Chemformation

The Weekly Newsletter of the MIT Chemistry Department

Volume 13, Number 35

November 7, 1997

Next issue: The next issue is November 14, 1997. Deadline for submission of material is Tuesday, November 12. 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

Marc J. A. Johnson

MIT, Cummins Group

"Chemistry at the Terminal Pnictogen Atom in EMo(N[R]Ar)₃ (E=N, P;R=C(CD₃)₂Me; Ar=3,5-C₆H₃Me₂): Elaboration and AtomTransfer Reactions"

Wednesday, November 12, 1997

4:00 in 6-120

Seminar in Inorganic Chemistry

Refreshments @ 3:30 outside of 6-120

 

Dr. Thaddeus P. Dryja

Harvard Medical School

"Gene-based Approach to Indentify Mutations causing Human Photoreceptor Diseases"

Thursday, November 13, 1997

4:00 in 6-120

Seminar in Biochemistry

Refreshments outside 6-120 @ 3:45

 

Professor Lucio Frydman

University of Illinois at Chicago

"Chemical Applications of Solids NMR: ¹H, ¹³C and Beyond"

Tuesday, November 18, 1997

4:00 in Room 2-105

Physical Chemistry Seminar

Refreshments @ 3:30 in 6-233

 

Dr. Daniel Auerbach

IBM Almaden Research Laboratories

"Reactant Internal Excitation: A Key to Understanding Chemical Dynamics at Surfaces?"

Thursday, November 20, 1997

5:00 in Room 6-120

Harvard/MIT Physical Chemistry Seminar at MIT

Refreshments @ 4:30 in 6-233

Message From Marc Jones for Building 18 Occupants

In response to our request to control access to Building 18, the Institute has approved our plan to install magnetic card lock doors (doors that are unlocked with an MIT ID) on all of the connectors to the building; the three crossover connectors on the 3rd, 4th and 5th floors, all ground level exterior doors, and the three connectors in the basement.

Physical Plant was asked to draw up the specifications and obtain bids to complete this work. Plant has received the final bids from the contractors and is now able to issue a contract for this work. New permanent doors will have to be installed on the 3rd 4th and 5th floor connectors and new replacement doors will have to be installed in the basement. The ground level exterior doors can be retrofitted for the card locks. Because the new and replacement doors will be custom, and as such have to be fabricated, Physical Plant has informed us that this work will be completed in about seven weeks.

Should you have any questions please feel free to contact Marc Jones at 3-1802 or via email at mbj@mit.edu.

Women In Chemistry Luncheon

Those interested are welcom to attend the Women In Chemistry Lunch on Wednesday, November 12, 1997 at noon in the Moore Room (6-321). Dessert and drinks provided, bring your own lunch. Questions? Please contact either Melanie at 3-1836 or e-mail at msbartow@mit.edu or Dana at dana@masamune.mit.edu, ext. 3-1854.

Physical Chemistry Cumulative Exam Discussion Session

The Physical Chemistry Cumulative Exams from October 20, 1997 have been graded and are available from Susan Brighton. Professor Tidor will hold a session to discuss the solutions on Wednesday, November 12, 1997 at 3:00 p.m. in the Amdur Room (6-233).

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 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

• Position Advertisement Instructor / Laboratory Coordinator Mississippi State University Department of Chemistry is seeking to fill a 12 month, non-tenure track faculty position to supervise the freshman and organic chemistry laboratories. Ph.D. in chemistry preferred, M.S. with experience considered. Position starts July 1, 1998. Send vita and have three letters of recommendation sent to: Dr. Rickey Hicks, Department of Chemistry, Mississippi State University, Box 9573, Mississippi State, MS 39762. Applications will be accepted through February 1, 1998 or until the position is filled. Mississippi State University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Further information: http://www.msstate.edu/Dept/Chemistry.

• Millipore Corp., Bedford, MA: seeks entry-level B.S. chemist for applications and research work involving specialty gases. Candidates should be familiar with FTIR, GC and MS equipment. Experience with inert atmosphere techniques a definite plus. The ideal candidate functions well in a team environment, is very safety conscious, and has good organization and presentation skills. The candidate will ultimately work in Bedford, MA following training in Danbury, CT. Send resumes to Dr. Jim Snow, Millipore Corp., 80 Ashby Road, Bedford, MA 01730 or jim_snow@millipore.com for consideration.

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 Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA: Seeks inorganic chemist for someone committed to teaching and research. Prospective candidates should send materials to: Prof. Michael J. Therien, Chair, Inorganic Faculty Search, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Dept. of Chemistry, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6323, therien@a.chem.upenn.edu

• Ohio University, Athens, Ohio: Seeks analytical or forensic chemists to apply for tenure track position for September of 1008. This position is for a Ph.D. chemist who will contribute to the undergraduate program in forensic chemistry and the graduate program in chemical analysis. Preference will be given to a person who will complement the existing departmental research programs or will participate in the Center for Intelligent Chemical Instrumentation. Send materials including a 4-5 page concise research plan to: Peter de B. Harrington, Analytical/Forensic Search Committee Chairman, Dept,. of Chemistry, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 45701-2979. Further information is on their website at: http://www.ohiou.edu/ and http://www.chem.ohiou.edu/, respectively. This adverstisement is located on the website at http://www.chem.ohiou.edu/~harring/Openings.html.

