Chemistry Newsletter - 04/05/1999

 

University of Wisconsin - Madison Department of Chemistry Newsletter

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XXXIV No. 14

April 5th, 1999

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Finance Committee and Department Meeting Dates

Spring 1999

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Department Committee - Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. In Room 8335.

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Finance Committee - Tuesday at 1:20 p.m. - In Room 1301.

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Organic Chemistry Cumulative Exam Schedule, 1999.

Thursdays, 7:30 p.m., room B371 Chemistry Building.

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Inorganic Cume Dates for 1999.

9:00 a.m., Room 2373 Chemistry Building.

 

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ATTENTION GRADUATE STUDENTS

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IMPORTANT DATES:

MINOR AGREEMENT FORMS: The Graduate School requires that the minor program be outlined in an agreement which is approved by the Department no later than halfway through completion of the sequence of minor courses. The minor requirement is expected to be completed by the end of the third year of graduate school. Minor agreement forms are available in Room 1221.

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Orders for cap and gown must be placed at the University Bookstore no later than April 15,1999. Degree candidates and escorts will receive a letter containing further instructions about one month before commencement.

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General information on the commencement ceremonies (when/where, etc.) may be obtained from Mary Kay in Room 1221 Chemistry.

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***PLEASE NOTE*** - Mary Kay's Office has now moved to the first floor and is located in room 1221.

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SEMINARS

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Tuesday, April 6^th, 1999 - Physical Chemistry Seminar, 11:00 a.m., Room 8335 Chemistry Building. Peter Armentrout, University of Utah.

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Tuesday, April 6^th, 1999 - Chemical Engineering Seminar, 2:30 p.m., Room 1209 Engineering. Babatunde A. Ogunnaike, DuPont Central R&D. "Controlling Industrial Chemical Processes"

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**CANCELLED** Thursday, April 8^th, 1999 - Organic Chemistry Seminar, 11:00 a.m., Room 1361 Chemistry, Professor Amos Smith, University of Pennsylvania. ****Will reschedule for sometime in the Fall**

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Tuesday, April 6^th, 1999 - Chemical Engineering Seminar, 2:30 p.m., Room 1209 Engineering.

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Wednesday, April 7^th, 1999 - Inorganic Division Seminar, 3:30 p.m., Room B371 Chemistry Building. Tim Boller, Graduate Student. "Late Transition Metal Catalysts for Olefin Polymerization"

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Thursday, April 8^th, 1999 - Organic Chemistry Seminar, 11:00 a.m., Room 1361 Chemistry Building. Professor Dennis Curran, University of Pittsburgh.

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Thursday, April 8^th, 1999 - Analytical Sciences Seminar, 12:05 p.m., Room B371 Chemistry Building. Christina Hosch, Graduate Student.

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Thursday, April 8^th, 1999 - McElvain - Analytical Sciences Seminar, 3:30 p.m., Room B371 Chemistry Building. Dr. Steven Buratto, University of California-Santa Barbara. "Optical Studies on the Nanoscale: Near-Field Microscopy and Single Molecule Spectroscopy of Conjugated Polymers and SI Quantum Dots"

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Thursday, April 8^th, 1999 - Chemical Engineering Seminar, 3:55 p.m., Room 1227 Engineering. Joe Miller, Senior Vice President & Chief Technical Officer DuPont. "W.R. Marshall Founders Lecture"

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Monday, April 12^th, 1999 - ACS Seminar, 2:25 p.m., Room B371 Chemistry Building. Professor Dr. Heinrich Vahrenkamp, Institut fuer Anorganische und Analytische Chemie Universitaet Freiburb. "Preparative and Mechanistic Chemistry of Zinc Related to the Function of Zinc Enzymes"

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Tuesday, April 13^th, 1999 - Organic Chemistry Seminar, 3:30 p.m., Room 1361 Chemistry, Professor Olaf Wiest, University of Notre Dame. "Mechanism and Models of DNA Photolyase"

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Tuesday, April 13^th, 1999 - Physical Chemistry Seminar, 11:00 a.m., Room 8335 Chemistry Building. Marcos Dantus, Michigan State University. "Observation and Control of Chemical Reactions"

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Tuesday, April 13^th, 1999 - Chemical Engineering Seminar, 3:55 p.m., Room 1227 Engineering. Manos Mavrijkakis, Center for Atomic-Scale Materials Physics, Technical University of Denmark. "Catalysis on Transition Metal Surfaces: Insights from First-Principles Mechanistic Studies"

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**PLEASE NOTE - Schedule Change - New Date Will be Thursday, April 29th, 1999** - Organic Chemistry Seminar, 11:00 a.m., Room 1361 Chemistry, Zhi-Qiang Yang, Graduate Student.

