Chemformation

The Weekly Newsletter of the MIT Chemistry Department

Volume 14, Number 3

January 23, 1998

Next issue: Friday, January 30th. Chemformation is published by the Office of the Department Chairman. The deadline for the next issue is Tuesday, January 27th. 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

Friday, January 23, 1998 4:00 p.m. in Room 2-105 Refreshments @ 3:30 p.m. in 6-331 Seminar in Physical Chemistry Faculty Candidate	Dr. Robert Dickson University of California at San Diego "Single Molecule Motion and Optical Switching"
Monday, January 26, 1998 4:00 p.m. in Room 2-190 Refreshments @ 3:30 p.m. in 6-233 Seminar in Physical Chemistry Faculty Candidate	Dr. Christopher Dellago University of California at Berkeley "Transition Path Sampling and the Calculation of Rate Constants"
Wednesday, January 28, 1998 4:00 p.m. in Room 6-120 Refreshments @ 3:30 p.m. outside 6-120 Seminar in Inorganic Chemistry	Jonas Peters MIT, Cummins Group "Cleavage and Functionalization of Diatomic Molecules: Chemistry at a Reducing Molybdenum Center"
Friday, January 30, 1998 Beginning at 1:00 p.m. in 66-110	Graduate Research Symposium in Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry (click here for full program)
Friday, January 30, 1998 2:00 p.m. in Room 6-120 Refreshments @1:45 p.m. Seminar in Biological Chemistry	Dr. Lawrence C. Myers Stanford University School of Medicine "The Central Role of Yeast Mediator in Transcriptional Activation In Vivo and In Vitro"

Come to the 1998 European Career Fair at MIT!

On Wednesday, January 28th, twenty-six companies will be recruiting for positions in Europe. This Career Fair is open to all students from universities in greater Boston. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are particularly encouraged to attend. Company exhibition in Rockwell Cage (W33) and presentations in Student Center (W20): in Mezanine Lounge and Twenty Chimneys. Check their website at: http://euroclub.mit.edu/career/

Third Annual MIT/Bruker Symposium to be Held January 31, 1998

Mark your calendars and plan to join us for the third annual MIT/Bruker (formerly Siemens) Symposium on Crystallographic Chemical Analysis to be held on Saturday, January 31, 1997 beginning at 8:45 a.m. in Room 6-120. Topics that will be discussed are crystal growth, problem structures and strategies for the resolution of twinning problems. A free catered lunch will be available and there will be a $500 prize for the best poster!! You are encouraged to pre-register by e-mail to Dr. Bill Davis at wmdavis@mit.edu or to Linda K. Earle at lkn@mit.edu (and must do so in order to attend the lunch) otherwise you may register Saturday morning. The aforementioned e-mail addresses may be used to enter poster competition.

The Third Annual Bruker/MIT Symposium on
Crystallographic Chemical Analysis

Morning Session

8:30	Coffee and Registration outside of 6-120
8:45	Opening remarks and welcome by Professor Stephen J. Lippard
8:50	Dr. Sue Byram and Dr. Frank Laukien (Bruker Analytical X-Ray Systems), "New Products for Chemical Crystallography"
9:30	Dr. Charles Campana (Bruker Analytical X-Ray), "How to Obtain "Good" Structures from "Bad" Crystals"
10:30	Break
10:45	Dr. Richard Staples, "Getting Crystals Your Crystallographer Will Treasure"
11:30-1:00	Lunch and poster session in the Norris Room (18-490)

Afternoon Session

1:00	Dr. Arnold Rheingold (University of Delaware), "Superlattices, Pseudoracemates and Exorcising UFM's"
1:45	Dr. Victor Young (University of Minnesota), "Facing Your Evil Twin"
2:30	Dr. Ged Parkin (Columbia University), "Blinded by the Light: How to Bend, Stretch and Break Bonds Without Effort"
3:15	Wrap up and Winner of Poster Session Announced!

Department Computer User Group Meeting Annuncement

All members of the Chemistry department are invited to the department computer users group meeting, to be held Thursday, February 5, 1998 from 12 - 1 P.M. in the Norris Room, 18-490. This meeting will feature a talk on the topic of computer security covering the Macintosh and PC platforms, then going into detail with UNIX systems security.

