Tuesday, December 26, 2023

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 490 research/teaching positions and 64 teaching positions

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 490 research/teaching positions and 64 teaching positions

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

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

On January 3, 2023, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 567 research/teaching positions and 55 teaching-focused position.

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

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

Job posting: Senior Laboratory Instructor, Chemistry Department, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY

From the inbox: 

The Chemistry Department at Colgate University invites applications for a full-time senior laboratory instructor position beginning fall semester 2024. A PhD in chemistry or a closely related field is required at the time of hire or shortly after. The successful candidate will teach instructional labs for organic and general chemistry. 

Consistent with the candidate’s expertise, demonstration of effective teaching, and the needs of the department, there may also be opportunities to teach lecture components of introductory and foundational level chemistry courses, as well as courses in Colgate’s Liberal Arts Core Curriculum. The successful candidate may assist with the preparation of materials for instructional labs, and collaborate with our lab coordinators and other faculty to develop laboratory manuals and new experiments. 

A cover letter, curriculum vitae, a statement of teaching interests, a diversity statement, and three letters of recommendation must be submitted through http://apply.interfolio.com/138362. 

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

Friday, December 22, 2023

Have a great weekend

This week wasn't as quiet as I hoped, but it had its quiet moments. Here's hoping that you had a good week, and that you have a wonderful, restful weekend. See you (briefly) on Monday. 

FDA: "FDA warns consumers not to use counterfeit Ozempic (semaglutide) found in U.S. drug supply chain"

 Via FDA's website: 

FDA continues to investigate counterfeit Ozempic (semaglutide) injection 1 milligram (mg) in the legitimate U.S. drug supply chain and has seized thousands of units of the product. The agency advises wholesalers, retail pharmacies, health care practitioners and patients to check the product they have received and not distribute, use, or sell products labeled with lot number NAR0074 and serial number 430834149057 as pictured below. Some counterfeit products may still be available for purchase.

FDA and Novo Nordisk (manufacturer of Ozempic) are testing the seized products and do not yet have information about the drugs’ identity, quality, or safety.

Additionally, analysis found the needles from the samples are counterfeit. Accordingly, the sterility of the needles cannot be confirmed, which presents an increased risk of infection for patients who use the counterfeit products. Based on analyses completed to date, other confirmed counterfeit components within the seized products are the pen label, accompanying health care professional and patient information, and carton. 

FDA is aware of five adverse events from this lot, none of which are serious and are consistent with known common adverse reactions to authentic Ozempic, which are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and constipation.

It seems to me that this sort of thing is to be expected with such a revolutionary drug. It seems to me that the only thing that Novo could have done was to ensure a plentiful supply of Ozempic from the start, but I'm not sure there was enough fill-and-finish capacity available, especially with them surely competing with every vaccine manufacturer for available lines... 

Thursday, December 21, 2023

Job posting: Staff scientist, Synthesis and Development, Innophos, Cranbury, NJ

From the inbox: 

Innophos is seeking a Staff Scientist for the Synthesis and Development Lab based in our Cranbury, NJ location. The successful candidate will perform lab-based experiments and testing to support new product development in the phosphate and nutrition business and provide technical support to manufacturing sites across the company.

Key Responsibilities

  • Design and execute experiments and procedures to prepare materials/formulations in the R&D lab
  • Perform hand-on benchtop synthesis and evaluation of Innophos and customer materials
  • Record all relevant information related to product development, sample characterization & experimental design
  • Apply product and application know how to identify optimum technology solutions
  • Conduct general research on targeted industries/topics, including scientific search and reading and evaluating published literature
  • Lead and drive to completion of NPD projects through SPARC (Stage-Gate) process
  • Present data generated to project and management teams
  • Comply with all safety policies, practices, and procedures

Required Education and Experience

  • B.A. with 5+ years of experience preferred in specialty chemical industry, or M.S. degree with 3+ years of experience, or PhD. degree
  • Areas of study: Chemistry, Materials Science, or related field
  • At least 3 or more years of experience working in a chemistry/materials science lab, experience of material synthesis especially inorganic materials is strongly preferred 
Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

A Christmas letter for your family

A Chemjobber Christmas tradition, updated for 2023. Send a PDF to your family - try it, it works! 

December 20, 2023

Dear family member:

This holiday season, your relative is in his or her fifth/sixth/seventh/_______ year of graduate school in chemistry. This is a delicate time in your students’ lives -- please make interactions smooth for all by following these simple suggestions:

  1. Please supply lots of fresh fruit and vegetables -- they are in short supply. 

  2. Do not offer pizza, which is an all-too-common part of their diets. 

  3. Sleep is a rare commodity in graduate school; please turn down sheets and fluff pillows. Be prepared to see them about 24 hours after they get home.

In attempting to communicate with your graduate student, please avoid asking the following questions: 


  1. When are you going to finish? 

  2. What can you do with your degree? 

  3. Will you be the kind of doctor that helps people? 

  4. Can you make Ozempic? I heard there’s a shortage. 

  5. There's a clinical chemistry department at my hospital -- can you get a job there? 

  6. Why do you need a postdoc? Haven't you gone to enough school? 

  7. Did I hear your paper was on PubPeer?

  8. MEGABIOGENE has opened a facility nearby -- can you get a job there?  

  9. How about a startup? I hear AI is still hot. 

  10. I see [insert high school rival here] has finished medical school -- how much will they be
    making? 

  11. Have you thought about teaching? I heard professors have a stable job. 

  12. When are you going to finish? 


In following these simple suggestions, I trust that you, your graduate student and your family will have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Very sincerely,

Chemjobber

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 481 research/teaching positions and 60 teaching positions

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 481 research/teaching positions and 60 teaching positions

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

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

On December 20, 2022, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 564 research/teaching positions and 48 teaching-focused position.

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Here's the first open thread. Here's a link to the current, second, open thread. This will be the third open thread when I close the second thread shortly. 

