C&EN on the EPA ban of TCE and PCE:

In C&EN, this news (article by Britt Erickson): 

Most uses of the solvents trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) will be banned within 1–3 years under final rules released Dec. 9 by the US Environmental Protection Agency. But in response to pushback from some industries, the agency carved out longer phase-out times for certain applications.

The EPA’s crackdown on solvents under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is part of the agency’s push to finalize proposed regulations before the administration of Donald J. Trump takes over Jan. 20.

TCE and PCE are 2 of the first 10 chemicals the EPA evaluated under the revisions to TSCA made in 2016. The agency proposed restrictions on both of them in 2023. Asbestos and methylene chloride are the only others for which final rules have been released.

TCE was once widely used as a solvent in cleaning products, degreasers, brake cleaners, lubricants, adhesives, coatings, and many other consumer and industrial products. The EPA considers the chemical “extremely toxic” and says it causes liver and kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and a host of other health effects, even at low concentrations.

The obvious response to this is "I am terribly curious was EPA Administrator-Designate Lee Zeldin has to say about this", so I guess I will go with that. 

The 2025 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 436 research/teaching positions and 66 teaching positions

The 2025 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 436 research/teaching positions and 66 teaching positions. 

Want to help out? Here's a Google Form to enter positions.

To see trending, go to Andrew Spaeth's visualization of previous years' list.

On December 12, 2023, the 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 476 research/teaching positions and 55 teaching positions.

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? This is the link to the second open thread. This is the link to the first open thread.

Don't forget to click on "load more" below the comment box for the full thread. 

Are you having problems accessing the Google Sheet because of a Google Documents error? Email me at chemjobber@gmail.com and I will send you an Excel download of the latest sheet. 

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List: 113 research/teaching positions and 17 teaching positions

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List (by Heather LeClerc and Daniyal Kiani) has 113 research/teaching positions and 17 teaching positions. 

Here is a link to the open thread for the year.

The 2023 ACS Form 990

full PDF here

Chemistry needs math, and math is hard

In this week's C&EN, this interesting letter: 

I would like to commend Leigh Krietsch Boerner’s article “Are Undergraduate Chemistry Programs in Crisis?,” as the article has pointed out many things that I’ve seen with my own eyes. I’m an associate professor of chemistry at a predominantly undergraduate state institution in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and I have noticed similar trends in enrollment, cost, and graduation rates at my own institution.

The article points out that biology enrollment is in line with other undergraduate enrollments, while the chemistry enrollment shows a large decline. Further, the article points out that the number of undergraduate chemistry degrees awarded has plunged the fastest over the last 3 years relative to other disciplines. This too, I’ve seen.

However, I feel that a major contributing factor behind these numbers has been overlooked. Over the last 20 years, I’ve seen student math preparedness plummet. This trend was in full swing before COVID-19, and the pandemic exacerbated the problem. I’ve seen many students in my first-year general chemistry course switch from chemistry to biology because the math requirements in chemistry were just too hard given the level of math preparedness of the students. I’m not referring to the log base 10 operation of the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation but rather the simple task of converting grams to moles, which is an exceedingly difficult operation for a quarter to a third of the students in front of me. Chemistry is enjoyable if you have a rudimentary understanding of math, a nightmare if that understanding has never been developed.

I had hoped that the trends that I’ve seen were specific to my institution alone, but colleagues at similar institutions have reported to me similar experiences. Fortunately, math preparedness doesn’t seem to be as much of a problem at our nation’s elite schools, but can these few schools produce the army of chemists needed to carry an advanced industrial society?

The development of a mathematical intuition is needed to succeed in chemistry. Why that intuition is not being developed on a broad scale needs to be addressed, as more than the fate of a few chemistry departments is at stake.

Dwayne Bell

Framingham, Massachusetts

I guess I don't really know what to say about this, other than math is an important skill, and it's hard to imagine getting through (I dunno) the first semester of general chemistry without a pretty decent sense of how to do basic algebra. 

Have a good weekend!

 

A busy but not too relaxed week, so I'll take it as a win. I hope that you had a good week, and that you will have a less busy weekend than I. We'll see you on Monday!

Job posting: Senior Process Chemist III, MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions, Shelton, Connecticut

From the inbox: 

MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions, a business of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI), is renowned worldwide for its commitment to revolutionizing the electronics industry. With a legacy spanning over a century, we have continually set new benchmarks for excellence, reliability, and sustainability in electronic materials.

