Chemjobber

12 questions you don't want to be asked on an interview

2012-01-27T07:45:00.000-08:00

You're at the white board in a conference room or sitting at a nice restaurant at lunch and someone leans over the table and says:

So tell me about your experience with angry bosses.
Did you have experience working on the weekends in graduate school? Did you like it?
You're not one of those chemists that insists on proper PPE, are you?
You don't expect a W-2 at the end of the year, do you?
How would you feel about a part-time position in Bangalore?
Do you know how many other candidates there are for this position?
Are you in chemistry for the money? I'm not.
Do you think NMR is important for structure elucidation? How good are you at using IR for functional group identification?
Here's the complex natural product that my company is working on -- how would you synthesize it?
Do you prefer to be paid in drachmas or lira?
You know, 70's vintage analytical equipment is quite good. Do you have any experience repairing old televisions?
We have weekly naked group meetings -- got a problem with that?

Enjoy the weekend, folks.

How to talk about chemical safety

2012-01-27T07:22:00.000-08:00

What's the best way to talk to a peer about how they're performing a particular chemical operation and its safety components? What if they're doing something really unsafe?

I dunno, but here's one mostly ineffective way:

Hey! What you're doing there is REALLY unsafe. You're going to get yourself killed! And everyone around you, too! Are you some kind of idiot?

Here's another ineffective way:

What are you doing? [walks away]

Here's how I might approach someone doing something unsafe:

Hey, uh, have you thought about the safety concerns with this method of doing something? No? Let's go look up some best practices on how to do this.

I know that you're under pressure and trying to get this done -- I really appreciate that. But let's go find out if you could get hurt, eh?

That might be a little too diplomatic. It depends on the person you're talking, of course, and what approach you think might work the best. Readers, what do you prefer?

What's going on out there?

2012-01-27T07:08:00.000-08:00

Weekly unemployment claims (Credit: Calculated Risk)

It's really difficult to reduce something as big as the US and/or global economy into a few numbers, but let's try to see what's going on:

Initial weekly unemployment claims have been trending down for a while (at right).
The national unemployment rate is at 8.5%; it will be interesting to see the numbers for January (reported next Friday.)
The 4th quarter of 2011 saw 2.8% real GDP growth. That's weak for a recovery, but the best rate since the 2nd quarter of 2010.
2011 was a terrible year for new home sales because of distressed home sales (foreclosures, etc.) The Case-Shiller index is expected to show a 3.2% year-over-year drop in prices next week.
Paul Hodges says that crude oil inventories are up (good news)?

In related news, the Federal Open Market Committee intends to keep interest rates low:

In particular, the Committee decided today to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and currently anticipates that economic conditions--including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run--are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014.

Yay for borrowers, boo for savers.

Overall, the US economy appears to be muddling through. Trouble spots include oil prices, the European economy (and the continuing (resolving?) debt crisis) and the slowing Chinese economy. Let's hope employment for chemists starts on a positive trend, eh?

Man, I hope this isn't how they hire chemists in pharma

2012-01-26T07:33:00.000-08:00

Credit: Wall Street Journal

You get to peek behind the curtain of job application software in the Wall Street Journal's article "Your Résumé Versus Oblivion" -- it ain't pretty:

Many job seekers have long suspected their online employment applications disappear into a black hole, never to be seen again. Their fears may not be far off the mark, as more companies rely on technology to winnow out less-qualified candidates... Recruiters and hiring managers are overwhelmed by the volume of résumés pouring in, thanks to the weak job market and new tools that let applicants apply for a job with as little as one mouse click. ...Most recruiters report that at least 50% of job hunters don't possess the basic qualifications for the jobs they are pursuing.

The screening systems are one way companies are seeking to cut the costs of hiring a new employee, which now averages $3,479, according to human-resources consulting firm Bersin & Associates. Big companies, many of which cut their human-resources staffs during the recession, now spend about 7% of their external recruitment budgets on applicant-tracking systems, the firm says.

I'm not especially surprised by their comments about small companies, but it is interesting to hear some unscientific numbers:

Résumé overload isn't just a big-company problem. Job seekers often are surprised when they don't hear back from small businesses. These businesses rarely hire enough people to make an applicant-tracking system cost-effective, but even a one-time posting on a well-trafficked job board like Monster.com can garner hundreds of responses. Only 19% of hiring managers at small companies look at a majority of the résumés they receive, and 47% say they review just a few, according to a recent survey by Information Strategies Inc., publisher of Your HR Digest, an online newsletter.

Having survived feeling my résumé into a large-company database in the recent past and actually receiving a phone call (that ultimately resulted in a offer!), I have to say that (like the first paragraph), it was my assumption that there was some sort of black hole involved. The request that resumes be in "Word document format" was yet more evidence that computers were involved.

I once spoke to a man who was hired by a major government contractor (and employer of physical scientists) in Utah. He told me the best way to deal with the software was to copy the job description and its keywords and paste it into the top portion of my résumé. I see this is in the article's advice:

Forget about being creative. Instead, mimic the keywords in the job description as closely as possible. If you're applying to be a sales manager, make sure your résumé includes the words "sales" and "manage" (assuming you've done both!).

Good heavens. I, for one, quail at our new screening overlords.

Daily Pump Trap: 1/26/12 edition

2012-01-26T06:54:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between January 24 and January 25, there were 19 new positions posted. Of them, 7 (37%) were academically connected and will be covered by Tuesday's Ivory Filter Flask. Two positions were from Kelly Scientific Resources.

Zeroes!: The good folks at BASF (Iselin, NJ) are hiring an associate engineer for a position running an automotive catalytic reactor. No experience needed, salary "very competitive." Also, a B.S./M.S./Ph.D. chemist/chemical engineer position (in the same laboratory)?. Maximum 8+ years experience needed, descending for higher degrees.

San Francisco, CA: MAP Pharmaceuticals is working in the neurology area. They're looking for a Ph.D. analytical chemist to work on assays and drug formulation, it appears. 2 openings available.

Birmingham, AL: Once again, Southern Research Institute is looking for a Ph.D. chemist for a "senior scientist" position where they'll perform drug discovery. With the comment that they're looking for someone who has attracted outside support in the past, why don't they just call this an "assistant professor" or a "principal investigator" position and be done with it?

Eugene, OR: Life Technologies is looking for a B.S./M.S. chemist for a process chemistry position in their production department.

A broader look: Monster, Careerbuilder, Indeed and USAjobs.gov show (respectively) 244, 699, 2,952 and 48 positions for the search term "chemist."

A poem, by Kelly Scientific Resources

2012-01-25T07:35:00.000-08:00

[throat clearing] From the pages of ACS Careers, a poem by Kelly Scientific Resources:

the employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions

fumes or airborne particles

while performing the duties of this job

Process Wednesday: retreat curve agitators

2012-01-25T07:23:00.000-08:00

Retreat curve agitator (Credit: Southern Glass)

I don't know what you think of when you imagine the agitator in a large-scale reactor, but I think I always imagined something that looked like a boat propeller. So it's come as a surprise to me to become familiar with the graceful lines of the retreat curve impeller that comes with a glass-lined reactor.

For a little tutorial on the retreat curve impeller, I refer us to "Understand Flow Patterns in Glass-Lined Reactors", an article by Dickey et al. in the November 2004 issue of Chemical Engineering Professional:

Glass-lined reactors are essential process equipment in the pharmaceutical and speciality chemicals industries. A typical glass-lined reactor included a retreat curve impeller (RCI) near the bottom of the vessel and usually a single baffle mounted through a nozzle in the vessel head. The RCI with rounded blade corners may limit harmful turbulence effects while maintaining circulation throughout the vessel. Glass lining (the term "lining" is used to refer to the glass coating on the agitator and the inside of the tank) provides corrosion resistance, is easy to clean, and eliminates product contamination.

The retreat curve of the RCI blades provids better radial flow than radial flow impellers with similar power characteristics. The impeller is placed near the bottom of the vessel to maximize the allowable range of liquid levels and to produce circulation from the bottom to the top of the vessel. The baffle (occasionally two baffles) is mounted from a nozzle in the top head because mounting to the side of a glass-lined vessel is difficult. The impeller and baffle always have a rounded cross-section without sharp corners because high stresses in the glass can cause the brittle coating to fail.

There's a lot in those paragraphs that I don't really understand (radial flow? turbulence effects are harmful?), but it's interesting to me nonetheless.

In other #SheriSangji news, CalOSHA's report is released

2012-01-24T08:22:00.000-08:00

Over at The Pump Handle, they have a copy of CalOSHA's senior investigator's report on the Sheri Sangji case. It's quite a doozy, with pointed questions up and down UCLA's EH&S chain.

The investigator, Brian Baudendistel, gets to ask questions of everyone in the case, including Sheri Sangji's labmates. Here's the LA Times' story on the report. ScienceCareers also has a contribution. More on this report later.

Readers speak on potential prison time for Professor Harran

2012-01-24T08:09:00.000-08:00

Last week, I asked if anyone thought that Professor Patrick Harran should go to prison. As I've said before, the felony charges are likely to be an opening gambit between the prosecutor and the defense. No one expects that he will serve the maximum prison time (4.5 years), which is the harshest punishment available to the state in this case.

That said, I was curious to know if there was anyone who thought that he should go to prison, other than to teach all chemistry PIs a lesson (an option, I note, that I find unjust. Patrick Harran should not go to prison for the sins of all academic chemistry.) I did receive two responses from people who thought that he deserves prison time. The first response by VT:

Harran deserves some prison time.

Lots of people sell pot. Only some get caught. Those who are caught get punished. I think someone in one of your comments section compared it to drunk driving. I think that this analogy is actually the best. You can drive drunk. You may or may not get caught. If you do get caught, you are going to be busted. If you get caught after having an accident which kills someone, you will be charged with involuntary manslaughter. And, unless your lawyers are good/your pleas for mercy are stellar/your judge is understanding, you are doing jail-time.

Harran was unsafe. He got caught. He got caught when there was an accident that killed a student. The question here is severity of the punishment. Harran did not kill his student (as in the DUI analogy). But he was responsible for her safety. I think he gets time. 3-6 months.

I don't see how he gets out of jail-time for this. Especially considering that his jury of peers will most likely not include any scientists.

It is my opinion that, if Harran serves time, he deserves to go back to his current job at UCLA.

The second contribution is from KO (one notes that Sangji was an employee, not a student -- the concept of personal responsibility still holds, in my opinion):

I do believe that Professor Patrick Harran deserves jail time.

This opinion is based off the structure and nature of the student/PI (principal investigator) relationship. A graduate student is not considered a full time employee of the University. Therefore, not subject to the oversight of OSHA or other federal regulatory offices and this is therefore a direct liability. In the case of industry, individual employers are generally protected from personal liability due to the nature of corporate law. Since the university cannot claim the student as a full time employee, they accept full liability for said student. And the person in charge of the student's training and direct oversight is the PI. It reasons that the personal liability rests on the PI shoulders and the University takes liability for the system ensuring compliance and safety. In this case both are at fault. However, since you cannot arrest a university, the university should be held financally responsible and the PI held personally responsible for the safety and well being of the students. Since the PI is not running a corporation or even an LLC then the PI is not protected and hence fully liable.

After reading all the comments, I think there are 3 or 4 general strains of thought about why Professor Harran deserves prison time:

Harran going to prison will encourage chemistry PIs to change their ways.
Professor Harran's the PI, he's the captain of the ship, someone died on his watch, he deserves punishment.
He was being unsafe, he got caught, he's subject to the letter of the law.
If this happened in a meatpacking plant and Harran was the supervisor, he'd be facing charges and prison time. Why is it different if it happened at a laboratory?

Finally, I want to highlight this comment from Anon011720120457p:

I think his tenure should be revoked. As for community service, if he gets probation and no jail time: volunteer work in a rehab hospital that treats burn patients. That will bring home the seriousness of his negligence in supervising Sangji.

This to me seems to be a punishment that's probably closest to what will actually happen.

Readers, what do you think?

Daily Pump Trap: 1/24/12 edition

2012-01-24T07:20:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between January 19 and January 23, there were 52 new positions posted on the ACS Careers database. Of these, 13 (25%) were academically connected and 33 (63%) were from Kelly Scientific Resources.

Argh: Do you know what's annoying? Clicking on a Kelly Scientific position and being told it's not active at this time, again and again and again.

Palo Alto, CA: Genencor is searching for 2 B.S./M.S. chemistry positions, both biochemistry/analytically-oriented.

Daeduck, South Korea: SK Pharmaceuticals is looking for a M.S./Ph.D. chemist for pharmaceutical process chemistry research.

Cambridge, MA: Have a degree in petroleum thermodynamics and interfacial science? Schlumberger-Doll's CO2 mitigation department has a position for you.

You again: Sapling Learning is once again searching for a M.S./Ph,D. teacher of organic chemistry to work at its Austin, TX based headquarters for teaching and test writing.

Ivory Filter Flask: 1/24/12 edition

2012-01-24T07:10:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between January 17 and January 23, there were 19 new academically-connected positions posted on the ACS Careers website. Let's do the numbers:

Total number of ads: 19
- Postdocs: 2
- Tenure-track faculty: 11
- Temporary faculty: 2
- Lecturer positions: 3
- Staff positions: 1
- Ratio of US/non-US positions: 17/2

Lindsborg, KS: Bethany College is a private 4 year school -- they're searching for a tenure-track professor of organic chemistry. Ph.D. desired, ABD acceptable. Very close to the geographical center of the United States!

The Yankees Win. Thhhhaaaaa Yankees Win: (Sorry, had to indulge.) Yeshiva University (NYC) is looking for a tenure-track professor of chemistry; no subfield specified.

Durham, NC: Duke University is searching for a postdoc with skills in protein-polymer conjugate synthesis.

Madison, WI: UW-Madison desires a Ph.D. chemist for an undergraduate chemistry coordinator position; this position has the biggest grab bag of descriptors ever. Caveat emptor. 5 years experience!?!?

Philadelphia, PA: Temple desires a lecturer in organic chemistry.

I got a gal: Kalamazoo College is searching for a visiting assistant professor in organic and general chemistry.

No Foxconn City in the US? Not because we don't have enough "engineers"

2012-01-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

(Via @NCharles -- thanks!) In the New York Times, a fascinating look at why the US doesn't have a facility making the iPhone:

Apple executives say that going overseas, at this point, is their only option. One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.

A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day.

“The speed and flexibility is breathtaking,” the executive said. “There’s no American plant that can match that.”

But the authors, Charles Duhigg and Keith Bradsher, begin to make mistakes when they start talking about the difficulties of hiring engineers in the US:

Another critical advantage for Apple was that China provided engineers at a scale the United States could not match. Apple’s executives had estimated that about 8,700 industrial engineers were needed to oversee and guide the 200,000 assembly-line workers eventually involved in manufacturing iPhones. The company’s analysts had forecast it would take as long as nine months to find that many qualified engineers in the United States.

In China, it took 15 days.

Companies like Apple “say the challenge in setting up U.S. plants is finding a technical work force,” said Martin Schmidt, associate provost at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In particular, companies say they need engineers with more than high school, but not necessarily a bachelor’s degree. (emphasis CJ's) Americans at that skill level are hard to find, executives contend. “They’re good jobs, but the country doesn’t have enough to feed the demand,” Mr. Schmidt said.

I find this a very frustrating conversation to attempt to have with the mainstream press, who apparently don't have enough experience in technical fields or with technical people to understand what's going on here.

What is an engineer? To me, an engineer is someone who's graduated with a degree in engineering from an accredited university and then, if required, takes the needed licensing examinations to gain a professional engineer's license. But, of course, being the son of an engineer, I'd say that.

What companies want (and what they can find in China in spades, I gather) are experienced engineering technicians and/or supervisors. Someone who used to work on the line, and worked their way through their organization and are willing to relocate and/or work for a new employer. Basically, they're looking for people that in the US military would be called non-commissioned officers or senior enlisted types (corporals, sergeants, etc.) We don't have enough people at that level of experience in the US who can relocate at a moment's notice (or be willing to live in dorms, or work 12 hour shifts, 6 days a week, or whatever relatively harsh conditions are going on at Foxconn City.) But they're not engineers, and Bradsher and Duhigg are fooling people who are going to be making these assertions at their Georgetown cocktail parties. "Pity, Charles, the US doesn't have enough engineers. We ought to make more of them."

(Even then, there are plenty of people who are willing to work at the crazy-go-nuts pace and conditions that an Amazon warehousing/shipping facility performs at. Are they skilled mathematical technicians? No, probably not. That might be an issue.)

Needless to say, consumer electronics assembly is something that the US has lost for the near and medium term. Obviously, that's undesirable, but that's the truth of it. I hope we are wise enough not to lose any more industries overseas.

Best wishes to all of us.

Destination Europe?

2012-01-23T07:17:00.000-08:00

From this weeks' C&EN, an article by Linda Wang on stories of American chemists in Europe:

Rather than cutting workers, chemical companies in Germany have turned to less aggressive cost cutting methods, Koch says. BASF in Ludwigshafen, for example, avoided layoffs by cutting back on overtime and transferring personnel to other locations, says Sarah Ulmschneider-Renner, head of talent resourcing at BASF. The company has begun expanding its workforce again, she says, with a focus on attracting applicants from around the world. “We are increasing our efforts in [human resources] marketing and worldwide job-posting strategies,” she says. “As a result, we are already seeing a significant increase in applications for our R&D positions from abroad, including the U.S.”

Polymer chemist Jordan Kopping is among those who moved from the U.S. to Germany to work for BASF. He began working as a research scientist in Ludwigshafen a year ago. Before crossing the Atlantic, Kopping earned a Ph.D. in polymer and organic chemistry from the University of California, Davis, in 2006 and completed a postdoc at UCLA in 2007. In 2010, after teaching at a community college and working at a biopharmaceutical company, both in California, he started applying for positions in Germany. “I had nothing at the time tying me to the U.S., and I’ve always had the idea to try something international,” Kopping says. He chose Germany because of its strong economy and because of his interest in the language and culture.

