Atomic bond types discernible in single-molecule images

A pioneering team from IBM in Zurich has published single-molecule images so detailed that the type of atomic bonds between their atoms can be discerned.

The same team took the first-ever single-molecule image in 2009 and more recently published images of a molecule shaped like the Olympic rings.

The new work opens up the prospect of studying imperfections in the "wonder material" graphene or plotting where electrons go during chemical reactions.

The images are published in Science.

The team, which included French and Spanish collaborators, used a variant of a technique called atomic force microscopy, or AFM.

AFM uses a tiny metal tip passed over a surface, whose even tinier deflections are measured as the tip is scanned to and fro over a sample.

The IBM team's innovation to create the first single molecule picture, of a molecule called pentacene, was to use the tip to pick up a single, small molecule made up of a carbon and an oxygen atom.

This carbon monoxide molecule effectively acts as a record needle, probing with unprecedented accuracy the very surfaces of atoms.

It is difficult to overstate what precision measurements these are.

The experiments must be isolated from any kind of vibration coming from within the laboratory or even its surroundings.

They are carried out at a scale so small that room temperature induces wigglings of the AFM's constituent molecules that would blur the images, so the apparatus is kept at a cool -268C.

While some improvements have been made since that first image of pentacene, lead author of the Science study, Leo Gross, told BBC News that the new work was mostly down to a choice of subject.

The images show just how long the atomic bonds are, and the bright and dark spots correspond to higher and lower densities of electrons.The new study examined fullerenes - such as the famous football-shaped "buckyball" - and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, which have linked rings of carbon atoms at their cores.

Together, this information reveals just what kind of bonds they are - how many electrons pairs of atoms share - and what is going on chemically within the molecules.

"In the case of pentacene, we saw the bonds but we couldn't really differentiate them or see different properties of different bonds," Dr Gross said.

"Now we can really prove that... we can see different physical properties of different bonds, and that's really exciting."

The team will use the method to examine graphene, one-atom-thick sheets of pure carbon that hold much promise in electronics.

But defects in graphene - where the perfect sheets of carbon are buckled or include other atoms - are currently poorly understood.

The team will also explore the use of different molecules for their "record needle", with the hope of yielding even more insight into the molecular world.

Look closely: the bonds at centre are shorter than those at the edges, as they involve more electrons

Tiny distortions to the regular hexagonal pattern of carbon bonds is what interests the researchers

What Do Professors Do, Anyway?

On March 23, the Washington Post ran an op-ed by David Levy, a former chancellor at the New School University, asking: "Do college professors work hard enough?" He suggests that faculty at non-research institutions don't put in enough hours for the pay they receive. Not surprisingly, this created a small firestorm among faculty nationwide who weren't shy about telling him what they thought.

I have held faculty and administrative positions only at research institutions -- where the mission is both teaching and research -- so I wouldn't presume to speak for faculty at schools focused exclusively on teaching. Yet there are some across-the-board myths about academic life in general, and professors sometimes seem to be a target.

This likely has to do with the fact that unless someone has been a professor or graduate student or worked with them, they probably don't fully understand what professors do. Instead, presumptions are made about an alleged leisurely life spent in an ivory tower sitting around in tweed coats, smoking pipes and discussing Kant or Rawls (which actually doesn't sound bad, except for the pipe smoke). That scene may happen, but it doesn't reflect how faculty spend most of their time.

So perhaps the best question isn't, "Do college professors work hard enough?" Instead, it might be, "What do professors do, anyway?"

For professors, actual time spent teaching in the classroom is the tip of the iceberg that follows a great deal of preparation: sifting through mountains of books and articles to pick the texts for students to read; creating detailed course plans; producing voluminous notes and presentations for every class and writing a syllabus, among other things. Professors don't just stroll into class and say what's on their mind.

Professors can have 20, 30, 40 to 300 students in a class or lecture and they often require individual attention for myriad reasons: help understanding the course material, to discuss their approach to a paper or why they received a particular grade, among many others. This isn't confined to the set office hours most faculty hold. The advent of e-mail changed the way many students and faculty interact, so many professors are always on duty in this respect.

