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University Daily Kansan Wednesday, Dec. 4, 1963
Malott Chemists Probe Nature's Mysteries
Significant reactions are taking place in the part of Malott Hall devoted to chemistry—reactions between students and teachers and reactions between scientists and the still undiscovered mysteries of nature.
An analysis would reveal:
About 2,000 KU students—approximately one in every five—enroll in chemistry courses each year.
Expenditures for teaching, research, and related activities run to more than $11/4 million annually; the annual bill for chemistry equipment and supplies alone is approximately $200,000.
MORE TIAN three-fourths of the 20 staff members have written or are writing a textbook. KU chemists last year published more than 60 technical papers.
As a result of all this activity, 200 to 300 chemists come to Lawrence every year to see what is happening in KU chemistry.
In addition to KU students, the department gets many graduate students from other universities.
The staff members are in demand as lecturers and consultants, and are invited to scientific meetings all over the world.
KU IS RETURNING the favor. Of 19 Ph.D.S. graduated last spring, 13 have gone into college teaching, many of them at small area colleges.
Jacob Kleinberg, chemistry department chairman, said he hopes to
put even more emphasis on undergraduate instruction. Prof. Kleinberg this year succeeded Prof. Calvin VanderWerf who was named president of Hope College in Holland, Mich.
"Although our undergraduate program is a good one and has improved over the years, our graduate program has outdistanced it," Prof. Kleinberg said. "We have begun an intensive study of our undergraduate curriculum to modernize and improve it."
WITH KU ENROLLMENT expected to hit 20,000 in coming years, at least 4,000 students a year are expected to be given chemistry training.
This is part of chemistry's problem. Malott Hall was built ten years ago to house laboratories of the physical sciences. It's full right now.
Expansion of chemistry facilities is in KU's ten-year-building program.
IN THE 1950-51 school year, the entire university had 35 sponsored research projects for a total of about $317,000. Five of these, for $37,595 were in chemistry.
Six years later, sponsored chemistry projects had increased to twelve; in 1958-59, to seventeen, and last year, to twenty-three projects totaling $632,238.
This last figure was twice the amount the entire university received for research 12 years ago.
Total sponsored research at KU this past year was nearly $4 million.
ONE OF THE LARGEST research projects is Prof. Paul Gilles' research in high-temperature chemistry for the Atomic Energy Commission. The AEC furnishes $103,500 annually on the contract, and two years ago provided a $90,000 mass spectrometer to the University to assist in the research.
The research interests of the staff include work in the fields of inorganic, analytical, organic, physical chemistry, and special research in photochemistry, thermodynamics, nuclear reactions, polymers, nonaqueous solutions, refractory materials, and natural products.
There are laboratories in the department for studies in high temperature chemistry, radiochemistry, physical chemistry, and inorganic chemistry; complete facilities for basic studies of natural products, electrochemistry, and electron paramagnetic studies; four analytical laboratories and five laboratories for basic research in organic synthesis and mechanisms.
Just completed in Malott Hall are light-scattering and microwave laboratories.
"Few (chemistry) departments of our size have so well balanced a research effort," Prof. Kleinberg said. "It is my feeling that our department would be rated by chemists
over the world as a very good one although not yet truly outstanding in research," he said.
KU HAS HAD 12 CHANCELLORS in its 98-year history. The Rev. R. W. Oliver, the first chancellor served from 1865-1867.
Nuclear Physics Lecturer "takes a Look at Christianity"
Dinner Meeting Open to the Public
Mr. D. Lee Chesnut, electrical engineer 4:30 Wednesday—December 4 Jayhawk Room-Kansas Union
Mr. Chesnut speaking
Wednesday evening — December 4
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