The Chemistry Jobs Scramble: April 13 update

Welcome to the April 13 update for the upcoming 2021 Chemistry Jobs Scramble.

Are you a job seeker? Enter your contact information here. We currently have 74 job seekers. 

Are you an employer? Enter your job posting and contact information here. We currently have 15 potential positions. 

Guidelines (new)

• Registration will open for one week, starting tomorrow, April 6, 2021. 
• Registration for job seekers will close on noon Eastern, April 13, 2021.
• Registration for potential employers will close noon Eastern, April 14, 2021.  
• We will register both potential employers and job candidates.
• Potential employers will be required to post a position with an intent to hire before September 30, 2021. 
• Job seekers will have to attest that they have not accepted a position with another employer. 
• On April 15 at noon Eastern, job seekers will be offered access to the list of potential positions. They will not be offered access to the list of job seekers. 
• On April 15 at noon Eastern, potential employers will be offered the list of job seekers. They will not be offered access to the list of potential employers. 
• There will be no matching - simply the provision of potential openings or candidates. 
• Access to the scramble will be revoked on April 30, 2021. 
• This is primarily intended to provide an opportunity for unfilled faculty openings and unmatched job seekers to find matches and permanent employment. Therefore, postdoctoral positions or adjunct positions will not be included; visiting positions of one year or longer will be considered. Industrial positions are welcome. 

Questions? E-mail chemjobber@gmail.com or ask your questions in the comments. 

The 2021 Faculty Jobs List: 324 research/teaching positions and 61 teaching faculty positions

The 2021 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 324 research/teaching positions and 61 teaching assistant professor positions.

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

In 2020-2021, we will be adding teaching professor positions, targeting positions that demonstrate an intention to renew permanently, 3 year terms and a promotion ladder and/or are titled "assistant teaching professor" or "associate teaching professor." We are adding community college positions if they explicitly offer tenure.

On April 14, 2020, the 2020 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 554 research/teaching positions and 79 teaching faculty positions.

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

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Go to the sixth open thread. 

Here's the fifth open thread, which closed on March 16, 2021. Here's the fourth open thread, which closed on February 16, 2021. Here's the third open thread, which closed on January 20, 2021. Click here for the second thread, which closed on December 22. Click here for the first open thread, which closed on November 11, 2020.

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

Job posting: research associate/postdoc, Reilly Lab, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

From the inbox: 

The Reilly Lab in the Department of Chemistry at Indiana University is taking applications for either a research associate or a postdoctoral research position. Either position offers an opportunity to develop novel bioanalytical methods and apply them to the study of protein folding and the interaction of ubiquitin with proteasomes with the goal of identifying new receptors. The successful applicant will perform cross-linking, liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry experiments and will interpret data with in-house and publically available computer programs.

Experience gained will be beneficial for careers in both academia and industry. Trainees will receive regular guidance that will facilitate research progress and career planning. A background in analytical chemistry, biomolecule mass spectrometry or biochemistry would be advantageous.

Questions regarding the position or application process can be directed to: Prof. Jim Reilly, Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, 800 E. Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, reilly@indiana.edu

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

The Academic Staff Jobs List: 104 positions

The Academic Staff Jobs list has 104 positions.

This list is curated by Sarah Cady and @nmr_chemist. It targets:

• Full-time STAFF positions in a Chem/Biochem/ChemE lab/facility at an academic institution/natl lab
• Lab Coordinator positions for research groups or undergraduate labs 
• and for an institution in Canada or the United States

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

Want to chat about staff scientist positions? Try the open thread.

Explosion in Columbus, OH paint plant

Via USA Today, this incident: 

COLUMBUS, Ohio — One person was killed andeight others injured Thursday after an explosion started a fire at a paint factory in Ohio's capital city. 

The two-alarm fire started around midnight at Majestic Paints on the city's Near East Side and involved at least one explosion. The paint company has had a history of workplace safety violations, including some with the potential to cause death, according to a federal workplace investigation.

Around 40 employees were believed to be in the building when the fire started. Fire officials said many employees were able to evacuate on their own, however, two had to be rescued by fire crews.

One of them had suffered extensive burns and was reported trapped between a railing and another object until a rescue crew could extricate and remove that person in a Stokes basket, according to fire radio traffic...

This CSB summary is interesting: 

• A fire and explosion occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday, April 8, 2021.
• Yenkin-Majestic manufactures and markets industrial coatings that include acrylics, alkyds, coil and powder coatings, epoxies, primers, and urethanes.
• The incident occurred in the OPC Polymers unit at the Yenkin-Majestic facility. The company reports that it has 180 employees.
• The company reported the following casualties: 1 fatal, 5 hospitalized and 4 non-serious injuries.
• Twenty-one employees were reported to have been in the facility at the time of the incident.
• Incident resulted in substantial property damage, more than $1 million. 
• A building in the OPC Polymer unit collapsed as a result of the incident.
• Emergency responders reported that a local resident self-evacuated. No evacuation was ordered by the City of Columbus.
• Materials stored onsite include maleic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, xylene, and mineral spirits. The company has not yet provided the quantities of the material at the facility at the time of the incident.
• The OPC Polymer unit was engaged in normal operations at the time of the incident. The material being produced was manufactured in a batch process. 

Hard for me to fully understand what was going on there, and what exactly happened - will be worthwhile following. 

I guess I don't think that paint factories typically explode? Hard to see how maleic or phthalic anhydride would be all that explosive as well. Guess we'll have to wait for the final report. 

Have a great weekend!

We made it to the weekend! I've been vaccinated, which is nice. I hope you have a great weekend, and we'll see you on Monday. 

A scientist's scientist

Via the New York Times, this rather wonderful Gina Kolata profile of Dr. Katalin Kariko, one of the people who helped develop the field of mRNA vaccines: 

For her entire career, Dr. Kariko has focused on messenger RNA, or mRNA — the genetic script that carries DNA instructions to each cell’s protein-making machinery. She was convinced mRNA could be used to instruct cells to make their own medicines, including vaccines.

But for many years her career at the University of Pennsylvania was fragile. She migrated from lab to lab, relying on one senior scientist after another to take her in. She never made more than $60,000 a year.

By all accounts intense and single-minded, Dr. Kariko lives for “the bench” — the spot in the lab where she works. She cares little for fame. “The bench is there, the science is good,” she shrugged in a recent interview. “Who cares?”

By all accounts intense and single-minded, Dr. Kariko lives for “the bench” — the spot in the lab where she works. She cares little for fame. “The bench is there, the science is good,” she shrugged in a recent interview. “Who cares?”

This was a rather charming detail: 

On Nov. 8, the first results of the Pfizer-BioNTech study came in, showing that the mRNA vaccine offered powerful immunity to the new virus. Dr. Kariko turned to her husband. “Oh, it works,” she said. “I thought so.”

To celebrate, she ate an entire box of Goobers chocolate-covered peanuts. By herself.

I sure wish I could send her some Goobers - I'm good for a couple of cases. 

32 new positions at Organic Chemistry Jobs

Common Organic Chemistry is resolving some technical difficulties, but has ported over the list to Google Drive for now. There are 12 new positions for April 5, and 20 new positions for April 3. 

Don't forget to check out the Common Organic Chemistry company map, a very helpful resource for organic chemists looking for potential employers. 

Continued bad news at Emergent

Via the New York Times, this news on Emergent BioSolutions, the vaccine CMO that both Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca were using: 

But four former company officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they had signed nondisclosure agreements or feared retaliation, described an environment where top Emergent leadership tolerated and even encouraged the flouting of federal standards for manufacturing and marketing products.

One of the former officials said that as the company scrambled to meet the heavy demands of vaccine production, a senior manufacturing supervisor often responded to reports of quality errors by asking: “Do you want me to make drugs or fix issues? I don’t have time to do both.”

That's a pretty appalling statement, if true. Here's more details about the cross-contamination problem: 

The Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines use the same technology: A harmless version of a virus — known as a viral vector — is transmitted into cells to make a protein that stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies.

Sometime in February, Emergent workers had unknowingly contaminated Johnson & Johnson’s viral vector with AstraZeneca’s. The error was not discovered for weeks, until, in one of the final checks before release, Johnson & Johnson sampled a batch of 13 million to 15 million doses’ worth of vaccine for purity.

In short order, top Biden administration health officials directed a hold on shipments from the Baltimore facility and instructed Johnson & Johnson executives to take charge of its operations. Days later, they quietly told AstraZeneca officials their vaccine would no longer be made at the Baltimore plant, to avoid a repeat of that error. 

That is extremely bad news, and the fact that they still don't understand why it happened (i.e. "unknowingly") tends to indicate to me that Emergent doesn't have control over its processes, which doesn't provide me much confidence in their products. It's a good thing Johnson and Johnson isn't relying on Emergent to provide doses for the ongoing vaccination campaign. (It's also really bad news for AZ that their manufacturing efforts are suffering another blow too.) 

Manufacturing problems aren't new. I feel like we have been extremely fortunate that we have been able to manufacture two vaccines that haven't seemed to suffer quality problems (that we know of yet...), and that there are manufacturing issues with one of the CMOs for one of the vaccines is a sign that we're not immune to the law of averages. 

The 2021 Chemistry Jobs Scramble

Welcome to the 2021 Chemistry Jobs Scramble. 

Are you a job seeker? Enter your contact information here. 

Are you an employer? Enter your job posting and contact information here. 

Guidelines: 

• Registration will open for one week, starting tomorrow, April 6, 2021. It will close on noon Eastern, April 13, 2021. 
• We will register both potential employers and job candidates.
• Potential employers will be required to post a position with an intent to hire before September 30, 2021. 
• Job seekers will have to attest that they have not accepted a position with another employer. 
• On April 14, job seekers will be offered access to the list of potential positions. They will not be offered access to the list of job seekers. 
• On April 14, potential employers will be offered the list of job seekers. They will not be offered access to the list of potential employers. 
• There will be no matching - simply the provision of potential openings or candidates. 
• Access to the scramble will be revoked on April 30, 2021. 
• This is primarily intended to provide an opportunity for unfilled faculty openings and unmatched job seekers to find matches and permanent employment. Therefore, postdoctoral positions or adjunct positions will not be included; visiting positions will be considered. Industrial positions are welcome. 

Questions? E-mail chemjobber@gmail.com or ask your questions in the comments. 

The 2021 Faculty Jobs List: 322 research/teaching positions and 60 teaching faculty positions

The 2021 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 322 research/teaching positions and 60 teaching assistant professor positions.

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

In 2020-2021, we will be adding teaching professor positions, targeting positions that demonstrate an intention to renew permanently, 3 year terms and a promotion ladder and/or are titled "assistant teaching professor" or "associate teaching professor." We are adding community college positions if they explicitly offer tenure.

On April 7, 2020, the 2020 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 554 research/teaching positions and 79 teaching faculty positions.

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

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Go to the sixth open thread. 

Here's the fifth open thread, which closed on March 16, 2021. Here's the fourth open thread, which closed on February 16, 2021. Here's the third open thread, which closed on January 20, 2021. Click here for the second thread, which closed on December 22. Click here for the first open thread, which closed on November 11, 2020.

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

Job posting: instructor, general chemistry, Case Western Reserve, Cleveland, OH

From the inbox: 

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY, CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY 

Invites applications for a faculty position at the rank of Instructor. 

Candidates must be committed to  excellence in undergraduate teaching, mentoring, and service. A PhD in chemistry and experience  teaching first-year and sophomore-level undergraduate chemistry courses with demonstrated  excellence in teaching are required. Normal teaching loads for Instructors are two introductory courses per semester. For this position, we expect the instructor to teach general and organic chemistry lecture  and laboratory courses with multiple sections. In addition, Instructors serve on committees as part of  departmental service requirements. The starting term of the position is Fall 2021. A letter of  application, CV, diversity statement, summary of teaching experience, class evaluations, and three  confidential letters of reference should be submitted at http://apply.interfolio.com/84428 by May 11,  2021.  

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested.

The Academic Staff Jobs List: 104 positions

The Academic Staff Jobs list has 104 positions.

This list is curated by Sarah Cady and @nmr_chemist. It targets:

• Full-time STAFF positions in a Chem/Biochem/ChemE lab/facility at an academic institution/natl lab
• Lab Coordinator positions for research groups or undergraduate labs 
• and for an institution in Canada or the United States

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

Want to chat about staff scientist positions? Try the open thread.

Coming: The 2021 Chemistry Job Scramble

Copying the annual Economic Job Market Scramble, Andrew Spaeth and I will be putting together a job market scramble to open tomorrow, Tuesday, April 6 for registration of employers and job seekers. This is an attempt to create a "thick" market for both job candidates and potential employers, especially those who did not get a faculty position this year. The basic contours: 

• Registration will open for one week, starting tomorrow, April 6, 2021. It will close on April 13, 2021. 
• We will register both potential employers and job candidates.
• Potential employers will be required to post a position with an intent to hire before September 30, 2021. 
• Job seekers will have to attest that they have not accepted a position with another employer. 
• On April 14, job seekers will be offered access to the list of potential positions. They will not be offered access to the list of job seekers. 
• On April 14, potential employers will be offered the list of job seekers. They will not be offered access to the list of potential employers. 
• There will be no matching by Andrew or I - simply the provision of potential openings or candidates. 
• Access to the list will be revoked after 2 weeks. 

Questions? Ask them in the comments, or email us at chemjobber@gmail.com. 

BLS: Unemployment rate for March was 6.0%; payrolls rose 916000 positions

Credit: Calculated Risk

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that the national unemployment rate dropped to
6.0%, and payrolls rose by 916000 positions in March.

The broader U6 measurement of unemployment was 10.7%, down from 11.1% in February.

The chemical manufacturing subsector saw a rise in positions from 850300 in February to 853300 in March, a rise of 3000 positions (seasonally adjusted).

The unemployment rate of college graduates was 3.7% for March 2021, while by contrast the unemployment rate for people without a high school diploma was 8.7%.

Have a good weekend

Well, we made it to Friday. I hope you have a great weekend, and see you on Monday. 

Bad day for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine

Via the New York Times, this crummy news (emphasis mine):

WASHINGTON — Workers at a plant in Baltimore manufacturing two coronavirus vaccines accidentally conflated the ingredients several weeks ago, contaminating up to 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine and forcing regulators to delay authorization of the plant’s production lines. The plant is run by Emergent BioSolutions, a manufacturing partner to both Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, the British-Swedish company whose vaccine has yet to be authorized for use in the United States. Federal officials attributed the mistake to human error...

...The problems arose in a new plant that the federal government enlisted last year to produce vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. The two vaccines use the same technology employing a harmless version of a virus — known as a vector — that is transmitted into cells to make a protein that then stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies. But Johnson and Johnson’s and AstraZeneca’s vectors are biologically different and not interchangeable.

In late February, one or more workers somehow confused the two during the production process, raising questions about training and supervision. In the past year, Emergent has hired and trained hundreds of new workers to produce millions of doses of both vaccines that were supposed to be ready by the time clinical trials showed whether the vaccines actually worked.

Vaccine production is a notoriously fickle science, and errors are often expected to occur and ruin batches. But Emergent’s mistake went undiscovered for days until Johnson & Johnson’s quality control checks uncovered it, according to people familiar with the situation. By then, up to 15 million doses had been contaminated, the people said.

None of the doses ever left the plant, and the lot has been quarantined. 

I'm not surprised this happened - I can't imagine the pressure that Emergent is under (especially if they're manufacturing two of the COVID vaccines). As I said on Twitter, I expect that the root cause will be found far from the plant floor.* Here's hoping the relevant folks there dust themselves off and get back to their important work. Best wishes to them, and to all of us.  

*Bad day to be on the QA investigation team there for sure. 

Professor Who Fed Graduate Student into Woodchipper Reprimanded

(CJ Press) In an unsurprising turn of events, a professor who stuffed a graduate student into a woodchipper was not fired by his university. The University Office of Impotent Investigations sent two reports to Professor F.M. Jones and the chair of the Department of Chemistry. The reports say the preponderance of evidence shows that Professor Jones did indeed tell a graduate student that he deserved to be fertilizer, and that he then picked up the student and forced him into a running woodchipper feet first. A separate letter sent to administrators by UOII recommended they fire Professor Jones for mistreatment of university property.

After deciding not to fire Professor Jones, the dean of the College of Science sent him a letter sanctioning him for his woodchipping ways. Professor Jones lost his position as the head of the university’s Center for Abattoir Excellence and cannot supervise undergraduates and graduate students for 6 months. 

According to sources, university administration and department heads had differing opinions about the facts of the case, whether the graduate student felt pain as they were pulled into the woodchipper, whether it mattered that Professor Jones rendered a human being into a puddle of flesh, as well as whether firing was an appropriate punishment for this lapse in judgment. In the end, both the dean of the College of Science and the department chair decided differently than the UOII. 

“A simple punishment, like firing, which students often think is what you should do, is not always the right thing. That’s why there are different punishments for different crimes,” the administrator says. “I think that is one of those very tricky cases” in which it wasn’t clear whether Professor Jones should be fired.

32 new positions at Organic Chemistry Jobs

 Common Organic Chemistry is resolving some technical difficulties, but has ported over the list to Google Drive for now. There are 32 new positions for March 27.

Don't forget to check out the Common Organic Chemistry company map, a very helpful resource for organic chemists looking for potential employers. 

Chemical Activity Barometer up 1.2% in March

Via the American Chemistry Council: 

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), rose 1.2% in March on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis following a 1.0% increase in February. On a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis, the barometer rose 5.5% in March.

The unadjusted data show a 1.2% gain in March following a 0.9% gain in February. The diffusion index rebounded to 82% in March, well above the long-term average of 58%. The diffusion index marks the number of positive contributors relative to the total number of indicators monitored. The CAB reading for February was revised upward by 0.18 points and the reading for January was revised downward by 0.57 points. The March data are provisional and subject to revision.

"The latest CAB reading is consistent with solid expansion of commerce, trade and industry into the fourth quarter," said Kevin Swift, chief economist at ACC.

The CAB has four main components, each consisting of a variety of indicators: 1) production; 2) equity prices; 3) product prices; and 4) inventories and other indicators.

In March, production-related indicators were positive. Trends in construction-related resins and related performance chemistry were solid and suggest further expansion past the weak February home sales and housing starts. Resins and chemistry used in other durable goods were strong. Plastic resins used in packaging and for consumer and institutional applications were positive. Performance chemistry for industry was mixed. U.S. exports were positive, while equity prices showed further gains. Product and input prices were positive, as were inventory and other supply chain indicators.

Well, here's hoping the trend continues and strengthens! 

Chatham, VA Arkema site acrylate drum fire on Tuesday

Via WSLS: 

Arkema, the chemicals company whose Chatham site was affected by the fire, issued a statement regarding what caused the chemical fire Tuesday afternoon.

Officials said it involved the overheating of one of their products, an acrylic building block used in products like coatings and adhesives.

The acrylic building block was stored in drums inside of the building, but when the product inside the drums overheated, it caused a polymerization reaction. That means the small building blocks formed into a long chain of molecules, causing overheating and polymerization in some of the drums nearby.

Arkema officials said they, along with local fire crews, are working to cool the materials to reduce potential polymerization.

(Reports indicate no one was injured, which is great.) Glad I'm not the warehouse manager at this site! 

The 2021 Faculty Jobs List: 317 research/teaching positions and 59 teaching faculty positions

 The 2021 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 314 research/teaching positions and 58 teaching assistant professor positions.

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

In 2020-2021, we will be adding teaching professor positions, targeting positions that demonstrate an intention to renew permanently, 3 year terms and a promotion ladder and/or are titled "assistant teaching professor" or "associate teaching professor." We are adding community college positions if they explicitly offer tenure.

On March 31, 2020, the 2020 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 554 research/teaching positions and 79 teaching faculty positions.

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

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Go to the sixth open thread. 

Here's the fifth open thread, which closed on March 16, 2021. Here's the fourth open thread, which closed on February 16, 2021. Here's the third open thread, which closed on January 20, 2021. Click here for the second thread, which closed on December 22. Click here for the first open thread, which closed on November 11, 2020.

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

Chemistry Bumper Cars

Check out the latest moves here! 

To submit information, click here or e-mail chembumpercars@gmail.com

The Academic Staff Jobs List: 104 positions

The Academic Staff Jobs list has 104 positions.

This list is curated by Sarah Cady and @nmr_chemist. It targets:

• Full-time STAFF positions in a Chem/Biochem/ChemE lab/facility at an academic institution/natl lab
• Lab Coordinator positions for research groups or undergraduate labs 
• and for an institution in Canada or the United States

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

Want to chat about staff scientist positions? Try the open thread.

This week's C&EN

A few of the articles from this week's issue of Chemical and Engineering News: 

• Cover: "The lab of the future is now" (by Rick Mullin)
• Texas petrochemical production is still thawing (by Alexander H. Tullo)
• Parkinson’s disease signatures found in skin oil (by Celia Henry Arnaud)
• Surveying gut bugs in the wild (by Laura Howes)
• A tale of PFAS, pollution, and patent claims (by Cheryl Hogue, Craig Bettenhausen)

Chemical Safety Board is short on board members

Via the Charleston Gazette-Mail: 

Fifteen months ago, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board issued a final report on two explosions that killed three people in Barbour County. The agency hasn’t issued another final report or safety recommendation since.

Charged with investigating industrial chemical incidents, the board averaged 40 new recommendations annually in its first 21 years of operations dating to 1998. The agency has a backlog of 18 unfinished investigations dating to 2016. The second most recent incident was the Dec. 8 explosion at Optima Belle’s chemical facility in Belle that killed one worker and injured two others.

Earlier this month, the agency released an update, noting it was working with Optima Belle to sample and test chlorinated dry bleach powder. The company was performing a process to remove water from chlorinated dry bleach when the blast occurred in an industrial dryer unit.

Don’t expect the Chemical Safety Board’s final report soon.

The shortest span between a chemical incident in West Virginia and the agency’s final report was the 20 months between a propane explosion at a Little General convenience store and gas station in Raleigh County in January 2007. The agency released a final report in September 2008.

That was before the chemical safety watchdog was neutered by the Trump administration.

Composed of members appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, the board currently has featured one member, Chairman and CEO Katherine A. Lemos, instead of the usual five for the past nine months. The board’s members dwindled one by one under Trump. The former president chose no new members after previous members resigned following his appointment of Lemos in 2019.

CSB seems like an organization that has been deeply damaged over the last 10 years or so, and the Trump Administration didn't seem to help much...

Have a good weekend

Well, this was an odd week. Hope that everyone has a great weekend, and see you back on Monday. 

Here's your paycheck

Via the New York Times, this way to resolve an employee dispute: 

A OK Walker Luxury Autoworks in Peachtree City, Ga., has built Ford Mustangs for the Clint Eastwood film “Trouble With the Curve” and for an attempt at a world record for land speed, according to its website. Now the high-end car repair shop has acquired another rare distinction: It has been accused of paying a former employee in pennies.

To be precise, that’s 91,500 pennies, adding up to $915 in wages owed — although Andreas Flaten, who was a manager at A OK Walker until last November, has not counted them to make sure he got every last cent. He said his former employer had left him a glimmering mound of pennies at the end of his driveway on March 12 to punish him for quitting and persistently demanding his final paycheck.

...Mr. Flaten said that the foundation of his workplace dispute had to do with his employer’s lack of sensitivity to his need to pick up his child from day care at a certain time. Mr. Walker, the owner, recruited him, he said. And he accepted the job because they had an agreement that he could leave at 5 p.m.

That arrangement became even more important during the pandemic, when the child-care facility began closing early. But the promise evaporated, Mr. Flaten said. That, and some other unpleasant exchanges, led Mr. Flaten to give notice late last year that he was planning to quit, and then to walk off the job even earlier than planned.

Months later, when his final week’s wages still had not arrived, Mr. Flaten filed a claim with the U.S. Department of Labor. The agency confirmed that it had contacted the repair shop three times.

...Around 7 p.m. on March 12, a video recorded by Mr. Flaten’s doorbell camera shows a young man with long wavy hair on his front porch.

“Hey, your money is at the end of the driveway, bud,” says the man, who Mr. Flaten said he believed was a current employee of the repair shop. 

About an hour later, when Mr. Flaten tried to drive to the store, he found his way blocked by a mountain of pennies. Placed amid the foul-smelling coins was an envelope etched with an expression of unmistakable disapproval. Inside he found his pay stub, but no check.

Kind of a crummy thing to do, to be honest. 

Will there be a federal science hiring wave five to ten years from now? Betteridge sez no

From C&EN's Andrea Widener, this story: 

The US government needs to better recruit and retain scientists, according to witnesses at a March 17 hearing by a subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. A decline in the number of federal scientists accelerated during the Donald J. Trump administration, data show. 

For example, the Environmental Protection Agency’s workforce decreased 3.9% during Trump’s tenure and 16% since 2009, according to numbers presented by the committee. The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy lost 20% of its workforce during the first 3 years of the Trump administration. And a large proportion of government scientists are nearing retirement age. 

The witnesses agreed that the government’s recruiting methods are outdated and that hiring takes too long—up to 100 days, in some cases. In addition to fixing those problems, federal science agencies should start recruiting from a wider array of universities, such as those the US categorizes as minority-serving institutions, and move away from the trend of making more jobs contract positions, the witnesses said. Qualified scientists are available, Andrew Rosenberg of the Union of Concerned Scientists said at the hearing, but agencies are not making the jobs seem attractive. “A lot of these are self-inflicted wounds,” he said.

I don't see Congress coughing up for more federal scientists any time soon, but you really wonder what the median age of a FDA or a EPA mid-level manager might be... 

30 new positions at Organic Chemistry Jobs

Common Organic Chemistry is resolving some technical difficulties, but has ported over the list to Google Drive for now. There are 9 new positions for March 22 and 21 new positions for March 19.

Don't forget to check out the Common Organic Chemistry company map, a very helpful resource for organic chemists looking for potential employers. 

Shrimp tails in cereal?

From the New York Times: 

Cereal is a staple of the American breakfast table, consumed by millions of people every day and tied, for many, with memories of childhood. So when a story began circulating this week about a disturbing discovery in a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, consumers were horrified.

None more so than Jensen Karp.

On Monday morning, he ate a bowl of his favorite cinnamon sugar-striped cereal. As he began filling a second bowl, “something plopped out of the box,” he said in an interview. “I picked it up, and I was like, ‘This is clearly a shrimp tail.’”

He looked in the bag and saw what appeared to be another tail. Both were encrusted with sugar. “I get really grossed out, and I’m medicated for O.C.D., so this is a total nightmare for me,” he said.

Sounds like General Mills insist this isn't their responsibility. I bet the lot numbers have been checked and rechecked...

What's responsible for the skunky smell of cannabis?

Skunky beer and cannabis culprit?

Via a Google search, this news from a press release: 

A research team comprised of Byers Scientific, Iowa State University and Texas-based odor experts report isolation and identification of the volatile chemical which appears to be primarily responsible for the downwind skunky-like environmental odor complaints which have been commonly reported for commercial cannabis and industrial hemp growing operations.

By employing a triangulation approach of analytical chemistry (i.e., SPME fiber, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and GC-Olfactometry analysis), leaf enclosure study and field observation, the team of researchers were able to isolate, identify, measure and ultimately conclude that the compound 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol (i.e., 321 MBT), is the primary source of the traditionally objectionable odor of cannabis.

The compound is also the same odorous volatile chemical which has previously been reported to carry responsibility for the skunky-like aroma and flavor defect in light-struck beer...

 Will be interesting to see if cannabis breeders will select to remove the skunky aspect of pot? 

The 2021 Faculty Jobs List: 314 research/teaching positions and 58 teaching faculty positions

The 2021 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 314 research/teaching positions and 58 teaching assistant professor positions.

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

In 2020-2021, we will be adding teaching professor positions, targeting positions that demonstrate an intention to renew permanently, 3 year terms and a promotion ladder and/or are titled "assistant teaching professor" or "associate teaching professor." We are adding community college positions if they explicitly offer tenure.

On March 24, 2020, the 2020 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 553 research/teaching positions and 76 teaching faculty positions.

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

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Go to the sixth open thread. 

Here's the fifth open thread, which closed on March 16, 2021. Here's the fourth open thread, which closed on February 16, 2021. Here's the third open thread, which closed on January 20, 2021. Click here for the second thread, which closed on December 22. Click here for the first open thread, which closed on November 11, 2020.

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

Chemistry Bumper Cars

Check out the latest moves here! 

To submit information, click here or e-mail chembumpercars@gmail.com

The Academic Staff Jobs List: 104 positions

The Academic Staff Jobs list has 104 positions.

This list is curated by Sarah Cady and @nmr_chemist. It targets:

• Full-time STAFF positions in a Chem/Biochem/ChemE lab/facility at an academic institution/natl lab
• Lab Coordinator positions for research groups or undergraduate labs 
• and for an institution in Canada or the United States

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

Want to chat about staff scientist positions? Try the open thread.

What is in "Real Water"?

This is a weird story: 

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Federal and local health officials are warning people not to drink a Las Vegas-based bottled water brand, Real Water, after linking it to liver illness in five hospitalized children.

Company President Brent Jones on Wednesday called for stores to stop selling the product “throughout the United States until the issue is resolved.” “Our goal is to diligently work with the FDA to achieve a swift resolution,” a statement from Jones said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers, restaurants and retailers not to drink, cook with, sell or serve the product, the Southern Nevada Health District said in a statement posted Tuesday.

...The health district, based in Las Vegas, said it began investigating five cases of acute non-viral hepatitis in November 2020 and notified the FDA. It said it also investigated the illness of six other people — three children and three adults — who reported less severe symptoms including vomiting, nausea, appetite loss and fatigue.

Five children required hospitalization but recovered, the health district said. The patients lived in four different households.

“To date, the consumption of ‘Real Water’ brand alkaline water was found to be the only common link identified between all the cases,” the district said.

Acute non-viral hepatitis is a liver inflammation that can be caused by exposure to toxins, autoimmune disease or drinking too much alcohol, the district said. Symptoms can include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain and yellow skin or eyes...

So this stuff is pH 8-9. What could you possibly add to water to make it more basic but would also cause liver failure? That's pretty odd, no? The cheapest thing I can think of is baking soda? How is that palatable? 

Have a great weekend

Hope you had a great week. Have a great weekend, and see you on Monday. 

49 new positions at Organic Chemistry Jobs

Common Organic Chemistry is resolving some technical difficulties, but has ported over the list to Google Drive for now. There are 23 new positions for March 16 and 26 new positions for March 13.

Don't forget to check out the Common Organic Chemistry company map, a very helpful resource for organic chemists looking for potential employers. 

The impacts of the pandemic on the US labor force

From the New York Times, this comment on the pandemic: 

...But the speed with which the pandemic has driven workers from the labor force has had devastating effects that could leave lasting damage.

The labor force participation rate among those 16 or older has dropped to about 61 percent from 63 percent in February 2020. Among prime age workers — those 25 to 54 — it has declined to 81 percent from 83 percent.

Women in their prime working years have quit the labor force at nearly twice the rate of men, according to research by Wells Fargo, partly because more women work in industries like leisure and hospitality that are less suited to social distancing and partly because women are more likely to bear the burden of child care. The share of Black women who have left the labor force is more than twice the share of white men.

Then there are the many people who may be seeking a job but who are unavailable to take one because of health concerns, illness or caretaking obligations, putting them in what economists say is something of a gray area — between being unemployed and not in the labor force — that has become more common during the pandemic.

It would be interesting to know the labor force participation rate for chemists, and if it is higher or lower for other college degree holders. 

Collaboration posting: Meyer Industrial Professorship, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

From the inbox: 

The Department of Chemistry in University of Wyoming is recruiting one industrial chemist or chemical engineer for the Meyer Industrial Professorship.  This position provides $20K in research funds for areas of mutual interest for the University of Wyoming and an industrial employer partner.  The industrial employer partner will have input on the research direction and would be expected to provide salary, benefit continuation, and travel allowance for the individual fulfilling the Meyer Industrial Professorship.  The length of the visit to the University of Wyoming in beautiful Laramie will be 6-12 months.  The target start date is summer to fall 2021.

Full description of the position and research summary here. Interested? Contact Professor John Hoberg (e-mail address on linked page.)  

The 2021 Faculty Jobs List: 309 research/teaching positions and 58 teaching faculty positions

The 2021 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 309 research/teaching positions and 58 teaching assistant professor positions.

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

In 2020-2021, we will be adding teaching professor positions, targeting positions that demonstrate an intention to renew permanently, 3 year terms and a promotion ladder and/or are titled "assistant teaching professor" or "associate teaching professor." We are adding community college positions if they explicitly offer tenure.

On March 17, 2020, the 2020 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 551 research/teaching positions and 74 teaching faculty positions.

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

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? This is the sixth open thread. 

Here's the fifth open thread, which closed on March 16, 2021. Here's the fourth open thread, which closed on February 16, 2021. Here's the third open thread, which closed on January 20, 2021. Click here for the second thread, which closed on December 22. Click here for the first open thread, which closed on November 11, 2020.

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

Job posting: chemistry research scientist, Kinnos, Brooklyn, NY

From the inbox: 

CHEMISTRY RESEARCH SCIENTIST — FULL-TIME — BROOKLYN, NY

Kinnos is a venture-backed company founded by three Columbia alumni with a mission to protect society from infections. We’ve created an award-winning and patented colorized disinfection technology called Highlight® that is revolutionizing how people use disinfectants. Highlight® is used by first responders and laboratories, has been field-tested in Liberia, Guinea, Haiti, DR Congo, and Uganda for various outbreaks, and is being implemented by leading US hospitals. Kinnos has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, PBS NewsHour, and Forbes 30 Under 30 in Healthcare.  

We are looking for a full-time Chemistry Research Scientist to join our team to make significant contributions in developing a game-changing product. If you're truly interested in making an impact in healthcare, aren't afraid to get your hands dirty, and have a knack for detail-oriented work, then we'll hold up our side of the bargain and give you meaningful responsibilities with real deliverables that you can be proud of working on.

The Job’s Mission: Responsible for creating the molecules that drive Kinnos’ products. The chemistry group has a uniquely broad scope, operating as a collaborative team to bring molecules from ideas to products that save lives.

Full ad here. A formulations position is also available. Best wishes to those interested.  

There's ammonia on the International Space Station?

Via the Associated Press: 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Spacewalking astronauts had to take extra safety precautions Saturday after possibly getting toxic ammonia on their suits from the International Space Station’s external cooling system.

Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins had no trouble removing and venting a couple of old jumper cables to remove any ammonia still lingering in the lines. But so much ammonia spewed out of the first hose that Mission Control worried some of the frozen white flakes might have gotten on their suits.

Hopkins was surprised at the amount of ammonia unleashed into the vacuum of space. “Oh yeah, look at that go. Did you see that?” he asked flight controllers. “There’s more than I thought.”

Sounds like all was well in the end: 

As the nearly seven-hour spacewalk drew to a close, Mission Control said the astronauts had already spent enough time in the sunlight to bake off any ammonia residue from their suits. Indeed, once Glover and Hopkins were back inside, their crewmates said they could smell no ammonia but still wore gloves while handling the suits.

It's interesting to think about the time required to bake off frozen ammonia in the cold of space...

Have a good weekend

A less stressful week than last week. Hope yours was the same as well. Have a great weekend, and we'll see you on Monday. 

The market at work, with dollar store clothes and propane torches

Via the always excellent Polymerist Substack, this amusing article: 

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) --Chris Bird first saw the rumors Friday morning on Twitter.

Physical natural gas prices were soaring in Oklahoma amid a cold blast that was gripping much of the U.S. and only stood to get worse. Bird, owner of a small gas producer in Tulsa, called one trader who confirmed the heating fuel was going for a staggering $350 per million British thermal units. Then he called another who said it had risen to $395.

That’s all Bird needed to know. He and his production technician grabbed some winter clothes at the dollar store and drove the stretch of highway to Osage County some 20 miles north. They met up with a buddy who owns a propane torch and began melting ice off idled gas wells to get them back online.

“We’ve got four of us in the office turning on every single gas well that we’ve got,” Bird said. “We have old wells that haven’t produced in 10 years, and we’re like, ‘open the taps, let’s go.’”

I imagine that the demand for natural gas is going down a bit, but it's always interesting to see what high commodity prices will get people to do. 

Illinois teacher tried, convicted of pouring liquid nitrogen on a student

Well, that's a weird story (via the Chicago Sun-Times):

A former Bartlett High School chemistry teacher was found guilty Tuesday of charges alleging he injured a student during a science demonstration.

Garry Brodersen poured liquid nitrogen on a student’s chest and groin area while performing a demonstration for class on May 15, 2018, according to a statement from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.

The chemical caused burn injuries to the student’s groin and a finger, prosecutors said.

Brodersen, 66, of Carpentersville, was released on bond a $15,000 during the trial.

A jury deliberated for four hours after a two-day trial before finding Brodersen guilty of a count each of reckless conduct and endangering the health or life of a child.

Prosecutors statement here. I feel like it's unusual for this to reach the level of a trial? This seems a little bit odd - there must be some context missing. (Also, it seems like the decision to pour liquid nitrogen directly on a student was... unwise.) 

26 new positions at Organic Chemistry Jobs

 Common Organic Chemistry is resolving some technical difficulties, but has ported over the list to Google Drive for now. There are 10 new positions for March 6 and 16 for March 9. 

Don't forget to check out the Common Organic Chemistry company map, a very helpful resource for organic chemists looking for potential employers. 

Clandestine chemists coming out of the shadows?

Via a Google News search, this interesting The New Republic piece on clandestine chemists: 

Part of the irony of current drug laws is that we only really know about the class of clandestine chemists who have been busted, and whose sentencing frees them to talk openly about their work, which is now shaping the future of psychedelics, because they got prosecuted in the first place. A whole class of geniuses and wild eccentrics remain largely unknown, their lives and work shrouded by a secrecy and surreptitiousness that, while necessary given the current status of drug laws, feels nonetheless unfair, and a little old-fashioned. The mind reels contemplating all the Pickards, Stanleys, and Alexander Shulgins (the former Dow chemist who popularized MDMA in the 1970s) lighting upon novel chemical synthetics in the underground. Such new compounds may well constitute the forefront of psychedelic medicine. Compass Pathways recently launched a Drug Discovery Center at Philadelphia’s University of Sciences, where lead researcher Jason Wallach claims to have already synthesized 100 new serotonergic compounds.

This bears watching, and it will be interesting to see if having a career in, say, psychedelic medicinal chemistry could be a reality in our futures. That would make for an unusual ACS National Meeting symposium...

The 2021 Faculty Jobs List: 302 research/teaching positions and 56 teaching faculty positions

The 2021 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 302 research/teaching positions and 56 teaching assistant professor positions.

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

In 2020-2021, we will be adding teaching professor positions, targeting positions that demonstrate an intention to renew permanently, 3 year terms and a promotion ladder and/or are titled "assistant teaching professor" or "associate teaching professor." We are adding community college positions if they explicitly offer tenure.

On March 10, 2020, the 2020 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 550 research/teaching positions and 74 teaching faculty positions.

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

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Go to the fifth open thread. 

Here's the fourth open thread, which closed on February 16, 2021. Here's the third open thread, which closed on January 20, 2021. Click here for the second thread, which closed on December 22. Click here for the first open thread, which closed on November 11, 2020.

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

The Academic Staff Jobs List: 103 positions

The Academic Staff Jobs list has 103 positions.

This list is curated by Sarah Cady and @nmr_chemist. It targets:

• Full-time STAFF positions in a Chem/Biochem/ChemE lab/facility at an academic institution/natl lab
• Lab Coordinator positions for research groups or undergraduate labs 
• and for an institution in Canada or the United States

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

Want to chat about staff scientist positions? Try the open thread.

Stuart Schreiber, E.J. Corey write open letter in support of Charles Lieber

Via Twitter: 

I don't find this letter particularly compelling (neither does Paul), but I suspect that it's partially for an internal Harvard audience and partially aimed at appealing to the incoming Biden Administration. 

Have a good weekend

 

Well, I hope you had a more relaxed week than I did. Hope you have a chill weekend, and see you on Monday. 

Job posting: analytical chemists, IsleChem, Grand Island, NY

From the inbox: 

IsleChem scientists utilize advanced analytical tools and expertise for materials analysis. The laboratory supports a wide range of industries and markets. Our scientists support client research, development and production projects, and external contract base analytical support for a wide variety of businesses. Integrated problem-solving is an important client benefit due to the breadth of tools and experience the laboratory has available.

IsleChem has two Senior Analyst positions open to join our Analytical Services Team at our Grand Island, NY facility. We are seeking detailed oriented individuals who takes pride in helping others, wants to improve the effectiveness of our offerings, and is willing to learn.

Expected level of experience would conform to:

• BS in Chemistry or related degree with 5 years of work experience.
• MS in Chemistry or related degree with 1 years of work experience.

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

ChemTalk Requests Interns and Volunteers

From the inbox: 

ChemTalk, a new US based chemistry education non-profit organization, is accepting applications for internships, volunteers and advisors.

Areas that applicants could potentially work in include writing articles & tutorials, creating educational or experiment-based videos, social media, outreach to researchers, fundraising, and program development. Internships are not paid but can receive high school or college credits if their schools allow that.

ChemTalk’s mission is to make chemistry fun and easy to learn, to dispel the negative connotations associated with chemistry, and to give students and aspiring chemists role models in the researchers and scientists who are actively doing amazing things in current times. At a recent UCLA non-profit panel discussion, ChemTalk asked all 75 participants who their role model in chemistry was, and 75 out of chose someone who was deceased.

Further information can be requested by emailing admin@chemistrytalk.org or visiting https://chemistrytalk.org

Best wishes to those interested.  

47 new positions at Organic Chemistry Jobs

 Common Organic Chemistry is resolving some technical difficulties, but has ported over the list to Google Drive for now. There are 23 new positions for March 3 and 24 for February 27. 

Don't forget to check out the Common Organic Chemistry company map, a very helpful resource for organic chemists looking for potential employers.

The 2021 Faculty Jobs List: 297 research/teaching positions and 53 teaching faculty positions

The 2021 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 297 research/teaching positions and 53 teaching assistant professor positions.

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

In 2020-2021, we will be adding teaching professor positions, targeting positions that demonstrate an intention to renew permanently, 3 year terms and a promotion ladder and/or are titled "assistant teaching professor" or "associate teaching professor." We are adding community college positions if they explicitly offer tenure.

On March 3, 2020, the 2020 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 548 research/teaching positions and 72 teaching faculty positions.

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

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Go to the fifth open thread. 

Here's the fourth open thread, which closed on February 16, 2021. Here's the third open thread, which closed on January 20, 2021. Click here for the second thread, which closed on December 22. Click here for the first open thread, which closed on November 11, 2020.

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

Job posting: open search for professor, UIC College of Pharmacy, Chicago, IL

From the inbox: 

The UIC College of Pharmacy, with campuses in Chicago and Rockford, IL, is one of seven health sciences colleges in the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, which is one of only five academic health centers in the US with a full complement of the human health professions. The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences is a research-intensive academic unit that is home to multiple research centers and facilities, reflective of the Department’s emphasis on the training of students and postdoctoral researchers in state-of-the-art translational biomedical science.

The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago seeks candidates for open rank (tenure-track Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor) position. Our department is rooted in natural products drug discovery and boasts a highly collaborative environment. 

Faculty members are expected to interact extensively with other laboratories in the department and affiliated research centers while developing/maintaining externally funded, independent research programs. Teaching in the professional and graduate programs of the College of Pharmacy is required.

For full consideration, applicants must submit a CV and cover letter, three references, and research plan limit to 2-3 pages by March 31, 2021.

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

The Academic Staff Jobs List: 103 positions

The Academic Staff Jobs list has 103 positions.

This list is curated by Sarah Cady and @nmr_chemist. It targets:

• Full-time STAFF positions in a Chem/Biochem/ChemE lab/facility at an academic institution/natl lab
• Lab Coordinator positions for research groups or undergraduate labs 
• and for an institution in Canada or the United States

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

Want to chat about staff scientist positions? Try the open thread.

Odd fire at the West Virginia state crime lab

Odd news: 

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A person sustained injuries Wednesday morning at the West Virginia State Police detachment in South Charleston after an explosion.

According to state police, at approximately 10:30 a.m. a single section of the West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory experienced a chemical reaction resulting in a small fire.

Hazmat crews were called to investigate.

The fire was suppressed and contained by employees and South Charleston Fire Department.

What kind of chemical reactions are taking place on sufficiently large scale at a forensic lab? 

Chemical Activity Barometer up 1.0% in February

From the American Chemistry Council: 

WASHINGTON (February 23, 2021) – The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), rose 1.0% in February on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis following a 1.8% increase in January. On a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis, the barometer rose 1.3% in February.

The unadjusted data show a 0.3% gain in February following a 2.0% increase in January. The diffusion index eased to 77% in February. The diffusion index marks the number of positive contributors relative to the total number of indicators monitored. The CAB reading for January was revised upward by 0.90 points and that for December was revised downward by 0.03 points. Keep in mind that the February data are provisional and subject to revision.

“With ten months of gains, the latest CAB reading is consistent with expansion in the U.S. economy,” said Kevin Swift, chief economist at ACC.

In February, production-related indicators were positive. Trends in construction-related resins and related performance chemistry were solid. Resins and chemistry used in other durable goods were strong. Plastic resins used in packaging and for consumer and institutional applications were positive. Performance chemistry for industry was strong. U.S. exports were positive, while equity prices increased. Product and input prices were positive, as were inventory and other supply chain indicators.

That's good news for the broader economy, which is good news for chemists.  

Have a good weekend

Well, we made it to Friday. Here's hoping that all is well with you, and that you have a great weekend. See you on Monday. 

There's always something mysterious about a qualification sample

From the pages of The Washington Post, this book excerpt about a Syrian chemist in their chemical weapons program, and his communications with the CIA: 

...The chemist appeared to anticipate the question. One late December day, he sent a cryptic signal to the case officer requesting a meeting. He had something to give the young American, but it had to be in private — not at his house, and not in a cafe or another public place where the exchange might be seen.

The arrangements were set. On the agreed evening, the spy and the case officer sat together in the front seat of a Peugeot parked on a quiet Damascus street a few blocks from the U.S. Embassy. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the scientist produced a small package.

“It’s nearly Christmas. You’re a Christian,” the chemist said, handing over the bundle. “Here’s a Christmas present.” A few minutes later, the American was left alone to ponder what was inside the parcel’s plain wrapping.

The younger man had an inkling, so, as a precaution, the CIA arranged to send a pair of technical specialists to his Damascus apartment to help with the initial assessment. Donning respirators and protective suits, the specialists carefully removed the outer packaging to reveal a small box.

Inside the box was a sealed plastic vial. And within it, visible through the plastic casing, was a clear liquid. The chemist had boasted of his prowess in making exceedingly effective nerve agents. Now he had given the Americans a sample.

Several days passed before the liquid could be fully analyzed. The vial was first repackaged and placed in a shatterproof container, then stuffed inside a diplomatic pouch to be flown out of the country. Once in the United States, it was rushed to a military laboratory, where scientists in hazmat suits gingerly opened the vial for a first look at what was inside.

Always good to make your work known to the world, I suppose. If you're a manufacturer of nerve agents, what are you gonna do, write it up for JACS? 

Job postings: multiple, Schrödinger, NYC

From the inbox: 

Schrödinger's mission is to improve human health and quality through the development, distribution, and application of advanced computational methods. As a member of our Drug Discovery Applications Group, you’ll join a dedicated team of designers, modelers, computational chemists, medicinal chemists, crystallographers, biochemists, and biologists with experience working on all common target classes and therapeutic areas. We also engage with Contract Research Organizations (CRO) and Consultants. The group is supported by more than 100 software developers and engineers as well as a large-scale computing infrastructure. 

• Director of Analytical Development
• Principal Scientist I/II, Medicinal Chemistry
• Senior Principal Scientist/Director, Medicinal Chemistry

Full list of open positions here. Best wishes to those interested. 

17 new positions at Organic Chemistry Jobs

Common Organic Chemistry is resolving some technical difficulties, but has ported over the list to Google Drive for now. There are 15 new positions for February 21.

Don't forget to check out the Common Organic Chemistry company map, a very helpful resource for organic chemists looking for potential employers.

The 2021 Faculty Jobs List: 292 research/teaching positions and 48 teaching faculty positions

The 2021 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 285 research/teaching positions and 47 teaching assistant professor positions.

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

In 2020-2021, we will be adding teaching professor positions, targeting positions that demonstrate an intention to renew permanently, 3 year terms and a promotion ladder and/or are titled "assistant teaching professor" or "associate teaching professor." We are adding community college positions if they explicitly offer tenure.

On February 25, 2020, the 2020 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 540 research/teaching positions and 70 teaching faculty positions.

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

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Go to the fifth open thread. 

Here's the fourth open thread, which closed on February 16, 2021. Here's the third open thread, which closed on January 20, 2021. Click here for the second thread, which closed on December 22. Click here for the first open thread, which closed on November 11, 2020.

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

The Academic Staff Jobs List: 98 positions

The Academic Staff Jobs list has 98 positions.

This list is curated by Sarah Cady and @nmr_chemist. It targets:

• Full-time STAFF positions in a Chem/Biochem/ChemE lab/facility at an academic institution/natl lab
• Lab Coordinator positions for research groups or undergraduate labs 
• and for an institution in Canada or the United States

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

Want to chat about staff scientist positions? Try the open thread.

Job posting: Senior Scientist/Scientist, Protein Chemistry, Genentech, SSF

From the inbox: 

We are seeking a talented Scientist/ Senior Scientist to join the Department of Protein Chemistry – Large Molecule Drug Development at Genentech. We are looking for a candidate to build oligonucleotide therapeutics discovery capabilities within the research drug discovery pipeline at Genentech. The candidate must have a proven record of accomplishments in antisense oligonucleotides, RNAi, or microRNA discovery and the ability to build and champion this therapeutic modality within the research organization at Genentech. Experience in delivery of oligonucleotide therapeutics, large molecule drug discovery, or bioconjugation would be preferred. Experience in early development of oligonucleotide therapeutics is highly desired.

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

Some medical students can't get matched into residency?

 Via the New York Times, this interesting comment about a specific step in physician training: 

...Dr. Cromblin is one of as many as 10,000 chronically unmatched doctors in the United States, people who graduated from medical school but are consistently rejected from residency programs. The National Resident Matching Program promotes its high match rate, with 94 percent of American medical students matching into residency programs last year on Match Day, which occurs annually on the third Friday in March. But the match rate for Americans who study at medical schools abroad is far lower, with just 61 percent matching into residency spots.

Last year, the Association of American Medical Colleges released a study that found that the country would face a shortage of 54,100 to 139,000 physicians by 2033, a prospect made all the more alarming as hospitals confront the possibility of fighting future crises similar to the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet each year thousands of graduates emerge from medical schools with a virtually useless M.D. or D.O.; without residency experience, they do not qualify for licensure in any state....

...The pool of unmatched doctors began to grow in 2006 when the Association of American Medical Colleges called on medical schools to increase their first-year enrollment by 30 percent; the group also called for an increase in federally supported residency positions, but those remained capped under the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, introduced the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act in 2019 to increase the number of Medicare-supported residency positions available for eligible medical school graduates by 3,000 per year over a period of five years, but it has not received a vote. In late December, Congress passed a legislative package creating 1,000 new Medicare-supported residency positions over the next five years.

Well, it seems to me that we should have sufficient spots for close to 100% of medical school graduates, but the problem really seems to be that the Caribbean medical schools don't have nearly a good enough placement record. How do these schools justify charging enormous tuitions if that is the case?

UPDATE: Changed headline, because you really shouldn't write headlines when you're half asleep. Also, more awake thoughts: There is no similar process for chemical academia, i.e. "what is the unemployment rate, underemployment rate and employment rate of PhD chemists immediately after graduation?" Each school should be required to print the postdoc and full-time employment trajectory of their last 5-7 years of PhD graduates on their grad school enrollment forms.

Q1 2021 GDP looking good?

From Calculated Risk, this perspective on early 2021 GDP forecasts: 

From Merrrill Lynch: Retail sales boosted our 1Q21 GDP tracking estimate by 1.5pp to 5.5% qoq saar. [Feb 19 estimate] emphasis added

From Goldman Sachs: We boosted our Q1 GDP tracking estimate by 1pp to +6.0% (qoq ar). [Feb 17 estimate]

From the NY Fed Nowcasting Report: The New York Fed Staff Nowcast stands at 8.3% for 2021:Q1. [Feb 19 estimate]

And from the Altanta Fed: GDPNow: The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the first quarter of 2021 is 9.5 percent on February 18 [Feb 18 estimate]

Well, that's good news. Here's hoping it comes to pass.  

Have a good weekend!

Well, we've made it to Friday. Here's hoping Texas-area readers are all right. Best wishes for a good weekend, and see you all on Monday.