Chemistry Newsletter - 06/29/1998

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Department of Chemistry Newsletter

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CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations go out to Jennifer Hovis, who was selected to receive the Nellie Yeoh Whetten Award for 1998, from the American Vacuum Society Scholarships and Award Trustees. The Whetten award consists of a cash award, a certificate, and travel expensives to attend the AVS International Symposium in Baltimore, MD, on November 2-6, 1998. Congratulations Jennifer!!

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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 minor courses. The minor requirement must be completed by the end of the third year of graduate school. Minor agreement forms are available in Room 1315.

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SEMINARS

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Tuesday, July 21^st, 1998 - Organic Chemistry Seminar. Professor Vladimir Gevorgyan, Tohoku University, Japan.

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Monday, July 6^th, 1998 - Materials Science Seminar. 11:00 a.m., Room 221 MS & E Building, 1509 University Ave. Dr. W. Sha, The Queen's University of Belfast, UK. "Fire Resistant Steels for Construction"

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Workshop at the Forest Products Laboratory

On Friday, June 26, Dr. Anne Datko, Program Director of the Improved Utilization of Wood and Wood Fiber Program in USDA's National Research Initiative (NRI), will present a Grantsmanship Workshop at the Forest Products Laboratory. This will be held in Room 500 starting at 1:30 p.m. The presentation will take about 40 minutes and will include pointers for proposal preparation and a brief description of NRI's review process, followed by a question and answer period. We at the Forest Products Laboratory are asking our University colleagues to join us for the workshop. Would you please inform your staffs that they are invited to attend.

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UW-Extension - Resident Manager Employment Opportunity

The J.F. Friedrick Center is looking for a graduate student to fill the Position of Resident Manager. Long-term, live-in position for a responsible person. For the Fall Semester 1998-99 acedemic year. The hours are for at least 16 hrs/weekend as hotel front desk clerk (the first 8 hrs are unpaid); unpaid on call some evenings, weekends, and holidays; other paid hours possible. $6/hr wage. The duties are to Provide support for front desk, maintenance, housekeeping and kitchen staff. You will receive free private furnished room, utilities, phone, bath, color cable to, and refrigerator. Coin-operated laundry on site. A good employment history with references. Training will be provided in all areas of residential conference center work. Location is at the J.F. Friedrick Center, 1950 Willow Drive (behind the Natatorium) on the lakeshore path. PICK UP APPLICATION/CALL 231-1341 (Lorraine).

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UW-Madison Medical School Symposium

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School, Howard Huges Medical Institute Faculty Development Program, presents an International Symposium on "New Approaches to Membrane Protein Structure and Function". The symposium will be held from August 15-18, 1998. Complete details and registration forms can be found in Room 1380 Chemistry Building.

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FACULTY POSITIONS/TEMPORARY FACULTY/ACADEMIC POSITIONS

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The Chemistry Department at Western Michigan University seeks to add an Inorganic Chemist to our faculty. Any area of Inorganic Chemistry will be considered at the Associate or Assistant Professor level. The Chemistry Department offers degrees leading to the BA, BS, MA and Ph.D. degrees. Our new Ph.D. program will cover the classic five disciplines with a special emphasis on Environmental Chemistry. Our department has also developed strong components of Photo- and Biochemistry. Our current faculty of 16 is preparing to move into our new $45 million Science Research Pavilion this fall and we seek an outstanding Inorganic chemist to join our energetic faculty as we move toward Research II status. Representatives of our department will be attending the ACS Boston meeting and we will be available at that time to discuss the position with potential candidates. An official solicitation will appear in the usual places this fall. Please have any interested parties contact: Dr. John E. Chateauneuf, Department of Chemistry, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, Phone: (616)387-2879, FAX: (616)387-2909, E-mail: chateauneuf@wmich.edu, WWW: www.wmich.edu/chemistry.

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The Department of Chemistry, Yale University, invites applications for a position at the Assistant Professor level to commence Fall 1999. We seek creative teacher-scholars who show promise for developing outstanding research programs in the broad fields of inorganic, theoretical, and biophysical chemistry. Applicants should send curriculum vitae and a statement of research plans and arrange for the submission of three letters of recommendation. All materials should be received by 15 October 1998. Send applications to: Professor Donald M. Crothers, Chair, Junior Faculty Search Committee, P.O. Box 208107, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8107.