Who are we looking for?

The selected individual will be responsible for transforming compounds and chemistries developed by the R&D team into commercially viable products. Key objectives include: (1) developing scalable production methods to enable larger batch quantities—initially for testing, followed by commercial manufacturing—and (2) establishing synthetic routes that prioritize safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. This role requires a balanced mix of theoretical expertise and hands-on experience. 

The ideal candidate will split their time between laboratory and production environments, conducting small-scale testing and reaction evaluations in the lab and facilitating successful large-scale implementation in the plant. Close collaboration with chemists, engineers, and operators is essential to drive innovation in product and process development. Additionally, this chemist will oversee the transfer of new products to the Pilot Production Laboratory and support the scale-up to High Volume Manufacturing (HVM), ensuring a seamless path to market.

Who are You?

• PhD degree > 3 years and or MS > 7 years of relevant experience, preferably in chemistry, or related field.
• > 3 years of formulation experience in electroplating or other wet process is preferred, especially in the Semiconductor or Printed Circuit Board industries.  
• Strong experience in chemical separation/purification such as filtration, evaporation, distillation, chromatography, and chemical characterization techniques (such as GPC, HPLC, LC-MS) that are used to analyze separated species. 

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. Contact person for this posting: Shannon Bria (Shannon.Bria@elementsolutionsinc.com)

NYT: China bans exports of gallium, germanium other materials to the United States in retaliation

Via the New York Times, this news: 

China said on Tuesday that it would begin banning the export of several rare minerals to the United States, an escalation of the tech war between the world’s two biggest powers. The move comes a day after the Biden administration tightened Chinese access to advanced American technology.

The ban signals Beijing’s willingness to engage in supply chain warfare by blocking the export of important components used to make valuable products, like weaponry and semiconductors.

Sales of gallium, germanium, antimony and so-called superhard materials to the United States would be halted immediately on the grounds that they have dual military and civilian uses, China’s Ministry of Commerce said. The export of graphite would also be subject to stricter review.

China is central to many global supply chains, but it generally refrained from clamping down on its own exports during the first Trump administration, preferring instead to take more limited actions like buying soybeans from Brazil instead of the United States. But senior Chinese officials are worried that President-elect Donald J. Trump plans more stringent policies during his coming term in office.

According to the article, tungsten is among the "superhard materials." I don't know where those 1 inch tungsten cubes come from, but I suspect they're going to get more expensive. 

WTOL: "Perrysburg High School teacher placed on administrative leave following chemical mix-up in science experiment"

Via WTOL in Toledo, OH: 

PERRYSBURG, Ohio — A Perrysburg High School teacher has been placed on administrative leave following a chemical mix-up in a science class that led to several students experiencing symptoms requiring medical attention.

Perrysburg schools said during an activity Monday, the teacher "mistakenly provided ammonia instead of the intended vinegar for an experiment." The district said this resulted in multiple students "ingesting a small amount of the substance."

According to the district, some of the students experienced symptoms and were evaluated by a school nurse before being advised by Poison Control to seek further medical attention as a precaution.

The teacher has been placed on administrative leave, which I presume will end in their dismissal. I genuinely don't understand how this happened (i.e. why was anything in a chemistry lab ingested?) but I hope we will get some follow up with an answer as to what exactly happened. 

The 2025 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 428 research/teaching positions and 65 teaching positions

The 2025 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 428 research/teaching positions and 65 teaching positions. 

Want to help out? Here's a Google Form to enter positions.

To see trending, go to Andrew Spaeth's visualization of previous years' list.

On December 5, 2023, the 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 472 research/teaching positions and 49 teaching positions.

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? This will be the second open thread. This is the link to the first open thread.

Don't forget to click on "load more" below the comment box for the full thread. 

Are you having problems accessing the Google Sheet because of a Google Documents error? Email me at chemjobber@gmail.com and I will send you an Excel download of the latest sheet. 

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List: 112 research/teaching positions and 17 teaching positions

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List (by Heather LeClerc and Daniyal Kiani) has 112 research/teaching positions and 17 teaching positions. 

Here is a link to the open thread for the year.

