ACCN - The Chemical Institute of Canada

Transcription

l’actualité chimique canadienne
canadian chemical news
ACCN
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | NOVEMBRE/DÉCEMBRE • 2006 • Vol. 58, No./no 10
Forensic
RCMP’s Counter-Terrorism Technology
VENUS Underwater
CSIHaving
vs.It AllReality
ACCN 2007
G on-line
9
G in print
9
G in full effect
9
G and in
9
You won’t believe your eyes
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ACCN
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | NOVEMBRE/DÉCEMBRE • 2006 • Vol. 58, No./no 10
A publication of the CIC | Une publication de l’ICC
Ta bl e o f C o n t e n t s | Ta bl e d e s m a t i è r e s
Guest Column Chroniqueur invité . . . . . . 2
Developing Solutions through
Professional Awareness
Dave Schwass, MCIC
Ar ticles
10
Behind Closed Doors
14
Forensics Overboard
16
The Case of the Forensic Chemistry Career
18
Having It All
20
Why Bother with Strategic Planning?
Letters Lettres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Personals Personnalités . . . . . . . . . . . 3
News Briefs Nouvelles en bref . . . . . . . 4
Chemfusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Joe Schwarcz, MCIC
CIC Bulletin ICC
A rare glimpse at the state-of-the-art technology behind the Trace Evidence
Services of the RCMP Forensic Laboratory
B. N. Helm
What happens to a body when it’s dumped into the ocean?
Gail Anderson and Verena Tunnicliffe
An investigation into real-life CSI job opportunities
Alison L. Palmer, MCIC
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
CSC Bulletin SCC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
A formerly full-time parent reflects on the pitfalls and pleasant surprises of returning to work.
Heather Hui-Litwin, MCIC
Student News Nouvelles des étudiants . . . 28
Careers Carrières . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Events Événements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Bernard West, MCIC, and Joanne West
GUEST COLUMN CHRONIQUEUR INVITÉ
Editor-in-Chief/Rédactrice en chef
Michelle Piquette
Managing Editor/Directrice de la rédaction
Heather Dana Munroe
p r o f e s s i o n:
chemist
Developing Solutions through
Professional Awareness
I
introduced the commitment of the CSC
Board to raise awareness of the profession
of chemistry in Canada in the March
2006 issue of ACCN. This work has continued and is gaining momentum on a number
of fronts. Members of the CSC Professional
Awareness Committee and National Office
staff have been busy getting the project off
the ground and sending out the message.
I had the honour of speaking at the
Association of the Chemical Profession of Ontario (ACPO)’s annual general meeting this
past May. I am pleased to report that the over
50 ACPO members in attendance were engaged and supportive of both our concept and
our proposed approach. With this validation,
we forge ahead with increased confidence.
The Science Policy Forum at the Halifax
CSC conference focused on the professional
issues facing chemists in Canada. This
session had representation from our west to
east coasts. We found remarkable similarities
in issues each organization faced and some
great ideas emerged on how to address them.
Of particular interest was an introduction by
Martial Boivin, chief executive director and
secretary of the Ordre des chimiste du Québec
(OCQ), on their work in evaluating the formal
chemistry content of chemically related fields
of study. It was surprising to learn how little
formal education in chemistry is included
in the training of professionals working in
fields that rely heavily on the application
of chemistry. This reinforced the role that
chemists play in the professional application
of the principles of chemistry within society
and our daily lives. We look forward to the
release of the OCQ data as I am sure it will be
very useful for other chemical associations in
Canada. A number of the presentations from
the forum can be found on the CSC Web site at
Graphic Designer/Infographiste
Krista Leroux
Dave Schwass, MCIC
www.cheminst.ca/Professionalawareness/
csc_professionnalawareness__e.htm.
At the Halifax conference, I shared some
of the challenges facing our profession in a
brief presentation to the Council of Canadian
University Chemistry Chairpersons (CCUCC).
Only a small portion of chemistry graduates
pursue advanced degrees as the majority head
directly into the workforce. All chemistry
graduates must be properly prepared to
succeed as employable professionals, an area
that I believe our engineering colleagues do
very well. Canada and chemistry’s ability to
attract and retain students is paramount. I emphasized that the role of chemical educators is
not only to teach chemistry, but to train chemists and create leaders.
It was exciting that so many people came
up to me after the ACPO, CCUCC, and Science
Policy sessions expressing their support and
interest. These included individuals from
government, academia, and industry in
Canada, the U.S., and Australia. A colleague
from Saskatchewan spoke of trying to initiate
discussions among chemists in his province.
Signficant progress has been made, yet
there remains much to do. We are currently
developing information packages that will
help chemists understand the issues and challenges facing their profession and encourage
Canadian chemists to participate in developing the solutions. Further, we need to reinforce
the message to students—careers in chemistry
offer many choices and opportunites and can
serve as a stepping stone to a broad range of
employment opportunities. To this end, I invite and encourage you to become engaged in
these critical issues.
Dave Schwass, MCIC, is president of the CSC.
2 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE NOVEMBRE/DÉCEMBRE 2006
Editorial Board/Conseil de rédaction
Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, chair/président
Cathleen Crudden, MCIC
John Margeson, MCIC
Milena Sejnoha, MCIC
Steve Thornton, MCIC
Bernard West, MCIC
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LETTERS LETTRES
Is that a Fact?
The September 2006 issue of ACCN contained two contrary opinions on green fuels.
The opposition was expressed quite strongly,
the other much less so. C. P. Skelton (p. 3)
mentioned, “researchers at Cornell,” who presented a detailed analysis of a negative energy
balance for ethanol and biodiesel (Pimentel
and Patzek, Natural Resources Research, Vol.
14:1, pp. 65–76, 2005). These authors also
mention other critics of this approach.
In contrast, Graham Campbell states (p. 11)
rather lamely, that “the net energy balance ...
is believed to be positive.” But for potentially
far-reaching national policy decisions, “belief”
is not good enough. If Campbell thinks that
Pimentel and the other critics are wrong,
he should provide evidence in the form of
(i.e., peer-reviewed) references.
Also, considering that cereal grains make up
some 80 percent of the worldwide food supply
raises questions concerning the agricultural
land needed for growing the green fuels and the
ethics of diverting land suitable for food production to the growing of the green fuels.
That “Canada has all the ingredients needed
to be a world leader in clean energy” would
be more credible if Campbell would provide
an itemized list of those ingredients, including
details of crop land use.
W. H. Baarschers, MCIC
Industry
DuPont has named William White president
of DuPont Canada. White succeeds Douglas
Muzyka, who was recently named president
of DuPont Greater China and DuPont China
Holding. Prior to his appointment to lead
DuPont Canada, White was director of business improvement. In his new role, he will
be located at DuPont Canada’s headquarters
in Mississauga, ON.
University
Nathan Jones, MCIC, is an assistant
professor in the department of chemistry,
Faculty of Science at The University of Western Ontario. Jun Yang, MCIC, is an assistant
professor in the department of mechanical
PERSONALS PERSONNALITÉS
and materials engineering, Faculty of
Engineering at The University of Western
Ontario. They are both recipients of the
Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award for
2006. The award recognizes, promotes, and
supports outstanding new faculty researchers whose work is particularly innovative,
impacts positively on the learning environment in the department in which they study,
and has the potential to be of significance to
society at large.
Distinction
outstanding achievement and service
in various fields of human endeavour. It is Canada’s highest honour for
lifetime achievement.
Two of Canada’s top 10 hot science research
papers, as determined by Essential Science
Indicators on-line, feature researchers in the
field of chemistry. Daryl Allen, ACIC, and
Cathleen Crudden, MCIC, of Queen’s University were chosen for their paper titled,
“Stability and Reactivity of N-Heterocyclic
Carbene Complexes,” and D. Erickson and
D. Q. Li of the University of Toronto were
chosen for their paper titled, “Integrated
Microfluidic Devices.”
The selection of Hot Papers is based on the
top-cited papers in different fields, where the
time frame for citing and cited papers must be
no more than two years old and cited within
a current two-month time period. The current
Canadian analysis covers the period from
April 2004 to February 2006.
NEWS BRIEFS NOUVELLES EN BREF
Margaret-Ann Armour, FCIC, named to
the Order of Canada
Governor General Michaëlle Jean
announced that University of
Alberta professor, Margaret-Ann
Armour, FCIC, is among the 77
people named to the Order of Canada. Armour, the associate dean of
Science (Diversity), is former vicechair and convenor of Women in
Scholarship, Engineering, Science
and Technology (WISEST). Often
touted as Canada’s premier ambassador of science, she has worked
tirelessly through WISEST to encourage young people, especially
young women, to consider careers
in the sciences and engineering
through numerous community
outreach programs.
“It is very special for me to be
recognized in this way by my
adopted country,” said Armour, who
hails from Scotland and became a
Canadian citizen last year.
The Order of Canada was
established in 1967 to recognize
CCR Briefs the
Federal Government
The Canadian Consortium for Research
(CCR), chaired by CIC executive director, Roland Andersson, MCIC, submitted its annual
brief to the House of Commons Standing
Committee on Finance this past September.
The brief emphasized three ways to increase
Canada’s global competitiveness and social
and economic success. First, create a dedicated federal/provincial transfer mechanism
to increase funding for post-secondary education institutions. Second, increase the
budgets of the federal granting agencies to
support basic research. And third, invest in
government research infrastructure and the
rejuvenation of science human resources.
To increase Canada’s productivity and competitiveness, a stronger and more competitive
research sector and post-secondary education
system are needed.
Stay tuned for an update on the presentation to the Committee and the government’s
response. CIC is a member of CCR—for
the full CCR brief, visit www.cheminst.ca/
govrel/docs/ccr/CCR_Brief_2006_Final.pdf.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 3
sensors for air-bag release mechanisms in
cars, strain and torque sensors on support
beams of high-rise buildings, and in laser
sources. The study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the University of Toronto, EC
NoE Phoremost, and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
University of Toronto
Talisman
Scholarships at UBC
Full-Colour
Fingerprints Point
to Enhanced Security
In the future, law enforcement officials
may take full-colour fingerprints using new
technology developed by a University of
Toronto-led team of international researchers.
Far from the basic black-and-white fingerprints collected today, the new technology
would use elastic photonic crystals to capture
data-rich fingerprints in multiple colours,
but the fingerprinting technique is just one
potential application for the new technology.
A paper on the new research is featured on
the cover of the current issue of the journal
Nature Materials.
“You can elastically deform these crystals
and produce different colours,” says lead author, André Arsenault, a PhD candidate in the
laboratory of Geoffrey Ozin, FCIC, university
professor in the department of chemistry and
a Canada Research Chair in materials chemistry. Photonic crystals are a relatively new
development in the scientific quest to control light. Ozin’s lab first created photonic
crystals in 2002, using spherical particles of
silica mere micrometres in diameter that selfassemble into neat layers, creating what’s
known as an opal.
After filling the space between the spheres
with silicon, they used acid etching to remove
the silica balls. This left an ordered sponge
of air bubbles in silicon known as an inverse
opal. This photonic crystal material, the first
of its kind, did indeed trap light. These photonic crystals can produce colour based on
how an electromagnetic wave interacts with
the structure—meaning that it could be tuned
to produce any colour.
In the new study, the team injected an
elastic compound between the spheres,
which were then etched away, leaving an
orderly and compressible elastic foam that
can be transferred onto virtually any surface
such as glass, metal, or plastic. The material
changes colour based on how far the spheres
are separated.
“The material we have is very, very thin,”
Arsenault says. “We can coat it onto any surface we want.” If the foam is compressed, it
alters the lattice dimensions, changing the
wavelength of light that it produces. The team
demonstrated the fingerprint application,
using Arsenault’s finger, and produced both
still images and a video of the process, which
captures detailed information about pressure
patterns and surface ridges that may not be
visible to the naked eye.
Taking it one step further, Arsenault made
a rubber replica of his fingertip, which might
fool a traditional fingerprint scan. “If you
press the rubber replica into the material, the
pressure impressions that you get are very different,” he says. “The lines are much sharper,
because the material is less soft. From the
standpoint of biometrics, this could provide
better security.”
