looking out over the Atlantic Ocean.

Halifax was founded in 1749, and chemistry has been studied and applied in Nova Scotia almost since the formation of the new

colony. Best known of the early applications is the work of Abraham Gesner, known as “the father of the petroleum industry.” Gesner, born in Cornwallis township in the Annapolis valley, first developed a method of distilling hydrocarbons from bituminous rocks and then one for the distillation of kerosene from petroleum. One of his first contracts was in 1850 for the lighting of the streets of Halifax. Like way too many Maritimers, he went “down the road,” establishing a company to supply New York with lighting oil. Just as now, the call


of home was strong and in 1864, Dalhousie University appointed him as professor of natural history. Gesner was also one of the applicants for the position of professor of chemistry. Evidently, he didn’t meet the rigorous standards of the committee choos-ing the first professor of chemistry—George Lawson, a Scot teaching natural history at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON, won the competition and, arguably, became the first person in Canada teaching only chemistry at a university.

Skipping ahead to the present, chemistry is studied and applied in the province’s many universities, in industry, and in government laboratories . The largest group of chemistry researchers in Nova Scotia is at Dalhousie University, not only in the department of chemistry —that counts 24 faculty members and more than 80 graduate students and post-doctoral researchers—but also in the departments of biochemistry and molecular biology and oceanography , the College of Pharmacy, and other university units. Some well-known research areas include analyti-cal chemistry, materials science, physical organic chemistry and photochemistry of reactive intermediates, synthetic inorganic and organic chemistry, nuclear magnetic resonance, chemical oceanography, and medicinal chemistry. The Trace Analysis Research Centre (TARC) in the department of chemistry was one of the earliest centres of excellence , organized by the late Douglas Ryan, FCIC, and features the SLOWPOKE-2 research reactor. Other current research in TARC is on application of mass spec-trometry in bioanalytical chemistry, and chemometrics . The Atlantic Region Magnetic Resonance Centre (ARMRC) provides service and hands-on use of 500, 400, and 250 MHz spectrometers for the study of liquids and 700 and 400 MHz spectrometers for the study of solids. ARMRC serves scientists in the Maritime provinces and often cooper-ates with scientists outside the region. The Dalhousie Crystallographic Centre (DALX) organized by Stanley Cameron, provides structure determinations to researchers in the department and to collaborators around the world. The Institute for Research in Materials (IRM) is the newest of the research centres at Dalhousie, with a mandate in an area of emphasis for the university. IRM was organized, and is headed by Mary Anne White, FCIC, and spans materials research

in the faculties of science, engineering (the former Nova Scotia Technical College, then Technical University of Nova Scotia, then Daltech), medicine and dentistry. Special men-tion should also be made of Robert Ackman, FCIC, Canada’s most renowned expert on fats and oils and professor emeritus of food science in the faculty of engineering.

Many of Nova Scotia’s university chemists and chemistry research centres cooperate with other scientists in the Atlantic region, following a pattern set by the regional NRC laboratory, now known as the Institute for Marine Biosciences (IMB) and the Marine Chemistry Section of the department of Fisheries and Ocean’s renowned Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO). At IMB, many chemists will be familiar with the unique Certified Reference Materials Pro-gram, serving a worldwide clientele from the NRC laboratories, while the hydro carbon analysis methodology developed at the marine environmental division at BIO is renowned for its ability to identify oil slicks from ocean dumping by individual ships.

St. Mary’s University, a ten-minute walk from Dalhousie, is a mainly undergraduate institution with a strong chemistry program. It also boasts a very successful master’s pro-gram in applied science including a large environmental chemistry group. There are several very active researchers in the depart-ment, with significant external support and a number of cooperative research projects. The names familiar to readers will be Clive Elson, FCIC, an expert on chitin and chito-san, Keith Vaughan, MCIC, master of the triazenes and their relatives, Robert Singer, MCIC, known for green synthetic methods, and Marc Lamoureux, MCIC, in environmen-tal analytical chemistry.

The liberal arts and science universities of Nova Scotia include those rated highly in the yearly Macleans ranking of under-graduate universities. All these departments have faculty members well known for their teaching and mentoring skills. An impor-tant part of the mentoring experience is the supervision of undergraduate research. Their chemistry departments have many undergraduate majors, well prepared for graduate work. This makes them favourite stops for graduate recruiters, and over the years many of these students have gone on to graduate studies in chemistry in depart-ments across Canada.

Acadia University in Wolfville, NS, is about one hour’s drive from Halifax. It is proud of its “Acadia Advantage,” emphasizing the use of IT in all undergraduate classes. Acadia attracts students from across Canada seeking a liberal arts college in a small town. The best known chemist associated with Acadia is its president emeritus, Kelvin Ogilvie, FCIC, a Nova Scotia native who also “went down the road,” becoming a leading expert in nucleotide synthesis, who then returned to become president of his alma mater. There seems to be a tradition of chemists as presi-dent in Nova Scotia—at Acadia, older readers will remember president Beveridge, FCIC, and alumni will know that Gail Dinter Gottlieb , the current president, is a biochemist ; Howard Clark, FCIC, served as president of Dalhousie from 1986 to 1995.

Cape Breton University (formerly UCCB) combines traditional university programs with some usually taught in a community college. Its small chemistry program offers an under-graduate degree in chemistry, with strong encouragement for undergraduate research.

Mount Allison University, in Sackville, NB, shares with Acadia and St. Francis Xavier the high ranking of Maritime universities in the Mcleans poll for the mainly undergraduate institutions category. Although the university is located in New Brunswick, it is just a few kilometres across the Nova Scotia border. This, together with its excellent reputation in graduating chemistry majors, warrants its inclusion in this article together with their Nova Scotia counterparts. Current research strength in the department is in inorganic, organic, and theoretical chemistry.

Mount St. Vincent University, which started life as a school, then a college, then a university for women, has been co-ed for some years. It is still very small and nearly all its chemistry students are women. The department and its faculty collaborate closely with Dalhousie, presenting a joint honours program in chemistry. The faculty members each teach a wider range of classes than those of us at larger schools.

The department of chemistry at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, NS, has chosen to build on strengths in colloid science , organic, and inorganic synthesis, with additional research in applied analyti-cal chemistry, molecular spectroscopy, and theory. It has a reputation for sending a very strong contingent of undergraduate students


to the CSC conferences, many taking away prizes for their posters.

Nova Scotia has more universities and more students than its small population might seem to warrant. It has fewer industries and especially fewer chemical industries than might be expected, and we certainly would welcome many more—especially with the possibility of petrochemi-cal production based on offshore gas. Two companies important to the local economy but with worldwide reach are Sepracor and Ocean Nutrition, while among the analytical laboratories, Maxxam Analytics has a prime role in the region.

Maxxam Analytics is a privately held Cana-dian company with locations across Canada.

