xt71zc7rrb9z https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt71zc7rrb9z/data/mets.xml University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Kentucky University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies 1992 volumes. Call Number: LD2762.9 .K38c. Accession Number: 2018ua049 journals LD2762.9 .K38c English Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection University of Kentucky Odyssey Magazine Research -- Kentucky -- Periodicals Education -- Research -- Periodicals Research -- Kentucky Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research, Winter/Spring 1992 text images Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research, Winter/Spring 1992 1992 1992 2026 true xt71zc7rrb9z section xt71zc7rrb9z  

  

[am Prtm, Auction Protrssov of An

“Behold a book. . . i will
nourish with it five
thousand souls, a hundred
thousand souls, a million
souls. . . all humanity. . . ,,

    

# Victor Hugo.

 

Paul WVUVS UK Dimlor of Libvan

    

lame: L "Ttd' Banal lll Chum“ at
1111 Bond Kremland Assainlion and
Pris-int! Bmdns' Cup

Fag! Esta UK Gradual! Stale-it lotus ] Swift, UK Dean of

Undngvdutt S'Idlli

 

No building Will be more important to Kentuckians
than the new Commonwealth Library at the UniverSity
of Kentucky. For in this library Will be millions of books
that in the words of Victor Hugo ”will nourish.” And
the recipients of this intellectual nourishment will be
thousands, even millions, of Kentuckians from all walks
of life.

A new library will prOVide badly needed space for the
UniverSity's excellent collection at over 2 million
volumes and space for students to study and faculty to
pursue their scholarly research. The economic impact of
this stateeotethevart facility will be to move information
quickly across the state 7 to doctors, lawyers, business
people, farmers, To all book lovers it will be a coveted
resource available no matter where they live, in small
towns or large cities,

Charles T Wrihington, Iv, UK Pvuilnit

A campaign has begun, Its goal is to seek private
tunding to help build this new library, to match a
challenge grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities, and to establish other endowments in
support of the library, The generosity of private donors
will get this historic undertaking started. State resources
will see it through to completion

That is our hope. That is our appeal to you. Support

this new library at the University of Kentucky A this
Library for Kentuckians.

    

Than-s D. Clark, ux Fruit-“or 5mm

Commonwealth

., Library Goya?”

For more information call (606) 257-7225
or call toll tree 1-800-999-8635

 

 

 

 

 Volume IX, No.2

ODYSSEY is published by the
Office of the Vice President for Re
search and Graduate Studies. Each
issue of ()DKSIS’EYdescribes only a
few of the many University of Ken»
tucky research projects underway in
a variety of areas.

Requests for permission to reprint
material and readers’ comments re—
garding ODYSSEYare welcome and
should be sent to the Editor, Commu—
nications and Advancement, Univer»
siry oli Kentucky, Lexington 40506
0057 (phone “JG/25745297),

The publication of ODYSSEl/is
not financed by the state General
Fund.

Editor: Susan Hodgetts Stempel
Assoc. Editor: JeffWorley
Designer: Shear & Shear
Publications Assn: Lisa D, Lizer
StaHWriter: Suzanne Froelich
Contributing Writer:

Elizabeth Hansen
Printing: Merrick Printing, Inc.

Credits: photos on cover by Lee Tho»
mas; photos on pp. 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 12.
13, 18 by Ken Goad ; photo on p. 23
by Bill Wells.

  

 

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33:3 “$.53". £492:

 
   

. ~ ‘ ' #‘O 34
Penetrating the Mysteries of the
Mighty Membrane, p. 7

 

Honorable Mention,
p. 16

 

 

 

 

 

Contents

Close—Up on Women in Science 2
Penetrating the Mysteries of the Mighty Membrane 7
Bravo!