Arsenault says the technology could be
used not only for colour fingerprints, but in
British Columbia’s largest engineering school
recently received a generous endowment of
$280,000 from Talisman Energy, one of the
most internationally focused of Canada’s
senior oil and gas companies. The gift will
create the two largest scholarships available
to students in the departments of mechanical
engineering and chemical engineering within
the Faculty of Applied Science at The University of British Columbia (UBC).
With the support of the faculty, the two
$9,000 Talisman Energy Scholarships will be
awarded annually to students with outstanding academic performance in these respective engineering disciplines as well as demonstrated interest in the energy industry. The
scholarships will cover a full year of academic
costs including books and materials.
Talisman Energy has been a source of
leadership, support, and employment for the
Faculty of Applied Science and its alumni
over the past 15 years. Talisman has given
many gifts during this extended partnership
and has hired many UBC alumni now at the
helm of the successful international oil and
gas company headquartered in Calgary, AB.
“These generous scholarships are an extension to the lengthy history of support that Talisman has dedicated to UBC. Talisman Energy
has been a long-time provider of employment
opportunities for our students; this gift is a
reassuring commitment of their investment
in higher education and the important human
resources that will sustain and propel the industry,” says Kevin Smith, head of the UBC
department of chemical engineering.
The University of British Columbia
There’s evidence that agricultural practices influence the type of clouds that form in the sky.
Cirrus
Considerations
University of Toronto researchers and their
collaborators have discovered that solid
ammonium sulphate aerosol—an airborne
particle more prevalent in continental areas—
can act as a catalyst to the formation of ice
clouds, suggesting that cloud formation is
another aspect of the global climate system
that can be affected by human presence. The
findings were published recently in Science.
Atmospheric chemists Jon Abbatt, MCIC,
and Zamin Kanji, ACIC, joined European climate scientists and cloud physicists to investigate whether ammonium sulphate aerosol in
its crystal form could act as the ice nuclei to
form cirrus clouds—the thin, wispy ice clouds
that cover one quarter of the globe at any
given time. Cirrus clouds are important to the
climate system because they scatter incoming
sunlight, trap outgoing heat radiation, and control the amount of water vapour in the upper
troposphere. “Water vapour is a greenhouse
gas, so any change in the ratio of ice cloud to
water vapour affects the overall system,” says
Abbatt. “So knowing how ice clouds form
helps us better understand the system, and put
together a better climate model.”
Studies of cirrus formation in different parts
of the world have found that the clouds form
more efficiently in the moderately polluted
air of the Northern hemisphere than in the
clean, oceanic air of the Southern hemisphere.
Abbatt’s team found a correlation between the
amount of sulphate aerosol in the air and the
efficiency of cloud formation in the regions.
Because atmospheric ammonia now mainly
comes from livestock and nitrogen-based
fertilizer, the study provides evidence that
human agricultural practices impact how and
what kind of clouds form in the sky.
University of Toronto
Suncor for Sarnia
Suncor Energy has officially opened its
new ethanol plant in Sarnia, ON. The
$120-million facility is expected to produce
200 million litres/year of ethanol. Feedstock
for the ethanol will come from 20 million
bushels/year of corn, primarily sourced
from Ontario farmers.
Suncor Energy
“MIPs To Go, Please!”
The DeCaf Company has developed molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) that
specifically attract caffeine molecules. The
harmless MIPs can be coated on beverage
surfaces to reduce levels of caffeine while
the original taste and aroma of the beverage
are preserved. Most decaffeination methods
currently used occur in large batches and
involve scrubbing, chemical treating, heating,
or interfering with coffee beans.
Camford Chemical Report
Chemical
Companies—
Victims of Crime
More than one in three chemical companies
have suffered from economic crime, to the
tune of nearly US$600,000 per company.
A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC)
global economic crime survey of the chemical
industry found that 37 percent of all companies had been victimized.
The chemical industry has experienced
a slight reduction in economic crime since
the last PWC survey two years ago, with
the number of companies reporting such
instances dropping from 40 percent to
37 percent. However, reports of corruption
and bribery more than doubled to almost
30 percent. The top five types of economic
crimes committed against chemical firms
in the past two years (with the percentage
reporting such types of incidents) are:
• asset misappropriation/fraudulent
disbursements: 50 percent;
• false pretences: 30 percent;
• corruption and bribery: 28 percent;
• counterfeiting: 24 percent;
• financial misrepresentation: 20 percent.
“In the past, many chemical industry
executives were under the misconception
that fraud ‘can’t happen in my company,’”
said Saverio Fato, global chemicals leader
at PWC. “Recently, however, the chemicals
industry has seen signs of a culture shift, understanding that fraud does indeed happen,
and that its results have the potential to
damage a company’s financial well-being,
competitive advantage, employee morale,
and vendor/supplier relationships.”
In many cases, the impact of fraud in the
chemical industry has broader consequences
than just financial loss. For example, a company can be put at a significant disadvantage if competitors are able to replicate a
patented process because sensitive data,
such as production methods or formulas,
are compromised. Although most companies report a very high level of satisfaction
with their fraud detection measures, more
than 43 percent of frauds in the chemical
industry are still detected by chance. Internal auditors also uncovered a number of
frauds (26 percent), indicating that companies should ensure that their internal audit
departments have comprehensive fraud
awareness training. A robust internal audit
function may also serve as a deterrent to
would-be offenders.
Chemical companies are starting to recognize the need to improve internal controls.
Forty-five percent expressed a high level of
willingness to improve these measures over
the course of the next two years. Fraud is
being recognized and reported more and
more often, but some chemical companies
have a false sense of security when it comes
to economic crime, said PWC. Only 17
percent of respondents feel their organization
is likely or very likely to suffer from economic
crime in the next five years. Progress to
tighten internal controls and develop codes of
conduct has been made, but many chemical
companies need to implement more concrete
prevention measures, such as comprehensive
fraud awareness training.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
SemBioSys’
Safflower Insulin
Calgary-based SemBioSys announced
that it has achieved its commercial target
levels of human insulin accumulation in
safflower, with 1.2 percent of total seed
protein. The results confirm the potential
of plant-produced insulin to fundamentally
transform the economies of scale of insulin
production.
“These results demonstrate that we have
produced authentic insulin molecules in
safflower at commercially viable levels.
Achieving our goal of one percent insulin
accumulation in safflower confirms that
SemBioSys has the potential to dramatically
impact the economics of insulin manufacturing,” said Andrew Baum, president and CEO
of SemBioSys. “At these levels we can produce over one kilogram of insulin per acre
of safflower production, which is enough to
treat 2,500 patients for one year.
Demand for insulin for the treatment of
diabetes reached an estimated four to five
tonnes in 2005, and is projected to increase
to 16 tonnes by 2010. Demand for insulin
is expected to grow in response to earlier
diagnosis and increased incidence. Significant
growth in demand is also expected from new
alternative delivery methods. SemBioSys
believes its safflower-produced insulin can
reduce capital costs compared to existing
insulin manufacturing by 70 percent and
product costs by 40 percent. The company
will continue to scale up production for
sufficient material to initiate clinical trials
and file an investigational new drug (IND)
application in the second half of 2007.
SemBioSys
Bruce Power
Revs Up Ontario’s
Hydrogen Economy
Bruce Power announced that it will be the first
electricity-generating company in Canada to
become a sustaining member of the Canadian
Hydrogen Association (CHA). In addition,
president and CEO Duncan Hawthorne will
join the CHA board of directors and intends to
bring an electricity generator and public/private partnership perspective to the table.
“I see this as an opportunity to help
ensure Canada will be a leader when, in the
future, the only emissions vehicles produce
are a few drops of water,” Hawthorne said.
“To do this, we need to ensure that longterm strategies to increase generation of
clean electricity are aligned with strategies
to produce clean hydrogen.”
Hawthorne said there is a direct link
between nuclear energy and hydrogen, an
emissions-free fuel that could be produced
using electricity from nuclear plants during
off-peak hours. Following the restart of Bruce
A units 1 and 2, it is estimated the output from
Bruce Power alone could produce enough hydrogen to fuel more than half of the vehicles
in Ontario if they were powered by hydrogen.
“It is important that Ontario look at our
electricity needs over the next 20 years, but we
must also think longer term and look at building a firm foundation for a hydrogen economy
in the next four decades,” Hawthorne said.
Alexander (Sandy) Stuart, chair of the
CHA, welcomed Bruce Power to the association, which supports hydrogen as an enabling
fuel source for new technologies, such as fuel
cells. “By deploying sustainable hydrogen
energy systems, Canada will no longer need
to expand its use of fossil fuels for Canadian
energy services,” Stuart said. “Canada needs
visionary companies like Bruce Power to
drive this realizable hydrogen agenda.”
Bruce Power has also formed a partnership with the University of Waterloo to
establish the Bruce Power Hydrogen Economy Development Study. The ongoing study,
which will begin in January 2007, will analyze a wide array of key technical and policy
areas required to move Ontario’s hydrogen
economy forward.
Bruce Power
The Rise of
the Megadeal
The chemical industry has witnessed massive
structural changes recently, but is set to experience even further consolidation, according
to “Chemical Compounds,” a new report from
PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mounting competition from new producers in developing
countries and resource-rich regions, rising oil
prices, and greater regulation have provided
challenges to traditional industry players, so
they are looking to consolidate further and
secure greater scale. The total value of transactions traded or announced in 2006 has
already reached nearly US$58 billion, indicating that 2006 will surpass last year’s total of
US$56 billion. One of the most notable trends
has been the rise of the megadeal. In 2005,
there were 15 deals worth US$1 billion or
more, collectively accounting for 62 percent of
the total value transacted. The value of these
deals is spiraling upwards, doubling on a year
over year basis. Companies based in western
Europe and North America account for 87
percent of the value traded via large deals.
However, when deals of all sizes are included,
the total number of transactions in the Asia
Pacific region surpassed those of the rest of
the world for the first time.
China accounted for nearly half of this activity. Many chemical companies are pursuing
portfolio management through the deal-making process. They are moving into new business areas and disposing of non-core activities.
Generally, mergers and acquisitions are used to
improve market position in Europe and North
America but there is a preference to expand in
Asia by investing in chemical plants.
Financial investors are playing a major role in
many of the deals in the chemicals industry. To
an extent, they have helped speed up the consolidation of the sector by investing when there
were fewer strategic buyers with the interest or
the finances to do so. Typically, these investors
adopt very different approaches from those of
strategic buyers and also often have their exit
strategies planned before they have even completed the purchase. The value of chemical assets that private equity has sold is now even
starting to exceed the value of assets acquired.
The introduction of new initiatives like
Reach (the European Union’s draft law on the
registration, evaluation, and authorization of
chemicals) is inevitably going to play a bigger
role in deal activity in the future. It is likely
to change the economics of certain chemicals or families of chemicals, in terms of both
one-time and ongoing compliance costs.
Some chemicals could be withdrawn from
the market or succumb to substitute products.
This will drive rethinking of operational profitability and consequently deal economics. The
need to incorporate the cost of carbon abatement is making the process for valuing carbonexposed assets in the chemicals sector more
difficult. Disparities between are increasing
this complexity. The cost of carbon is therefore
also a key consideration that must be incorporated in all strategic decisions and deals.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Boehringer
Expands R&D Centre
Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. has
approved an investment of up to $36 million
in a major expansion of its Laval, QC, research
and development centre. The centre is already
one of the largest of its kind in Canada.
This is the second major expansion of the
centre, since its acquisition by the Boehringer
Ingelheim Corporation in 1988. The expansion
will be completed in 2007 and will create 40
new jobs for highly trained researchers at the
centre, which currently employs 160 scientists
and support staff. Boehringer Ingelheim’s investment is expected to result in an additional
economic return to the region of approximately
$10 million annually.
This investment also demonstrates Boehringer Ingelheim’s commitment toward
Canadian R&D despite what the company perceives as a less than positive climate for the
innovative industry in Quebec and Canada.
The company hopes that this investment will
encourage governments to strongly commit to
develop a dynamic pharmaceutical industry in
Quebec and Canada through better access to
drugs for the benefit of Canadian patients. Specifically, Boehringer Ingelheim is hopeful that
the new “politique du médicament,” currently
being discussed by the Quebec government,
will help to create a better environment for the
research-based pharmaceutical industry.
Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.
if his attacks did not stop. Markov was undeterred until that fateful September day. While
waiting at that bus stop, Markov felt a jab in
his thigh. He turned around and saw a man
who muttered a quick apology as he quickly
got into a taxi. As Markov later recalled, the
man was clutching an umbrella. Markov fell
ill and was admitted to hospital the next day
with a high fever and severe abdominal pains.
Within a couple of days, he died.
Markov’s body was carefully examined
and a tiny, perforated, metallic pellet was
found exactly where he had indicated that
he had been stabbed. A residue of a poison
known as ricin was found in the pellet. Ricin
is a protein that is found in the seeds of
the castor bean plant—the same plant that
yields castor oil. Castor oil sure conjures
up some distasteful memories for me. It’s a
classic remedy for constipation, and I shudder to recall how I was forced to take it when
my mother had diagnosed that I was, let us
say, in need. What a horrible taste it had.
So how come I’m here to tell the tale, given
that ricin is one of the most toxic materials?
Fortunately, ricin is not soluble in oil. When
the oil is extracted from the castor beans, it
is washed with water, completely removing
all traces of the toxin.
While there is no danger in consuming castor oil, eating the entire seed can be deadly.
Such poisonings have occurred. Because the
seeds are very pretty, they are sometimes used
to make ornaments. In Mexico, castor beans
are used to make jewelry for tourists. There
can be serious reactions from eating a bean
or crushing one in the hand and then putting
that hand in the mouth. The symptoms are
bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and shock. So it’s
obviously not a good idea to eat your Mexican bean jewelry. At least not unless you’ve
cooked it. Heat destroys the ricin. But if ricin
does get into the bloodstream, the prognosis
is not good. There is no antidote to ricin poisoning, as Georgi Markov has taught us.
Let’s talk about coincidence. As I imagined the umbrella murder while standing at
that bus stop, I was startled by the cry of a
news vendor from across the street. “Professor Plots Deadly Poisoning,” he screamed.
“Read all about it!” And I did. What a story
that turned out to be …
Professor Simon Wilson, the article revealed, had been a “leading mathematician”
at Manchester University for over 35 years.
He had never run afoul of the law, until he
attempted to pick up a parcel that he had
ordered under a fictitious name from a biochemical firm. When he attempted to claim
the package, the police were waiting. They
had been alerted by the company because the
substance Wilson ordered was palytoxin—a
poison first identified in a species of Pacific
coral in 1981, and one that had displaced
ricin as the “most potent toxin known to
(hu)mankind.” The coral is found only in
a small tidal pool on the island of Maui in
Hawaii and came to researchers’ attention
because the locals had used it to poison their
spear tips. It is available today for research
purposes. The company that sold it became
alarmed when Wilson ordered enough of the
toxin to kill at least 500 people. They decided
to notify the police. As it turned out, it was a
wise decision.
Simon Wilson had indeed planned murder—but not of 500 people. Only of himself.
Wilson had had a pretty good reason to commit suicide. His wife had moved her lover
into the couple’s home. When a family friend
came down with pneumonia, Mrs. Wilson invited him to move in so that she could take
care of him. Wilson suspected an affair, but
never confronted his wife. When she finally
admitted the affair, Wilson decided he did not
want to live anymore.
Wilson considered killing himself with
cyanide or with chloroform, both of which
the police found in his house. But Wilson
must’ve heard about the potency of palytoxin
and decided it was the right chemical for the
job. And it would have been, had he not
been caught.
By the time I got through reading this captivating account, a crowd had gathered at the
bus stop. I tried to visualize how that famous
crime could have been carried out when
I was jostled by a man with an umbrella who
had just hailed a taxi. He quickly scampered
in. Was he trying to make a quick getaway?
He sure was. It had started to rain.
A Most Ingenious Chemical Crime
Montréal’s radio station CJAD. The broadcast
is available on the Web at www.CJAD.com.
You can contact him at [email protected].
CHEMFUSION
Joe Schwarcz, MCIC
I
stood at the bus stop across from the
Waterloo station in London for just one
reason. I wanted to see with my own
eyes the famous spot where one of the
most ingenious chemical crimes in history
was perpetrated. It was on that spot, in full
daylight, on Thursday, September 7, 1978,
that Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian émigré, was
assassinated by the Bulgarian secret police.
And what an assassination it was—no guns,
no grenades, no knives. Just an umbrella! An
umbrella especially designed with a springloaded device to deliver a pinhead-sized
pellet loaded with one of the most potent
poisons known to humankind. But let’s set
the scene first.
Markov had become disillusioned with
the Communist ideology because of the corruption he saw in the higher officials of the
government. So he defected to Italy in 1968
and then moved to London in 1971 where
he joined the Bulgarian service of the BBC.
Here, he began to vigorously attack the Bulgarian government over Radio Free Europe.
The Bulgarians threatened to eliminate him
Popular science writer, Joe Schwarcz, MCIC,
is 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
Behind Closed Doors
B. N. Helm
A rare glimpse at the state-of-the-art technology behind the Trace Evidence Services of the RCMP Forensic Laboratory
T
he Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) operates a
Forensic Laboratory Service that provides forensic support
to law enforcement agencies through analytical testing,
reporting, and court testimony in four main program streams—
Biology, Toxicology, the Bureau of Counterfeits and Documents
Examination (BCDE), and Trace Evidence/Firearms Services. The
Forensic Laboratory Service operates as a single laboratory with six
fully integrated sites across Canada—Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina,
Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Halifax. In Canada, specially trained police
officers known as Identification Officers attend the crime scene to
collect items (exhibits) to be submitted to the laboratory. In Canada,
forensic scientists rarely attend crime scenes, instead remaining in
the laboratory examining and analyzing exhibits, writing reports, and
testifying in court as expert witnesses when required.
The Trace Evidence Program involves the analysis and examination
of explosive materials, gunshot residue, and trace materials such as
glass, building materials, fibres, fire debris, paint, and unknown materials. The program and services continually evolve as new technologies
and techniques are developed and the demand for services changes.
Changes must be made with caution as forensic science faces an additional challenge when introducing a new technology or technique—not
only must it stand up to a peer review, it must also withstand the scrutiny of the courts.
In late 2001, after the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., the Government of
Canada established the Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear
and Explosive (CBRNE) Research and Technology Initiative (CRTI).
The Trace Evidence Services of the RCMP Forensic Laboratory joined
the CRTI Chemical Cluster Working Group and would come to play a
significant role alongside other members of the cluster groups for the
purpose of increasing Canada’s preparedness in the face of CBRNE
threats. Through collaborative funding under this initiative the Trace
Evidence Section has risen to the challenge of providing an unprecedented service for CBRNE-related case requests.
Trace Evidence’s role in CBRNE-related case work is not one of frontline involvement. Instead, the section provides a service of identifying unknown materials after having been first screened for biological
and radiological/nuclear materials. With the introduction of four new
instruments, Trace Evidence can not only identify these unknown
materials with speed and accuracy, but the section now provides a
significantly stronger service for non-CBRN-related case work using
these same instruments.
EDAX Eagle-III XXL Micro X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrophotometer (XRF)
The first instrument to be discussed is the EDAX Eagle-III XXL Micro
X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrophotometer (XRF). In the case of this particular model, the instrument delivers the elemental composition of
almost any inorganic material. The Eagle-III generates its primary
X-rays via a rhodium target, which, when focused on a sample, knocks
out the inner-shell electrons of the atoms in the sample. The result is
that outer-shell electrons drop into these vacancies, producing secondary X-rays, fluorescing frequencies specific to the elements present,
differing from those from the primary beam. From the frequencies generated, the elemental profile can be easily determined, as each element
elicits its own characteristic X-ray frequencies.
But what truly sets the Eagle-III apart from other mainstay XRF
instruments is that the radiation can be focused down to a small point
while retaining intensity. Using a variable spot
size, the instrument can produce an X-ray
spot anywhere between 50 and 170 micrometres. In addition to this, the instrument has
a very large sample chamber about the size
of a household oven. The microscopic samples that reside on large objects can be easily
analyzed without the need for extraction. For
example, a T-shirt that is contaminated with
a mixture of powders can simply be placed
on the motorized instrument stage, and each
particle can be analyzed individually.
An additional feature of the instrument
(and included software package) is its capacity to create elemental maps (i.e., two-dimensional plots of the presence of selected elements). Such a capacity has led to studies in
X-ray fingerprinting, gunshot residue pattern
analysis, and automated searching of exhibit
materials. Further strengths include speed
of analysis—high-quality results can be obtained in three minutes—sensitivity to detect
trace elements (ppm levels), and the capacity
to detect any element—sodium and higher.
However, as each instrument has its
strengths, each also has its weaknesses. In
the case of the XRF, the instrument cannot determine a compound’s structure. It is limited
to elemental data, and the intensities thereof.
All organic compounds are thus precluded
from analysis.
But through the recent acquisition of the
powerful software application SLICE, highly
Bruker D8 Micro X-ray Diffractometer (XRD)
Microscope Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR)
detailed databases can be constructed from
the element profiles, sample images, etc.
Currently, such an application allows for the
identification of metals within classes (e.g.
various grades of titanium), providing insight
into potential sources. Yet metals are only the
beginning, and the database is expanding to
include all inorganic materials.
To further aid in the identification of trace
inorganic materials, we move up from the
atomic level to the molecular level. Enter the
Bruker D8 Micro X-ray Diffractometer (XRD).
Standing in at almost seven feet tall and
weighing over 1,200 pounds, this instrument
fills in many analytical gaps. It has quite a
presence in the lab as well!
The main function of the XRD is to measure the distances in crystal spacings. By
bombarding an unknown with a narrow
band of X-ray frequencies (as opposed to the
wide band of frequencies used in X-ray fluorescence), a diffracted pattern of X-rays is
created from constructive interference that
arises from reflections off regular arrays of
atoms in the crystal structure. The pattern
generated corresponds to the crystal structure of the analyte(s) and through measuring
angles and intensities of the diffracting X-ray
lines, a profile is created. This profile is then
compared against a database comprised of
well over 500,000 compounds—both organic
and inorganic.
The XRD does a fantastic job of determining
the composition of almost all crystalline materials. And similar to the XRF, it too can handle
large objects while focusing on the micro-samples of interest. The XRD also has the capacity
to create maps of a sample according to which
compounds are of interest. A powerful database search technique includes using the elemental profile from the XRF. This significantly
increases the accuracy of the returned “hits.”
Furthering this, collimator sizes can be quickly
changed from 0.8 mm to 0.02 mm in a matter
of minutes, allowing precision focusing of the
X-ray beam—particularly useful in analyzing
trace samples.
However, like the XRF, the XRD has its limitations. In terms of speed, the XRD is slower
than the XRF, yet still remains a relatively
quick analytical technique. This is due in part
to a unique hardware feature—a general area
detector. This detector samples a large portion of the angular space at one time, reducing typical XRD run time from over an hour to
about ten minutes.
A more significant limitation is created by
the X-ray frequencies generated from the copper target of the X-ray tube. Iron and manganese-bearing samples produce such severe
fluorescence that a masking of the diffraction
pattern occurs and no results are generated.
Also, if a sample is amorphous (e.g. glass,
liquids, etc.), again, no pattern will be generated. Finally, the XRD’s limit of detection is
significantly less than that of the XRF (percent vs. parts per million, respectively).
From the short wavelength end of the
electromagnetic spectrum, we make a leap
to longer wavelengths to discuss the final
two instruments—the Microscope Fourier
Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) and
the Confocal Raman Spectrometer.
For years, the FTIR spectrometer has continued to be a standard workhorse for Trace
Evidence Services. Traditional FTIR instrumentation required that samples were properly
prepared before analysis. This involved sampling the exhibit, mounting the sample in a diamond cell, and then compressing the sample
thin enough such that the infrared radiation
could pass through. Any “infrared active”
compounds present would absorb frequencies
based upon the elements and types of bonds
present in the molecules. The absorbing frequencies, related to the chemical composition,
would be interpreted by comparison to published spectra and database searches.
Through recent advances in instrumentation, the new Varian Microscope FTIR brings
about new benefits. The traditional process
is now expedited as sample preparation is
significantly reduced. The sample is simply
placed on a slide and analyzed in real time.
Furthering this, the spot size of the incident
infrared beam is variable, and the sample can
be viewed and moved during the analysis.
