This perspective paper analyses the possibilities and challenges of using cheminformatics as a context for STEM education. The objective is to produce theoretical insights through a SWOT analysis of an authentic educational cheminformatics project where future chemistry teachers engineered a physical 3D model using cheminformatics software and a…

Chemical processing industry is progressively focusing their research activities and product placements in the areas of Grand Challenges (or Global Megatrends) such as mobility, energy, communication, or health care and food. Innovation in all these fields requires solving high complex problems, rapid product development as well as dealing with…

This study describes an investigation of a research apprenticeship program that we developed for diverse high-school students often underrepresented in similar programs and in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professions. Through the apprenticeship program, students spent 2 weeks in the summer engaged in biofuels-related research…

This article describes the work being undertaken to make more use of supercritical carbon dioxide as a green solvent. It discusses how the use of surfactants can address the limitations of supercritical CO[subscript 2] in dissolving solutes that are polar and of higher molecular weight. The design of appropriate hydrocarbon CO[subscript 2]-philic…

Protein engineering is a powerful tool, which correlates protein structure with specific functions, both in applied biotechnology and in basic research. Here, we present a practical teaching course for engineering the green fluorescent protein (GFP) from "Aequorea victoria" by a random mutagenesis strategy using error-prone polymerase…

Chemists continue to work at the forefront of materials science research. Recent advances include application of bioengineering to produce plastics from renewable biomass instead of petroleum, generation of paper-based batteries, and development of phototriggerable microcapsules for chemical delivery. In this article, the author provides summaries…

Blogs, wikis, and social-networking sites such as Facebook may get media buzz these days, but for scientists, engineers, and doctors, they are not even on the radar. The most effective tools of the Internet for such people tend to be efforts more narrowly aimed at their needs, such as software that helps geneticists replicate one another's…

Reviews the history of chemical engineering and the chemical industry. (MLH)

Announces the availability of grants from the National Bureau of Standards for the compilation of reliable reference data and the weeding out of faulty data. The grants are in response to the demand for data in all areas of science and technology. (Author/SA)

Since the statistical theories of turbulence that have developed over the last twenty or thirty years are too abstract and unreliable to be of much use to chemical engineers, this paper introduces the techniques of single point models and suggests some areas of needed research. (BB)

Traditionalists at UCD support the accomplishments of the school's agricultural engineers, chemists, and founding administrators. Opposing them is a loose coalition of environmental scientists and social reformers pushing for change. The battle over UCD's direction extends well beyond the university community. (LBH)

Based on the results of an informal survey of 25 faculty at Worcester Polytechnic Institute on the value and publishability of undergraduate research in chemical engineering, it is indicated that while such research is considered an excellent learning experience, fewer than 15 percent of student projects are actually published. (SK)

Included are descriptions of activities of each of the 12 laboratories in the National Research Council of Canada, including background information and a summary of the studies (research) and results. The 12 laboratories in the NRCL are the following: Atlantic Regional Laboratory, Biochemistry Laboratory, Division of Biology, Division of Building…

The National Survey of Academic Research Instruments and Instrumentation Needs is a congressionally mandated program that collects data concerning scientific research instruments and the academic departments and facilities in which they are located. This report analyzes overall instrumentation issues and trends in all the fields covered by the…