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Division of Chemistry Newsletter No. 7
August, 2005

RECEPTION AND BROADER IMPACTS SHOWCASE AT THE ACS NATIONAL MEETING IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

We invite you to meet and speak with NSF staff members and Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee (MPSAC) members at a reception and Broader Impacts Showcase to be held at the upcoming ACS National Meeting in Washington, D.C. On Monday, August 29, 2005, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center, Room 144B, the following NSF staff members and MPSAC members plan to be available to meet with you informally: Henry Blount, Ron Christensen, Mike Clarke, Kathy Covert, Ken Doxsee, Luis Echegoyen, Art Ellis, Joan Frye, Jean Futrell, Janice Hicks, Susan Hixson, George Janini, Raima Larter, Carl Lineberger, Lee Magid, Ty Mitchell, Kathy Parson, Celeste Rohlfing, George Rubottom, Harry Ungar, and Frank Wodarczyk.

As part of the event, chemists on the MPSAC have organized a Broader Impacts Showcase. Please join principal investigators at the reception to view and discuss dozens of posters illustrating the broader impacts of awards supported by the Division of Chemistry. A town meeting will be held from noon until 1:00 p.m. as part of the reception and Broader Impacts Showcase. This is an excellent opportunity to share information and perspectives on developments in the chemistry community and at NSF.

Refreshments will be available at the reception.

TOWN MEETING ON FACILITIES AT THE ACS NATIONAL MEETING IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

To better acquaint our community with opportunities at large research facilities, the Division of Chemistry is hosting a Town Meeting on Facilities. We invite you to meet with representatives from national laboratories and facilities, members of the chemistry community who have used these resources, and NSF staff members. The Town Meeting will be held at the upcoming ACS National Meeting in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, August 30, 2005, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center, Room 204B.

Light refreshments will be served.

WORKSHOP REPORTS

The Division of Chemistry and the ACS supported a community workshop (co-chairs, John T. Groves and David Tirrell) to identify science drivers associated with the Molecular Basis of Life Processes, an MPS emphasis area in the FY2005 and FY2006 budgets that the Division of Chemistry was asked to coordinate on behalf of the MPS Directorate. The workshop report is available at http://www.chemistry.org/molecularbasis; a complementary report mentioned in the last newsletter is available at http://www.chem.ucdavis.edu/groups/gervay-hague/MBLP_Final_Report.pdf. The Division also helped to organize an interagency workshop entitled “Conference on Research at the Interface of the Life and Physical Sciences: Bridging the Sciences.” This workshop report is available at http://www.nibib1.nih.gov/events/110904conf/interfacereport20405.pdf.

Chemists on the MPSAC helped to organize MPS-wide workshops related to theory and to cyberinfrastructure and cyberscience. The reports, “Theoretical Science in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate,” and “Identifying Major Scientific Challenges in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate and Their Cyberinfrastructure Needs,” may be found at https://www.nsf.gov/attachments/100811/public/MPSTheoryFinalReport-04-02-2005.pdf and https://www.nsf.gov/attachments/100811/public/CyberscienceFinal4.pdf, respectively. We thank the workshop organizers and participants for their assistance.

PERSONNEL CHANGES AND AVAILABILITY OF POSITIONS WITHIN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY

The Division of Chemistry has completed its national search and is pleased to announce that Janice Hicks is the Division’s new Executive Officer. Janice has led the Division’s Analytical and Surface Chemistry (ASC) program and coordinated ASC and physical chemistry programs. We thank Linda (Lee) Magid, who has ably served as the Division’s Interim Executive Officer, and will continue to serve the Division as Science Advisor. Don Burland will be retiring in October as Senior Advisor (see below).

The Division welcomes Mike Clarke back from Boston College. Mike will again assist the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic (IBO) program. We welcome Carol Bessel to the Division from Villanova University. Carol will also assist the IBO program. A complete listing of current staff may be found at https://www.nsf.gov/staff/staff_list.jsp?org=CHE.

We thank Walter Ermler for his assistance with the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry program and with the Special Projects Office. He has joined the University of Texas at San Antonio. We also thank Lynn Schneemeyer for her work with the IBO program.

The Division of Chemistry asks you to consider serving as a program officer should your circumstances permit it, and to help us identify other individuals who might serve in this capacity. Rotators are responsible for planning, coordinating, and managing programs that support research, education, and human resource development in the chemical sciences. Applicants should have a Ph.D. or equivalent training in the chemical sciences, extensive knowledge of one or more chemistry subfields, and at least six years of successful independent research activity. Applicants should be familiar with the chemistry community and have administrative experience. Other important attributes are strong verbal and written communication skills, organizational skills, facility in using technology tools, and the ability to work effectively on a team. If you are interested in serving as a rotator, please see https://www.nsf.gov/about/career_opps/careers/science.jsp.

About half of our 16 program officers are rotators, and they bring fresh insights to our work at NSF. Rotators can maintain their research programs while working at the Foundation. NSF provides time, travel resources, and use of technology to enable rotators to stay in touch with co-workers at their home institutions. Rotator positions are typically held for one or two years, but other arrangements are possible. Rotators not only serve the community and help to shape chemistry, but they also have excellent opportunities for professional development and establishment of new research directions upon returning to their laboratories.

Information about current open rotational program officer positions can be found at

https://www.nsf.gov/careers/openings/index.jsp?org=NSF&archived=false&pub_sub_type=ScienceEngineering&x=7&y=11.

Applicants interested in rotational positions should send an email describing their interest and CV to Art Ellis at aellis@nsf.gov. NSF is an equal opportunity employer committed to employing a highly qualified staff that reflects the diversity of our nation.

DON BURLAND TO RETIRE FROM THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY

We wish Don Burland farewell when he leaves the Division of Chemistry this October after 8 years of extraordinary service. Since his arrival at NSF, in 1997, Don has assisted many individuals at NSF and in the chemistry community, and he has contributed substantially to the advancement of basic research and education in the chemical sciences. Don’s exemplary service also included a two-year stint as Acting Division Director. The Division of Chemistry will miss Don and wishes him well in his post-NSF activities.

MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES ADVISORY COMMITTEE (MPSAC) NEWS

The April, 2005 meeting of the MPSAC focused on issues related to the status of women in MPS disciplines in academia and possible MPS actions to enhance their levels of participation. The MPSAC chemists endorsed the idea of a follow-up workshop to enable the chemistry community to address these issues. The Division of Chemistry will be partnering with DOE and NIH to hold such a workshop in early 2006.

Information about the MPSAC may be found at https://www.nsf.gov/mps/advisory.jsp.

REQUEST FOR QUALIFIED REVIEWERS

The Division of Chemistry seeks to enhance its pool of qualified reviewers of proposals. We invite researchers in the chemical sciences who have not previously reviewed for the Division of Chemistry but are interested in providing this service to contact us by visiting our website at https://www.nsf.gov/mps/che/reviewer/reviewer_info.jsp and completing the online registration form. We welcome qualified reviewers from academic, industrial, and government employment, as well as from other countries. It is important to recognize that the National Science Foundation reserves the right to choose reviewers. While we are unable to assure individuals that they will be asked to review proposals, we do attempt to call upon as many qualified reviewers as possible, and we try to limit the number of requests that we make to any single individual, recognizing the many demands our reviewers have on their time.

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