The history of The Ames Project

 Via Iowa Public Radio, a podcast about Harvey Wilhelm: 

You may be hearing more about the Manhattan Project because of Christopher Nolan’s new film Oppenheimer. What you may not have heard is Iowa State University's important connection to the Manhattan Project.

Author Teresa Wilhelm Waldof shares the work of her grandfather, Harley Wilhelm, an Iowa chemist who was based in Ames. Wilhelm's large contributions to producing pure uranium moved the Manhattan Project forward. His work also lead to the creation of the Ames Project and Ames National Laboratory. 

This tidbit from Professor Wilhelm's Wikipedia page is interesting (emphasis mine): 

 After graduation, Wilhelm joined the faculty of the Intermountain Union College in Helena, Montana, where he taught chemistry and coached the football team. His coaching efforts were unsuccessful, and he returned to Iowa State as a graduate assistant, becoming an instructor in chemistry in 1929. He earned his Ph.D. in 1931, writing his thesis on "Band spectra produced by certain explosion mixtures" under the supervision of W. H. Jennings. He then joined the Iowa State faculty, becoming an assistant professor in 1940, and associate professor in 1944, and ultimately a full professor in 1945. He continued to play baseball, pitching for Ames Merchant, a semi-professional team for many years.

According to this, he pitched into middle age. Can't imagine opposing batters were happy about being struck out by a professor.  

C&EN: Biogen plans to cut 1000 jobs by 2025

Via C&EN's Laura Howes: 

Biogen has announced a new plan it calls Fit for Growth, which will reduce its net operating expenses by about $700 million. Biogen plans to cut about 1,000 jobs—11% of its total—by 2025. In a press release, CEO Christopher A. Viehbacher describes the firm’s business as being “in transition.” Viehbacher joined the company to help it refocus after the failure of the Alzheimer’s disease drug Aduhelm.

I think I'm going to be watching for pharma and chemical manufacturer job cuts over the next 6-12 months to see if there are trends developing. That being said, this seems to be more specific to Biogen and the impacts of Aduhelm. 

Job posting: Research and Development Chemist, Chevron Oronite, Richmond, CA

Via C&EN Jobs: 

The Research and Development Chemist position is in the Chemistry Development and Fundamentals (CDF) team of Chevron Oronite Company, located at the Richmond Technology Center in California.   Oronite invents, manufactures, and sells performance-enhancing additives for lubricants and fuels, and the CDF team engages in developing next generation components and supporting fundamentals from concept to commercialization that will give Oronite, Chevron and its customers a competitive advantage in additive packages, finished lubricants and fuels.

Responsibilities for this position may include but are not limited to:

• Design and synthesis of new fuel and lubricants additives
• Develop fundamental understandings of structure-performance relationships for component performance and apply those learnings to improved component design.
• Perforn bench-scale performance testing which may include development of new methods/protocols to simulate lubrication phenomena.
• Follow processes which ensure that work is conducted in the safest and most environmentally sound manner
• Perform literature and patent searches in support of research; write comprehensive research reports; give oral presentations of work.
• Work collaboratively with other synthetic chemists, process development engineers, additive formulators, intellectual property and business functions to provide support in understanding and solving performance gaps.
• Develop and lead a research strategy to address customer performance and business needs.
• Ability to manage and work on multiple projects concurrently.
• Create intellectual property through invention disclosures, patent applications, and publications
• Provide work direction to one or more laboratory assistants and ensure safe, incident-free operations.

Required Qualifications:

• Completed PhD degree in Chemistry with experience in physical, organic or colloids chemistry; experience in small molecule synthesis preferred, or similar Master's degree with relevant research experience. 

