Excerpts
from IFS and Bits
Newsletter of the Institute of Fundamental
Sciences
Newsletter No 26: 17 May 2000
Edited by: Terri M Palmer
Index
Messages
from the Head of Institute
Massey
Chemistry Professor Conferred with Doctor of Science
Dick
Smith Electronics to the Rescue
Student/Staff
Liaison Committee 2000
The
Foundations of Knowledge
Chemistry
Teachers Meeting
Graduation
This
Month's Puzzle
Answers
to Last Month’s Puzzle
MESSAGES FROM THE HEAD OF INSTITUTE
DSc for Andrew
Brodie
Staff will already be aware that Andrew Brodie has been awarded
a DSc from Massey University. He received this distinguished accolade during the
recent Graduation Ceremony in the Regent Theatre. Once again all of us in the
Institute and indeed beyond wish to pass on our congratulations to Andrew for
what is a wonderful achievement. An article by Lee Matthews on the life and times
of Andrew in chemistry is presented later.
Discipline Leader
in Chemistry
I am delighted that Ken Jolley has agreed to take on the
role of Discipline Leader in Chemistry. He has a long and impressive record of
service to chemistry and indeed to the university at large over a career spanning
some 33 years. This is not an easy time to take on a role like this so I am especially
grateful to him for his willingness to assist me. While the current staffing situation
is clearly difficult there are many positive things happening in chemistry. We
must build on those and try to look beyond what are, in the short term, stressful
times.
Graduation
Graduation has now come
and gone for another year and this is a good opportunity for us to look back with
pleasure on the contributions that we have made to our new graduates. I believe
that our teaching is at an extremely high level. All the feedback I get certainly
indicates the appreciation of students for the time and effort that we put into
assisting them in their studies. I am very pleased, therefore, to congratulate
all of the IFS staff, both academic and general, for the reputation that we have
established in the area of teaching. Reputations take a long time to establish
but are easily lost. We must continue to strive for excellence in spite of the
increasingly high pressures put upon us to perform more with less. I trust also
that staff were able to participate in the graduation function held in conjunction
with IMBS at Wharerata. It provided a very relaxed and enjoyable time for all
concerned.
David A D Parry
MASSEY CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR CONFERRED WITH DOCTOR OF SCIENCE
Massey University Professor of Chemistry Andrew Brodie has come a long way since his first schoolboy experimental forays into chemistry, burning holes in his mother's aluminium saucepans with caustic soda.
Professor Brodie was conferred with the prestigious Doctor of Science degree at Massey University's third graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 16, at 9.30am. The Doctor of Science is conferred on people who have made outstanding contributions to their research fields. The degree generally requires the recipient to have published at least 100 research papers and to be acknowledged as an international authority. Before the DSc is awarded, three overseas peers review the papers and decide whether the degree is deserved.
Professor Brodie, aged 55, says he became hooked on chemistry as a third former at the new Cashmere High School in Christchurch. "I still remember the experiment. We heated blue hydrated copper sulphate, and watched it turn white as it dehydrated. It was like magic. I discovered then that I enjoyed chemistry more than any other subject." Later that year, he learned more about the need to think about equipment before proceeding to experiment. At school he had dissolved aluminium in concentrated sodium hydroxide. It seemed like a good idea to repeat the experiment at home when he found some more caustic soda, kept for unblocking drains. "So I took one of my mother's aluminium saucepans, tipped a pile of hydroxide pellets into it and added a little water. "Horrors! After much fizzing and frothing, the saucepan developed a hole. I hid it, my mother found it and is probably still puzzled about how it happened."
He survived these chemical jars, going on to do a BSc(Hons) at the University of Canterbury, then a PhD, finishing in 1968. Job prospects were good for scientists in those days. "As graduate students then, we were optimistic about the future as it was a time of expansion in the universities and the now-extinct Department of Industrial and Scientific Research was employing good people on long-term contracts."
He went on to a postdoctoral fellowship at University College in London, then came to Massey in 1970 to take up a lectureship. "The starting salary for a lecturer then was $3 500," he recollects.
Professor Brodie's work during his 30 years so far spent at Massey laid the foundations for teaching and research for inorganic chemistry. Much of his work has been done in collaborations with other scientists, especially Associate Professor Eric Ainscough, also of Massey.
The emphasis of his research has been on the synthesis of new materials containing transition metals and the subsequent examination of their properties and behaviours.
Professor Brodie is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (London) and the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry. He is currently the Professor of Chemistry in Massey's Institute of Fundamental Sciences.
