Chemformation

The Weekly Newsletter of the MIT Chemistry Department

September 26, 1997

Next issue: The Next issue is October 3, 1997, Deadline for submission of material is Tuesday, September 30. Chemformation is published by the Office of the Department Chairman. Please convey items of interest (or mailing list changes) to Linda Earle Room 18-390, Department of Chemistry, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, 617/253-1803; 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

Dr. David Sinclair

MIT -Dept. of Biology

"Extrachromosomal DNA Circles: The Aging Clock and the Killers"

Monday, September 29, 199712:00 p.m. in 68-181

Macromolecular Structure/Function Seminar Series

 

Professor Lewis Kay

University of Toronto

"NMR Methods to Study Protein Structure, Dynamics and Thermodyamics"

Tuesday, September 30,1997

4:00 p.m. in 2-105

Seminar in Physical Chemistry

Refreshments @ 3:30 p.m. in 6-233

 

Ann M. Valentine

The Lippard Group

"Bioinorganic Hydrocarbon Oxidation: Mechanistic Studies of the Soluble Methane Monooxygenase"

Wednesday, October 1, 1997

4:00 p.m. in 6-120

Inorganic Chemistry Seminar

Refreshments @ 3:30 outside of 6-120

 

Professor Mark Distefano

University of Minnesota

"Proteins from Catalysis to Cancer"

Thursday, October 2, 1997

4:00 p.m. in 6-120

Biological Chemistry Seminar

 

Professor Philip Johnson

SUNY at Stony Brook

"Giant Electron Orbits, and How to Use Them for Cation Spectroscopy"

Thursday, October 2, 1997

5:00 p.m. in 6-120

Harvard-MIT Joint Physical Chemistry Seminars at MIT

Refreshments @ 4:30 p.m. in 6-233

 

Professor Ralf Steudel

Institute für Anorganishe & Analytische Chemie

"Rings and Chains of All Sizes and Conformation: The Amazing Ability of Sulfur to Catenate"

Thursday, October 2, 1997

4:00 p.m. in 4-163

Special Inorganic SeminarRefreshments @ 3:30 p.m. in Moore Room 6-321

Careers in Education at Principally Undergraduate Institutions

Saturday, October 4, 1997

Room 6-120

9 AM to 5:30 PM

8:00 am

Registration and Breakfast

8:55 am

Welcome and Introductory Remarks

Stephen J. Lippard, Head, Department of Chemistry, MIT

9:00 am

Michael P. Doyle

Professor of Chemistry, University of Arizona and Vice President, Research Corporation

"Scholarship Reconsidered: Careers in Chemistry at Undergraduate Institutions"

9:40 am

Professor John Walters,St. Olaf College

Teaching at a Principally Undergraduate Institution

"What I Learned at School Today"

10:20 am

Professor Ronald G. Brisbois, Hamline University

Research at a Principally Undergraduate Institution:

"CpCO-Cyclobutadienyl-Bridged Cyclophanes and Ketene Cycloadditions"

11:00 am

Coffee Break

11:30 am

Panel Discussion: "Is a Career at a Principally Undergraduate Institution Right for Me?"

Professor Mark Marshall	Amherst College
Professor Lee Park	Williams College
Professor Claude Wintner	Haverford College

12:30 pm

Lunch in Ashdown House (Hulsizer Room)

(Tickets required, available before 9/30 from Marsha Myles, 18-284)

AFTERNOON SESSION

2:00 pm

Professor Julia Hendrix Miwa, Wellesley College

"School Didn't Prepare Me for This: What to Expect in the First Years on the Job"

2:40 pm

Professor Joan Broderick, Amherst College

Research at a Principally Undergraduate Institution:

"Radical Generation: A New Role for Iron-Sulfur Proteins"

3:20 pm

Professor William Polik, Hope College

"Tapping into Funding Resources: Proposal Writing at PUI's"

4:30 pm

Panel Discussion: "Landing a Job at a Principally Undergraduate Institution"

Professor Richard Broene	Bowdoin College
Professor Helen Leung	Mt. Holyoke College
Professor Jay Thoman	Williams College

5:30 pm

Closing Remarks

Congratulations to Peter Dosa

Congratulations to Peter Dosa, a third year graduate student in the Fu Group, for being awarded a Pharmacia & Upjohn Graduate Fellowship!. Peter's research is in the area of asymmetric catalysis.

Women in Chemistry Sponsors Dr. Meta Katzenstein Memorial Lecture Series

In honor of the late Dr. Katzenstein, Miriam Diamond's aunt, Women in Chemistry is sponsoring a lecture series this academic year featuring women chemists in the Boston area. Dr. Katzenstein completed her doctorate at the University of Brussels and later established and directed her own independent laboratory. Dr. Katzenstein continued to work as a chemist into her eighties and recently passed away in her hometown of Brussels.