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

Monday, December 18, 2023

C&EN: "Ukraine’s research capacity is down 20% due to war"

Via Chemical and Engineering News (article by Krystal Vasquez):

Nearly one in five Ukrainian scientists have left the country since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, according to a new study that surveyed over 2,500 researchers who’ve been affected by the war (Humanit. Soc. Sci. Commun. 2023, DOI: 10.1057/s41599-023-02346-x) . Of the scientists who stayed in Ukraine, 40% are devoting less time to research than they did before the war, and around 10% have stopped conducting research entirely.

Altogether, Ukraine’s research capacity is down 20%, and this loss will greatly impact the country for years to come. “Science and innovation fuel long-term economic growth,” says Gaétan de Rassenfosse, an economist at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and one of the authors of the study. “The extent that we destroy the science system today compromises the long-term growth opportunity of the country tomorrow.”

And the situation may not improve even if the war ends, de Rassenfosse explains. If the war suddenly stopped today, around 7% of Ukraine’s scientists would have permanently left research, the researchers estimate. Their absence could sap teachers and mentors for the country’s science students.

The international community has been providing support to Ukrainian scientists, but more can be done, the researchers say. For example, institutions could offer longer-term contracts to those who left Ukraine, since at the time of the survey, only 14% of these migrant scientists had secured a long-term contract abroad.

I am not familiar with the scholarship of refugee migration, but I wonder if there has ever been such an immediate impact on pharmaceutical research (I imagine World War II had such moments). 

Friday, December 15, 2023

Have a great weekend

Gosh, this has been a bonkers week, but here we are. I hope that you've had a great week, and I hope you have a great weekend. See you on Monday. 

Hydrogen cyanide found on Saturn moon

Via the New York Times: 

Scientists have detected a poison among the spray of molecules emanating from a small moon of Saturn. That adds to existing intrigue about the possibility of life there.

The poison is hydrogen cyanide, a colorless gas that is deadly to many Earth creatures. But it could have played a key role in chemical reactions that created the ingredients that set the stage for the advent of life.

“It’s the starting point for most theories on the origin of life,” said Jonah Peter, a biophysics graduate student at Harvard. “It’s sort of the Swiss Army knife of prebiotic chemistry.”

Thus, Mr. Peter was excited when he found hydrogen cyanide at Enceladus, an icy moon of Saturn that is about 310 miles across. It has a subsurface ocean that makes it among the most promising places to look for life elsewhere in the solar system.

If you read further in the article, they've found acetylene and propene too. I suppose that's not thaaaat surprising, but it's still pretty cool nonetheless. 

(You could imagine, if energy was limitless, that you could use the atmosphere in order to get your petrochemical-type molecules for making stuff for space explorers...) 

Thursday, December 14, 2023

Job posting: Executive Director – Head of Process Chemistry, Alberta Site, Gilead

From the inbox: 
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Executive Director – Head of Process Chemistry, Alberta Site reports to Gilead’s Global Head of Technical Development and is responsible for leading a team of 75 scientists to develop safe, robust, and cost-effective processes for the manufacture of clinical and commercial synthetic molecule Drug Substances.  In addition, the Executive Director will be a key member of the Alberta Site Leadership team, supporting operations, quality and manufacturing process plans that ensure the reliable production and delivery of high-quality drug substance products. They will also lead, model, and create an environment of inclusion, develop talent, and empower teams to achieve their goals.

The successful candidate will contribute their technical expertise and functional knowledge with industry know-how across multiple sites and multiple teams, directs execution of scientific research and development strategies and plans that support and align with organizational and therapeutic area strategic direction and roadmap to enable corporate objectives and ambitions. 

JOB DESCRIPTION
  • Lead and drive line function to collaborate across multiple sites and CMC functions to support and progress the small molecule portfolio advancement. Ensure collaboration across relevant Technical Development and Pharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing (PDM) functions (i.e., Process Chemistry in Foster City, Analytical Development, Formulation Development).
  • Lead teams with accountability to investigate a wide variety of engineering and scientific principles and concepts to potential inventions, drug development through to commercialization, and leadership to conceive and develop critical, long-range solutions.
Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 476 research/teaching positions and 55 teaching positions

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 476 research/teaching positions and 55 teaching positions

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

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

On December 13, 2022, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 557 research/teaching positions and 40 teaching-focused position.

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

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

Monday, December 11, 2023

C&EN: "UK scientists fear impact of new immigration rules"

In this week's C&EN, this news (article by by Benjamin Plackett) 

In a bid to cut immigration, the British government says it will raise the minimum salary that skilled migrants must earn to qualify for a work visa to £38,000 ($47,800) from £26,200 ($33,000). The governing Conservative party is keen to make ground on promises to stem rising rates of immigration ahead of a general election, due to take place in 2024.

The new rules mean that about 300,000 people who came to the UK last year would now be ineligible to do so, according to the government’s calculations. Many scientists are concerned because the new threshold is higher than the salary of most early-career researchers.

“We’ll see still fewer overseas applicants for postdocs in the UK,” says Ben Sheldon, a zoologist at the University of Oxford. “We don’t train enough high-quality PhD students to be able to recruit entirely from within.” More than 60% of postdoctoral researchers in the UK come from overseas, according to a report from the Royal Society, the UK’s scientific academy.

This anxiety is echoed by others. “These proposed changes, combined with big increases in visa costs earlier this year, run the risk that the UK becomes a less and less attractive destination for the world’s brightest and best talent,” says Daniel Rathbone, interim executive director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), which lobbies for better science funding in the UK.

I can't pretend like I understand UK immigration policy, but it seems to me that raising a salary threshold by 45% in a year will cause large disruptions. I wonder if this will get walked back? 

Chemistry students in Georgia in accident; PPE prevented major injuries

Via the Marietta Daily Journal: 

Two female Marietta High School students received chemical burns due to an accident in a chemistry lab Thursday afternoon, Principal Marvin Crumbs announced in a message to families.

Around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Marietta Superintendent Grant Rivera told the MDJ that both students were in the process of being discharged from a local hospital.

The students, who Rivera said were upperclassmen, were burned when a “routine lab experiment” using sulfuric acid and magnesium went awry.

