pany was the low bidder on the project.
"He came in on time and within
budget," said Eugene Sherizen of
Huntington Woods.
Sherizen, then co-chair of
Federation's education committee, is
now chair of the building committee at
Young Israel of Oak Park, where Sachse's
company is completing a major,renova-
tion.
"Todd is a sharp, quick guy who cuts
through the static," said Sherizen. "He's
always in drive."
Sachse's company also did the renova-
tions at the West Bloomfield JCC for
the Jewish Academy of Metropolitan
Detroit and built the Norma Jean and
Edward Meer Early Childhood
Development Center at Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah in Southfield.
Sachse admitted it might seem
strange for a Reform Jew, whose two
daughters attend public school, to be
accepting an award from an Orthodox
yeshiva.
"I'm a huge believer in education,
and there is a strong need for Jewish
education in our community," he said.
"Many families want to have that educa-
tion in the context of a day school.
Their children shouldn't be denied that
opportunity." ❑
Senior Adults
Receive Honors
Eight adults 80 years or older who have
made a positive impact on the commu-
nity will be honored for the 2001 Jewish
Apartments & Services' (JAS) Eight
Over Eighty Senior Adult Jewish Hall of
Fame.
The winners are Martha Burnstein,
Bertha Chomsky, Irvin Forman, Nate
Garfinkel, Esther Goldenberg, Stanley
Morgenstern, Albert Newman, and
Morris "Andy" Weiss.
A luncheon and program Sunday,
May 6, will honor these eight senior
adults, who have dedicated themselves
to the betterment of the community.
The winners "significantly helped to
maintain and strengthen Jewish identity
and have overcome obstacles that led to
a remarkable positive change in the
community."
Thee vent will be held in the Lillian
and Samuel Hechtman Apartments
Building in West Bloomfield.
Reservations are S65. The proceeds
raised will help pay for programs JAS
offers to its 660 senior adult residents.
For reservations, call Laura Allen,
(248) 661-0123.
TRAILBLAZERS IN THE WORLD OF CHEMISTRY
Not until the mid-19th century were Jews active in the chemical sciences which were
then fledgling areas of study. The first noted researcher and teacher in the field was
Adolph von Baeyer (1835-1917) who won a 1905 Nobel Prize for helping pioneer
organic chemistry. Following in his footsteps, Adolf Frank (1834-1916) almost
single-handedly fathered a major Getman industry by compounding and supplying
potash to manufacture fertilizers. Jews soon after found places in Europe's
burgeoning chemical laboratories.
The work of Heinrich Caro (1834-1910) was influential in launching
Germany's fast growing dye industry. Richard Willstatter (1872-1943) was another
German-born Nobel Prize winner in 1915, largely recognized for his landmark
discoveries in biochemistry. Jews continued to make great strides in specialized
areas of chemistry well beyond the turn of the 20th century, as did these Nobelists:
Beth Ahm
Lauds Brickers
Past Beth Ahm president Alfred Bricker
and his wife Lillian will receive special
acknowledgment at Shabbat services
Saturday, April 28, at this year's Jewish
Theological Seminary of America
awards cere-
mony.
They,
along with
other hon-
orees, will
receive the
Shin award at
the JTS din-
ner on
Thursday,
June
7, at
Lillian and Alf-ed
Congregation
Bricker
Shan rey
Zedek. JTS Chancellor Ismar Schorsch
will be the speaker.
From 1995-1997, Mr. Bricker led
Beth Ahm as president. He has served
on the executive committee. Mrs.
Bricker served on various synagogue
committees and is financial secretary for
the sisterhood. Both volunteer with Yad
Ezra, the kosher food pantry in Oak
Park.
Mr. Bricker is a past president of the
Government Finance Officers
Association of the U.S. and Canada. He
is a past secretary/treasurer and president
of the Michigan Association of Public
Employees Retirement System. He is
retired from the Wayne County
Employees Retirement System (execu-
tive secretary) and the Midland Advisory
Services (executive vice president). He is
associated with Gabriel, Roeder, Smith
and Company, an actuarial firm.