Lee Matthews, Corporate Communications (see also The Dominion, Wednesday, 17 May 2000, p. 11, "Burnt pot leads to greater things")
The
popular Massey University IFS Physics Winter School for seventh form students
was in jeopardy this year until Dick Smith Electronics offered sponsorship. Participants
are top physics students selected from the lower half of the North Island, and
spend two and a half days on campus, staying in hostel accommodation, which was
previously paid for by the Department of Physics, or IFS - with assistance from
Paul Callaghan. Ballooning accommodation costs and budgetary restraints meant
that the IFS Publicity Committee could no longer meet the full financial burden.
Murray Goldsworthy, the Manager of DSE Palmerston North, was most helpful in facilitating the sponsorship. The Company recognise the value of supporting educational initiatives and are pleased to promote the knowledge economy in this way. The synergy of physics and electronics is long-standing and of increasing relevance in a technological society. The sixteen students will get hands-on experience of opto-electronics communications, magnetic resonance imaging, and the strange attraction of chaos.
In addition to the DSE sponsorship, the Physics School Director, Geoff Barnes, is grateful to the Manawatu Science Centre and to Mid Central Health for supporting visits to their facilities. The School is scheduled for 13 -15 July 2000.
Geoff Barnes
[Editorial Note: Credit for gaining the sponsorship lies entirely with Geoff Barnes - a tremendous effort. Well done Geoff!]
STUDENT/STAFF
LIAISON COMMITTEE 2000
100-Level Corey Laverty (Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics); G. Arun Mendez (Mathematics and Physics), Michael Morrison (Mathematics and Physics); Kamini Naidoo (Mathematics); Tanya O'Neill (Chemistry)
200-Level Paul Campbell (Physics, also 300-level Mathematics); Linda Chen (Mathematics); Jamie Savage (Mathematics)
300-Level Sean Heron (Physics, Chairperson); Paul Campbell (Mathematics, also 200-level Physics); Kurt McBeth (Chemistry)
Staff Craig Eccles (Physics); Terri Palmer ( General Staff); Gillian Thornley (Mathematics, Convenor); Josine van Melsem (Chemistry)
Mathematicians are notorious for being sticklers when it comes to requiring absolute proof before accepting any statement. Their reputation is clearly expressed in a story told by Ian Stewart in Concepts of Modern Mathematics.
An astronomer, a physicist, and a mathematician (it is said) were holidaying in Scotland. Glancing from a train window, they observed a black sheep in the middle of a field. 'How interesting', observed the astronomer, 'All Scottish sheep are black!' To which the physicist responded, 'No, no! Some Scottish sheep are black!' The mathematician gazed heavenward in supplication, and then intoned, 'In Scotland there exists at least one field, containing at least one sheep, at least one side of which is black.'
CHEMISTRY
TEACHERS MEETING
FRIDAY, 5 MAY 2000
The first chemistry teachers' meeting for 2000, which was combined with a New Zealand Institute of Chemistry meeting, started with a visit to the new Food Industry Science Centre at Crop and Food Research Ltd. First we heard an overview of the role of the eight different Crop and Food centres around the country and the one in Australia and then a talk by one of the scientists on using the technique of genetic engineering to develop different coloured pigments in flowers. We were split into two groups for a tour of the laboratories. The use of glass along the corridors gives a pleasant open feeling to the building which we will also have on the research level of the new Tower A next year. One group visited the maize laboratory and discovered how to make corn twisties and other snacks. The other group visited the food chemistry lab. It was good to meet up with Erin O'Donoghue who completed a BSc(Hons) in chemistry from Massey University in 1983 and has done well in her career as a professional scientist.
After a most pleasant dinner at Wharerata, which is an extremely valuable time for the teachers to network, we were entertained with a series of demonstrations put together by Tony Wright and Patricia Shields. The teachers got copies of the experimental details so they can do them with their own classes. Finally Emily Parker gave a very timely lecture - "Looking at Nature's Catalysts" - in which she cleverly linked her own research to the topic of chirality by giving examples the teachers could use in the classroom. I must admit it was a surprise to see a very young looking Trevor Kitson on video trying to make a kiwi fruit jelly.
The meeting was attended by more than 30 teachers from as far afield as Hawkes Bay and Wellington. The feedback was extremely positive and it is clear that these meetings are an extremely valuable link with the teachers. Thanks to Tony Wright, Emily Parker and Patricia Shields for organising such an interesting evening.
Andrew Brodie
The following IFS Graduands were inadvertently missed off last months list. Congratulations on your success.| Chemistry DSc | Andrew Brodie | Mathematical Physics BSc(Hons) | Patrick Rynhart |
| Mathematics PhD | Margaret Walshaw | Physics PhD | Wilford Lie |
From http://www.grand-illusions.com/triangle1.htm
Answers to Last Month’s Puzzle
1. Round of applause. 2. Big show off. 3. Love at first sight. 4. Light at the end of the tunnel.