ChemformationChemformation
Volume 16, Number 23
Friday, July 8, 2000
Chemformation is published by the Office of the Department Chairman. Please convey items of interest (or mailing list changes) to Liz McGrath, Room 18-390, Department of Chemistry, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, 617/253-4080; 617/258-7500 (fax) or e-mail to emg@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/.
Announcements
CONGRATULATIONS to Dr. Joseph Sadighi who has been voted by the inorganic faculty members to receive the third annual Davison Prize for the best thesis submitted in inorganic chemistry in a given year, July 1, 1999 ‚ June 30, 2000. We are pleased to have Joseph joining the Department as an Assistant Professor in July 2001.
WELCOME to Jennifer Picray who has recently joined the Chemistry Education Office. Jennifer will serve as the first point of contact for students, faculty, and staff seeking assistance. Her responsibilities will include ordering textbooks and class supplies, helping organize class/room schedules, and coordinating the distribution of registration and grade forms.
Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, she came to Boston 3 years ago. She enjoys art, music and dancing. She has been an Assessor's Office clerk, and most recently, an administrative assistant/stained glass apprentice.
Please feel free to stop by and introduce yourselves to Jennifer. Her direct telephone line is x3-7271.
BEST WISHES to Nicole O'Bryan from the Chemistry Education Office who will go on maternity leave very soon. She will return in September to assist Dan Kemp with the administration of 5.12 and to carry out special projects for the Chemistry Education Office.
Faculty Positions
Applications for most faculty positions should consist of a curriculum vitae, outline of research interests, and three letters of recommendation to be sent directly to the specific university or college. You will find more detailed information regarding these and other positions in a binder located at departmental headquarters.
Bates College, Lewiston, Maine has an opening for a Chemistry Assistant in Instruction. The Assistant¼s primary responsibility will be to direct the department¼s introductory chemistry laboratory offerings. This will include teaching some laboratory sections, preparing materials for the laboratories, developing and writing new labs, scheduling experiments, and directing the student teaching assistants. A bachelor¼s degree is required (chemistry degree preferred). The position will become available August 1, 2000. Apply by July 14, 2000 to: Chemistry Assistant in Instruction Search Committee, Bates college, Human Resources, 215 College Street, Lewiston, ME 04240; tel: (207) 786-6140; www.bates.edu.
Post Doctoral Positions
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal: A post-doctoral position is available for a three year period, in the Department of Chemistry, http://www.dq.fct.unl.pt/xtal. Structure-function studies in the laboratory are focused on several metalloenzymes, in particular molybdopterin-containing enzymes. The lab is well equipped with state-of-the-art crystallographic equipment, computing and graphic workstations. The group has regular access to Synchrotron facilities (ESRF). The work will involve the structural analysis of rat liver XO and other wild type enzymes of the XO family, namely, isoquinoline 1-oxidoreductase (IsoOR), which is involved in detoxification processes. Successful applicants will require a background in protein crystallography and should hold a degree in biological or chemical sciences. State-of-the-art facilities in the Department are well established for protein expression and purification, protein sequencing as well as for a number of spectroscopic techniques (EPR, NMR and M–ssbauer). The University campus is located near the Atlantic coast and 14 Km away from Lisbon. Apply to: Prof. Maria Jo“o Rom“o, Department of Chemistry, FCT- Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2825-114 Caparica, PORTUGAL; Fax: -351-212948550; Tel: -351-212948310; e-mail : mromao@dq.fct.unl.pt.
The European Commission is funding a research network aimed at understanding in terms of biomolecular structure, how the molybdenum-containing enzymes of the Xanthine Oxidase (XO) family function at the atomic, molecular and physiological levels, how specificity is controlled and how new inhibitors can be designed. These enzymes catalyze a wide variety of hydroxylations of known or potential importance in medicine, the environment and industry. More details on the Network can be found at: http://www.jic.bbsrc.ac.uk/staff/david-lowe/jobs.htm.
Colorado State University: Two or three postdoctoral positions are currently available for chemical studies of vanadium complexes (and also other transition metal complexes) with insulin mimetic properties. Specifically the projects include conventional and combinatorial synthesis of vanadium (and other metal) complexes, solid state and detailed solution characterization (stability and lability), and aqueous electrochemistry and reactivity with thiols. The intent is to obtain data on a series of metal complexes that will be tested with regard to insulin mimetic properties in animals (in a collaboratory sense). Individuals with interest in the above areas are needed but not all are necessary since more than one person will be hired at this time. Apply to: Debbie C. Crans, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872; tel: 970-491-7635; Fax: 970-491-1801, e.mail crans@lamar.colostate.edu.
Queens College, the City University of New York: has an immediate opening for a postdoctoral position, in the general area of synthesis of chiral phosphorus compounds for use in Diels-Alder catalysis, hydroformylation, and a new project in synthesis of DNA analogs. Experience in transition metal organometallic chemistry is desirable, but not an absolute requirement. The campus is an easy 30 minutes by bus and subway to Manhattan, and 2-3 miles to downtown Flushing (our local Chinatown) and the Mets' baseball stadium and U.S. Tennis Center. Apply to: Prof. William H. Hersh, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Queens College ‚ CUNY, Flushing, NY 11367-1597; tel: (718) 997-4144; Fax: (718) 997-5531; e-mail: william_hersh@qc.edu; more info: web: http://www.qc.edu/Chemistry/whh.html