NYT: "Mexican Cartels Lure Chemistry Students to Make Fentanyl"

Via the New York Times, this story: 

American law enforcement officials also said that many young chemists had been swept up in arrests at Mexican fentanyl labs in recent years. The arrested chemists told the authorities that they had been working on developing precursors and making the drug stronger, according to the officials.

A chemistry professor at a university in Sinaloa State said he knew that some students enrolled in chemistry classes just to become more familiar with skills needed to cook synthetic drugs. The professor, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, said he had identified students who fit that profile by their questions and reactions during his lectures.

“Sometimes when I am teaching them synthesis of pharmaceutical drugs, they openly ask me, ‘Hey, professor, when are you teaching us how to synthesize cocaine and other things?’” he said.

...But as the cartels gain greater control of the fentanyl supply chain, U.S. officials say, it will become more difficult for law enforcement in both countries to stop the industrialized production of synthetic opioids in Mexico.

The cartels “know we are now focused on the illicit trafficking of these precursor chemicals around the world,” said Todd Robinson, the State Department’s assistant secretary of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

Those efforts are driving the cartels “to try to bring this thing in-house,” Mr. Robinson said. “The practical result of that is their ability to more easily and quickly transfer those drugs to the United States.”

That the cartel is hiring chemists and chemistry students isn't news, I suppose, but I do think it is interesting that they are attempting to recruit undergraduate students for this work (especially the practical and economic manufacture of fentanyl precursors.) The cartel seems to have a fairly sophisticated ability to perform chemical manufacturing in Mexico*, so it seems to me that they would not be so naive as to be hiring brand new students into such economically important work for them. My gut feeling tells me that the cartels are consulting more experienced chemists. 

*I can't find the link to the evidence that they've been using catalytic techniques to epimerize their discarded D-methylamphetamine to a mixture that can be re-resolved to the tartrate salt.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Every year, I am incredibly thankful for my family, my friends, my community (physical and online) and my job. This year, I'm thankful for my coworkers and I'm really looking forward to a fun and interesting next year. 

I am still incredibly thankful for you, my readers and commenters. Thank you for your reading, your advice, your e-mails and your brilliant, insightful comments. I am genuinely grateful and touched that you folks are still reading this tiny little corner of the internet, and I hope that I will continue to earn your readership. 

This year, I am particularly thankful for Bluesky, where I have made a comfortable new home. If you ever liked Twitter in 2010 or so, it is that experience these days on Bluesky. What I like most about it is that it is a straight chronological timeline with only the folks that you follow. Join me on chemsky there.

[An additional note: if you would ever like to meet for a cup of coffee or a beer, please reach out to my e-mail address. I hope to find myself in many different places in 2025 (including Houston :-), and I love to meet readers of the blog.] 

My family and I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving and if you're not in the United States, a happy Thursday and Friday! 

Job posting: Senior Process Chemist III, MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions, Shelton, CT

From the inbox: 

MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions, a business of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI), is renowned worldwide for its commitment to revolutionizing the electronics industry. With a legacy spanning over a century, we have continually set new benchmarks for excellence, reliability, and sustainability in electronic materials.

Who are we looking for?

The selected individual will be responsible for transforming compounds and chemistries developed by the R&D team into commercially viable products. Key objectives include: (1) developing scalable production methods to enable larger batch quantities—initially for testing, followed by commercial manufacturing—and (2) establishing synthetic routes that prioritize safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. This role requires a balanced mix of theoretical expertise and hands-on experience. The ideal candidate will split their time between laboratory and production environments, conducting small-scale testing and reaction evaluations in the lab and facilitating successful large-scale implementation in the plant. Close collaboration with chemists, engineers, and operators is essential to drive innovation in product and process development. Additionally, this chemist will oversee the transfer of new products to the Pilot Production Laboratory and support the scale-up to High Volume Manufacturing (HVM), ensuring a seamless path to market.

Who are You?

• PhD degree > 3 years and or MS > 7 years of relevant experience, preferably in chemistry, or related field.
• > 3 years of formulation experience in electroplating or other wet process is preferred, especially in the Semiconductor or Printed Circuit Board industries.  
• Strong experience in chemical separation/purification such as filtration, evaporation, distillation, chromatography, and chemical characterization techniques (such as GPC, HPLC, LC-MS) that are used to analyze separated species. 

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

The 2025 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 418 research/teaching positions and 61 teaching positions

The 2025 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 418 research/teaching positions and 61 teaching positions. 