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

Job posting: analytical chemist, McCrone Associates (Westmont, IL)

From the inbox: 

McCrone Associates, Inc., a Chicago-area analytical laboratory, seeks a highly motivated, detail oriented, organic or analytical chemist with experience in investigative, non-routine microanalysis and identification of complex mixtures. This position requires project management skills, the ability to clearly communicate scientific results to clients from a variety of industries, and to use a variety of modern chemistry and microanalysis techniques, such as light microscopy, FTIR, Raman, GC/MS, HPLC/LCMS, and/or DART Accu-TOF to analyze small particulates and help our clients solve their materials analysis and contamination problems.

Requirements

The ideal candidate will have a master’s or doctorate degree (or equivalent work experience) in analytical or organic chemistry or materials science with five or more years of relevant, hands-on laboratory experience in spectroscopy and/or chromatography for materials analysis and problem solving. An expertise in the interpretation of IR spectra for mixtures is highly desired. Excellent oral and written communications skills and strong software skills with instrument operation and Microsoft Office applications are essential. McCrone Associates fosters a collaborative environment to solve analytical problems so strong teamwork and leadership skills are essential to managing project flow and efficiency; however this position doesn't involve the direct management of personnel. Experience working in cGMP and ISO 17025 regulated laboratories is desired.

Summary

• This is a full-time in person analytical laboratory position in Westmont, Illinois. Hybrid and/or remote work arrangements are not available for this laboratory based position.
• The applicant selected must be a U.S. Citizen; will be subject to a pre-employment background check and must be eligible for a government security clearance. 

Full ad here. Best wishes to all interested. Interested? Contact Laura Kubalewski, SHRM-CP (Director of Human Resources), LKubalewski@mccrone.com  

C&EN: Dow has troubles in the second quarter

Via C&EN's Alex Tullo: 

Echoing preliminary results from a handful of European chemical companies, Dow, the largest US chemical producer, has reported declines in both sales and earnings for the second quarter.

“We continued to navigate a challenging macroeconomic environment, with slow global growth in the second quarter,” Dow CEO Jim Fitterling said on a July 25 conference call with stock analysts.

Dow’s sales for the quarter declined 27% from the same period last year, and adjusted earnings dropped 68%.

Sales volumes were weak, slipping 8%. The company’s regional division that includes Europe led the decline with a 14% volume decrease. Product selling prices declined 18% due to soft demand and lower energy costs.

Dow suffered weakness across the board. Its largest business, packaging and specialty plastics, saw sales decline by 28% as ethylene and polyethylene prices dropped and sales volumes for olefins and aromatics decreased.

Dow’s industrial intermediates and infrastructure segment, which houses its polyurethane and construction chemical businesses, saw a 27% drop in sales due to weak demand from consumer durable and construction markets. Its performance chemicals and coatings segment posted a similar decline.

It's funny how it feels like folks are talking about a "soft landing" for the economy, but the weakness is showing up in the basic chemicals sector. I have no idea whether or not we'll have a recession in the next 18 months, but this seems like a leading indicator of "maybe yes." 

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 52 research/teaching positions

 The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 52 research/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 July 26, 2022, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 66 research/teaching positions and one teaching-focused position.

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

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

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List: 11 positions

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List has 11 positions. Find an error or have a question? Find an error? Contact @Heatherlec620 or @G_sribala. 

This is the link to the open thread. 

NYT: Pfizer facility in NC hit by tornado, likely impact to US medical supplies

Also in the New York Times: 

A tornado caused extensive damage to a Pfizer drug manufacturing site in Rocky Mount, N.C., on Wednesday, threatening critical supplies for hospitals across the country.

The company estimated that one-fourth of the injectable medications it supplies to U.S. hospitals were made at the Rocky Mount property, including drugs used during surgeries and other procedures to help block pain, keep patients sedated and fight infections.

Though the company has yet to disclose the extent of the storm’s impact, video footage of the site and interviews with the Nash County sheriff and with people briefed on the damage indicated that the tornado caused the worst damage at the company’s warehouse.

On Thursday, Pfizer declined to comment on the drugs affected or the proportion of its supply destroyed in the tornado, which could be considerable given that a lot of these medications required careful production and handling to ensure sterility.

