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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 31, 2008		 CONTACT:
Michael E. Newman
(301) 975-3025

American Chemical Society to Honor NIST Role in 1931 Discovery of Heavy Hydrogen

The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), along with Columbia University, has been selected by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of the History of Chemistry to receive the ACS Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award in recognition of the isolation of deuterium, the isotope of hydrogen commonly called “heavy hydrogen.” The feat was achieved in 1931 by physicists from the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), NIST’s predecessor, and Columbia.

The award will be given to both NIST and Columbia during a ceremony at NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md., on Nov. 6, 2008. Willie May, director of NIST’s Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory, and James Valentini, immediate past chair of Columbia’s Department of Chemistry, will accept the award for their organizations. John Parascandola, a noted historian, will present the award on behalf of ACS.

Media are invited to cover this event by registering as detailed below.

When: Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time
Where: Green Auditorium, NIST Administration Building, 100 Bureau Dr., Gaithersburg, MD
Registration: Media planning to attend the event should register by 3 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008, by calling or e-mailing the contact listed above. For security reasons, all media—including production crew members— must be registered and show proper credentials (a news media badge with photo or a photo ID with a business card) to pick up their visitor badges and enter the NIST site.
Directions: I-270 North towards Frederick, enter the local lanes at Exit 9 and then take Exit 10, Clopper Road/West Diamond Avenue (Rt. 117). At the light at end of ramp turn right onto West Diamond Avenue (Rt.117 West). Proceed to first traffic light and turn left into NIST. Proceed to the Visitor’s Center to present photo ID, pick-up badge and get directions to the Administration Building.
Background: NBS physicist Ferdinand Brickwedde, collaborating with Columbia physicists Harold Urey and George Murphy, produced the first sample of deuterium at the NBS Low Temperature Laboratory in Washington, D.C. (on what is now the campus of the University of the District of Columbia), in 1931. Team leader Urey was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery. Today, deuterium is used as a non-radioactive tracer in scientific and medical research, and in the study of thermonuclear fusion reactions.

 

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date created: 10/31/08
last update: 10/31/08
contact: inquiries@nist.gov