Its network of analytical testing laboratories provides analytical testing services to a wide variety of customers in the environmental, food, oil and gas, health, and forensic in-dustries. The Atlantic Canada division of Maxxam has laboratories in Sydney and Bed-ford, NS, and St. John’s, NL. In the Atlantic region, the largest and most extensive labo-ratory is located in Bedford, NS, headed by Murray Hartwell. This laboratory is home to a number of chemists with expertise in ana-lytical and environmental chemistry, and the company prides itself on its expertise in ultra-trace analysis by MS.

Sepracor Inc. is a research-based pharma-ceutical company dedicated to the discovery , development, and commercialization of innovative pharmaceutical products that are directed toward serving unmet medical needs. Sepracor’s corporate headquarters are located in Marlborough, MA. Sepracor operates a pilot plant and commercial manu-facturing facility for the production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), in Wind-sor, NS. Its drug development program has yielded an extensive portfolio of pharma-ceutical compound candidates with a focus on respiratory and central nervous system disorders. Among the company’s proprietary drugs are LUNESTA™ brand eszopiclone for the treatment of insomnia, XENOPEX® inhalation solution for the treatment of bron-chospasms, and the recently FDA approved XENOPEX HFA, a hydrofluoroalkane metered dose inhaler already targeted shortly for

commercial launch. Sepracor is also a strong supporter of the sciences in education in Canada through the sponsorship of lecture-ships, CSC student conferences, the Organic Division of the CSC, and the Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition .

Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd. (ONC) is home to North America’s largest privately owned marine research and development facility, which focuses on discovery of bioactives that can impact on cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, bone and joint health, and the immune system. The com-pany has research facilities in Dartmouth, NS, and production facilities in Mulgrave and Dartmouth. The company is a leading sup-plier of marine-based natural ingredients for the global dietary supplement and healthy food markets. The research and development team has discovered a number of novel pat-ented compositions such as Respondin ™ for balanced immune support and ONC-103 for pre-hypertension, and has patents pending for additional compositions and processes . It is a manufacturer of MEG-3™ brand Omega-3 EPA/DHA ingredients with excep-tional nutritional density. These marine oils have achieved certified U.S. FDA-affirmed GRAS status, and are the first and only in-gredients to achieve U.S. Pharmacopeia safety verification. Of particular mention is the patented technology to convert fish oils to dry powders by microencapsulation. These powders can then be added to a wide variety of food products. All ONC products are manufactured and packaged in facilities with pharmaceutical-level cGMP and HACCP certification .

Chemistry has a long history in Nova Scotia . Happily, our activities are growing every year, and our numbers are now too large to mention every active chemist in the province, as was done in previous articles on this topic. Certainly, chemistry in Nova Scotia is “charting a new course/vers de nouveaux horizons!”

Donald Hooper, FCIC, started his

career at Dalhousie University in 1966.

Recently retired, he taught organic

chemistry and organic identification

methods to many generations of students.

For many years he served as the manager

of Dalhousie’s Atlantic Region

Magnetic Resonance Centre.

Batch reactors for the production of intermediates and pharmaceuticals at Sepracor Canada�s plant in Windsor, NS

An aerial view of Ocean Nutrition�s production facilities for omega-3 fatty acids from fish oils in Mulgrave, NS

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Ontario Bill 133�Opposing Views

Last October, the Premier announced our intention to introduce leg-islation to create environmental penalties. We have delivered on that promise with Bill 133. The government has one objective in Bill 133. It is one shared by the people of Ontario and those who care about our environment—we want to reduce the number of spills in Ontario.

Our laws that require polluters to report spills, clean up spills, and compensate for losses caused by spills go a long way to providing sufficient reason for many companies to take the necessary steps to prevent spills. However, given the number of spills that still occur each year, it is also clear that threat of prosecution is not sufficient

The Environmental Enforcement Statute Law Amendment Act (EESLAA—Bill 133) was passed by the Ontario Legislature on June 9, 2005.

The controversial Bill 133 introduced legislation to create stiffer environmental penalties. The Honourable Leona Dombrowsky , former Ontario Minister of the Environment, stated that the threat of prosecution was not enough of a deterrent to persuade organizations to take spill prevention steps.

The Canadian Chemical Producers’ Association (CCPA) and their coalition partners believe that the proposed Bill was a poorly drafted piece of legislation, citing that as law, it will make it increasingly difficult and risky to do business in the province.

The position of the Ontario provincial government and the position of a CCPA member company, NOVA Chemicals, are printed below, in excerpts from major presentations by their executives. We encourage readers to share their viewpoints with our editor at [email protected].

Visit www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/techdocs/5290e.pdf for Technical Brief of the Environmental Enforcement Statute Law Amendment Act (Bill 133)—a guide that provides details on what is currently enforceable.

View the Act in its entirety at www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/DBLaws/Statutes/English/90e19_e.htm#BK253.Please note that the legislation is contained in Section 182.1.

“Subcommittee Report�Environmental Enforcement Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005

And in REGULATORY NEWS �


to inspire all companies to take the steps needed to prevent spills. More emphasis on spill prevention is required.

Each year, the ministry receives between 35,000 and 45,000 incident reports from the public. Of these, approximately 3,900 incidents in 2004 were classified as spills. Industrial facilities accounted for 1,062 of those spills. The companies that would be affected by environmental penalties accounted for almost 40 percent of reported industrial spills in 2004. However, when you consider the type of spills, these companies accounted for nearly 98 percent, by volume, of all reported liquid industrial spills in 2004. Given these statistics, you can see why we have used a risk-based approach to determine which sectors to target to get real environmental results more efficiently and effectively.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have maps avail-able. The first map is with regard to industrial spills in Ontario communities in 2003–2004, and the second map is with regard to spills in Ontario by MISA facilities in 2003–2004.

The current system sometimes leaves pro-vincial and municipal taxpayers footing the bill for cleaning up the impact of the spills. We can do better.

Every spill is a failure. It may be a failure of planning or a failure to take the right pre-cautionary measures. It may be a failure to comply with our environmental laws. Not every failure leads to a major crisis, but every failure can be addressed and prevented. That is what Bill 133 is designed to do.

We intend to improve our protection against environmental and human impacts, both in terms of encouraging companies to do more to prevent spills and to ensure fast, effective cleanup when mishaps do occur.

We have heard concerns about some aspects of Bill 133, and we have listened. Some of the concerns are about the structure of the new law: How will it be administered? Who will administer it? What can those who are penalized do if they seek to appeal? Other concerns are from those who say that we’ve not gone far enough, that we should be doing more to prevent spills rather than penalizing those who do spill.

Many of these concerns emerged through our consultations with stakeholders. We will hear more from stakeholders at these hear-ings as well, and I believe that at the end, they will be satisfied that the government has listened.

I will address the concerns here today and tell you how we propose to amend Bill 133. I will be tabling a number of motions to deal with these concerns through amendments to the bill, which will be going to the Legisla-ture for second reading.

Bill 133 would increase the tools available to us to bring companies into compliance.

