Deceased--Israel M. Gelfand

Israel M. Gelfand
September /August [?] 1913 to October 5th, 2009

"Israel Gelfand, Math Giant, Dies at 96"

by

Kenneth Chang

October 8th, 2009

New York Times

Israel M. Gelfand, one of the giants of 20th-century mathematics, whose work cleared paths for other thinkers in fields as diverse as physics and medical imaging, died on Monday in New Brunswick, N.J. He was 96.

The death, at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, was confirmed by his wife, Tatiana.

Dr. Gelfand did not achieve fame from attacking and solving famous, intractable problems. Instead, he was a pioneer in untrodden mathematical fields, laying the foundation and creating tools for others to use.

“People always compare him with great mathematicians like Euler or Hilbert or Poincaré,” said Vladimir Retakh, a professor of mathematics at Rutgers, where Dr. Gelfand spent most of his time as a visiting professor after leaving the Soviet Union in 1989.

Dr. Retakh said Vladimir Arnold, a prominent Russian mathematician, had contrasted the approaches of the Soviet Union’s two most famous mathematicians — Dr. Gelfand and Andrei Kolmogorov, who was Dr. Gelfand’s thesis adviser — with a travel analogy.

“Suppose they both arrived in a country with a lot of mountains,” Dr. Retakh said of Dr. Arnold’s comparison. “Kolmogorov would immediately try to climb the highest mountain. Gelfand would immediately start to build roads.”

Dr. Gelfand’s pioneering work in a highly abstract field known as representation theory has proven crucial for physicists working with quantum mechanics. “It’s kind of the main language people use there,” said Andrei Zelevinsky, a professor of mathematics at Northeastern University in Boston.

Later work in another field, integral geometry, seemingly just as abstract and obscure, is now used to turn the raw data of M.R.I.’s and CAT scans into three-dimensional images. “This turned out to be a mathematical apparatus crucial for tomography,” Dr. Zelevinsky said. “You need rather deep mathematics to do that.”

Dr. Retakh said, “He was probably the last of the greatest who worked in almost every area of mathematics.”

Dr. Gelfand also recruited talented mathematicians as students and collaborators, many of whom also achieved prominence. At Moscow State University, where he taught for decades, he held a legendary weekly series of math seminars that, instead of typical invited prepared talks, sometimes unfolded more like math improv.

“He’s probably the most interesting person I’ve ever met,” said Alexander B. Goncharov, a professor of mathematics at Brown University and one of Dr. Gelfand’s students. “Unpredictable and very wise.”

Dr. Retakh said that what a typical day’s seminar would cover would not be known until it started, often with conversations before the seminar leading to Dr. Gelfand’s choosing an impromptu speaker and an impromptu topic. “The joke was: ‘We cannot tell what will be at the seminar. We can tell what it will not be. What it will not be is the talk that was announced,’ ” Dr. Retakh said.

For the speaker, it could be a difficult challenge, stretching for several hours, with Dr. Gelfand interrupting with questions, observations and sometimes cutting remarks. “He was not the most delicate, polite person in the world,” Dr. Zelevinsky said.

But for the speaker and the attendees, the sessions also provided valuable insight into Dr. Gelfand’s thinking.

He started a second seminar series, on biology, after leukemia struck one of his sons, Aleksandr. “The best Moscow biologists were happy to come and attend this seminar and give talks and hear very unusual opinion,” said Simon Gindikin, a colleague at Rutgers.

Aleksandr succumbed to leukemia, but Dr. Gelfand continued work in biology, Dr. Retakh said.

Born in Ukraine near Odessa, Israel Moiseevich Gelfand never finished high school. He never attended college as an undergraduate. Dr. Gelfand went to Moscow when he was 16 or 17, working at odd jobs. Already interested in mathematics, he attended seminars, and at the age of 19, he was admitted directly into graduate school at Moscow State University, studying under Kolmogorov.

Dr. Gelfand completed his ordinary doctorate in 1935 and then a higher doctor of mathematics degree in 1940.

As a Jew, Dr. Gelfand was pushed out of a position at the prestigious Steklov Institute and then out of a full-time professorship at Moscow University. He then ended up at the Institute of Applied Mathematics. He was elected to the Soviet Academy of Sciences in 1953, but only as a second-tier corresponding member, and did not receive full membership in the academy until 1984.