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Thursday, April 15^st, 1999 - Analytical Sciences Seminar, 12:05 p.m., Room B371 Chemistry Building. Lei Yang, Graduate Student.

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Thursday, April 15^th, 1999 - CBI Highlights Seminar, 2:25 p.m., Room B371 Chemistry Building. Professor Steve Burke, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Thursday, April 15^th, 1999 - Chemical Engineering Seminar, 3:55 p.m., Room 1227 Engineering. L.K. Doraiswamy, Iowa State University. "Strategies for Rate Enhancement in Organic Synthesis: A Chemical Engineering Approach"

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Friday, April 16^th, 1999 - Teaching/Learning Chemistry Seminar, 1:15 p.m., Room 2377 Chemistry Building. Professor Orville Chapman, UCLA. "Computerized Peer Review (CPR) of Student Writing Assignments in Chemistry"

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Thursday, April 19^th, 1999 - CBI Highlights Seminar, 3:30 p.m., Room B1118 Biochemistry Building. Professor Jun Liu, MIT. Molecular Mechanism of Angiogenesis Inhibition by the Fumagillin Family of Natural Products"

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Monday, April 19^th, 1999 - Inorganic Division Seminar, 2:30 p.m., Room B371 Chemistry Building. Brett Bodsgard, Graduate Student.

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Tuesday, April 20^th, 1999 - Physical Chemistry Seminar, 11:00 a.m., Room 8335 Chemistry Building. Amy Mullin, Boston University. "Putting Out Molecular Fires With Collisional Energy Transfer: The Fire Extinguisher of the Fire Hose"

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Tuesday, April 20^th,1999 - Pharmacology Sciences lecture, Noon, Room 3765 MSC, also 3:30 p.m., in Chemistry. Professor Glenn Prestwich, University of Utah. "Using Affinity Probes to Identify Phosphinositide Targets"

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Wednesday, April 21^st, 1999 - Second Inorganic McElvain Speaker Seminar, 3:30 p.m., Room B371 Chemistry Building. C. Jeffery Brinker, Los Alamos National Lab. "New Directions in Sol-Gel Processing: Self-Organized Micro- and Mesostructured Media"

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Thursday, April 22^nd, 1999 - Analytical Sciences Seminar, 12:05 p.m., Room B371 Chemistry Building. Todd Strother, Graduate Student.

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Thursday, April 22^nd, 1999 - CBI Highlights Seminar, 11:00 a.m., Room B371 Chemistry Building. Professor Dennis Curran, TBA.

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Thursday, April 22^nd, 1999 - Chemical Engineering Seminar, 3:55 p.m., Room 1227 Engineering.David A. Dixon, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "Computational Chemistry for Material and Process Design"

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Thursday, April 22^nd, 1999 - Teaching/Learning Chemistry Seminar, 12:00 noon, Room 2373 Chemistry Building. Professor Ram Lamba, University of Puerto Rico - Cayey. "Is Low-Cost Equipment Only Useful in Developing Countries?"

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Friday, April 23^rd,1999 - Pharmaceutical Sciences lecture, 3:30 p.m., Professor Ben Liu, University of Minnesota. "Biosynthesis of Deoxysugars"

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Monday, April 26^th, 1999 - Inorganic Division Seminar, 2:30 p.m., Room B371 Chemistry Building. Richard Hooper, Postdoc.

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Tuesday, April 27^th, 1999 - Physical Chemistry Seminar, 11:00 a.m., Room 8335 Chemistry Building. Professor J. Andrew McCammon, UC San Diego. "Dynamics of Molecular Recognition"

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Thursday, April 29^th, 1999 - Analytical Sciences Seminar, 12:05 p.m., Room B371 Chemistry Building. Chris Hunt, Graduate Student.