Stellar Students and Premier Placements 12

 

Honorable Mention:
Chemistry Graduate in Her Element at Canadian University

16

 

Behind the Scenes:

 

 

Bibliographies, Black Gold and "Buckyballs" 18
KIOSK:
Remaking the Egg. and More... 20
Update:
Note—Worthy Program Scoring Big 25

 

 

 

  

Close—Up on Women in Science

   

By Suzanne Froelich

0 Su tprise. then discouragement greeted Deborah Powell’s
childhood announcement that she wanted to be a doctor.
My uncle, a surgeon. didn't thinle medicine was a good
career for women, ”she says. “He didn 't thin/e women could
worle that many hours,- he told me] should become a nurse. "
0 Ever since a doctor saved her life with an emergency
appendectomy when she was five, Klacqueline Noonan has
wanted to worle in medicine. She was one of four women in
a medical school class of 40, spent a decade of training
without a single female mentor, and soon became accus—
tomed to being the only woman in the room. “Medicine was
then, and still is. a boys‘ networ/e, "she says.

- Miroslava Ni/eitovitch-Winer’s interest in science always
seemed natural, since her mother taught physics and she
had aunts who were architects, chemical engineers and
science teachers. When she moved from her native Yugosla—
via to the US. in the early ’50s and entered Harvard University ‘5
School of Medicine, she encountered a diflerent view-

“I remember one professor boasting there had not been
anystudents from Wellesleyat the medical school forthe past
several years, ” she recalls. “He said he had been told the
Welleslmt girls decided it wasn ’t really properfor women to
go into medicine. Of course, these comments were very well
received by the males in the class; the professor didn't care
howlfeltsitting there . . . But] never let things lilee that bother
me. I lenew I would go on regardless.

 

 

 

Deborah Powell

ODYSSEY Z

 

owell, Noonan and Nikitovitch—Winer each

went on regardless to become depart—

ment chairs at the University of Kentucky
College of Medicine, possibly making UK the
only medical school in the country with three
female department heads. Powell, who came to
UK in 1976, has been chair of pathology since
1988. A member of the medical school faculty
since its founding in 1960, Nikitovitch—Winer
was named chair of anatomy and neurobiology
in 1979. And Noonan, here since 1961. was
named chair of pediatrics in 1974.

“All three of these individuals were promoted
from the faculty into the chair positions." says
Albert B. Chandler Medical Center Chancellor
Peter Bosomwonh, who. incidentally, served
his internship in the mid ‘30s at the University
of Cincinnati with Noonan as his supervising
pediatrics resident. "Each is outstanding in her
field and has gained national recognition for her
personal accomplishments."

The medical centers distinction in having
three women among its 29 directors and chairs.
however, will end in 1992 when Noonan and
Nikitovitch—Winer retire—~Noonan to return to
full—time teaching and Nikitovitch—Winer to take
more time for family, hobbies, travel and other
long—neglected personal interests. Bosomworth
says identifying women candidates for top jobs
is a priority and naming another female chair is
"quite possible." especially in pediatrics. which
has more women than other specialities.

Despite good intentions. the number of po—
tential women chairs in medicine is small. says
Powell, who heads the search committee re-
viewing candidates for Nikitovitch—Winer‘s po—
sition. “There are lots of women applicants for
assistant professor jobs," she says. "but the pool
is not great at the chair level."

Indeed, women may be entering science in
record numbers—women now earn one-third
of all graduate science degrees—but women
are not rising through the ranks in proportion—
ate numbers.

In academia, male Ph.D.s are more likely to
hold full or associate professorships while fe—
males are more likely to be instructors, lecturers
and adjunct faculty, according to a new report
from the National Research Council.

At UK and other universities, the percentages
of women earning doctorates in science are far

 

  

higher than the percentages of women profes—
sors on tenure tracks in these same fields.

And despite a doubling of women scientists
in industry since 1977. women there remain
underemployed and underpaid, the council
report says.

Women scientists are paid less than male
colleagues across the board. A 1989 National
Science Foundation survey of 75,611 PhD.
scientists in industry, academia and govern—
ment found the salary paid women Ph.D.s was
20-25 percent less than that paid to men. Other
studies have reported this gap continues through-
out a scientist's career. (See chart on page 5.)

So it‘s hardly surprising women are rarities in
the upper echelons of science. Of the 60 new
members accepted last May into the prestigious
National Academy of Science, only six were
women. At the more than 120 major U .8.
medical schools, there are four women chairs in
anatomy and five in pathology; and in pediat-
rics——a field in which females will soon com—
prise 50 percent of practitioners—only seven.
All told. three percent of medical school chairs
are women, and surveys of other scientific
fields. such as physics and engineering. reveal
even smaller numbers of women at the top.