In 1989, Dr. Gelfand left the Soviet Union for the United States. He spent a year at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology until obtaining a position at Rutgers, where he resumed his seminar series on a smaller scale for several years.

Dr. Gelfand’s awards include membership in the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society in Britain, and a MacArthur grant in 1994.

An earlier marriage, to Zorya Shapiro, ended in divorce.

In addition to his wife, Tatiana, he is survived by two sons from his first marriage, Sergei, of Providence, R.I., and Vladimir, of Chicago; a daughter, Tatiana, of Jersey City; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Dr. Gelfand, who often said, “You have to be fast only to catch fleas,” sought to teach not only the rules of math, but also the beauty and exactness of the field.

“Mathematics is a way of thinking in everyday life,” Dr. Gelfand said in a 2003 interview with The New York Times. “It is important not to separate mathematics from life. You can explain fractions even to heavy drinkers. If you ask them, ‘Which is larger, 2/3 or 3/5?’ it is likely they will not know. But if you ask, ‘Which is better, two bottles of vodka for three people, or three bottles of vodka for five people?’ they will answer you immediately. They will say two for three, of course.”

Athens and current history...new book

Democrats To Kings

by

Michael Scott

ISBN 9781848310735

"The Athenians: Another warning from history?"

October 5th, 2009

PhysOrg.com

The collapse of Greek democracy 2,400 years ago occurred in circumstances so similar to our own it could be read as a dark and often ignored lesson from the past, a new study suggests.

In a new history of the 4th century BC, Cambridge University Classicist Dr. Michael Scott reveals how the implosion of Ancient Athens occurred amid a crippling economic downturn, while politicians committed financial misdemeanours, sent its army to fight unpopular foreign wars and struggled to cope with a surge in immigration.

The book, entitled From Democrats To Kings, aims to overhaul Athens' traditional image as the ancient world's "golden city", arguing that its early successes have obscured a darker history of blood-lust and mob rule.

Other reputations are also taken to task: The "heroic" Spartans of Thermopylae, immortalised in the film 300, are unmasked as warmongering bullies of the ancient world. Alexander the Great, for all his achievements, is described as a "mummy's boy" whose success rested in many ways on the more pragmatic foundations laid by his father, Philip II.

Perhaps more significantly, however, the study suggests that the collapse of Greek democracy and of Athens in particular offer a stark warning from history which is often overlooked.

It argues that it was not the loss of its empire and defeat in war against Sparta at the end of the 5th century that heralded the death knell of Athenian democracy - as it is traditionally perceived. Athens' democracy in fact recovered from these injuries within years. Instead, Dr. Scott argues that the strains and stresses of the 4th century BC, which our own times seem to echo, proved too much for the Athenian democratic system and ultimately caused it to destroy itself.

"If history can provide a map of where we have been, a mirror to where we are right now and perhaps even a guide to what we should do next, the story of this period is perfectly suited to do that in our times," Dr. Scott said.

"It shows how an earlier generation of people responded to similar challenges and which strategies succeeded. It is a period of history that we would do well to think about a little more right now - and we ignore it at our peril."

Although the 4th century was one of critical transition, the era has been overlooked by many ancient historians in favour of those which bookend it - the glory days of Athenian democracy in the 5th century and the supremacy of Alexander the Great from 336 to 323 BC.

This, the study says, has led to a two-dimensional view of the intervening decades as a period of unimportant decline. Instead, Dr. Scott argues that this period is fundamental to understanding what really happened to Athenian democracy.

Athens was already a waning star on the international stage resting on past imperial glories, and the book argues that it struggled to keep pace with a world in a state of fast-paced globalisation and political transition.

In an effort to remain a major player in world affairs, it abandoned its ideology and values to ditch past allies while maintaining special relationships with emerging powers like Macedonia and supporting old enemies like the Persian King. This "slippery-fish diplomacy" helped it survive military defeats and widespread political turbulence, but at the expense of its political system. At the start of the century Athens, contrary to traditional reports, was a flourishing democracy. By the end, it was hailing its latest ruler, Demetrius, as both a king and a living God.

Dr. Scott argues that this was caused by a range of circumstances which in many cases were the ancient world's equivalent of those faced by Britain today. Athens, for example, committed itself to unpopular wars which ultimately brought it into direct conflict with the vastly more powerful Macedonia. Its economy, heavily dependent on trade and resources from overseas, crashed when in the 4th century instability in the region began to affect the arterial routes through which those supplies flowed.