The first speaker in the series will be Professor Amy Mullin from Harvard University. Professor Mullin will be speaking on Wednesday, October 1, 1997 at 4:00 p.m. in 4-321. Refreshments will follow the seminar in the Norris Room (18-490). For more information, contact Melanie Wills at ext. 3-1839.

3M Sponsored Socials at MIT

3M will be on campus and hosting an informal campus wide social hour from 4:30-6:30 on Wednesday, October 1st in the Skyroom located at 100 Memorial Drive. All those interested in learning more about 3M are invited to attend, a large number of technical personnel and senior research executives will be present. Also on Wednesday, October 15th (6:00-8:00 pm) they will be hosting an informal presentation about; 3M prior to recruiting here in Chemistry on Thursday and Friday, October 16th and 17th. The presentation will be held in 4-149 and those students who are US citizens or others who are or will be authorized to work in the US beyond their practical training period are invited to attend.

Become an Intern for the MIT/Japan Program

The Intern program is open to all undergraduate and graduate students and alumni of MIT. Interns go to Japanese corporations, universities, and government laboratories to work, conduct research, and study. All interns doing "regular" internships have their BS by the time they leave for Japan; some are working towards their graduate degrees or have just received them. Two years minimum of university-level Japanese language training is required. For more information please contact the Japan program at 258-8208 or go in person to E38, 7th floor and visit their website at http: www-japan.mit.edu/MIT Japan Program/

Help Get Organized!

Call Ed Udas at 253-4505 or stop by room 6-026 if students, faculty or staff need help in organizing their MIT space.

Glass Blowing Services Available

Bob DiGiacomo will be coming in on Wednesdays or Thursdays after Labor Day to pick up any glass blowing work that you may have available. Please bring any work to room 6-031 or call Ed Udas or John Annese at 3-4505. Bob will do the work on a first-come, first-served basis.

Positions

• Albany Molecular Research Inc.: ,Albany, NY: Seeks a synthetic organic chemist who may be interested in a career at Albany Molecular Research Inc. They have immediate openings in the departments of medicinal chemistry and chemical development and seek highly motivated success-oriented scientists. Please contact: Thomas E. D'Ambra, Ph.D., President, Albany Molecular Research, Inc., 21 Corporate Circle, Albany, NY 12203, e-mail is tom@albmolecular.com

• MIT Spectroscopy Laboratory, Openings for two Research Scientists and one Engineer to pursue research in applications of lasers and spectroscopy to biology and medicine. Research is in laser-induced fluorescence and infrared Raman spectroscopy of biological molecules, and development of advanced laser diagnostics, therapies and imaging techniques. The Laboratory houses a specially-equipped NIH resource center for laser biomedical research in laser biophysics, LIF, Raman spectroscopy, and photon migration imaging with picosecond lasers. Development of novel instrumentation and techniques is an important aspect of the program. Three positions will be filled, one for a Ph.D. scientist with broad experience in experimental laser spectroscopy techniques; a second for a Ph.D. scientist to pursue research in laser Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence imaging; and one for an engineer with experience in optics and electronics instrumentation development (not necessarily with a Ph.D. degree). Candidates with degrees in chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics will be considered for thescientist positions; experience in laser spectroscopy of biological systems or a related area of biomedical research is required. Candidates with BS or advanced degrees in engineering and science will be considered for the engineering position; experience in development of optical and/or electronic systems is required. Research is interdisciplinary, and candidates must be capable of carrying out independent research activities and supervising graduate students and undergraduates. Curriculum vitae and three references should be sent to Professor Michael S. Feld- George R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory- MIT, Room 6-014, 77 Massachusetts Avenue- Cambridge, MA 02139 Fax: 617-253-4513 e-mail: msfeld@mit.edu

Please note, unless otherwise specified, most faculty positions require a resume, short description of research plans and arranging for three letters of recommendation to be sent directly to the specific university or college.

Faculty Positions

• University of Okalhoma, Norman, Oklahoma: Department of Physics and Astronomy invites applications for a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level to begin in Fall of 1998. Applicants must hold the doctoral degree, and must have the ability to teach effectively at both undergraduate and graduate levels. The potential to initiate a strong experimental research program is essential. Important assets include post-doctoral experience and a coherent research plan capable of garnering external funding. We encourage all Experimental Atomic, Molecular and Chemical Physicists with the qualifications listed above to apply. Current research interests focus on:chemical reaction dynamics, photo-dissociation spectroscopy, collision dynamics highly excited states of atoms and molecules, dimensional perturbation theory, low-energy scattering of charged particles from atoms and molecules, and orientation and alignment effects. Major experimental facilities include lasers from the~UV to the far IR, cw andpulsed molecular beam machines, MBE and associated surface analysis technologies,a professionally staffed modern machine shop, a network of workstations and an IBM SP2 Supercomputer. For further information about our department see www.nhn.ou.edu. Dr. Gregory A. Parker AMC Search Committee Chairman, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma 73019-0225; e-mail address: amcsearch@mail.nhn.ou.edu parker@mail.nhn.ou.edu