It sure seems serious, but I sense that it is too soon to tell what exactly the impact will be. You can be sure that the next warehouses Pfizer builds will be significantly more secure than this... 

NYT: Benjamin Franklin, money printer

Via the New York Times: 

Now, in a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of physicists has revealed new details about the composition of the ink and paper that Franklin used, raising questions about which of his innovations were intended as defenses against counterfeiting and which were simply experiments with new printing techniques.

The study draws on more than 600 artifacts held by the University of Notre Dame, said Khachatur Manukyan, a physicist at that institution and an author of the new paper. He and his colleagues looked at 18th-century American currency using Raman spectroscopy, which uses a laser beam to identify specific substances like silicon or lead based on their vibration. They also used a variety of microscopy techniques to examine the paper on which the money was printed.

Pretty interesting work; sounds like Franklin was experimenting with graphite, among other compounds.  

Have a great weekend

Well, this was a chill week. Next week, a little tougher. Hope you had a good week, and that you have a great weekend. See you on Monday! 

UT Dallas professor teaches the chemistry of barbecue

Here's a pretty fun article about a "smoking" professor: 

Outside Ten50 BBQ in Richardson, the smell of smoked meats hung in the air on a hot day in June. Dozens were lined up during the lunch hour to order heaping trays of smoked brisket, turkey, and pork before heading inside.

A few weeks ago, UT Dallas professor Jeremiah Gassensmith brought his students to Ten50 for a tasting for a class called the History and Science of Barbecue.

Gassensmith usually keeps himself busy with an impressive day job. He runs the Gassensmith Lab at the university, where his research focuses on how virus particles interact with organic and solid-state chemistry. One of his lab’s most recent research projects involves delivering vaccines through a puff of gas...

...Gassensmith says he was determined to “appropriate” the state’s barbecue culture when he got to Texas with his wife. He bought the cheapest smoker he could find, so cheap that he had to wrap it in thermal insulation to keep the heat inside. He took advantage of what he could and used it as a way to teach himself how to smoke meat.

Chemistry and barbecue have always gone hand-in-hand, Gassensmith says, but he didn’t fully appreciate the link until after he started smoking. Unlike cooking on a stovetop, which is essentially heating food on top of something hot, barbecue involves closely monitoring thermodynamics and reactions.

“It was advanced chemistry,” he says. “It was the sort of thing that makes sophomores really upset when they have to learn it.”

Read the whole thing - it's pretty interesting.  

Postdoctoral position: nanoparticle synthesis, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM

Via C&EN Jobs: 

Are you interested in collaborating with leaders in the field of nanoparticles synthesis and characterization? In this role, you will have the opportunity to research methods for controlling nanoparticle size, shape, and properties during wet chemical synthesis. In addition to traditional approaches to synthesis you may explore microfluidic synthesis, artificial intelligence guided synthesis, novel heating methods, and assembly of unique nanocomposite structures. You will have an opportunity to explore many classes of nanomaterials, but it is likely that magnetic and catalytic nanoparticles will be a focus. On any given day, you may be called on to:

• Develop new approaches to synthesize nanomaterials.
• Characterize the resultant structures using multiple techniques.
• Collaborate with a broad, interdisciplinary team at Sandia and around the world.
• Communicate results through high impact journals as well as through conference presentations.

Qualifications We Require:

• PhD, conferred within the past five years, in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, or a related discipline.
• Significant experience in the synthesis of nanomaterials.
• Record of technical achievement as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications.

Qualifications We Desire:

• Experience with nanoparticle characterization including: Electron microscopy (TEM, STEM, EDS), small angle X-ray scattering, light scattering, and X-ray diffraction.
• Experience with microfluidic systems.
• Experience measuring catalytic properties of nanomaterials.
• Experience measuring the magnetic properties of nanomaterials.

Full ad here. Best wishes to all interested. 