Please email Gigi at lirot@mit.edu with any questions or comments, or to be added to the email list for these announcements.

The Chemistry Outreach Program Organizational Meeting

Are you interested in doing chemistry that (almost) always works? Venturing beyond the Cambridge/Boston Area? Working with People from Outside of Your Research Group?

Then come to an organizational meeting of the MIT Chemistry Outreach Program! Join other graduate students performing amazing chemistry demonstrations in area high schools this spring. Come to the Norris Room (18-490) on Tuesday, January 27th at 5:30 PM. Pizza will be in abundance! Questions? Contact Dawn Bennett at 18-248, x3-1835, dbennett@mit.edu

GEO Is Sponsoring Tax informationWorkshop For Graduate Students who are US Citizens and Resident Aliens

A workshop will be held on Tuesday, February 24, 1998 from 2 to 4 pm in Room #10-250. A formal presentation will be followed by a Q&A session during which students will have the opportunity to ask specific questions regarding taxation policies on Fellowships and RA & TA's. Federal and State forms will be available in the lobby of 10-250 before, during and immediately following the workshop. Please contact: Brima A. Wurie, Administrator for Fellowship/Grant Programs, MIT, Graduate Education Office, 77 Massachusetts Avenue Room 3-136A, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 Telephone is (617) 253-1958 Fax is (617) 253-5620 or by Email: wurie@mit.edu

Corning Foundation Invites Graduate Students to Participate in Fellowship Program!

The Corning Foundation has invited the Department to again participate in the Foundation's Science Fellowship Program. For the 1998-99 academic year, Corning is offering up to $25,000 in support of a pre-doctoral fellowship in chemistry. Applications must include a one-page description of your research activities, including biographical information, academic record, a curriculum vitae, and a statement of support from your Ph.D. advisor. You must be involved in research that directly relates to one of the following technologies listed below. The department Graduate Committee will review the applications and choose a candidate. Please submit all applications to Professor Dietmar Seyferth, Room 4-382A by February 6th, 1998.

Glass and glass ceramics: Glass and glass-ceramic compositions; glass melting and forming; and semi-conductor device materials. Optics and photonics: Optical physics; materials and design; guided optics; components and associated process research. Cellular ceramics: Cellular ceramic composition and extrusion processes and ceramic materials. Polymers: Polymer formation and processing in support of new products and existing product extensions. Surfaces and thin films: Thick and thin films; surfaces and interfacial chemistry; with supporting materials research. Machine research: Concept engineering for the development of high precision machines. Characterization sciences: New analytical processes and advanced characterization of chemical, physical, optical, structural and morphological properties. Process modeling and measurement: Mathematical, physical, chemical and molecular modeling research.

Graduate Research Symposium in
Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry

Friday, January 30, 1998
1:00 PM, Room 66-110

Dow Recruiting at MIT

Spaces are still available to sign up to interview with Dow. The sign-up sheet is in Bldg. 8-309. The Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan, will be on-campus recruiting in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering on Monday, January 26. They are seeking Ph.D. candidates with a broad background in materials science, polymer science, and research experience relating to structure and morphology, material properties, and material performance. Candidates should have the ability to apply a variety of techniques to solve problems, should be flexible enough to work with a variety of systems, and should be able to manage multiple projects simultaneously. The ability to work with team members across the company and to communicate effectively materials science results to chemists, engineers, and managers, is essential. The job openings are in Midland, Michigan. You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to sign up for an interview.

If you are interested in interviewing with Dow, please sign-up and leave a resume in Bldg. 8-309. Sign-up sheets will be in the Dow Chemical Company folder in the small, black cart in DMSE Headquarters. The interviews will be held in Bldg. 8-309. If you have any questions, please e-mail Bonnie Barber at bonbar@mit.edu or call her at 258-5551.

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

Postdoctoral Fellowships

• Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN: Postgraduate research opportunity exists in chemistry to work on the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC. Contact their website at: http://www.orau.gov/orise.htm

Positions

• Atomic Personnel, P.O Box 11244, Philadelphia, PA: has a client in Central Florida who seeks to hire a food chemist. Salary is in the $44K-$49K range depending on background plus benefits. Please fax cv to: Atomic Personnel, Inc. 215-885-4225, phone is: 215-885-4223.

Index of Chemformation Back Issues