The result was a series of domestic problems, including an inability to fund the traditional police force. In an effort to cope, Athens began to create a system of self-regulation, described as a "giant Neighbourhood Watch", asking citizens not to trouble its overstretched bureaucracy with non-urgent, petty crimes.

Ultimately, the city was to respond positively to some of these challenges. Many of its economic problems were gradually solved by attracting wealthy immigrants to Athens - which as a name still carried considerable prestige.

Democracy itself, however, buckled under the strain. Persuasive speakers who seemed to offer solutions - such as Demosthenes - came to the fore but ultimately took it closer to military defeat and submission to Macedonia. Critically, the emphasis on "people power" saw a revolving door of political leaders impeached, exiled and even executed as the inconstant international climate forced a tetchy political assembly into multiple changes in policy direction.

The name of "democracy" became an excuse to turn on anyone regarded as an enemy of the state, even good politicians who have, as a result, almost been forgotten. Dr Scott's study also marks an attempt to recognise figures such as Isocrates and Phocion - sage political advisers who tried to steer it away from crippling confrontations with other Greek states and Macedonia.

"In many ways this was a period of total uncertainty just like our own time," Dr. Scott added. "There are grounds to consider whether we want to go down the same route that Athens did. It survived the period through slippery-fish diplomacy, at the cost of a clear democratic conscience, a policy which, in the end, led it to accept a dictator King and make him a God."

2009 Ig Nobel prizewinners

Tis the season of silliness of scientific research awards.

"The 2009 Ig Nobel prizewinners"

October 5th, 2009

PhysOrg.com

The Ig Nobels are a highlight of the scientific calendar and award research that makes people laugh as well as think. The awards were presented last week at Harvard University in the U.S, and winning research included a bra that doubles as two face masks, a process for making diamonds from tequila, and Zimbabwe's scheme to simplify the handling of money.

The Ig Nobels began in 1991 and are awarded each October from Oslo and Stockholm. The awards are presented at a ceremony at Harvard, run by the university magazine Annals of Improbable Research.

The Ig Nobels are awarded in categories such as Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Literature, Mathematics, Medicine, Peace, Physics, Public Health, and Veterinary Medicine. They are presented by Nobel laureates. This year's winners are...

Biology

A group of scientists from Sagamihara in Japan won the Biology accolades for showing the world that bacteria from panda poo helps to reduce the mass of kitchen waste by over 90%.

Chemistry

The Ig Nobel for Chemistry was awarded to a team of Mexican scientists for their work on creating diamonds from tequila.

Economics

The Economics prize went to executives and auditors of four Icelandic banks, the Landsbanki, Glitnir, Kaupthing and Central bank. They showed that tiny banks can rapidly become big banks, and big banks can rapidly become tiny banks again. The same thing can happen to a nation's economy. Such as Iceland's economy.

Literature

Ireland's police service took out the literature prize for writing over fifty traffic tickets and presenting them to Prawo Jazdy, Ireland's most notorious traffic offender. Prawo Jazdy is Polish for "Driving License".

Mathematics

The Governor of the Reserve Bank in Zimbabwe, Gideon Gono, won the Mathematics prize for simplifying the currency for the people and helping them cope with rampant inflation. He simply had the bank print money in denominations that covered all the bases, with note values ranging from one cent to one hundred trillion dollars.

Medicine

Winner of the Medicine prize was 83-year old Donald L. Unger from Thousand Oaks in California who cracked the knuckles of his left hand every day for over sixty years. He never once cracked the knuckles of his right hand. The aim of this experiment was to see if his mother was right and that cracking the knuckles causes arthritis. It doesn't.

Peace

Stephan Bolliger, a pathologist from the University of Bern in Switzerland accepted the Ig Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of his team for finally solving the long-pondered question of whether being bashed on the head with a full bottle of beer is preferable to being bashed on the head with an empty one.

If you happen to be in a bar brawl, the full bottle is the one to choose because empty ones are sturdier, but both are strong enough to break the human skull, Bolliger said. Full beer bottles are likely to quickly explode because of the pressure built up in the bottle. The study's findings are relevant to court cases in which bottles have been used as weapons.

Physics

Three American scientists won the physics award for finding out why pregnant women don't tip over. It seems the structure of the lumbar vertebrae in women helps to compensate when the center of gravity changes as the weight of their unborn child increases.