• Transylvania University, Lexington, KY: Seeks organic/biochemistry for fall of 1998. See their web page at: http://www.transy.edu Send information to: Alan C. Goren, Program Director, Transylvania University,, 300 North Broadway, Lexington, KY 40508-1797, Telephone is 606-233-8155 and e-mail is: AGOREN@MAIL.TRANSY.EDU

• The Whitehead Institute, MIT: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and the Department of Biology at MIT are seeking a new faculty member in the area of structural biology. The position will be located at the Whitehead Institute, in a newly constructed Structural Biology Center that includes the WM Keck Foundation X-ray Crystallagraphy Facility. They are interested in applications from outstanding individuals who utilize x-ray crystallagraphy to address key issues in biology. The candidate will hold a tenure-track position. Please contact Dr. Peter S. Kim, Chair, Structural Biology Search Committee, Member, Whitehead Institute, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142. (617) 258-5184 or fax (617) 258-5737 or e-mail is dvorak@wi.mit.edu

• University of Calfornia at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Seeks junior faculty biophysical or in materials science, but outstanding candidates in other areas will be considered. Please contact the Chemistry Department, Faculty Recruiting Committee (#13 and #200) 419 Latimer Hall, University of California at Berkeley, CA: 94720.

• Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois: Organic candidates sought for position to teach undergraduates and graduate students as well as establish and maintaining a vigorous, independent research program. Please send materials to: Chair, Organic Search, Dept. of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 60708-3113

Postdoctoral Fellowships

• Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences (IAMS) Chemical Dynamics Laboratory .Two postdoctoral position are available immediately in the research group of Dr. Kopin Liu at IAMS of Taiwan. The current experimental programs include (i) correlated photodynamics of small radicals, molecules, and clusters, and (ii) crossed-beam studies of radical reaction dynamics. Both projects are fairly challenging and involve state-of-art experimental techniques, such as transform-limited lasers, imaging detector, Doppler-selected TOF (a 3-Dmapping) technique etc. Some examples can be found in recent issues of JCP,JPC and CPL. The successful candidate should have good knowledge in chemical dynamics and some backgrounds in molecular beam and/or laser spectroscopy. Both positions are for a minimum of one year and renewable for the coming years, with a starting monthly salary of about US$2,000. One-way airfare to Taiwan will be reimbursed. Applications with three letters of recommendation, a curriculum vitae and a list of publications should be sent to:Dr. Kopin Liu, Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences,Academia Sinica, P.O. Box 23-166, Taipei 10764, Taiwan Fax no. (886-2) 362-0200 email: kpliu@gate.sinica.edu.tw http://kliu.iams.sinica.edu.tw/

• Tufts University, United States Department of Agriculture, Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Boston, MA; Has a two year postdoctoral position open immediately. The candiadate must possess a Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree in biochemistry, chemistry, nutrition or related field. The candidate will develop and apply measures of oxidative stress during the aging process and study the interaction of these measures with nutritional status. The applicant must have working knowledge of organic chemistry, HPLC, and must be able to work independently to develop and validate methods to analyze oxidant stress. Please send cv, statement of research interests and names of three references to: Garry J. Handelman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Scientist II, USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, 711 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, email: handelman_lp@hnrc.tufts.edu or phone is (617) 556-3117 or (617) 556-3344.

• Associated Western Universities Incorporated, Battelle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA: Postdoctoral opening in the area of isotope ratio mass spectrometry, the purpose being to develop new and novel techniques for enhanced isoptopic measurements. Significantly improved isotopic measurement sensitivities are sought for low abundance isotopes. Gaseous species of major interest. State-of-the art instrumentation is used, including high abundance sensitivity triple sector instruments. Stipend is $41,500 per year plus medical. Funds are also available for relocation costs and travel to scientific meetings. Position is for one year with possibility of extension to two . Send inquiries and resumes to: Associated Western Universities, Inc. Attn: Postdoctoral Program #9706 Nw, 723 the Parkway, Suite #100, richland, WA 99352, (509) 946-3800 phone and (509) 946-3819 fax. e-mail is tracy@nw.awu.org. Send technical inquiries to: Dr. Nate Ballou (MSIN P7-07) Battelle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, Richland, WA 99352.

• The Greenbaum Cancer Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore: To study the regulation of quinone reductase, glutahione-S-tranferase and drug resistance. Experience in enzymology and molecular biological techniques required. Send materials to: Dr. Su-she Pan, Bressler Research Building, Room 9-019, 655 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD: 21201, fax is (410) 328-6559 or phone is (410) 328-3685.

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