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Thursday, April 29^th, 1999 - CBI Highlights Seminar, 2:25 p.m., Room B371 Chemistry Building. Professor Arnold E. Ruoho, UW Pharmacology. "The Catalytic Core of Adenylyl Cyclase"

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Thursday, April 29^sh, 1999 - Chemical Engineering Seminar, 3:55 p.m., Room 1227 Engineering. George Georgiou, University of Texas-Austin. "High Throughput Screening Technologies for the Isolation of Novel Antibodies, Enzymes and Metabolic Pathways"

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Brownbag Workshop On Teaching With Writing

The L&S Program in Writing Across the Curriculum invites faculty and instructional academic staff to a brownbag workshop on teaching with writing. ***Designing and Teaching a Communication-B or Writing-Intensive Course*** Friday, April 9, 12:15 - 1:30 p.m., 6191 Helen C. White Hall. (Please note the room change from previous announcements.) Are you currently teaching a Communication-B or writing-intensive course? Preparing to teach one? Thinking about proposing one? Is your department considering adding a Comm-B or writing-intensive course to its undergraduate curriculum? Bring your lunch and join colleagues for a discussion of how to design effective Comm-B and writing-intensive courses. This workshop will focus on integrating writing into course material, designing effective writing assignments, coaching students to succeed with writing, and working with undergraduate Writing Fellows. Faculty will share syllabi they've developed for and wisdom they've gained from teaching recent Comm-B and Writing-Intensive courses, and there will be plenty of time for discussion. Although advance registration isn't required for this workshop, if you're planning to attend we'd appreciate your registering so that we can have a sufficient number of handouts. For more information, or to register for this workshop, please contact: Brad Hughes, Director of the L&S Program in Writing Across the Curriculum: 263-3823 or bthughes@facstaff.wisc.edu .

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GROUP LEADERS WANTED

for

Fun with Chemistry Camps!

The Institute for Chemical Education (ICE) will again be offering the Fun with Chemistry Camps (Chem Camps) this summer. The camps provide fun and exciting chemistry laboratory experience for middle school students. There are two identical sessions of the camp, each of which runs for five weekday afternoons. The dates for this year's camps are June 28^th - July 2^nd and July 12^th -16^th.

We need group leaders (graduate students, senior undergraduates) to provide support to 4-6 students in the laboratory. We typically need between 10 and 12 group leaders for each session. The time commitment is approximately 12:45-4:30 PM each day, and the pay is $250 per weekly session. If you are interested in working any or all of the sessions, please stop by room 1321 and tell Kathleen Shanks that you would like to sign up as a group leader for Chem Camp.

The positions usually fill up fast, so hurry if you're interested! April 30 is the last day to sign up and be guaranteed consideration for a position. Group Leaders are selected on a combination first-come-first-served /interview basis. Group Leaders will be informed if they have been selected by mid-May. If you would like to have more information or if you have any questions, please call Kathleen at 2-2940.

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1999 Spring Symposium of the Catalysis Club of Chicago

Wednesday, May 12, 1999, Advanced Photon Source Conference Center, Argonne National Laboratory

The Catalysis Club of Chicago each year sponsors a day long symposium devoted to scientific and technological developments in catalysis. The attendants include researchers from universities and national laboratory and industrial facilities in the greater Chicago area and nearby states. This meeting represents a great opportunity to share recent technological breakthroughs in catalysis and to promote interaction between scientists from different institutions. This year's symposium will be held at the newly established Advanced Photon Source (APS) Conference Center of Argonne National Laboratory. The tentative symposium agenda includes the 1999 Herman Pines Award Address, oral and poster presentations, a student poster competition and an APS facility tour.

If you are interested in participating in this meeting, please use the on-line registration at our Club web site http://www.anl.gov/CCC/ . The registration cost is $45 for the day ($25 for the students) which includes the admission to all papers and posters, lunch and a reception during the poster session. To facilitate the registration process, please register before May 3, 1999. You can also use the site to check the updated information about the Spring Symposium including program, times, and directions to Argonne. Should you have any problem to access the web site, please send your registration request directly to Dr. Di-Jia Liu at the address below. In order to reduce paperwork registration on the web site Is preferred.

If you are interested in making a presentation, please submit a title and one-page camera ready abstract by May 5, 1999. As a heading of the abstract, please list the title, author(s) (underline the speaker), and affiliation.. Please also indicate preference for poster or oral presentation. Students who wish to be considered for the Graduate Student Award of the Club must indicate a preference for poster presentation and should send the following information on a separate page from the abstract: name, department, university, research advisor, and poster title. All the presentation abstracts and the submissions for poster competition should be sent to:

Di-Jia Liu, Program Chair of Catalysis Club of Chicago, AlliedSignal Inc., 50 E. Algonquin Road, Des Plaines, IL 60017-5016, Phone: (847) 391-3703, E-mail: di-jia.liu@AlliedSignal.com .