Advising students and grading their work takes significant time, as does campus life -- oh, the committees. Many professors devote a good deal of their time to various other assignments: search committees to hire colleagues or administrators, tenure review committees, curriculum committees, PhD. committees; and a host of task forces and working groups formed to address all the challenges your average college and university can encounter. This takes countless hours, but must be done and is often beneficial for the institution. They must also engage in professional development on a regular basis, to ensure they are at the forefront of their discipline.

At research universities, like UConn, teaching undergraduate courses and graduate seminars are similar to one's "day job," in that it represents only part of what faculty must do. In addition to that, they must also conduct research, whether it's in a laboratory, a library or a site halfway across the world. Faculty produce research to contribute to their respective field in meaningful ways in addition to their bedrock mission of educating students. Research is what leads to things like curing illnesses, historical revelation, greater economic development and better informing the decisions and practices of governments, interest groups and businesses, to name just a few.

And most professors don't spend their breaks lounging; they often use the time to work.

Faculty are so vital that, in fact, UConn recently enacted a plan to hire 300 new professors over the next four years. And it isn't because faculty lounges are dangerously empty. It's because along with our students, the quality of a university's faculty directly correlates to the quality of a university -- both in terms of teaching and research. They not only teach our students and contribute powerfully to our state, but they also contribute to the lifeblood of innovation and progress in scores of fields that impact all of our lives.

Does that mean there's no such thing as unproductive faculty members? No, of course not. There are -- they exist in every profession. But in my experience in the academic world, they are the exception, not the rule. 

Uni dons’ issues considered before budget

By Ifham Nizam, Ceylon Today

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will take into consideration the demands and proposals of the university teachers prior to the preparation of the national budget in November, a senior minister said yesterday.

Answering questions during the weekly media briefing, Cabinet Spokesperson, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said, of the nearly 200 countries, only 36 countries considered the most developed nations in the world like the US, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada allocate six per-cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the education sector.

He also said that majority of these countries depend on the private sector for 95% of the contribution to the sector.

Rambukwella said they have no issues in granting even a seven per- cent increase, but the demands need to be practical. Citing examples, he said, the cost factor to the government to produce an engineer through free public education from primary to tertiary level was more than six per-cent of the GDP. He said that such factors should be taken into consideration when quoting percentages.

While appreciating the services rendered by the university teachers, they should act with restraint and not use the students as pawns to secure their benefits, he cautioned.

The Cabinet Spokesperson also said that the government welcomed intellectuals highlighting and taking up issues relevant to an important sector like education but called for a practical approach.

FUTA strike: and govt. attitude

September 13, 2012, 7:12 pm , The Island

An interesting article titled "The FUTA Strike: How Rational Is It? appeared in The Island of Sep. 12 It was written by a Senior Professor (Rohan Rajapakse of Ruhuna) who also happens to be a Consultant to the Ministry of Higher Education. Obviously it reflects the reasonings behind the government’s attitude which we hear often mouthed by the Minister of Higher Education. Let us take just one section from the article by Senior Professor cum Consultant (SPC). With regard to the "Political Interference " issue which is one of the grievances of the FUTA, the SPC argues that all university affairs are run by academics. He mentions that the UGC comprises of Senior Academics. One wonders whether the SPC is unaware of the fact that the IGC is a highly politicized institution. Even school children know that. Then the SPC says that within the University the affairs are run by academics who sit in various committees appointed from among themselves like the Faculty Boards, Senate, Curriculum, Finance etc. That is true.But who is the Vice Chancellor who presides over all affairs of the University? He is a political appointee. The SPC says that the appointment to the VC post is made from among the 3 names sent up by the Council. But very often democratic principles are not heeded .To cite the case of Peradeniya, the latest appointment, the person who got the highest number of votes was not appointed. Who then are the members of the Council which is the governing body of the University? There is the Vice Chancellor, the Deputy Vice Chancellor and the Deans of the Faculties and two representatives from the Senate who are University members. In addition there are to be (according to the Act) a number of appointees whose number should exceed by one, the number of university members. The people so appointed from outside according to the Act should be people of distinction who could be entrusted with h responsibility of sitting in judgment over university affairs. Without being personal, let me invite interested readers to go to the university websites and see for themselves the kind of people who have been recently appointed to these governing bodies of our highest seats of learning. Then for comparison they can peruse the UGC publications of earlier years and see the former councils and see for themselves the fall that has occurred. Some recent appointees are there solely because of political patronage. In the past only people of distinction in various spheres, sometimes people with national stature, were appointed by successive authorities, whether recommended by Vice Chancellors or Ministers or the UGCs. But a highly visible politicization has taken place in the recent past. This is the grievance of the FUTA.