While job searching, Kopping enrolled in an intensive eight-month course to learn German. “One of the things I highlighted on my résumé was that I was committed to learning the language,” he says. That dedication demonstrated, he says, that he “would fit well into the culture and also into the way of life.” Language skills are not everything, of course. BASF is looking for Ph.D. scientists who have done research in state-of-the-art chemistry, says Ulmschneider-Renner. In addition, she says, chemists should include extracurricular activities in their curriculum vitae. “This information is often neglected, but we consider it extremely useful in forming an initial impression.”

Koch invites American Chemical Society members who are looking for positions in Germany to get in touch with GDCh’s career services office. “We will try to help,” he says. But he also warns that applicants should be top-notch in their field. “If you’re not good enough to find a job in the U.S., you won’t find one here in Germany, either.”

I don't really think of working in Europe as a solution to American chemists' unemployment problems -- that said, it is a viable adventure for those willing to invest in the needed language skills.

Are you a moody chemist?

2012-01-20T08:21:00.000-08:00

I wish I could be as impassive
as Larry Bird in reacting to bad news.
Credit: ESPN

If your chemistry is going well, does your mood improve? If your research is going poorly, does it depress you? I confess to being a somewhat moody chemist in graduate school; walls were definitely punched and doors were definitely kicked.

More recently, I've really, really tried not to let success or failure in the laboratory dictate my mood. I know that the highs couldn't possibly last forever and I know (I believe? I hope?) that the lows won't either. Nevertheless, it seems every chemist has blue periods.

Readers, how do you deal with the highs and lows of research?

Observations on the odds of becoming a tenure-track professor

2012-01-20T06:57:00.000-08:00

The odds of surviving 'Hell Week' during the Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL training? About 33%.

Classes typically lose around 70–80% of their trainees, either due to DORs (drop on request) or injuries sustained during training, but it is not always easy to predict which of the trainees will DOR during BUD/S. Winter class drop out rates are usually higher due to the cold. SEAL instructors say that in every class, approximately 10 percent of the students simply do not have the physical ability to complete the training. Another 10–15 percent will definitely make it through unless they sustain a serious physical injury. The other 75–80 percent is 'up for grabs' depending on their motivation. There has been at least one BUD/S class where no one has completed the program. Most trainees are eliminated prior to completion of Hell Week, but trainees will continue to DOR in the second phase or be forced to leave because of injuries, or failing either the diving tests or the timed runs and swims.

Pen y Fan -- looks a little harder than a candidacy exam, maybe.
Credit: Wikipedia

Odds of surviving from the Special Air Service's (the UK's most prominent special operations unit) hill phase selection? About 15-20%.

On arrival candidates first complete a Personal Fitness Test (PFT) and a Combat Fitness Test (CFT).[nb 5] They then march cross country against the clock, increasing the distances covered each day, culminating in what is known as the Fan dance: a 14 miles (23 km) march with full equipment scaling and descending Pen y Fan in four hours. (at right)[73] By the end of the hill phase candidates must be able to run 4 miles in 30 minutes and swim two miles in 90 minutes.[73] ...Typically, 15–20% of candidates make it through the hill phase selection process.

Odds of getting a tenure track assistant professor position at a US university? From folks on Twitter (btw, these are mostly non-chemists talking:

@labroides: more news on the Irvine position, "only" 185 applicants, 5 selected for short list.
@sciencegurlz0: That is similar to the UT-Arlington jobs that I applied for. Both had approx 150 applicants. :(
@fianros: That's better than the 600 applicants for TT chem/biochem positions past couple years.

Now I'm being tricky here, in that there's wild selection bias in special operations selection. Militaries will usually pre-announce their minimum physical standards (and pre-screen their candidates) to ensure that they're not wasting their time with the total number of applicants. Universities requesting applicants for tenure track positions, of course, seem to advertise for anyone with a pulse and a Ph.D.

It is my opinion that the classic "short list" of the 5 or 6 interviewees should be really called a "really short list", with the true "short list" being the various applicants that actually have a real shot at the professor position to begin with. It's my guess that the maximum number of people that a search committee can seriously consider hiring (i.e. applicants given more than a cursory glance) is probably in the 40 to 50 candidate range.

In some sense, applying for a tenure-track position is probably more like running for office or winning a golf tournament than passing an arduous test of physical ability and mental toughness. In the end, there can only be one -- and that makes things much more daunting for the applicant.

Interesting natural products extraction tidbit in NYT

2012-01-19T09:23:00.000-08:00

Via a link from Bethany Halford, the fascinating story of artemsinin in China in the New York Times:

The Chinese drug artemisinin has been hailed as one of the greatest advances in fighting malaria, the scourge of the tropics, since the discovery of quinine centuries ago. ...But few people realize that in one of the paradoxes of history, the drug was discovered thanks to Mao Zedong, who was acting to help the North Vietnamese in their jungle war against the Americans. Or that it languished for 30 years thanks to China’s isolation and the indifference of Western donors, health agencies and drug companies.

Now that story is coming out. But as happens so often in science, versions vary, and multiple contributors are fighting over the laurels. That became particularly clear in September, when one of the Lasker Awards — sometimes called the “American Nobels” — went to a single one of the hundreds of Chinese scientists once engaged in the development of the drug.

It's worth reading the whole thing, but here's an interesting tidbit from the awarded natural products scientist:

In September, the $250,000 Lasker Award for clinical medical research was given to Dr. Tu Youyou, former chief of the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica in Beijing. The Lasker committee named her “the discoverer of artemisinin.” ...In an interview before the ceremony, Dr. Tu, 81, argued that she deserved it because her team had been the first to isolate qinghao’s active ingredient while other teams worked on the wrong plants.

Also, after rereading a manuscript by Ge Hong, a fourth-century healer, prescribing qinghao steeped in cold water for fever, she realized that boiling, the typical extraction method, was destroying the active ingredient. She switched to ether (emphasis CJ's) and qinghao became the first plant extract 100 percent effective at killing malaria in mice.

One would love to know who actually suggested organic extraction of the plant matter. The boss always gets the credit -- sigh.

Daily Pump Trap: 1/19/12 edition

2012-01-19T08:53:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between January 17 and January 18, there were 15 new positions posted on the ACS Careers blog. Of these, 6 (40%) are academically connected and will be covered on Tuesday's Ivory Filter Flask.

Round Rock, TX: Mocon is a company working on the analytical chemistry of odors; they're looking for a B.S. chemist with 2+ years of lab experience. Aroma detection experience desired. (Yeah, right, dude.)

Baltimore, MD: The Lieber Insitute for Brain Development is hiring for 2 positions: a B.S./M.S. experienced medicinal chemist and a 5+ years experienced analytical chemist for a drug metabolism position.

Arden Hills, MN: Land O' Lakes (yes, the butter people) wish to hire a M.S. chemist to be an analytical lab supervisor. Food products analysis is desired.

Martinez, CA: Tesoro Refining wishes to hire an analytical chemist for a petroleum analysis laboratory; 5+ years experience desired, as well as specialization in LIMS.

Philadelphia, PA: Avid Radiopharmaceuticals is looking for 2 positions: a B.S./M.S. synthetic chemist (5+/3+ years experience, respectively) and a Ph.D. synthetic chemist position, for which they're asking for 2+ years experience with radiopharmaceuticals. PET postdocs -- here's your chance!

Don't steal your company's IP!

2012-01-18T07:37:00.000-08:00

With the SOPA/PIPA blackout at Wikipedia today, it's appropriate that we're covering yet another dumb IP theft case by an organic chemist. From Ed Silverman at Pharmalot:

Yuan Li began was hired as a medicinal chemist for Sanofi nearly six years ago. During that time, she worked on countless compounds and signed all the usual paperwork in which she acknowledged there were no conflicts of interest and that the intellectual property belonged to the drugmaker. But last year, Sanofi learned otherwise.

In May 2011, a little-known company called Abby Pharmatech began advertising chemical compounds on its web site and by the following month, Sanofi had identified more than 6,000 propriety chemical structures on an online database called SciFinder that were registered to Abby Pharmatech.

MICE wins again! She pled guilty to trade secret theft -- she's facing $250,000 in fines and possibly 10 years in prison.

You have to love what her attorney had to say about the matter, (via the Star-Ledger):

Her attorney, Paul Brickfield, said the compounds his client had listed for sale on the Abby website were not actually bought by anyone. He did note that since Li had posted the chemical structure of the Sanofi compounds, the information could have been used by others to develop competing compounds or eventually drugs. "She’s a young lady and she made a terrible error," he added.

There's an obvious lesson here: don't steal your company's IP. Even if you think they're not going to use it, even if you think you're not going to get caught, it's wrong -- and they will come down on you eventually. At best, you'll lose your job. At worst, you'll be caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck driven by merciless federal prosecutors.

Process Wednesday: non-green solvents

2012-01-18T07:08:00.000-08:00

Credit: Laird, T. Org. Process Res. Dev.,
Dunn, P.J. Pharmaceutical Process Development

In a recent editorial, Trevor Laird reiterated Organic Process Research and Development's stance on "undesirable solvents":

...From 2012 the policy on use of organic solvents has been changed to discourage scientists from using particular solvents and to encourage them to seek alternatives wherever possible; papers containing strongly undesirable solvents (e.g., benzene, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, HMPA, carbon disulfide, etc.) will only be considered if accompanied by an analysis of alternatives or if a convincing justification for such use is presented.

The editors encourage all authors to consider these issues before submitting their papers to OPRD, and we warn that authors risk having papers rejected unless environmental impact and green chemistry principles are considered. (emphasis Laird's)

He also provides a helpful table. Finally, he throws darts (legitimately!) at ethyl acetate:

The only quibble I have is that I prefer isopropyl acetate to ethyl acetate as an extraction solvent since the relatively high solubility of EtOAc in water (and water in EtOAc) means that the aqueous waste is contaminated with more organic material, thus making it harder to dispose of and also product could be lost in the aqueous layer!

I'm vaguely surprised to see DMF and NMP on the list -- what's non-green about them?

UPDATE: Chemblogosphere pioneer milkshake has some recommended alternative solvents.

Does anyone think Professor Harran should go to jail?

2012-01-17T07:46:00.000-08:00

Many people mistake Rudy Baum for the "voice of chemistry" -- picture the anger of readers in Chemical and Engineering News' mailbox whenever he inveighs on the perils of climate change. However, he does have a prominent position in chemistry as the editor-in-chief of C&EN. I certainly pay attention when he has this to say about the #SheriSangji case:

Many of the comments on the blogs and other news stories have shown no such restraint. Among the worst are those that suggest that, at 23 and with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, Sangji was an experienced chemist who should have known better; that her death was, in fact, her own fault; and that UC and Harran are guilty of nothing at all. “Sheri was a big girl, an educated adult responsible for her own actions who did not need to be babysat in the chemistry lab,” one commenter wrote. Others maintain, essentially, that making an example of UC and Harran by throwing the book at them is the only way that the lax attitude toward safety in too many academic labs will be corrected.

Neither of these extreme positions seems appropriate to me. That UC and Harran should face no sanctions given the facts that are known is unacceptable. As Kemsley said to me in a conversation about the case, the only people who think of a 23-year-old as experienced are 21- and 22-year-olds. Sangji was clearly unprepared to conduct the experiment that killed her. Other people in Harran’s lab who were there at the time of the accident were just as ignorant of basic safety procedures.

That said, sending Harran to prison for what are all-too-common safety lapses in academic labs would be overly harsh and almost certainly counterproductive. We need to change the safety culture in academic labs, not shut them down. If Harran is found guilty of the charges against him, a hefty dose of community service—maybe teaching lab courses and lab safety in Los Angeles high schools—would be a much more appropriate penalty to impose on him.

Here's my question: does anyone think that Professor Patrick Harran deserves to go to prison? Rudy doesn't. Paul doesn't. (I know that's the gamut of opinion in the chemblogosphere from A to G.) I haven't found anyone who think that Harran actually deserves to go to prison; those commenters that do advocate for it seem to do so pour encourager les autres, i.e. chemistry PIs. That's not just, nor is it going to happen.

I think Harran going to prison is wildly unlikely and probably counterproductive. If Patrick Harran deserves to go to prison for the conditions in his laboratory, there are a lot of PIs in this country that are going to spend time in the slammer. That said, I'm willing to entertain reasons as to why he might deserve the harshest sanction possible.*

I'm inviting readers and commenters to make a rational case as to why Professor Harran deserves prison time. If you don't want to wrestle with the comment box, you can always e-mail me at chemjobber -at- gmail/dot/com. Commenters that are selected by me and/or by popular acclaim will be given a prominent spot on the blog -- probably next Tuesday's headliner for the day. (And if there are no cases for the prosecution (actually the sentencing phase), I'll do it myself.)

*I'm also willing to confess that all of this might be my possible prejudice that "professors who make serious and irresponsible mistakes are too nice and of the wrong socio-economic status to go to prison." But I have fairly serious policy (Kleiman-esque, if anyone cares) views on prisons, especially California ones.

Daily Pump Trap: 1/17/11 edition

2012-01-17T07:22:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between January 12 and January 16, 20 new positions have been posted on the ACS Careers website. Of these, 11 are academically connected and are covered in today's Ivory Filter Flask.

Zeroes!: MPR Services is in the water treatment and refinery business. They're looking for a Ph.D. analytical chemist with 0 to 15 years of experience. Given the salary range (76-90k), they're probably looking for the lower range of experience. Starts in Dickinson, TX and there will be a relocation to Phoenix.

Packaging!: Printpack (a company specializing in rigid packaging) is looking for a M.S. chemist with experience in polymers for an analytical chemist position. Experience in instrumentation and analytical method development helpful.

Carbon!: MeadWestVaco is searching for a Ph.D. chemical engineer to work on their activated carbon filtration products.

Allison Park, PA: A confidential employer is searching for a B.S. chemist for a position as an environmental analyst.

Ivory Filter Flask: 1/1/7/12 edition

2012-01-17T07:12:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between January 10 and January 16, 15 academic positions were posted on the ACS Careers website. Let's do the numbers:

Total number of ads: 15
- Postdocs: 6+
- Tenure-track faculty: 8+
- Temporary faculty: 1
- Lecturer positions: 1
- Staff positions: 0
- Ratio of US/non-US positions: 11/4+

Niiice!: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is advertising the Springborn Postdoctoral Fellowship, which comes with a $45,000 salary for 2 years. Let me tell you -- that is enough to live like proverbial royalty in Urbana, IL. Just think -- if you had one, and you married one, you'd crack the top 20% of US household income (for 2 years, that is.)

That sounds fancy: The Florida Solar Energy Center (Cocoa, FL) is hiring a postdoc with specialization in materials characterization (as applied to hydrogen storage materials). Hydride synthesis experience, polymer chemistry experience desired. Sounds like you'll spend some time in Oxford, UK.

Statesboro, GA: Georgia Southern University is searching for an assistant professor of organic chemistry.

Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University desires a laboratory coordinator and instructor.

Vancouver, BC, Canada: TRIUMF is a Canadian national laboratory in nuclear and particle physics. They're searching for a Ph.D. pseudo-tenure-track nuclear/radiochemist. Sounds like they're upgrading their facilities on the campus of UBC; I sure hope they're upgrading their name, which I mentally pronounce TRY-UMPHHHH.

RIP Sheri Sangji

2012-01-16T13:17:00.000-08:00

Three years ago today, Sherharbano (Sheri) Sangji died of her injuries sustained while running a reaction with tert-butyl lithium in the laboratory of Professor Patrick Harran at UCLA.

My thoughts are with her friends and her family.

Christening drugs: there's a process for that

2012-01-16T07:34:00.000-08:00

Also from this week's C&EN, a terribly interesting article by Carmen Drahl on the process of giving a generic name for a compound:

A list of naming rules, some of them quirky, has evolved as well. The letters h, j, k, and w are off-limits because they lead to pronunciation problems in other languages. Drugmakers can suggest names to the USAN Council, but any name with an implication that a drug is better, newer, or more effective than the competition heads straight for the reject pile, Shubat says. When a prospective name reaches the WHO stage, international connotations come into play. A name that sounds perfectly fine in English might have bad or even obscene connotations elsewhere. No one wants to sell the Chevy Nova of the drug world.

The crux of the generic-naming system is a collection of short name fragments called stems. Each stem has a meaning connected to a particular drug class or mode of action. The official list of USAN and INN stems and substems has grown and changed over time as companies come up with new classes of drugs, Shubat explains.

Understanding drug names through stems is a lot like learning English vocabulary by studying Greek and Latin roots. Learn what the stems mean, and you’re most of the way to figuring out what a drug does. Take top-selling drug Nexium, which has a generic name of esomeprazole. The stem in that name is -prazole, which means the drug is a benzimidazole antiulcer agent. The drug’s es- prefix describes the nature of the drug’s chirality—esomeprazole is dextrorotatory and contains a chiral center in the S configuration.

There's also a blogpost from Carmen at The Haystack about how dasatinib got its name from BMS research fellow Jagabandhu Das, even though he didn't invent the molecule:

So how’d Das make a difference? About one and a half years into the search for a kinase inhibitor that might be able to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia, “we were hitting a wall,” Barrish, today vice-president of medicinal chemistry at BMS, recalls. “We couldn’t get past a certain level of potency.”

Early on, the team’s work suggested that a 4′-methyl thiazole was critical for potency. Replace the methyl with a hydrogen, and potency went out the window. But Das challenged that dogma, Barrish says. He thought the compound series had evolved to the point where it would be a good idea to go back and test those early assumptions. His hunch paid off – in the new, later kinase inhibitor series, it turned out that removing the methyl group from the thiazole actually boosted potency. Thanks in large part to that discovery, the team eventually was able to make kinase inhibitors with ten thousand fold higher activity.