So why aren‘t women scientists climbing to
the higher rungs of the professional ladder? Is
there a conspiracy? Do they lack ambition? Or
is it, as one male scientist suggested in a recent
New York? Times article. simply because “the
men must be better than the women"?

“Men are not better than women," replies
Powell, whose 57—member faculty is almost half
women. "But until recently. men were better
mentored and better encouraged for success
than women were. Most women scientists have
been mentored by men. and many men do not
see women stepping into top administrative
roles.“

Powell takes her own role as mentor to the
faculty. residents and interns in her department
very seriously. “My responsibility is to provide
an atmosphere in which they can compete
successfully for national grants and get labs
going, and to mentor them through the promo-
tion process." she says. noting that all her
researchers have Obtained grants from the Na—
tional Science Foundation or National Institutes
of Health.

Studies have shown that women have more

 

facquelz'ne Noonan

difficulty obtaining research grants. which is
also due to inadequate mentoring, suggests
Powell, who has done extensi 'e research of her
own on women's diseases. Women tradition—
ally have not been as well trained as men, she
says. in choosing the right collaborators. focus—
ing on a single area, writing effective proposals.
judging which committee appointments will
best advance their career, and simply knowing
whom to know.

“As more females move into key positions,
young women will be mentored more appro-
priately.“ Powell says. A University of Michigan
study found male researchers tend to work in
groups of five or six. which means they all list
that project on their vitaes. Women. on the other
hand. are more likely to work alone or with one
other person. “Men play on teams; that is how
they grew up. This is not so natural for women.“
observes Noonan. who has hired two basic
researchers to assist the nearly 70 faculty, resi-
dents and interns in her department with re—
search projects. The two happen to be female—
a hopeful sign that times are changing. says
Noonan.

A second reason for women's slow progress
up the science ladder is the sometimes over—
whelming demands of childbearing and child-
rearing. In a fair world. spouses of professional
women would share parenting 50—50. but stud-

 

    

cw'ztz'nued mlpage 4

5 ODYSSEY

 

  

 

 

Miroslava Nikita/itch-
W/iner withjim Hyde,
assistant profissor

of anatomy and
neurobiology

ODYSSEY 4

 

 

ies show this isn‘t happening.

In reality, women with science and engineer-
ing degrees are three times as likely as their
male counterparts to be underemployed or
unemployed, according to the National Re-
search Council. In a survey of 1,500 male
scientists and 2,700 female scientists. all unem—
ployed and not seeking work. 40 percent of the
women listed family responsibilities as the
reason, compared with three percent of the
men.

Powell and Nikitovitch-Winer. both mothers,
say they had ideal situations—supportive hus—
bands, lots of help at home. a relatively flexible
employer—and yet balancing the demands of
young children and science was “extremely
stressful." Nikitovitch-Winer has two children,
ages 53 and 30. and Powell has four. ages 26, 24.
11 and nine.

Nikitovitch-Winer, married to UK biochemis—
try professor Alfred Winer, worked part—time
when her children were very young, but never
left before 2:50 pm. when she was “half—time"
or before 5 pm. when she was “three-quarters
time." Had she truly worked half—time. it prob
ably would have hurt her career, she says. "It
would have been very hard to keep up."

Even with her shortened schedule in the early
1960s, Nikitovitch—Winer managed to do a
definitive study proving the brain controlled the
pituitary, the master endocrine gland. During

 

this period, she also discovered a hormone
made by the brain. called LHRh, which triggers
the pituitary to release LH. a homione that
induces ovulation. This work gained world—
wide attention and resulted in advances in
fertility and other treatments used extensively
today.

Women who balance the responsibility of
young children with professional work that is
compelling and important feel a terrible pull,
says Nikitovitch—Winer. “Many women scien—
tists say when they are at work they do not want
to leave, and when they are at home with their
kids, they do not want to leave." she says. with
the empathy of someone who has experienced
these feelings.