Reuters: Chinese embassy in Mexico rejects accusations of fentanyl precursor manufacture

Via Reuters: 

MEXICO CITY, July 18 (Reuters) - Precursor chemicals used by Mexican cartels to make the deadly opioid fentanyl do not come from China, its embassy in Mexico said on Tuesday, rejecting U.S. officials' accusations.

The embassy said in a statement that China had measures in place to prevent the trafficking of substances used to make illegal drugs, and added the U.S. was "blindly shirking its responsibilities" by not taking domestic action.

"The root of the fentanyl crisis in the United States is within itself," the embassy said.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has been seeking cooperation with both Mexico and China in stemming the flow of fentanyl, which has fueled a health crisis and a sharp rise in overdose deaths, as well as its precursor chemicals... 

A part of the (machine-translated) statement is below: 

2. The aforementioned control measures for fentanyl-like substances are unprecedented measures in China's drug control practices. They are a concrete demonstration of China's implementation of the concept of joint governance of the world drug problem, and have been fully recognized by the international community. After China listed the entire class of fentanyl substances, it has not received any notifications from other countries about the seizure of fentanyl-like substances from China.

3.  The responsibility to prevent the flow of unscheduled chemicals into drug production rests with the importing country.

4.  As is well known, the United States is a large producer of chemical raw materials in the world. However, while China has controlled the entire category of fentanyl substances as of May 1, 2019, the United States has yet to permanently schedule fentanyl-related substances. The United States is confusing right and wrong, blindly shirking its responsibilities and citing non-scheduled substances as a problem. This is extremely irresponsible behavior for the American people. The root of the fentanyl crisis in the United States is within itself, and reducing domestic supply and demand is the fundamental solution. What the United States must do is reflect on itself, strengthen domestic control of prescription drugs,

I can't help but relish the implication that fentanyl precursors are being made in the US (why else would you be noting that the US is a large producer of raw materials?) That's pretty silly as a distraction technique, but nevertheless a bold strategy. 

[Long time readers of the blog will know that I'm not exactly a supporter of the Chinese government. I sense that the Chinese chemical sector is so large and diverse that someone selling fentanyl prcursors would actually be kind of tough to track down on the supply end, but I have no idea. I am grimly amused at the Chinese government saying that the US is responsible for preventing the importing of illegal drugs, which, fair enough. More funding for the DEA, I guess.]

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 41 research/teaching positions

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 41 research/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 July 19, 2022, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 45 research/teaching positions and one teaching-focused position.

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

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

Job posting: assistant/associate professor of physical chemistry, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL

From the inbox (for Fall 2023): 

Alabama State University, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics invites applications for the position of Assistant/Associate Professor of Chemistry. This is a tenure track position. The successful candidate will teach undergraduate courses in physical chemistry and general chemistry, train students in specialized areas of research, and contribute to the overall success of the chemistry degree program and the department through academic citizenship, and community services as well as research endeavors.  

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Instruct, train and menor undergraduate student in physical chemistry
• Teach and develop courses relevant to department needs
• Contribute professionally to the growth, visability and competitive preparation of all graduates especially those in the program
• Establish research productivity and obtain extramural funding to sustain his/her investigations-based research agenda within expected times frames following appointment

Minimum Qualifications: An earned doctorate in Chemistry with a background in physical chemistry is required.

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

Job posting: Assistant Professor - Artificial Intelligence for Materials and Molecular Discovery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON

From the inbox: 

The Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure stream position in the area of artificial intelligence for materials and molecular discovery. The appointment will be at the rank of Assistant Professor, with an expected start date of July 1, 2024. 

Applicants are expected to have a PhD degree in chemical or materials engineering or in applied chemistry or a related area at the time of appointment or soon after, with a demonstrated record of excellence in research and teaching. We seek candidates whose research and teaching interests complement and enhance our existing departmental strengths. Areas of interest include the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in design of molecules, proteins, and enzyme discovery. 

