Chemjobber C&EN index: 3/2/09

Industrial (non-academic, non-governmental) positions:
Total number of ads: 6
- Postdocs: 0
- Permanent positions: 14+
- Ratio of US/non-US: 11+/3
Area: 927

Governmental positions (US and others):
Total number of ads: 3
- Postdocs: 1
- Permanent positions: 2
- Ratio of US/non-US: 3/0
Area: 381

Academic positions:
Total number of ads: 8
- Postdocs: 0
- Tenure-track faculty: 7
- Temporary faculty: 1
- Lecturer positions: 1
- Staff positions: 1
- Ratio of US/non-US positions: 9/1
- Area (square cm): 407

It's Merck's turn now: Merck has a full-pager this week for new chemists at all levels of experience. Looks interesting -- hopefully this is a trend where the big guns will open the floodgates. Hopefully. 

UPDATE: Too late! This comment on "In the Pipeline" says that all interviews in Rahway are canceled due to the SP merger. 

The boy (or girl) stood on the burning deck?*:  Bridgestone Americas Center for Research and Technology (Akron, OH) is looking for what appears to be an entry-level PhD synthetic chemist. While I would not cast aspersions on any industrial job at the moment, I would find a job doing R&D in the automotive sector to be um, precarious. Presumably, there is still a need for tires, although the latest reports indicate that very few new vehicles are being sold.

*Explanation for overly pretentious literary reference here.  

This week in wasteful government spending: While I tend not to get super-upset about PORK AND WASTE in GOVERNMENT!, I do think it's amusing that Argonne National Labs bought three ads this week, all about the same size. Two were for director level positions (10+ years of experience, etc.) and the third? A postdoc in 'synchotron-based biogeochemistry'. While it's obviously difficult to get exposure to such a specialized field, I would expect that a small line-item ad would have done the trick. 

Small college of the week: Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, AR (student population 1448, SA-LUTE!) is looking for a tenure-track analytical chemistry professor. You "must support the mission of the university", which I'm guessing is a reference to the school's Southern Baptist roots and creed. So if you wish to work for the institution that graduated Mike Huckabee (and who wouldn't?), this position might be for you.