Each feature is particularly useful for identifying small particles and scanning different
phases in inhomogeneous mixtures.
A related cousin of the FTIR, the Jobin-Yvon
Confocal Raman system is also based on vibration changes of molecules under electromagnetic irradiation. However, this spectrometer
differs by employing single-frequency lasers in
the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The laser-bombarded sample scatters
back a small amount of photons with less energy than the incident energy. This shift in frequency is known as the Raman Effect, and is
related to the composition and structure of the
compound(s). As with the FTIR, a spectrum is
plotted and the sample is identified through a
database search.
Benefits of the Raman system include analyses taken directly through containers/packaging, remote analyses taken from another
room, and real-time analyses. And because
both the microscope FTIR and Raman systems exploit vibration changes in molecules
but detect different spectroscopic changes,
each technique is complementary to the
other. In other words, the Raman system may
elicit information about a molecular system
that is “spectroscopically transparent” to the
FTIR system, and vice versa.
Overall, we have seen that each of
the four systems is a singular, powerful,
non-destructive spectroscopic technique.
However, it is the concert of the XRF, XRD,
FTIR, and Raman systems that provides unparalleled insight as typically required for
forensic analyses. And so, the addition of
these four instruments presents the trace
evidence forensic scientist with a wealth of
opportunity to analyze both CBRN and nonCBRN related case work in innovative, quick,
accurate, and efficient ways. Undeniably, the
preparedness of the RCMP’s Forensic Laboratory Service has soared to new heights.
B. N. Helm is a forensic technologist in the
Trace Evidence Section of the RCMP Forensic
Laboratory in Edmonton, AB. He holds a
diploma in chemical technology from the
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. He is
currently pursuing his degree in chemistry at
the University of Alberta.
2007 SCI Canada Annual Awards Ceremony and Dinner
March 1, 2007, Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel
The Canadian section of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) will confer four awards in
recognition of major achievement in service, industry, and leadership at the 2007 SCI Canada
Annual Awards Ceremony and Dinner, March 1, 2007 in Toronto, ON.
“These awards acknowledge outstanding contributions
to development and implementation of strategies that
have resulted in the strengthening of Canadian industry,
academic, or research institutions in the field of chemistry,”
said SCI Canada events chair and Phancorp Inc. president
Isabel Alexander.
The LeSueur Memorial Award, given for the development of technical excellence in a university, research institution, or industrial
setting in Canada, will be presented to Phillip (Rocky) Simmons,
MCIC, founder, president, and CEO of Eco-Tec Limited.
The International Award acknowledges outstanding service to an
industry that is based on chemistry, in the international sphere. This
award will go to Paul Timmons, president of ERco Worldwide.
The Canada Medal
is awarded for outstanding service to a
Canadian industry that is based on chemistry for its processes and/
or services. This year the Canada Medal will be awarded to Tony
Infilise, Quadra Chemicals Ltd.
The Kalev Pugi Award is given to an individual or team for R&D
projects performed during the past 10 to 15 years that embody qualities of creativity and determination, good experimental design, and
project management, and that had a significant beneficial impact
on the sponsoring company or on society. This year’s award will be
given to Bert Wasmund, executive director of Hatch Limited.
The guest speaker for the 2007 awards dinner will be Gord Surgenor, former professor at the University of Guelph and president of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies.
For more information contact SCI event chair, Isabel Alexander at ialexander@
phancorp.com or 905-790-8875. Visit www.phancorp.com or the Society of Chemical
Industry Web site at www.soci.org.
Forensics
Overboard
What happens to a body when it’s dumped into the ocean?
K
nowing the exact time of death is vital to a police homicide
investigation. When a person has been dead for more than
a few days, it is very difficult for a pathologist to determine
time of death. It is then that the police turn to forensic entomologists
to interpret the insect evidence on the body to estimate time of death.
Insects can be used to estimate elapsed time since death from a matter
of hours after death to a year or more. Forensic entomology is now an
accepted and well-known part of a police investigation. Much research
has been conducted on land to understand the sequence of insects that
colonize a body. However, very little is known about what happens to
a body when the murder victim is dumped in the ocean.
The VENUS Project in Saanich Inlet off the coast of BC offers a perfect research environment to observe what happens to a dead body
that’s submerged over time. This experiment was designed to simulate a homicide in which the body of a murder victim is weighted
down and sunk. Such research results can be used in police investigations and eventually presented and challenged in court. Therefore, it
is important to use a scientifically accepted animal model to simulate
the human body. Pig carcasses are recognized worldwide as the best
mimic of a human body. Pigskin is very similar to human skin and
Gail Anderson and Verena Tunnicliffe
can even be used for human skin grafts. Pigs have gut bacteria similar
to ours as they are also omnivores. They are relatively hairless, and a
small pig is roughly equivalent in size to the average human torso.
The VENUS Project provides invaluable data for use in homicide
investigations, and also provides data for studies on marine ecosystem responses to rich nutrient inputs. Gail Anderson, associate professor at the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University (SFU),
applies her research to the interpretation of post-mortem processes
in suspected homicides.
What can you do with four kilometres of fibre-optic telecomm
cable and a dead pig? Anderson and the VENUS team boarded the
Coast Guard research vessel J. P. Tully. They dropped a professionally butchered pig carcass into Saanich Inlet. A remotely operated
vehicle called “ROPOS” carefully positioned the weighted carcass in
front of a camera stationed on the sea floor. The camera is part of a
network of instruments connected into a sea floor node that routes
power and communications. Real-time data are transmitted back to
the University of Victoria’s VENUS observatory.
Through Internet connections, Anderson controls the camera from
SFU. In addition to images taken as she observes, she—and anyone
Photo courtesy of the VENUS Project, University of Victoria
else with an Internet connection—can see
the chemical conditions in the water near the
experiment. VENUS instruments deliver a
continuous stream of data on ocean salinity,
temperature, oxygen, and other parameters.
Using the camera, the carcass can be
examined at any time of day or night to identify the arthropod and vertebrate fauna that
is attracted to the remains and the types of
wound patterns they produce. This is also
valuable when human remains are recovered. Certain marks on the body might relate
What can you do with
four kilometres of
fibre-optic telecomm
cable and a dead pig?
to anthropophagy (animal scavenging) while
others might relate to the homicide. The
VENUS instruments also provide information
on any chemical changes that occur locally in
the water—either due to the carcass itself or
to the increased fauna in the vicinity.
During the first week of pig deployment,
ocean temperature varied around 9.6 degrees
Celsius and oxygen between 0.5 and 1.6 ml/l.
While these hypoxic conditions would seem
to be limiting to scavenger activity, the pig
saw a lot of action! After the first day, a large
section of one haunch was missing after a
possible shark attack. Scavengers concentrated on the hind quarters on the second day
after deployment. After six days on the sea
floor, crabs gathered over the pig carcass.
The VENUS Project was established to
allow researchers to conduct experiments
in real time from their labs anywhere in the
country. Forensics is just one interesting
example of the potential of this facility.
Further information and actual photos from
the VENUS Project are available at www.
venus.uvic.ca.
Gail Anderson is an associate professor
at the School of Criminology at Simon
The State of
Science and
Technology
in Canada
L’État de la
science et de
la technologie
au Canada
Peter Nicholson, president
of the Council of Canadian
Academies, thanks you for your
participation in the Web-based
survey as part of the Council of
Canadian Academies’ study of
Canada’s strengths in S&T. The
survey elicited 1,529 responses,
making it a great success and the
core of the Council’s inaugural
report, The State of Science and
Technology in Canada.
The study’s final report is now
available publicly and may be
accessed on the Council’s Web
site at www.scienceadvice.ca.
Should you have any
questions or comments, please
contact Katherine Levitt at
613-567-5000 or katherine.
[email protected].
Peter Nicholson, président
du Conseil des académies
canadiennes, vous remercie pour
votre participation à une enquête
en ligne dans le cadre de l’étude
du Conseil des académies
canadiennes sur les atouts du
Canada en S et T. L’enquête a
obtenu 1 529 réponses, ce qui
en a fait un grand succès et le
fondement du rapport initial du
Conseil, L’État de la science et
de la technologie au Canada.
Le rapport final de l’étude est
maintenant disponible au public
et peut être consulté sur le site
Web du Conseil, à l’adresses
www.sciencepourlepublic.ca.
Si vous avez des questions
ou des commentaires, veuillez
contacter Katherine Levitt au
613-567-5000 ou katherine.
[email protected].
Fraser University.
Verena Tunnicliffe is the VENUS project director
and Canada Research Chair in Deep Oceans at
the University of Victoria.
The
Case
of the
Forensic Chemistry Career
An investigation into real-life CSI job opportunities
C
ool sunglasses, fancy cars, and the excitement of crime-solving
have made “Crime Scene Investigation” (CSI) one of the most
popular shows on television. Although CSI has a tendency
to glamorize the work of a forensic scientist, the show is definitely
helping to increase interest in and appreciation for science among the
general public, and is drawing people into forensic careers.
CSI’s popularity occurs at a time when homicide rates are on the rise.
Statistics Canada reports a four percent increase in homicides last year—
the highest level in almost a decade. The effect of this disappointing
reality on forensic science in Canada is a positive one, however. Forensic
labs are very active and have become vital for community safety, while
helping to save money by minimizing expensive police investigations. In
addition, the rapid advancements of science and technology, particularly
in DNA work, are creating new methods and instrumentation for use in
these busy forensic labs. Techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which permit highly accurate identification of an individual,
have actually led to a doubling in lab size in the last ten years. With this
growth, forensic labs have become state-of-the-art, with ample funding
for access to required instrumentation. Forensic scientists are also well
paid. At the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Ontario, for example, a forensic chemist in a senior position earns approximately $80,000. A forensic
technologist working at the bench earns approximately $60,000.
Sound attractive? But what would a career in forensics really entail?
Contrary to their portrayal on CSI, crime scene investigators are not
Alison L. Palmer, MCIC
multi-tasking superheroes. They are generally highly trained police
officers, and they collect evidence from the scene of the crime, but
they do not analyze it. Evidence is passed on to forensic scientists to
analyze in a crime lab. Forensic scientists apply their scientific discipline—whether it be chemistry, biology, pathology, or toxicology—to
the physical evidence in order to reach a conclusion regarding the
crime. Evidence a chemist analyzes could include paint chips, human
hair, glass fragments, plastics, explosive residues, drugs, bloodstains,
textiles, or soil. Often, the identity of a piece of evidence is unknown
and must be determined. Physical and chemical techniques a chemist would use to analyze evidence include microscopy, UV-vis and IR
spectroscopy, X-ray spectrometry, chromatography (GC, HPLC, TLC),
and mass spectrometry. Forensic chemists issue case reports, summarizing the results and conclusions of their analyses, and often give
expert forensic testimony in court.
Entry into the field of forensic science as a chemist requires a BSc
(Honours) in chemistry and a keen desire to solve problems. A strong
science background is key and is often preferred over a forensics background since technical experts of specific sciences can most effectively
work together to solve problems. Although forensic scientists are
trained on the job, some hands-on technical experience in a forensics
laboratory is encouraged. This experience can be obtained through an
MSc in forensic science, a forensic science certificate, and/or volunteer
work in a forensic lab. Helpful resources for more information
Above: What are the realities of the work of a forensic scientist?
regarding opportunities in forensic science include the Canadian
Society of Forensic Science, and the Forensics.ca portal. With a mind
set on forensic chemistry and the requirements in hand, there are
several places across the country that you can apply for a position.
In Canada, there are six federal and two provincial forensic science
labs. The six federal labs run through the RCMP National Police
Service are located in Halifax, NS, Ottawa, ON, Winnipeg, MB,
Regina, SK, Edmonton, AB, and Vancouver, BC. The RCMP Forensic Laboratory Service consists of 370 forensic scientists, technologists, and administrative personnel. The two provincial labs are The
Centre of Forensic Sciences in Ontario with 250 employees, and Le
laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale in Quebec with
125 employees. Additionally, the first Forensic Science Institute in Canada was recently established through a partnership between the Centre
of Forensic Sciences and the University of Toronto forensic department.