The successful candidate will be expected to initiate and continuously lead an outstanding, independent, innovative, externally funded research program of international calibre, and teach in the chemical engineering curriculum at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. We will prioritize candidates who demonstrate the ability to sustain and lead innovative research that will advance the global frontiers of knowledge in the field, rather than only their specialization area. Collaborative and inter-disciplinary research and collegial interaction will be important elements in success. The candidate will also be reviewed by the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence for consideration of appointment as a Faculty Member or Faculty Affiliate. Eligibility to register as a Professional Engineer in Ontario is an asset.

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List: 11 positions

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List has 11 positions. Find an error or have a question? Find an error? Contact @Heatherlec620 or @G_sribala. 

This is the link to the open thread. 

RIP Albert Eschenmoser

Via the Twitter account for the chemistry department at ETH Zurich: 

In deepest grief, the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry at @ETH_DCHAB at @ETH_en announces that our friend and colleague, Prof. em. Albert Eschenmoser passed away peacefully, at the age of 97, on July 14, 2023. Albert #Eschenmoser shaped organic chemistry as did few others. 1/3

A brilliant mind gave rise to masterpieces of total synthesis – #Vitamin B12 as a particular landmark in the history of #chemistry – hand in hand w the development of synthetic methods, the unraveling of fundamental mechanistic problems in biosynthesis and organic chemistry. 2/3

His knowledge and interests extended outward from chemistry and the natural sciences to literature, music, and the arts. He was a towering figure in the global success story of @ETH_en and its Department of Chemistry & Applied Biosciences @ETH_DCHAB. He will be sorely missed. 3/3

Best wishes to his family and friends.  

 

C&EN: UK chemist, survivor of thallium poisoning tells story

In this week's Chemical and Engineering News, this remarkable story of a UK chemist (article by Andy Extance):

The first sign that something was wrong was numbness in his feet. Then things got rapidly and severely worse. It was August 2012, and soon, a chemistry PhD student in the UK would be fighting for his life. The cause eventually became clear: thallium.

On Friday, Aug. 17, that PhD student was a tall, muscular man in his 20s working in the chemistry laboratories at the University of Southampton. He was unaware that his life would soon change catastrophically. This article will refer to him by the pseudonym BM to protect his privacy.

After a full day at the lab, BM headed home. It was there he first noticed something amiss. The bottoms of his feet had started to go numb. Yet, as an outgoing man with many friends, including those he’d gained as a university-level athlete, he was in demand on a Friday night. So BM went out to a local pub. He mentioned the numbness to friends but thought little of it.

That night, BM slept badly. He woke on Saturday to numbness rising above his ankles. In the shower, he was disturbed to feel the numbness rising up his legs.

This is just the beginning of the story. Read the whole thing. Best wishes to BM and well done to Andy Extance for getting this story on the record. 

Explosion on Dow Chemical plant in Louisiana on Friday

Via the Plaquemine Post South: 

An investigation is underway into the cause of explosions and a fire late Friday at Dow Chemical Louisiana complex in Plaquemine that forced a shelter-in-place and halted traffic in the vicinity for several hours.

Several explosions occurred about 9:30 p.m. at the glycol unit. The explosions were felt for miles, and as far as Baton Rouge.

Flames from an explosion Friday, July 14 at the Dow Chemical Louisiana complex forced a lockdown and closure of La. 1 for several hours. No injuries were reported in the blaze. 

In a statement released Friday night, Dow Louisiana Operations said it was “working closely with local and state agencies to respond to the incident at our Louisiana Operations site. All personnel are safe and accounted for. Air monitoring has not detected hazardous materials in the air.”

While some reports listed six explosions, it was too early to determine exactly how many erupted, according to Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi said  on Sunday. 

Have a good weekend

It wasn't a stressful week, but it had its moments for sure. I hope that you had a good week, and that you have a great weekend planned in front of you. See you on Monday. 

C&EN: CSB publishes report on 2020 Optima Belle explosion

Via C&EN, this update on the Optima Belle explosion in West Virginia in 2021 (article by Jeff Johnson): 

The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has completed two more incident investigations, cutting the number of incomplete, outstanding reports to six, one of its lowest backlogs in years. Altogether, the board has issued a dozen reports over the past year.