Environmental penalties complement our ongoing abatement, investigation, and prosecution work. These environmental penalties are a fast, effective way to ensure that when you spill, you pay. Environmen-tal penalties will encourage companies to take action to prevent spills and to clean up a spill right away. All money collected from penalties will go to a dedicated com-munity cleanup fund and will be used for environmental cleanup purposes only. The maximum environmental penalty for corpo-rations will be $100,000 per day.

Environmental penalties are administra-tive penalties, not fines. This is why there will be absolute liability for a spill, should one occur.

Environmental penalties are not a new concept. Civil or administrative penalties are a part of the law in the U.S., under fed-eral environmental protection laws like the Clean Air Act, and under state laws, and they exist in other Canadian jurisdictions. In fact, many countries around the world use civil penalties for effective environmental compliance and enforcement …

… If Bill 133 is passed, the government intends to introduce regulations that will ensure that environmental penalties apply to the Ontario facilities covered by the municipal -industrial strategy for abatement regulations.

Presently, there are 139 MISA facilities in Ontario. If passed, Bill 133 will give the ministry and municipalities new powers to seek cleanup recovery costs from companies responsible for spills. Again, this enshrines the principle, “You spill, you pay.”

Since environmental penalties are admin-istrative, if a company decides to appeal the penalty, the onus of proof will be on it to show that the spill did not have the potential to harm the environment.

There are those who will claim that the reverse onus provision is a new principle. Clearly, it is not. One of the most common features of environmental protection laws is that when a company experiences an

environmental incident that may endanger public health or the environment, it must report it to government authorities.

This bill’s proposal that reverse onus applies to an appeal of an environmental penalty is the next logical step. If there is a spill at a company plant, then the company is in the best position to ensure that the spill is contained quickly, so that it does not violate environmental protection laws. The company can put in place the appropriate monitoring and contingency responses to ensure its discharges remain within legal limits. If the company wants to challenge a penalty that the government has imposed for a spill, then the company is best positioned to demonstrate why its spill did not break the law. We contend that it is good public policy to emphasize spill prevention and expedite the cleanup of a spill, to get it done and paid for as quickly as possible.

Let me outline the motions to amend Bill 133 that I will be proposing. Again, these emerged from our consultations with stake-holders. Our objective is to raise the bar on environmental protection; to have a law that will work better, be fair and, above all, be effective.

The first area of amendments deals with the clarification of some aspects of the bill. For example, to whom will environmental penalties be issued? If there is a spill, in what circumstances will an environmental pen-alty not be issued? Who can issue a penalty? What if a company tried to mitigate its spill or prevent it? Would such companies get a stiff penalty? I will move amendments to clarify these points. Let me go through them.

We will ensure that only a Ministry of the Environment director can impose an envi-ronmental penalty, not a provincial officer. We will clarify that environmental penalties shall only be imposed against the company and not against company officials or employ-ees. The objective is to promote spill preven-tion and to ensure fast cleanup of spills, not to penalize individuals. A company that receives an environmental penalty will not have that penalty taken as an admission of guilt in a subsequent prosecution.

We will also draft regulations that will ensure that a company’s actions to prevent, minimize, or clean up a spill will be taken into account when a penalty is considered. While officials will not be penalized, cor-porate directors and officers still have the


Two EnvironmentsJeffrey M. Lipton, president and CEO of NOVA Chemicals, delivered the keynote address at the annual meeting of the Sarnia Lambton Environmental Association in Ontario on May 18, 2005. Excerpts from the speech are provided below.

I’d like to take a few minutes to talk about two different environments in my remarks today—the physical environment that this group is focused on and the related political/regulatory environment in Ontario.

There is no doubt that we need to con-tinue to aggressively protect and nurture the physical environment we live and work in—the air, water, and land we all want to enjoy. On the other hand, in the political and regulatory arena, industry in Ontario is struggling in an unfriendly and unreliable environment that needs to change.

Specifically, I’ll talk about two problems that we need to work with the provincial government to solve—something called Bill 133 and the reliability of electrical power supply.

I believe the consequences of the paths the province is currently on for both of these issues are extremely unattractive for all of the people of Sarnia Lambton because it will hurt local industry, reduce the availability of jobs, and potentially harm our physical environ-ment as well.

The plastics and chemical industry recognized many years ago that simply relying on operating costs alone to drive good decision making for the environment and for the health, safety, and security of our employees and neighbours isn’t good enough. A group of forward-thinking men and women in Canada —many of them right here in Sarnia —got together and in 1985 cre-ated something very powerful—the Chemi-cal Industry Responsible Care program.

“ Responsible Care™ is a rigorous framework for driving improvement in health, safety, security , and environmental protection.

Membership in Responsible Care provides companies with practical management systems for continuous improvement—and importantly—benchmarks to compare our per-formance against other leading companies.

We continue to push ourselves to perform better every day. We believe it’s the only responsible way to do business.

In economic terms, our industry perfor-mance is also pretty impressive. Plastics and chemicals are a $47 billion business in Can-ada and $21 billion of that total is in Ontario.

Total exports for our industry are $15 billion making chemicals the second largest Canadian exporter behind only the automotive industry.

It’s very clear that our industry is impor-tant to the Canadian, and of course, the local Sarnia economy.

However, the tax and regulatory environ-ment in Ontario has grown more onerous and the electrical power infrastructure has grown dramatically less reliable. The result is that virtually all of the recent growth in the Canadian plastics and chemical indus-try has taken place elsewhere, particularly in Alberta.

The province of Alberta supports growth, understands the value of our industry and tries to support us rather than attack us.

Despite the real performance improvements we have delivered and our commitment to collaboration, the province of Ontario treats us like the enemy.

In 2004 and early 2005, we went through the experience of having so-called SWAT teams from the Ministry of the Environment descend on our sites. These teams arrived at our Sarnia-area manufacturing plants in bat-tle gear, including flak jackets in some cases. And of course, they made sure they got lots of publicity.

You can imagine how that felt to have people arrive at our plants wearing flak jackets . I was personally insulted and many people at NOVA felt the same way.

Our employees and our industry deserve better than to be used as a public relations prop by the government. We have improved every aspect of our performance and we are committed to continuously improve the way we operate.

We provide outstanding jobs for our em-ployees, for service providers, and for the construction industry in every community we work in. And, we get outstanding cooperation everywhere we work—except Ontario.

According to published reports, this SWAT team publicity exercise cost the prov-ince approximately half a million dollars and occupied 30 SWAT team members for 11 months while they inspected 35 plants in the area.

And I’d like to quote the SWAT team report following the inspection of the chemical industry’s 35 very complex operation —“the sweep did not identify any immediate impacts of non-compliance lead-ing to concerns about human health or the environment .”

responsibility to ensure their corporations comply with the province’s environmental protection laws. We will be introducing a motion that will require directors and offi-cers to ensure that corporations satisfy their duty to notify the ministry of spills and to clean up after the spill.