• University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA: Invites applications for two faculty positions in the Dept. of Polymer Science and Engineering. They seek both for early September of 1998, areas of polymer science and engineering will be considered, candidates with interests and experience in materials synthesis or polymer physical chemistry are encouraged to apply. Send materials to: Chair, Faculty Search Committee, Dept. of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of MA, Amherst, MA 01003. Check their website at: http://www.pse.umass.edu

• Portland State University in Portland, Oregon: Seeks faculty position for 1998-1999 academic year in organic chemistry. Also expected to develop a research program with external funding. Candidates with research interests related to environmental chemistry, materials science or biochemistry are of interest. Submit materials to: Carl C. Wasmer, Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, Portland State University, P.O. Box 751, Portland, Oregon 97207-0751.

• Department of Microbiology at the University of Minnesota. The Department wishes to hire two Assistant Professors for the positions described below. We appreciate that you might direct talented junior colleagues to apply for these positions. I believe that these positions are very attractive in light of recent and planned developments at the University of Minnesota. First, the positions are jointly sponsored by the Microbiology Department and the BioProcess Technology Instititue. The latter faculty includes a number of prokaryotic microbiologists and excellent fermentation facilities for cultivating microorganisms and harvesting microbial products. We have also recently started two research centers at the University that support microbial research; the Center for Microbial Physiology and Metabolic Engineering and the Center for Biodegradation Research and Informatics. The University also supports the Actinomycete-Streptomyces Internet Resource Center. http://biosci.cbs.umn.edu/asirc/index.html and the Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database http://www.labmed.umn.edu/umbbd/ Moreover, plans are unfolding to hire several Microbial Biochemistry faculty over the next few years within the current Biochemistry Department. I will inform you about those positions later as the specific job descriptions are defined. In total, there is a very strong commitment to maintaining and strenghthening prokaryotic Microbiology at the University of Minnesota and I think that your colleagues would find this a very stimulating environment to teach and conduct research. I appreciate your efforts in helping us get this information to the most appropriate people. Regards,Larry Wackett, Professor, Biochemistry, BioProcess Institute, and Microbiology. The Department of Microbiology and the BioProcess Technology Institute at the University of Minnesota invite applications for two tenure-track positions in Microbiology at the Assistant Professor level. Candidates carrying out research addressing important aspects of the biology of prokaryotes are urged to apply. We are particularly interested in outstanding candidates who will establish independent research programs in areas of microbial biology such as physiology, diversity development, ecology, genetics, or pathogenesis. In addition, applicants for these positions should be well qualified to contribute to the teaching of general microbiology and prokaryotic structure, function, and metabolism in the undergraduate, graduate, or medical curriculum. Both of the individuals selected for these positions will hold their academic appointment in the Department of Microbiology. For more information about microbiology at the University of Minnesota, please visit our web site at http://www.microbiology.med.umn.edu. Minimum Qualifications: Ph.D. in microbiology or a related biological science discipline or an M.D. degree, plus postdoctoral experience. Closing date for applications is December 15, 1997, but early applications are encouraged and will be considered promptly. To apply, submit a curriculum vitae, summary of research interests and plans, and arrange to have three letters of recommendation sent to Gary M. Dunny, Ph.D., Search Committee Chair, Department of Microbiology, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Box 196, 420 Delaware Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455.

Postdoctoral Fellowships

• POSTDOCTORAL POSITION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA ON QUANTUM MOLECULAR DYNAMICS A postdoctoral associate position will be available in the research group of David Micha starting in January, 1998, or later. It involves work on first principles quantum molecular dynamics, and its applications to interactions in the gas phase, in clusters, and at solid surfaces. The applicant should have experience on molecular dynamics and the use of electronic structure computational software. Familiarity with Fortran, Unix OSs and good communication skills are desirable. The position is for a year, extended to two years by mutual agreement. The applicant should submit to the address below a CV listing experience, publications and presentations. Please send the names, phone and FAX numbers, and e-mail of two references. The work will be done at the Quantum Theory Project, an institute for theory and computation in molecular and materials sciences with 11 Faculty members in Chemistry and Physics, over 60 people involved in scientific research, and excellent computing facilities. Some related recent work may be found in Chem. Phys. Lett. 256, 321 (1996), Phys. Rev. A53, 1388 (1996), J. Chem. Phys. 103, 3795 (1995), and J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. 93, 969 (1997). More details on research areas are given in the home page http://www.qtp.ufl.edu/~micha .Prof. David A. Micha, P.O. Box 118435, 366 Williamson Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611-8435, tel. 352-392-6977, e-mail: micha@qtp.ufl.edu

• POSTDOCTORAL POSITION A Postdoctoral position is available with John P.Maier's group at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Basel, Switzerland to participate in the project to characterize carbon chains and clusters by their electronic spectra in neon matrices. The appoach which has been developed is based on codeposition of mass-selected ion beams with neon to form a matrix at 5 K, and has been used successfully in the recent years to study species with up to twenty carbon atoms. The Postdoc appointed is expected to extend and apply this approach for the larger carbon species. Experience in experimental chemical physics is required..The starting date is negotiable (after 1.January 1998) and the salary in the first year is around SFr.50'000, depending on qualifications and previous experience. Interested applicants should contact: Professor J.P.Maier, Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 80, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.Tel. +41 61 267 38 26, Fax. +41 61 267 38 55 Email: MAIER@UBACLU.UNIBAS.CH

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