The new two reports present the root causes of a 2020 explosion at the Optima Chemical facility in Belle, West Virginia, and a 2019 tank farm fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) facility in Deer Park, Texas.

The Optima explosion occurred during production of a sanitizing compound on behalf of the pool chemical firm Clearon. A dryer at the facility was removing water from the compound and exploded, resulting in the death of an employee, $33 million in property damage, and a shelter-in-place order for the nearby community.

The CSB found the cause to be a runaway chemical reaction and overpressurization of the dryer. Optima did not adequately understand the potential for, or detect and mitigate, the self-accelerating reaction, the board says. Also contributing to the incident was the fact that Clearon, Optima’s customer, did not transmit sufficient process safety information to Optima. Both companies also had ineffective process safety management systems, according to the report.

If you work in chemical manufacturing, I strongly urge you to read the report. It is terrifying to note that the entire organization had the signs that they were in trouble in front of them, but they did not see the signs until they were too late and someone died. Let us know we can learn from this example, and all others in the past. 

Job posting: postdoctoral fellow, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM

Via C&EN Jobs: 

Are you passionate about using computational methods to development new materials and understand relationships between atomic structure and materials performance? Our team is seeking a hardworking materials scientist with an interest in Atomistic Materials Modeling.

On any given day, you may be called on to:

• Plan, conduct, and analyze computer simulations of materials behavior at the atomistic scale to deduce materials structure, properties and performance
• Work in conjunction with experimentalists to devise novel atomistic simulation models, tools and techniques for creative solutions to materials science challenges
• Synthesize materials knowledge to propose and carry out research to understand material properties

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

Lanxess is talking about "Lehman II"?

Via Bloomberg News: 

Last week, German specialty chemical maker Lanxess AG warned recent declines in sales volumes were more severe than during the 2008/2009 recession. To bludgeon home his point, Chief Executive Officer Matthias Zachert added: “This feels like Lehman II.” Gulp.

Lanxess’s European and US chemical peers, plus a host of companies in other cyclical sectors, face similar problems as elevated customer inventories meet the most rapid interest rate hiking cycle in decades, as well as a stuttering Chinese economy.

Whether you call it the “Great Destocking,”  an “inventory recession,” or just a plain old recession, it looks increasingly like the materials and industrial world is either in, or heading for one – an impression reinforced by last week’s bleak US and European manufacturing purchasing managers’ data. 

I have no idea what the economy is going to do, but I feel like this bears watching, as the chemical industry often is a leading indicator of where the broader economy is going...  

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 24 research/teaching positions

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 24 research/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 July 12, 2022, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 36 research/teaching positions and one teaching-focused position.

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

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

Job posting: Assistant Professor - Artificial Intelligence for Materials and Molecular Discovery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON

From the inbox: 

The Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure stream position in the area of artificial intelligence for materials and molecular discovery. The appointment will be at the rank of Assistant Professor, with an expected start date of July 1, 2024. 

Applicants are expected to have a PhD degree in chemical or materials engineering or in applied chemistry or a related area at the time of appointment or soon after, with a demonstrated record of excellence in research and teaching. We seek candidates whose research and teaching interests complement and enhance our existing departmental strengths. Areas of interest include the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in design of molecules, proteins, and enzyme discovery. 

The successful candidate will be expected to initiate and continuously lead an outstanding, independent, innovative, externally funded research program of international calibre, and teach in the chemical engineering curriculum at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. We will prioritize candidates who demonstrate the ability to sustain and lead innovative research that will advance the global frontiers of knowledge in the field, rather than only their specialization area. Collaborative and inter-disciplinary research and collegial interaction will be important elements in success. The candidate will also be reviewed by the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence for consideration of appointment as a Faculty Member or Faculty Affiliate. Eligibility to register as a Professional Engineer in Ontario is an asset.