I will also move to amend Bill 133 so it states clearly that a court shall consider the payment of an environmental penalty

in determining the amount of a fine. In response to stakeholder comments, we plan to introduce a motion that will require those industries specified in regulations to prepare spill contingency prevention plans.

I hope that, in the time this committee meets, we will hear more constructive ideas from members and deputants. Together we will make Bill 133 a better law, provid-ing better environmental protection for

Ontarians . Ladies and gentlemen, spills do happen. If passed, Bill 133 will become law in Ontario, and it will be clear—you spill, you pay.

Statement by the (former) Minister of the Environment

Leona DombrowskyMay 12, 2005

”


Let me be perfectly clear—we’re always looking for ways to improve and we’re anxious to work with the authorities wherever we operate . They are always welcome at our plants. However, when they show up wear-ing flak jackets and with TV crews in tow, we question whether their agenda is really about improving the environment.

Another example of this open hostility toward Ontario industry is the proposed Environmental Enforcement Statute Law Amendment Act known as Bill 133.

Our concern about Bill 133 is widely shared among the industrial community in Ontario.

Naturally, we are committed to the prin-ciple that all polluters should pay to clean up the damage they cause. We believe that good environmental protection and safety practices are not just good for Ontario—they are also good for business.

However, we and our coalition partners believe Bill 133 is a poorly drafted piece of legislation that puts the legal rights of Ontario firms, their employees, directors, and officers at risk.

For example, the Bill limits the availability of due diligence as a defense against accidents and assumes we are guilty until proven innocent.

The prospect of being punished without fault for accidental occurrences and of living with legislation that intentionally blurs the line between what is permitted and what is unacceptable will make it increasingly diffi-cult and risky to do business in the province.

I believe the Bill would also have serious unintended impacts on Ontario’s economy and further undermine the cooperation between business and the government that is critical to promoting good environmental stewardship.

In my view, the thrust of Bill 133 is directly opposite to the recommendation of the recent Industrial Pollution Action Team report that exhorted the government of Ontario to work more closely with industry, and to use more of its available tools to provide incentives to industry to utilize new technologies and to voluntarily go “beyond compliance.”

I’d also like to talk about another component of the weakening manufacturing industry environment in Ontario and that is unreliable electrical power.

A reliable supply of electricity is the under-pinning of most manufacturing operations , but it is absolutely critical for the chemical industry, and as a result, it is crucial to the sustained economic viability of NOVA Chemi-cals and our peers in this region .

However, our recent experience shows that we’re a long way from having a power supply we can count on. The theoretical risk of a total loss of power in this area was defined as once every 40 years by a technical study jointly done by Hydro One and NOVA in 2003.

Our Sarnia facilities have experienced loss of power five times in the last five years, causing serious safety and environmental concerns and a total economic loss that we estimate at close to $60 million.

The interruption on April 16, the second recent outage apparently caused by a grass fire under Hydro One transmission lines, lasted about 17 seconds. We estimate the cost to our business of that 17 second outage will be approximately $25 to $30 million.

Hydro One and the province of Ontario simply must supply ample, cost-effective electrical power to industrial customers in a totally reliable way. We can understand one failure in 40 years—five in the last five years is totally unacceptable.

I was pleased to learn of Energy Minister Duncan’s remarks on May 2nd indicating that he agrees that the biggest challenge facing the electricity sector in Ontario lies in addressing transmission and distribution issues.

Now that we have heard that acknowledge-ment, we hope to see some action soon to improve reliability.

You have heard me talk about our experience at NOVA Chemicals and some of the issues that are on our minds—the SWAT teams, Bill 133, and unreliable electrical power. But it is vital for all of us as the representatives of industry and this community to speak with a common voice to ensure our concerns and the benefits we represent are understood. We collectively need to advocate loudly and clearly for a more positive business environment .

We need to argue for thoughtful assessment and rational management of real risk instead of only thinking about potential hazards. And most importantly we must help point out the rewards the world gets from the science of chemistry beyond just the direct economic benefits.

Remaining silent in the face of the politically charged environmental and health issues of the day does the world no good. So I urge each of you to take on some responsibil-ity to help clarify, educate, or just raise good questions when our industry, or any industry, is attacked and made into a scapegoat—out of fear or politics and not sound science.

We at NOVA Chemicals look forward to playing a role in solving our problems in Ontario.

President and CEO of NOVA Chemicals

Jeffrey M. Lipton

May 18, 2005

”

WHAT DO YOU THINK?S e n d y o u r c o m m e n t s t o e d i t o r i a l @ a c c n . c a .


IUPAC incoming president Bryan Henry, FCIC; vice-president elect Kazuko Matsumoto ; and secretary general David StC. Black

Megane Rosborough and Peter Mahaffy, FCIC (vice-chair of the Committee on Chemistry Education and chair of Public Understanding of Chemistry)

IUPAC’s 43rd General Assembly in Beijing, China, in August 2005 was the first to be held in Asia and ran concurrently with the World Chem-istry Congress organized around the theme “Innovation in Chemistry.” The Congress, organized by the Chinese Chemical Society and the Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attracted approximately 1,100 attendees from around the world, with large representation from China and other Asian countries .

The opening of the General Assembly (GA) featured an address from IUPAC outgoing president Leiv Sydnes and the awarding of the 2004 and 2005 IUPAC Prizes for Young Chemists. Over the next ten days, 411 participants from 52 countries took part in a demand-ing schedule of committee and division meetings. Young observers from nine countries, including three Canadians, added vitality and a valuable perspective to the sessions in which they participated.

CIC BULLETIN ICC

Following previous GAs, several young observers have become directly involved in IUPAC.

One of the highlights of the GA was the World Chemistry Leadership Meeting (WCLM) that brings together national leaders from chemical societies, chemical industry federations, and other organizations to discuss current issues in chemistry that have a potential international impact. The WCLMs are intended to encourage future IUPAC involve-ment in issues where the union is in a unique position to provide sup-port to the chemical community. The focal point of the meeting was a well-received talk on “Chemistry in Asia” by Goverdhan Mehta of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and the incoming president of the International Council for Science . Among the issues he discussed were the increase in chemistry research in Asia, the pivotal role for chemistry in sustainable development, environmental concerns re-lated to chemical industry, and Asia’s growing share of chemical trade. Mehta’s presentation was followed by a wide-ranging discussion of the challenges and opportunities for chemistry in the century ahead.

A joint meeting of three IUPAC committees focused on the public understanding of chemistry. The centrepiece of the meeting was the presentation of a preliminary report by Peter Mahaffy, FCIC, and his team on “Chemists and the Public: IUPAC’s Role in Achieving Mutual Understanding.” Mahaffy’s forceful presentation focused on the con-structive and destructive interactions between the general public and IUPAC’s public. As he explained, the purpose of the project was to ask where IUPAC got it right and what needs improvement.

