Chemformation

The Weekly Newsletter of the MIT Chemistry Department

Volume 12, Number 11
Friday, March 15, 1996

Next Issue: Friday, March 22, 1996. Chemformation is published by the Office of the Department Chairman. The deadline for the next issue is Tuesday, March 19. Please convey items of interest (or mailing list changes) to Linda Earle, Room 18-393, Department of Chemistry, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, 617/253-4080; 617/258-7500 (fax) or e-mail to lkn@mit.edu. Back issues of Chemformation can be accessed via the Chemistry Department Website.

Visit the Chemistry Department Website at http://web.mit.edu/chemistry/www/

SEMINAR CALENDAR

Cartikeya Reddy

Lauffenburger Laboratory

"Growth Factor/Receptor Trafficking and Cell Proliferation: Implications for Ligand Re-engineering"

Monday, March 18

12:00-1:00 p.m.

Macromolecular Structure/Function Seminar Series

Whitehead Auditorium

Tim Warren

MIT

"Borylamides as Ancillary Ligands in Organometallic Chemistry"

Wednesday, March 20

4:00 p.m. in 6-120

Refreshments @ 3:30 in 6-321

Professor Steven Chu

Stanford University

"Studies of Polymer Dynamics with Single Molecules of DNA"

Thursday, March 21

5:00 p.m. MB-23 ar Harvard

Physical Chemistry Series

Refreshments @ 4:30 in MB-23

Attending the ACS National Meeting in New Orleans?
Join us at the MIT Alumni/ae Reception in New Orleans

Please join Host Professor Stephen J. Lippard and members of the Department of Chemistry and alumni/ae for a cocktail reception from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on Monday, March 25th in the Melrose Room at the Hilton Hotel.

You may also wish to attend the Presidential Event, cosponsored by the ACS Committee on Science, on Sunday, March 24th beginning at 1:00 in the New Orleans Convention Center, Room 10, second level. The program entitled "R&D Cooperation and Funding vs. Global Leadership" will focus on how to share responsibilities for long term chemical R&D cooperation and funding by government, industry, and academe. The forum will be a panel discussion and the speakers include: Joseph Miller of DuPont, Mark S. Wrighton, Washington University St. Louis, Congressman Robert S. Walker, George Brown (House Committee on Science), and Marye Anne Fox (University of Texas-Austin and the National Science Board).

New Chemistry Department Web Site Now Online!

On March 15 the new improved Chemistry Department Web site will be linked to the URL http://web.mit.edu/chemistry/www/. The new Web site was designed and produced by Donald Choi, Rick Danheiser, Peter Floyd, and Bruce Tidor. The new site includes plenty of graphics and photos, and incorporates the full contents of the booklet "Graduate Study and Research in Chemistry at MIT". Eight sections comprise the site:

• The MIT Department of Chemistry - this section has links to faculty pages that include photos, vital info, and research summaries; also a department staff directory, and links to student and postdoc home pages. Also has links to the Course V alumni news section of Technology Review. Included here also are pages on department facilities and pages on undergraduate and graduate admissions (with a form to order application forms electronically).
  
  
• News and Events - this section contains the current and back issues of Chemformation, and also seminar schedules for each of the seminar programs in the department.
  
  
• The Undergraduate Program in Chemistry - includes pages on "Representative Plans of Study", UROP, descriptions of all courses, and links to the home pages of several current courses, etc.
  
  
• The Graduate Program in Chemistry - this section incorporates almost all of the contents of the new version of the booklet "Graduate Study and Research in Chemistry at MIT".
  
  
• Chemical Hygiene and Safety - includes all previous Chemical Research Safety Notes, the MIT Fume Hood Tutorial, a link to the MIT Industrial Hygiene Office, and links to databases of Laboratory Chemical Safety Summaries and Material Safety Data Sheets.
  
  
• MIT Chemistry Outreach Program - information on the Outreach Program for High Schools.
  
  
• Department Facilities and Organizations - links to the home pages of the Spec Lab, Club Chem, and department IM sports teams.
  
