Indianapolis Section

Editor: Lia Treffman

October Meeting

When: October 21, 2003 

Where: National Starch & Chemical Company

1515 South Dover Street

Indianapolis, IN 46221  

Schedule:     5:30-6:00 gather
                      6:00-6:20 - Presentation
                      6:20-7:20 Tour
                      7:20-  Pizza if we can find someone to deliver!
               
Important:     Please wear pants and closed-toe shoes (you should also wear socks and a shirt, but I'm sure you knew that)

Directions:    You must enter National Starch from the north entrance because of the road construction on Raymond Street.  The facility is located off Morris street on south Drover Street.

RSVP: Call Kevin Keating at 317-651-1698 to confirm your attendance.

2003/04 Meeting Schedule (including special events)

Update

Message from the Local Indianapolis AIChE President

The AIChE Indianapolis Section invites you to attend our next activity, a plant tour to be held at National Starch. The company (www.nationalstarch.com ) has global operations and is a manufacturer of adhesives, specialty synthetic polymers, electronic and engineering materials, and specialty food and industrial starches. The plant in Indianapolis, which began operations in 1939, is their largest facility. It manufactures 410 products, employs 600 people, and sited on 125 acres. Approximately 70,000 bushels per day of corn are processed in two wet milling process lines to produce modified starch for the food and industrial markets. Most of the corn is grown within 75 miles of the plant and must be GMO (genetically modified organisms) free. Call Kevin Keating to confirm your attendance. On September 26, 2003, we co-hosted with the American Chemical Society a Career Symposium held at Franklin College. Approximately 60 people were in attendance , which included students from Franklin College, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Ball State University, Manchester College and University High School. The event included excellent speakers from Eli Lilly, National Starch, Roche Diagnostics, Dow AgroSciences, Barnes & Thornburg, Ivy Tech, University High School of Indiana, Franklin College, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, and the Indiana Department of Commerce. As iron sharpen iron, we believe this was an unique opportunity for all involved and provided a message that's important to our community. Consider opportunities in Indiana. Long-term goals of Indianapolis and the region include expanding the life sciences industry, developing advanced manufacturing which includes fuel cell and nanotechnologies, and support of renewable energy, clean coal technology developments and other areas. We want to be able to share some of this enthusiasm and recognize the contribution that chemical engineers and scientists bring to a strong economy.  

Thomas E. Leas PE, Chairman of the AIChE Indianapolis Section  

NanoCommerce 2003

AIChE is pleased to announce that we are a Founding Sponsor of NanoCommerce 2003. The conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place & Conference Center in Chicago, IL, from December 8-11, 2003.

This outstanding event combines the highly commended NanoCommerce Forum (formerly Nanotechnology Business Roadmap for Industry) with the newly created NanoCommerce Tech Transfer EXPO.

Representatives from biotechnology, chemicals, defense, electronics, energy, materials, telecommunications, transportation and other industries will come together at the NanoCommerce Forum for the purpose of advancing the commercialization of nanotechnology by integrating and embedding nanotechnology into new, end-user products for both the industrial and consumer marketplace.

Attendees will also engage in extensive networking, relationship building, and deal making with their peers, government labs, universities, and nanotech start-ups at the NanoCommerce Tech Transfer EXPO, which will facilitate the partnerships, investments, and technology transfers required to move commercialization forward. 

As a Founding Sponsor, AIChE is extending a 10% discount off of the registration fee.

For more information about the event or to register, please visit the website at www.nanocommerce2003.com .

Important! Enter "AIChE" in the box marked "discount code" on the registration form to receive your 10% discount.

Be sure to stop by the AIChE exhibit at the Expo. We look forward to seeing you there!

AIChE Exchange

WANTED: 2005 CANDIDATES

The Nominating Committee is seeking candidates for the 2005 election slate. If you would like to recommend names for the committee's consideration, send all relevant information to President Dianne Dorland, Nominating Committee chair, via e-mail at president@aiche.org. Candidates will be considered by the nominating committee in November.  