Funds raised at the patron event
and dinner go for JTS scholarships.
Congregation Beth Ahm will join
JTS this spring in celebrating the rab-
binical ordination of a member of the
congregational family, Sheryl Katzman.
She is finishing a master of arts degree
from the JTS William Davidson
Graduate School of Education and is
this year's recipient of the Solomon
Schechter Association, United
Synagogue for Conservative Judaism fel-
lowship, enabling her to hone her ability
to lead a day school.
The DetroitJTS board is chaired by
Marty Gene; Beth Ahm member Shari
Kaufman serves on the area board. Dr.
Robert and Naomi Levine are serving as
Beth Ahm's chairpersons this year.
For event information or reservations,
call the Detroit JTS office, (248) 258-
0055.
••••••:•:•:•:••••
:••••'•:::;:;:;:;::: HENRI MOISSAN
(1852-1907) b. Paris, France In 1900--four years after
discovering the element fluorine—the brilliant son of a
poor railroad worker gained the post of professor of
inorganic chemistry at the Sorbonne in Paris. He had
earlier invented an ingenious electric arc proposed for
converting carbon into synthetic black diamonds.
, ; Whether he actually accomplished that ambitious goal
:..4.,..,
...i ,
i •
•-:, remains in dispute. However, the furnace which bears
his name came into widespread use to prepare and study heat-resistant oxides and
vaporize metals thought to be infusible. Regarded as the father of high-temperature
chemistry, Moissan also inquired into the theoretical nature of electricity and
devised an economical method to produce acetylene gas. His Nobel Prize for
Chemistry was won in 1906.
FRITZ HABER
:
(1868-1934) b. Breslau, Prussia During the first decades
of the last century, German Jewish scientists were
respected by fellow citizens and often hailed by their
governments as patriots. Such was true of Haber, a
foremost chemical technologist of his generation. He
was best known for the economical, large scale
synthesis of ammonia from atmospheric hydrogen and
nitrogen—a World War I achievement that freed Ger-
many from its dependence on nitrate imports from Chile to produce nitrogen
fertilizers and munitions. The Haber Process was later adopted by industrialized
nations the world over. Equally well known for fundamental contributions to
electrochemistry, he was awarded a Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1918. Haber had
served as director of Berlin's prestigious Kaiser Wilhelm Research Institute during
the war. Staying on after Germany's defeat, he lifted his institute's status to that of
world leadership in physical chemistry. Driven from his post in 1933 by Nazi anti-
Semitism, it was said he died of a broken heart one year later.
::.::::••••••:•:-.•••••••••••• • • • • ••:-:•:•:•:•:-
. - .
SIDNEY ALTMAN
(1939-) b. Montreal, Canada Profound insights into the
origins of life are credited to a young American
researcher who shared a Nobel Prize for Chemistry in
1989. A naturalized U.S. citizen since 1984, Altman
attended M.I.T. and the University of Colorado before
becoming a full professor at Yale University whose
biology department he eventually headed. Working
•:-•
•
independently with an associate, he discovered a rev-
olutionary new role for RNA. It was previously believed that all biochemically
active enzymes were formed from protein molecules. But he proved otherwise: that
RNA (a nucleic acid) could act like an enzyme, and both store and mobilize genetic
codes within living cells. The breakthrough finding that RNA could also serve as
a catalyst in processing information helped explain how life on earth might have
begun and evolved. Altman inspired research scientists in biotechnology to form-
ulate new theories explaining how cells actually function.
- Saul Stadtmauer
::::::
COMMISSION FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF JEWISH HISTORY
Walter & Lea Field, Founders/Sponsors
Irwin S. Field & Harriet F. Siden, Chairpersons
Visit many more notable Jews at our website: www.doriedor.org
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4/27
2001
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