  
• Resources and Useful Links - miscellaneous useful links to the NSF, NIH, and American Chemical Society home pages, the Barton online library catalog, etc.
  
  

Ideas for further additions to the department web site, contributions of graphics and photos, comments, and suggestions should be forwarded to Rick Danheiser (danheisr@mit.edu) and/or Bruce Tidor (tidor@mit.edu).

Attention All Graduate Students: Looking for Roommates?

Interested in having one of the incoming grad students as a roommate? If so, place an ad in our first ever classified page going out to all 1996 entering graduate students. Just print out the form below, complete it, and return it to Melinda Cerny, Rm. 2-325 by March 29.

• Description of apartment/house:
  
  
  
  
• Rent: $______/mo.
  
  
• Utilities: __included __extra
  
  
• Parking: __on-street __driveway __garage
  
  
• Parking charge: __no __yes: $_____/mo.
  
  
• Pets: __yes __no
  
  
• Smoking: __yes __no
  
  
• When available:
  
  
• Contact:
  
  
• Phone:
  
  
• E-mail:
  
  
• Additional Information:
  
  
  
  

Forum on the Graduate Program in Chemistry

Tuesday, March 19, 1996

4:30 pm in 18-490

The American Chemical Society recently sponsored a conference at Columbia University to discuss the goals of doctoral education in chemistry (see C&E News, Dec. 11, pp 65-66). What are your views on the recommendations of this conference?

Graduate Students! Join faculty to discuss possible changes in the graduate program in chemistry! Questions for discussion include:

• Courses: Are sufficient advanced courses being offered in the department? Should specific courses or a minimum number of courses be required for the degree? Is it advisable for students to take courses outside of their area of specialty?
  
  
• Do we provide chemistry grad students with adequate opportunity to develop their oral and written communication skills? Should all students present a research seminar as part of their Ph.D. training?
  
  
• Is teaching experience an important component of graduate education? Should TA'ing be required of all graduate students?
  
  
• Can the cumulative exam system be improved?
  
  
• Should all students be required to prepare and defend an original research proposal as part of their training?
  
  
• What should be the role of the Thesis Committee? Should the Thesis Committee meet regularly with graduate students to review progress toward the degree?
  
  
• Should training in scientific ethics be part of the graduate educational program?
  
  
• Should the Ph.D program be limited to five years? A number of chemistry departments set a five-year limit for how long grad students can receive support!

For more information, contact Rick Danheiser (danheisr@mit.edu, 253-1842)

Faculty Positions

• Pharmacia and Upjohn, Kalamazoo, Michigan: A position exists for a synthetic organic chemist in their Medicinal Chemistry group. They are seeking a highly motivated applicant with a solid background in contemporary methods of organic synthesis who has demonstrated team work as well as possessing good communication skills.
  
  

Positions

• Harvard Medical School's Wellman Laboratory of Photomedicine: Seeks and undergraduate chemistry student to work in their lab for the summer. Person should have a chemistry or biochemistry background, and will perform basic photochemical studies on organic molecules. The successful candidate should be an undergraduate or graduate student seeking experience in spectroscopy. E-mail Dr. Pogue at Pogue@HELIX.MGH.HARVARD.EDU
  
  

Undergraduate Summer Research Program

The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has opportunities for qualified underrepresented minority students to participate in a summer research internship program. Funded by a grant by the BankAmerica Foundation, Scripps is offering an eight week intensive research laboratory experience for African-American, Hispanic and Native American undergraduates who have completed at least two years of course work with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. Students will be selected on the basis of academic credentials, ability to interact with others in a sophisticated laboratory setting, interest in pursuing scientific research as a career and previous laboratory experience. The applications are in the undergraduate education office.

Postdoctoral Positions

• Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas: A postdoctoral opening exists to work in the field of calixarene chemistry. The opening will be available after April 1, 1996 and will involve the synthesis of new calixares for use as selective complexants for heavy metals. The successful applicant will likely have a sound knowledge of synthetic chemistry and spectroscopic techniques. Some experience with x-ray crystallographic methods would also be useful.
  
  

Index of Chemformation Back Issues