AIChE LEADING COURSES IN HOUSTON AND VEGAS

There's still time to register for the series of courses that AIChE's Professional and Technical Training Department will present at the Sheraton North Houston Hotel in Houston, Texas, from October 27-31, 2003. Newer courses include: Bomb Countermeasures and Plant Safety; Certificate in Security Vulnerability Analysis; Complying with US Site and Transportation Security Regulations; Contracting Essentials for Project Engineers; DOE Energy Efficiency Workshops; Excel Programming with VBA; Implementing Countermeasures Following the Completion of a Vulnerability Assessment; Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA): Achieving Tolerable Risk; Managing Safety Performance Skills for the Line Manager; Shortcut Problem Solving Methods for Process Engineers; and more. AIChE classic course include: Chemical/Petroleum Process Fundamentals for Non-Chemical Engineers; Control of Batch Processes; Distillation in Practice; Flow of Solids in Bins, Hoppers, Chutes, and Feeders; Industrial Fluid Mixing; Pilot Plant: Theory, Design, Construction and Operation (Advanced); Reaction Kinetics for the Practical Engineer; Spreadsheet Power; and Updating and Revalidating Process Hazard Analysis; and more. For an interactive list of courses to be offered in October, see http://www.aiche.org/education/calendar.asp?sitecode=HOU03. More than 30 courses are also scheduled to be held at the Alexis Park Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, from November 10 to 14, 2003. For that schedule, see http://www.aiche.org/education/calendar.asp?sitecode=VEG3  

"EARLY BIRD" REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR SF ANNUAL MEETING IS ONLY DAYS AWAY

If you are planning to attend the Annual Meeting in San Francisco this November, the time to register is now. There's a special discount, over and above the standard savings for pre-registration, to all who sign up before October 10. If you can't register by that date, you can still save about 7 percent off the onsite charge if your form is postmarked by no later than November 14. The event at the San Francisco Hilton from November 16 to 21, includes a record-breaking 18 topical conferences, featuring more than 550 oral sessions and 4,000 papers presented by renowned professionals from academia and industry, along with 500 to 1,000 poster papers. Make plans now to join more than 4,000 of your colleagues--and save some money--by registering at http://www.aiche.org/annual/registration.htm  

PRE-RESERVE YOUR MEETING CD NOW

AIChE's first overall meeting CD will contain all submitted papers from the 2003 Annual Meeting topical conferences and non-topical/unaligned sessions. Onsite quantities will be limited, so order now to ensure onsite pickup. Those not attending the meeting may order now to reserve a CD that will be m ailed to them after the conference. The CD, which is $70, has a setup program for Mac and Windows that starts up immediately. All the software needed to run the CD is on the CD and text is searchable using key words or phrases. The CD also has an extensive help file, guaranteed phone and e-mail technical support, and a main menu with a link to a table of contents. Topical conferences will be listed individually, so specific papers will be easy to locate. To order, call AIChE's Customer Service Center at 1-800-242-4363; International callers, use 212-591-8100.  

PREVIEW THE NEXT WORLD CONGRESS OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AT ANNUAL MEETING

The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) in the UK, a cosponsor of AIChE's 2003 Annual Meeting, will preview highlights of the 7th World Congress of Chemical Engineering at the San Francisco conference. AIChE is a cosponsor of the Congress, which will take place from July 10-14, 2005, in Glasgow, Scotland, and is expected to attract 2,000 visitors from the international process engineering community. The "Call for Papers" for the Congress closes in April 2004. For more information, go to: http://www.chemengcongress2005.com/  

AIChE AND AFS WORKSHOP AT WORLD FILTRATION CONGRESS

AIChE is cosponsoring the American Filtration and Separation Society's 9th World Filtration Congress, which will be held April 18-22, 2004, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Orleans, LA. A joint AIChE-AFS workshop on Membranes (one part exploring fundamentals and applications, the other bioseparations) will take place after the Congress from April 23-24. The Workshop immediately precedes AIChE's 2004 Spring Meeting, which will also be headquartered at the Hyatt Regency from April 25-29. AIChE members attending either the Congress and/or the Workshop can save on registrations costs. Go to the AIChE 2004 cosponsored meetings page at http://www.aiche.org/conferences/cosponsored/index.htm#2004 for a copy of the preliminary technical program. For specific questions, you may contact Conference Chair Wallace Leung at wallace.leung@bakerhughes.com; phone 508-668-0400 x226; fax 508-668-6855.  

2004 NPC PLANNING MEETING SET

Attention, everyone interested in programming activities! The National Program Committee (NPC) Planning Meeting will be held on February 7, 2004, in Houston, Texas. For more information please go to the Highlights section of AIChE's Technical Programming homepage at http://www.aiche.org/programming/  

AIChE PREMIERES NEW STUDENT WEBSITE

Campus Connection, AIChE's new student site, is open for business at http://students.aiche.org/. This product represents a major team effort of the Institute's Web Development, Graphics, Student Chapter Committee, and Student Services staff, and is designed to offer one-stop shopping access to all AIChE's Student Program activities and information. If you have any comments or suggestions for the site, please e-mail studentchapters@aiche.org. 