And the stresses do not let up as children
reach school~age. says Powell, who is married
to Ralph Powell. chief of the pathology lab at
the VA Medical Center. She tries to snatch time
for her two younger boys from a work schedule
that includes teaching, supervising a staff of 57
faculty. overseeing all the diagnostic pathology
labs at the medical center. conducting research
on ovarian cancer. and co~authoring a book on
breast disease.

"I realize I am perhaps not giving my boys all I
would like to of myself." she says. “My job is so
demanding. Sometimes I go home and think. ‘Oh
not another slumber party! I can‘t bear it.‘ “

Noonan, who never married, decided early in
her career she never wanted to have to “choose
between sick babies at the hospital and my own
babies at home." With children to rear. she
might not have authored the 5% articles. contrib—
uted to the 26 books and other publications or
presented the 55 abstracts listed on her curricu-
lum vitae. And she might never have discovered
the "Noonan Syndrome.“ a multi—malfomiation
condition in children that she identified in 1962
and has since lectured on in the U .S. and other
countries.

“I chose to make medicine my priority. and I
have no regrets," she says. “Women today don't
necessarily have to make that choice. but they
must set priorities and be realistic about com—
promises. Marriage and children may mean
limiting your goals or putting your career on
hold for a few years—and there is nothing
wrong with that.

“Not all people who go into medicine want to
go to the top. yet for some reason, a lot Of

 

 

 

  

people make women feel guilty if they are not
being appointed chair or winning the \obel
Prize." Noonan says. "'l'here is so much pres—
sure. But what is wrong with doing two Very
important jobskt‘earing a family and being an
assistant professor of Ittedicine?"

\< it man predicts that as women assume more
leadership positions. scientific attitudes and
schedules will become more "humane and
flexible." She has set a precedent by letting
pediatric residents work two months on. then
one month off; this arrangement adds three
months to each year of their residency. but
accommodates family life. So far two residents.
both mothers. haye opted for it, Perhaps some
time soon. a young father will.

Although women still cope with the majority
of childcare arrangements. parenting among
two-career couples is gradually becoming a
more §o3tt \‘enture. obsen es Powell. "1 see
young women in science making family deci-
sir ms with their husbands \‘eiy much as a team.
w ith the full understanding that both careers are
important.”

  
   

 

Part of any humane work environment is
adequate day care. adds Nikit<)yitclt—Winer.

"The only way there will be total equality is if

day care is taken care of. At ['K we haye a
Kinder Care on campus with about 1+0 spots.
That's not nearly enough. I think at ['K and
other academic institutions. eyety new building
should have facilities for child care."

A third reason often cited for the small
number of women in top scientific posts is bias
against women as leaders

Powell felt little bias early in her career. but
the higher she rose. the more she has experi-
enced. she says "It has gotten progressively
more difficult as [ye gotten into more adminis—
tratiye areas—not the working part. but the
working to he accepted. You are judged not
simply on your abilities but because you are a
woman, At times it is frustrating because you
must waste time cutting through prejudice
when there is so tnuch else to do,"

Still. .\'oonan. Powell and \ikit(witch—\V'iner
agree the climate for women scientists is dra—
matically better than it was when they started

(nut/mm! 11)] page o

Median Annual Salaries of Doctoral
Scientists by Field and Sex, 1989

 

Total Median

- Men

Sn" r11
l’rulmluliml.

- Women

llimml Science

5 ODYSSEY

 

  

ODYSSEY 6

 

 

out, and they believe it will continue to improve
as more women enter scientific fields and
workplaces.

“I have been on national committees where
women were well represented and listened to,
and I have been on other committees where this
is not the case," says Powell. “The point is. it
[bias] is becoming a very individual thing now,

“It will get easier for women," she predicts “I
am very optimistic about that because, as there
are more women to interact with and serve as
mentors in science, young men coming up will
be more comfortable with and sensitive to
women in equal or superior roles."

More women leaders in science will not only
change the work environment but the direc~
tions and scope of research. After it was re—
vealed before Congress last june that women
were routinely excluded as subjects in federally
sponsored biomedical research—leaving breast
cancer and other female diseases inadequately
studied—public outrage led to greater focus on
women as subjects as well as to a new aware—
ness of why more women should be involved
in science.