A stellar example of IUPAC’s far-reaching impact was a workshop organized by the Committee on Chemistry and Industry that brought together eight recent fellows of the Training Program for Safety and Environmental Protection to share their experiences. Through this program , operated jointly with UNESCO and UNIDO, individuals responsible for safety and environmental protection in developing countries are given free training at a major chemical facility. Fellows from Egypt, Nigeria, Turkey, Kenya, and Uruguay relayed inspiring stories of how they used their training to create safety programs in environments where safety is often a secondary consideration at best.

The General Assembly concluded with a Council meeting at which Kazuko Matsumoto of Japan was elected vice-president (president elect) for 2006–2007. Upon stepping in as president in 2008, she will become the second president from Japan and the first woman presi-dent since the Union was established in 1919. Canada will continue to play a key role in IUPAC during the next few years as Bryan Henry, University of Guelph, becomes president of IUPAC this month. The final business of the Council was to approve a proposal to hold the 2009 Congress and General Assembly in Glasgow, Scotland.

Additional photos and information from the November issue of Chem-istry International are available at www.iupac.org/publications /ci/.

IUPAC�S 43RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY


CSChE BULLETIN SCGCh

CSChE/AIChE to Produce White Paper on LNG

Joe Cramer, AIChE director of technical programming, and Roland Andersson, MCIC, CIC executive director, share a light moment in Cincinnati , OH, during the AIChE fall meeting. They discussed the draft white paper produced from the joint AIChE/CSChE liquefied natural gas workshop, “The Environmental and Safety Agenda,” held in Vancouver , BC, in September 2005. The boards of directors of each society must approve the white paper before it becomes a public document .

World Chemical Engineering Council Executive Meets

Basil “Bill” Doumas (centre) chairs the October 31, 2005 World Chemi-cal Engineering Council executive committee meeting in Cincinnati, OH. Major agenda topics included the publication of “Beyond the Petrochemical Frontier—the contribution of chemical engineers to a sustainable future,” and the 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineer-ing in Montréal, QC, August 23–27, 2009. Philippe Tanguy, MCIC, 8th Congress chair, and Roland Andersson, MCIC, CIC executive director, represented the CSChE at the meeting.


CANADIAN SOCIETY FOR CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY BOARD OF DIRECTORS NOMINEES 2006�2008

President 2006�2008

Joffre M. Berry, MCICBritish Columbia Institute of Technology

Joffre M. Berry received his BSc in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, and a doctorate in chemistry and post-doctoral fellowship from The University of British Columbia . Today he heads the Environ-mental Chemistry and Waste Management Program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and is an adjunct professor in the department of kinesiology at Simon Fraser University.

Berry is also president of JMB Research Ltd., an environmental consulting firm, where he

has managed numerous scientific projects and has applied research programs in the areas of organic chemistry, environmental chemistry, and waste management.

Vice-President 2006�2008

Ovie Ekewenu, MCICCanadian Intellectual Property Office

Ovie Ekewenu completed a BSc in chemistry in 1992 and a MSc in organic chemistry in 1995. He also completed another MSc in environmental science from Memorial University of Newfoundland in May 2000.

Ekewenu has over 13 years of relevant work experience in industry, research,

The nominating committee, chaired by Brian Kohler, MCIC, of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, for the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology (CSCT), appointed under the terms of CSCT bylaws Article V, bylaw III—Officers and Directors, Section 2, has proposed the candidates listed below to serve as CSCT Officers and Directors for the terms indicated. Further nominations must be submitted in writing with the signed consent of the nominee

to serve if elected and must be signed by no fewer than ten members in good standing.

The deadline for receipt of any additional nominations is Monday, February 6, 2006. Those elected, whether by ballot or acclamation, will take office immediately following the annual general meeting of the CSCT in Calgary, AB, on Friday, March 24, 2006.

and government organizations. He also participates actively in various chemical pro-fessional organizations in Canada. He was eastern director of professional development for the Canadian Society for Chemical Tech-nology (CSCT) from 2004–2006. Ekewenu is a chartered chemist and the Ottawa District Councillor for the Association of the Chemical Profession of Ontario (ACPO). He currently resides in Ottawa and works as a patent examiner in the Chemical Division of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, an agency of Industry Canada.

Directors 2006�2009

Kevin Ferris, MCICFerris Chemicals Limited

Kevin Ferris received his BSc (majoring in chemistry, mathematics, and statistics) in 1988 from the University of New Brunswick. He also received a chemical technology di-ploma from the New Brunswick Community College in Saint John, in 1993 with honours.

After working for a short period in R&D and the oil refining and pulp and paper industries , Ferris decided that he would like to create his own chemical company. Thus,

CSCT BULLETIN SCTC


Ferris Chemicals and Consulting was cre-ated in 1995. Its original focus was pulp and paper testing reagent production and analyt-ical testing for customers in the Maritimes. In 1999, the company was incorporated as Ferris Chemicals Limited. With this came more of a focus on chemical production and less on testing (although they still have a few select groups of clients). The company cur-rently produces and supplies reagents for all areas of chemistry for customers all across Canada. The company’s quality system is based on ISO 9001:2000.

Ferris Chemicals also manufactures a line of personal care and cleaning products (Free & CleanTM) for individuals who are chemi-cally sensitive or have sensitivities to smell. The current product line includes laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, shampoo , body wash, liquid, hand soap, and hand and body lotion. Ferris is a member of the American Chemical Society, the UNB Alumni Association , and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

Chris Meintzer, MCICNorthern Alberta Institute of Technology

Chris Meintzer has been an instructor in the chemical technology program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, AB, for the past 20 years. He has served as program head (1993–1998) and presently serves as the faculty advisor to the Chemi-cal Technology Students Club. He has also helped his Student Chapter organize and host the 2nd and 4th Western Canada CSCT Student Symposia.

Meintzer obtained a PhD in physical organic chemistry at the University of Alberta in 1984. Since then, he has worked

at, provided contract work for, or been on industrial leave at the Alberta Research Council , Syncrude Canada Ltd., Guardian Chemicals, and Shell Canada. All of these po-sitions involved close contact with chemical technologists working in their field. In 1996, he was awarded the Novacor Chemicals Ltd. Award for Outstanding Chemistry Teaching in Community and Technical Colleges.

Samantha Waytowich, MCICTRW Occupant Safety Systems

Samantha Waytowich obtained a BASc from the University of Guelph before graduating from the chemical engineering technology program at Mohawk College, Hamilton, ON. Since graduation, Waytowich has been working in the automotive industry as both a process technologist and a Six Sigma black belt. Currently, she is employed as a black belt within TRW’s Occupant Safety System Division. In this role, she works as a problem solver on high-impact production problems in the business. The Midland Division is a metal stamping and chemical electroplating facility that supplies seatbelt and airbag com-ponents to the automotive market.