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POSTDOCTORAL POSITION AND/OR JOBS

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Artur Cavaco-Paulo of the Universidade do Minho, Departamento de Engenharia Textil, has two PhD positions available at the University of Minho in the area of "Kinetics of Redox Enzyme Systems". The PhD positions are a part of a EU funded project. Project length: 3 years. A suitable person would have an equivalent to MSc with a strong background in chemistry, biochemistry or chemical engineering. To be started in later months of 1998. Thesis in English or Portuguese. Send CV to: <artur@eng.uminho.pt>, (Dr. Artur Cavaco-Paulo, Dept. Textiles, University of Minho, 4800 Guimaraes, Portugal).

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Chuck Winter of Wayne State University has funding for a postdoctoral position in his group. The position requires a strong background in synthetic inorganic and/or organometallic chemistry, along with an excellent command of experimental and spectroscopic techniques. Experience in materials chemistry and thin film characterization is helpful, but not required. Work will involve the development of new precursors for the selective deposition of GaAs, GaSb, GaP, InAs, InSb, and InP films using CVD methods. This project will be a mixture of synthetic work, film depositions, and mechanistic work aimed at understanding the film deposition mechanisms. This project involves close collaboration with engineers and physicists. The ideal candidate will combine high motivation, independence, and excellent leadership ability with a strong record of achievement as a graduate student. The appointment will be for one year, subject to satisfactory performance, and is renewable for a second year by mutual consent. The position is available immediately. Interested candidates should send a curriculum vitae and should arrange to have three reference letters sent to: Charles H. Winter, Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, phone (313) 577-5224, fax (313) 577-1377. I can be contacted at cwinter@sun.science.wayne.edu for further information.

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Professor Peter Rinaldi of the University of Akron expects to have an opening for a Postdoctoral researcher in his group this summer or early fall. The research involves the development and use of 2D, 3D, and 4D solution NMR methods for characterizing synthetic polymer structure, reactivity and dynamics. We recently completed the installation of a Varian 750 MHz spectrometer with many accessories which have been designed specifically to support this field of work, and we are extremely excited about some of the new information which is extractable from higher field spectra. Additionally, we have several lower field solids and solutions instruments, a state-of-the-art network of workstations, and several full time people (in electronics, computers and spectroscopy) to support the users of the NMR facility. Those interested in applying for the position should have a CV and three letters of reference sent to: Peter Rinaldi, Professor of Chemistry, Director, Molecular Spectroscopy Lab, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325-3601, Tel. 330-972-5990, Fax. 330-972-5256, E-mail: PeterRinaldi@Uakron.edu.

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Assistant Professor Shelley D. Copley of the University of Colorado at Boulder has two openings for post-doctoral research associates in her laboratory. Her research program is focused on the question of how microorganisms evolve enzymes to fulfill new functions in the degradation of xenobiotic compounds. We study the enzymes required for biodegradation of pentachlorophenol, a widely used wood preservative that is listed as a Priority Pollutant by the EPA because of its toxicity and widespread distribution in the environment. We use information from mechanistic structural, and computational studies to provide insights into the evolutionary origin, mechanism, structure, substrate specificity, and catalytic efficiency of the first three enzymes in the degradation pathway. The positions that are available are involved in studies of tetrachlorohydroquinone dehalogenase, the second enzyme in the pathway, which catalyzes the reductive dehalogenation of tetrachlorohydroquinone to trichlorohydroquinone and then to 2,6-dichlorohydroquinone. We currently have NSF funding to support mechanistic and structural studies of the enzyme, as well as a search for homologues in soil microorganisms that do not degrade pentachlorophenol and an assessment of the ability of the enzymes encoded by these homologues to dehalogenate tetrachlorohydroquinone. Skills in some or all of the following are required: protein purification and characterization, enzyme kinetics, PCR, Southern blotting, site-directed mutagenesis. Applicants should send a CV and arrange for two-three letters of recommendation to be sent directly to: Professor Shelley D. Copley, University of Colorado at Boulder, Phone: (303)492-6328, FAX: (303)492-5894, E-mail: conley@cires.colorado.edu.

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Dr. Ruthanne D. Thomas of the University of North Texas has an immediate opening for a post-doctoral fellow. Research will be on the structure and reactivity of mixed alkyllithium/lithium alkoxide and mixed lithium hydride/lithium alkoxide compounds. (For leading references, see JACS, 1997, 119, 11998.) The successful applicant should have experience with handling air-sensitive compounds and should be able to interact successfully with other members of the research group. Experience with NMR spectroscopy is a plus, but is not required. Persons interested in the position should forward a vita and the names and addresses of two references to: Dr. Ruthanne D. Thomas, Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, e-mail: rthomas@unt.edu.

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DETAILS ARE AVAILABLE IN ROOM 1380.

NEXT NEWSLETTER IS ON JULY 13^th, 1998.