Chemformation

The Weekly Newsletter of the MIT Chemistry Department

Volume 14, Number 8

February 27, 1998

Next issue: Friday, March 6th. Chemformation is published by the Office of the Department Chairman. The deadline for the next issue is Tuesday, March 3rd. 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

Professor John W. Irvine, Jr. Dies at Age 84

Professor John W. Irvine, Jr., who came to MIT as a graduate student and retired as the executive officer of the department in 1979, died of a heart attack at his home in Tuscon, Arizona on February 23rd. He received his Ph.D. from MIT in 1939 and became an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in 1943, doing classified research as a radiochemist in the MIT Radioactivity Center during World War II.

Dr. Irvine was promoted to Associate Professor in 1947 and Professor in 1958. He acted as the faculty in residence at Ashdown House from 1966-1973 and retired in 1979. Professor Irvine is survived by his wife and three daughters. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Department of Chemistry, Room 18-390 in his name.

Glass Blowing Services

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.

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.

Faculty Positions

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.

• Tenure track position in Physical Chemistry/Chemical Physics/Computational Chemistry at the University of Texas at Brownsville: The University of Texas at Brownsville is seeking applicants for a tenure track position in Physical Chemistry or Chemical Physics at the Assistant/Associate Professor level. Ph.D. in Chemistry or Physics required. (If the Ph.D. is in Physics the individual should be qualified to teach freshman Chemistry). Post-doctoral experience with some teaching experience preferred. The successful applicant is expected to be strongly committed to the development of the new Chemistry degree program recently approved at UTB by the University of Texas. It is also expected that the successful candidate will show outstanding excellence in teaching Physical Chemistry and freshman General Chemistry and the capacity to start a vigorous research program involving undergraduate students. The department of Physical Sciences is seeking an individual with a background in Physical Chemistry, especially in Computational Chemistry and/or Computational Physics with applications to Chemistry, who is able and willing to contribute to the rich bicultural and bilingual heritage of the region. The selected individual would be able to use a scientific visualization laboratory (with several SGI O2 and a Challenge server) administered by the Physics program. The University has approximately 10,000 students with roughly 90% of them of Mexican-American descent, and has defined both English and Spanish as the Native languages of the school. The Chemistry program is housed in a new $30 million complex built for the Physical sciences and the engineering programs with state of the art laboratories and computer equipment. The University of Texas at Brownsville is the youngest and fastest growing component of the University of Texas system. Located in Brownsville by the Gulf of Mexico (at 20 miles from South Padre Island) its campus is a few blocks away from the city of Matamoros, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande. Salary competitive with experience. Consideration of applications will begin immediately, and will continue until the position is filled. Applications should include a curriculum vitae, a list of publications, a letter of intent describing research interests and teaching philosophy and three letters of recommendation addressed to: Human Resources, The University of Texas at Brownsville, 80 Fort Brown -Brownsville, Texas 78520 Further inquiries about this position can be addressed to: Prof Arnulfo Mar, Chair, Search Committee, Physical Sciences Department University of Texas at Brownsville, Voice: (956) 574-6645 Fax: (956) 574-6692 Email: MAR@UTB1.UTB.EDU

Postdoctoral Fellowships

• TWO POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS IN CHEMICAL PHYSICS AND APPLIED NONLINEAR OPTICS Two postdoctoral positions (renewable for up to 36 months) are immediately available at the Institute of E. Koudoumas, A. Ruth and S. Leach, J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 28, p.4537, (1995) IMPORTANT!!! Under the rules of the TMR program you must be a European 20 Community national or a national of one of the associated countries(Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein or Norway) to be eligible for any one of these posts. Furthermore you may not be a national of the state of the laboratory to which you are applying. This is because the one of the aims of the TMR program is to promote the exchange of young scientists between the states of the Community. Operating at FORTH is the "Ultraviolet Laser Facility-ULF". Detailed information concerning the available resources can be found http://www.iesl.forth.gr/ulf/ Information concerning the largest Greek Island of Crete can be found http://www.interkriti.org/ Candidates interested should send a CV via email to: couris@iesl.forth.gr
• Postdoctoral Opportunity in the Boston area: A postdoctoral position is available at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Hanscom Air Force Base, 15 miles northwest of Boston, Massachusetts. We perform laboratory experiments in order to better understand chemical reactions of importance in the upper atmosphere. Our experiments use electron-beam or laser-induced excitation of chemical reactants, with detection via either laser-induced fluorescence or time-resolved Michelson interferometry (analyzing infrared emission). We develop and use complex spectral and kinetic models to analyze and interpret the resultant data. The experimental results are published in the open literature and presented at scientific meetings. In this case, the successful applicant would pursue the measurement of state-to-state kinetic parameters within the scope of two ongoing projects, involving the hydroxyl radical and nitric oxide, respectively. The position described herein is available immediately, and will be funded through Utah State University. We encourage submissions from motivated individuals with experience in one or more of the above areas, including those who wish to broaden their backgrounds. The compensation is very competitive, and is accompanied by full health, dental, and university retirement benefits. The position will be initially funded for one year, with a second year contingent upon mutual agreement after the first year's tenure. Please contact our group for more information. Dr. James A. Dodd -dodd@pldac.plh.af.mil Stewart Radiance Laboratory -781.377.4190 139 Great Road Bedford, MA 01730
• POSTDOCTORAL POSITION available immediately or in very near future, University of Florida. Research requires strong background in ESR spectroscopy (CW, Bruker 300, ENDOR) to be applied to matrix-isolated species at 4 K, analysis, and interpretation of magnetic parameters. Familiarity with FT-IR and FT-Raman would also be helpful. Salary $27,000 for one year with extension to two years by mutual consent. University of Florida is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer. Send CV and arrange for two letters of recommendation to be sent directly to: Professor William Weltner, Jr., Department of Chemistry University of Florida PO Box 117200 Gainesville, Fl 32611-7200 USA.

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