“Based on feedback from the teacher, the concentration of the sulfuric acid may have been too high, because the reaction occurred quicker and more abruptly than expected,” Rivera said. “As a result, the acid splattered and got on both the student conducting the experiment, as well as … a child in the lab at a table nearby.”

Students were wearing the required safety gear including aprons and goggles, Rivera said, and under the direct supervision of a teacher.

Following the accident, all safety protocols were followed, Rivera said, including placing the injured students underneath an emergency shower in the lab, followed by an immediate response from administrators and emergency services personnel.

“Obviously, upon reflection … we recognize that we have to have greater caution around higher concentrations of chemicals,” Rivera said. “So we will meet with the teacher, meet with the science department, to determine, as we would with any situation, 'What do we need to learn from this?' … We train for it, but it's highly unusual, and obviously we do not want it to happen again.”

I've done this experiment - guessing that someone added something a bit too quick. Nice to see that the students had PPE on. 

Friday, December 8, 2023

Have a good weekend

This has been kind of a bonkers week, but that's all right. Almost all the way through it, and Friday looks to be (kind of) relaxing for me. I hope you had a good week, have a great weekend, and I'll see you on Monday. 

C&EN: "Nick Ishmael-Perkins will be the next editor in chief of C&EN"

From C&EN's Krystal Vasquez: 

Nick Ishmael-Perkins will be the next editor in chief of C&EN. Ishmael-Perkins is currently a senior consultant for the International Science Council and will move to the magazine in February 2024.

In his current position, Ishmael-Perkins focuses mostly on improving the public’s perception of science. For example, he helped produce an award-winning multimedia series that explores how to better communicate scientific discoveries. Earlier in his career, Ishmael-Perkins served as the director of SciDev.Net, an online news outlet that covers how science and technology can aid in global development. He has also worked as a journalist, media trainer, and project manager in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

“We are proud to have a talented individual like Nick joining” the American Chemical Society, ACS CEO Albert G. Horvath says in a statement. “We’re excited about the vision, energy, leadership and expertise he brings to C&EN.” C&EN is published by ACS but is editorially independent.

I look forward to Ishmael-Perkins' leading of C&EN, and I hope that this is the beginning of a long and peaceful time for C&EN's staff, which has been through it for the past few years. 

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Job posting: Biotech Intellectual Property Patent Agent/Technical Specialist (NY/CA)

Via C&EN Jobs: 
Duane Morris seeks a biotech patent prosecution, opinion and counseling patent agent/technical specialist (Ph.D.) with 0-5 years of experience, for its San Diego or New York office. The successful candidate will hold an advanced degree (i.e., Ph.D.), from an accredited institution, in biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology or microbiology, and have experience practicing before the USPTO that is commensurate with the candidate’s years in practice. Additional appreciation of organic chemistry, and bioinformatics is desired. Candidate must be admitted (or have the ability to become admitted) to practice before the USPTO as a registered U.S. Patent Agent.

The target annual pay range for this role in San Diego is $140,000-$160,000. Actual pay will vary depending upon various factors, including relevant experience, skill-set, current business needs and market factors. The compensation range listed is just one component of Duane Morris' total comp package for employees, which, depending on the position, may also include discretionary bonuses and incentive packages, and firm-sponsored benefit programs.

The target annual pay range for this role in New York is $150,000-$170,000. Actual pay will vary depending upon various factors, including relevant experience, skill-set, current business needs and market factors. The compensation range listed is just one component of Duane Morris' total comp package for employees, which, depending on the position, may also include discretionary bonuses and incentive packages, and firm-sponsored benefit programs.

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested.  

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Dan Baldassarre is lying about my friends

I’m never surprised to read complaints about the teaching and learning of organic chemistry on Twitter. It is an evergreen topic to the point that I used to be amused about the complaints, and then I was offended by them and now I am merely saddened. 

However, this post on (the former) Twitter by Dan Baldassarre was a new low, because Professor Baldassarre is a current professor, and not simply a random medical student or recently graduated physician. 

Continually flabbergasted by organic chemistry professors who don't interrogate their course design despite half the students failing. The callous, inflexible, sink-or-swim culture around this course is so gross. If half your students regularly fail, you're not doing your job.

He had the unfortunate circumstance of having his tweet become quite popular. He doubled down with this: 

O chem profs getting together to celebrate failing half their students and preserving the holy sanctity of med school 

The accompanying gif is that of some odd folks dancing wildly. On being asked about it by Debbie Gale Mitchell (a friend, and a teaching professor of chemistry), he had this reply: 

I’m not referring to any one person, merely to the preponderance of such professors across the field. As evidenced by the replies and quotes, they are quite common. I don’t doubt there are systemic issues at play as well though.

There are three factual claims here: 

  1. The failure rate for organic chemistry students is 50% 
  2. Professors have created a “callous, inflexible, sink-or-swim culture” and are celebrating the failure of their students, and are directly or indirectly attempting to preserve med student quality. 
  3. Organic chemistry professors who celebrate the failure of such students are a “preponderance”, that is, a majority of organic professors are happy to see their students fail. 

What I like about Baldassarre claim 1 is that it’s immediately falsifiable. What I learned is that there is not a lot of data out there. A brief informal survey indicates that current DFW rates among professors is well below 30%; a cursory look at the chemical education literature indicates that rates at 50% are indeed documented (as far back as 1999, and as recently as 2008.). I have a strong sense that the recent rates at Professor Baldassarre’s own institution are not nearly so high - I wonder if he has investigated? Nevertheless, the data is equivocal. 

What I am much more bothered by is Professor Baldassarre’s second claim - that organic professors are genuinely happy to fail students, and this position is held by most organic professors. I count A LOT of organic chemistry professors as my friends. Over the years, I’ve seen that they genuinely want their students to learn, and care about their students learning the material. I have heard none of the hundreds of organic professors I’ve talked to over the years celebrate the failure of their students; rather, I hear these professors doing their best (contra Baldassarre) to learn, to care, to listen and meet their students where they are. What is even more specious about his tweet is that chemistry professors care a whit about medical school admissions. Rather, I have found organic professors to view the MCAT as a burden to be shouldered, when they have talked about it at all. 

It’s true, I'm biased. I was, for something like 20 years, a professional organic chemist, and even now, I work in industrial organic chemistry. I genuinely love my field. It's the chemistry of life and I think organic chemistry is the perfect synthesis of science and craft and art. I know that professional organic chemistry educators try to communicate that same love to their students, even the pre-meds. Organic chemistry education could always be better - but that’s not Dan Baldassarre’s claim. Rather, his claim is that my organic professor friends are uncaring sadists. He’s wrong, and I wish that he would stop lying about my friends.

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 472 research/teaching positions and 49 teaching positions

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 472 research/teaching positions and 49 teaching positions

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

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

On December 6, 2022, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 530 research/teaching positions and 35 teaching-focused position.

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

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

Job posting: NMR facility coordinator, Department of Chemistry, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

From the inbox: 

Under general supervision, employs a broad knowledge of principles, practices, and procedures in a particular field of specialization to plan, coordinate, and conduct research.

  • Coordinates all activities in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) facility, includes nitrogen and helium fills, billing, and maintenance of NMR instruments.
  • Lead, guide, and train staff/student employees, interns, and/or volunteers performing related work; may participate in the recruitment of volunteers, as appropriate to the area of operation of NMR instruments
  • Maintain and expand user list of NMR facility within and outside of UNM.
  • Plans, coordinates, and conducts scientific research requiring judgment in the independent evaluation, selection, and substantial adaptation and modification of standard scientific techniques related to NMR
  • Applies an analytical approach to the solution of a wide variety of problems or applies specialized techniques or ingenuity in selecting and evaluating approaches to unforeseen or novel problems related to NMR.
  • Demonstrates and applies thorough understanding of scientific methods, research protocols, assessment instruments, and data interpretation.
MS preferred. Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

Monday, December 4, 2023

C&EN: Whither older NMRs

Great article by Celia Henry Arnaud in this week's C&EN about Varian NMRs, including this bit of speculation: 
While researchers deal with the practical ramifications of Agilent’s exit, WUSTL’s Hayes is considering the broader implications. “I think we might see changes, because what this has shown is that it’s like a single-point-of-failure model. We are now in a situation where hardware with very high capital equipment costs is purchased, only to learn that the company may choose not to be in this business within a year or two thereafter,” she says.

NMR instruments are unique in their longevity, Hayes notes. “In many cases we have been fortunate as a department to keep them for 20 or 30 years. So what do you do in terms of robust decision-making when the landscape for vendors of such equipment is so uncertain?”

Hayes predicts that in the next decade or two there could be a shift toward benchtop instruments for routine analysis in synthesis labs—both to avoid the large purchases and to circumvent difficulties with the helium market. But until then, she adds, “every research-oriented chemistry department needs an NMR—at least one, if not two.”

Is anyone actively moving towards benchtop NMRs in synthetic chemistry? I'd love to know if this is happening... 

C&EN: "Novo Nordisk to expand GLP-1 production in France"

In this week's C&EN, this news (article by Rick Mullin): 
Novo Nordisk will invest $2.3 billion to expand manufacturing at its plant in Chartres, France. The project includes finished-drug production for products based on a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist, semaglutide, the active ingredient in two of its blockbusters. Last month, the company announced a $6 billion expansion at its plant in Kalundborg, Denmark, which makes GLP-1 products. Novo Nordisk has been straining to keep up with demand for semaglutide. Its Weygovy, a weight loss drug, and Ozempic, for type 2 diabetes, booked sales of $4.5 billion in the third quarter, a 37% increase over the same period last year.

It will be fascinating to see the ripples of Wegovy/Ozempic through the industry... 

Friday, December 1, 2023

Have a great weekend


Well, this has been a bonkers week, but I'm almost through it. I hope that you had a calmer week than I did, and that you have a wonderful weekend. I am looking forward to spending it with my family. See you on Monday!

C&EN: ACC predicts a sluggish 2024

Via C&EN's Alex Tullo, this grim news:

The US chemical industry had a tough 2023, and next year it will have to weather a tougher economic climate, possibly even a downturn.

That was the message delivered by the American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry trade group, in its industry forecast on Nov. 28. The ACC estimates that the industry’s output, excluding pharmaceuticals, will decline by 1.0% in 2023. It predicts a modest turnaround to 1.5% growth next year.

“We saw weakness really emerge last year in the third quarter, and it’s continued through much of this year,” ACC chief economist Martha Gilchrist Moore told reporters on a conference call.

...For example, Moore pointed out, student loan repayments are starting up again, credit card debt defaults are increasing, and consumers have worked through much of the savings they accumulated during the pandemic.

After posting 2.3% growth in gross domestic product in 2023, the US will experience economic growth of only 1.1% in 2024, the ACC expects.

There is this weird aspect of the economy these days, where there is a lot of negative data from standard economic indicators, and yet it does not yet seem to have shown up in the unemployment numbers (which, I imagine, are a lagging and not a leading indicator.) I do not wish it to be so (for many reasons) but I am concerned that 2024 will be a worse hiring year for industrially-oriented chemists than 2023, but I don't really have a great sense of this. 

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Job posting: process analytical chemist, Thermo Fisher, Franklin, MA

Via C&EN Jobs: 

As a Process Analytical Chemist at Thermo Fisher, you will join a team of dedicated Scientists, Engineers and Technicians working together to accelerate research, solve complex scientific challenges and drive technological innovation in the fields of process chemistry and gas analysis! The successful candidate will have a deep understanding of analytical chemistry and instrumentation and an appreciation of how new technologies can support our efforts to detect and measure trace contaminants in a process gas stream and/or process emissions. In addition to driving development of innovative technologies, the Scientist will work closely with Marketing experts to be sure that new products meet both regulatory requirements and customer expectations.

What will you do?

  • Lead R&D innovation efforts toward development of gas analyzers using diverse technologies such as tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS), cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS), RAMAN spectroscopy, FTIR and others!
  • Plan and implement laboratory and field evaluations of sophisticated technologies acquired from outside parties, such as national laboratories and universities.
  • Collaborate with a multi-disciplinary R&D team, including mechanical, electronic and software engineers to help commercialize select technologies developed in our laboratories or acquired from other sources.
  • Provide technical input to the Product Management teams for better positioning of our technical solutions in the market.

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

C&EN: Warren Wilson College discontinues its chemistry major

This latest sad news from Chemical and Engineering News (article by Krystal Vasquez): 

Warren Wilson College, a liberal arts college in North Carolina, will eliminate its chemistry major next academic year. In addition, the college will discontinue majors in math, philosophy, history and political science, and global studies.

The cuts are the result of a “strategic planning process” spearheaded by the college’s new president, Damián Fernández. After starting in June, Fernández tasked the college with streamlining its academic portfolio to “reduce expenses in areas where we felt like that was necessary,” says Jay Roberts, the college’s provost.

Starting in fall 2024, Warren Wilson will no longer admit incoming students into the five majors. Students who are currently pursuing the majors will be offered the courses they need to graduate, Roberts says.

Eventually, however, the college intends to cut some of the more advanced courses that are offered as a part of the discontinued majors. For example, Langdon Martin, chair of Warren Wilson’s chemistry department, suspects that the school’s quantum chemistry class will be on the chopping block “since it’s been a course that hasn’t had much enrollment beyond chemists.”

It seems to me that the shrinking of smaller colleges will inevitably impact smaller colleges and their ability to support tenure lines, including chemistry.  

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 461 research/teaching positions and 49 teaching positions

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 461 research/teaching positions and 49 teaching positions

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

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

On November 29, 2022, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 530 research/teaching positions and 35 teaching-focused position.

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

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

Job posting: assistant professor, Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON

From the inbox: 
The Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto invites applications for up to two full-time tenure stream positions in Frontiers in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. The appointments will be at the rank of Assistant Professor, with an expected start date of July 1, 2024. 

 Applicants are expected to have a PhD degree in chemical engineering or a related area at the time of appointment or shortly thereafter, with a demonstrated record of excellence in research and teaching. We seek candidates whose research and teaching are at the frontiers of chemical, biochemical, environmental, or materials engineering or in applied chemistry/biochemistry, who complement and enhance our existing departmental strengths, and who impact foundational principles that integrate chemistry, biology and engineering to tackle the grand challenges facing our society in sustainability. 

The successful candidate will be expected to initiate and continuously lead an outstanding, independent, innovative, externally funded research program of international calibre, and teach in the chemical engineering curriculum at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. We will prioritize candidates who demonstrate the ability to sustain and lead innovative research that will advance the global frontiers of knowledge in the field of chemical engineering and applied chemistry (refer to the vision statement of the department at https://chem-eng.utoronto.ca). Collaborative and inter-disciplinary research and collegial interaction will be important elements in success. Eligibility to register as a Professional Engineer in Ontario is an asset.

Excellence in research is evidenced primarily by publications or forthcoming publications in leading, field-relevant journals or conferences, the submitted research statement, presentations at significant conferences, awards and accolades, and strong endorsements by referees of high standing.
Full ad is here. Best wishes to those interested. 

Monday, November 27, 2023

C&EN: OSHA proposed penalties for PCI/Seqens

This update on the PCI Synthesis case (article by Rick Mullin): 

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed nearly $300,000 in penalties for PolyCarbon Industries and its parent, the French firm Seqens, after an investigation indicated that an explosion at a PolyCarbon pharmaceutical chemical plant in Newburyport, Massachusetts, last May could have been prevented. The incident killed one worker, Jack O’Keefe, 62. OSHA cited 11 violations in its findings, including failure to determine the combustibility hazards of materials used in the process involved in the explosion. The incident was the third serious accident at the plant since 2020.

Here's some additional details from The Daily News of Newburyport: 

OSHA also found that Seqens/PCI Synthesis failed to: include safe upper and lower temperature limits to prevent the decomposition of Dekon 139; evaluate the consequences of deviation in the production process; establish written procedures to maintain the ongoing integrity of process equipment and provide clear instruction on consequences of deviation from steps in the operating procedures; update the process safety information to include steps to avoid consequences of deviation in temperature, properties and chemical hazards used in the process; update standard operating procedures for producing Dekon 139 and its safety data sheet; review a November 2022 compliance audit report with all affected personnel whose job tasks are relevant to the report findings; and track contract employees’ injuries and illnesses.

Hmmm, sounds like time to understand "Dekon 139" a little better for me...  

C&EN: "Tough times for Japan’s chemical makers"

Looks like the grim times aren't just in Germany, but are also in Japan (article by Katsumori Matsuoka): 

Japan’s three biggest chemical companies are seeing their earnings suffer from a slump in basic chemicals. All three experienced a sharp drop in profits in the first half of fiscal 2023, which ended Sept. 30, and one of them, Sumitomo Chemical, is forecasting a loss of $655 million for the full fiscal year.

For all three firms, petrochemical demand has declined due to the slow recovery of the Chinese economy and other factors. Sale prices have been slumping.

Sumitomo, the only Japanese chemical company with global petrochemical operations, posted a $306 million loss in its petrochemical division in the first half of the fiscal year due to poor performance at facilities in Japan, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia. In addition, the company’s pharmaceutical segment had a $451 million loss due to patent expiration for the antipsychotic drug Latuda. Its overall loss for the period was $666 million.

My old model of the chemical industry was that "bad times for the chemical industry portends bad news for the economy in general" but I guess I'm not really sure that the model holds as of late? Or holds for the US economy, anyway? 

Thursday, November 23, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving!

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

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

[An additional note: if you would ever like to meet for a cup of coffee or a beer, please reach out to my e-mail address. I hope to find myself in many different places in 2024, and I love to meet readers of the blog.] 

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

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Did you learn about the Bhopal disaster?

Poster of "The Railway Men" 
Credit: Wikipedia
I'm spending more time on BlueSky these days, and less time on Twitter. I was struck by this question by a reporter the other day (undoubtedly brought on by the Netflix series "The Railway Men"): 

"Do people in the US still learn about the Bhopal disaster (in a not specialized course) or has it been memory holed?"

First, I want to quibble with the premise. As someone who basically remembers quite a bit about middle school and high school, I genuinely don't understand the concept of 'the memory hole' - we don't live in a world where facts are destroyed, so what do you mean? Do people mean "people forget about stuff" or do people mean "this fact that I think is important isn't talked about enough, in my opinion" or do people mean "this bit of news has been deliberately suppressed"? 

The other question is "what do you mean, 'learn (in a not specialized course)'"? We don't really have a place for learning about industrial disasters, other than history courses, and we don't really tend to cover industrial disasters in regular history courses, which tend to be about the formation of nation-states and the history of their governments. Chernobyl, for example, is a pretty grim instance of a Soviet-era industrial disaster, and the only place I could imagine seeing it in a US history course is in the "late Cold War" section as a part of the demise of the Soviet Union. While I consumed article after article in National Geographic about Chernobyl, I imagine that the average high schooler these days gets about 10 minutes. 

Setting that aside, I noted that I felt like the Bhopal disaster gets talked about in organic chemistry. I feel like, but I don't exactly remember, that I learned about methyl isocyanate either in undergrad, but definitely in graduate school. I have become quite the enthusiast about the work product of the Chemical Safety Board, so I certainly remember watching the Bayer CropScience video, which also talked about Bhopal. I'm probably both the exact right person to make the query ('is our children learning about Bhopal?') and exactly the wrong person to answer the question. 

So, reader - some questions for you: 

  • How old are you? (You can be vague) 
  • Did you learn about the Bhopal incident? 
  • When did you learn about it? Random reading, or in a class? 
  • Did you learn about methyl isocyanate in organic chemistry? 
  • If you're a professor of chemistry, have you taught about Bhopal? If so, what do you say? 
Thanks for your help. 

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 455 research/teaching positions and 47 teaching positions

 The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 455 research/teaching positions and 47 teaching positions

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

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

On November 22, 2022, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 522 research/teaching positions and 34 teaching-focused position.

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

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

Monday, November 20, 2023

C&EN: paper mill absconds with scholarly identities

In this week's Chemical and Engineering News, this fascinating story (article by Dalmeet Singh Chawla):

Earlier this year, Michael Fischer peer-reviewed a study for a journal, and the publication’s editor copied him on the decision letter and the reviewer reports. Then he came across something odd.

Fischer, a geoscientist at the University of Bremen, noticed that the referee report of another peer reviewer included a long list of suggested citations. Most of the recommended citations were for articles published by a single journal, Experimental and Theoretical Nanotechnology (ET Nano), whose website says it is published by the Arab Science and Technology Foundation.

Fischer had never heard of ET Nano and decided to check it out. “I was expecting it to basically be some kind of predatory journal” trying to unethically boost its reputation through unwarranted citations, he says.

But when Fischer began to look at ET Nano’s published papers, he was surprised to find that they were authored by prominent and well-known researchers from across the world. He found this strange, given the journal’s relative obscurity. In addition, some researchers weren’t at the universities the journal said they were....

...After seeing papers authored by some legitimate and some nonexistent researchers, Fischer decided to reach out to authors he knew to be real. Most of the academics who responded told him the papers listing them as authors were not theirs and that they had never heard of ET Nano. Many of the researchers were also listed as members of its editorial advisory board.

“The papers didn’t seem to match their research profile at all,” Fischer says. “Also, they were often not well written or contained really low-quality figures, which were of very poor resolution.”

I don't really understand what paper mills really do (other than shovel loads of low-quality papers onto the internet.) It seems to me these journals seem to exist solely to collect publication fees from scholars from developing countries whose insitutions really care about publication count? What a strange world we live in. 

Reuters: German medicines regulator considering export ban on Ozempic

Via Reuters: 

FRANKFURT, Nov 15 (Reuters) - German regulator BfArM is considering banning Ozempic exports as Europe's health systems grapple with shortage of the diabetes drug, which is in high demand for its weight-loss benefits.

Use of Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) Ozempic for weight loss has caused shortages across Europe, where Britain and Belgium have temporarily banned its use for weight loss to secure availability for diabetics.

Novo's launch of anti-obesity drug Wegovy, a high dose version of Ozempic, in Britain, Germany, Norway and Denmark, has so far done little to temper the craze for Ozempic as volumes of Wegovy have been limited due to production bottlenecks... 

...BfArM's Broich said some Ozempic was being moved out of the country because it is cheaper there than elsewhere, and demand was driven by use for weight loss.

Broich cautioned that export restrictions can only be rarely used and legal hurdles were high because of the European Union's single market.

Nothing has stopped me from being convinced that Novo Nordisk badly underestimated demand for Ozempic and failed to ramp up manufacturing sufficiently to meet both current and future demand. It will be interesting to watch the race between Novo and Lilly to see who will ultimately capture the most market share for GLP-1 drugs.  

Chemicals plant in Louisiana to receive government funds to retool for battery chemical manufacture

Via the Louisiana Illuminator (a non-profit news website) this news:
ST. GABRIEL — A chemical plant in Louisiana that faced possible downsizing or even closure is now expanding to become America’s first domestic manufacturer of critical lithium battery materials thanks to new federal infrastructure investments.

Koura Global, which has a plant that makes fluorine refrigerants at its facility just south of Baton Rouge, will retrofit its facilities to manufacture lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6), a primary component in lithium-ion batteries. At full capacity, the plant will produce enough of the chemical to make more than a million electric vehicle (EV) batteries a year.  

U.S. Rep Troy Carter, D-Louisiana, who represents the 2nd Congressional District between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, told Koura’s employees Friday that their work will address a “critical gap in our domestic supply chain” for lithium-ion batteries.

The plant currently manufactures a fluorine refrigerant that is being replaced with a more environmentally friendly chemical. Koura will retrofit its current operations to produce the new refrigerant, but a $100 million U.S. Department of Energy grant will allow the company to construct new facilities at the plant to pivot into the battery industry, according to Koura executive Erick Comeaux.

The grant is one of thousands made available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that President Joe Biden ushered through Congress in 2021. Also known as the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA), the plan is the country’s largest federal infrastructure investment in decades. It includes money for investments in domestic manufacturing, transportation, energy, drinking water systems, environmental remediation and broadband internet expansion, among other things.

It sure feels like the number of active fluorochemical manufacturers isn't growing in the US, so this is a clever shift. Here's hoping it works out for them.  

Friday, November 17, 2023

Have a good weekend

Well, this was a pretty kooky week, but we're almost done with it. I hope that you had a less kooky week than mine, and that you have a great weekend. See you on Monday for a short week. 

NYT: Platinum from catalytic converter theft can end up in chemotherapy drugs

Via a commenter, this fascinating New York Times investigative piece on catalytic converter theft and how the metals can end up in the manufacturing supply chain. 

...The subject arose repeatedly at a recent conference of the International Precious Metals Institute in Orlando. Lee Hockey, a consultant formerly with Johnson Matthey, a specialty chemical company, addressed culpability head on.

“Most people in this room will see petty thefts and say, ‘Oh, we’re not involved in that,’” Mr. Hockey said. “But everybody is. If you’re a refiner, even if you are dealing with a smelter, you are getting the metal, so you are liable. If you are an insurance company and you are insuring people on the site, you are liable. If you are doing an analysis of the sample, you are liable.” He added, “You are along the supply chain, and you are involved.”

I'm not surprised that Johnson Matthey is involved, but I am very surprised that the Times seems to think the main involvement of catalytic converter theft is in actual APIs: 

Over the past decade, the Stillwater plant processed more PGMs from the used devices than from its Montana mines, Heather McDowell, a company official, said during a recent tour. To keep the pipeline of recycled devices flowing, she said, Stillwater relies on 28 suppliers.

All of the PGMs are sent for final refining to Johnson Matthey for use in, among other things, “the vital compounds — known as active pharmaceutical ingredients,” it said in its 2021 annual report.

Pfizer, for example, uses platinum for chemotherapy treatments. “Pfizer has a diverse supply chain network and has not relied on a sole supplier,” the company said in an email response to questions from The Times about Stillwater. The company declined to say whether Stillwater is one of those suppliers.

It seems to me that far more palladium ends up being used as catalysts (hydrogenations of various sorts) as opposed to platinum and the like that ends up in chemotherapy drugs, but what do I know. Nevertheless, a fascinating article - read the whole thing! 

Thursday, November 16, 2023

Job posting: assistant professor, quantitative biosciences, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA

From the inbox: 
The University of California Santa Barbara invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant Professor Level. The position is a part of a multi-year, multi-departmental initiative to establish an interdisciplinary research effort and graduate training program in the area of Quantitative Biosciences, emphasizing experimentation, computational and theoretical approaches to the study of living systems, on scales from molecules to entire organisms. Subjects of interest include, but are not limited to:
  • ·      biophysical mechanisms underlying emerging properties in living matter;
  • ·      chemical approaches (e.g., proteomic, spectroscopy) to elucidating biological phenomena;
  • ·      organizational principles of subcellular and subnuclear dynamics;
  • ·      quantitative studies of development and tissue mechanics;
  • ·      metabolism and energetics of biological processes;
  • ·      neural computation for sensation and behavioral control.
We are especially interested in experimental scientists who combine modern tools from multiple disciplines to understand biological organization and function on multiple scales. Candidates who focus on theoretical aspects may be considered, but a demonstrated record of effective interactions and collaborations with experimentalist is expected.

The successful candidate's faculty appointment will be split between the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomolecular Science and Engineering and the academic department(s) most closely corresponding to the candidate's research focus and teaching qualifications, including, but not limited to Chemistry & Biochemistry; Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology; Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology and Physics. Preference will be given to candidates with broad scientific interests, a record of research excellence and creativity, and a strong commitment to undergraduate and graduate teaching. Interdisciplinary educational background combining biology with physical and mathematical sciences and/or a strong record of active interdisciplinary collaboration will also be valued. Applicants must have completed all requirements for a PhD (or equivalent) except the dissertation at the time of application, in the areas of physics, biology, chemistry, or related fields.  Appointment begins July 1, 2024.
 
Applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a statement of research and teaching interests and arrange for three letters of recommendation. Materials should be submitted electronically via https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02599 The current base pay range is $90,000-$120,00. Other components of pay are offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions. Complete applications received on or before November 27, 2023 will be given full consideration.

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested.  

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Science: USC neuroscientist faces research integrity questions

Via Derek Lowe, this rather shocking story: 
In 2022, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) placed a large bet on an experimental drug developed to limit brain damage after strokes. The agency committed up to $30 million to administer a compound called 3K3A-APC in a study of 1400 people shortly after they experience an acute ischemic stroke, a perilous condition in which a clot blocks blood flow to part of the brain.

The gamble seemed warranted. Lab studies, most by a longtime grantee, prominent University of Southern California (USC) neuroscientist Berislav Zlokovic, had generated promising data. A small safety study of the drug, sponsored by a company Zlokovic co-founded called ZZ Biotech, was also encouraging. Analyses of data from the phase 2 trial hinted that the treatment reduced the number of tiny, asymptomatic brain hemorrhages after stroke patients received either surgery to remove the clot, the clot-busting drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), or both.

...But a 113-page dossier obtained by Science from a small group of whistleblowers paints a less encouraging picture. The dossier, which they submitted to NIH, highlights evidence from the phase 2 trial that the experimental remedy might have actually increased deaths in the first week after treatment: Six of the 66 stroke patients who received 3K3A-APC died within this period, compared with one among 44 in the placebo group, although the death rate evened out after a month. Patients who received the drug also trended toward greater disability and dependency at the end of the trial, 90 days after treatment....

...But speaking to Science anonymously, four former members of Zlokovic’s lab say the anomalies the whistleblowers found are no accident. They describe a culture of intimidation, in which he regularly pushed them and others in the lab to adjust data. Two of them said he sometimes had people change lab notebooks after experiments were completed to ensure they only contained the desired results. “There were clear examples of him instructing people to manipulate data to fit the hypothesis,” one of the lab members says.

Seems real bad! 

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 440 research/teaching positions and 40 teaching positions

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 440 research/teaching positions and 40 teaching positions

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

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

On November 15, 2022, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 516 research/teaching positions and 33 teaching-focused position.

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

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

Monday, November 13, 2023

C&EN: "Chemical industry profits evaporate in Europe"

In this week's C&EN, the continued grim news (article by Alex Scott): 
Many of Europe’s biggest chemical producers—including the German firms BASF, Covestro, Evonik Industries, and Lanxess—have reported declining sales and net losses for the third quarter. Europe’s chemical sector is now firmly in cost-cutting mode, and some companies are closing manufacturing plants because of ongoing soft demand for their products.

BASF, still the world’s largest chemical company, recorded a loss of $264 million for the third quarter, compared with earnings of $962 million in the year-earlier period, and sales of $16.2 billion, down 28%. The German major cites considerably lower prices for products sold by its materials, chemicals, and surface technologies businesses and lower sales volumes across the board.

BASF announced measures to cut costs by about $215 million annually, adding to plans to cut costs by more than $750 million per year by 2027. The firm plans to reduce its capital investments over the next 5 years by about $4.3 billion, to $26.5 billion. “We have more projects than money,” CEO Martin Brudermüller said in a press briefing.

Lanxess also lost money in the third quarter. “We see no signs of recovery for the rest of the year,” CEO Matthias Zachert says in a press release. The firm plans a one-time savings of $107 million in 2023 and annual savings of $160 million starting in 2025. The cuts will eliminate 870 jobs, including 460 in Germany. The company says it has initiated the sale of its urethane chemical division and will use the cash to help pay down debt.
Full article here. It doesn't seem like there's any end in sight, which might be a sign of the bottom *(one hopes?) Here's hoping things turn around. 

Friday, November 10, 2023

Have a good weekend

What a nutty week for me, but it's not a bad one. Let's hope that you had a great week, and that you have a great weekend. See you on Monday. 

Thursday, November 9, 2023

Job posting: formulation associate scientist, Rockville, MD

Via C&EN Jobs: 

Formulation Associate Scientist, Guidehouse Digital LLC, Rockville, MD. Collaborate with various teams to coordinate formulation and stability studies. Conduct tests and evaluations stable formulations for the vaccine candidates. Generate samples for analysis using standard laboratory techniques buffer prep, dialysis, dilution. Analyze samples using spectroscopic, calorimetric, and other instrumentation. Collect and analyze data. Develop assays for biological product characterization, formulation development and stability testing of recombinant protein-based vaccines, proteinaceous nanoparticles, and virus-like particles. Write and review technical reports and protocols documenting formulation, stability, and method development studies.

40 hrs/week, Mon-Fri, 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. 

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Master’s degree or foreign equivalent degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related field, and two (2) years of related work experience.

Must have one (1) year of experience with/in:

  • Analyzing protein spectroscopic analysis using: UV-Vis, Fluorescence, or Circular Dichroism spectroscopy;
  • Industry, government, or equivalent in protein formulation
  • Biophysical and bioanalytical properties of proteins and biologics;
  • Classic protein biochemistry sample handling and analysis using UF/DF, SDS-PAGE, or Western Blot; and
  • Utilizing Excel, Prism, and SigmaPlot data software.
Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Ars Technica: "“Extremely high” lead levels sicken 7 in 5 states"

By amazing health reporter Beth Mole, this news: 

At least seven children across five states have suffered acute lead poisoning linked to at least three brands of apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches marketed to children and sold nationwide, the Food and Drug Administration announced in an updated safety alert Friday.

The brands include WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches, Schnucks brand cinnamon-flavored applesauce pouches, and Weis brand cinnamon applesauce pouches. All three have been recalled. Consumers should not buy, sell, serve, or eat any of these products. Any pouches that have already been purchased should be thrown away. Parents or guardians of any children who may have eaten the purees should talk with health care providers about blood lead tests....

...The FDA said it is working to identify additional cases and other products that may also be contaminated, and to understand the source of the lead. In its recall notice, Schnucks reported its supplier, Purcell International, notified it of "elevated levels of lead found in the cinnamon raw material used by Austrofood SAS, the manufacturer of the applesauce cinnamon pouches."

I am a bit of a lead level fanatic, so I am really appalled at this. I would be pretty enthusiastic about making an example of these suppliers, and perhaps setting up some kind of system to actively screen food and food products for lead. 

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 424 research/teaching positions and 40 teaching positions

 The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 424 research/teaching positions and 40 teaching positions

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

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

On November 8, 2022, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 497 research/teaching positions and 31 teaching-focused position.

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Here's the first open thread. This post will serve as the second open thread. 

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

Monday, November 6, 2023

EPA to consider banning tire chemical

Via the Associated Press: 
U.S. regulators say they will review the use of a chemical found in almost every tire after a petition from West Coast Native American tribes that want it banned because it kills salmon as they return from the ocean to their natal streams to spawn.

The Yurok tribe in California and the Port Gamble S’Klallam and Puyallup tribes in Washington asked the Environmental Protection Agency to prohibit the rubber preservative 6PPD earlier this year, saying it kills fish — especially coho salmon — when rains wash it from roadways into rivers. Washington, Oregon, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut also wrote the EPA, citing the chemical’s “unreasonable threat” to their waters and fisheries.

The agency’s decision to grant the petition last week is the start of a long regulatory process that could see the chemical banned. Tire manufacturers are already looking for an alternative that still meets federal safety requirements.

“We could not sit idle while 6PPD kills the fish that sustain us,” Joseph L. James, chair of the Yurok Tribe, told The Associated Press. “This lethal toxin has no business in any salmon-bearing watershed.”

6PPD has been used as a rubber preservative in tires for 60 years. It is also found in footwear, synthetic turf and playground equipment.

As tires wear, tiny particles of rubber are left behind on roads and parking lots. The chemical breaks down into a byproduct, 6PPD-quinone, that is deadly to salmon, steelhead trout and other aquatic wildlife. Coho appear to be especially sensitive; it can kill them within hours, the tribes argued.

The structure of the molecule is so simple - it's pretty interesting to understand that the oxidation product is deadly to salmon.