Washington University (St. Louis) chemistry professor charged with fourth-degree assault for 2024 accusations

Via Student Life, the newspaper of Washington University, this news:

Associate Professor of Chemistry Jonathan Barnes was removed from teaching after multiple female students accused Barnes of inappropriate touching during private meetings with him in the fall of 2024. Anonymous allegations against Barnes were initially publicized in a post by MeToo WashU, an Instagram account raising awareness about sexual violence on campus.   

Over a year later, Barnes faces three class C misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree assault referred by the Washington University Police Department (WUPD) to the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. A trial date for the case has not yet been set, and the maximum sentences on each charge are 15 days in jail and a $750 fine. 

The filing describes the experiences of two anonymous female students in October 2024 who attended one-on-one office hours for the organic chemistry course he taught. Barnes’ alleged contact includes touching their shoulders and lower backs, as well as placing his hand and cell phone on the thigh of one student. 

These descriptions are similar to the experiences four female students recounted to Student Life in November of 2024.  

The charges were referred to the prosecutor’s office by Jeri Hokamp, a WUPD officer. Hokamp’s statement alleges that Barnes poses “danger” to the community and that WUPD believed at the time of the filing Barnes planned to move to Texas.

Barnes’ attorney, Christopher Combs, denied all misconduct allegations and alleged that one of Barnes’ complainants stated she did not believe a crime had occurred.  

The charges were filed in October 2025. The Student Life article was published on January 15, 2026. Read the whole article here.

Have a great weekend

I hope that you had a good week. I (think) I'm fully mentally back in the office, and getting ready to try to make an impact on the year (very corporate language.) I hope that you had a productive week and that the news isn't getting you too down. Have a great weekend and we'll see you on Monday. 

The Guardian: skepticism on analytical chemistry about microplastics

Via The Guardian, this fascinating article: 

...Studies claiming to have revealed micro and nanoplastics in the brain, testes, placentas, arteries and elsewhere were reported by media across the world, including the Guardian. There is no doubt that plastic pollution of the natural world is ubiquitous, and present in the food and drink we consume and the air we breathe. But the health damage potentially caused by microplastics and the chemicals they contain is unclear, and an explosion of research has taken off in this area in recent years.

However, micro- and nanoplastic particles are tiny and at the limit of today’s analytical techniques, especially in human tissue. There is no suggestion of malpractice, but researchers told the Guardian of their concern that the race to publish results, in some cases by groups with limited analytical expertise, has led to rushed results and routine scientific checks sometimes being overlooked.

...A key way of measuring the mass of MNPs in a sample is, perhaps counterintuitively, vaporising it, then capturing the fumes. But this method, dubbed Py-GC-MS, has come under particular criticism. “[It] is not currently a suitable technique for identifying polyethylene or PVC due to persistent interferences,” concluded a January 2025 study led by Dr Cassandra Rauert, an environmental chemist at the University of Queensland in Australia.

“I do think it is a problem in the entire field,” Rauert told the Guardian. “I think a lot of the concentrations [of MNPs] that are being reported are completely unrealistic.”

I encourage you to read the whole article and the linked discussions/papers, especially the LinkedIn discussion. 

I have been privately quite skeptical of microplastics studies, especially since they have been mostly (seemingly) reports of 'we saw something, and we think it is plastic.' Nevertheless, this is one of these places where there will be a great argument and hopefully we will have some better science that comes out of the debate. 

The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 366 research/teaching positions and 69 teaching positions

The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List has 366 research/teaching positions and 69 teaching positions. 

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

On January 14, 2025, the 2025 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 462 research/teaching positions and 77 teaching positions. On January 9, 2024, the 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 497 research/teaching positions and 69 teaching positions. To see long-term trending, go to Andrew Spaeth's visualization of previous years' list. 

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

Job posting: Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Carleton College, Northfield, MN

From the inbox:

The Chemistry Department at Carleton College is seeking applications for a Visiting Assistant Professor starting September 1, 2026. This is a full-time, one-year position with the possibility of renewal for a second year. The successful applicant will also be eligible to apply for support for undergraduate summer research students. The position will primarily involve teaching organic chemistry, as well as an additional introductory- or upper-level offering, depending on the candidate’s area of expertise. A completed Ph.D. in Chemistry is preferred, but applicants who have substantially completed their Ph.D. will be considered. The normal teaching load is one lecture and two laboratory sections per term, for each of the three 10-week terms comprising the academic year.