One of the researchers, anthropologist, Professor Shapiro of the University of Texas, explained that women have spines that are more curved than men's, and in pregnancy that curve is accentuated and protects the back muscles and bones from the extra stress.

Public Health

Elena Bodnar, Sandra Marijan, and Raphael Lee of Illinois won the public health prize for their patent for a bra that can be converted quickly to two emergency face masks. Elena Bodnar attended the ceremony, but it is not known if she wore the invention herself - just in case.

Bodnar, originally from Ukraine began her career studying the after effects of the Chernobyl disaster. If the convertible bra had been available in the early hours of that disaster they might have protected wearers from Iodine-131 and the subsequent radiation sickness. The bra could also have protected people from asbestos and other dust in New York on September 11, 2001.

Veterinary Medicine

Winners in the Veterinary Medicine category were researchers from Newcastle University, Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson, who showed that cows give more milk if they are given names and affection. The findings arose from research aimed at improving the welfare of dairy cows.

Rowlinson attended the ceremony, but Douglas, a new mother, sent a picture of herself, a cow, and her baby wearing a cow suit. She dedicated her award to three cows: Purslane, Wendy and Tina.

Many of the researchers stressed that while their studies may sound funny, they are serious. Professor Shapiro said that while she understood why her research would qualify, it was actually "100 percent serious."

Official website


Cutting edge science research...navel fluff

Ig Nobel prizes for 2008

Ig Nobel project candidate for 2009?

Samson...not sold

I guess money is tight in the fossil collection venue.

"For sale: a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton"

The fossil, one of the most complete ever found, goes on the auction block at the Venetian casino as its curator frets: What if it doesn't sell? Worse, what if a tipsy gambler buys it?

by

Kate Linthicum

October 4th, 2009

latimes.com

The auctioneer gazed out at the audience, knowing this was the moment they'd waited for. Next up, he said, was lot No. 23 -- a "wonderful, exceptional, 66-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton known as Samson."

He gestured to the ferocious-looking skull sitting on a stand to his left. "There she is," he said. The people who had gathered in the elegant gallery at the Venetian hotel gasped.

Samson is one of the three most complete T. rex specimens ever discovered, possessing the most intact skull in existence.

But auctions are unpredictable, and dinosaurs are expensive. So an ugly prospect hung in the air Saturday: Might Samson not sell?

On Friday, Thomas Lindgren, the curator in charge, and auctioneer Patrick Meade had talked about just that between meetings with prospective buyers. People from across the world had expressed interest in Samson, but nobody was committed to bidding.

"If I'd have had this T. rex two years ago, we would have set world records," Lindgren said wistfully. But, he said, the recession had caused everyone -- museums, schools and even eccentric collectors with deep pockets -- to scale back.

To Lindgren, a dinosaur devotee who has spent 30 years of his life excavating, collecting and auctioning fossils, this was not just another sale. His professional reputation, he said, was on the line.

"This is the pinnacle of my career," he said. "I want it to be a home run. I want to be the guy that slid into home plate at the end of a grand slam at the end of the world series of paleontology."

He paused.

"I don't want to be the guy that struck out and lost the game."

Samson was discovered in Harding, S.D., in the late 1980s, when a rancher's son noticed some bones sticking up from the earth. A few years later, a pair of commercial fossil collectors cut a deal with the rancher, excavated the bones and sold them to an anonymous buyer. For more than a decade, Samson's bones remained in storage.

Then earlier this year, the owner contacted Los Angeles-based Bonhams & Butterfields about selling them.

When the auction house sent Lindgren, its co-director of natural history, to inspect the dinosaur, he got chills.

"I looked from bone to bone and realized what an amazing specimen this was," he said. "To actually be in the presence of the most magnificent species that ever walked the planet, it's almost like being in the presence of the holy grail of paleontology."

His affection for the dinosaur has grown over the last several months, Lindgren said. He spent nearly every day with Samson, preparing her for auction and then presiding over an exhibition at the Venetian, where she and other fossils to be auctioned off were on display.

During that time, Lindgren taught visitors about Samson's physiology and speculated about her life -- which he said was likely a violent one. Her skull has scars that were probably caused by another T. rex, he said, and the broken bones in her tail are evidence that she mated.

At the Venetian, Lindgren and Samson were a hit.

"People would ask me to autograph their exhibition guides," he said. "And little kids would come up and say, 'Thank you for bringing Samson to Las Vegas.' "

As their time together was coming to an end, Lindgren said, he had mixed feelings. While he would miss her, he hoped Samson would sell -- but to the right buyer.