The institute will soon offer an MSc forensics program, paired with the
existing BSc forensics program at the University of Toronto, in which
cutting-edge forensic research will be performed. The University of
Ontario Institute of Technology, Laurentian University, and the University of Windsor in Ontario also offer BSc programs in forensics.
Mount Royal College in Calgary and the BC Institute of
Technology offer certificate forensics programs.
Many forensic science resources exist
because it is a very popular field. There
are far more people interested in careers as forensic scientists than there
are positions available. A job posting for a chemistry position in a
Canadian forensic lab commonly
has over 300 applicants. Only
highly qualified, persistent,
and persevering candidates are
successful. Many candidates
who do not obtain positions
but who are keen on forensics choose the crime scene
investigator route instead and
become police officers.
Although the forensic chemistry career path is competitive,
it’s a promising career for those
who love a good puzzle and have
their minds set on real-life CSI
work. Producers of CSI might use
Hummers to draw attention to the career of forensics, but they also accurately
detail many of the exciting challenges of
forensic work. Kudos to CSI for helping to
popularize science, and good luck to those embarking on careers as forensic chemists!
For more
information
regarding a forensic
chemistry career, check
out these Web sites:
Canadian Society of Forensic Science: www.csfs.ca
The Centre of Forensic Sciences, Ontario:
www.mpss.jus.gov.on.ca/English/pub_safety/centre_
forensic/about/intro.html
Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de
médecine légale, Quebec:
www.msp.gouv.qc.ca/labo/labo_en.asp?
txtSection=sommnous
The Forensic Science Portal:
www.forensics.ca
Alison L. Palmer, MCIC, has a BSc from The University of
British Columbia and recently completed an MSc in bioorganic
chemistry at McGill University. She plans to pursue a career
in science communication.
Having It All
A formerly full-time parent reflects on the pitfalls and pleasant surprises of returning to work.
M
any chemical professionals struggle to balance the demands
of a career with the responsibilities of being a parent. I was
fortunate to be able to spend almost ten years at home
with my children before returning to full-time employment. Increasingly, women as well as men want to have it all! We want to enjoy
the benefits of family and our professions. I’ve been encouraged to
share the lessons I’ve learned while making the transition from home
back to the workforce.
After completing my doctoral thesis in analytical chemistry at the
University of Toronto, raising a family became my immediate priority.
Having children was extremely important to me, and as I was aware of
the potential difficulties that could arise from being an older mother,
I do not regret putting my scientific career on hold to have children.
However, by the time I had my second child, I had become resigned to
the thought that I would never go back to work. I was content being a
busy mother with two children. I had a circle of friends who are also
mothers, and for a time, I was content in the “traditional” role of being
a mother/wife/homemaker.
Later, I started feeling a twinge of envy when some of the other
mothers at the playground joyfully announced that they were returning to part-time employment. Some mothers were entrepreneurial and
started their own businesses working from home. It occurred to me
that something was missing. I missed intellectual problem solving and
having a project to look after. But these envious feelings were often
fleeting, and the details involved in running a household and raising
children distracted me from seriously applying for a job.
Then came the day I had to look for a job out of necessity. At around
the same time, a friend showed me the path to a career as a patent
Heather Hui-Litwin, MCIC
agent. I researched the career by speaking to various agents in the
field. Although they each warned me about the enormous hurdles associated with becoming a patent agent, they also encouraged me to
relaunch my career on that path. I began to familiarize myself with
patents by browsing the Canadian Patent Office Web site (www.cipo.
gc.ca). I applied to various law firms to be a patent agent trainee at the
same time. After a few months, I was very fortunate to land a position
as a scientific consultant at Lang Michener LLP in Toronto, ON.
I had the acceptance letter in my hand. All my efforts had been
rewarded. But then I surprised myself—my apprehension returned!
Not only would my daily routines be completely rearranged when I
returned to work, but I was also entering a brand new field. Gone were
the days of doing scientific research at a lab. I would have to learn all
about patent law, and about the procedures involved in obtaining a
patent. I really was not convinced I would be able to handle so much
change. But I owed it to my family to give it a try.
So what was it like going back to work? In the beginning, the weeks
seemed very long. I was not accustomed to having to travel to the office every day. Commuting is tiresome. Then there was the rush to purchase a wardrobe suitable for work. As a scientist/graduate student/
mother, I’d never needed a professional wardrobe. All these minor
tasks presented a challenge.
I was fortunate that I could rely on relatives to look after the children
while I was at work. It allowed me peace of mind to know that they
were well cared for. Although my children were initially thrilled to see
their mother go back to work, they began to complain about it after a
few months. These days, I am getting longer hugs from the children
before I go to work and when I come home.
As with most transitions in life, the first few
months were accompanied with anxiety that
manifested itself in strange sleep patterns.
There were nights when thoughts of work
kept me wide awake and excited. Fatigue
would follow the next day. It was only after a
while that the routine worked itself out.
Gone were the days
of doing scientific
research at a lab
On a positive note, when I am at work,
I often feel as though I have just graduated.
It is as if the gap in my career never occurred.
Also, because I am starting in a new field,
I feel young! There is so much to learn to be
a patent agent. I feel I have accomplished
something every time I grasp another facet of
the work. I was surprised to learn that this
feeling of rejuvenation was shared by a friend
who had also returned to work after a decade
of being a stay-at-home mother. She also discovered that once she settled into her job, the
“break” she’d taken to raise children hadn’t
really affected her job performance at all.
Another pleasant surprise came when I
noticed that, in the absence of the persistent
concern for my children’s immediate needs
and without the distraction of chores, I was
truly able to concentrate on my work! I had
been soley responsible for housework at
home. I had a new appreciation for the fact
that the office washrooms and kitchenettes
were cleaned by staff, and that I did not have
to vacuum and dust myself.
When people learn of my transition, they
often ask, “Which is easier—being a stay-athome mom or being a professional?” As you
might guess, there is no clear answer. Each
position has its own challenges and advantages. There is a common misconception from
working professionals that life spent raising
children is idyllic and unstructured—as if parenting at home is one endless vacation. Certainly, this was not the case for me. There are
endless details to tend to when you are parenting full-time. Looking after the children’s daily
needs is a demanding job on top of the mundane drudgery of chores. I felt that the work I
did at home was taken for granted. At work,
I find it such a luxury to be able to sit at my
desk and concentrate on a few tasks at hand
without having to worry about the minutia of
running the household. I also find it refreshing
to be able to work at an intellectually challenging job. The successful completion of a task
makes me feel genuinely rewarded. However,
as everyone realizes, at-home parents do not
have to contend with the same level of anxiety
with regard to job performance. Issues such as
job security, project deadlines, and ensuring
the quality of work is up to standard have no
place on the playground.
Other people have asked me, “Is it possible
to resume your career after taking such a long
time off? By now, you must have forgotten
everything!” From my experience, the answer
to the first question is yes. With respect to the
second question, while it is true that you can
lose any skill that you don’t use, the ability to
think critically is renewed with practice.
Returning to work full-time after a long
hiatus is definitely challenging. Support from
your spouse and/or your colleagues is critical at this time, and it’s still what keeps me
going. But I have no regrets about devoting
the last decade to my family. The children
have grown up so quickly. I feel extremely
fortunate that I was able to spend that precious time with them.
Heather Hui-Litwin, MCIC, obtained her
doctorate in analytical chemistry at the
department of chemistry at the University
of Toronto in 1996. She now works at Lang
Michener LLP as a scientific consultant.
CIC Career Services
Visit the CIC’s CareerSite to conduct your job search.
• Post your résumés on-line.
• View our employer list. Over 1,550 Canadian company listings are available to CIC members only.
• Enjoy a free membership. Full-fee members are entitled to up to two years free membership while unemployed.
• Advertise in ACCN: Post an Employment Wanted ad, check the Careers section for openings, and keep
abreast of issues in Canada’s chemical community.
• Attend career events. Network at the CSC and CSChE conferences.
• Stay connected with Local Sections and Divisions.
• Let us be your guide. Find information on certification, professional status, or immigration issues.
www.chemjobs.ca
Why Bother with Strategic Planning?
Bernard West, MCIC, and Joanne West
T
here are those of us who see strategic
planning as a waste of time. Some
consider the evolution of our business as a string of events, to which we can
only react, rather than control. This approach
might work in the short term. However, an
organization must plan for its future success
to remain viable, deal with significant bumps
in the road, and ultimately achieve its goals.
Constructing a strategic plan is the most
effective approach.
Making a strategic plan is like planning
for a trip. To get to your destination, you
get out a map and plan the route. Keep your
goal in sight and the map will provide you
with information on the terrain and any
obstacles you may encounter along the way.
It will also show the various routes available
to you. You must ask yourself, what is our
strategy for the trip? Do we want to get
there as fast as possible, or experience the
best scenery, paying side visits to points of
interest? Also, are there restrictions along
the way for certain types of vehicles, congestion, etc.? Referring to your business plan
is like periodically checking the horizon to
be sure you are headed in the right direction and then looking down at your shoes to
make sure that you are keeping to the path.
Once you have this framework in place, you
can develop a more detailed, step-by-step
plan to get you safely to your destination.
The value to any organization of undertaking a strategic planning process is testing
that organization’s goals—are they realistic?
Are they current? Are they relevant? The
plan tests whether the organization has the
proper approach to its mission. It requires
examining and detailing an organization’s
strengths and weaknesses, as well as its operating environment, competitors, and the
market trends that may affect it. A strategic
plan encourages an organization to ask customers or clients, and members, to identify
their current and future needs.
Strategic plan development should be lead
by the CEO, chair of the Board, or equivalent, and should be a collaborative effort of a
team of five to ten people. Each team member should know the organization and come
from different departments, functions, and
backgrounds.
Typically, it includes a statement of the
vision, the mission, the strategies, and highlevel, long-term goals of the organization.
• Vision: describes an organization’s overarching aspiration, which may never be
fully achieved.
• Mission: details steps on how pursue the
vision. It describes the organization’s
main activities and purpose.
• Strategy: specific long-term actions to follow to move the organization towards its
goals. They are developed from knowledge
of the environment in which the organization works, including what the customers
and competitors are doing, the strengths
and weaknesses of the organization, and
how to leverage them best. The timeline
for a strategic plan is at least five years
and usually ten years into the future.
Keep your goal in sight
and the map will provide
you with information
on the terrain and any
obstacles you may
encounter along the way
The resulting strategic plan should be
a short document with a few numbers. It
should provide the basis for communicating
the organization’s aspirations and how it will
reach its goals. The document is intended to
be the framework for the development of a
shorter-range plan (often called a business
plan) constructed for a one- to three-year
timeframe. The first consideration for the
business plan is likely to be the budget.
Constructing a strategic plan
the last decade, can be described by the keywords envision, frame, learn grab, coalesce,
cope, integrate, and transform.
An example of successful strategic planning is the preparation for NASA’s 1969 moon
landing. John F. Kennedy set the vision/big
goal of having America get to the moon by the
end of the 1960s. To reach that goal, NASA
imagined it was 1969, and they had already
landed on the moon. They then worked backwards to 1960 and identified the steps necessary to get from where they were to where
they wanted to be. The process also provided
a means for periodically reviewing and updating their progress.
In organizations without a clear goal like
landing on the moon, a vision setting and
“buy-in step” must precede the looking-back
process. The buy-in step involves testing
the planning team’s vision statement with
groups inside and outside the organization.
Groups can discuss it, and in doing so, clarify
its intent. Once the organization’s vision is
defined, it can be used throughout the organization as a means of communication. The
organization’s mission and strategies flow
from this vision and can also be used as communication vehicles to gain understanding,
alignment, and commitment.
The CIC used this approach when updating its own strategic plan over the last few
months. You will see the results in a future
edition of ACCN.
References
1. Henry Mitzberg, Joseph Lampel, and Bruce
Ahlstrand, Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour
Through the Wilds of Strategic Management
(The Free Press, 1998).
Bernard West, MCIC, is past-chair of the CIC.
Joanne West is a Toronto-based freelance writer.