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List: 8 positions

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List has 8 positions. Find an error or have a question? Find an error? Contact @Heatherlec620 or @G_sribala. 

This is the link to the open thread. 

C&EN: ACC predicts US chemical production output will slow

Via this week's Chemical and Engineering News, this news (article by Michael McCoy) 

The performance of the US chemical industry is likely to disappoint over the next 2 years. Output will fall by 1.6% in 2023, followed by modest growth of 1.2% in 2024, according to a midyear outlook report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), a trade association.

The ACC’s midyear forecast is more pessimistic than the one late last year, when the council predicted that US chemical output would decline by 1.2% in 2023. Chemical output rose by 2.2% in 2022, the group says, driven by a rebound in spending on goods after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic-driven rebound has subsided, and we expect consumer spending to continue to slow,” Martha Moore, the ACC’s chief economist, says in a press releaseaccompanying the report. “Going into the second half of the year, there is tremendous uncertainty, and the risk of recession remains high.”

The ACC expects US gross domestic product growth, which was 2.1% last year, to slow to 1.3% in 2023 and 0.7% in 2024.

It feels like hiring has continued apace, and I haven't heard too many rumors about layoffs in either the chemical or pharmaceutical sectors. I suppose we'll need to watch the third quarter results fairly closely... 

Have a good weekend

A delightfully short week for me, which was pretty great. No complaints. Got some work done too, so that's not all bad either. Here's hoping you either had a restful or a productive week. Have a great weekend (I hope I survive mine) and see you on Monday. 

 

NYT: The end of the United States chemical weapons arsenal

Via the New York Times, this bit of science in the midst of an article about the destruction of America's old chemical weapons: 

...“We had to figure it out as we went,” said Walton Levi, a chemical engineer at the Pueblo depot, who started working in the field after college in 1987 and now plans to retire once the last round is destroyed.

At Pueblo, each shell is pierced by a robot arm, and the mustard agent inside is sucked out. The shell is washed and baked to destroy any remaining traces. The mustard agent is diluted in hot water, then broken down by bacteria in a process not unlike the one used in sewage treatment plants.

It yields a residue that is mostly ordinary table salt, Mr. Levi said, but is laced with heavy metals that require handling as hazardous waste.

“Bacteria are amazing,” Mr. Levi said as he watched shells being destroyed during the last day of operations at Pueblo. “Find the right ones, and they’ll eat just about anything.”

The process is similar at the Blue Grass depot. Liquid nerve agents drained from those warheads are mixed with water and caustic soda and then heated and stirred. The resultant liquid, called hydrolysate, is trucked to a facility outside Port Arthur, Tex., where it is incinerated....

Pretty cool stuff, take a look!  

What has the AI impact been on translation?

Via Matt Yglesias' blog Slow Boring, this piece by Timothy B. Lee on the translation employment market: 

...“We’ve been ‘in danger’ of being taken over by AI for 10 years now and it still hasn’t happened,” Eybert-Guillon said. “But we keep getting told that it’s going to happen.”

There are two big reasons AI hasn’t put many human translators out of work. First, human translators still do a better job in specialized fields like law and medicine. Translation errors in these fields can be very expensive, so clients are willing to pay extra for a human-quality translation.

Second, there has been rapid growth in hybrid translation services where a computer produces a first draft and a human translator checks it for errors. These hybrid services tend to be about 40% cheaper than a conventional human translation, and customers have taken advantage of that discount to translate more documents. Translators get paid less per word, but they’re able to translate more words per hour.

But while AI software has not put human translators out of work the way pessimists might have predicted, this isn’t an entirely positive story for translators either.

“I think rates for translators have stayed largely the same for 10 or 12 years,” said Mark Hemming, a translator in the United Kingdom. “I think it is harder to get work now. I think it's harder to get well-paid work as well.”

