Academic News

Photoshop is more than just photography software. It is the most used and most flexible new media tool, used to create graphics for websites and apps, motion graphics and animation, print publications, video games, and film visual effects and matte paintings. Below are some excellent DMD student samples.
In the Photography class, students had to manipulate photos they had taken in order to build a creative self portrait. Check out these terrific results by (respectively) Alyssa Paskaruk, Wlad Riazanov, and Priscilla Hofer.

Read More →

Since the invention of gunpowder in China over one thousand years ago, much human ingenuity over the years has gone into devising ways to make things explode. The current epitome of this search for bigger and better explosives is CL-20. It was developed in the 1980’s at the U.S. Naval China Lake research facility in California. It’s currently being investigated as a component of new high energy plastic explosives.

The CL-20 molecule.

There are a few interesting things about CL-20. One is that it has an almost unpronounceable formal name; 2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazaisowurtzitane (you can see why they named it CL-20!). The second is that it is the world’s most powerful non-nuclear explosive. This explosive energy is provided by the high concentration of nitramine functional groups as well as, to some extent, the appreciable ring strain in the molecular structure.

Thursday, November 28, 2013
5 – 8 pm 160 Princess St.
William Building 6th Floor Design Studio
Graphic Design is holding an information night for students, parents and high school staff who would like more information about admission to our program. Presentations will be run at 5pm, 6pm and 7pm. After the presentation we invite you to:

• tour the facilities,
• meet with instructors, enrollment staff and current students,
• ask questions about the entrance portfolio and see samples of work.

For more information: Diane Livingston, Program Coordinator at dlivingston@rrc.ca
You can download an invitation here: 2013 info_night

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is a federal government agency which has a mandate to investigate chemical accidents. Unfortunately, the CSB has no shortage of work, since there is apparently an endless supply of such accidents in the U.S. (and elsewhere, of course). The good news is that often these incidents provide valuable insights into safety issues and can serve as useful learning tools. The CSB has done a great job of investigating a wide variety of workplace accidents, from small to large scale, and producing very high quality videos which provide unique insights into the causes of these accidents. In my Laboratory Safety course, I often use these videos to highlight a range of safety concerns and encourage my students to identify the root causes of the incidents and determine what could have been done differently.

An image from a CSB video.

Anyone with an interest in chemical or industrial safety might want to spend some time on the CSB website, especially on the video section, which currently hosts about 50 videos on subjects as diverse as reactive hazards, static electrical discharge and combustible dusts. – Michael Judge.

Aspartame is the commonly used name for the artificial sweetener N-(L-α-aspartyl)-L-phenylalanine, 1-methyl ester. It was discovered when a chemist working in the Searle labs in 1965 accidentally ingested some and realized it tasted sweet. The chemist at the time was working on drugs to control ulcers! It is formed by making the dipeptide of two amino acids and then producing the methyl ester of that molecule.

The aspartame molecule.

It is about 200 times sweeter than sugar and so can sweeten foods without adding a lot of calories, since little is required. Aspartame is very widely used today for numerous foods and beverages, although not without controversy.  For decades, there have been concerns and even conspiracy theories associated with the use of aspartame, and it has been claimed to cause numerous health problems ranging from simple headaches to cancer. Many studies over several decades, however, have consistently shown that aspartame is safe at normal levels of ingestion and it continues to be approved for use by the FDA, the EU and other worldwide regulatory agencies.

The Accounting and Computer Education department has a new Vision and Mission.

ACE Mission Statement

Foster an inclusive, effective  and innovative learning environment.

ACE Vision Statement

Recognized as the best choice for post-secondary accounting and information technology education.

Heroin is a member of the alkaloid family of chemicals (which normally contain a somewhat basic nitrogen group). It is produced by chemical modification of morphine; the principal opiate obtained from the poppy plant. The synthesis of heroin from morphine is actually fairly simple and involves the acetylation of two hydroxyl groups, hence heroin is also known as diacetylmorphine.

The heroin molecule. Note the two acetyl groups on the left.

Heroin was synthesized and produced commercially in the late 19^th century by the Bayer company in Germany and was intended to be a non-addictive substitute for morphine, which was a common medical ingredient at the time. The name “heroin” was meant to reflect the chemical’s heroic properties (an early attempt at branding!). As we all know, this idea didn’t work out so well, since heroin is actually extremely addictive. In fact, heroin is about twice as powerful as morphine, possibly because it is less polar and can more readily move into the brain once it enters the body. The dangers of heroin were quickly recognized and it was banned quite soon after it became available (in 1924 in the U.S., for example).

With the warm weather still here, Californium is a good choice for the element of the week! This element was first created in the labs of the University of California, Berkeley in 1950 and is named after the balmy State of California. That was in the good old days when, if you made it, you got to name it! Californium is produced by bombarding other elements (such as curium) with subatomic particles.

U of California researchers work with Californium in the ‘60s. Note the snappy attire!

The 252 isotope of this element is a very powerful radioisotope, emitting millions of neutrons per second. It has several practical applications, such as providing the initial radiation input for the start-up of nuclear reactors.

Californium has the distinction of being perhaps the most expensive commodity chemical on earth. The price in 1999 was $60 per microgram, or $60,000,000 per gram, which is about two million times more expensive than gold.

Kevlar is the DuPont brand name for an aramid (aromatic amide) polymer first developed in 1965. The para orientation of the benzene substituents in the repeating unit allows a high degree of hydrogen bonding between polymer chains in this material. As a result, the polymer in the solid phase forms rod-like liquid crystal packing structures. Spun fibers of this material are exceptionally strong; Kevlar has about eight times the strength of steel on a per-weight basis.

The molecular structure of Kevlar.

The synthesis and processing of Kevlar is difficult, since a solution of concentrated sulfuric acid is required to dissolve the polymer, and consequently the price for this polymer is quite high. Nevertheless, it’s unique combination of strength, low density and flexibility have led to numerous applications, including body armour, bridge cables and the roof of Montreal’s Olympic stadium.