“Research policies and agendas are influ—
enced by who does science, Marcel C. LaFollette,
associate research professor of science and
technology policy at George Washington Uni—
versity, wrote in a recent editorial in the Chronicle
Qsz'gberEducation. “The presence or absence
of women in laboratories and research admin-
istration eventually translates into research poli—
cies that affect all women.”

Change already can be found at all levels.
With the purpose of introducing girls in grades
6—12 to role models and career mentors,the
Kentucky Academy of Sciences is distributing to
science and math teachers a directory of women
established in science careers. These mentors
have agreed to advise individual students, help
with science projects and speak before classes.

On a national level, in a 1990 report on
improving the climate for women in medical
schools and teaching hospitals, the Association
of American Colleges singled out these model
programs:

OAt Yale University School of Medicine, an
Office for Women in Medicine supports and
promotes female doctors through forums, infor-
mal faculty—student lunches, a counseling and

 

referral service. a newsletter. lectures. regional
conferences and an annual report on the
number of faculty by rank and gender,

'University of California faculty members
who take childbearing or parenting leaves of
up to one year receive full pay (the same as
sick leave and sabbaticals) and may "stop the
tenure clock" by having that time excluded
from the probationary tenure period

OSince the Association ofAmerican Medical
Colleges created the position of Women Liai~
son Officer in 1976. all [TS medical schools,
one~third of academic societies and once
quaner of teaching hospitals belonging to the
association have appointed one. This person
initiates programs for women. serves as a
resource for the school on matters involving
women, and promotes recnlitment and ad—
vancement of women.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us jobs in
science and engineering will increase 30 per—
cent by the year 2000. So instituting changes
that help women assume a fuller role in
science will not simply be a question of
fairness but of necessity. For Noonan. Powell.
Nikitovitch—Winer and others who have battled
the odds, change can‘t come soon enough.

When Noonan steps down next year after
18 years as pediatrics chair. she hopes her
legacy will be the “reasonably feminine" way
she has run her department. “I think I have
taken a more maternal approach than a man
would have," she says. "I have tried to treat my
faculty and staff with flexibility and fairness so
they can have a life outside the hospital."

Meanwhile, Powell continues her mentoring.
especially of women. "I want to help women
by making them aware of where their careers
are going. I want to help bring women sciene
tists along so it will not be so lonely for the next
generation.“

Nikitovitch—Winer recalls a friend she had at
Duke Medical School, where she received her
PhD in the late ’50s: “He was a wonderful man
from the South who was very unhappy about
blacks wanting total equality. He told me he
couldn’t understand why they wanted it all to
happen tomorrow. I said if I were black I‘d
want it all to happen tomorrow too. It‘s the
same with women in science now." 9

 

 

 

  

Penetrating the Mysteries
of the Mighty Membrane

 

 

§.5\;ny§iiarugx <\

“um! i «EV-wiser 9:

 

 

Drawing of a biological membrane showing variousprotein: inserted in, on, or through it. Theseprotein:

perform specific biological finetionr for the cell membrane.

byjefir Worley

hink of the membrane as a metabolic

border. And positioned along the border

are thousands of border guards. They‘re
pros. They know exactly how to handle traffic
approaching from any direction. Some vehicles
are allowed to pass: some. lacking the proper
credentials. are turned back. Membranes are
the body‘s gatekeepers.

Where. exactly. are such membranes found?
For starters. your body is covered with a
membrane—your skin. Human kidneys and
eyes have membranes. And modeled in part
after these biological membranes are various
synthetic membranes that make our lives more
convenient. safer. Household plastic wrap.
drinking water purifiers. new types of pharmw
ceuticals. orange juice processing plants,

In ITK's Center of Membrane Sciences. over
a dozen research projects are currently under—
way to unlock the mechanisms ofboth biologi—
cal and synthetic membranes. Sixteen faculty
from 10 departments and six colleges are
teamed up on various projects. including work

 

on structure and function of various biological
membranes, toxic waste recycling. new drug
delivery systems, measurement of aromatic
hydrocarbons. pathogen detection, water puri—
fication. and basic structural/functional work
using bit)reactors—enzymes which catalyze
reactions when placed on the surface of a
membrane.