Over the years, many techniques have been
used. Mintzberg et al. summarizes the various schools of planning and how theories
have evolved.1 Methods have evolved from
a very regimented, step-by-step analysis of
current status, trends nature of the organization, and how they determine the vision
and mission, known as “prescriptive” planning. Keywords describing this approach are
fit, formalize, and analyze. The “descriptive”
type of plan, which has gained popularity in
CIC BULLETIN ICC
CIC Board of Directors’
Nominations (2007–2008)
The Nominating Committee, appointed under the terms of CIC
By-Law Article X, Section 1, has proposed the candidates listed
below to serve as the Institute officers for 2007–2008. Further
nominations are solicited from the membership for the positions of
chair and vice-chair. They must be submitted in writing, must have
the written and signed consent of the nominee to serve if elected,
and must be signed by no fewer than 25 members in good standing of the Institute (CIC By-Law Article X, Section 3 (d)).
The deadline for receipt of any additional nominations is
Monday, January 22, 2007. If any elections are required, ballots
will be mailed in February. Those elected—whether by ballot
or acclamation—will take office following the annual general
meeting of the Institute on May 28, 2007, in Winnipeg, MB.
Christian Detellier, FCIC
Chair 2007–2008
Department of chemistry
University of Ottawa
Christian Detellier is the current CIC vice-chair.
He obtained his Licence en sciences chimiques
from the Université de Liège, Belgium, in 1972
and his Doctorat en sciences chimiques in
1976 in the field of physical organic chemistry.
He spent one year at the University of Orsay as
a post-doctoral fellow of the Institut Français
du Pétrole, France, with Henry Kagan, work-
En vertu de l’article X, section 1, du règlement de l’ICC, le Comité
des candidatures propose la candidature des personnes listées
ci-dessous aux postes d’administrateur pour 2007–2008. Les
membres sont invités à soumettre d’autres candidatures pour les
postes de président et de vice-président. Celles-ci doivent être
présentées par écrit, être accompagnées du consentement écrit et
signé par le candidat à remplir la charge s’il est élu, et doivent être
signées par au moins 25 membres en règle de l’Institut. (Article X,
section 3 (d) du règlement de l’ICC).
La date limite pour soumettre d’autres candidatures est le
22 janvier 2007. Advenant qu’un scrutin soit nécessaire, les
bulletins seront postés en février. Les personnes élues par scrutin ou par acclamation entreront en fonction après l’assemblée
générale annuelle de l’Institut, qui aura lieu le 28 mai 2007,
à Winnipeg (Manitoba).
ing on asymmetric catalytic synthesis. He
returned to Liège as an assistant, before taking
a one-year position as visiting professor at the
University of Ottawa in 1980. He then joined
the University of Ottawa department of chemistry as an assistant professor in 1981, was
promoted to associate professor in 1984, and
to professor in 1991. He was assistant dean
from 1992 to 1994, chair of the department of
chemistry from 1994 to 1997, and was dean of
science from 1997 to 2006.
The major theme of Detellier’s research is
molecular organization, particularly the design
of new types of organo-inorgano nanohybrid
materials, based on naturally occurring layered
minerals. He has served on numerous peer
review committees, including the NSERC research grant selection committee (1994–1997),
the NSERC AGENO committee (2003), the
NSERC scholarship and fellowship committee
(1991–1994), the FQRNT post-doctoral fellowship committee (2005), and he was a member
of the Comité directeur du Québec de la Fondation canadienne pour l’innovation from 1998
to 2003. He was on the international steering
committee of the International Conference on
Solution Chemistry (ICSC) (1988–1995), and
on the organizing committee of several international conferences, including the 11th International Clay Conference in Ottawa in 1997.
He organized the 21st IUPAC International
Conference on Solution Chemistry in Ottawa
in 1990 and served on the editorial board of
Supramolecular Chemistry from 1992–2000,
and of L’Actualité chimique canadienne /
Canadian Chemical News (ACCN) from 1991–
1995. He is author or co-author of more than
120 research papers.
Murray R. Gray, FCIC
Vice-Chair 2007–2008
Department of Chemical
and Materials Engineering
University of Alberta
Murray R. Gray has been with the University
of Alberta (U of A) since 1983. He has held
a number of senior academic positions at the
U of A, including chair of the department of
chemical engineering and dean of graduate
studies and research. He is currently director
of the Imperial Oil Centre for Oil Sands
CIC BULLETIN ICC
Innovation. With over 22 years of experience
in kinetics and reaction engineering, Gray has
focused on bitumen and heavy oil upgrading
and bioprocessing. His achievements have
been recognized by the Canadian Society
for Chemical Engineering (CSChE) Syncrude
Innovation Award (1996), the Syncrude/
NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Advanced
Upgrading of Bitumen (2000), and the CSChE
Industrial Practice Award (2003). In 2005,
he was elected a Fellow of the Canadian
Academy of Engineering. He has served the
national and international engineering and
science communities in many roles, including
national president of the CSChE and chair of
the NSERC Chemical/Metallurgical Engineering Grant Selection Committee.
Gray obtained his PhD in chemical
engineering from the California Institute of
Technology in 1984. He also holds a MEng
degree in chemical engineering from the
University of Calgary (1980) and a BSc in
chemical engineering (with honours) from
the University of Toronto (1978).
Statement of Policy
Over the coming decades, world attention will
be focused on the secure supply of clean energy—even more so than during the energy
shocks of the 1970s. This preoccupation with
energy presents a unique opportunity to the
chemical professions because of our central
role in the production of transportation fuels
and commodity chemicals. Canada has the
potential to be a world leader in energy supply, both in the production of non-renewable
energy products from the oil sands, and in the
development of fuels and chemical feedstocks
from renewable biomass resources.
Two perennial Canadian challenges must be
overcome to succeed in this transformation.
The first is to ensure that we have the highly
educated workforce to build on this opportunity, and the second is to avoid exporting
the cheapest possible raw materials to the
rest of the world. Rather than just supplying
the world with cheap commodities, our goal
must be to invent enabling technology that
is environmentally responsible, to manufacture the necessary process equipment, and to
use these to produce value-added products
from our energy, forestry, and agricultural
raw materials.
The CIC and its Constituent Societies
can contribute by ensuring that chemical
professionals are educated to tackle these
challenges, that research and innovation in
energy are supported, and that governments
act to encourage investment in value-added
manufacturing.
Readers reach
for ACCN for news on
who’s who and
what’s what
in the Canadian
chemical community
In Memoriam
The CIC extends its condolences to the
families of:
Donald R. Arnold, FCIC
Stanley Ross McLean, MCIC
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CSC BULLETIN SCC
CSC Board of Directors’
Nominations (2007–2008)
The Nominating Committee appointed under the terms of CSC
By-law Article X Nominations and Elections has proposed the
candidates listed below for election to the Board of Directors in
2007–2008. Members are reminded of the provision of By-law
Article X, Section 3 (e), which states: “Further nominations for
any officer position may be made in writing by any ten or more
Voting Members of the corporation. Further nominations for
directors to be elected by Divisions (or Regions) in any year
may be made by any five members in good standing qualified
to vote for the said director (i.e., a member of the Division(s) or
Regions the director will represent).” Each nomination must be
accompanied by the candidate’s written agreement to serve if
elected, a curriculum vitae and a recent photograph. The deadline
for receipt of additional nominations is Monday, January 22, 2007.
If any elections are required, ballots will be mailed in February.
Those elected, whether by ballot or acclamation, will take office
immediately following the annual general meeting of the Society
on Monday, May 28, 2007, in Winnipeg, MB.
Russell Boyd, FCIC
President 2007–2008
Alexander McLeod professor of chemistry
Dalhousie University
Le Comité des candidatures, nommé en vertu des dispositions
du règlement X de la SCC, propose la candidature des personnes
listées ci-dessous aux postes de membres du conseil pour 20072008. Il est rappelé aux membres que le règlement (section 3e)
précise ce qui suit : « Des candidatures additionnelles pour les
postes d’administrateurs peuvent être soumises par écrit par au
moins dix membres votants de la Société. D’autres candidatures
aux postes de directeur à élire par les divisions (ou les régions)
en n’importe quelle année peuvent être faites par au moins cinq
membres en règle de la Société, pourvu qu’ils aient le droit de
voter pour ces directeurs (c.-à-d. des membres de la ou des
divisions ou régions que l’administrateur représentera). » Chaque
candidature doit être accompagnée du consentement écrit et
signé par le candidat, qui s’engage à remplir la charge s’il est élu,
d’un curriculum vitae, ainsi que d’une photographie récente. Les
membres auront jusqu’au lundi 22 janvier 2007 pour faire parvenir
de nouvelles candidatures. Advenant qu’un scrutin soit nécessaire,
les bulletins seront postés en février. Les personnes élues par
scrutin ou par acclamation entreront en fonction immédiatement
après l’assemblée générale annuelle de la Société qui aura lieu le
lundi 28 mai 2007, à Winnipeg (Manitoba).
Russell Boyd, a native of Kelowna, BC, graduated from The University of British Colombia
(UBC) with the Lefevre Gold Medal. As one
of the first recipients of a 1967 Science Scholarship, he received his PhD in theoretical
chemistry from McGill University in 1971.
An NRC Post-Doctoral Fellowship with
Charles Coulson at the University of Oxford
was followed by a Killam Post-Doctoral
Fellowship at UBC. Boyd joined Dalhousie
University in 1975 and rose through the
ranks to become a professor in 1985. He
served as chair of the department of chemistry at Dalhousie from 1992 to 2005. He was
named a Faculty of Science Killam Professor
in 1997, and in 2001, became the seventh
holder of the Alexander McLeod Chair of
Chemistry, one of the oldest named professorships in chemistry in Canada.
His many professional activities include
serving on numerous NSERC committees,
and acting as editor for theoretical chemistry
of the Canadian Journal of Chemistry from
1988 to 1998. He has been a member of the
Scientific Board of the World Association of
Theoretical and Computational Chemists
since 2002. His service to the Canadian Society for Chemistry includes being a member
of the organizing committees for the conferences in 1981, 1990, and 2006, chair of
the physical and theoretical chemistry division, and director of accreditation and board
member from 1996 to 1999.
Boyd has published over 200 peer
reviewed papers in computational and
theoretical chemistry. The focus of his
current research is on applications of contemporary computational methods to the
CSC BULLETIN SCC
study of biological systems. Citations of his
papers place him in the top 0.4 percent of
the world’s chemists. He is especially proud
of the number of excellent young scientists
who received a significant part of their training in his group.
Pierre Beaumier, MCIC
Vice-President 2007–2008
President
Maxxam Analytics, Inc.
Pierre Beaumier has over 33 years of analytical chemistry experience in environmental,
forensic, and food analyses at Maxxam Analytics Inc. and has served on the Board of
Maxxam for over 20 years. He received his
BSc from Loyola in Montréal, QC, and his
PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Windsor. Beaumier is the president
of Maxxam Analytics Inc., one of Canada’s
largest private analytical testing laboratories,
employing over 900 scientists.
Beaumier has served as president of the
Association of the Chemical Profession of
Ontario (ACPO), as well as the International
Association of Official Racing Chemists. He
is also a frequent guest speaker to associations and other organizations. He is active
in the community and serves on the boards
of Peel Partners for a Drug Free Community
and Hospitals in Common Laboratories.
Statement of Policy
The CSC membership is diverse and includes academia, government, and industry.
The interest chemists have in maintaining
membership in the CSC stems from a core
need to feel represented as a profession, to
leverage our diversity, to enhance the learning process, and to champion science in our
society. Governments often develop a tainted
view of science and offer weak support for
research. We must be a strong voice advocating the use of science in the decision-making
processes that affect our environment, our
health care, and our education system, as
well as influencing public policy. The CSC
has its strength in academia, which lays out
the foundation on which government and
industrial members grow. The CSC accreditation system was established to enhance
the chemistry programs in universities and
must be strongly supported (as should the
introduction) under the non-chemistry requirements of some business courses for
scientists. In this way, chemists will be better prepared for managerial and leadership
roles. The Institute, Society, Divisions, and
Local Sections provide benefits and opportunities for all members through publications,
conferences that allow professional and technical networking, and continuing education
opportunities.
I have served as president of the ACPO,
a provincial association that has strived to
obtain licensure for chemists. I understand
the direction the profession needs to take on
the provincial level to secure the “chemist’s
role” in industry, as is the case in Quebec.