"I'm just hoping we don't have someone holding a beer who just came off the slot machine thinking: 'Oh, I just hit the jackpot. Maybe I'll buy a dinosaur!' " Lindgren said. "Those are the nightmares I have."

He wanted Samson to end up at a public institution, like a museum, so that he and others could continue to enjoy her.

"I'm hoping it's not going to be a goodbye," Lindgren said.

On Saturday, he stood near the auction podium -- amped with adrenaline.

The room was packed with Las Vegas luminaries, like the casino's owner, Sheldon Adelson, as well as some of the biggest names in paleontology. Among them was Peter Larson, who helped excavate Sue, the T. rex fossil now in the collection of Chicago's Field Museum.

The anticipation grew as Meade led the bidding on, among other pieces, a 28-foot-long duck-billed dinosaur skeleton and a 7-foot fossil shark from the Permian period.

But excitement peaked when Meade introduced Samson.

He opened the bidding at $2.5 million. Someone immediately raised a paddle. Then an international collector's proxy jumped in.

The price climbed: $2.6 million, $2.7 million, $2.8 million . . .

When the bidding reached $3.6 million, Meade asked: "Anybody advance?" The audience was tense and silent. "Last chance," he said.

Then the gavel came down.

Samson hadn't sold.

The auction house passed on the $3.6-million offer, which failed to meet the set reserve price. (Bonhams & Butterfields would not disclose the minimum asking price.)

Bill Barker, a collector known as "Doc Fossil," said he felt bad for Lindgren. "It's certainly a hurt for him," Barker said. "I'm sorry Samson didn't go."

Lindgren too was disappointed. But that feeling eased when, a few minutes after the auction ended, he reported getting a call from "a major museum" asking about Samson's fate. When Lindgren explained that Samson hadn't sold, the museum said it might make a bid.


Samson is up for auction--3rd complete T-Rex

Electric vehicles...I think not

The article suggests that electric vehicles are the wave of the future. Granted, better batteries will be developed but it will not have that great of an impact with the general public. Just consider the number of people that do not have access to an electrical outlet like apartment dwellers. Extension cords everywhere. People will steal them for the copper; people could trip over them; kids could be injured by them; people could plug into another's outlet. Not a good idea. Perhaps it could be beneficial for government vehicles, public transportation, cargo trucks.

"A123 Systems goes public with a splash"

by

Dirk Lammers

September 24th, 2009

Associated Press via Argonne Labs

Investors snapped up shares of A123 Systems in their debut Thursday, showing willingness to overlook millions of dollars in losses and make a bet that next-generation battery technology will propel the cars and trucks of the future.

Watertown, Mass.-based A123 Systems makes lithium-ion batteries, the technology chosen to power General Motor's highly anticipated electric car, the Chevy Volt. A123 lost out on the contract for the Volt but was picked to build batteries for Chrysler's next generation of electric cars.

Founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists, A123 lost more than $40 million in the first half of this year and seemed to challenge the market's fear of risk. But with the government pressuring automakers to build more fuel-efficient automobiles, investors obviously feel there is money to be made as companies compete to be the suppliers of the next power source for sedans, crossovers and pickups.

A123 Systems Inc. said its lithium-ion battery will provide more power, last longer and operate more safely than other batteries.

The company has been contracted by Chrysler and in August received a $249 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, yet critics note the company has never made money and say the clamor for A123 shares is misguided.

Still, it was among the most lucrative first-day IPO's this year on a percentage basis, trailing only software company Opentable Inc. A123's shares gained $6.79, or 50.3 percent, to close at $20.29.

A123's technology is similar to that used in laptops and cell phones. Lithium-ion batteries have been subject to mass recalls by computer companies because of overheating and face an even greater challenge in cars because of the energy required.

"So you end up packing a reactive metal, which is lithium, in a flammable substance very, very close together," said Don Hillebrand, director of the Transportation Research Center at Argonne National Laboratory. "You can do this, and you can do it safely, but it requires a more expensive manufacturing process."

And cost is an obstacle that may be just as daunting. A single battery can cost $40,000, but the payoff could be huge if engineers can tackle the cost.

The global lithium-ion battery market is expected to jump from $31.9 million this year to $21.8 billion by 2015 and to $74.1 billion by 2020, according to business consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

A123 raised $380 million Thursday, selling 28.2 million shares of common stock at $13.50 each.