CSCT BULLETIN SCTC

CANADIAN SOCIETY FOR CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY 2005 AWARD WINNER

LAURÉAT DE PRIX 2005 DE LA SOCIÉTÉ CANADIENNE DE TECHNOLOGIE CHIMIQUE

The Norman and Marion Bright AwardLe prix Norman et Marion Bright

Sponsored by / Parrainé parThe Norman and Marion Bright Fund

The Norman and Marion Bright Award is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions in Canada to the furtherance of chemical technology .

Le prix Norman et Marion Bright est remis à un individu qui a contribué de façon brillante à l’avancement de la technologie chimique au Canada.

Eric Mead, FCICDepartment of chemical technologySIAST, Kelsey Campus

Eric Mead was born in Saskatoon, SK, and completed all of his education there. He graduated from the University of Saskatch-ewan in 1965 with a BA (chemistry) and an


CSCT BULLETIN SCTC

The Toronto CIC Local Section Student Awards Night took place on October 27, 2005, at York University. Award winners and guests were welcomed to the event by Donald Hastie, MCIC, chair of the department of chemistry. After the awards had been presented, everyone enjoyed an excellent talk about “Chemistry—the Fundamental Discipline” by A. B. P. Lever, FCIC, Distinguished Research Professor (Emeritus) at York University. The Toronto Section would like to thank the department of chemistry at York for hosting this event, Robert McLaren, MCIC, and Carol Weldon for their help with the arrangements, and Xueping Gong who took the photographs . The Section would also like to thank the following companies who supported the event—Acerna Inc., Alphora Research Inc., Dalton Pharma Services, Dominion Colour Corpora-tion, Innovation Canada Inc., Maxxam Analytics Inc., National Silicates, Rhodia Canada Inc.

Constituent Society Silver Medal WinnersIwona Antczak, CSCT (Sheridan Institute of Advanced Learning)David Boyadjian, CSCT (Durham College)Callah Burton, CSCT (Durham College)Camille Correia, CSC (Centennial College)Caroline J. D’Arcy, CSCT (Centennial College)Akos Kokai, CSC (University of Toronto)Yevgeniya Kravtsova, CSC (University of Toronto at Mississauga)Daniel Majonis, CSC (York University)Kathy McDonnell, CSCT (Durham College)Jeffery McGinnis, CSCT (Humber Institute of Technology)Bich Tram Nguyen Pham, CSC (Ryerson University)Sanjeev Ramesar, CSChE (Ryerson University)Craig Thompson, CSCT (Durham College)Constatin Togias, CSCT (Senecca College)Jamie Tung, CSCT (Seneca College)Leah Marianne Windisch, CSChE (University of Toronto)Carolyn Louise Winsborough, CSCT (Sheridan Institute of Advanced Learning)

TORONTO STUDENT AWARDS NIGHT 2005Toronto CIC Local Section Student Award Winners (2005) with A. B. P. Lever, FCIC (centre)

MSc (chemistry) in 1973. Between degrees, he worked with the Ontario Water Resources Commission in Toronto and London, ON. After completing his graduate work, he started a 32-year career as a chemical tech-nology instructor with SIAST Kelsey Campus in Saskatoon.

Mead has been a member of the CIC for over 30 years and has been on the Board of the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology as a director, vice-president, president, and past president between 1994 and 2001. In 2001, he was elected as the vice-chair of the CIC and became chair in 2002. He has been the CSCT faculty advisor at Kelsey since joining the staff.

He helped to set up the link between the CSCT and the Canadian Technology Accreditation Board and served as the CSCT representative to that Board for five years. He also chaired CTAB teams to review and accredit four chemical and chemical engineering technology programs in New Brunswick and Alberta. During his career, he has been given the Polysar Award for Chemistry Teaching in Canadian Community Colleges , was elected as a Fellow of the CIC, and been honoured by his employer with an Outstanding Service Award.

LOCAL SECTION NEWS NOUVELLES DES SECTIONS LOCALES


LOCAL SECTION NEWS NOUVELLES DES SECTIONS LOCALES

Toronto CIC Local Section Book Prize Winners

Katrina Ahchong (York University)Ken Bowerman (Durham College)Subinder Chadha (Seneca College)Gita Chander (Sheridan Institute of Advanced Learning)Neal Clarkson (Durham College)Liliana Cordoba (Sheridan Institute of Advanced Learning)Jessica Marie Currie (University of Toronto)Nicole DeSouza (Humber Institute of Technology)Genevieve Grenier (University of Toronto at Mississauga)Luke Hazlett (Ryerson University)Spencer Hoskin (Durham College)Minou Jhin (University of Toronto)

Chevohn L. Joseph (Centennial College)Ryan Massay (University of Toronto at Scarborough)Xavier Regent (Ryerson University)Jessica Rossi (Seneca College)Sashalee Scott (Durham College

High School Awards

Adam Lerer, Bronze medal at the International Chemistry Olympiad , 2005Wenxin Xue, National Winner of the National High School Chemistry Exam, 2005Tiberiu Moga, Second place in Ontario in the National High School Chemistry Exam, 2005

On October 27, 2005, the Montréal CIC Local Section began its revitalization process by hosting its first event. Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment, spoke to a packed house of profes-sionals and students at McGill University’s Otto Maas Building on “Linking a Healthy Environment to Competitive Economy.”

The Montréal CIC Local Section is looking for new mem-bers for its executive . If you are interested in participating, please contact Constantin Nedea, MCIC, at 514-227-1891 or [email protected].

STÉPHANE DION ENERGIZES MONTRÉAL CIC SECTION

The Honourable Stéphane Dion

Dion interacts with students at McGill University.

CIC executive members held discussions with Dion over dinner.


STUDENT NEWS NOUVELLES DES ÉTUDIANTS

The Student Chapter Merit Awards are offered as a means of recognizing and encouraging initiative and originality

in Student Chapter programming in the areas of chemistry, chemical technology, and chemical engineering.

DeadlinesApril 1 for Canadian Society for Chemistry

April 1 for Canadian Society for Chemical Technology June 1 for Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering

AwardsThe awards consist of an engraved plaque to be retained

by the winning Chapter and lapel pins for executive members of the Chapter. Also, where appropriate,

Honourable Mentions may be given to other Student Chapters by the Selection Committees.

NominationThe Chapter should prepare its own nomination and

provide an electronic report that includes:• indication of both scientific and social events

over the entire twelve-month period; • elaborate on what are considered the most

important activities;• Chapter statistics, including the total number

of active members;• level of participation and interest in each activity;

• photos or other material may be included.

Submit nominations electronically to the CIC Student Affairs Manager at [email protected].

Les prix du mérite des chapitres étudiants sont offerts afin de reconnaître et d’encourager l’esprit d’initiative et de créativité dans la programmation des activités des chapitres étudiants, que ce soit dans les domaines de la chimie, du génie chimique ou de la technologie chimique.