More on the issue of political interderence which has risn to the highest level under the present minister. The latest UGC circular regarding appointments to the Academic Staff lays down that hereafter all selection committees will have two representatives from the UGC whose verdict will be the final word in the selection. What would that lead to? Knowing the Sri Lankan context we can be sure that in the future the criterion for being recruited to the Academic Staff will not be a First Class but political affiliation. We can imagine who the next set of University Professors will be! Can the SPC deny that Senior Academics who sit in the UGC have not blatantly violated academic excellence by this circular?

It appears that the SPC is blissfully unaware of these facts. But being a "consultant" who no doubt is being consulted on important matters he should be educated on such matters. Be that as it may, his reasonings also need an overhaul. Just look at this. Stating that the minister and the Ministry have responsibilities of accountability he says that therefore the Universities Act vests him with necessary powers. The SPC adds " The authority of the subject minister runs for several pages in the ACT but there is no mention of the FUTA anywhere in the act" What a marvelous argument!

Ajantha P. Liyanage

Striking dons out to make govt. surrender

September 13, 2012, 9:52 pm , The Island

by Dasun Edirisinghe

University teachers, who have been on a continuous strike for over two months, staged a demonstration yesterday opposite the Fort Railway Station to force the government to meet their demands immediately.

President of the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri said that the government was yet to provide acceptable solutions to their demands.

FUTA’s main demands are the allocation six per cent of the GDP for education, consulting university teachers when decisions on higher education and a pay hike.

Dr. Dewasiri said that the government was ignoring their demands.

"We will not stop the strike until our demands are met," he said.

The senior academic said that the striking dons had also held a special convention at the public library auditorium yesterday.

He said that they had held discussions with Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake, but all talks had failed due to the government’s intransigence.

"Finally, the Labour Commissioner offered arbitration to solve the problems, but we rejected it," Dr. Dewasiri said.

U’grads campaign to force govt. solve  education problems

September 13, 2012, 10:16 pm, The Island 

by Dasun Edirisinghe

Undergraduates yesterday launched a protest against the government’s failure to solve the ongoing crisis in the education and higher education sectors.

As a part of the protest, they launched a signature campaign on a 100m long banner at the Badulla town on Tuesday.

Convener of the Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF) Sanjeewa Bandara told The Island that they had collected signatures for the banner-petition in the Bandarawela town too.

He said that they would go to the Kandy and Anuradhapura Districts next week.

"We will go around the country with this banner," Bandara said, adding that they had delivered leaflets to educate the public on the issue.

The government had failed to grant the demands of university teachers and it had led to the disruption of work in universities for over two months, he said.

Undergraduates demand that the government solve the problem and re–commence the academic activities.

Bandara said that they also demanded that the government allocate 6 per cent of the GDP for education.

Bandara said that their other demand was to stop the leadership training programme introduced for prospective university entrants.

FUTA in street battle

September 13, 2012, 12:00 pm , The Island

University teachers who staged a demonstration opposite the Fort Railway Station yesterday (13) obtaining signatures to a petition to be sent to the government urging it to provide acceptable solutions to their problems. (Pic. By Dharmasena Welipitiya)