In addition to the Energy Department grant, A123 has secured $350 million in private capital from investors including General Electric Co. It also landed $100 million in refundable tax credits from the state of Michigan to build a plant.

David Vieau, A123 Systems' president and chief executive, said the company's batteries use MIT technology that achieves a balance between power, life span and safety. The batteries can be shaped and linked to fit into different types and models of vehicles, he said.

"Height and clearance, for example, on a Jeep, is quite a different problem then if you're in a two-seat sports car or if you have a minivan," Vieau said.

The nickel-metal hydride batteries used now in cars like the Toyota Prius must still be paired with a combustion engine. Hydride batteries can give you short bursts of power. Lithium-ion can store more energy, but it's still more delicate and heat is more of a problem.

Hillebrand said nickel-metal hydride is a power battery, not an energy battery, which is why it's good for short-range hybrids.

A123 Systems shares are trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol "AONE."

Rubik's Cube is back for a mere $150

"Bust Out the Parachute Pants — Rubik Is Back"

by

Warren Buckleitner

September 29th, 2009

New York Times

While the amount of technology packed into Rubik’s TouchCube is impressive, the big question remains: Would you want to spend more than a few minutes with it before tossing the $150 puzzle through a window?

In stores Oct. 18 from Techno Source USA, this is the second electronic edition of the famous puzzle from Techno Source, following last year’s Rubik’s Revolution. Rather than physically twisting the interlocked mechanical cubes patented by Erno Rubik in 1977, you swipe your finger against one of the cube’s capacitive sides to “flip” the colors. There are no moving parts; instead, the multicolor LEDs change color with a flipping sound emitted from an internal speaker, while an accelerometer keeps track of which side is up.

The onboard computer provides hints, or it can solve itself. When it is not being used, the cube sits in a charging cradle and lights up, making an ideal geek’s night light.

In case you are still working with the original:

DIRECTIONS FOR SOLVING THE 5x5x5 (Professor) CUBE

How To Solve A Rubik's Cube

Ethylene and Tin...serendipity

Remember the tired tomato vines at this time of year. Some tomatoes were the size of golf balls and less and some were near ripening...the size of baseballs. And what was done? The vines were ground up and destined for the compost heap while the salvageable tomatoes were placed in a paper bag and set in an area of plentiful sunshine. And what happened? The remaining tomatoes began to ripen to a brilliant red. Why? The release of ethylene which enhance the ripening of a number of fruits and vegetables--even apples. Now a team of chemists have accidentally discovered an interesting combination of ethylene and tin exhibiting catalytic features--all by accident.

"Novel Chemistry for Ethylene and Tin"

September 29th, 2009

UC Davis News and Information

New work by chemists at UC Davis shows that ethylene, a gas that is important both as a hormone that controls fruit ripening and as a raw material in industrial chemistry, can bind reversibly to tin atoms. The research, published Sept. 25 in the journal Science, could have implications for understanding catalytic processes.

Ethylene has long been known to react with transition metals such as iron or copper, but was not thought to react reversibly with metals such as tin or aluminum, said Philip Power, professor of chemistry at UC Davis and senior author on the paper.

"Reversibility is important, because it shows that it could be involved in catalytic processes," Power said.

Catalysts are materials that allow chemical reactions to proceed more efficiently, often by forming a temporary intermediate structure. Catalytic processes are important both in living cells and in industrial chemistry.

Graduate student Yang Peng passed ethylene, at room temperature and normal atmospheric pressure, through a compound made up of two tin atoms bonded to each other and also to rings of carbon atoms. The green tin compound turned yellow in the presence of ethylene, and a new compound could be crystallized out.

Slight heating of the mixture reversed the reaction and released ethylene again.

Power said the result was unexpected, but noted, "you investigate the reactions, and sometimes you find something interesting."

"It's serendipity, but you have to be looking and willing to follow it up," he said.

Power did not foresee an immediate application for the discovery, but said that it would contribute in general to understanding ethylene catalysis. Some plants release ethylene to control fruit ripening, although no known biological molecules include a tin atom. There could be implications for industrial catalysis if similar behavior could be shown for a cheap metal like aluminum, he said.

Also contributing to the work were postdoctoral scientists Xinping Wang and Bobby Ellis, and X-ray crystallographer James Fettinger. The work was funded by the National Science Foundation.


Serendipity again...