The CSC is supportive of the provincial bodies, acting as an intermediary and, at times, a
unifying force. As these organizations attain
their goals, the CSC will need to enhance the
continuing education programs, and help
to align the provincial bodies to assure mutual recognition of the professional chemist
across Canada. The prevalent issue of the
foreign credentials held by many of our new
immigrants could become an important role
of the CSC—helping the provincial organizations, initiating educational programs to add
to their qualifications, and introducing them
to the CSC. We will endeavor to ensure that
the profession and practice of chemistry is
adequately represented, and secure the roles
and employability of chemical scientists.
The aging membership necessitates that
the CSC must continually strive to provide
value for the membership and focus on the
recruitment of new members. I have participated on the CSC board in the past and hope
to bring my experience to the present board
to help update the strategic plan, and continue the growth of the organization by increasing the awareness of the society’s value
to the younger chemist. I will work with the
Societies and Institute to develop and communicate positions on issues of interest to the
membership and the broader community.
Grace Greidanus-Strom, MCIC
Director 2007–2009
Associate professor of chemistry
King’s University College
Grace Greidanus-Strom received a BSc in
chemistry from the University of Calgary
in 1996. She obtained her PhD from the
University of Alberta under the tutelage of
J. Stryker in 2001, and began her academic
career at King’s University College in
Edmonton, AB, and is associate professor of
chemistry. NSERC and CFI have supported
her research interests in developing polydentate π-accepting ligands for transition
metal chemistry.
Greidanus-Strom is a dedicated mentor
and is faculty adviser to the King’s Science
Society. All research conducted in her
laboratory has been performed by undergraduates and high school students, yielding
many award-winning student presentations
at both regional and national levels. She
serves the chemical community as a judge for
poster and oral presentations and has been a
plenary lecturer at student conferences. She
organizes the King’s Undergraduate Research
Symposium that occurs each year on the
King’s campus. In recognition of her service,
Greidanus-Strom was awarded the 2005 CSC
Faculty Advisor Award.
Greidanus-Strom is secretary of the CIC
Edmonton section. She also supports and
participates in Women in Scholarship, Engineering and Science Technology (WISEST)
and the Edmonton Science Outreach Network
(ESON).
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Wendy Lam, MCIC
Investment manager
AVAC Ltd.
Neil Burford, MCIC
Professor of chemistry
Dalhousie University
Wendy Lam has a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Alberta and a BSc
from The University of Western Ontario. She
is a highly motivated scientist and manager
with an entrepreneurial approach. With a
19-year track record of supporting innovation in university, government, and industry
environments, Lam has focused on building research collaborations, enhancing
technology transfer and commercialization,
facilitating partnerships, and managing highperforming teams.
Originally from Ontario, Lam has been
living and working in Alberta for almost 25
years. As investment manager currently at
AVAC Ltd., Wendy leads the company’s agricultural research business unit and is responsible for investing $24 million into high
quality agrivalue research projects and programs that have a line of sight towards commercialization. Previously held positions
include grants and awards director at the Alberta Ingenuity Fund, technology manager
at the University of Alberta’s Industry Liaison Office (now TEC Edmonton), strategic
initiatives and planning manager at Western
Economic Diversification, and research scientist at Natural Resources Canada.
Lam has been on the Edmonton local section executive team for over ten years and is
currently treasurer of the section and of the
CSC 2008 Edmonton Conference. She and
her husband are active volunteers in their
children’s not-for-profit community choirs.
Neil Burford is a native of Liverpool, England. He obtained a BSc honours degree
in 1979 from Cardiff University and a PhD
at the University of Calgary. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta
and a research associate at the University of
New Brunswick. He was appointed assistant
professor at Dalhousie University in 1987
and was promoted to professor in 1995. An
Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship in 1996
enabled him to collaborate with Peter Jutzi at
the University of Bielefeld. He was selected
as a Faculty of Science Killam Professor in
1998, appointed as Harry Shirreff Professor
of Chemical Research in 2000, and became a
Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in 2001. He
was awarded a Killam Fellowship by the Canada Council for the Arts in 2003, and was the
recipient of the 2006 Alcan Lecture Award.
Burford’s research group focuses on the
chemistry of the heavier Group 15 elements,
phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth
(collectively known as the pnictogens). The
objectives of the research include the discovery and development of efficient and effective synthetic routes to new, fundamentally
important molecules containing P, As, Sb, or
Bi, in which the pnictogen centre exhibits
an unusual local structure, is engaged in a
new connectivity, provides materials with
new, spectroscopic, physical or reactivity
properties, or has relevance in established
bioactivity.
CSC BULLETIN SCC
Technically Speaking … Part II
The 89th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition in Halifax
chaired by Jan Kwak, FCIC, from Dalhousie University attracted a
large number of thought-provoking scientific presentations. The
following is a second segment of highlights from the conference:
transformations, e.g. in the synthesis of cyclophosphazenes, may
also be affected by AgSbF6 or related salts. Ring-opening polymerizations of Dm (m = 3 – 6) have been widely investigated, and these
results are also of interest in this context. The AgD+
n materials are
rare examples of Lewis acid donor complexes of silicon ethers and
Ag+ oxygen donor complexes.
I
n the symposium “Heterocycles and Heteroatom-containing
Rings,” graduate student Daniel J. St. Cyr, MCIC, described work
that was done with Bruce Arndtsen, MCIC, at McGill University
involving two new multi-component syntheses of highly substituted
pyrroles. In previous work, the group showed that imines, acid chlorides, and alkynes are coupled directly to give highly substituted
pyrroles using carbon monoxide and palladium catalysts. It was
found that this transformation could be performed without palladium
by substituting carbon monoxide for isocyanides or phosphine(III)
derivatives. All three methods exploit analogous 1,3-dipolar intermediates: münchnones, imino münchnones, and oxazaphospholium
ylides, respectively. The latter represent a completely new class of
1,3-dipolar heterocycle. These species show heightened reactivity
with alkynes to afford the pyrrole products owing to the highly favourable loss of phosphine oxide in the mechanism (see R. Dhawan,
B. A. Arndtsen, Journal of the American Chemical Society 126, 2
(2004), pp. 468–469).
Multicomponent synthesis of substituted pyrroles
I
n the General Inorganic Chemistry Symposium, graduate student Xinping Wang, MCIC, described work he has carried out
with Jack Passmore, FCIC, at the University of New Brunswick
in the chemistry of the metal cation directed cyclodimethylsiloxane
ring transformations (see Angewandte Chemie International Edition
45 (2006), p. 2773). In his talk, Wang presented the first examples
of the transition metal cation-siloxane SbF6- salts of AgDn+(D =
Me2SiO, n = 6 – 8) formed by the reactions of Dm (m = 3 - 6) with
AgSbF6 in liquid SO2, from which the neat Dn (n = 6 – 8) species
were obtained on addition of CH3CN, indicating that the Ag+ cation
directed the ring transformations. This work implies that a new class
of silicon pseudo metal crown ether complexes can be prepared from
commercially available starting materials. It also suggests that other
polycyclosiloxanes may be prepared by tailoring the metal cation
size, and the size and nature of the anion. In addition, related ring
Top-view (a) and side-view (b) of AgD+7
I
n the symposium “Peptide Science,” Robert Campbell, MCIC,
from the University of Alberta described a new method for assessing the structural stability of recombinant beta-hairpin
peptides both in vitro and in vivo (Z. Cheng and R. E. Campbell,
Assessing the Structural Stability of Designed Beta-Hairpin Peptides
in the Cytoplasm of Live Cells,” ChemBioChem 7 (2006), In Press).
This method is based on the measurement of fluorescence resonance
energy transfer (FRET) between a cyan fluorescent protein (CFP)
and yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) that are genetically fused to
the N- and C-termini, respectively, of the beta-hairpin of interest.
Measurements can be made either in vitro with purified protein, or
with live cells through the use of recombinant gene expression and
fluorescence microscopy. Recent work from the Campbell group has
involved the screening of large libraries of beta-hairpin peptides and
selection for variants with higher in vivo stability. The group expects
their methodology to be of general use in the engineering of small
proteins or structured peptides that retain their folded structure in
the cytoplasm of live cells
Fluorescence resonance energy transfer between genetically fused cyan
fluorescent protein and yellow fluorescent protein
CSC BULLETIN SCC
STUDENT NEWS | NOUVELLES DES ÉTUDIANTS
D
Student Scholarships Awarded
etecting dental caries (i.e., demineralization of
the teeth) at early stages before advancement into
cavities allows dentists to use non-surgical treatment approaches rather than more invasive restorative
methods such as drilling and filling. However, detecting
and monitoring these early lesions are difficult with
currently available diagnostic tools (dental explorer and
radiographs). In the “Analytical Chemistry in Biology and
Medicine” symposium, Lin-P’ing Choo-Smith (NRC-Institute for Biodiagnostics, NRC-IBD) with a research team
involving the NRC-IBD (A. Ko, M. Hewko, MCIC, M. Sowa,
MCIC), the University of Manitoba (C. Dong), and Dalhousie University (B. Cleghorn) presented their research using
optical coherence tomography (OCT) and polarized Raman
spectroscopy (PRS) to address this dental problem. With
OCT, there is increased light backscattering with depth at
lesion sites compared to sound enamel. Analyses with PRS
indicate statistically significant differences in the depolarization ratio of the Raman phosphate symmetric vibration
(ν1 PO43-) at ~961 cm-1 arising from tooth hydroxyapatite. This ratio is consistently higher at carious regions
versus sound enamel surfaces. The differences are attributed to alterations in the porosity (OCT studies) as well
as changes in the enamel rod morphology and/or orientation of the enamel crystallites (PRS studies) resulting from
acid induced demineralization.(A C.-T. Ko et al., Optics
Express, 14 (2006), pp. 203–215) These observations support the development of new clinical tools for detecting
early lesions, assessing their depths and quantitatively
monitoring the extent of demineralization and remineralization thereby guiding dental treatment decisions.
In the symposium, “Recent Advances in Main Group
Chemistry,” Jan J. Weigand, MCIC (and Alexander von
Humboldt, Feodor Lynen post-doctoral fellow with Neil
Burford, MCIC, at Dalhousie University), described a new
melt approach for the synthesis of catena-phosphorus cations. By exploiting the diagonal relationship between carbon
and phosphorus, a new series of P-P bonded compounds
is being developed (Angewandte Chemie International Edition 44 (2005), pp. 2364–2367; 6196–6199). New phosphinophosphonium cations and polycations that are not accessible in typical organic solvents can be prepared using
stoichiometric reagent combinations in a molten mixture of
polyphosphines, chlorophosphines and gallium trichloride.
The approach also allows the insertion of a phosphenium
cation (e.g. Ph2P+) into a P-P bond of elemental phosphorus
(e.g. P4). The new hexaphosphorus dication P6Ph2+
8 and the
phosphorus rich monocation P5Ph2+ highlight the synthetic
versatility of the procedure and the potential to develop a
diverse catena-phosphorus chemistry that parallels catenacarbon chemistry.
Cathleen Crudden, MCIC, and Hans-Peter Loock, MCIC, are both
associate professors at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON.
CSC Alfred Bader Scholarships
The Alfred Bader Scholarship is offered as a mark of excellence for achievement
in organic chemistry or biochemistry, by undergraduate students completing
their final year of study in an honours program. This year, four scholarships
were awarded.
Charles Yeung, ACIC
Charles Yeung, ACIC, was born in Hong
Kong and moved to Canada as a child.
He continued his education in a less wellknown high school but amidst a tightly
knit environment, he came to know a
chemistry teacher who inspired him to
pursue chemistry as a career. Driven by
his curiosity, he learned many things about
this exciting field of science. This enthusiasm allowed Yeung the honour of being
the National Winner of the CIC National
High School Chemistry Exam and later, the chance to represent Canada at the
34th International Chemistry Olympiad. He continued to look for opportunities
to immerse himself in chemistry at The University of British Columbia, working
with Mark MacLachlan, MCIC, in the development of novel materials during his
first two years, and later with Laurel Schafer, MCIC, in the development of catalysts for organic transformations. Yeung recently worked with Alexander Wang
on several computational projects and is now beginning graduate studies at the
University of Toronto in catalysis.