The [K center is one of only four such
academically based centers in the United States.
“\X’illiam Koros at the University of Texas and
Sun—Tak Hwang at the [Tniversity of Cincinnati
are working on gas separation through synthetic
membranes," says [’K center director Allan
Butteriield. “and Israel Cabasso at Syracuse I 'niver—
sity is working on the production and characteriza—
tion of synthetic membranes,“ Buttertield speaks
highly of these researchers and their work. adding
that the primary diflerence between their approach
and that of the membrane center at UK is the focus
here on integrating biological and synthetic mem—
brane research,

continued on page 8

 

7 ODYSSEY

 

  

ODYSSEY 8

 

 

Allan Butterfiekl director ofthe Center ofMembrane
Sciences, examines the sample cavity between the
two poles of the large electromagnet used in
conjunction with an electron spin resonance
spectrometer. This equipment is usea’ to investigate
membrane structure andfimction.

“Most of the other centers in the US. are
composed of people in one department, chemi-
cal engineering, for example," Butterfield ex—
plains. “One of the things that makes our center
unique is the strong interaction between ex—
perts in biological membranes and experts in
synthetic membranes,” he says. “In our pro—
gram researchers in both fields work together
with the goal of trying to understand each
other’s perspectives to develop new systems
that embody the properties of both.“

 

The Resourceful Membrane

Biological membranes are durable and versa~
tile guardians ofthe cell. They are thin (it would
take roughtly a stack of 200,000 to equal the
thickness of a sheet of typing paper), porous
barriers which allow some things to pass through
them and prevent others from doing so. Accord—
ing to Butterfield, membranes separate materi—
als not only based on the size of the particles,
but also based on chemical interactions that
take place between molecules trying to pass
through the membrane and molecules within
the membrane itself.

“Membranes do filter substances," says
Butterfield, “but unlike ordinary filters. coffee
filters, for example, membranes rely on chemi-
cal interactions which allow or prevent mol-
ecules to pass through." Membranes, he says.
can in this way "filter out" a substance even if
it is smaller than the pore size.

Three distinct regions make up a biological
membrane—the outside region. a bilayer of
lipids (greasy substances only partially soluble
in water). and an underlying cytoskeleton, The
membrane bilayer consists of two layers of
lipids. each layer one molecule thick. The
bilayer contains proteins which perform spe—
cific biological functions for the membrane.
These proteins are either embedded into or
loosely attached to the membrane lipids. Be—
cause they like water. the heads of the lipids
face toward either the outer watery region or
toward the watery cytoplasm inside the cell.
The rest of the lipid structure, long hydrocarbon
tails, face inward and form the center of the
membrane.

The cytoskeletal framework, Butterfield says.
is a network of crisscrossing interconnecting
proteins that laminate the inner side of the cell
membrane that faces the interior of the cell. He
demonstrates: “If you take the fingers of your
two hands and interlace them at 90 degrees.
little holes are formed. This is similar to how the
cytoskeletal network appears under scanning
electron microscopy."

Developing Synthetic Membranes

The various properties of membranes. ac—
cording to DB. Bhattacharyya, UK professor of
chemical engineering working with the mem—
brane center, enable scientists to do amazing
things. "If the selective properties of biological

 

  

membranes can be combined with the durabil—
ity of man—made membranes, you can design a
membrane to do almost anything you like."

Bhattacharyya. assisted by graduate students
Mike Williams and Myeongjin Han, is currently
developing synthetic membranes at UK which
may in the near future have commercial appli—
cations in desalination and in removing and
condensing toxic waste. “We‘re now using
composite synthetic membranes made of poly—
amides." Bhattacharyya says. "These are an
improvement over earlier membranes used to
separate seawater because less pressure is
needed to get more clean water through the
system than when cellulose acetate was used in
the '60s. " The membranes used by Bhattacharyya
and his graduate students leave the desalinated
water 99.99 percent free of salt. (Seawater
contains approximately ’5 1/2 percent salt.)