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List: 96 research/teaching positions and 19 teaching positions

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List (by Arvind Ganesan and Todd N. Whittaker) has 96 research/teaching positions and 19 teaching positions. 

Want to chat? Go to the open thread.  

Job posting: CMC director, Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, remote (see comments)

From the inbox: 

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR/ DIRECTOR OF CMC, DRUG SUBSTANCE DEVELOPMENT

Location Remote (USA); strong preference for co-location within the metropolitan New Jersey- New York City area.

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced professional to join our team as the Director/Associate Director of CMC, Drug Substance Development. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in driving the development and manufacturing of small molecule drug substances to support our diverse portfolio of pharmaceutical products. The successful candidate will be responsible for providing committed and accountable leadership to Gilgamesh management by delivering well-developed CMC solutions critical to advancing the company’s development pipeline. 

This position requires broad-based expertise to help create and implement stage-appropriate solutions for the manufacture of drug substance. Specific responsibilities include procurement, vendor management, synthesis design, process development, specification setting, and manufacture of non-clinical and clinical grade drug substances and related compounds. A working knowledge of drug product development is a plus.

The position will work closely with the Head of CMC, Project Management, Clinical Operations, Regulatory, and multiple key stakeholders reporting into various internal and external governance committees.

Full ad here. Must have PhD and 5-10+ years of experience. Interested? Send a cover letter/resume to info@gilgameshpharmaceutical.com. Best wishes to those interested.

The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 359 research/teaching positions and 65 teaching positions

The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List has 359 research/teaching positions and 65 teaching positions. 

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

On January 7, 2025, the 2025 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 459 research/teaching positions and 76 teaching positions. On January 2, 2024, the 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 491 research/teaching positions and 61 teaching positions. To see long-term trending, go to Andrew Spaeth's visualization of previous years' list. 

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Here's a 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: 96 research/teaching positions and 19 teaching positions

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List (by Arvind Ganesan and Todd N. Whittaker) has 96 research/teaching positions and 19 teaching positions. 

Want to chat? Go to the open thread.  

C&EN releases 2024 ACS Salary Survey - median salary for ACS members are $120,000/year

Via C&EN, this news (article by Delger Erdenesanaa and Seamus Murphy): 

The median salary for US chemists and chemical engineers who are members of the American Chemical Society rose by 9% to $120,000 in 2024, compared with $110,000 in 2023, according to the latest salary survey conducted by ACS. The ACS survey collected responses from 3,097 members between April 14 and June 2, 2025, regarding 2024 salaries. Chemists who responded to the survey had a median salary of $115,000 in 2024 compared with $109,000 in 2023, while chemical engineers who responded had a median salary of $155,000 in 2024 compared with nearly $144,000 in 2023.

The increase in the median salary for chemists seen in survey results for 2024 compared with 2023 is in line with inflation and cost-of-living increases, according to a spokesperson with the ACS research department.

That isn't always the case. Adjusted for inflation, the median salaries of doctorate and bachelor’s degree holders were about 6% and 9% higher, respectively, in 2024 compared with 1985. The median salary of master’s degree holders was about 1.9% lower in 2024 compared with 1985, when adjusting for inflation.

Most respondents work in academia or industry, and most have a doctoral degree. The median salaries from this survey were higher than the median salaries of $84,150 for chemists and $121,860 for chemical engineers reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2024.

ACS publishes C&EN, but C&EN remains editorially independent of ACS. C&EN does not play a role in designing the survey questions or conducting the survey. C&EN requested specific data from the ACS salary survey team, who analyzed the raw data.

Of the respondents who disclosed their demographic details, men continue to receive higher salaries than women and nonbinary people. Asian and White respondents had higher salaries than people of other races. Averaged across the whole dataset, median salaries were highest in New England and on the West Coast.

This data is pretty straightforward, and I would encourage you all to read it (especially if you haven't seen this data set before.) It's pretty much the same as years before, but I need to look at it more thoroughly some more. Nevertheless, read the whole thing.