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Faculty director and instructor for the Irish Studies Summer Program, Dublin

The Office International Studies and Program is accepting applications from faculty who wish to teach in the UW-Madison Irish Studies Summer Program in Dublin, 2000. Please circulate this announcement and encourage those interested to apply. Application deadline: April 23. 1999. The position opening is director and instructor for the 2000 Irish Studies Summer Program in Dublin. The program is located at Trinity College, and is a joint effort of the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. It is managed in Dublin in cooperation with USIT, the Irish national student travel organization. Approximately 3540 students attend each summer. The 6-week program extends from late June to mid-August. The primary responsibility is to teach a 3-credit course. In addition to teaching a course for the program, the faculty member holds regular office hours, serves informally as the program's faculty liaison with USIT and with the local faculty coordinating the program's interdisciplinary core course, and attends program cultural and social events. Finally, the director prepares a brief report about the program at the conclusion of the term. The program provides the following benefits:

1). 1.75 months' summer salary adjusted so that in no case will the faculty member receive less than $7,500 or more than $9,625, plus summer fringe benefits.

2). One round-trip economy airfare between the U.S. and Dublin.

3). Housing in a Trinity College residence hall, paid by the program.

4). Reimbursement for the cost of obtaining an International Faculty Identification Card; up to $150 reimbursement for shipping and/or excess baggage charges; and $300 for your program-related business expenses.

Interested faculty should send a brief letter of interest and a curriculum vitae by April 23, 1999 to: Assistant Dean Joan A. Raducha, International Studies & Programs, 261 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison, Wl 53706-1380. Questions can be addressed to me at 262-1335, e-mail: raducha@macc.wisc.edu .

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Brown University - Bioinspired Catalysis and Functional Modeling symposium

We would appreciate if you could bring to the attention of your faculty, postdoctoral associates and students the "Bioinspired Catalysis and Functional Modeling" symposium we are co-organizing during the 1999 New Orleans ACS meeting (August 22-26). This interdisciplinary symposium is aimed at bringing together scientists from academic, industry and Governmental labs interested in the biomimetic inorganic catalysis of metalloenzymes. Of particular interest are aspects that, while biomimetic in nature, have the potential to generate novel materials, catalysts or catalytic processes. Interested parties should submit an abstract on a standard ACS abstract form to one of us by April 16, 1999. John P. Caradonna, Associate Professor, Metcalf Center for Science and Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, Telephone: (617) 353-1692 (Office), FAX: (617) 353-6466 (Department), E-mail: caradonn@bu.ed , or Sergiu M. Gorun, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Box H, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, Telephone: (401) 863-2738 (Office), FAX: (401) 863-2594 (Department), E-mail: Sergiu_Gorun@Brown.Edu .

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For Industrial Positions, see the Chemistry Placement Newsletter at:

http://www.chem.wisc.edu/placement/7news.html

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FACULTY POSITIONS/TEMPORARY FACULTY/ACADEMIC POSITIONS

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Dr. James Reczek of the Eastman Kodak Co. Research Laboratories has need for Ph.D synthetic and physical organic chemists. Target would be to hire ASAP. Plaese send resumes to: Dr. James Reczek, Eastman Kodak Co. , Research Laboratories, B-82, 1999 Lake Ave., Rochester, NY 14650-2124.

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Washington and Jefferson College ("W&J") seeks an inorganic chemist to teach undergraduate inorganic chemistry and general chemistry. Candidates with additional expertise in biochemistry are particularly desirable. The initial term of appointment is for one year; however, there is the possibility of continuing employment. The chemistry program, which is ACS-accredited, has 6 instructors and is housed in the Jesse W. Lazear Chemistry Hall. A Ph.D. in inorganic or bioinorganic Chemistry, demonstrated excellence in teaching undergraduates, and an interest in promoting undergraduate research are required. Since this position has become available at such a late date, a letter of application, resume, undergraduate and graduate transcripts, and the names, addresses and phone numbers of three references should be sent by April 23, 1999 to: the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Chemistry Search, Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, PA 15301.

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Ohio Northern University. Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry or Visiting Lecturer in Chemistry. Lecture and laboratories in organic chemistry and introductory chemistry, and possible direction of undergraduate research. Ph.D. in Organic chemistry or thesis experimental complete and defense pending. Strong interest in undergraduate teaching and advising. A visiting nine-month appointment starting September 1, 1999. Interested applicants should send a resume, transcripts, and three letters of recommendation to: Dr. David W. Kurtz, Chairman, Department of Chemistry, Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio 45810, E-mail: d-kurtz@onu.edu , All relevant documents must be received by April 26, 1999 for full consideration. Applications will be received until the position if filled.