In a lab on the seventh floor ofAnderson Hall.
Han demonstrates how he makes a membrane
that could be used to purify seawater. On a flat
glass plate he pours a murky solution. which he
then spreads evenly on the plate with a glass
rod. He lets the solution evaporate for a few
minutes, explaining that "the longer you let it
set. the smaller the membranes pores will be."

Han then submerges the plate. with the
solution now affixed. into a water bath. He
leaves the plate in the water for 10 minutes.
Then he takes the plate out and simply peels the
white membrane off. The membrane, translu—
cent but not transparent. feels a bit like Saran
Wrap with an extremely thin plastic coat at—
tached.

“It looks simple." he says. “but it‘s really a delicate
process. The smallest change I make in any step—
the proportion of chemicals. the temperature of the
water. the length of time it stays in the bath—can
make a huge difference in the final product." Han
further explains that such membranes are pack—
aged in spiral—wound or hollow—fiber configura»
tions in the seawater separation process. “The
membranes actually used by industry look like tight
clumps of C(X)k€d spaghetti."

 

Synthetic Membrane Use

It's clear that such refinements in polyamide
and other composite membranes could have
far—reaching consequences. Membranes are used
routinely. for example, in the desalination pro—
cess. According to Robert L. Riley of Separation
Systems International. there were 6.250 desalt-
ing plants operating worldwide in 1988. with a
total capacity ofthree billion gallons per day. He

 

In years to come, it may be possible for

industry to use these membranes to carry out
all kinds of basic processes, from improving
the taste and longevity of certain foods to

getting rid of environmental hazards.

 

estimates that in the US. there are about 750
desalting plants with individual capacities of
more than 25,000 gallons per day.

The same type of spiral—wound membrane
that separates salt from seawater can be used,
Bhattacharyya says. to remove toxins from
water. He explains that a significant area now
for membranes is material recovery and water
reuse in factories. “There are in Lexington, for
example. several plating companies that use
cadmium plating. In the plating process, a lot of
fresh water is used to rinse the plating compo-
nents. and that water picks up small amounts of
nickel. cadmium, chromium and zinc. The
procedure now is that the resulting sludge is put
in drums which are sealed and taken to hazard—
ous waste sites these valuable metals are
simply tossed away.“

Bhattacharyya says that a membrane—driven
process would not only allow the water to be
purifed for reuse. it would also recover the
metals for reuse. "The same membrane that
separates salt from seawater can be used to
remove these toxic metals. The membrane lets
the water pass through. but not the plating
components. They become concentrated around
the membrane and can be put back in the
plating vat." An additional benefit is that no

 

continued onpage l()

 

9 ODYSSEY

 

  

ODYSSEY 10

 

 

Myeongjin Han, a native of Seoul, Korea, peel: a
synthetic membrane ofla glass plate. Sue/7
membranes, when packaged in spiral—wound or
hollow-fiber configurations, are used to separate
saltfi'om seawater.

toxic materials would have to be disposed of.
Bhattacharyya says that every year chemical
manufacturers generate millions of tons of
wastes containing various hazardous pollut—
ants, and membrane technology provides a
partial solution to this problem.

With funding from the Department of Energy
for the past four years. Bhattachaiw'a has been
working on another project which may make
for a cleaner envirt)nment—sulfur removal from
coal. This project began with the serendipitous
discovery of bacteria that thrive at high tem—
peratures. "They exist in hot springs or deep in
the ocean——they‘re real happy there," says
Butterfield. “And their energy source is sulfur."

“They eat sulfur like some people might go

 

through a box of donuts." adds Bhattachatyya.
who has teamed up with UK biologist Hussain
Aleem on this project. “Bacteria are nothing
more than a live entity inside a membrane,"
Bhattacharyya says. “and if they don't con—
sutne enough sulfur they die." lie explains
that a slurry of coal put in the presence ofthis
bacterium will literally have the sulfur chewed
out of it, thus making the coal cleaner and
safer to burn, "You can burn the coal without
polluting." Butterfield says, “without creating
acid rain."

Another member ofthe membrane scienc