Columbia University College of Pharmacy - Apothekan Yearbook (New York, NY)

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Arthur W. Thomas, A.M., Ph.D. Chairman CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT If one were to ask what we got most out of the pharmacy course he would be certain to get the answer Chemistry. This can be readily conceived if one realizes that chemistry is what actually puts the word science into pharmacy. Mr. Anzelmi certainly deserves a good deal of the credit for the chemistry departments be- ing voted one of the best liked of the four de- partments. Though we had the privilege of re- ceiving his interesting instruction only during our initial year in the school, we will long remember his unselfish understand- ing of our freshman problems and his realization that chemists are made only after years of laborious study. His intriguing lectures and experiments often held us spellbound and it didn ' t take us long to realize the vastness of this age-old science. The laboratory work was extremely interesting and served to acquaint us still more with this vital subject. It was in the second year, when Mr. Liberman presented us with problems of every type and description, that we realized a sound basic course in elementary chemistry is essential in understanding the more complex problems of inorganic chemistry. Although the courses of Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis are considered among the most difficult in the curriculum they are also among the most interesting. No doubt some of us still find trouble in calculating an ionization equilibrium problem because we ' re just not interested in that branch of chemistry called calculation. The laboratory experiments in the determination of unknowns, however, were especially fascinating. The laboratory technique of some of our more brilliant students constantly emphasized the need for accuracy and precision in this work. It wasn ' t until the third year, when we delved into the more complex realms of organic chemistry, that the laboratory technique of the class of ' 42, which had previously been con- sidered somewhat shady, actually received its dying blow. Some rather famous works have been developed as a result of some of these strange organic experiments. It seems Ben God- fried ' s love for inorganic chemistry inspired him to write a thesis on The Physical, Chemi- cal, Therapeutic, Diagnostic, Prophylactic, and Moral Action of Sodium and Related Com- pounds. The competitive nature of some of the students made sure that more work was done along these technical lines and as a result of the combined effort of Erich Kramer and Jules Rhett-kowitz another thesis was completed, en- titled The Hot-Plate and its Effect on Ethereal Abraham Taub. Ph.G., Ph.Ch., Solutions. It is sad to state that these investi- Associate Processor

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A PARTING MESSAGE Dr. Charles W. Ballard Dean As each successive class leaves the college the ob- vious question is — what lies ahead? For many years the answer has been that the graduates would be placed either in prac- ticing or industrial phar- macy with perhaps a few entering fields less closely aligned with pharmacy. What lies ahead for the graduates of 1942 can hardly be as readily pre- dicted. Since that mem- orable Monday when we gathered in the Lecture Hall to join with millions of other citizens of these United States in hearing the only possible answer to the events of the preceding day, uncertainty has been uppermost in every mind. We must now face the uncertainties of war in company with the populations of most nations on this earth. Each must play a part in the effort to transform these uncertainties into certainties for our people and those with whom we are allied. Undoubtedly some of you will enter or be called into the defense services and the duties assigned you may or may not be those for which you have prepared yourself. In either instance and especially the former, I urge you to so conduct yourselves as to strengthen pharmacy ' s claim to greater recogni- tion than has hitherto been accorded. I think you will find that the name of the University from which you receive your degrees commands respect in official circles but it also imposes an obligation upon you. Those not absorbed by the defense services will also be contributors to the common cause. Perhaps your role in this may not be as apparent as that of the pharmacist in uniform. Actually your effort is of equal importance. Modern armies and navies cannot be self-sustaining. Their efficiency is de- pendent upon the production efforts of civilian populations. In turn, the health of the civilian population is an important factor in their productive ability. As my association with you comes to an end, I am hoping that you will join with me in bringing about a return of the definition of our college as contained in its charter. By such a definition this college is you and me and every other graduate. Let us bring this about by keeping alive the associations of the past four years.

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gators received absolutely no assistance from either Mr. Givens, who, after one semester with the class of ' 42, decided he just wasn ' t made to be a teacher, or from Prof. Taub, who seems to be a bit more perseverent. We really began to enjoy our chemical training in the senior year while pondering over the intricate determinations of Quantitative Pharmaceutical Analysis. Actually, we were taking a glorified quantitative analysis course without having to worry about equilibrium equations and ionization constants. The carrying out of official determinations and U. S. P. assays acquainted us with the work experienced by chemists throughout the pharmaceutical in- dustry. The use of delicate instruments by some of our none too delicate students kept the work interesting. We covered quite a bit of ground in this pharmaceutical analysis course mainly because our previous training in this work had acquainted us with the technique of scooping precipitates from the desk and qs-ing to 100 cc. in a 1000 cc. beaker, so the error would be practi- cally negligible — 40% more or less. We did quite a bit of calculating during the course but there was one phenomenon we were never able to figure out: why is it that a student who hands in the mean of two results that are as far apart as Klein is from being a pharmacist, can receive an A, while another set of results obtained with perfect precision will not get nearly as good a mark? In this chemical age, we are indeed thankful that we have been able to study as much chemistry as we did. There is no industry today, no science, no business, no art or field of endeavor that is not in some way dependent upon a knowledge of chemistry. We ' ve learned chemistry, and discounting the times we fooled around a little, we ' ve learned it well. It ' s not our fault that we have an efficient Chemistry Department. God bless them with gold atoms! Sitting: Mr. S. Liberman, Prof. A. Taub, Dr. A. DiSomma, Mr. E. Anzelmi Standing: Mr. S. Bell, Mr. Weil, Mrs. A. DiSomma