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Carthage College's chemistry department is seeking a visiting assistant professor for a one-year, fulltime position starting late August 1999. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in chemistry and a dedication to teaching undergraduates in the classroom and the lab in organic, advanced organic, and general chemistry. Carthage, a small liberal arts college located between Chicago and Milwaukee, is accredited by the ACS. Opportunities for research are available. A curriculum vitae, a statement of teaching philosophy, and three letters of recommendation should be received by Charlotte Chell, Chair, Division of Natural Sciences, Carthage College, Kenosha WI 53140-1994. Applications will be reviewed upon receipt until 30 April. More information about our college and department can be found at www.carthage.edu/ .

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Gustavus Adolphus College. A one term sabbatical leave replacement position is available for the fall term of 1999. With negotiation the position can be extended to the end of January 2000. We are seeking a person who holds a PhD or ABD who is qualified to teach instrumental methods with its associated laboratory. In addition the person will supervise two sections of General Chemistry laboratory. Duties: 3 or 4 recitations of 50 minutees length per week and one 4-hour lab in Instrumental Methods, a small, advanced-level course. Instructor has full responsibility for laboratory preparation. Two 3-hour labs in general chemistry with minimal preparation. The teaching of a January Term course can be negotiated. Background and Experience: It is desirable to have TA experience in instrumental methods including HPLC, flame AA, FTIR, electrochemistry (voltammetry), fluorimetry, and UV-vis. It is also desirable to have had experience in a position of responsibility for routine maintenance and tuning of instruments, preparation of solutions and unknowns. Please send a resume, transcript, and three letters of recommendation to: Thomas A. Gover, Chair, Department of Chemistry, Gustavus Adolphus College, 800 W. College Ave., St. Peter, MN 56082. The committee will begin reviewing dossiers on 5/1/99 and will continue until the position is filled. http://www.gac.edu/Academics/chem/ .

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POSTDOCTORAL POSITION AND/OR JOBS

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Professor Claudio Pellecchia of the Universita' di Salerno, Italy. Applications are invited for four post-doctoral positions in the Chemistry Department, University of Salerno (Italy). The positions will be available from September 1999 for two years (or less if desired) and are funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research (MURST) and the E.U. The research projects involve the synthesis of homogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalysts for olefin polymerization and the study of the polymerization mechanism. The candidates must have a Ph. D. (or equivalent) in chemistry, with a backgroung in synthetic organometallic and/or polymer chemistry. Please, send your resume (by e-mail) to: Prof. Claudio Pellecchia, e-mail: pellecchia@chem.unisa.it , fax: +(39)089 965296.

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Dr. Andreas A. Danopoulos of the University of Southampton, Highfield. Applications are invited for a post-doctoral position in the Chemistry Department, University of Southampton (UK).The position will be available from October 1999 for one year and is funded by the University of Southampton. The aim of the project is the development of amido and imido catalysts for the polymerisation of alkenes. The candidate must have a Ph. D. (or equivalent) in chemistry. Strong backgroung in organometallic synthesis is required. Please send your resume or letter of recommendation to: Dr. Andreas A. Danopoulos, Department of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK. e-mail: ad1@soton.ac.uk , fax: +(44)01703 593781, phone: +(44) 01703 594116.

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Russell P. Hughes, of Dartmouth College has two postdoctoral positions that will soon become available in his lab; one on August 1, 1999, and the second on January 1, 2000. Each position will involve work in the general area of activation and functionalization of aliphatic carbon-fluorine bonds at transition metal centers. Details of our work in this area can be found on the Internet at: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~rph/pubs.html . Requirements include a Ph.D. in organometallic chemistry, with experience in air sensitive work and use of multinuclear NMR; experience in dealing with fluorinated molecules and their NMR spectra would be a plus. Please contact me by email at: Russell P. Hughes, Chemistry Department, Dartmouth College, 6128 Burke Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755-3564 USA, Phone (603)646-2763, FAX (603)646-3946, EMAIL: RPH@DARTMOUTH.EDU , website: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~rph .

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Please submit all newsletter information or address changes to: goldade@chem.wisc.edu or 262-0293. Thank You.

DETAILS ARE AVAILABLE IN ROOM 1380.

NEXT NEWSLETTER IS ON APRIL 12^th, 1999.