Dates d’échéanceLe 1er avril pour la Société canadienne de chimieLe 1er avril pour la Société canadienne de technologie chimiqueLe 1er juin pour la Société canadienne de génie chimique

Les prixLes prix consisteront d’une plaque que conservera le chapitre gagnant et d’épingles de revers pour les membres exécutifs du chapitre étudiant. De plus, les comités de sélection décerneront, s’il y a lieu, des mentions honorables aux autres chapitres étudiants .

NominationLe chapitre étudiant devrait préparer sa propre nomination et fournir un rapport électronique comprenant les éléments suivants :• les événements à caractère scientifique et social qui se

sont tenus au cours de la période de 12 mois; • présenter de façon détaillée les événements considérés

les plus importants; • les données statistiques du chapitre, y compris le nombre

de membres actifs; • le niveau d’intérêt et de participation pour chaque activité; • photos ou tout autre matériel jugé utile.

Envoyez votre rapport à la directrice des affaires étudiantes de l’ICC à [email protected].

PRIX DU MÉRITE DES CHAPITRES ÉTUDIANTSMANDAT

STUDENT CHAPTER MERIT AWARD

TERMS OF REFERENCE


2005 Student Chapter Merit Award Winners

Canadian Society for ChemistryUniversity of Calgary, Chemistry Student Chapter

Canadian Society for Chemical EngineeringMcMaster University, Chemical Engineering Club

Canadian Society for Chemical TechnologyFirst Place: Mohawk College Honourable Mention: SIAST, Kelsey Campus

2006 CSC Regional Student Conferences

The CSC hosts four regional conferences annually for undergraduate students.

March 18, 200634th Southwestern Ontario Undergraduate Student Chemistry Conference (SOUSCC), York University, Toronto, ON, For more infor-mation, visit www.chem.yorku.ca or contact Robert McLaren at [email protected].

May 4–6, 2006Western Undergraduate Student Chemistry Conference, King’s University College and the University of Alberta , Edmonton, AB. For more information visit www.kingsu.ca/wcucc or contact [email protected].

May 18–20, 2006ChemCon2006 (31st CIC-APICS Undergradu-ate Chemistry Conference), Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB. For more informa-tion visit www.mta.ca/chemcon06/ or contact Daniel Beach at [email protected].

Le 27 octobre 2006Colloque annuel des étudiants et étudiantes de 1er cycle en chimie , Université de Sher-brooke, Sherbrooke , QC. Contactez Pierre Harvey à [email protected].

STUDENT NEWS NOUVELLES DES ÉTUDIANTS

Canada

Conferences

February 22–23, 2006. Canadian Nuclear Industry Seminar, “Nuclear’s Path Forward —Building for Tomorrow,” Ottawa, ON, visit http://cna.ca/pdf/CNA-06_BroElctrEN_(eBk)_Dec6.pdf for registration discounts

May 9–12, 2006. Climate Change Conference, Ottawa, ON, www.ccc2006.ca

May 15–17, 2006. EnviroAnalysis 2006—Sixth Biennial Conference on Monitoring and Measurement of the Environment , Toronto, ON, www.enviroanalysis.ca

May 25–27, 2006. College Chemistry Canada (C3), Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, www.c3.douglas.bc.ca

May 27–31, 2006. 89th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition , Halifax, NS, www.csc2006.ca

July 23–28, 2006. 23rd International Carbohydrate Symposium, Whistler , BC, www.ics2006.org

October 15–18, 2006. 56th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference , Sherbrooke, QC, www.csche2006.ca

May 26–30, 2007. 90th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition,Winnipeg, MB, www.chimiste.ca/conferences/cic_calendar__e.htm

October 28–31, 2007. 57th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference , Edmonton, AB, www.chemeng.ca/conferences/csche_annual__e.htm

October 19–22, 2008. 58th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference , Ottawa, ON, www.chemeng.ca/conferences/csche_annual__e.htm

August 23–29, 2009. 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering and 59th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference , Montréal, QC, www.chemengcongress2009.com

U.S. and Overseas

June 26–29, 2006. Balticum Organicum Syntheticum 2006 (BOS06), Tallinn, Estonia, contact: Krista Voigt, chemistry department , Queen’s University, [email protected], www.bos06.ttu.ee

August 27–30, 2006. 11th APCChE Congress, Asian Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineering, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , www.apcche2006.org

EVENTS ÉVÉNEMENTS


ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN ORGANIC

CHEMISTRY / POSTE DE PROFESSEUR

ADJOINT EN CHIMIE. Université de

Sherbrooke (QC-Canada). All areas of

organic chemistry will be considered,

but those specializing in bioorganic or

physical organic chemistry will be given

preference. Candidates with a Ph.D. de-

gree in chemistry are invited to send

their cv, a description of their teaching

interests, a detailed research proposal

and 3 reference letters at the address

below. / Tous les domaines de la chimie

organique seront considérés. Cepen-

dant, les candidatures démontrant une

spécialisation en chimie bio-organique

ou physico-organique sont préférées.

Les candidat(e)s détenant un Ph.D. en

chimie sont invites à envoyer leur cv, une

description de leurs intérêts en ensei-

gnement, un programme de recherche

détaillé et 3 lettres de références au:

Doyen, Fac. Sciences, Offre #05-6-05-26, Univ. de Sherbrooke, 2500 boul. Université, Sherbrooke (Qc) Canada J1K 2R1.

For further details, go to / Pour plus de

détails, consulter: www.usherbrooke.

ca/srh/offres_sans_postul.html,

professeurs, offre # 05-6-05-26.

CAREERS CARRIÈRES


CAREERS CARRIÈRES

The Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering of the University of British Columbia invites applications for a tenure-track appointment at the Assistant Professor level starting July 1, 2006, or soon thereafter. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in Chemi-cal Engineering or a closely related field, and have a strong commitment to high quality undergraduate and graduate teaching in core areas of chemical and biological engineer-ing. Relevant industrial experience would be an asset and eligibility for registration as a Professional Engineer is a requirement.

The successful candidate must possess the skills, background and motivation needed to build an independent, externally funded research program of international recognition in the area of process control. Exceptional candidates in process simulation and design will also be considered.

Applications, including curriculum vitae, a short statement of teaching and research interests, and the names and addresses of at least three references, should be sent to:

Dr. Kevin J. Smith, HeadDepartment of Chemical and Biological EngineeringThe University of British Columbia2360 East MallVancouver, B.C.Canada, V6T 1Z3

The deadline for receipt of applications is February 15, 2006. The position is subject to final budgetary approval.

The University of British Columbia hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. We encourage all qualified persons to apply. However, Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority.

The Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia offers undergraduate programs leading to the B.A.Sc. degree in Chemical Engi-neering, with options in Environmental and Process Engineering, and the B.A.Sc. degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering. Graduate programs leading to the degrees of M.Eng., M.A.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. are offered in several important areas of chemical and biological engineering. The Department has recently occupied a new 10,000 m2 building with excellent teaching and research facilities. The Department has close connections with U.B.C. interdisciplinary centres such as the Clean Energy Research Center, the Michael Smith Laboratories, the Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory , and the Pulp and Paper Centre.

