The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science is pleased to announce that the Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program is now accepting applications for the 2014 solicitation.  Applications are due 5:00pm ET on Wednesday September 24, 2014.

The SCGSR program supports supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students to conduct part of their graduate thesis research at a DOE national laboratory in collaboration with a DOE laboratory scientist for a period of 3 to 12 consecutive months—with the goal of preparing graduate students for scientific and technical careers critically important to the DOE Office of Science mission.

The SCGSR program is open to current Ph.D. students in qualified graduate programs at accredited U.S. academic institutions, who are conducting their graduate thesis research in targeted areas of importance to the DOE Office of Science. The research opportunity is expected to advance the graduate students’ overall doctoral thesis while providing access to the expertise, resources, and capabilities available at the DOE laboratories. The supplemental award provides for additional, incremental costs for living and travel expenses directly associated with conducting the SCGSR research project at the DOE host laboratory during the award period.

The Office of Science expects to make approximately 100 awards in 2014, for project periods beginning anytime between January and September 2015.

Detailed information about the program, including eligibility requirements and access to the online application system, can be found at: http://science.energy.gov/wdts/scgsr/.

The SCGSR program is sponsored and managed by the DOE Office of Science’s Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS), in collaboration with the six Office of Science research programs offices and the DOE national laboratories, and the Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education (ORISE).

For any questions, please contact the SCGSR Program Manager, Dr. Ping Ge, at sc.scgsr@science.doe.gov.

U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science

OSU Libraries is funding two scholarships for OSU students to attend the OpenCon conference on Open Access, Open Education, and Open Data, and the Library very much welcome applications from grad students for the scholarships. More details on the conference are available through the links below.

This conference will be Nov. 15-17, 2014 in Washington, DC.

We think this will be of special interest to graduate students who would like to learn more about these issues and connect with peers.

Here is the online application form for students, which needs to be submitted by Sept. 26.

http://opencon2014.org/oregonstate

Here’s some general information about the conference:

http://opencon2014.org/program

If you have any questions, contact Shan Sutton.

The Graduate School is offering an intensive workshop to help OSU students prepare competitive applications for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award.  The workshop will be conducted in two sessions – Session 1 on Thursday, October 2, and Session 2 on Thursday, October 9. Both sessions will be from 5:00 to 7:00 pm – both sessions in Kearney 212.

Session 1 will include a brief overview of the GRFP Program, a panel discussion with current OSU GRFP Fellows and faculty reviewers, and exercises to help students draft their Personal, Relevant Background and Future Goals Statements. Session 2 will include exercises to help students draft their Graduate Research Plan Statement.

Doug Lownsbery, a current NSF-GRFP awardee, will be coordinating the panel and workshop activities.  If you are an NSF-GRFP Faculty Reviewer or have past experience with preparing these NSF-GRFP proposals and would be willing to assist with this workshop, please let us know by sending an email to graduate.scholarships@oregonstate.edu, no later than 9/8/2014.  

A formal announcement about the workshop will be sent next week to Graduate Program Advisors/Directors and graduate faculty, requesting them to encourage student attendance.

National Research Council (NRC)

Research Associateship Programs

The National Research Council of the National Academies sponsors a number of awards for graduate, postdoctoral and senior researchers at participating federal laboratories and affiliated institutions.  These awards include generous stipends ranging from $42,000 – $80,000 per year for recent Ph.D. recipients, and are proportionally high for Senior Associates.  Graduate entry level stipends begin at $30,000 and are higher for additional experience.  These awards provide the opportunity for recipients to do independent research in some of the best-equipped and staffed laboratories in the U.S.

More detailed information and an online application can be found at www.nationalacademies.org/rap.

Questions should be directed to the NRC at 202-334-2760 (phone) or rap@nas.edu.

There are four annual review cycles.

Review Cycle:  November; Opens September 1; Closes November 1

Review Cycle:  February; Opens December 1; Closes February 1

Review Cycle:  May; Opens March 1; Closes May 1

Review Cycle:  August; Opens June 1; Closes August 1

Applicants should contact prospective Adviser(s) at the lab(s) prior to the application deadline to discuss their research interests and funding opportunities.

The first annual Portland American Chemical Society Undergraduate Poster Symposium will be held on Sunday, October 5, at the SRTC Building (formerly Science II) at Portland State University, from 4-7 PM.  We hope to have 50 or more undergraduates presenting posters about their summer research;  there will be free pizza and beer (and other food and drink).

I am writing to invite you to send grad students, postdocs, and faculty to display materials and/or pamphlets about your school at a table we will provide, and to interact with students who are interested in your graduate school.

We also need judges to determine who should receive $150 first prizes and possibly $75 second prizes in each of seven divisions.  To the extent you can identify specific people who would attend, it would be most helpful to know their names, email addresses, and the divisions they are willing to judge (Organic, Inorganic, Analytical, Physical, Biochemistry, Polymers, Materials); or ask them to contact me directly, reingold@juniata.edu.  This is all free of charge.  Thank you!