Mike Johansen
Mike Johansen has been a life-long resident of Brooklin, ON. A recent graduate
of The University of Western Ontario,
he was among the first to complete the
new degree of honours specialization in
chemistry with an advanced minor in
chemistry. Completing his fourth year
research project titled, “Anion Receptors
Based on the 1,4-Thiazine-1,1-Dioxide
Moiety,” under the supervision of James
Wisner, MCIC, he was first introduced to
the chemistry research environment. On completion of his undergraduate degree, Johansen was the recipient of the Alumni Association Gold Medal for
Honours Chemistry, the Society of Chemical Industry Merit Award, as well as
the Hypercube Scholar Award.
With the aid of an NSERC USRA award, he continued research in the Wisner group for the following summer term, developing his research abilities
and finding further success. This fall, he will be continuing his studies as a
graduate student in Michael Kerr, MCIC’s research group at Western, studying
organic synthetic methodology aimed towards natural product synthesis, with
the aid of an NSERC PGS-M scholarship.
STUDENT NEWS | NOUVELLES DES ÉTUDIANTS
as an NSERC USRA student in the summers
of 2004 and 2005. This enriching experience
motivated her to switch to the medicinal
chemistry program and carry out her honours
project in Fagnou’s lab. As an NSERC CGS-M
scholarship recipient, she is currently continuing her graduate studies at the University of
Ottawa under Fagnou’s supervision.
kayaking , mountain biking, and hiking.
She has spent her undergraduate summers
working at Queen’s University and the Royal
Military College of Canada researching automotive materials, medical polymers, and
environmental remediation. Future career
plans involve working in industry, earning
her PEng designation, and eventually founding her own company.
CSChE Chemical Engineering
Local Section Scholarships
Maria Zlotorzynska
Maria Zlotorzynska was raised in Ottawa, ON,
and had a keen interest in science at an early
age. She completed her BSc in the biopharmaceutical science program at the University
of Ottawa. Although she originally intended
to pursue a research career in genomics, her
first organic chemistry course inspired her to
specialize in medicinal chemistry. Throughout her undergraduate degree, she undertook
a wide variety of research experiences in biochemistry as well as chemistry. In her final
year, Zlotorzynska conducted her honours research project under the supervision of André
Beauchemin, MCIC, in the field of synthetic
organic photochemistry. She was recently
awarded an NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship
and is currently enrolled in the PhD program
in the chemistry department at The University
of British Columbia.
Beginning this year, the CSChE is offering
two CSChE Chemical Engineering Local Section Scholarships to undergraduate students
in chemical engineering at a Canadian university. Formerly the Edmonton and Sarnia
Chemical Engineering Scholarships, these
scholarships were amalgamated into one
Local Section Scholarship. This allows other
Local Sections to get involved and to ensure
the continuity of these awards. The 2006
sponsors are the Sarnia, Edmonton, and
London Local Sections. All of these sponsors
provided funds through their surplus from
hosting a CSChE conference.
The 2006 winners are:
Rano Matta, ACIC
Rano Matta, ACIC, is entering his fourth year
at the University of Toronto where he is completing a minor in bioengineering. He hopes
to pursue a career in the area of biomedical
engineering and possibly medicine. He is
currently the vice-chair of the CSChE Student
Chapter, and was a member of the organizing
committee for the student program for the
2005 CSChE conference. Matta enjoys working with teenagers as a youth counsellor and
is an active member of the Sunday school
program at his church in Mississauga, ON.
Matta is also a devoted athlete who participates in intramural basketball and volleyball
at his school and in several men’s leagues.
Sarah Creber, ACIC
Nicole Blaquière
Originally from Campbellton, NB, Nicole Blaquiere moved to Ottawa, ON, in the fall of
2002 to pursue a BSc in general science. She
was fortunate to have the opportunity to work
in Keith Fagnou, MCIC’s research laboratory
Sarah Creber, ACIC, is currently entering
her final year of a dual degree program in
chemical engineering and business at The
University of Western Ontario and the Richard Ivey School of Business. Creber is a top
student academically and takes a leadership
role in various extracurricular activities at
school including Western’s CSChE Student
Chapter, the Harvard Model United Nations, intramural soccer, and ice hockey.
In her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors,
CAREERS CARRIÈRES
At Wyeth, we have a vision of leading the way to a healthier world. We’ve committed ourselves to achieving this vision by making quality, integrity and excellence the hallmarks of
our business. A Fortune 500 company and global leader in pharmaceuticals, consumer
healthcare, and animal healthcare products, we know that our employees are who keep us
on the cutting edge of innovative discoveries and superior customer service. To sustain
and enhance our leadership position in the pharmaceutical industry, we continue to recruit,
develop and motivate individuals whose skills, values, and work ethic will grow and improve
our business.
Principal Research Scientist I
Job Category: Research and Development
Job Description: At Wyeth, we discover, develop, manufacture and market innovative medicines that are leading the way to a healthier world. In a career at Wyeth, you will be an
important part of a leading research and manufacturing organization. We currently have
an opening in our Chemical Development Department for a Principal Research Scientist I,
at our Montreal, Qc, Canada.
As the Principal Research Scientist I in the Chemical Development department, you will
plan and implement chemical process development and process scale-up studies, active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) synthesis, and support late stage development projects
with minimal supervision. Conduct experimentation aimed at devising and optimizing safe,
economical and scaleable processes for the synthesis, isolation and purification of APIs and
to support quality, throughput and yield improvements. Evaluate optimization strategies
for unit operations such as distillation, filtration, drying and milling. Prepare 300-500-g
quantities of API. Solve synthetic chemistry and processing problems that arise during
preparation of APIs. Identify process by-products and devise in-process tests to control
chemical processes. Participate in process scale-up decisions, provide data and scientific
rationale related to scalability of processes. Prepare technical reports and documents for
technology transfer packages and assist in the transfer of chemical processes to scaleup facilities. Keep abreast of breaking technical developments in organic chemistry and
process development.
Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field with at least
5+ years experience in chemical process research & development and scale-up. KiloLab
and/or plant experience a plus.
If you are interested in this great opportunity, please send your resume to cvmontreal@
wyeth.com
At Wyeth, we have a vision of leading the way to a healthier world. We’ve committed
ourselves to achieving this vision by making quality, integrity and excellence the hallmarks of our business. A Fortune 500 company and global leader in pharmaceuticals,
consumer healthcare, and animal healthcare products, we know that our employees
are who keep us on the cutting edge of innovative discoveries and superior customer
service. To sustain and enhance our leadership position in the pharmaceutical industry, we continue to recruit, develop and motivate individuals whose skills, values, and
work ethic will grow and improve our business.
Sr. Research Scientist
Job Category: Research and Development
Job Description: At Wyeth, we discover, develop, manufacture and market innovative
medicines that are leading the way to a healthier world. In a career at Wyeth, you
will be an important part of a leading research and manufacturing organization. We
currently have an opening in our Synthesis R&D Department for a Senior Research
Scientist, at our Montreal, Qc, Canada facility.
As the Senior Research Scientist, in Chemical Development’s Synthesis Research
and Development group, you will plan and implement chemical process development
and API synthesis projects with minimal supervision. Conduct laboratory work aimed
at devising and optimizing safe, economical and scaleable processes for the synthesis, isolation and purification of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Prepare
>100-g quantities of API. Solve synthetic chemistry and processing problems that
arise during preparation of APIs. Identify process by-products and devise in-process
tests to control chemical processes. Prepare technical reports and documents for
technology transfer packages and assist in the transfer of chemical processes to
Kilo-labs and Pilot Plant.
Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry or Chemical Engineering or related field with
minimum 4 years experience in chemical process R&D and scale-up, or BS/MS (internal
only) in Organic Chemistry or related field with emphasis on process development.
If you are interested in this great opportunity, please send your resume to [email protected]
CAREERS CARRIÈRES
Faculty Opening
Posting
Position
Status
Start Date
Closing Date
2006.95
Chemistry
100% full time, permanent
August 1, 2007 (subject to funding)
January 12, 2007
The University College of the Fraser Valley, with nearly 10,000 students annually pursuing
more than 80 degree, diploma and certificate programs, is committed to teaching excellence.
Our foundation for academic excellence is small class sizes, support for active research and
scholarship, and a friendly supportive environment open to collaboration and innovation.
The Department of Chemistry at the University College of the Fraser Valley invites
applications from suitably qualified individuals to fill two (2) full-time faculty positions
to commence August 2007. A background in either organic chemistry or environmental
analytical chemistry is required.
Qualifications:
Candidates are required to have a PhD in an appropriate area of chemistry and should have
post-secondary teaching experience. The successful candidates will be expected to teach general chemistry in addition to either organic or analytical/environmental chemistry, participate
in the development of new courses, and establish an independent research program.
Applications should include a curriculum vitae, an outline of the candidate’s teaching experience and philosophy, and a detailed research proposal. Candidates are strongly advised
to submit lett ers of reference by the closing date.
Direct curriculum vitae or resume including evidence of appropriate qualifications by
January 12, 2007, referring to POSTING 2006.95 to:
Employee Services
University College of the Fraser Valley
33844 King Road, Abbotsford, BC, Canada V2S 7M8
Tel: (604) 854-4554 Fax: (604) 854-1538 Website: www.ucfv.ca
Email resumes to: [email protected]
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent
residents will be given priority. In an effort to be both environmentally and fiscally responsible, UCFV will contact only candidates receiving an interview. We thank all applicants for
considering UCFV for employment.
UCFV is committed to the principle of equity in employment.
EVENTS ÉVÉNEMENTS
Canada
Conferences
May 26–30, 2007. 90th Canadian Chemistry Conference and
Exhibition, Winnipeg, MB, www.csc2007.ca
May 29–June 1, 2007. International Chemical Recovery
Conference—“Efficiency and Energy Management,” Québec,
QC, 514-392-6964
October 28–31, 2007. 57th Canadian Chemical Engineering
Conference, Edmonton, AB, www.chemeng.ca/conferences/
csche_annual_e.htm
May 24–28, 2008. 91st Canadian Chemistry Conference and
Exhibition, Edmonton, AB, www.csche2007.ca
October 19–22, 2008. 58th Canadian Chemical Engineering
Conference, Ottawa, ON, www.chemeng.ca/conferences/
csche_annual_e.htm
August 23–27, 2009. 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering
and 59th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference, Montréal,
QC, www.wcce8.org
U.S. and Overseas
December 27–30, 2006. CHEMCON 2006, Indian Institute of
Chemical Engineers, Gurajat India, www.iicheank.org/arc.htm
September 16–21 2007. 6th European Congress of Chemical
Engineering (ECCE-6) Copenhagen, Denmark, www.ecce6.kt.dtu.dk
EMPLOYMENT WANTED
Chemist seeks position. PhD in analytical chemistry. Experience in
atomic spectroscopy, AAS, GFAAS, hydride generation, cold vapors,
ICP-AES, ICP-AF and chromatography GC, HPLC, EC. Research and
development of analytical methods environmental mentoring. Analysis of trace and ultra trace of elements and substances in different
kinds of matrixes. Please contact [email protected]
Sim & McBurney
Patent & Trade-mark Agents
Sim, Lowman, Ashton & McKay, LLP
Barristers & Solicitors
The Advanced Sciences Group
Michael I. Stewart
Patricia A. Rae, Ph.D.
Kimberly A. McManus, Ph.D.
John H. Woodley
Lola A. Bartoszewicz, Ph.D.
Kenneth K. Ma, Ph.D.
We protect all innovations in biotechnology, proteomics,
pharmaceuticals and chemistry on a global basis.
Please contact us at Sim & McBurney and Sim, Lowman, Ashton & McKay LLP
330 University Avenue, Sixth Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1R7
Telephone: 416-595-1155 Fax: 416-595-1163
E-Mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Demande de communications
le 15 décembre 2006 – début des soumissions de résumés en ligne
le 14 février 2007 – date limite pour remettre les résumés
90 e Congrès et exposition canadiens de chimie
du 26 au 30 mai 2007
Winnipeg Convention Centre, Winnipeg (Manitoba) Canada Société canadienne de chimie • www.csc2007.ca
Call for Papers
December 15, 2006 – On-line abstract submissions begin
February 14, 2007 – Deadline for abstract submissions
May 26-30, 2007
Winnipeg Convention Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Canadian Society for Chemistry • www.csc2007.ca
PM40021620
90th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition

ACCN - The Chemical Institute of Canada

Transcription

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