Details about the Department and its current research programs are available at http://www.chml.ubc.ca.

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIADEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING

We are currently looking for a dynamic and independent Synthetic Chemist. This position requires strong interpersonal and communication skills, leadership and teamwork.

As a PhD you must have at least 5+ years hands-on laboratory experience in synthetic chemistry within an industrial environment. The candidate must possess excellent synthetic organic chemistry skills. Must have a proven track record of successfully managing teams of scientists on challenging projects with tight deadlines and demonstrate excellent supervisory capabilities. Candidates with ex-perience in synthesizing libraries of small molecules will be given preference. Must have excellent communication skills both verbal and written and must be proficient at generating written technical reports.

Our culture is based on professionalism, honesty, integrity and excellence .

Dalton offers full service capabilities in drug development and manufacturing , including peptide synthesis and sterile fill of finished products in our world class GMP facilities.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits. For further information on our company please visit

www.dalton.comPlease email resumes to: [email protected] While we appreciate all applications received, only those selected

for an interview will be contacted.

Synthetic Chemist

College of Arts & Sciencewww.arts.usask.ca

Department of Chemistry � Organic ChemistryThe Department of Chemistry invites applications for a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor rank. Applicants are sought with research interests in organic chemistry.

The Department offers access to state-of-the-art facilities (600 MHz and three 500 MHz NMR instruments, MS, MS-MS, X-ray diffractometers , fs and ps lasers, and a suite of equipment for biomacromolecular research) through the Saskatchewan Structural Sciences Center (http://www.usask.ca/sssc) and the University is home to the Canadian Light Source (http://www.cls.usask.ca), a seven-minute walk from the Chemistry Department. Information on the department can be found at http://www.usask.ca/chemistry/.

The Department of Chemistry is committed to increasing the number of female faculty and woman are especially encouraged to apply. The review of applications will commence February 28, 2006 with appoint-ment as early as July 1, 2006. Applications will be considered until the position is filled, but those received by February 28, 2006 will receive first consideration.

Applicants should provide a curriculum vitae, list of publications, summary of research and teaching interests, a detailed research pro-posal including an indication of equipment needs and costs, and should arrange to have at least three confidential letters of reference sent on their behalf to:

Chair, Appointments Search CommitteeDepartment of ChemistryUniversity of Saskatchewan110 Science PlaceSaskatoon SK S7N 5C9Fax: (306) 966-4730Email: [email protected]

The University of Saskatchewan is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan , a city with a diverse and thriving economic base, a vibrant arts community and a full range of leisure opportunities.

The University has a reputation for excellence in teaching, research and scholarly activities, and offers a full range of undergraduate , graduate, and professional programs to a student population of about 20,000. The university is one of Canada’s leading research-intensive universities. The College of Arts & Science offers a dynamic combination of programs in the humanities and fine arts, the social sciences and the sciences. There are over 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students in the College and 325 faculty, including 14 Canada Research Chairs. The College emphasizes student and faculty research , interdisciplinary programs, community outreach and international opportunities.

Successful candidates will demonstrate excellence or promise of excellence in teaching and graduate supervision. They will be expected to develop a vigorous, externally-funded research program.

The University of Saskatchewan is committed to employment equity , welcomes diversity in the workplace, and encourages appli-cations from all qualified individuals, including women, members of visible minorities, Aboriginal persons, and persons with disabilities. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian and permanent residents will be given priority.

CAREERS CARRIÈRES


The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering (CJChE) publishes original research, new theoretical interpretations and critical reviews in the science or industrial practice of chemical and biochemical engineering or applied chemistry. The CJChE has an eighty-year successful history of producing high-quality, cutting-edge research.

The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering can now accept your manuscript submissions on-line.

Published on a non-profit basis by the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, the CJChE welcomes submissions of original research articles in the broad field of chemical engineering and its applications.

The CJChE publishes six issues per year. Each volume contains fully reviewed articles, notes, or reviews.

From the new on-line submissions site: (a) authors can submit their manuscript electronically (MS Word file, TeX file, or PDF file) and track its status as it goes through the review process; and (b) reviewers should be able to check out the manuscripts for review and then submit their reviews electronically.

www.cjche.ca /submiss ion ins t r uc t ions.h tm

The Canadian Journal

of Chemical Engineering

Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering

40 L�ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE NOVEMBRE/DÉCEMBRE 2005


Canadian Society

for Chemistry

! View and pay your annual membership renewal notice on-line (Please note that this is only available if no changes are required on your renewal form. Should you need

to make changes to your renewal, you will need to indicate them on a printed copy and mail or fax it in.)

! Update your own personal profile

! Perform an on-line membership search

We want to help simplify your busy schedule with our on-line services, restricted to members only. Ensure your current e-mail address has been entered on your “Profile” page.

To access on-line renewal and member services, click this link or type the URL https://secure.cheminst.ca in your browser. For the protection of your personal information, the on-line membership services are restricted to CIC members only, and you will be asked to logon your own personal secure account with a username and password.

The “username” is composed of the first letter of your first name and the five (or less for short surnames) first letters of your surname. The middle name is not used (e.g. “John A. Dalton” would become: jdalto or “N. Stephen Bohr” would become: nbohr).

The “password” is your CIC membership reference number, which you can find written on all correspondence from the CIC (e.g. 223 or 27890). Once you have logged on the first time, you will be required to change your password to something other than your membership number. If you ever forget your password, you have the option to request your password to be reset to your membership number.

If you experience any difficulty, please call CIC Membership Services between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST at our toll-free number 1-888-542-2242, ext. 230, or e-mail [email protected].

The CIC values your privacy and encourages membership networking .

The Chemical Institute of Canada, 130 Slater Street, Suite 550, Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 Fax: (613) 232-5862

Canadian Society

for Chemical Engineering

Canadian Society

for Chemical Technology

The Chemical Institute of Canada

O N L I N E S E R V I C E S

ADVERTISEMENT �For information/comments please see www.chem.ucalgary.ca/csc2000/milestones.htm

Société canadienne de chimie � www.csc2006.ca � [email protected]

Demande de communicationsle 16 décembre 2005 � début des soumissions de résumés en ligne

le 13 février 2006 � date limite pour remettre les résumés

World Trade and Convention Centre, Halifax (Nouvelle-Écosse) Canada

du 27 au 31 mai 2006

89e Congrès et exposition canadiens de chimie

Call for PapersDecember 16, 2005 � On-line abstract submissions begin

February 13, 2006 � Deadline for abstract submissions

World Trade and Convention Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

May 27�31, 2006

Canadian Society for Chemistry � www.csc2006.ca � [email protected]

89th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition

PM40021620

Jan 2006: ACCN, the Canadian Chemical News

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