Sidney Rossiter Benedict : Notes from the Oesper Collections, No. 27, July/August 2014

A circa 1928 Bock-Benedict colorimeter

A circa 1928 Bock-Benedict colorimeter

The 27th issue of Museum Notes tells the story of a UC graduate who, inspired by his undergraduate chemistry teacher, went on to become a nationally prominent physiological chemist and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Click here for all other issues of Notes from The Oesper Collections and to explore the Jensen-Thomas Apparatus Collection.

Data Management Planning Workshops – Starting June 30th

Join the University of Cincinnati Libraries for a series of workshops on data management planning! The workshops will address universal data management best practices for health science, science and engineering students and professionals. While much of the focus is on STEM fields, this course will be useful for anyone interested in learning more about data management practices and principles. Each workshop will include a teaching portion and hands on activities. We recommend that registrants attend all five workshops if possible. Workshops will be held in the Health Science Library (HSL) Electronic Classroom G005G.

Register at http://webcentral.uc.edu/hslclass/home.aspx

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Meet the UC Libraries’ Science Informationist

Hello! I am Amy Koshoffer, the new UC Libraries Science Informationist.

I am one member of a team of informationists working to provide research data services and instruction to the UC research community. My primary focus will be on researchers in Engineering and the Sciences, including Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Geology, Geography, Mathematics, and Physics. The informationist team includes others based in the Health Sciences Library (East Campus), including Tiffany Grant, a Research Informationist who is focusing on services to biomedical researchers.

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The Marsh Test for Arsenic : Notes from the Oesper Collections, No. 26, May/June 2014

Reproduction of a Marsh apparatus

Reproduction of a Marsh apparatus

 

The 26th issue of Museum Notes deals with the historic Marsh test for arsenic and its role in both the history of forensic chemistry and detective fiction.

Click here for all other issues of Notes from The Oesper Collections and to explore the Jensen-Thomas Apparatus Collection.

The Dichromate Cell : Notes from the Oesper Collections, No. 25, March/April 2014

Examples of surviving half-liter Grenet cells

Examples of surviving half-liter Grenet cells (Jensen-Thomas Apparatus Collection). The cell on the right has its Zn anode raised.

The 25th issue of Museum Notes is the last installment of our series on historic voltaic cells and highlights the famous dichromate cell of Poggendorff and Warington.

Click here for all other issues of Notes from The Oesper Collections and to explore the Jensen-Thomas Apparatus Collection.

The Leclanche Cell: Notes from the Oesper Collections, No. 24, January/February 2014

The Leclanché cell as depicted in Benjamin’s 1893 treatise on the voltaic cell.

The Leclanché cell as depicted in Benjamin’s 1893 treatise on the voltaic cell.

 

The 24th issue of Museum Notes highlights the Leclanché voltaic cell in both its original wet-cell form and modern dry-cell form. This cell is the basis of most of our current everyday batteries from the D-cells used in traditional flashlights to the smaller AAA-cells used in many of our everyday electronic devices.

Click here for all other issues of Notes from The Oesper Collections and to explore the Jensen-Thomas Apparatus Collection.

The Bunsen and Grove Cells : Notes from the Oesper Collections, No. 23, November/December 2013

An actual surviving example of the Grove cell and a spare ceramic spacer.

An actual surviving example of the Grove cell and a spare ceramic spacer.

 

The 23rd issue of Notes from The Oesper Collections highlights the famous Grove nitric acid cell and its later modification by Robert Bunsen which made it into a standard commercial and laboratory source of electrical energy for more than 50 years.

Click here for all other issues of Notes from The Oesper Collections and to explore the Jensen-Thomas Apparatus Collection.

Oesper Collections Attract International Scholars

(Contributed by Dr. William Jensen, Curator of the Oesper Collections in the History of Chemistry)

As the global reputation of the Oesper Collections in the History of Chemistry continues to grow, these special collections are attracting the attention of more and more international scholars.

Starting in January 2013, Professor José Chamizo of the University of Mexico spent three months of his sabbatical  working in the collections and  returned once more in  June for another two weeks. While at Cincinnati his research focused on the role of instrumentation in initiating chemical revolutions and on the life and work of the 19th-century Mexican chemist, José Ortigiosa.

Detailed image from the Splendor Solis manuscript

Detailed image from the Splendor Solis manuscript

Detailed image from the Splendor Solis manuscript

Detailed image from the Splendor Solis manuscript

In late June, the Oesper collections were also visited by Dr. Eberhard Slenczka, former Director of Libraries for the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremburg, who came to examine our facsimile of the 16th century alchemical manuscript known as the Splendor Solis in order to make comparisons with the copies found in Nuremburg, Paris, London and Spain.

Please direct questions regarding access and use of the Oesper collections to  Professor William B. Jensen or Ted Baldwin, Director of Science and Engineering Libraries.