...Barbara Leon is a freelance translator in Spain. She focuses on translating legal documents like contracts, trusts, immigration records, and divorce agreements between English and Spanish. There’s a robust market for human translation of documents like this because errors can be expensive. Moreover, some of the documents Leon produces are submitted to courts or government agencies that require sign-off by an expert human translator.

To translate a legal document accurately, Leon doesn’t just need to be an expert in the English and Spanish languages. She also needs a deep understanding of legal systems on both sides of the Atlantic. 

I think this is broadly good news for employees, but I note that a decade-long trend of wage stagnation isn't exactly good news either. (I have had some personal experience with this in translating a Chinese patent. While the Google translation will get you most of the way there, it was a character-by-character search that allowed me to get the key detail that I was interested in.)

I broadly think that "human/AI hybrid" (i.e. humans working with/through AI output) will be how quite a bit of this stuff gets handled in the future, but I'm broadly not too concerned that this will have a major impact on the American chemistry employment market for the next 10 to 20 years. Hard to say, though - my crystal ball doesn't work so great sometimes...  

Large phosphate ore deposit discovered in Norway

Via Marginal Revolution, this good news: 

A massive underground deposit of high-grade phosphate rock in Norway, pitched as the world’s largest, is big enough to satisfy world demand for fertilisers, solar panels and electric car batteries over the next 100 years, according to the company exploiting the resource.

Phosphate rock is an essential element used in the production of phosphorous for the fertiliser industry and was included in the European Commission’s March proposal for a Critical Raw Materials Act.

The Norwegian deposit is estimated to be worth 70 billion tonnes at least, which is just under the 71 billion tonnes of proven world reserves as evaluated by the US Geological Survey in 2021. 

By far the largest phosphate rock deposits in the world – around 50 billion tonnes – are situated in the Western Sahara region of Morocco. The next biggest are located in China (3.2 billion tonnes), Egypt (2.8 billion tonnes), and Algeria (2.2bn tonnes), according to US estimates.

“Now, when you find something of that magnitude in Europe, which is larger than all the other sources we know – it is significant,” said Michael Wurmser, founder of Norge Mining, the company behind the discovery.

In an emailed statement to EURACTIV, the European Commission welcomed confirmation of the massive Norwegian deposit of phosphate rock.

“The discovery is indeed great news, which would contribute to the objectives of the Commission’s proposal on the Critical Raw Material Act,” said a spokesperson for the EU executive.

Maybe we won't have to go to Saturn after all? 

Independence Day

It's Independence Day in the United States, which is a national holiday. We'll see you tomorrow! 

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 17 research/teaching positions

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 17 research/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 July 5, 2022, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 26 research/teaching positions and one teaching-focused position.

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

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

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List: 5 positions

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List has 5 positions. Find an error or have a question? Find an error? Contact @Heatherlec620 or @G_sribala. 

This is the link to the open thread. 

300 seconds

Every July 2, I like to read this essay by Robert Bateman in Esquire about the 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment at Gettysburg: 

...General Hancock sees a single American regiment available. But, though it is a "regiment," this is in name only at this point. A "regiment," at the beginning of the war, would be roughly 1,000 men. Before Hancock stand 262 men in American blue. Coming towards them, little more than 250 yards away now, are two entire brigades of rebels. Most directly, half of that force -- probably about some 1,500 men from a rebel brigade -- were coming dead at them. Perhaps a thousand more, at least two entire additional regiments, were on-line with that main attack, though probably unseen by Hancock. But what does that matter? The odds were, already, beyond comprehension.

"My God! All these all the men we have here...What regiment is this?" Hancock yelled.

"First Minnesota," responded the colonel, a fellow named Colvill.

The two men remember what was said next slightly differently. Colvill recalls Hancock then said, "Charge those lines." Hancock remembered his order as, "Colonel, do you see those colors? (Pointing towards the multiple flags of the southern regiments in the two Confederate brigades.) Then take them!" I do not suppose it matters now which one remembered more accurately. The effect was the same...

Read the whole thing. I hope you enjoy, and appreciate their sacrifice.