FREE NSF BOOK PROMOTES WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has published a new book entitled New Formulas for America's Workforce: Girls in Science and Engineering. The title features more than 200 easy-to-read stories designed to bring to life NSF-funded projects run between 1993 to 2001 to broaden girls' and women's participation in science and engineering. This jargon-free book is being distributed free over the Web, and contains a comprehensive index making it easy to find descriptions of special programs for middle school girls, engineering students, museums, math teachers, learning technology, and more. A copy is available online at NSF http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2003/nsf03207/start.htm, or, if you prefer a printed edition (NSF 03-207) or CD-ROM (NSF 03-208), go to http://www.nsf.gov/home/orderpub.htm  

October signals change: acorns fall, leaves begin to change color, and Daylight Saving Time ends on the last Sunday of the month. The days are shorter, the nights are colder, and pumpkins and candy corn appear. Here are a few events of note for the month and some interesting anniversaries:

• This year marks the 23rd observance of October celebrated as National Energy Awareness Month. Sponsored by the Department of Energy, its Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) has a number of suggestions at http://www.eere.energy.gov/femp/newsevents/home_cklst.html for saving money while saving energy around your home. Some of them include: Check if your water heater has an insulating blanket. An insulating blanket will pay for itself in one year or less. If you have a waterbed, make your bed today. The covers will insulate it, and save up to one-third of the energy it uses. Replace incandescent lights with compact fluorescents, which can save 75 percent of the electricity used. In addition, FEMP also has a list of tips for saving energy at your facilities, at http://www.eere.energy.gov/femp/newsevents/reduce_fuel.html
• Mark your calendars for October 23, when National Mole Day will be celebrated from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m., as it has each year since 1991, by chemistry teachers and students from elementary school through college. The day commemorates Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 1023), the basic measuring unit in chemistry, and was created to foster interest in chemistry through a range of creative programs, including original songs. For more information on the event, go to http://www.moleday.org/.
• October 1, 1958 - NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was inaugurated. It was composed of the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, three major research laboratories (Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory), and two smaller test facilities. It quickly incorporated other organizations, notably the space science group of the Naval Research Laboratory in Maryland, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory managed by the California Institute of Technology for the Army, and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency in Huntsville, Alabama, where Wernher von Braun's team of engineers were developing large rockets. Eventually NASA created other Centers and it currently has ten located around the country. For a brief history of NASA and its achievements, see http://history.nasa.gov/brief.html
• October 4, 1957 - The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite--Sputnik I--signaling the start of the "Space Age" and the U.S.-U.S.S.R. space race. The satellite, which would circle the Earth every 95 minutes on its elliptical path at almost 2,000 miles per hour until January 4, 1958, was about the size of a basketball and weighed 183 pounds. Sputnik was launched as the Soviet Union's International Geophysical Year (IGY) entry. The International Council of Scientific Unions had established July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958, as the IGY because they knew that the cycles of solar activity would be at a high point, and in October 1954, the council adopted a resolution calling for artificial satellites to be launched during IGY to map the Earth's surface. The United States didn't launch its first Earth satellite until January 31, 1958, when Explorer 1 documented the existence of radiation zones encircling the Earth. For some other facts about Sputnik, see http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/sputnik/
• October 5, 1921 - Baseball's World Series is broadcast on radio for the first time. This was also the first World Series played entirely in one ballpark, New York's Polo Grounds, with the New York Giants beating the New York Yankees five games to three.
• October 9, 1865 - The first major oil pipeline to successfully transport crude petroleum was completed by Samuel Van Syckel of Titusville, PA. It was about 5 miles long, and constructed of 2-inch diameter wrought iron pipes, laid underground in 15-foot sections. Two pumping stations supplied the power.
• October 11, 1974 - The U.S. Energy Reorganizing Act was signed into law. It abolished the Atomic Energy Commission and created both the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA). ERDA was absorbed by the U.S. Department of Energy when DOE was created in 1977.
• October 15, 1878 - Thomas Alva Edison founds the first electric company, the Edison Electric Light Company, in New York City to finance his efforts to invent the incandescent lamp. Edison later created the Edison Electric Illuminating Company in 1880 to produce and sell electricity.
• October 21, 1879 - The following year, Edison invented the first electric incandescent lamp of practical value. After more than a year of experiments, he produced a working prototype of the electric incandescent lamp using carbonized cotton filaments, which burned for about 40 hours. It was issued patent #223,898.
• October 24, 1929 - Black Thursday began on Wall Street, the first day of the stock market crash with13 million shares traded, ushering in the Great Depression.
• October 30, 1938 - Orson Welles panics the country over a supposed alien invasion with his radio broadcast of War of the Worlds.