National Nuclear Security (NNSA) Graduate Fellowship Program

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Graduate Fellowship Program provides unique hands-on experience to prepare exceptional graduate students to become next-generation leaders in global nuclear security. During the 12-month, full-time, salary-plus-benefits term, Fellows work in policy or technical areas alongside NNSA experts in Washington, D.C. or other NNSA site locations.  Fellows receive specialized training and opportunities for career development and professional networking, while also directly supporting NNSA’s global nuclear security mission in placements that align with their backgrounds and interests.  Fellows will interact with leading researchers in the field while helping shape the vision for future technologies related to detection of nuclear materials and the security of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. Applicants must be U.S. citizens eligible for a high-level security clearance, and are accepted to, enrolled in, or will be graduating from a master’s or Ph.D. program during the year of application. Desirable academic specializations for the policy track include international relations, security or nonproliferation studies, political science, public administration, economics and related fields.  For the technical track, desirable academic specializations include nuclear physics/ engineering, chemical engineering, radiation health physics, radiochemistry, chemical sciences, applied physics, and related fields. Some positions may also benefit from backgrounds in safety and health, infrastructure and operations management, or finance/accounting.   A combined policy and technical background is highly desirable, and a foreign language is a plus.  Applications typically are accepted beginning in early August through October 21st. Fellowship terms begin the following summer. Visit http://ngfp.pnnl.gov to learn more and apply.

The Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) is soliciting comments from the community on the Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) Program (S10).  You are invited to respond by August 24 to the recently posted Request for Information (RFI) by the Shared instrumentation Grant Program (S10) available at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-14-104.html. This RFI gives an opportunity to S10 applicants, users of awarded shared instruments, and others who have interest in the Program to comment on the Program requirements and suggest modifications to improve the effectiveness of the Program and to enhance its impact on the NIH research community.

If you have already responded to the RFI, we thank you for your participation and please disregard this note.

Respectfully yours,

SIG Program

Email:   ODSIG@MAIL.NIH.GOV

Office of Research Infrastructure Programs

NIH/OD/DPCPSI

6701 Democracy Boulevard

Bethesda, MD 20892-4874

301-435-0772 (V) 301-480-3659 (F)

I am writing to alert you to a new program that the ACS Portland local section is planning, and to invite you to get in on the ground floor of what we hope will be an annual event.

As you know, the best graduate students are the ones who have done research as undergraduates.   We are planning a meeting for next fall that will feature research posters by the undergraduates from Portland area colleges and universities who did research over the summer.  We believe there are some 50 to 100 students who are in this category, and we hope to attract at least half of them to this poster session.  To attract them, we plan to offer several things that you can help with.

First, we want to give them the opportunity to meet you, that is, we hope that nearby universities will have tables in the room where you can meet these star students and recruit them for your graduate school.  We also want to offer the students prizes for best poster in each of several subfields of chemistry, and hope that you would be willing to supply some people to help judge the posters.  We also need sponsors for these prizes.  (We are also inviting area companies to participate in this activity.)

We anticipate that this event will take place sometime in October, probably on a weekend, time and place yet to be determined.  I am writing now to determine your interest in participating in this event.  Please fill out the attached form and return it to me.  I do not need any contributions at this point, but will be contacting you later if you indicate a willingness to contribute to this effort.

Thank you for your interest!

Press Release – Monday, August 4, 2014

The American Chemical Society Division of Business Development and Management (BMGT) is pleased to announce that Dr. Judith C. Giordan will receive the 2014 Henry F. Whalen, Jr. Award for Excellence in Business Development and Management in the Chemical Enterprise.

Judy currently serves on boards of advisors and as founder/senior management in start-up ventures such as Qteros llc; Managing Director of ecosVC, Inc., a training and venture development firm; and, co-founder of the Chemical Angels Network. Her former positions include VP R&D and business leader at Henkel Corporation; Global VP of R&D for Pepsi-Cola and Corporate VP/CTO at International Flavors and Fragrances.

Recipient of the Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal in 2010 and elected an ACS Fellow in 2013, Judy’s past service roles have included membership on the Board of Directors of the Industrial Research Institute and the American Chemical Society; various positions at the National Science Foundation including member of the Math and Physical Sciences Advisory Board, Chair of the Waterman Award Committee and Program Officer for the cross-foundational IGERT program. Judy has also been named several times to Who’s Who and has been cited in numerous publications and magazines for her groundbreaking roles for women in corporate leadership over her 30 year career. A sought after author and speaker, Judy is being recognized with the Henry F. Whalen, Jr. Award for her international business development and leadership, entrepreneurship, angel investing and educator roles and as a respected R&D leader underpinned by her development of scientists and engineers, and mentoring of women for leadership positions.

Judy will accept the award and share her insights on Sunday, August 10, 2014 at 5:30 pm, as part of a reception sponsored by BMGT and the Chemical Angel Network scheduled from 3pm – 6pm at the Intercontinental Hotel in San Francisco. Judy’s remarks will link her R&D and business experiences as the         VP/CTO of several Fortune 500 companies with the value and importance of both commercial development skills for today’s scientists and engineers and diversity, inclusion and mentoring of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM and chemistry.

About the American Chemical Society (ACS)

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 162,000 members, ACS, a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1876, is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

About the ACS Division of Business Development and Management (BMGT)

BMGT is comprised of members from the chemical enterprise around the world. Our mission and vision are to champion business development and management throughout the chemical enterprise, and to be globally recognized as the preferred resource for creating, growing and managing chemical business.

For more information about the Henry F. Whalen, Jr. Award please contact Sharon Wilkerson, skw@polychemistry.com

For more information about Judith C. Giordan please contact info@ecosvc.com