Want to help out? Here's a Google Form to enter positions.

To see trending, go to Andrew Spaeth's visualization of previous years' list.

On November 28, 2023, the 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 461 research/teaching positions and 49 teaching positions.

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Go to the first open thread. 

Don't forget to click on "load more" below the comment box for the full thread. 

Are you having problems accessing the Google Sheet because of a Google Documents error? Email me at chemjobber@gmail.com and I will send you an Excel download of the latest sheet. 

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List: 112 research/teaching positions and 17 teaching positions

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List (by Heather LeClerc and Daniyal Kiani) has 112 research/teaching positions and 17 teaching positions. 

Here is a link to the open thread for the year.

CSB update on the BioLab fire in Conyers, GA

Via NBC, I see that the CSB has released its preliminary update on the Conyers, GA fire: 

Washington D.C. November 22, 2024 – Today, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released an investigation update into the chemical reaction and toxic gas release on September 29, 2024, at the Bio-Lab, Inc. facility in Conyers, Georgia, that resulted in a massive fire and plume of toxic smoke that threatened the surrounding community and the metropolitan Atlanta area.

The reaction involved materials stored in a warehouse that generated heat, which led to the  decomposition of the product, the release of toxic vapors, and fires.  The primary substances involved in the reaction were trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA) and sodium dichloroisocyanurate (DCCA), along with bromochloro-5,5-dimethylimidazolidine-2,4-dione (BCDMH).  The resulting massive plumes of toxic smoke contained chlorine and other hazardous substances and caused significant offsite impacts. 

No major root cause updates as of yet, but the brown/red smoke is most likely from the bromo compound. Full report here.

Have a great weekend

Well, this turned out to be a darn good week, so I'm not going to complain about the medical procedure I have heading my way, lol. I hope that you had a good week, and that you do not have any procedures heading your way any time soon. I hope you have a great weekend, and we'll see you on Monday. 

Washington University (St. Louis) chemistry professor accused of sexual harassment

Via a Google News search for "chemistry", this news via Student Life, the newspaper of Washington University: 

Amidst allegations of inappropriate, non-consensual touching from multiple students, Associate Professor of Chemistry Jonathan Barnes is no longer teaching his section of organic chemistry for the rest of the semester, as of Nov. 14. 

Student Life spoke to four students who allegedly experienced non-consensual touching from Barnes on the arms, lower back, and upper thigh. Three of the students are currently enrolled in Barnes’ organic chemistry class, and one took the same course two years ago. Barnes has taught the class three times prior to the Fall 2024 semester since his hiring in 2016. 

Three of the four students have been granted anonymity due to concerns for their safety. Sources referred to throughout the article exclusively by their first name have been given pseudonyms to protect their identities. 

According to Barnes’ attorney, Christopher Combs, Barnes was temporarily relieved of teaching duties, following University policy, in order to “ensure all parties feel safe and supported,” but Barnes is still employed by the University and is continuing to carry out his research with students. Neither the University nor the Chemistry Department wished to comment on why Barnes, who was given tenure last year, is not teaching the organic chemistry course anymore.

Read the whole article here.

Postdoctoral posting: Experimental Investigation of Reactivity of Solid/Liquid Interface, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN

Via C&EN Jobs: 

The Geochemistry and Interfacial Sciences (GIS) Group in the Chemical Sciences Division (CSD) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) invites outstanding applications for a postdoctoral research associate to conduct experimental research focused on reactivity of solid-liquid interfaces, including on mineral nucleation and growth from aqueous solutions as well as interaction with carbon dioxide.

You will conduct experiments while making in situ observations as well as elevated temperature and pressure and analyzed ex situ. Experimental techniques might include X-ray/neutron scattering, atomic force microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis with mass spectrometry, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation measurements, optical profilometry, scanning electron microscopy, or other techniques.

The GIS group functions as a team, so you are a team player who enjoys collaborating with the other personnel in the GIS group, as well as personnel at ORNL’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), the Spallation neutron source (SNS) and the high-flux isotope reactor (HFIR).

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Conduct independent research using experimental techniques and multi-modal microscopy characterization, which will include developing/optimizing methodologies for mineral analyses.
• Perform mineral nucleation, growth and carbonation experiments.
• Collaborate with ORNL researchers on the design and execution of microscopy and X-ray/neutron scattering experiments and subsequent characterization.

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested.