How has the sequester affected you?

The director of the NIH, Francis Collins, has asked the question on Twitter:

I want to hear; tell me how the #sequester is affecting your biomedical research right now. Use #NIHSequesterImpact

Click here to see how others are answering; lots of cancelled postdocs, affected science, etc.

So I am curious -- how has the sequester affected you, readers? Please tell me in the comments.

(I hope that you are not too much affected, but I am guessing that is not the case. Sorry.)  

Isn't it obvious that we do not understand Chinese chemical academia?

Well, it looks like See Arr Oh got results from Chemistry - A European Journal, with Retraction Watch covering the details. (Here's Derek Lowe's take.) This comment by D.G. Rossiter at RW is worthwhile:

Having worked in Chinese academia, I can tell you that especially at the lower-level universities or institutes where the authors are pressured to produce papers, a common approach is to do your own research following exactly a published English-language paper (so, the data is yours but the experimental design / research questions are not) but the paper is cut-paste with your numbers substituted for the originals. The rationale is, it’s valid science (i.e., the experiments and data are correct) so who cares if we follow a template? The original must be good…. but this is a deeper issue in current Chinese culture in general, called by the brilliant author Yu Hua’s ‘Chinese in Ten Words’ “copycat” culture (山寨) — an insatiable desire to copy an original because it’s presumed to be excellent. Think Elvis impersonators.

There are so many things about Chinese academic science that I do not understand. If I had any money, I would commission an article that would explain the overall funding structure of Chinese academic chemistry, the various institutions that are relevant (SIOC, I'm looking at you) and the various influential players. Surely the collaboration between the ACS and the Chinese Chemical Society would result in better understanding, yes? How does China's internal politics play into this? What kind of tenure pressures are there? What sort of financial pressures or cultural explanations are there?

None of those factors excuse plagiarism (whether of words or experimental design), of course -- but it would go a long way into explaining why things like this happen. 

Daily Pump Trap: 5/7/13 edition

Good morning! Between May 2 and May 6, there were 268 new positions posted on the C&EN Jobs website. Of these, 7 (3%) are academically connected and 254 (95%) are from Kelly Scientific Resources.

Uh, wow: It's always annoying when Kelly dumps a bazillion positions on the C&EN Jobs database, especially when half of them are for things tangentially related to chemistry. Hemopathologist, anyone?

On the other hand: BASF has posted 5 jobs nationwide; 3 of them are in Ames, Iowa, including this color chemistry position (B.S., 6-10 years experience desired.)

Washington, DC: Verto Solutions is looking for an experienced Ph.D. chemist with toxicology knowledge related to flavorings.

Torrance, CA: Would someone please take this Phenomenex sol-gel chemistry Ph.D. position, so they would quit posting it?

Boston, MA: Boy, there are a lot of law firms hiring, recently. Here's a chemistry consulting firm, aimed at IP law, looking for M.S./Ph.D. chemists. 

Ivory Filter Flask: 5/7/13 edition

Good morning! Between April 30 and May 6, there were 9 new academic positions posted on C&EN Jobs. The numbers:

Total number of ads: 9
- Postdocs: 1
- Tenure-track faculty:  4
- Temporary faculty: 1
- Lecturer positions:  1
- Staff positions:  2
- US/non-US: 8/3

Sewanee, TN: The University of the South is looking for a M.S. chemist to be a chemistry lab coordinator.

Semper Paratus: The U.S. Coast Guard Academy (New London, CT) is looking for a one-year lecturer. M.S. in chemistry desired, as well as teaching experience. Seeing the students do "eyes on the boat" (scroll down) eating would be an interesting one.

Rock Springs, WY: Western Wyoming Community College is looking for an instructor/assistant professor; M.S./Ph.D. in analytical or physical chemistry desired. $44-56k; probably not so bad for Wyoming.

Nationwide?: The Center for Sustainable Materials Chemistry is looking for postdocs; looks to be a multicenter sort of thing.

From the turnbuckle: Andre the Chemist, on #facultychemjobs elsewhere.

Chemical weapons and Syria

From this week's C&EN, the President of the United States is skeptical about current data about chemical weapons use in Syria (article by Glenn Hess):

Although “some evidence” has surfaced that chemical weapons have been used in Syria’s prolonged and intense civil war, it isn’t enough to warrant action, President Barack Obama said last week at a news briefing. 

Obama said more facts must be known before he is willing to consider any kind of escalation or U.S. involvement in Syria. “We don’t know how [the chemical weapons] were used, when they were used, who used them,” he said. The U.K. and France have claimed that Syria has used poison gases in its war with opposition political groups. But “we don’t have a chain of custody that establishes what exactly happened,” the President said. 

[snip] 

...The White House says its tentative assessment that the weapons were used was partly based on “physiological samples,” most likely blood samples collected from victims of attacks, experts say. The British and French governments say their claims stem from a range of evidence, including soil samples, witness interviews, and accounts by medical experts who observed victims’ symptoms.

I am amused at the thought of President Obama basically playing QA auditor on this intelligence data. "...so it appears to me that these samples were not in a state of control, so I don't understand how you can make that conclusion."*

The role that chemistry has played in the Syrian conflict is not small, including the global intelligence community's ability to know somehow that a chemical reaction to create sarin gas was taking place.

*You know it's a rough morning when I'm making cGMP jokes.

What's the weirdest named instrument you've heard of?

Pretty sure you need to run that sample
again, fella. Credit: Wikipedia

Back in the day, I used to get my data from a LC/MS named Chief Wiggum. I think he was one of a number of different Simpson-named instruments that we had.

I'm pretty sure I've heard of HPLCs named after Disney characters as well. [Why is it that NMRs never seem to be named?] Sports teams, literary characters, etc. are probably all good candidates.

Readers, what's the best naming system you've heard of?

Have a great weekend! 

The Banholzer Award

If you didn't know it already, I actually like it when senior people in industry and academia say things that are true, even if uncomfortable and unpopular and annoying. Beryl Lieff Benderly gets some great quotes from Dow executive vice president and Ph.D. chemical engineer William Banholzer (who, incidentally,  is on the Shakhashiri Commission):

...But you'll notice that a history of postdocing is not among the characteristics that appear in Banholzer's description. "I don't think I need to hire postdocs," he told PCAST. A Ph.D. earned under an excellent professor is sufficient education, he says, because Dow provides newly hired scientists its own training for the work that they will be doing. "They sort of get their postdoc on the job," he notes. 

[snip] 

A final element of Banholzer's formula for starting an industrial career is studying at an institution that ranks high in your field. "If you want to get a job, you'd better go to the best schools because that's where the best faculty are, that's where the best research is done. It doesn't mean there might not be a world-class, creative, capable person at a lesser school, but I've got to work so much harder to find them." Dow recruits at the roughly two dozen schools at the top of their fields; the particular institutions vary with the disciplines. An outstanding candidate from a lower-ranked school can still apply but faces much longer odds of getting noticed and hired... 

[snip] "The reason I'm in industry is that I want to solve society's problems," Banholzer says. For aspiring scientists desiring to join him in this endeavor, his advice is straightforward. "You've got to figure out how to distinguish yourself from others. That means you'd better go to a prestigious university, you'd better work on some disruptive thesis, you'd better be outstanding at communication."

I respect Dr. Banholzer for being willing to lay out the bare minimum for being hired at Dow to be an entry-level Ph.D. scientist, and not hiding behind code words for the same thing ("unique skills", "critical thinking"). I could probably do a really good job at quibbling with this reliance on glamour and sexxxxxy science true, considered meritocracy, but in general, I believe it is true* that better, longer CVs from respected institutions are correlated with getting hired and having better salaries. If you read more in the article (very much worth it), he also argues for there being a relative surplus of Ph.D. chemists in relation to the industrial jobs to absorb them.

Dr. Banholzer hasn't talked about the other, industrial-sized elephants in the room: that Dow probably doesn't need to hire all that many R&D scientists because they're probably hiring them overseas. And I'll also note that he's in direct conflict (hhhheeeyyy) with his boss Andrew Liveris, who can't stop plumping for more scientists.

[I mean, yeah, we could dog him for all of this, but is he going to change Dow's hiring habits? No. Better to know the reality, talk about it and not hide from it.]

But for describing the unpopular reality that you can't get hired by large corporations without a great-looking CV from a prestigious institution, I announce the Banholzer Award for Truth-Telling about Chemical Employment. I look forward to future nominations.

*Anecdotally true, not statistically proven, I might note.

A very good thought on networking

I was commenting on Twitter how networking techniques/language made me feel a little uncomfortable, and the very incisive Bill Hooker had a good comment:

I was uncomfortable with "networking" for many years, until a friend turned it on its head for me by his own example. This is the most connected guy I know: no matter what or who you need, he can get you there, or close to it.  

So how does he do it? Simple: he is always on the lookout for ways to help other people. He pays no attention, in the first place, to what they could do for him -- that side of the equation takes care of itself. The other secret to his success is that he lets people help him; when he needs a hand, he'll ask for it. Letting someone help you out creates not just an obligation to reciprocate, but a particular kind of bond predicated on the way we all feel good about having been able to help.  

To accept help is, in and of itself, to give a gift. In the end, the "network" that grows out of this "method" is robust, productive and not in the least bit sleazy or manipulative.

It made me feel a lot better about the whole thing, in the sense that I thought "yeah, I can do that." 

Unemployment down 0.1% to 7.5%, 165,000 new non-farm payroll jobs created

Credit: Calculated Risk

Fresh electrons from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: the employment rate is down 0.1% to 7.5% for April 2013, with 165,000 new non-farm payroll jobs created. The broader U6 measurement of unemployment was up 0.1% to 13.9%.

I believe the media will be fixated on the positive revisions for job creation in February and March, with a total of 114,000 new jobs added to the 356,000 that were already created. 

Chemical manufacturing employment was up slightly (900 jobs) to 794,500 employed in April.

The unemployment rate for college graduates was up 0.1% to 3.9%, which is about the level it's been for a while. Unemployment for workers with less than a high school degree was up 0.5% to 11.6%.

All in all, not a bad report. I'd really like to see some sharply downward drops in unemployment, though.

Thanks, as always, to Calculated Risk, for the graph. 

ACS Webinar: The Insiders Guide to Networking for Scientists, today, 2 pm Eastern

Sounds potentially interesting:

“The availability of jobs and advancement opportunities isn’t what it was 5 years ago. What can you do to stand out from the rest and advance your career? Well, when the going gets tough, the tough use their networks. Join Dr. Dennis Guthrie, who has over 20 years’ experience with Dow Chemical and Dr. David Harwell from ACS Careers as they profile the latest changes in the job market for chemists and explain how you most likely already know the person that can give you your next big break.”

Date/Time: Today, Thursday, May 2, 2013, 2:00-3:00 pm ET, no fee. Register here.

Will "be unique" advice for academics work for industrial scientists?

Be your own special flower (gag)
Credit: flickr user tlchua99

Derek Lowe has a long look at E.O. Wilson's latest book Letters to a Young Scientist; it is worth reading. To me, Wilson's advice seems to be fairly standard stuff, including this advice:

(DL) Here's how to pick an area to concentrate on: 

(EOW) I believe that other experienced scientists would agree with me that when you are selecting a domain of knowledge in which to conduct original research, it is wise to look for one that is sparsely inhabited. . .I advise you to look for a chance to break away, to find a subject you can make your own... if a subject is already receiving a great deal of attention, if it has a glamorous aura, if its practitioners are prizewinners who receive large grants, stay away from that subject.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard this advice in graduate school from a seminar speaker, I'd have a lot of nickels.

I wonder how this works at a large or a small industrial organization. It seems to me that, at a large company, branching out on one's own does not necessarily lend itself to being "a good team player" (or whatever the term for being conformist enough is.) It always seems like glamorous areas are great places for people to find success and rewards and promotion, the benefits of which are not to be completely denied. At a small company, the temporal and economic demands that require everyone to wear multiple hats does not easily allow for the time and focus to be a specialist. I also recognize that every good idea had a start somewhere -- the image of Hewlett and Packard in their garage is a testament to that.

I think that scientists (especially Ph.D.s) love, love, love to become specialists in weird fields and understand them deeply, potentially to the point of potential irrelevancy (said the obscure topic blogger.) I just hope I can, like Wilson suggests, turn this tendency to success in industry.

Johns Hopkins science writing graduate program closes

From Michael Price, a graduate of the program, and a writer at Science Careers:

For 30 years, the Writing Seminars Department at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, has offered scientists and science-minded journalists the opportunity to hone their writing and communication skills through its master's degree in science writing. The program was one of the big four graduate science-writing programs in the United States... On Monday, the science writing program's director, Ann Finkbeiner, e-mailed alumni of the program to announce that there would be no 2013–2014 class. The program is shuttering. 

Science writing has long been considered one of the main "alternative" science careers, ideal for scientists with strong writing skills who have tired of spending their days in the lab running experiments. Some science writing graduate programs, like the one at the University of California, Santa Cruz, offer their degree exclusively to applicants with at least a bachelor's degree in science, while others, like the Johns Hopkins program, are open to anyone who demonstrates sufficient aptitude in science and writing. 

The Hopkins program isn't the first to go. In 2009, Columbia University announced that it was closing its earth and environmental science journalism program because of "current weakness in the job market for environmental journalists." While the job market for science journalists is indeed crowded, due in large part to the downsizing of staffs at newspapers and magazines, Finkbeiner doesn't believe that's the reason why the Johns Hopkins program is closing. Apparently, she tells Science Careers in an interview, the primary motivation for ending the program was the low ratio of number of applicants to class size—in other words, the fact that the program isn't selective enough, which reflects poorly on the university's reputation as a competitive institution. Katherine Newman, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, confirmed that as the reason that she decided to close the program.

I think this is sad news for those who might think about science journalism as a parallel track to the bench. Too bad.

The best personal finance paragraph I read yesterday

...courtesy of Slate business/economics blogger Matt Yglesias*:

Now since we are in fact living in a 401(k) world, here's some advice. You've got to save a lot of money for retirement. More than you think. More than you want to. And you need to put that money in a broadly diversified, low-fee fund. And you have to keep it there. Don't panic when the market plunges and sell. In fact, unless you're planning on retiring in the next decade, don't even check how it's doing. Just buy and hold and shift into something less volatile when you're near retirement. Vanguard has these good Target 20XX funds that automatically shift you into less volatile products as you get closer to your target retirement date, allowing you to do even more ignoring of the state of your investments. Which is good. The only way for anyone to make any money managing your savings is to try and trick you into making trades you shouldn't make, or buying products you shouldn't buy.

I agree with this a lot. (So much so that I get pretty upset thinking about expense ratios that I impact me in my 401k and how much I do not like them.) 

*One should note that Yglesias is better-off than the average household, so perhaps a grain of salt is in order. 

Daily Pump Trap: 5/2/13 edition

Good morning! Between April 30 and May 1, there were 6 new positions posted on the C&EN Jobs website. Of these, 1 (17%) was academically connected.

North Wales, PA: Achiewell is looking for a M.S. chemist:

Chemist (Research) for Achiewell, LLC in North Wales, PA.  Conduct organic synthesis to determine the lab-scale & industrial manufacturing setup & process for specialty chemicals, conduct QC-QA analysis using GC-MS & LC-MS, & conduct application tests to ensure performance of the final formulation of the manufactured product.  Send resume to Jason Chou, 401 Industrial Dr., Bldg. A, North Wales, PA  19454.

So, um, why don't we start with this -- what don't you want them to do?

Coupla Q.C. positions: One in Yuma, AZ and another one in Davie, FL.

A broader look: Monster, Careerbuilder, Indeed and USAjobs.gov show (respectively) 253, 732, 2,579 and 12 positions for the search term "chemist." LinkedIn shows 120 positions for the job title "chemist, with 6 for "research chemist", 20 for "analytical chemist" and 3 for "organic chemist." 

Friends, back up your (thesis) data

I am a tad bit stonkered that no one else has mentioned this story, but it apparently is true, and happened recently.

(h/t Bruce Schneier, who got it from Geeks are Sexy, who got it from Reddit, naturally.)

(I have altered the photo to make it a slight bit more private, not that it matters a damn. I'm so sorry, dud(ette).)

Seriously, though, it pays to back up your data. 

Since you're going to be seeing it everywhere else...

...it might as well be here, too. (h/t Stuart Cantrill and Gavin Armstrong)



A pretty amazing feat by the IBM team. A long time ago, I wrote:

...it is my unfounded speculation that the future of chemistry does not lie in the life sciences, but in the physical sciences. 

I think that's still true. 

Process Wednesday: decantation

From "Organometallics in Process Chemistry" [1], a comment on decanting in a chapter on removing metals on scale:

Decantation, also known as siphoning, can be used in place of filtration to separate the process stream from solid metal particles. Decanting is useful for gross separations, as in the case of removing water from Raney nickel, but it can be impractical to perform on scale. Decanting requires time to allow metal to settle below the suction (siphon) inlet. Fine metal particles can be difficult to remove and when present in large amounts, can plug filtration equipment. In addition, the remaining metal particles must be thoroughly cleaned from the reactor. Decantation also leaves behind some of the product rich process stream; additional solvent, followed by decantation, would be required to improve product recovery thus increasing cycle time and batch volume. 

Well, there goes that idea about tipping the reactor on its side to pour out some supernatant...

[A long time ago, I was subject to a senior chemist suggesting that we use decanting as a viable technique for separating the product stream from a heavy metal oxidant. I must have looked at him as if he had 3 heads...]

[Doesn't "decantation" sound like some sort of anti-witchcraft technique?]

1. Bien, J.T.; Lane, G.C.; Oberholzer, M.R. "Removal of Metals from Process Streams: Methodologies and Applications." Topics in Organometallic Chemistry 2004, 6, 263-283.

Daily Pump Trap: 4/30/13 edition

Between April 25 and April 29, there were 29 new positions posted on the C&EN Jobs website. Of these, 7 (24%) were academically connected. 

New York, NY: D.E. Shaw Research has put out yet another one of its drug discovery ads -- what is different, I sense, is that they're finally looking for senior medicinal chemists:

Extraordinarily gifted scientists with expertise in computer-aided drug design or protein structural modeling are sought to join a New York–based interdisciplinary research group that is pursuing an ambitious, long-term strategy aimed at fundamentally transforming the process of drug discovery. 

Candidates should have world-class credentials in drug discovery. Relevant areas of experience might include medicinal chemistry, structure- and fragment-based drug design, molecular modeling, chemo- and bio-informatics, and/or target analysis and selection. Specific knowledge in one or more of these areas is less critical than exceptional intellectual ability and a demonstrated track record of impact in drug development. 

David Shaw is, among other things, a hedge fund owner. I think it's interesting that he's now attempting to do drug discovery -- the contrast between him and Andy Grove is instructive and commendable.

Albany, NY: AMRI wishes to hire a B.S./M.S. analytical chemist for finished drug dosage form testing, looks like. They are paying 40-65k.

Wilmington, DE: Fish and Richardson are looking to hire technology specialists; a Ph.D. in chemistry with strength in organic chemistry is desired.

You guys are back!: Polyera Corporation (they of the romance novel ads) is back and looking for organic chemists. Here's a position for a Ph.D. synthetic chemist towards organic photovoltaics; they're offering 80-175k. (Um, let me cast doubt on that last number by looking at their Glassdoor profile.)

They're also looking for a B.S./M.S. synthetic chemist, with this interesting comment in their desired characteristics:

Commitment and Tenure. You’re looking to stay in one place for at least 3-5 years. When you find a place you like, you tend to stay with it.

I wonder if the company would make the same commitment that they're requesting of their employees? 

Ivory Filter Flask: 4/30/13 edition

Between April 23 and April 29, there were 11 new academic positions posted on the C&EN Jobs website. The numbers:

Total number of ads: 11
- Postdocs: 0
- Tenure-tractk faculty:  5
- Temporary faculty: 3
- Lecturer positions:  3
- Staff positions:  0
- US/non-US: 11/0

Manhattan, NY: Bard High School Early College is once again looking for an assistant professor for its program for high school kids. You would in September 2013 -- isn't this a little late?

Um, that's an visiting faculty position, yes?: Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY) has a position titled "assistant professor in chemistry." You'd think it was full-time and permanent, and yet:

The Ithaca College Department of Chemistry invites applications for a full-time, one-year (with possibility of renewal pending departmental needs) Assistant Professor in Chemistry position for the academic year 2013-14, to teach general chemistry, organic chemistry, and provide general laboratory instruction. 

Mmmaybe not.

Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University is search for a tenure-track assistant professor and also a general chemistry coordinator. The latter seems to be tenure-track as well, which is unusual.

Harrisonburg, VA: James Madison University is searching for 2 temporary assistant professors/instructors for one-year positions....

And also: Same with Simpson College (Indianola, IA.)

And don't forget: Andre The Chemist's 3rd round-up of non-C&EN Jobs academic positions. 

Posts are coming...

...but they are delayed about 4 hours. Apologies.

In the meantime, here's a tidbit from Wired that shows two things, 1) things are better in the tech world, i.e. they're actually hiring lots of people, enough so that they're taking people outside their field and 2) STEM is definitely TE (emphases mine):

“More than anything, an education in the physical sciences teaches you how to think,” says Cloudant co-founder and chief technology officer Adam Kocoloski. “Startups are all about solving new problems. A background in science helps you react quickly to new and unknown situations.”

That’s why Cloudant is bullish on hiring people with a background in science, and they’re not alone. Tech companies are snapping up scientists with backgrounds in fields like physics, mathematics and bioscience — people we might expect to be busy curing cancer, saving the environment or discovering the origin of the universe. It’s easy to be cynical about this. “The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads,” former Facebook data scientist Jeff Hammerbacher told Business Week in 2010. But it’s happening for a reason. 

It’s not that tech companies need people with PhDs. Many of the best data scientists in the business only have bachelor’s degrees. It turns out that many scientists are moving into tech because opportunities aren’t as prevalent as you might think. 

The U.S. produced 100,000 PhDs between 2005 and 2009, while creating only 16,000 new professorships, according to data cited by The Economist. Though we’re used to hearing about PhDs in the humanities ending up as low-paid adjunct professors or baristas, we tend to expect another fate for people who major in fields like bioscience or physics. But even the natural sciences produce more PhDs than professorships. 

Donnie Berkholz has a PhD in biochemistry and biophysics from Oregon State University. He’s exactly the sort of guy you’d expect to be working on a cure for cancer. Instead, he works at RedMonk, a technology industry analysis firm. He, like many other jaded PhDs, calls academia a Ponzi scheme.

Of course, this throws darts at my recent eyebrow-raising towards Andre the Chemist and my skepticism that chemists in particular are being hired because of their impressive problem solving abilities. That said, it should be noted that Dr. Kocoloski has a Ph.D. in physics... so maybe he's just patting himself (and me, and you, dear reader) on the back.

[It should be noted that tech is very different from the physical sciences (and manufacturing, for that matter), in that up-front capital costs are relatively low and the educational barrier to entry is also low.]