“Jag didn’t stop there,” Barrish says. After debunking the methyl dogma, Das found a way to replace an undesirable urea moiety in the team’s inhibitors with a pyrimidine group, which improved the inhibitors’ physical properties. With help from Das’s two insights combined, eventually BMS’s team came up with the molecule that became dasatinib (J. Med. Chem., DOI: 10.1021/jm060727j).

There's nothing wrong with challenging assumptions.

Organic chemist charged with IP theft

2012-01-16T07:18:00.000-08:00

From this week's Chemical and Engineering News, a pretty awful little story of an employee stealing trade secrets for their own. From the article by Marc Reisch:

As at the larger companies, Frontier requires employees to sign confidentiality agreements when they start work. Mohapatra signed such an agreement when he joined Frontier in October 2009. The scientist’s profile on the business networking website LinkedIn shows that he came to Frontier with a Ph.D. in organic synthesis from Delhi University and had worked as a research scientist at India-based pharmaceutical maker Ranbaxy Laboratories.

According to the complaint filed in Utah Federal District Court, in October 2011 a coworker witnessed Mohapatra call up the syntheses for 2,2´-dipyrromethane and Fe(III) meso-tetra [o-dichlorophenyl] porphine chloride on his company desktop computer and mail them through his personal e-mail account. Miller says the former compound is an intermediate for a drug now undergoing clinical studies, and the latter is a conductive compound in development for use in solar panels and batteries.

After the coworker reported her observations to her superiors, the firm’s information technology manager reviewed the hard drive in Mohapatra’s computer and discovered he had e-mailed those two formulas as well as two others to the president of Medchemblox, a planned Indian fine chemicals company. The complaint identifies Medchemblox’ president as an official with Dr. Silviu Pharmachem, an India-based company specializing in porphyrins and porphyrin building-block compounds. The review also turned up an e-mail from the president of Medchemblox. It told Mohapatra that the information he provided would enable Medchemblox to make a six-month supply of the iron porphyrin complex for a competitor of Frontier’s based in Germany.

On Oct. 26, Frontier placed Mohapatra on administrative leave and revoked his access to company computers. The complaint notes that Mohapatra subsequently admitted to Frontier officials that he had a stake in Medchemblox, as did his brother-in-law. Mohapatra also sent an e-mail to Frontier’s chief operating officer in which he wrote, “I realize I may have done something wrong. … Even if you lay off me [sic] or put me in jail I will not do anything to hurt FSI. I will keep out all together for myself of Frontier’s business.” Frontier fired Mohapatra on Nov. 1.

According to Miller, Frontier has an internal security system that mandates rigorous data isolation and requires, for instance, the use of multiple passwords and user-names. “We were surprised this happened,” he says.

Yet another chemist that fell victim to MICE. I find it interesting that Frontier (best known by me for being in Utah) has better IT security (i.e. something) rather than the typical nothing. Corporate IT security needs to get better -- and companies need to think about whether they have trade secrets that need to be protected.

Perhaps this is buying trouble, but... the intelligence agencies during the Cold War were famous for their molehunts and their molehunters, with careers (and lives?) hanging in the balance. Is that in our future?

(Hey, what was that employee doing watching her colleague cut-and-paste (or whatever) and e-mail?)
(Did you know that ASDI went out of business? I sure didn't.)

Gastight syringes

2012-01-13T08:26:00.000-08:00

A list of small, useful things (links):

LabMonkey has a good number of chemistry positions in the UK.
Matt and Paul have great thoughts about lab safety post-Sheri Sangji.
Speaking of lab safety, be careful around azide transfer reagents.
SeeArrOh posts on HCV compounds.
David Perrey has an important tip for all Sharpie users. (if you'll pardon the pun)
And Derek Lowe's been blogging for ten years.

Readers, did I miss anything? Have a good weekend and see you on Monday.

Turn that recorder off!: the danger of recordable predictions

2012-01-13T08:14:00.000-08:00

There's been a minor amount of giggling about the lack of concern on the economy expressed in just-released transcripts of dicussions of Federal Reserve's governing board in 2006. From the New York Times, a bit of a summary of the conversations:

The general consensus on the board, summarized by Mr. Geithner, was that problems in the housing market had few broader ramifications. “We just don’t see troubling signs yet of collateral damage, and we are not expecting much,” he said at the September meeting.

Mr. Bernanke initially agreed, telling colleagues at his first meeting as chairman, in March, “I think we are unlikely to see growth being derailed by the housing market.” As the year rolled along, however, Mr. Bernanke increasingly took the view that his colleagues were too sanguine.” I don’t have quite as much confidence as some people around the table that there will be no spillover effect,” he said.

Some Fed officials argued that a housing slowdown would be good for the broader economy. “I really believe that the drop in housing is actually on net going to make liquidity available for other sectors rather than being a drain going forward, and that will also get the growth rate more positive,” Ms. Bies told colleagues at the committee’s June meeting. Ms. Bies could not be reached for comment Thursday.

And even Ms. Yellen did not believe that the problems in the housing market would have broader consequences. “Of course, housing is a relatively small sector of the economy, and its decline should be self-correcting,” she said.

I feel for these folks. They're top-level economists and they missed signs of the largest recession of our generation. It must be embarrassing to be so publicly (to an extent) wrong. People tend to defend themselves from these problems by not making hard-and-fast predictions unless they're really, really sure or not being on record with a prediction in the first place. That's smart.

Of course, most folks aren't very good at predictions. I'm on record with a very good friend of mine from graduate school saying that vorinostat wasn't likely to make it to market -- oops. I predicted a U6-like (part-time + postdoc + unemployed) rate for chemists at 12% in 2009; it was at 9.6%. Even the most powerful DOOOOOOOOOMers can be wrong in their time horizons.

I wonder what it would be like if every utterance in conference rooms about a biological target, a series of hawt lead compounds, the yield of a particular chemical step or the identity of an impurity were recorded and transcribed, only to be released 6 years later. I'm guessing meetings would be a lot shorter in those conference rooms and predictions would fall to zero. ("XYZ8675309? Yeah, that compound will make it through tox -- or it won't.")

What's the pharma version of "going out with the troops?"

2012-01-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

"Who stole all our HPLC acetonitrile? I'm finding that SOB."
Credit: The Best Defense

From Tom Ricks' blog, here's a picture of the current Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces going on a training mission with a line unit. His commenters note that this is quite the photo op, in that he's easily recognizable, which he would not be, if he were wearing all the gear (helmet, body armor, etc.) that he would be if he were just one of the troops. The guest blogger, Mr. Williams, makes an interesting note about an Admiral Olsen, the former head of USSOCOM (the command over the US military's various special operations units):

While unlike Gantz he did not join a SEAL platoon doing exercises on San Clemente Island, he did frequently showed up at Coronado to join in doing free weights, long distance runs, and more gruelingly, swim out to the Point Loma buoy and back with the teams. Even at age 59 it was hard to beat him in the water.

From the comments come a smattering of stories of general officers doing field work, including stories of David Petraeus and Stanley McChrystal participating in foot patrols and raids in Iraq and Afghanistan. I enjoyed this little story about a Lieutenant General (3-star) Lynch:

LTG Rick Lynch, when he was commander of III Corps and Fort Hood, was known to spontaneously join PT formations. I remember turning around and seeing his face and asking my buddy, "Who's the old guy?" Whoops. His CSM (Ciotolo) wore buck sergeant rank on his PT gear and was a common sight during PT.

LTG Lynch would also go "undercover" and pose as a regular civilian to see how post services were serving Soldiers and the community.

I'm hard pressed to think about a pharma executive doing similar things in their time leading scientists. I think it would be silly to see ol' Jeff Kindler or Fred Hassan attempting to run a column. At the same time, I would think it would be helpful for a Ph.D. chemist at the director level to take a portion of her week/month and run a scale-up reaction or two, use the LC/MS, the NMR and the ELN and run a column on the Biotage. I presume that it would give the senior manager a perspective of the expected productivity of a bench scientist, the bottlenecks in research and the ability to observe their scientists in action.

I'm probably full of it. Readers?

Daily Pump Trap: 1/12/12 edition

2012-01-12T06:59:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between January 10 and 11, there were 6 new positions posted on the ACS Careers website. Of these, 3 (50%) are academically connected and will be covered in next Tuesday's Ivory Filter Flask.

Spokane, WA: The mellifluously-named Jubilant HollisterStier is a sterile drug contract manufacturer. They're seeking a B.S./M.S./Ph.D. analytical chemist to run their QC laboratory. 5+ years experience is desired; supervisory experience also desired. The salary is nice and healthy, though -- but what will you do up there in Eastern Washington?

Plymouth, MN: Amerilab Technologies is a manufacturer of effervescent powders (a key component of every American's diet.) They're looking for a B.S. chemist to be an R&D manager, most likely for formulation research. 10+ years experience desired.

A broader look: Monster, Careerbuilder, Indeed and USAjobs show (respectively) 224, 576, 2753 and 45 positions for the search term "chemist."

A regional glance: The San Francisco Craigslist biotech/science section shows 6 positions for the search term "chemist", including a B.S./M.S. inorganic synthesis position and a Ph.D. organometallic chemist position.

12 things your HPLC would say to you, if it could

2012-01-11T07:47:00.000-08:00

Hey, look, it's sample 3 of 50 in an overnight run. Time to quit.
I'm running out of mobile phase, dummy.
You need some key data? I want to talk about the pressure on this column. Who do you think's going to win this conversation?
Would you quit cycling the carousels and just empty out all the old evaporated vials?
I've seen you looking at that Agilent tramp. You'll quit it if you know what's good for you.
I love the look on your face when you're seeing if there's another peak... and look, there it is!
You think that muck's got your product in it? Dream on.
Prayer won't get you a stable baseline, buddy.
I'm making a funny noise so you'll PAY ATTENTION TO ME. Dammit, it never works.
Did you syringe filter your sample? Oh, you're so sweet.
You're cute when you're enraged at me.
...And I'm out of mobile phase. Oh, well, guess I'll take a nap!

Process Wednesday: foaming -- not just for beer

2012-01-11T07:25:00.000-08:00

Apropos of nothing, here's our mentor-by-literature, Neal Anderson, in his book Practical Process Research and Development, on foaming issues in scale-up reactors:

To prepare for a run, it is essential to review a process and examine the detail of exactly how the operations will be carried out. Vessels must be selected so that the reactions can be stirred at the minimum volume of the reaction (V_min) and so that the reaction can be contamined (and usually stirred) at the maximum batch volume (V_max).

Gases evolved during processing, for instance during decarboxylation or neutralization of an acidic stream with NaHCO₃, may form foams; such reaction mixtures take up a larger portion of the vessel volume. A defoaming agent was added to a Lossen rearrangement to address these problems (Figure 14.7); however, assays may be needed to detect the presence of any defoaming agent in the product. For the safety of operators and to minimize risk of contamination, any key volumes should be measured without opening the vessels. If the addition of key reagents is to be controlled by temperature, a sensitive temperature probe must be positioned so that the temperature can be monitored at the start and the end of the addition.

Incidentally, Anderson's figure shows the relevant defoamer to be Dow's Antifoam 2210, which is apparently a "10 percent active silicone-glycol emulsion". (Boy, you don't need much of it -- Dow suggests that you start at 50 ppm, or 66 ounces in a 1000 gallon reaction.)

Uh-oh: BLS measures chemist unemployment at 6.1%

2012-01-10T07:41:00.000-08:00

Last year, the Wall Street Journal published the Bureau of Labor Statistics' unemployment rate for chemists and material scientists at 3.1%. This year, the BLS number for chemist and material scientist unemployment was...

6.1 percent! That's really high, folks. That's not a very good sign.

It will be interesting to learn if the ACS salary survey for 2011 (whose results will be published sometime this year) will follow this trend for chemist unemployment.

If you look at Figure 1 here, you'll see that the ACS and BLS numbers more-or-less agree. This number, though, I'll bet there will be some disagreement. Oh dear.

Ivory Filter Flask: 1/10/12 edition

2012-01-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between January 3 and January 10, there were 20 academic positions posted on the ACS Careers database. Let's do the numbers (TM Marketplace):

Total number of ads: 20
- Postdocs: 2
- Tenure-track faculty: 12+
- Temporary faculty: 3
- Lecturer positions: 3
- Staff positions: 1
- Ratio of US/non-US positions: 18/2

Huh: The University of Akron is looking for an assistant professor of bibliography for their technical libraries. I didn't know that you only (heh, only) needed a MLS for being hired for the librarian tenure track. Interesting.

Well, when you put it that way: A new breed of cat has popped up from the University of California, Merced: "Lecturer with Potential Security of Employment." (Isn't that every lecturer, emphasis on the word 'potential'?) UC-Merced deigns to disagree with me:

The Lecturer with Potential for Security of Employment (LPSOE) track closely parallels that of a tenure-track Assistant Professor, including membership in the Academic Senate, but with an emphasis on undergraduate education. This position will involve teaching primarily lower-division chemistry courses, coordinating various aspects of the undergraduate instructional program including oversight of instructional staff and training teaching assistants. Participation in education-related committees, student recruitment and outreach, and efforts to secure extramural funding for education program development is also expected.

Closely! Parallels!

Denver, CO: The University of Denver seeks a tenure-track professor of organic chemistry; specialization in bioorganic chemistry, chemical biology and medicinal chemistry is desired.

Good golly!: A postdoc in Bozeman, MT for 47,000 smackeroos. Ahhh, it's funded by the Navy. They're looking at corrosion problems related to biofuels -- sounds interesting. Bozeman (not Butte!) is a lovely town.

Centralia, WA: Centralia College is looking for a M.S./Ph.D. chemist for a tenure-track position in teaching general and organic chemistry. Centralia professors are AFT-represented!

Daily Pump Trap: 1/10/12 edition

2012-01-10T07:05:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between January 5 and January 10, 2012, there were 25 new positions posted on the ACS Careers website. Of these, 17 (68%) are academically connected and will be covered in the Ivory Filter Flask.

Extraction!: Infinity Pharmaceuticals is looking for a B.S./M.S./Ph.D. chemist or chemical engineer to run their program in isolation of natural products. "An ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of pharmaceutical unit operations, specifically in separation/purification fundamentals, as well as laboratory and manufacturing experience." Sounds like a good time.

Production!: Cambridge Isotopes is looking for a Ph.D. chemist to be their GMP production manager; 7+ years of experience desired. "Experience delivering APIs under cGMP regulations from gram to multi-kilogram scale within targeted deadlines and budget. Experience reviewing and revising batch records, SOPs and other relevant regulatory documentation. Demonstrated ability to effectively interact across departments. Experience optimizing existing and developing improved API production processes." Is there anything they don't want this person to be able to do?

Diffraction!: The International Centre for Diffraction Data is looking for a Ph.D. chemist to become a senior scientific editor of their database. Experience in crystallography is a must.

Pharmaceuticalation!: Aceto Corporation is looking for a sales manager for their API division; needs to have 5-7 years of experience in the field, preferably located in the New York City area.

Should you trust ACS presidents on jobs? I don't think so.

2012-01-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

It's a little unfair to ask ACS presidents to be completely versed in the data on chemistry jobs -- but just a little sensitivity might be called for. In a reddit thread on chemistry jobs advice ("What is the chemistry job market like in the US?"), a graduate student chimes in with a real winner:

The job market for PhD Chemists is really good. I had an opportunity to speak with a former president of the ACS not too long ago. He cited the fact that unemployment for PhD chemists did not really change much even during the Great Recession (unemployment stays pretty much around 3-4% for PhD chemists). (emphasis CJ's) All of my colleagues that have defended have gone on to terrific jobs in industry and government.

Starting salaries for PhD Chemists, especially those with an organic background, start around $80-90k and is highly dependent on region. For more information, you should visit the ASC [sic] website and read their annual reviews. There is a job security risk if you are in the industry, but the jobs in government and academia make less money and come with good security.

Good heavens. I think it's time to start asking ACS presidential candidates what the unemployment rates are for chemists, like asking US presidential candidates the price of a gallon of milk.

In a completely separate arena, longtime CJ favorite Virginia Postrel links to the blog in her article questioning urges to push college kids into the STEM arena:

The commentators excoriating today’s students for studying the wrong subjects are pursuing certainty where none exists. Like the health fanatics convinced that every case of cancer must be caused by smoking or a bad diet, they want to believe that good people, people like them, will always have good jobs and that today’s unemployed college grads are suffering because they were self-indulgent or stupid. But plenty of organic chemists can testify that the mere fact that you pursued a technical career that was practical two or three decades ago doesn’t mean you have job security today.

And in the comments, this gem:

organic chemistry is hardly skill based - mostly recall.

I think I need to go back to bed.

2012 outlook for domestic chemical firms: partly cloudy

2012-01-09T07:12:00.000-08:00

From this week's Chemical and Engineering News, their World Chemical Outlook edition and a look at the domestic chemical manufacturing side:

Less expensive raw materials and good export opportunities will position the U.S. chemical industry to make the most of a bad economic situation this year. In the U.S., growth in chemical output, excluding pharmaceuticals, is expected to dip to 1.6% in 2012, compared with an estimated 3.8% gain in 2011, according to the American Chemistry Council. Basic chemicals, which rebounded early in the recovery in 2010 and then saw zero growth in 2011, will pick up a bit of speed with a 0.7% increase in output.

The prognosis for specialty chemicals, 3.4% growth, is more robust, driven by demand from markets such as light vehicles and electronics, ACC says. Consumer products and synthetic rubber are also likely to grow faster than the average for chemicals. “A global soft patch has emerged and has been centered in manufacturing,” the primary customer base for chemistry, reports T. Kevin Swift, ACC’s chief economist. Still, Swift reports, “leading indicators of manufacturing activity are not yet pointing to a recession.”

The fine chemicals sector was strong in 2011, with many companies claiming to have rebounded from losses incurred in 2009 and 2010. Producers remain optimistic about 2012 but mix, as usual, a good dose of caution with that optimism in a market that historically experiences sudden ups and downs.

Interesting how fine chemical manufacturing always seems to be waiting for the Chinese chemical manufacturing sector to screw up. Someday, they're going to get their act together. Then what?

The exit of major drug companies from manufacturing continues to drive business for fine chemicals makers. But Aslam Malik, president of Ampac Fine Chemicals, cautions that a rise in outsourced production of established or generic drugs may not mean increased business for Western API suppliers, since much of that production will go to China.

A more solid upside, Malik says, lies in the uptick in drug approvals by FDA in 2011. The active ingredients in newer products are generally potent and complex, meaning lower volumes but more specialized manufacturing technology. More rigorous supply chain management on the part of pharmaceutical companies should benefit Western API makers, with drug companies instituting policies of establishing a Western backup to any key product manufactured in Asia. Some fine chemicals companies say business is coming back from China, in particular, because of quality concerns and Asia’s eroding cost advantage.

What the Sangji family is thinking

2012-01-06T13:49:00.000-08:00

Over at The Pump Handle, a fairly detailed post on the worker safety aspects of the Sheri Sangji case. The most noteworthy thing, I feel, is a copy of the open letter from Naveen Sangji (Sheri Sangji's sister) to Steve Cooley, the Los Angeles district attorney.

This letter is one of the very few times where Naveen Sangji has spoken out about this case at an extensive length. If you want to know what she (and her family) are thinking and why the case has gotten as far as it has, you might want to read the whole thing.

Some portions of the letter:

...What I know is that Harran as Sheri's direct supervisor and boss, and the leadership of UCLA, including safety officials Gibson and Wheatley, all had responsibility to Sheri - a legal responsibility, and a professional, moral and social responsibility – to protect her and keep her safe. All deliberately and knowingly violated the rules in place that would have kept her and others safe. Nor was this the first such instance of a person being injured – a year before Sheri's death, a student was badly burned in this department.

We believe that Harran should be held personally responsible for Sheri's death. He admitted in his interview with UCLA Fire Marshals that he ordered Sheri to carry out an unsafe experiment, one that he himself would not do – a clear statement of how little he valued my sister's life and how willing he was to endanger students and staff researchers merely to further his own work. He has not demonstrated the slightest bit of remorse for what he did to Sheri and for what my family has suffered. His lab was still found to be unsafe after Sheri's horrific death, as documented by OSHA inspections.

Failure to pursue felony criminal charges against Harran or allowing him to settle the case without our family being able to bring out what we believe occurred in front of a jury or in a report bearing on his sentence will be a grave injustice upon Sheri and upon our family...
But let me just tell you again, simply - we miss her. We miss her all the time. We miss talking to her, laughing with her. We miss the sound of her voice. We miss her smile. We miss seeing her in her favorite red T shirt that was so threadbare my mom would threaten to throw it out every time Sheri wore it - but now keeps under her pillow. Our parents barely leave the house for anything other than work. On Sunday mornings they go to the cemetery and weep uncontrollably at Sheri's resting place. Each day they suffer the way only a parent can at the loss of a child. They are mere shadows of the people they used to be. My brother and I will never recover from this senseless loss of our sister. He and I go through the motions, always with a heavy heart - missing her and thinking about all that she is missing. There is and always will be a sense of incompleteness in our family. And UCLA and Harran are responsible.

Our family feels strongly that unless you bring felony criminal charges against Harran, UCLA, and the UCLA safety officials, you will be absolving them of their roles in causing Sheri's death. It will be an injustice to her suffering and to ours. And other families will continue to remain at risk.

...There is no doubt in our minds that criminal prosecution, against the university and the professor, will be the single most effective deterrent to unsafe laboratory conditions in the future at UCLA, and at other universities where right now individual professors, by virtue of the money they bring to a university or by the research they accomplish, are allowed to do whatever they want, either because they demand it or because others kow-tow to them in these academic institutions.

You can't erase the agony and suffering Sheri endured, but you can bring about accountability and justice, and thereby save other innocent lives. Before you make your final decision, step into any burn center and see firsthand the excruciating pain and suffering Sheri experienced -- suffering that you may be able to prevent in the future. That is all we ask of you. Anything less is not fair to my younger sister, who did not get the chance to live to see her 24th birthday.

Thank you for your empathy and all your efforts,

Naveen Sangji, on behalf of Sheri's family

Perk-a-licious: what are the best company perks?

2012-01-06T08:01:00.000-08:00

I see (via SeeArrOh) that the American Snuff Company is hiring a chemist; do you think they give you all the tobacco products that you want to carry home? (I seem to recall that a benefit of working at the Jack Daniels distillery is a free case of Jack Daniels?) Other perks I've heard of:

A family member is an employee of an electrical utility -- discounts on the electric bill.
When I worked at a major pharma, there was a company store with discounted consumer goods. That store is gone, of course. I got a T-shirt with a molecular model of V/ia/gra on it.
I hear that BMS (?) used (still does?) to give you free cases of formula when you had a baby.
One place I worked had all the free soda that you could drink and free peanut butter, jam and bread. Good enough for me!

What other perks have you heard of in your time in the chemical industry? Do petroleum refiners give away free gas?

Unemployment rate at 8.5%, U6 unemployment at 15.2%.

2012-01-06T07:45:00.000-08:00

Credit: Calculated Risk

Fresh electrons from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: the unemployment rate is down 0.1% to 8.5% for December. The broader U6 unemployment rate is down 0.4% to 15.2%. Apparently, the private sector employment numbers are pretty positive (200k); it will be interesting to see what the labor force participation numbers look like.

Good news? I hope so.

Thanks, as always, to Calculated Risk.

What are the ethical roles and responsibilities for chemical laboratory safety?

2012-01-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

Janet Stemwedel is a current professor of philosophy; (updated*) before she moved into philosophy of science, she obtained a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. She asks a series of questions on ethics in laboratory safety, regarding the Sheri Sangji case:

"So, who is ethically responsible for keeping an academic chemistry lab safe? And what exactly is the shape this responsibility takes — that is, what should he or she be doing to fulfill that obligation?

What’s the responsibility of the principal investigator, the scientist leading the research project and, in most cases, heading the lab?
What’s the responsibility of the staff research assistant or technician, doing necessary labor in the lab for a paycheck?
What’s the responsibility of the graduate student in the research group, trying to learn how to do original research and to master the various skills he or she will need to become a PI someday? (It’s worth noting here that there’s a pretty big power differential between grad students and PIs, which may matter as far as how we apportion responsibility. Still, this doesn’t mean that those with less power have no ethical obligations pulling on them.)
What’s the responsibility of the institution under whose auspices the lab is operating? When a safety inspection turns up problems and issues a list of issues that must be corrected, has that responsibility been discharged? When faculty members hire new staff research assistants, or technicians, or graduate students, does the institution have any specific obligations to them (as far as providing safety training, or a place to bring their safety concerns, or protective gear), or does this all fall to the PI?
And, what kind of obligations do these parties have in the case that one of the other players falls down on some of his or her obligations?

If I were still working in a chemistry lab, thinking through ethical dimensions like these before anything bad happened would not strike me as a purely academic exercise. Rather, it would be essential to ensuring that everyone stays as safe as possible."

Here's how I would structure things (and how I have seen things structured in the past):

The principal investigator: The PI is ultimately responsible for running a safe lab. The best way to ensure that is to directly train the most senior members of the lab, to "train the trainer." From that point forward, the PI needs to ensure that senior graduate students and postdocs have a training and mentorship role in chemical safety and are properly executing that role. The PI should set up a safety/maintenance program, lay out the program and the responsbilities in clear, simple terms. The PI has the most prominent enforcement role; walking into their lab, they should spot safety problems and ask that they be corrected immediately. The PI has the most prominent foresight role; they should be able to see incoming safety problems from new chemistry, procedures or policy and be able to respond appropriately.

Postdocs and senior graduate students: Postdocs and senior graduate students (having been previously directly mentored by the PI) should be responsible for setting the day-to-day safety tone of the laboratory. They should be good examples and resources for newer lab members. While not directly responsible for the safety of younger graduate students, they should have a prominent advisory role and be willing to intervene (to the point of contacting the PI, if necessary) in order to keep lab members from doing egregiously unsafe things. They also have a foresight role, in that they should also be able to spot incoming safety issues and note them with the other group members.

Younger graduate students: They should be responsible for finding out and understanding the chemical safety risks they are taking on in their work. They are responsible for asking if they don't understand an issue and making sure that they don't proceed blindly. They also have the uncomfortable responsibility to question and/or dissent if they're being asked to do something unsafe.

The institution: The institution is ultimately (legally) responsible for the safety of its students; they're also the only administrative check on the power of the PI. If the PI cannot run a safe laboratory, they are the only people who can intervene. The institution has not discharged their responsibilities if they merely point out safety deficiencies without following up. The institution (via the EH&S office) has the responsibility to supply both basic chemical safety training (e.g. helping the PI develop a chemical hygiene plan) and for providing a 3rd party for graduate students and postdocs to turn to.

What if things don't work well? That's a problem with the way I've structured things: this system works well when you have a good PI. If you don't, well, that's an issue. While the institution may have the legal and/or ethical responsibility to intervene, I have a difficult time imagining a situation in which they can or will.

I'm not sure this answers Professor Stemwedel's questions in a satisfactory manner, but it's definitely how I see things. Readers, am I crazy?

*Thanks for DM for the correction of grammar.

#SheriSangji ripple effects: Universities adjusting to new realities

2012-01-05T10:13:00.000-08:00

Interesting ripple effects from the charging of Professor Patrick Harran in the death of Sheharbano "Sheri" Sangji at UCLA:

A major R1 institution has instituted severe penalties for not wearing lab coats.
Rumblings of prominent professors instituting changes to lab protocols and reviewing procedures

Any other interesting responses from professors, groups and/or universities (or companies and supervisors) in reaction to the prosecution of Professor Harran is welcome at chemjobber -at- gmaildotcom or via DM on Twitter at @Chemjobber.

Keeping people safe during the hazardous waste disposal process

2012-01-05T07:58:00.000-08:00

There's a lot of human hands that move your waste
after you pour out your bum reaction.
(Credit: Heritage-WTI/C&EN)

When I was a kid, I was convinced that the toilet was a great way to dispose of anything; it seemed like, when you flushed the toilet, things just disappeared, as if they had left the universe. Sometimes, I think that's what chemists think when they pour their waste into a waste drum or a red waste can.

A recent statement from the Chemical Safety Board brings that thought process to mind:

Today as many people enjoy a holiday season spent with friends and family, I would like to call attention to a recent tragedy that occurred late last week in eastern Ohio. On December 17, 2011, a chemical fire occurred at Heritage-WTI, Inc. which resulted in two workers being seriously burned, one of whom succumbed to his injuries days later. Heritage-WTI, Inc, is hazardous waste storage and processing facility located in East Liverpool, Ohio.

According to company officials a flash fire occurred when workers were splitting a large solid waste drum of hazardous flammable inorganic material into smaller storage drums.

News reports talk about the contents of the drum:

Bailey and Bechak were in the process of separating products from a barrel when the material reacted, causing a small explosion, followed by a larger explosion, according to city fire department reports. The explosion caused a flash fire in which the men were burned. Fire reports indicated the barrel they were separating contained cutting oil, hafnium, niobium, water and zirconium, and according to Michael Parkes, head of community/employee relations, "We've split containers for years," and the men were doing a routine procedure.

Jyllian Kemsley talks about why this is important to chemists:

A burden it might be, but accurate waste identification is critical to ensure that the people who handle the waste down the line don’t get hurt, whether it’s the person at your institution who packs the waste for transport, the driver who takes it away, or the people who handle it at an incinerator.

I'm sure that all Chemjobber readers would not want to feel even vaguely culpable for hurting someone with the waste that they generated. Accurately describing the characteristics of your waste (toxicity, ignitability), corrosivity, reactivity), quenching reactivity appropriately and segregating incompatible wastes is a big part of keeping hazardous waste workers safe.

Remember, there's a human on the other side of your lab pack or your waste drum.

Daily Pump Trap: 1/15/12 edition

2012-01-05T07:19:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between January 3 and 4, there were 19 new positions posted on the ACS Careers website. Of these, there were 4 (21%) were academically connected and will be covered in next Tuesday's Ivory Filter Flask.

Sunnyvale, CA: ~~Brave folks:~~ ~~Pharmacyclics appears to be a new pharma start-up in Sunnyvale, California.~~ Pharmacyclics has apparently been around for a while. They're looking for a B.S./M.S./Ph.D. process chemist (10+ years experience) to help lead their process development team. GMP experience desired, as well as Mandarin fluency and a willingness to travel. (Thanks, Anon0752a!)

Durham, NC: Cormetech is a joint venture between Corning and Mitsubishi Heavy Industry; they're a company looking at NOx-emissions reduction technology. They're looking for a B.S./M.S. physical chemist with experience with nanopowders and/or coating metal oxides.

Brevard, NC: Once again, PharmAgra Labs is looking for qualified B.S./M.S./Ph.D. organic chemists. Best of luck.

Washington, D.C.: The American Institutes for Research are apparently some sort of educational testing outfit -- they're looking for a graduate student intern in chemistry to prepare exam questions from a high-stakes test. (Chem GRE?)

A broader look: Monster, Careerbuilder, Indeed and USAjobs.gov show (respectively) 218, 594, 2,589 and 40 positions for the search term "chemist."

Metal bowls

2012-01-04T07:58:00.000-08:00

A list of small, useful things (links):

SeeArrOh on pharma R&D spending trends and their relationship to market cap.
Former chemist (and now polemicist) Josh Bloom on drug manufacture and life and death.
John talks about Patrick Harran and getting a jury of his peers.
John Borchardt has a very nice post on chemistry entrepreneurship in the Midwest. Good news, I think.
Th'Gaussling calls for more entrepreneurship in chemistry -- I'm tempted, a little.
Paul Hodges' Downturn Alert doesn't look all that great for 2011.
LabMonkey celebrates his first blog birthday!
The Heterocyclist on an interesting Mitsunobu and indoline synthesis.

Migration patterns within the United States and Canada

2012-01-04T07:43:00.000-08:00

An interesting graph of moving patterns within the United States and Canada from a not-very-scientific sampling of customers of Atlas Van Lines, via Felix Salmon. (Red = balanced in-migration and out-migration, Yellow = net outmigration for 2011, Blue = net in-migration)

In 2011, I moved from an outbound state to a balanced state. Interesting how a lot of the pharma states (NJ, CT, MA) are net outbound. Also interesting how North Dakota is a net inbound state (Bakken Shale?), while Minnesota is a net outbound. I'm curious as to where North Dakota's new residents are coming from.

UPDATE: Anon0829a and @azmanam both point to this fascinating migration map. Apropos of nothing, here's Champaign County, IL.

Process Wednesday: Kilomentor on 'split runs'

2012-01-04T07:14:00.000-08:00

Kilomentor posts on splitting experimental batches for workup comparisons:

Split run does not appear to be a widely understood term; however, in my personal chemical process development experience it is a common term with a well defined meaning. Split runs are experiments done to test different work-up/isolation and/or purification procedures starting with equal portions from a single large reaction mixture. As a consequence, even if a reaction mixture is both complicated and uncharacterized, a chemist can compare different follow-on procedures for working it up without being concerned about reaction differences that may still exist from batch to batch because the reaction process itself has not yet been finalized and critical parameters completely controlled.

In the general case, the isolated yield fraction, (which when expressed as a percentage is often called simply the percentage yield), is the product of the reaction yield fraction (determined by an assay of the crude reaction mixture before work-up) multiplied by the isolation yield fraction (the fraction representing the effectiveness of the recovery of pure product from the crude reaction mixture). In the case of comparing split runs, the ratio of isolated split run yields is proportional to the ratio of the isolation yields because the pure reaction yield is the same for each, since they come from the same reaction batch. Thus, in comparing the recovered product from split runs, the difference represents only the effectiveness of the isolation protocols….it is independent of and not confounded by the exact details of the reaction conditions. In this way, even at an early stage in developing the particular reaction step, the development chemist can get some idea of the comparative effectiveness of different treatments of the crude reaction mixture.

Of course it is not just the best isolation yield that is of interest and of importance to the process development chemist but also the relative purities of the two products and the amounts of different impurities within each.

I've found this to be a really useful technique; go and read the whole thing.

Older chemists face difficulty finding positions

2012-01-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

From mid-December comes an WSJ unemployment story from an older academic chemist (which I find pretty unusual):

Many older Americans fear they will be working well into their 60s because they didn't save enough to retire. Millions more wish they were that lucky: Without full-time jobs, they are short of money and afraid of what lies ahead.

Deborah Kallick was a professor of biomedical chemistry at the University of Minnesota until she ventured into the private sector in 2000 with a job in genome research. She is now one of more than four million Americans aged 55 to 64 who can't find full-time work. That number has nearly doubled in five years, according to U.S. Department of Labor figures in October.

Ms. Kallick, 60 years old, has been unemployed since 2007 and lives in the Northern California home of an ex-boyfriend. She has run out of unemployment insurance, used up most of her retirement savings and is indebted to relatives and credit-card companies.

A good job could settle her accounts, she said. Until then, Ms. Kallick relies on generosity, occasional consulting work and the sale of sweaters, purses and other possessions on eBay.
"It is very hard to work through this and learn to be calm and happy day to day," said Ms. Kallick, who never married. "It has taken a lot of strength and courage to learn to do that."

A brief search of LinkedIn (with login) will reveal that she actually became a tenured professor and then left for the biotech field. One presumes that she may be regretting leaving a relatively secure position; I think she's to be commended for a gutsy call. The article goes on to describe that the average tenure of unemployment for people 55 to 64 is 56.6 weeks of unemployment. There's also a #chemjobs-aspect to this in that Ms. Kallick is in the 8.4% of chemists 60-69 (the highest age decile next to the 70+ group) who are listed as unemployed.

That's shocking. That also indicates that the typical advice for having an emergency fund of six months is probably 50% too small, especially for older people. (Although, one notes from the article, that for people older than 20 (that is, darn near everyone), the average length of unemployment is longer than 26 weeks. Uh-oh.)

Best wishes to us all.

Daily Pump Trap: 1/3/12 edition

2012-01-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between December 30 and January 3, there were 27 new positions posted on the ACS website. Of these, 24 (89%) are academically connected and are covered at the new Ivory Filter Flask.

Decatur, AL: Hexcel Corporation is looking for a Ph.D. polymer chemist with less than 5 years of experience. You'll be developing technology for the production of carbon fiber for their materials applications.

Lafayette, IN: Evonik is looking for a process R&D manager; M.S./Ph.D. degree with 5 to 10 years of experience desired. "Willingness to occasionally work odd hours to support 24/7 mfg operations" -- heh. That's sounds like a lot of fun.

Ivory Filter Flask: 1/3/12 edition

2012-01-03T07:19:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Welcome to the Ivory Filter Flask; there were 24 new academic positions posted on the ACS Careers website. It's not intended as a comprehensive look at the academic labor market (yet); it will focus on notable, desirable or oddball positions (much like the Daily Pump Trap). It's going to be primarily aimed at younger faculty members; I sincerely doubt I have much readership amongst tenured faculty.

Thoughts on structure and organization are very welcome at chemjobber -at- gmail/dot/com.

Below is a by-the-numbers look:

Total number of ads: 24
- Postdocs: 0
- Tenure-track faculty: 20
- Temporary faculty: 2
- Lecturer positions: 1
- Staff positions: 1
- Ratio of US/non-US positions: 19/5

Corvallis, Oregon: Oregon State University is searching for a senior faculty member in natural products chemistry, a.k.a. the Bill Gerwick chair (?).

Lancaster, PA: Franklin and Marshall College desires two visiting assistant professors; a 1-year contract for organic and general chemistry and a 3-year contract for general chemistry lecture duties.

Fairbanks, AK: The University of Alaska - Fairbanks is looking for a visiting professor for general chemistry lecture duties.

Fargo, ND: North Dakota State University is setting up "The Center for Computationally Assisted Science and Technology (CCAST)"; they desire 10 scientists (including chemists) for senior scientist positions. Looks like computational and theoretical materials chemistry work is planned.

Boston area pharma company seeks M.S. medicinal chemist

2012-01-02T07:57:00.000-08:00

Description: Looking for a synthetic chemist to prepare small-molecule organic targets for a proprietary drug-delivery platform. Background in polymer and/or materials chemistry is desired but not required. The selected candidate will be responsible for advancing a specified area of synthetic organic chemistry and will report to a project leader. The applicant should be well-versed in planning and executing multi-step synthesis and should possess the skills necessary to apply that knowledge to emerging technologies. The incumbent is also expected to regularly report progress in technical meetings.

Qualifications: Strongly prefer a MS with 6-10 yrs industry experience in synthetic organic chemistry. Will look at PhD with 2 yrs industry experience. MUST HAVE Hands-on experience with HPLC and solution NMR is required.

About the position: The job opening is for immediate hiring. The opening is for a full-time, contract assignment (6 months), with the possibility of extension or conversion to permanent employment

Location: 5 miles West of Boston.

Contact: Mark Flynn, Flynn Life Sciences Group LLC
(O)508-318-6507
(m)617-529-4029
(F)508-532-8735
mark -at- flynnlsg/dot/com

CJ Sheri Sangji roundup

2012-01-02T07:54:00.000-08:00

For those of you who haven't been reading blogs over the last week, but rather have been uh, living life and spending time with family, here's what you've missed:

Patrick Harran and the UC regents were charged with 3 felony counts in the death of Sheri Sangji last Tuesday.
A comment on 60 mL syringes
Kevin Reed, UCLA's vice chancellor of legal affairs and their chief spokesperson on the case, lays out their PR approach

The best overall coverage is over at C&EN with Jyllian Kemsley's Safety Zone.

SOCMA wants more money for CSB?

2012-01-02T07:01:00.000-08:00

I find it interesting that SOCMA wants the Chemical Safety Board's budget to increase. From Jeff Johnson's article in this week's C&EN:

The Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates (SOCMA), an industry trade organization, also worries about CSB’s budget. “There is no denying that financial and resource constraints limit the board’s ability to undertake any major new investigations, should they become necessary, which should concern industry and government,” says William E. Allmond IV, SOCMA vice president of government relations. “However, despite constraints, SOCMA has confidence that CSB will be able to carry out its statutory obligations.”

Maybe SOCMA would rather the CSB with only its ability to recommend, as opposed to an agency with more enforcement power? Who knows.

ACS President appoints council to study graduate school

2012-01-02T06:57:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, it's a "Worthwhile Canadian Initiative" sort of headline, isn't it?

From ACS president Bassam Z. Shakhashiri's message to chemists in this week's C&EN:

ACS Presidential Commission On Graduate Education

I have appointed a commission chaired by electrochemist Larry R. Faulkner, former president of the University of Texas, and comprised of some of the most prominent figures in the chemical sciences, both academic and industrial, to examine the purposes of graduate education and research in the chemical sciences and the needs and aspirations of graduate students (cenm.ag/task). The main charge of the commission is to address two specific questions:

What are the purposes of graduate education in the chemical sciences?
What steps should be taken to ensure that important societal issues as well as the needs and aspirations of students are addressed in graduate schools?

To find answers to these and other questions, the commission and its working groups will solicit input through listening sessions at ACS national and regional meetings and will obtain targeted feedback from graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, early-career faculty, underrepresented groups, business groups, institutions of higher education, professional and educational organizations, and international leaders in science and education. Contact the commission directly at graduatecommission@acs.org.

The commission will develop actionable recommendations that can be adopted or adapted by a variety of graduate educational institutions, federal and state funding agencies, and business and industry. The recommendations are to propose radical changes that will help find ways to best use our country’s vast educational, industrial, and government resources to successfully prepare students for their professional careers to face changing human needs over the next 50 years.

Believe it or not, this is the only really #chemjobs-related item in his entire message. You'd never know that chemist unemployment is near a 20-year high. Sigh.

Best wishes for 2012!

2011-12-30T08:50:00.000-08:00

This ends my first year blogging 5 days a week. It's been really fun, 535 posts later. Thanks for reading, everyone.

May 2012 bring all of us fulfilling employment, friends and family. See you on Monday.

UCLA's PR strategy, plain as day: a tragedy, not a crime

2011-12-30T08:38:00.000-08:00

It's an interesting process transcribing a conversation into written text. Conversation is so fluid; it's as much as about the way things are said as what is being said.

After transcribing the 7-or-so minutes of conversation that Kevin Reed (UCLA's vice chancellor for legal affairs and apparent press contact for this case) had with KPCC's Larry Mantle on the Los Angeles area show AirTalk, it was terribly clear to me what UCLA's PR strategy is:

Emphasize that this was a tragic accident, not a crime.
Admit no wrongdoing on the part of UCLA, the institution
Play up Sheri Sangji's experience to a relatively ignorant general public
Emphasize that UCLA EH&S policy is for researchers to wear lab coats
Express quizzical ignorance as to why she was not wearing a lab coat
Keep telling people that UCLA is, 3 short years later, a national leader on academic lab safety (really?)
Express that this criminal proceeding is shockingly unfair and unwarranted.

I find the moral/ethical aspect of this strategy troubling; it seems wrong to me for an institution to attempt to avoid blame by washing itself of responsibility for the incident. But it's the adversarial nature of our legal system (not that I would have it any other way!) that seems to general maximalist positions in the other direction from the prosecution.

I'll be revisiting this conversation, I suspect. It's the longest bit of talking that I'm aware of from UCLA's perspective. Russ Phifer's comments from a safety officer and chemistry perspective are valuable, as is the legal perspective of law professor Laurie Levenson.

There's also a bit of news in the matter in that UCLA is providing counsel for Professor Harran; that's an interesting decision on both their parts. I wonder if there will be a severing of those ties, if things go poorly.

Under the jump is my transcribing of the conversation. The interviewer is Larry Mantle, the host of KPCC's AirTalk. I've tried to be as faithful as possible to the conversation, but I've cut out all the ums and ahs. Any mistakes are mine and mine alone.

Q: What is the university's response to these historic charges?

We're shocked by these charges; they do nothing to deal with this tragedy. The heart of the campus absolutely bleeds for Sheri Sangji's family. This was a path-changing tragedy for the university when it happened on December 29, 2008.

We've always dealt with it as a tragedy -- it was and we understand how we need to and have taken enormous strides to set a new and higher standard for laboratory safety at UCLA and at academic research facilities nationwide and we believe that is the right lesson to learn from this tragedy. ...and that it is not a crime and that the DA's last minute decision on the eve of the lapsing of the statute of limitations to slap these charges down is indeed an injustice. It does nothing to advance the cause of laboratory safety, something that we will continue to work on tirelessly.

Q: Tomorrow is the 3 year anniversary of this tragedy on the UCLA campus. The district attorney's office not willing to join us until the arraignment of Professor Harran takes place. He's out of town and is expected to surrender to authorities, according to his attorney when he gets back into town. So let's talk though about what's led up to the filing of these charges. There was an investigation that shown that the laboratory was cited for safety violations before this tragic accident occurred and as I understand it, that investigation showed that UCLA had not taken all the corrective action that were called for in that report. Is that correct?

That's partially correct, Larry. This was an internal inspection done by our own health and safety team, a routine inspection that, at the time of the accident, took place about 300 times a year. Since the accident, for example, in 2010, we did over 2000 of such routine inspections and we now do surprise inspections to look to see whether our researchers are wearing appropriate protective equipment, the sort of thing that we think could have changed the path of this tragedy 3 years ago.

The inspection that took place in October of 2008 did disclose some solvents that weren't stored properly. Those may not have been dealt with before the accident. They had nothing to do with the cause of the accident. One of the issues that did contribute, we think, to the extent of the injuries, or potentially did, was the failure of Ms. Sangji to be wearing a lab coat that day. And it is true that, in October, when the inspectors came into the laboratory, they discovered several people not wearing lab coats. Those individuals were instructed on the spot to put their laboratory coats on, it was university policy then that anybody working with hazardous materials wear a lab coat.

That was training that Ms. Sangji was given, it's training that she tragically didn't follow that day, we don't know why. But it was an instruction that was given on the day of that inspection, and it was a correction that was made on the spot the day of that inspection.

Q: Is it the university's responsibility though, when someone is doing this kind of work that calls for the wearing of a protective lab coat, that there needs to be someone in a position of authority in that lab who mandates that the person put on the coat immediately when they're not wearing one?

We're all professionals, Larry. Sheri Sangji was an experienced chemist. You said she was a student in your intro. She actually was not a student. She was a professional chemist. She got her undergraduate degree at Claremont in chemistry, she worked in private industry before we hired her, she was chosen out of several hundred applicants because of her great skill and experience as a chemist.

She was trained in the procedure that she was conducting that day, she'd successfully conducted the very same experiment several weeks before without any danger to herself and certainly without any accident happening. We do try to take care of our own, there are limitations on our ability to make people follow the rules and wear their lab coats. I can tell you that one thing we've done since this tragedy is institute surprise inspections of laboratories so that people get the message that wearing laboratory coats is not an option, it is now required any time a researcher is in a laboratory working at a bench, regardless of the hazard that they're dealing with at that moment, and in fact, we take it so seriously that our own chancellor, Chancellor Block, joined our EH&S inspection team on the very first round of these surprise inspections. The reason he did that was to make sure the message was clearly understood among the researchers that we take this very seriously, at the highest levels of the institution and that we're going to hold each other accountable for following safety rules.

Q: In the written statement that was released, I believe it was yesterday, by UCLA media relations and public outreach, one of the biggest points that was made in that is that, since the time of this tragedy, that UCLA has really become a model for safety in laboratories. It created the Center for Laboratory Safety that other universities and research organizations now look to UCLA as a prime example of how to do this right.

But should that really play a role in whether criminal charges are filed against the university or this particular professor, because that's based on what happened 3 years ago, not about the way the institution has responded to it since?

But Larry, it absolutely plays a role in justice. It is what this institution has done to learn from this tragedy.

It was the mandate of Chancellor Block after this tragedy that we would be a leader nationally and we, I believe, have become that leader nationally. Our EH&S director is called upon to lecture around the country on the lessons that we learned from this tragedy, our chemical safety plan is borrowed by institutions around this country, we've produced videos that show the safe handling of these kinds of volatile chemicals.

Those videos have been used by institutions around this country. It was a wake-up call, not just for UCLA, but for research laboratories around the world, and we think that is exactly where our focus ought to be, not trying to defend against fallacious charges of felonies about an accident that happened 3 years ago.

Q: Kevin Reed is the vice chancellor for legal affairs of UCLA, responding to yesterday's filing of criminal charges against UCLA professor.

Patrick Harran who was supervising the laboratory and the work of laboratory employee Sheri Sangji who was severely burned, later died from her injuries about two-and-a-half weeks after she suffered them on December 29, 2008. Mr. Reed, what about the fines that the university if convicted of these charges. My understanding that we're looking at 1.5 million dollars on each of the 3 counts, potentially. Might the university look at settling this case for a lower amount to avoid a trial?

That's quite premature, Larry -- we haven't even been served with a summons at this point. We expect to fight these charges. We think that they are baseless and certainly UCLA isn't going to enter into any sort of agreement in which we're confessing to a crime when we know that a crime did not occur. It was an accident, pure and simple.

Q: Also, on the issue of the charges that Professor Harran is facing, will the university be providing for the legal defense of Professor Harran as a part of his terms of employment?

Yes, of course. Professor Harran, we believe, has been absolutely unjustly charged in this case, we have been providing him with counsel and expect to continue to do so.

Q: Do you have any clarification yet as to whether Professor Harran would be concurrently tried as well as the university, whether this would be combined or whether it would likely be separated out?

We have no indication on that as of this moment.

Q: Have you spoken to District Attorney Cooley as to this case?

No, we have not.

Q: And is that something you're hoping to get a meeting with him, early in this process, right after the arraignment takes place?

No, we think that the justice process is sufficient to deal with these allegations. We trust the judges that will hear the arguments that we'll make early on and we trust the jury that will ultimately hear the case, if it comes to that.

Q: I want to thank Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs for UCLA for talking with us, Kevin Reed, thank you very much.

Innnnnnnteresting: UCLA vice chancellor of legal affairs Kevin Reed on the Sheri Sangji case

2011-12-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

Via Jyllian Kemsley, a southern California public radio station interviews Kevin Reed, the vice chancellor of legal affairs for UCLA. He also interviewed Russ Phifer, a former head of ACS' Division of Health and Safety. I'm going to be transcribing most of the comments, but I thought I would make a note of a few of his comments quickly:

Placed a lot of emphasis on UCLA's lab inspections
He said that Sangji was experienced, a professional chemist and chosen from "hundreds of applicants" for her position.

Editorial comment: Come on! You have GOT to be kidding me. If this is the line they're going to be using, they're in deep kimchee.

He said that it was a terrible tragedy and an accident, not a crime (not a surprise)
Asserted that UCLA has become a nationwide leader in chemical safety since the accident

Also said that this was relevant to "justice"

He said that UCLA would be providing Professor Harran with counsel.
He made no indication that they were interested in settling with the LA County DA.

Sangji news roundup at The Safety Zone

2011-12-29T07:19:00.000-08:00

Jyllian Kemsley did an excellent job rounding up all of yesterday's blog reaction to the news of the charging of Professor Harran and the UC Regents. Her opinions on popular comment themes (especially amongst the hoi polloi of the online readers of the Los Angeles Times, etc.) is pretty good. I really want to note her comment on Ms. Sangji's experience:

“Sangji was an experienced chemist” – She was experienced in one specific context, which is that she was experienced for a 23-year-old who had graduated the previous spring with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. She was no more experienced than a first- or at most second-year graduate student.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Also, I wanted to bring attention to Captain Pegleg, who wrote an interesting post on his concerns with industrial chemical safety.

60 mL syringes can get unstable

2011-12-29T07:11:00.000-08:00

The syringe, after the incident. Credit: UCLA/The Safety Zone

One of the details that keeps coming back from the Sheri Sangji case was the use of a large plastic syringe to perform the transfer. They're quite difficult to handle, as commenters can tell you:

milkshake says:

Scale-up + nasty reagents + enthusiasm + work done in hurry + poor technique is how typically lab accidents happen. I think a limited previous research experience is more dangerous than having no experience: it lends false self-confidence. (I had many close calls in the lab, often working alone)

In retrospect, someone should have looked over Ms. Sangji and warn her that giant syringes are terrible for air-free work and that a much better choice is using a graduated addition funnel with a septa and a canula transfer under positive pressure.

Anon122820111028p adds:

I, too, use plastics with Li reagents...but these plastics we are using have a luer lock... Unfortunately, those giant 60 mL syringes 1) are not luer lock, and 2) effing difficult to control the plunger. I HATE using them. Cannula is the way to go if you are going to transfer that much of a reagent.

I've been wanting to illustrate the problem with large syringe instability for quite some time; that the Sangji case is back in the news is a good time to bring it up. I took a NEW syringe home, pulled the syringe past the ridge that keeps the plunger in (which we've all done to get a little more into the syringe, although hopefully not with pyrophorics) and asked a young child that I know to tap the plunger. You can see the results below:

For large transfers of liquid in the lab, you're much, much, much better off using a cannula transfer. Young chemists (and old!), learn the lesson of Sheri Sangji and take note.

Daily Pump Trap: 12/29/11 edition

2011-12-29T06:32:00.000-08:00

Not this Slim Pickens, though. Credit: Wikipedia

Good morning! And welcome to the last DPT of the year! Between December 27 and December 28, there was 1 (one) new position posted on the ACS Careers website. Of these, 1 (100%) was academically connected.

Uh, there you are: It's the holiday season and it's slim pickins. But there is a research assistant professor position at UT-Southwestern in Dallas, TX.

You again: On Monster, Dymax Corporation (of Torrington, CT) has been looking for a M.S. chemist to be a researcher in adhesives development. "Experience in optical lamination adhesives or moisture curable adhesives are required."

A broader look: Monster, Careerbuilder, Indeed and USAjobs.gov show (respectively) 232, 609, 2,514 and 42 positions for the search term "chemist." See you in the new year!

UC Regents and Prof. Patrick Harran to face 3 felony charges in death of Sheri Sangji

2011-12-28T07:15:00.000-08:00

Recap: On December 29, 2008, Sheharbano 'Sheri' Sangji was working as a research technician in the laboratory of Professor Patrick Harran at UCLA. She was severely burned during the transfer of a 1.7M solution of tert-butyllithium (in pentane) using a 60 mL syringe and a 1.5 inch needle; the procedure called for 159.5 mL of tBuLi. She was intending to generate vinyllithium for the addition of a vinyl group to a ketone to generate a tertiary alcohol. The syringe came apart and the tBuLi (naturally) ignited.

She was wearing a polyester sweater, which caught on fire. Her labmates used a lab coat and water from the sink to put out the flames. She was transported to the hospital, where she died of injuries from her burns on January 16, 2009.

The news: Yesterday, the LA Times reported that Professor Harran and the UC Regents are both charged by the LA County District Attorney's office with 3 felony counts of "Willful Violation of Occupational Health and Safety Standard Causing the Death of An Employee." The 3 counts have to do with (in Paul's formulation) "failing to correct unsafe work conditions in a timely manner, to require clothing appropriate for the work being done and to provide proper chemical safety training." Harran faces a maximum 4.5 years in jail, while UCLA faces a maximum $4.5 million in fines if found guilty.

The reaction of the charged: Professor Harran is out of town and will surrender himself when he returns, according to his attorney. Harran's bail is set at $20,000.

UCLA has come out swinging in their press release. An excerpt:

Following a meeting with the district attorney in October 2010, UCLA had not been contacted by the district attorney or received any requests for documents or interviews until being notified about pending charges two days before Christmas. The district attorney's decision to file charges today is truly baffling and directly contradicts the findings of the state agency responsible for evaluating workplace safety.

Since the accident, UCLA has dramatically increased the number of laboratory inspections and established even more rigorous safety standards. UCLA's recently created Center for Laboratory Safety has become a leader in the field, and other universities and research organizations look to the center as a comprehensive resource on lab safety.

The facts provide absolutely no basis for the appalling allegation of criminal conduct, and UCLA is confident an impartial jury would agree.

I find it ironic that neither the names of Professor Harran nor Ms. Sangji are included in their press release. As I expressed in an e-mail at the time of the founding of the center, "I find most of UCLA's changes (the high-profile chancellor-level surprise inspections, the lab safety center) to be the worst sort of top-down cosmetic change; it will irritate bench-level workers, alienate PIs and promote the feeling that most post-accident safety changes are about restoring the image of the institution rather than promoting the safety of the individual worker."

I think this press release suggests that I might have been right. Harran's sense that "the administration and staff are scrambling to protect their own [hides]" is pretty much dead on as well.

The public reaction: Online comments on the articles are pretty much a mixed bag of idiocy, overreaction to over-litigiousness and appeal to authority. On the other hand, I was struck by the comment of a certain UC-Irvine professor (scroll down):

I think that's fairly reasonable, although we're going to re-litigate again and again and again how experienced Sheri Sangji was. There was this JACS paper and some analytical/computation work; I would consider her considerably more experienced than your average 1st year graduate student. That said, it doesn't speak directly to her ability to manipulate pyrophorics.

My speculation: Just like Paul, I can't imagine that Professor Harran will actually serve any jail time for this; I presume that this is an opening gambit between the DA's office, the UC Regents and Harran to extract some sort of plea bargain. I predict fines for the UC system, some administrative changes and community service for Harran.

The repercussions for the academic synthetic community are large and severe. Professor Patrick Harran is not a small name in synthetic chemistry; he's well known for the quality of his work, especially for a relatively young researcher. I believe the level of unpreparedness and the lack of safety in his laboratory was no more than one standard deviation away from the median synthetic lab in academia.

Because of that, this case cannot be swept under the rug or forgotten. Pictures of Professor Harran and Ms. Sangji will grace Powerpoint slides of safety offices throughout the US academic science community from now on; I predict that "You don't want to be another UCLA" will become a refrain from top to bottom.

Finally, I'm on record saying that (this is the full quote): "I think that it will take a professor (Patrick Harran?) being railroaded to really engender change on the part of academia overall, i.e. some professor being punished (and probably unfairly) that will *really* get the academic chemistry community to seriously address the issue from the professor level down." We're about to find out, and a lot sooner than I expected.

Process Wednesday will return

2011-12-28T06:11:00.001-08:00

...next Wednesday. I promise.

Daily Pump Trap: 12/27/11 edition

2011-12-27T07:21:00.000-08:00

Good morning -- hope you had a good break. Between December 22 and December 26, there were 14 new positions posted on the ACS Careers website. Of these, 6 (43%) were academically connected.

King of Prussia, PA: Arkema is being naughty: advertising for a contract or a postdoc position as follows:

Perform hands-on development and testing of new cleaning product formulations containing enzymes and hydrogen peroxide. Devise and implement strategies to enable enzyme - peroxide stabilization. Integrate technology into cleaning formulations, conduct activity assays to understand enzyme - formulation ingredient compatibility, and evaluate and optimize end-product performance.

The position, which will be located at Arkema's Research Center in King of Prussia, PA, is funded for 12 months, with the possibility to renew for an additional year.

The successful candidate will have a Ph.D. in chemistry, biochemistry or a closely related field, with a strong emphasis in enzyme or protein action, stabilization, and inhibition. Demonstrated understanding of mechanisms of activity and stabilization for proteases, amylases, and lipases is preferred. Also of interest is work experience in development and testing of molecules or materials with antimicrobial or antibacterial properties, cleaning product development, or hydrogen peroxide use. Postdoctoral versus Contract Scientist position will be dependent on candidate's work experience; candidates with industrial experience are encouraged to apply. (emphasis CJ's)

In my opinion, it is in bad faith to refer to this as a postdoctoral position, which has the connotations of being a learning experience, as opposed to a ~~temp job~~ contract scientist position. There is nothing, NOTHING, that indicates this as any sort of academic experience. The only benefit from this is that you might get to say that you have 'industrial experience.'

Bartlesville, OK: Chevron Phillips is looking for a Ph.D. chemist to be a group leader; 3+ years experience and knowledge of sulfur chemistry is desired.

Rockville, MD: The United States Pharmacopeia is looking for a Ph.D. analytical chemist with ten years experience to be their director of small molecules in their Documentary Standards Division. Sounds important.

Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all Chemjobber readers

2011-12-25T08:56:00.000-08:00

It's not a good company holiday party until...

2011-12-23T07:13:00.000-08:00

The boss makes one too many layoff jokes.
Someone goes home really, really, really offended.
The boss' wife tells parents how nice it is to get an evening to themselves after she's uninvited your kids.
Someone hogs all the good rolls in the buffet line.
Someone attempts shop talk by drawing structures on a napkin.
There's a wild round of applause for the awesome support staff, who totally deserve it.
Someone attempts to karaoke to Dr. Dre until the HR manager cuts them off.
The boss tries to tell you how awesome his leadership has been.
Someone gets drunk and tells off the boss.
The bar runs out of liquor and someone makes a scene.
There's a secret afterparty to avoid inviting *that guy*.
[of course] Someone goes home with an invited guest... and regrets it in the morning.

Merry Christmas, all. Best wishes to you and to your families and friends. See you on Tuesday.

Too good not to repost

2011-12-23T06:58:00.000-08:00

I'm sure everyone saw this little anecdote over at In The Pipeline, but if not, you're in for a treat. From the keyboard of Derek Lowe:

Someone I used to work with at Schering-Plough found himself (like many others in his position) out of a job in late October. He had a previously scheduled trip to Florida the next day, and as he boarded the plane, who should he see sitting in first class but Fred Hassan, the CEO of Schering-Plough who'd helped engineer the deal with Merck?

As the chemist involved put it, "After quickly scanning to make sure there wasn’t a body guard looking guy near him", he said "Hi, Fred!" Hassan looked up and asked "Do I know you?" "Well," said the chemist, "no, probably not, but I'm a medicinal chemist with Schering-Plough, and now Merck". Hassan smiled and said "Great, so how are you?" The response, in a loud voice, was "Well, I just got laid off!". He then walked on down to his seat in coach, and heard Hassan saying something about being sorry about that. And as he told me, he sat there in coach, smiling at the picture of Hassan thinking about this irate ex-employee on the plane with him for the next 2 and a half hours...

I'd like to buy that man a drink. Heck, I'd like to give him a trophy. This is exactly what I'm talking about in terms of public shaming of executives who are involved in this mess.

Quote of the week: what a good organization feels like

2011-12-23T06:51:00.000-08:00

I love this quote from Lt. Gen. Walter Ulmer (via Tom Ricks) about what a good organization feels like:

What is the essence of a 'good climate' that promotes esprit and gives birth to 'high performing units'? It is probably easier to feel or sense than to describe. It doesn't take long for most experienced people to take its measure. There is a pervasive sense of mission. There is a common agreement on what are the top priorities. There are clear standards. Competence is prized and appreciated. There is a willingness to share information. There is a sense of fair play. There is joy in teamwork. There are quick and convenient ways to attack nonsense and fix aberrations in the system. There is a sure sense of rationality and trust. The key to the climate is leadership in general, and senior leadership in particular.

I can't agree with this statement enough. I especially like the bits about "joy in teamwork" and "convenient ways to attack nonsense."

The Window of Security

2011-12-22T06:53:00.000-08:00

It's not very open (or closed?)
Credit: bryanens.wordpress.com

In a recent conversation, I described my thought process about a previous employer as 6 month windows (kind of like a Friedman Unit), where the question would always be "Will the company make it to the summer?" or "Will the company make it until Christmas?" I said that, by comparison, I now feel like the window has lengthened by 18 months. I mentioned that I really couldn't imagine that window getting any wider, even if I were to work for a much-larger and/or prominent employer.

As I thought more about this, of course, my thoughts turned to tenure-track professors. By comparison, tenure seems like an infinite window. Even then, it's worth recognizing that funding situations change; nobody can predict the funding picture in 10 years for even the most august state-funded universities.

By comparison, my father has worked for the same private company for over 30 years. I simply cannot imagine the concept of near-lifetime employment. It's my assumption that this option is closed to most chemists of my generation.

Best wishes to all of us.

Daily Pump Trap: 12/22/11 edition

2011-12-22T06:28:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between December 20 and 21, there were 13 new positions posted on the ACS Careers website. Of these, 5 are academically connected.

Charleston, TN: Wacker Polysilicon is looking for analysts for its facility in Tennessee; they would like 2 Ph.D. chemists, one with 5+ years of experience.

Zeroes!: Merck is looking for a Ph.D. chemist with 0-5 years experience in "preformulation, analytical chemistry or formulation development... "Candidates with experience in analytical techniques (e.g., X-Ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC)) and/or drug delivery (e.g., controlled release, transdermal) are preferred." Good luck.

The Great North: Twin Ports Testing in Duluth, MN is looking for a chemistry lab manager for biomass fuel testing. "[C]urrently seeking an experienced professional with a passion for chemistry laboratory work. Minimum five years management and/or laboratory experience. BS in Science related field. Respirator use required. Ability to lift up to 50 lbs." Huh.

Emeryville, CA: Amyris (them, again!) is looking for a Ph.D. analytical chemist with 5+ years experience; LC/MS, GC/MS experience desired.

A broader look: Monster, Careerbuilder, Indeed and USAjobs.gov show (respectively) 238, 609, 2656 and 49 positions for the search term "chemist."

Yellow HDPE caps

2011-12-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

A list of small, useful things (links):

David has a nice post on ISCO Gold columns.
An interesting analytical technique using metathesis.
Want to learn about a flavor chemist? Christine has a great post about one.
Cheap Laugh Tuesdays still good for a link.
Check out this dude's lack of PPE over at Th'Gaussling's.
Billy Mays here! for catalysts!
Synthetic Remarks is hitting it out of the park these days -- just keep scrolling.
Over at Liberal Arts Chemistry, an post on home labs.
Want to read about bourbon? Who doesn't?

Process Wednesday: ARRRRGH! They're process chemists, dammit!

2011-12-21T07:06:00.000-08:00

Imagine my pain (and joy!) at reading this blurb in Forbes' "30 Under 30: Science" (a listicle of young scientists and the world-changing work they're doing)

Christopher Morgan & Leigh Anne Ihnken, Research Scientists, GlaxoSmithKline, 29
Using synthetic biology to make pharmaceutical chemistry less expensive and less harmful to the environment.

Of course, they're pharma process chemists, not synthetic biologists (or are they???) And of course, modification of enzymes to drive better enantioselectivity has been around for quite some time. (I clearly remember being blown away by a Manfred Reetz talk at the Bozeman, MT National Organic Symposium in 2001.)

But that's too complex for Forbes, apparently. So it's "biology/science to the rescue of dirty chemistry" as opposed to "chemists improving chemistry." Disappointing.

[Sorry, a more substantive PW next week, I promise.]

North Korea's "The Great Successor" also "The Great Synthesizer"

2011-12-20T07:31:00.000-08:00

The Great Synthesizer, giving his grant program officer a
tour of his laboratory. (Credit: Kim Jong Un tumblr)

(KCNA) Pyongyang, DPRK: The Central Committee and the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and the Cabinet of the DPRK are pleased to note to the world that Kim Jong Un, the Great Successor, has also achieved great feats in the highest field of scientific achievement, the total synthesis of marine natural products.

In his very first synthetic campaign in 2010, Kim finished a synthesis of the complex marine natural product maitotoxin in 14 steps, according to state chemistry journals. Kim's impressive synthetic feat was marked with the catalytic, enantioselective synthesis of 30 of maitotoxin's 32 fused rings in a single step. During this remarkable achievement, Kim averaged no less than 98% yield and 99% enantioselectivity for each synthetic step. Pyongyang University of Science and Technology chemistry professors (along with their North Korean People's Army escorts) confirmed Kim's synthesis of maitotoxin via X-ray crystallography. Earlier this year, the Chemical Society of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea congratulated "The Great Synthesizer" on his stunning achievement that has eluded scientists in all other advanced nations. CSDPRK's press release noted that Kim's synthesis of 45 grams of maitotoxin was also protecting group- and solvent-free.

Now that Kim Jong Un has climbed this near-invincible summit, he wishes to leave the bench and achieve greater heights as a leader and administrator.

NB: Satire. Parody based on this Washington Post blog post and this KCNA news release.

Daily Pump Trap: 12/20/11 edition

2011-12-20T07:08:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between December 15 and December 19, there were 70 new positions posted on the ACS Careers website. Of these, 19 (27%) are academically connected and 26 (37%) are from our friends at Kelly Scientific Resources.

Dallas, TX: Peloton Therapeutics is a new oncology start-up that's looking for 2 positions: a B.S./M.S. research associate position and a Ph.D. senior scientist position, both for medicinal chemistry. Sounds good for somebody and you gotta love the name, I'd think.

Austin, TX: Continuing on the Lone Star state trend, MicroSurfaces, Inc. is an Austin-based startup working on bio-related surface chemistry. They're looking for a M.S./Ph.D. organic/polymer chemist. While they're saying "competitive salary", I ain't buying that.

Adelphi, MD: The Army Research Laboratory is looking for a postdoctoral fellow to work on organic and inorganic synthesis towards organic-based electronics.

Laramie, WY: The Western Research Institute desires a Ph.D. chemist with 2-5 years of experience to research the properties of petroleum and asphalt and their changes after treatment. I hear it's windy in Wyoming -- I've always found it lovely there.

Lexington, KY: Escent Technologies is an analytical instrumentation startup based on University of Kentucky technology; they're looking for a M.S./Ph.D. analytical chemist to join their staff as a research scientist. Experience with chemometric software desired.

ACC: Chemical economy to slow in 2012

2011-12-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

Also from today's issue of C&EN, some bad news:

Citigroup's Economic Surprise Index; red line corresponds to an accurate
prediction. (Credit: Brad Plumer)
In its end-of-the-year assessment and outlook for the chemical enterprise, the American Chemistry Council concludes that “the recovery from the worst recession since the Great Depression has stalled.” The European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) is also concerned about economic growth. Both industry trade groups say chemical production in their regions will grow at a slower pace in 2012 than it did this year.

ACC’s pessimistic appraisal takes into account evidence of an emerging recession in Europe, a slowdown in the U.S. economy, and signs of less robust growth in Asia. “Is it 1937, when another recession followed a few years after the Great Depression,” asks ACC’s Chief Economist T. Kevin Swift, “or 1995, which was just a midcycle slowdown?”

The answer is likely not a simple one. Economic prospects going forward “represent a two-speed world” in which Asia outpaces other regions, write Swift and ACC colleagues who prepared the report.

Developed nations, they say, will be constrained by debt, adverse demographic factors, and tight fiscal policies that could lead to slow growth and recession. Emerging markets will continue to grow, but not as strongly as in 2010, the economists add.

After a strong rebound in 2010 from the Great Recession of 2008, the chemical enterprise encountered significant headwinds this year from high energy prices, a devastating earthquake in Japan, Europe’s monetary crisis, and a slowdown in China, ACC economists say. After falling 4.4% in 2009, global chemical production rose 10.0% in 2010, but it will increase only 3.5% this year, they note.

Thaaaat's great. Well, hopefully this will be wrong.

I'm amused to learn of Citigroup's "economic surprise index" , which shows the correlation between predictions of the US economy and the actual data. I've drawn a line through the zero line, which is the value that corresponds to an accurate prediction. As you can see, things aren't going so well in the forecasting biz.

That said, Kevin Swift has only pretty much had to decide at what rate the chemical economy is going to drop for a while now (I keed! I keed!)

Best wishes to all of us.

Funny (NOT): quotes of the year

2011-12-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

From today's issue of Chemical and Engineering News (and the last issue of the year) comes ten quotes of the year, 3 of which are about the chemistry job market:

“In the end, I think that there is really only one employment data point that matters—yours.”

David Harwell, assistant director, ACS Department Of Career Management & Development, January 31.

“We consider synthetic chemistry to be very outsourceable. Frankly, we don’t do any of it in-house anymore.”

Kerry L. Spear, vice president of medicinal chemistry, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, May 9.

“We used to tell students that, if you take an advanced degree in chemistry, your career will be secure. That’s not true anymore.”

Ronald Breslow, University Professor, Columbia University, September 26.

Interesting to see. We've covered 2 of those quotes directly here. Hopefully 2012 will have better quotes.

12 rumors about that professor

2011-12-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

Every chemistry department has a Professor Y, someone who makes the potted plants wilt a little when they walk by and makes grad students tinkle in their pants. Here's some things I heard about them:

Morning coffee cup made from the skull of a former graduate student who reported a 25% yield.
Walked into E.J. Corey's office once without pushing the button.
Designed 4 dresses that made it onto the cover of Vogue.
Professor Y was a sniper in Vietnam with 15 kills.
A postdoc challenged Professor Y during a group meeting; they had a duel that ended when Professor Y beheaded them. The group meeting ended on time at 12:15 am.
Professor Y told their committee when they were graduating -- and they loved it!
They don't have a bedroom at home -- they sleep on top of old Chemical Reviews with a copy of Chemical Abstracts as a pillow.
Professor Y once gave Chuck Norris an 'F' on a p-chem exam -- that's why he's an actor now instead of a chemist.
Can recite journal articles from memory; as a parlor trick, can recite supplemental information procedures.
Doesn't have radio on while driving -- listens to computer-read Nature Chemistry articles in the car instead.
Gave an exam so hard that a student's head exploded. You can still see the bloodstains on the ceiling in Room 358.
Professor Y is a really nice person -- you just have to go BASE jumping with them a few times.

Personality, or I Know It When I See It

2011-12-16T06:58:00.000-08:00

A comment arrived last night in a recent thread that I think is quite revealing. It's from a commenter who appears to have been a hiring manager in the chemical industry. Their comment:

When faced with a pile of CVs, perhaps 100 or more you need to do a (very) quick weeding out, rejecting the obvious non-starters, perhaps leaving 10 or 12 for further consideration. Does anyone stand out? Either because of their relevant expertise or because they work for a competitor whose products you know, or perhaps their CV shows some spark of life which you can direct into the channels in which my company is interested.

After thinking more about the CV's content I try to only take forward to a meeting around 4, but no more then 6, applicants. Anyone who bothers to 'phone to discuss the position and shows some genuine interest and knowledge gets an automatic invitation.

The first meeting can be the decider. Personality is the key, all the qualifications and expertise in the World will not get you the job. Often within the first 5 minutes, or less it is obvious who will fit. As an employer I cannot have anyone on the team who will disrupt an organisation which may have taken years to build-up. Especially in laboratories situated on a manufacturing site, as most are, the 'works tour' quickly sorts out those who cannot relate to the operators in their overalls.

That's one of the more true (and more terrifying) judgments of hiring I've seen in a long time. I've had enough opportunity to meet candidates and participate in interviews enough to listen to my gut feelings. "Hey, this gal seems pretty smart" or "That dude seems like a real tool" only takes a few moments or a few questions after a handshake and/or an interview seminar. I remember seeing only one slide from a candidate recently and thinking "this person knows their stuff". (FWIW, I was proven right, too.)

But there's the rub about 'personality' or a 'good fit'; it is incredibly subjective and a potential catch-all for all sorts of erroneous non-verbal signals. I've never been a hiring manager, but if I had a bad 'gut feeling', I suppose that would be a sign to me that I needed to talk more to the candidate and ask them more questions about how they would handle certain situations or certain personalities. I suppose the same caution should be applied to a good gut feeling, too. You can't be too cautious (which is what the commenter I think was trying to say.)

Readers, do you trust "personality" to know who to hire?

Thanks to Anon121620111241a for writing in and sharing the benefit of their many years of experience. It is appreciated.

ACS Webinars today: Not enough DOOOOOOOOOOM? Get more DOOOOOOOOOOM.

2011-12-15T07:37:00.000-08:00

Paul Hodges, blogger of Chemicals and the Economy, purveyor of the Downturn Alert and all-around DOOOOOOOOMer (TM Uncle Sam), will be doing his 2011 review and 2012 outlook with Bill Carroll as moderator. That's today at 2 PM EST.

Register here.

Pharma labor market looking up? Really?

2011-12-15T07:21:00.000-08:00

From my personal non-CJ inbox a week ago, a note from the managing partner of Klein Hersh International, a big life sciences recruiting firm:

[Chemjobber],

A lot of media attention in 2011 has been has been devoted to the BLS (US Bureau of Labor Statistics) Unemployment Report. You may have wondered, "What are the implications for my industry, Life Sciences?"

Since we are winding down 2011 and looking forward to 2012, I wanted to share some brief perspective from Klein Hersh International with you.

As a niche provider of executive search and consulting services specifically targeting the Life Sciences vertical for the past 12 years, we have experienced six consecutive record breaking months.

As our business has traditionally been a leading indicator of what is to come from a broader macroeconomic perspective, we feel that we are in the early stages of tremendous reinvigorated growth in the Life Sciences. We see and feel further reinforcement as we speak daily with thousands of hiring managers, key decision makers, and top professionals in the industry. We are collaborating with these people right now to bolster their teams for strategic growth, and / or personal career enhancement to be best positioned for this growth in 2012 and beyond.

Below is an update about the broader employment market in November, which reflects slow but consistent overall economic recovery. Not exactly consistent with what is reported in the media, is it? Typically, the belief is that life sciences companies have very different pressure than the broader economy and employment market. But what do you think? As you begin to build and execute your talent plans for 2012, we hope you'll engage with us further in this dialogue.

Any feedback is welcome.

Regards,

Josh

Josh Albert
Managing Partner
Klein Hersh International

Huh. I don't think there's any really compelling reason for them to lie, but I find this to be not really what I'm seeing from the broader macroeconomic trends. While I do see some positive signs in the overall labor market, I think I see far more threats (Europe, outsourcing, pipeline problems, decreasing labor force participation) than I see promising signs. Nope, don't see it at all.

Best wishes to all of us.

Quote of the week: nerdness

2011-12-15T07:15:00.000-08:00

From Reamde, a pretty good (but atypical) novel by Neal Stephenson (sorry, excimer), a pretty insightful quote about people and being nerds:

In so many areas, it was not possible to be knowledgeable without getting a Ph.D. and doing a postdoc. Guns and hunting provided an out for men who wanted to be know-it-alls but who couldn't afford to spend the first three decades of their lives getting up to speed on quantum mechanics or oncology. You simply couldn't go to a gun range without being cornered by a man who wanted to talk to you for hours about the relative merits of side-by-side versus over-and-under shotguns.

So, so, so true. Nerdness is all over, some areas are just a little more obscure than others.

Daily Pump Trap: 12/15/11 edition

2011-12-15T07:02:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between December 13 and 14, there were 36 new positions posted. Of these, 3 (8.3%) are academically connected and 25 (69%) are from Kelly Scientific Resources.

Old Spice: Once again, McCormick and Company (the spice company) is looking for Ph.D. chemists who are senior flavor scientists. 3 positions in the last 2 days -- minimum 10 years in the flavor industry. Uh, good luck with that.

Boulder, CO: Kelly Scientific is recruiting for (it seems) a full-time B.S./M.S./Ph.D. natural product synthetic chemist position, 2-3 years experience desired. Who is this for?

North Charleston, SC: MeadWestVaco desires a B.S. product development chemist; 2-5 years experience in the chemical industry desired. Pine chemicals experience desired, but not necessary.

Kelly: I hate to do this, Kelly, but you leave me no choice. Are you a chemist? Do you like working in a chemistry lab? Kelly Scientific Resources would like to know if you want to be a shipping and receiving coordinator, a bare die manufacturing engineer or a site master planning staff engineer. Sigh.

A broader look: Monster, Careerbuilder, Indeed and USAjobs.gov have 243, 653, 2,930 and 49 positions posted for the search term "chemist."

The academic job market: After a year and a half off, I'd like to start looking at the academic job market again more thoroughly. Does anyone have a cutesy name for the weekly post I'd like to do? DPT is aimed squarely at the working chemist (I try, anyway); I'd like the new feature to be aimed at people who want to teach for a living.

I want to be a rogue chemist

2011-12-14T07:46:00.000-08:00

Via Felix Salmon, some fairly interesting tidbits about MF Global (the now-bankrupt commodity trading firm) and its CEO, John Corzine. Apparently, he was personally doing trades with his firm's money:

Not to be outdone, Mr. Corzine was the most profitable trader in that team, known as the Principal Strategies Group, according to a person briefed on the matter. Mr. Corzine traded oil, Treasury securities and currencies and earned in excess of $10 million for the firm in 2011, the person said…

His obsession with trading was apparent to MF Global insiders over his 19-month tenure. Mr. Corzine compulsively traded for the firm on his BlackBerry during meetings, sometimes dashing out to check on the markets. And unusually for a chief executive, he became a core member of the group that traded using the firm’s money. His profits and losses appeared on a separate line in documents with his initials: JSC…

It's difficult to think what this would be like at a pharma company; it'd be as if the CEO of Merck or Pfizer had his own hood in the lab or was personally directing clinical trials (right?) Wow.

Process Wednesday: Claisen's alkali

2011-12-14T07:38:00.000-08:00

It's time again for another one of Kilomentor's questions. He asks of a potential process chemist:

24. What is Claisen’s alkali? For what separations can it be used?

Well, according to Purification of Laboratory Chemicals (a useful text if there ever was one (and it's free right now to Division of Organic Chemistry members!)), it's a water/methanol solution of KOH. As for its uses, it's probably Kilomentor himself who should answer that question:

Phenols may be separable from neutral substances by liquid/liquid extraction with aq. base, if the molecular weight is not too high. This is not a guaranteed success because phenols are only weak acids and the alkali phenolate, particularly as the molecular weight increases, may simply be water insoluble. Because the free phenol in this situation is lipophilic, the phenolate in the presence of both water and an organic phase may substantially hydrolyse back to sodium hydroxide and the free phenol. the neutral phenol “happily” jumps into the organic layer. For example, if a 10 ml. solution of 0.01 mol of 2,4-dimethylphenol is reacted with one equivalent of alkali in water and is then shaken with 20 ml of ethyl ether for about 10 minutes, the amount of the phenol found in the ether is 43% and the water is strongly basic. The amount extracted depends upon the ratio of alkali to phenol, the ratio of the phases, and the particular organic solvent used. In the case of 2-isopropyl-5-methyl-phenol (thymol) the amounts extracted by different solvents under the above conditions are: ether, 88; benzene, 38; carbon tetrachloride, 25; and pet. ether 22 percent.

In the extreme case of di-ortho substituted phenols there is steric hindrance to the solvation shell that is needed around the oxygen anion, which makes the anion formation energetically disfavoured. With di-ortho phenols, even when the molecular weight is rather low- the phenol will not dissolve in aqueous sodium hydroxide. For that reason such species were called cryptophenols in the days before spectroscopic testing, because these phenols did not give the characteristic qualitative test for a phenol. Cryptophenols can be dissolved in methanolic-KOH called Claisen’s alkali.

So I suspect that Claisen's alkali can be used in the extraction of phenols and other somewhat acidic functional groups (carboxylic acids) from fairly non-polar solvents? I confess, I'm not completely sure on this one.

2010 ACS ChemCensus: Industrial salary quintiles, inequality

2011-12-13T08:02:00.000-08:00

Among the interesting tidbits that the ChemCensus brings is the full-time industrial chemist salary quintiles. I'll just let you sit and read that table. For my industrial readers, of course, there will be the natural tendency to look at how your salary compares to that of your fellow chemists.

But what I'm most interested in is the change over time of the top, median and bottom salaries between the 2010 ChemCensus and the 2005 ChemCensus. With that in mind, I've prepared a Google document that indicates the change between the 90th, 50th and 10th percentiles in the last 5 years for B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. chemists that are 20-24 years after their bachelor's degree. That amount of experience was basically chosen at random -- readers can disagree about the variables that introduces or excludes.

It appears to me that, over the past 5 years, the 90th percentile of chemist salaries is pulling away from the 10th percentile of chemists. The fall in the 10th percentile of chemist salaries is perhaps shocking.

I note that 1) I don't know if my calculations are correct, 2) if correct, what it means and what should be done (if anything?) about it. I find it fascinating that the median salaries have actually increased healthily (noting, of course, that the 90th percentile is doing even better, with the exception of M.S. chemists. Huh?) I think I need more data.

Readers, what do you think?

A good start

2011-12-13T07:12:00.000-08:00

3 years ago today.

I'm on record saying that that I'd like to blog at least "until this unemployment thing comes around." (2nd to last paragraph) Considering that doesn't really look like it's going to happen anytime soon, I guess you all are stuck with me.

Thank you so much for reading, commenting, e-mailing, correcting me, critiquing me, Tweeting and linking.

Daily Pump Trap: 12/13/11 edition

2011-12-13T06:58:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Between December 8 and December 12, there were 27 new positions posted on the ACS Careers website. Of these, 9 (33%) were academically connected.

Andover, MA: Cambridge Isotopes is hiring B.S. chemists with 2-4 years of experience for batch synthesis of isotopically-labeled compounds. Not exactly a growth field, but nice to hear. GMP experience desirable.

And in other news: Cambridge Isotopes is hiring a Ph.D. analytical/organic chemist for a senior QC chemist position.

Similarly named...: Cambridge Major Laboratories (in Germantown, WI, I believe) is hiring B.S./M.S. analytical chemists and a Ph.D. analytical chemist for a senior regulatory position. (Scroll down, past the 2nd shift operator position.)

Cheese: The Hilmar Cheese Company (Hilmar, CA) is looking for a M.S./Ph.D. research chemist for research and quality control work. Apart from the typical chemist requirements, you need a "[b]asic knowledge of dairy chemistry, specifically in the field of dairy protein and lactose chemistry."

Zeroes!: Agrium Agriculure Technologies (Sycalauga, AL) is looking for a Ph.D. chemist (0-5 years experience) to become a product development chemist; the company appears to make fertilizers and other products for agriculture.

Saskatchewan!: For my readers north of the border, the government of Saskatchewan would like to hire a B.S. chemist to be a hazardous materials/spill Environmental Project Officer; you will be based in Regina, Saskatoon or Prince Albert. I'm going to guess that this is a pretty thankless position, really, considering that you're going to be trying to keep the potash industry from doing the wrong environmental thing.

Ann Arbor, MI: Wacker Chemicals is looking for a M.S./Ph.D. chemist to be a production manager for their silicone/silica-based business. 5+ years experience.

Albuquerque, NM: Sandia National Laboratories is looking for a B.S. chemist to be an electrochemical technologist. Curious what the pay level for this is.

AMRI/Lilly: When should public shaming of execs start?

2011-12-12T07:45:00.000-08:00

Can anyone give a defense of either AMRI or Lilly in this (IMHO) execrable "AMRI at Lilly" deal? I suppose it's "hey, we could just not hire anyone." I find this whole thing odious.

That said, here are the links to the 20 new B.S./M.S. positions and the 14 experienced (2-5 years) B.S./M.S. positions being advertised.

At what point do we as a community of chemists start advocating public shaming of managers/executives who put together these deals? Are there lines to be drawn? Have they already been crossed?

Best wishes to us all.

2010 ChemCensus is out: not much good news.

2011-12-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

Credit: Chemical and Engineering News

The results of the ACS ChemCensus that was held in 2010 is out in this week's issue of Chemical and Engineering News in the writeup by David Hanson.

It's going to take a while to wade through all the data, but here are the important details (to me, anyway):

Reported salaries were all down, with the exception of median B.S. chemist salaries.
As we've known for a while, the unemployment rate of all respondents in March 2010 was 3.8%, which is 0.1% lower than 2009. That 2009 was a 20-year high for the ACS Salary Survey.
The "U6-like" number for the ACS Salary Survey data (including part-time, post-doc and unemployed) is the highest in ten years, at 11.9%. Hanson notes the other side of this statistic, the lowest full-time employment of chemists since at least 2010. I'll note that I predicted a U6-like number at 12% way back in 2009. Good to know I'm only a year late.
Unemployment is negatively correlated with education, with B.S. chemists at 5.1% unemployment and Ph.D. chemists at 3.2%. M.S. chemists (the legendary 'most employable') come in at 4.8%.
The "ten year" rule still holds; among age cohorts, the 30-39 age group has the lowest unemployment at 2.5% and the 40-49 age group jumps to 3.6%. The bad news isn't over yet -- the 50-59 age group has the highest unemployment at 4.7%. This is lower than 2009's 5.0%, but not by much.
I note that the "small company discount" is alive and well. Median Ph.D. salary for a company of 10 or fewer employees? $49,200. Median Ph.D. salary for a company of 11-20 employees? $86,200. That's close to a 50% discount. Wow.

More soon. Readers, here's the article. What do you see?

The Eka-Silicon caveat: The ACS Salary Survey and the ChemCensus have both had relatively low response rates from members, which limits the extrapolatability of the data. This year's response rate for the ChemCensus was 47%, which is much lower than the 80% that professional survey types like to see. A discussion of this can be found here. At the same time, ACS unemployment numbers for their members more-or-less track the BLS survey data for chemists (see linked graph).

One more thing: All of the 40,480 responses were hand-entered by the ACS' Deparment of Research and Member Insights. Research associate Gareth Edwards (I believe) was responsible for much of that. This is a huge undertaking, and he should be commended for it.

[Ding ding ding] Could I have your attention, please?

2011-12-09T07:49:00.001-08:00

...It's been a tough year at PharmaCorp and I just wanted to say a few words...

(Thanks to lurkertech's Buzzword Bingo generator)

Who's the Albert Pujols of pharmaceutical chemistry?

2011-12-09T06:48:00.001-08:00

Oh, Pujols! Credit: Wikipedia

Albert Pujols was a star first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals. After winning his second World Series with the Cardinals this fall, he decided to sign with the ~~California~~ ~~Anaheim~~ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for 254 million dollars. (Sorry, Cardinals fans -- I feel for ya.)

I'm relatively unaware of any pharmaceutical process or medicinal chemistry departments that have made similarly large personnel moves, even in the good ol' days. I'm sure there were many behind the scenes maneuverings back in the day, with directors moving from company to company, bringing along their best lieutenants. I'm going to guess such moves just don't happen these days.

By contrast, there always seems to be a veritable "hot stove league" of chemistry professors moving from department to department. While I'm sure that those older and wiser than I can name even older precedents, the move of Peter Schultz to Scripps seems to have been accompanied by a significant financial commitment to building laboratories, etc. People have followed the move of John Hartwig from Yale to Illinois to Cal with some amusement.*

Readers, any stories of the good ol' days of pharma and big personnel moves? (other than mass layoffs, that is

*Sincere condolences for those who have to pack up the gloveboxes and put them on the moving trucks. It seems that professors never seem to hire movers for that sort of thing.

Arrrrrrrrrrrgggggghhhh! CEOs and their broad-brush employment statements

2011-12-08T07:31:00.001-08:00

An irritating set of statements from CEOs gathered before a informal Congressional panel:

“It’s really disappointing for companies like mine, when every single headline is about joblessness, to know that there are actually hundreds of thousands of jobs that are going without being filled,” said Lisa Hook, CEO of Neustar Inc., a Sterling, Va.-based telecommunications company. “Get me qualified people, and we’re taking qualified applications in the back of the room,” she added, drawing a round of laughter from the congresswomen and audience. “Because we never miss an opportunity.” “It’s incredibly challenging to get good technical people,” said Alison Brown, CEO of Navsys Corp., a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based GPS technology company. “There’s an enormous amount of demand, there’s competition, quite frankly between industries and labs and federal institutes.”

Navsys appears to have 5 (five) openings on their website. Neustar appears to have 32 openings on their website. Job growth must be happening at other companies, I suppose.

We also get the huge conflation of the "S" with the "TEM". It seems like TEM jobs are well-paid and regularly looking for people, while there's plenty of labor supply of the "S" and relatively few openings.

The problem, the business leaders said, boils down to the dearth of qualified people with expertise in science, technology, engineering and math, collectively known as STEM. Hook, the telecommunications executive, ticked off what she called troubling statistics: By 2018, there will be 1.4 million computing job openings in the United States, but given graduation rates, only 29 percent of those jobs will be filled by U.S. graduates; 40 states produce fewer computing graduates than needed to fill projected openings in their states; and the number of girls studying computing has declined 13 percent in the past 10 years.

The statistics come from the National Center for Women & Information Technology, which culled the numbers from various government departments. “We need a lot of federal assistance in encouraging children to go into STEM, we need to make it accessible and available starting in the ninth grade,” Hook said.

Nothing quite like lobbying Congress to cut your business costs -- sigh.

I think my opprobrium is best held for Ms. Janet Trautwein, who exemplifies every irritating HR manager in the history of corporate America:

Not all the CEOs at Monday’s panel need STEM graduates for their companies. Echoing some of her colleagues, Janet Trautwein, head of the National Association of Health Underwriters, said her professional association has many more applicants that it has jobs to offer. And she had some bad news for overqualified workers. “I do have a lot of people applying for positions that are really entry-level positions with way too much experience, and frankly I can’t hire [them] for those positions because I can’t pay them what they need, and also they won’t like it,” she said. “They wouldn’t be satisfied with that.”

After the panel, Trautwein said she had hired highly experienced people for low-level positions, only to have them quit two months later. Her advice to people applying to jobs for which they are overqualified: Explain yourself up front, either in the cover letter, or at the beginning of the interview, and make a case for why you are willing to take a position far beneath your skill level.

Sowhatyou'resayingis, people need to drop their dignity and grovel a little harder.

Daily Pump Trap: 12/8/11 edition

2011-12-08T06:59:00.001-08:00

Good morning! Between December 6 and December 7, there were 12 new positions posted on the ACS Careers website. Of these, 6 (50%) were academically connected.

Adhesives!: Adhesives Research, Inc. is once again looking for a M.S./Ph.D. chemist with experience "in the formulation and synthesis of pressure sensitive and laminating adhesives." You'll be working in the industrial tape division -- it's kind of amusing to learn that there is such a thing.

Ink!: DuPont is looking for a M.S./Ph.D. chemist for a technical supervisor position in their photovoltaic ink section (?); 5+ years experience in the chemical industry, with QA experience is desired.

Glass!: Solutia is a company that makes the polymer layer in safety glass; they're looking for a Ph.D. organic/polymer chemist to perform R&D for them.

A broader look: Monster, Careerbuilder, Indeed and USAjobs.gov show (respectively) 247, 676, 3025 and 40 positions for the search term "chemist."

Sometimes it feels this way, doesn't it?

2011-12-07T07:29:00.001-08:00

Parody of this parody by HeyOkay.com

This is not really how I feel. (mostly)

Process Wednesday: TLC

2011-12-07T06:47:00.001-08:00

One thing that I love about Organic Process Research and Development is the editorials by Trevor Laird. I suspect that Dr. Laird has been proto-chemblogging since 2000 or so. A bit of a gem on the organic chemist's favorite bench-scale analytical technique [1]:

I had finished my Ph.D. in 1970 and worked for many years in industry before the technique of HPLC became routinely used: first, in the analytical laboratory and subsequently by process chemists as a tool for following reactions as well as analysing products. I still remember the days when TLC was used, not just for qualitative analysis but also for accurate quantitative analysis of finished APIs. It is still useds in its HPTLC modes by some companies, particularly in Germany, as an accurate quantitative method of analysis, but the technique has been forgotten as a quantitative method by many younger chemists.

TLC has some major advantages over HPLCs -- cost being an important one. This means that it can be used in all circumstances, such as on the manufacturing plant. Since it is simple to use, process operators can easily perform the technique accurately. The second major advantage is that you see everything -- if you use correct visualisation (spraying and heating as well as UV visualisation) whereas with HPLC it is possible for impurities either to be retained on the column or to be late eluters which impatient organic chemists, but hopefully not analysts, might miss.

On a consultancy project in which I was recently involved, TLC was the only way in which a particular impurity could be detected and quantified. It is a useful adjunct -- or a reality check -- to HPLC in many instances.

[snip] So those of you who have abandoned TLC -- particularly quantitative TLC -- in favour of only HPLC, remember that TLC also can mean: The Lowest Cost.

I'm intrigued by the concept of having process operators perform TLC in the manufacturing plant; I think it's doable, but I think it would take a good bit of training to have relatively new operators correctly interpret TLCs.

1. Laird, T. Org. Process. Res. Dev. 2006, 10, 1.

Finding a job/postdoc during graduate school

2011-12-06T08:00:00.001-08:00

In the recent reader request thread, MB writes:

As a young graduate student, I would love some advice on how and when to participate in certain "career milestones" so that I can at least be proactive about my job prospects later on. For instance, if I want to pursue an academic career, what should I be doing at certain points in graduate school, at what point should I start thinking about post-docs, when should I apply for them, and how should I go about finding them, etc, and how does this compare to an industrial route? Once graduate school is done, how can I put myself in the best position not to be unemployed? We see a lot of forecasting on this blog and a lot of "what to do after the fact," but I would find it really useful to have some perspective on how to pre-empt some of these issues.

There's a lot of good questions in there. The basic gist is this: you need to start preparing for post-graduate school employment at least a year in advance, if not more.

If you want to go the academic route, I believe that you're supposed to send your application package (cover letter, CV, research summary) to your professor a year before you'd like be there. (This means, of course, that you need to have a decent idea of when you're done with your thesis, when your committee is agreeable for you to defend, etc.) It also means that you need to have to have accomplished something of substance by that point; a couple of papers' worth of material is probably a nice minimum goal to shoot for, although some of our more august readers will probably say that you need more.

For the industrial route, there's probably not too much difference between what I've laid out for the academic route. That said, larger companies tend to hire on a cycle that starts with campus interviews and other applications in the autumn and ends up with site interviews (and hiring!) in the winter and spring.* The academics tend to go off of a "rolling admissions" basis, to borrow a phrase from the undergraduate admissions world.

Readers, what do you think of my recommendations? What would you recommend to MB?

*That also means (for site interviews) that you need to be able to give a 45 minute presentation on your work.

Daily Pump Trap: 12/6/11 edition

2011-12-06T06:43:00.001-08:00

Good morning! Between December 1 and December 5, there were 311 new positions posted on the ACS Careers website. Of these, 14 (5%) were academically connected.

West Chicago, IL: Blachford, Inc. is a company that makes noise absorbers from polymers; they're looking for a B.S. chemist with 1 year of laboratory experience. Polymer chemistry coursework is "essential"; sounds interesting.

York, PA: Adhesives Research, Inc. is a company that develops adhesives for the medical device and pharmaceutical worlds. They're looking for a M.S. chemist with a background in polymer analysis.

Well, then, sign me up!: The American University in Beirut, Lebanon is looking for a non-tenure-track professor of analytical chemistry.

Kelly: Holy Kelly, folks. 281 (90%) positions posted by Kelly Scientific Resources, the majority of them chemistry and/or tech-related. There's a few synthetic positions buried in there -- looks like Dow Agrosciences in Indy is hiring temps now.

China Corner: Haisco Pharmaceutical Group (located in sunny Chengdu, China) is hiring, well, everyone. Synthetic organic chemists welcome, too.

Great analysis of UK chemistry grads' fate

2011-12-05T07:24:00.001-08:00

over at Lab Monkey For Hire's. I'm posting (stealing!) the best graphic here:

I should really attempt one for ACS data -- I think it might be a little more difficult to develop, but we'll see.

Chemistry Nobelists doing their prize-winning work later

2011-12-05T07:08:00.001-08:00

Credit: Chemical and Engineering News

From this week's Chemical and Engineering News, an article by Bethany Halford on the productive years of Nobel-winning chemists:

"According to a study by economists Benjamin F. Jones, of Northwestern University, and Bruce A. Weinberg, of Ohio State University, the average age at which Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine, Physics, and Chemistry do their prizewinning work is on the rise (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1102895108) More than half of the Nobel Laureates in Chemistry from 1901 to 1960 did their prizewinning work by the time they were 40. Since 1961, prizewinners were more likely to have done their acclaimed work after their 40th birthday.

At first blush, Jones and Weinberg’s study may seem like good news for researchers who don’t have to think of themselves as past their prime just because they’re past their 40th birthday. But Jones tells C&EN that the implication of his finding is a bit less rosy: Scientist may be spending their most creative years being trained, as doctoral students and as postdocs, rather than doing their own innovative research.

“There’s a long-standing view that people are at their most productive as innovators early in their life cycle,” Jones says. But, he points out, if it’s true that people have to become experts before they can innovate, then scientists are spending more of their years training and less of their time innovating. Consequently, their lifetime contributions as scholars are going to be smaller. Jones estimates the decline in a given researcher’s career output is as high as 30%."

I used to have a biochemistry professor who would mutter to his classes, when covering a fundamental topic, "...And Professor X won the Nobel Prize for this -- shows how little you had to do to win the Nobel Prize back then..."

I'm reminded of him when you look at the graph -- it's fairly obvious that there was either 1) a couple generations of geniuses from 1921 to 1960 or 2) lots of fundamental discoveries to be made at that time.

Presumably, there are ways of short-circuiting the graduate education process to give especially talented researchers access to funding for their ideas sooner rather that later. But that's no guarantee, I suspect, that the next block on that graph won't see the yellow bar get bigger or the red bar get smaller...

Ring clamps

2011-12-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

A list of small, useful things (links):

David (and Deborah Blum!) on pepper spray
Excimer has language issues.
Adam's latest on the higher education bubble. (?)
Th'Gaussling on the rare earth boom.
Dr. Freddy's self-portrait.
An interesting contrast in opinions on work-life balance.

A note to any bloggers out there -- want me to link to your post? Just e-mail me!

See you on Monday!

Living and dying with your project? Hmmm....

2011-12-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

Two readers have mentioned this interesting development at GSK:

Six months ago, Roberto Solari talked eagerly about his research into the mechanisms that govern asthma. Now he must let someone else finish the job.

Solari, who until last month headed one of GlaxoSmithKline Plc (SAN)’s targeted research units, is one of the casualties of the company’s new approach to drug discovery. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Witty turned up the dial on an overhaul initiated by his predecessor after he took over in 2008, dividing six disease-focused research centers into smaller teams known as Discovery Performance Units. The teams, or DPUs, compete for funds bestowed every three years after a review. Those that fail to meet their targets may get disbanded.

Solari, an unassuming 55-year-old scientist of Italian origin, is still working at the company and no longer heads the team, Morgan said. She declined to comment on the reasons for the change. So did Solari.

So what could possibly happen when you divide your company into little units that might have to compete for resources to keep their positions? Well, they compete for resources!:

Glaxo has been hunting for ways to encourage teams to cooperate, according to Vallance. One example, he says, is to give credit for inventing a molecule that gets picked up by another one of the company’s 38 DPUs.

“We need to keep working on that because I think 38 silos is a disaster,” he said in a May 13 interview. “It’s not what we got, it’s not what I want. It’s not a sort of bear pit with everyone fighting each other.”

I cannot imagine the infighting that's resulting from this. I might note that the higher management seems to think that this is a good way of growing and picking good leaders of scientists. I'm a little skeptical. (Also, what's the likelihood that the executives will be facing a similar judgment?)

ACS Webinar: "How to Secure and Nurture a Vibrant Chemistry Career in the 21st Century"

2011-12-01T07:56:00.001-08:00

ACS is hosting Brian Fahie, Senior Director, Analytical Science R&D, at Eli Lilly; he is responsible for Lilly’s global analytical efforts supporting small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) development.

He'll be talking about growing your career in the 21st century with Patricia Simpson, director of career services at UIUC's Department of Chemistry.

Chemjobber

12 questions you don't want to be asked on an interview

How to talk about chemical safety

What's going on out there?

Man, I hope this isn't how they hire chemists in pharma

Daily Pump Trap: 1/26/12 edition

A poem, by Kelly Scientific Resources

Process Wednesday: retreat curve agitators

In other #SheriSangji news, CalOSHA's report is released

Readers speak on potential prison time for Professor Harran

Daily Pump Trap: 1/24/12 edition

Ivory Filter Flask: 1/24/12 edition

No Foxconn City in the US? Not because we don't have enough "engineers"

Destination Europe?

Are you a moody chemist?

Observations on the odds of becoming a tenure-track professor

Interesting natural products extraction tidbit in NYT

Daily Pump Trap: 1/19/12 edition

Don't steal your company's IP!

Process Wednesday: non-green solvents

Does anyone think Professor Harran should go to jail?

Daily Pump Trap: 1/17/11 edition

Ivory Filter Flask: 1/1/7/12 edition

RIP Sheri Sangji

Christening drugs: there's a process for that

Organic chemist charged with IP theft

Gastight syringes

Turn that recorder off!: the danger of recordable predictions

What's the pharma version of "going out with the troops?"

Daily Pump Trap: 1/12/12 edition

12 things your HPLC would say to you, if it could

Process Wednesday: foaming -- not just for beer

Uh-oh: BLS measures chemist unemployment at 6.1%

Ivory Filter Flask: 1/10/12 edition

Daily Pump Trap: 1/10/12 edition

Should you trust ACS presidents on jobs? I don't think so.

2012 outlook for domestic chemical firms: partly cloudy

What the Sangji family is thinking

Perk-a-licious: what are the best company perks?

Unemployment rate at 8.5%, U6 unemployment at 15.2%.

What are the ethical roles and responsibilities for chemical laboratory safety?

#SheriSangji ripple effects: Universities adjusting to new realities

Keeping people safe during the hazardous waste disposal process

Daily Pump Trap: 1/15/12 edition

Metal bowls

Migration patterns within the United States and Canada

Process Wednesday: Kilomentor on 'split runs'

Older chemists face difficulty finding positions

Daily Pump Trap: 1/3/12 edition

Ivory Filter Flask: 1/3/12 edition

Boston area pharma company seeks M.S. medicinal chemist

CJ Sheri Sangji roundup

SOCMA wants more money for CSB?

ACS President appoints council to study graduate school

Best wishes for 2012!

UCLA's PR strategy, plain as day: a tragedy, not a crime

Innnnnnnteresting: UCLA vice chancellor of legal affairs Kevin Reed on the Sheri Sangji case

Sangji news roundup at The Safety Zone

60 mL syringes can get unstable

Daily Pump Trap: 12/29/11 edition

UC Regents and Prof. Patrick Harran to face 3 felony charges in death of Sheri Sangji

Process Wednesday will return

Daily Pump Trap: 12/27/11 edition

Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all Chemjobber readers

It's not a good company holiday party until...

Too good not to repost

Quote of the week: what a good organization feels like

The Window of Security

Daily Pump Trap: 12/22/11 edition

Yellow HDPE caps

Process Wednesday: ARRRRGH! They're process chemists, dammit!

North Korea's "The Great Successor" also "The Great Synthesizer"

Daily Pump Trap: 12/20/11 edition

ACC: Chemical economy to slow in 2012

Funny (NOT): quotes of the year

12 rumors about *that* professor

Personality, or I Know It When I See It

ACS Webinars today: Not enough DOOOOOOOOOOM? Get more DOOOOOOOOOOM.

Pharma labor market looking up? Really?

Quote of the week: nerdness

12 rumors about that professor