The Twenty-First Annual Elizabeth Cady Stanton Student Research Conference on Thursday, April 8, 2010, 1:00-7:00 PM in the Connelly Center

 

1:00 PM Welcome – Cinema
Student Panel Presentations – Meeting Rooms

First Session:   1:10-2:30 PM   Second Session:  2:40-3:50 PM

4:00 PM Keynote Address – Cinema

“’A Very Radical Proposition’:  Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Meanings of the Vote”   Lori Ginzberg, Pennsylvania State University

5:30 PM – Dinner and Awards – Villanova Room

Please R.S.V.P. for dinner by March 29th to (610)519-3815 or gws@villanova.edu

Women in Chemistry Career Pathways Conference: How is networking useful, or Why should I leave the lab for this?

A conference on networking opportunities for women in the field of chemistry. Wednesday, 14 April 1:00–4:30 p.m. Chemical Heritage Foundation 315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia Featured panelists include: * Madeleine M. Joullié, Professor of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania * Sharon L. Haynie, Principal Investigator, DuPont Central Research * Amy L. R. Bug, Professor of Physics, Swarthmore College This conference will bring together women in chemistry—undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty—from throughout the Greater Philadelphia area for presentations, a panel discussion, networking opportunities, and a special tour of the Museum at CHF. We hope to facilitate a network of young female chemists in the region. Full program details are available online. This event is presented by the Women in Chemistry Oral History Program of the Center for Contemporary History and Policy at CHF. It is free and open to the public. Registration required by 9 April. After the conference, stick around for The Secret Cinema at CHF, a free film screening that mixes rare, vintage educational films about science with classic science-fiction features, at 6:30 p.m.

The Secret Cinema at the Chemical Heritage Foundation: The Invisible Ray (Universal: 1936).

Join us for the first of four screenings curated by Jay Schwartz of The Secret Cinema in conjunction with CHF's new exhibit, Marvels and Ciphers: A Look Inside the Flask. Each screening mixes vintage educational films about science with classic science-fiction features. Wednesday, 10 March 6:30–8:30 p.m. Chemical Heritage Foundation 315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia Feature film: The Invisible Ray (Universal: 1936). Immediately following this screening, David Grazian, associate professor of sociology, University of Pennsylvania, will lead a discussion on the films’ depictions of scientific debate and discovery. This event is free and open to the public. Popcorn and other refreshments will be served. Additional program details are available online at www.chemheritage.org/TheSecretCinema. The next screening of The Secret Cinema at CHF will be 14 April 2010. For more information about CHF and upcoming events, visit our Web site or follow us online. http://www.chemheritage.org/events/the-secret-cinema/index.html

Dr. Ned Heindel will speak on *Antidotes to Terrorist Toxins*

Dr Heindel from Lehigh University (Department of Chemistry) will speak on "Antidotes to Terrorist Toxins" Tuesday, March 9th at 4:30, Mendel 101. All are welcome to attend. World War I is called “the Chemists’ War” because of the variety of toxic gases employed. Gas masks provided some protection against the waves of chlorine and phosgene sweeping over the trenches, but the introduction in July 1917 of the blistering agent, known as sulfur mustard changed the dynamics of warfare forever. The gas penetrated most military garb and was absorbed unknowingly. The death-dealing effects didn’t appear till hours after exposure. Sulfur mustard is still around. It was employed in late 20^th century military operations, and the substance is believed to be a terrorist chemical of choice. CounterACT is a government sponsored project aimed at developing pharmaceuticals to block sulfur mustard’s toxic effects. Over 100 potential antidotes in five chemical classes have been designed, synthesized, characterized, and tested by our laboratory against sulfur mustard. Several anti-inflammatories are showing promise as interventional pharmaceuticals.

Chemistry Teacher (Vacancy Announcement)

A private, college-preparatory school in Baltimore is seeking a Chemistry teacher to commence work in August 2010. This is a full-time teaching position for high school Chemistry and AP Chemistry. The successful candidate will be expected to participate in the full life of the school by coaching athletic teams or supervising extracurricular activities.

Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Work Begins: August 2010
Compensation: Highly competitive with local public schools
Requirements: Bachelor's degree in chemistry or related field; master’s preferred. Excellent communication and leadership skills. Strong academic record. Teacher certification not required.

To apply, visit their website and complete the online application: www.SouthernTeachers.com

Southern Teachers Agency
7 Elliewood Ave., Suite 2A
Charlottesville, VA 22903-2603
Tel (434) 295-9122
Teachers@SouthernTeachers.com

Summer Research Internship for Minority Students - Marshall University School of Medicine

Marshall University’s Biomedical Sciences graduate program is pleased to announce its 2nd Annual Summer Research Internship for Minority Students (SRIMS) to take place the summer of 2010. Applications from undergraduate minority students who have NOT graduated by August 2010 will be considered.

The program is nine weeks of graduate-level research in the field of biomedical sciences. Participants will receive formal research training while expanding their learning experience through workshops, seminars on current topics, mentoring and use of state-of-the-art core facilities.

Quick facts:

• Dates for Summer 2010: June 1st – July 30th
• $3,000 stipend PLUS FREE ROOM and BOARD and ASSISTANCE with TRAVEL!
• Present results of research project at WV Summer Research Symposium
• Application deadline is March 15th, 2010
• Minority applicants only (e.g. Native American, Hispanic, African American, persons with disabilities). People of Indian decent are not considered minority in the science field. Applicant must be a US Citizen or have a green card.
• Questions? Contact Diana at maue1@marshall.edu

All application information, including a mentor directory, and program information is available by clicking the following link: http://bms.marshall.edu/about/minorityresearch.aspx.

Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society “Call for Abstracts”

The Saint Joseph’s University Chapter, announces the 21st Annual Saint Joseph’s University Sigma Xi Student Research Symposium, which will be held Friday, April 23, 2010.   Undergraduate and graduate students working in the areas of Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, the Natural, and the Social Sciences are invited and encouraged to present the results of their work in the poster session.  The Symposium will commence at 5:00 pm on the Saint Joseph’s University Campus in Philadelphia, PA.   It will open with the keynote address in the Wolfington Teletorium in Mandeville Hall.   The poster sessions will start at 6:45 in the Campion Student Center.    This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Hazel Barton, Ashland Professor of Integrative Science, Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University.  Her talk is entitled “Amazing Caves:  Amazing Microbes” is free and open to the public.    Registration fee for the symposium is $30 for students and $45 for faculty members.   The optional dinner at Saint Joseph’s is an additional $15 for both students and faculty.  Registration and abstracts are due by Friday, April 9, 2010.  For more information including online registration for the symposium, please visit http://www.sju.edu/srs.  We look forward to seeing you.

Villanova Undergraduate Research Grants

The Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering are happy to announce the 2010-2011 Call for Proposals for the Villanova Undergraduate Research Fellows (VURF) program. If you know of any students interested in independent research who are full-time Villanova undergraduate students, please have them visit our website below. The online application for funding to support independent undergraduate research during the summer of 2010 and the 2010-2010 academic year is due February 26, 2010. For additional information: http://www.villanova.edu/artsci/college/academics/curf/undergrad_research/fellows/application/ If you have questions, please contact: hanna.lee@villanova.edu

Stowers Institute Scholars Program

The 2010 Scholars Program is an intensive research experience in a stimulating scientific environment with state-of-the-art laboratories equipped with the most advanced technology.  Scholars work under the direction of a scientist at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research on a specific project with defined objectives.  Scholars receive a $3,000 stipend and non-Kansas city residents may apply for a housing allowance.  For more information or to apply to to Training Programs at www.stowers.org  and submit the following to studenttrainingprograms@stowers.org:

1. Pre-employment & Certification Forms
2. Statement of Interest
3. Official transcripts of undergraduate work
4. A minimum of 2 letters of recommendation from advisors

All materials must be received by February 26, 2010.

University of Alabama 2010 Summer Undergraduate Research Participation Program

This program is supported by the National Science Foundation for students (preferably juniors, who will be seniors in the 2010-2011 academic year) who plan to attend graduate school in chemistry or a related field.   Each student who is chosen to participate will receive a $5,000 stipend plus on-campus housing for 10 weeks (May 31 – August 7, 2010).   The deadline for the application is February 28, 2010.  For more information on the program please go to http://www.bama.ua.edu/~chem/undergraduate/summerprogs/surp.html. or call John Vincent at 205-348-5954.

NSF/REU Summer Undergraduate Research Program at the University of Southern California

This ten-week program is an opportunity for students to conduct research in residence in our Chemistry Department.  We offer projects in chemistry, biochemistry, and nanoscience.  Housing, meals, student health center access, and travel costs are covered by the Chemistry Department, and students will also receive a stipend.  Sophomores and juniors who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents may apply online by visiting:  http://chem.usc.edu/undergraduate/reu_prog.html

The application deadline is March 15, 2010.  For more information, please contact Anahit Marirosyan at 213-740-7040 or email at amartiro@usc.edu

Dr. Christopher T. Nomura will speak on "Polyhydroxyalkanoates production and potential applications"

Dr. Christopher T. Nomura from the Department of Chemistry, SUNY-ESF http://www.esf.edu/chemistry/nomura/lab/ will be speaking at the Chemistry Professional Development seminar on Tuesday, February 2nd (4:30pm, Mendel Science Center 101). All are invited to attend! Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are microbially produced biodegradable polyesters with a wide variety of applications and ecological benefits compared to non-biodegradable, petroleum-based plastics. Despite the ecological benefits associated with PHAs, their production costs are significantly higher than petroleum-based plastics. Our lab takes a multi-disciplinary approach utilizing microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and polymer chemistry, in order to develop systems and methodologies to make these biodegradable polymers more cost-competitive with petroleum-based polymers. Although a variety of PHAs have been made in recombinant and native microorganisms, a major obstacle to their widespread use has been the expense of their production. One way to reduce costs is to lower the cost of the feedstock for their production. Current increases in petroleum-based fuel prices have led to a surge of interest in the production of biofuels such as biodiesel. The byproduct of the transesterification of triglycerides to produce biodiesel is glycerol. Although glycerol has several applications, the current market is saturated, thus, finding new uses for glycerol produced with biodiesel will be of the utmost importance. In this study we evaluated the ability to transform low-value glycerol from biodiesel production into a value-added, biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) polymer using various bacterial strains. Use of low-value glycerol as a carbon feedstock to be transformed to biodegradable plastics could lower the price of both PHA and biodiesel production and create a new marketplace for the anticipated excess waste glycerol from biodiesel production. In addition, the use of PHAs as hydrophobic compound capture devices is currently being explored with potential applications in bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).