The Oregon NASA Space Grant Consortium (OSGC) is offering scholarships for undergraduate students in the STEM fields and graduate students enrolled in an MAT program in STEM education. Scholarships are open to students attending OSGC member institutions. Application deadline is May 23, 2014. Information: http://spacegrant.oregonstate.edu/scholarships.
Author Archives: Luanne Johnson
Organic Chemistry
by Monica Fong – used with permission
Originally posted in OSU PRiSM
You are the center of my world
like a carbon is the center
of a tetrahedral compound.
Its hybridization is sp3
which means noting to you
but everything to me.
Our relationship just happened
just like an alkyl halide breaking
and forming new bonds with a
nucleophile at the transition state
of an Sn2 reaction.
But that’s just the slow step,
the rate-determining step.
Increasing the concentrations
will, indeed,
increase the speed.
But this can only happen
if four different groups are
attached to a carbon center,
only then is it chiral…
Chiral, chirality, nonsuperimposable mirror images
just like two hands, our two hands,
one on top of the other,
it doesn’t fit, oh, but it does fit – perfectly.
Open Textbook Workshop for OSU Faculty
OSU Libraries and Press invite OSU faculty members to learn how open textbooks can benefit their students in the classroom and in the pocketbook. This two-hour workshop on May 21 from 2 to 4 p.m., will introduce the concept of open textbooks and how to find and incorporate them into courses. Participants will write a brief review of one open textbook after the workshop for a $200 stipend. For more details and registration information, see: http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/open-textbook-workshop
Tiny Amorphyx seeks to reshape the huge, mature business of manufacturing displays
CORVALLIS – Lots of startup companies have big ambitions, but Amorphyx’s are bigger than most.
The four-employee company wants to change the economics of manufacturing liquid-crystal displays. Amorphyx team members hope the process they are developing in an Oregon State University lab will be adopted by the world’s largest display manufacturers, who are eager to cut production costs for the screens used in televisions, signage and mobile devices.
But it’s a big job for a young entrant in a market full of Goliaths. Read more…
Article used with permission of author, Mike Francis, c/o The Oregonian
Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation – Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation announces the June 5th deadline for initial inquiries to the following program:
Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences – The Foundation encourages proposals that are judged likely to significantly advance the chemical sciences. Examples of areas of interest include (but are not limited to): the increase in public awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the chemical sciences; innovative approaches to chemistry education at all levels (K-12, undergraduate and graduate); and efforts to make chemistry careers more attractive. Aspects of proposals that are important are: broad applicability beyond the submitting institutions, specific and detailed descriptions of the chemistry associated with the proposal, and the uniqueness of the project.
Additional details are given at the Foundation Web site: www.dreyfus.org
Student Sustainability Research Grant
To better integrate OSU’s renowned research into daily operations, SSI will fund applied research designed to advance the sustainability of the Corvallis campus’ built environment, operations, policy, academics, or student engagement. Preference will be given to proposals that clearly impact environmental, social, and economic sustainability. To apply, student-faculty teams should submit an application form and required attachments by Friday, May 23, 2014. Visit SSI’s website for an application packet: http://oregonstate.edu/ssi/funding/research.
URISC Undergraduate Research Funding Opportunity
The Research Office is accepting applications for the Undergraduate Research, Innovation, Scholarship and Creativity (URISC) program for Fall, Winter and/or Spring term(s) 2014-15. This program supports undergraduate research activities from all academic disciplines within the university. Program description and application: http://oregonstate.edu/research/incentive/urisc. Information: Debbie Delmore at debbie.delmore@oregonstate.edu. Deadline: May 5.
Intern for FiB/TEM at Applied Materials
Applied Materials has an opening for a Materials Characterization Intern, who will focus on structural characterization of MRAM and FINFET multi-laywer films by FIB and TEM. A project on 3D imaging and tomographic reconstruction using FIB/SEM will be completed within the intern term.
They are looking for an undergraduate or graduate student in materials science, chemistry, electrical engineering or physics.
The hourly rate will be ~$18-20/hour.
Please share the attached job description with your students. They need to fill the position immediately.
Brief description from the company contact:
“We mainly provide TEM/FIB analysis to Intel and support their R & D projects. To address customers’ increasing TEM/FIB requests and fast turnaround expectations, we are expanding our team and recruiting an intern to focus on TEM sample preparation by hands-on operation of the FIB/SEM dual beam system. Our TEM/FIB lab is equipped with a state-of-the-art FEI Osiris TEM and an Helios 600 FIB/SEM.
If your students and graduates are interested in this position or are looking for an opportunity to get professional TEM/FIB experience in a world-famous semiconductor company, please encourage them to apply. This position needs to be filled in immediately. Thanks a lot.”
New Marketing Banners
University Marketing is beginning to plan for the next round of campus banners, and for this year, we’re going to feature people individually. The theme is how Beaver Nation extends across Oregon and beyond, so we’re looking for students, faculty, staff and alumni who have some connection to one of the six regions of the state, plus a beyond category:
- Coast
- Southern
- Eastern
- Central
- Willamette Valley
- Portland Metro
- Beyond — International/Out of State
We plan to feature four people per category, but you’re welcome to nominate as many as you’d like. They can either live and work in one of the regions or be from there if they’re students. We’d also consider people who may be based in Corvallis, but whose research or other work has an impact in one of the regions. Finally, if you have some stellar people who may not easily fit in one of the categories, we’re happy to consider them, too.
We’d like to get a list of nominees by Friday, May 9 so we can start scheduling photo shoots before people leave for the summer. Please include a little information about your nominees, which will help us make our selections.
Please send nominations to Dr. Rich Carter by May 7th.
Omar Rachdi on Undergraduate Research
Who is your PI? – Mas Subramanian
Do you have a Graduate Student/Post-Doc Mentor? – Sean Muir
How did you learn about the position? – After class my chemistry instructor introduced me to a graduate student within the Chemistry department who was researching different kinds of synthesis methods for making superconductors. Since then I have been working with the same person I was introduced to three years ago in Dr. Subramanian’s lab.
Why did you get into Undergraduate Research? – The first time I ever saw magnetic levitation was freshmen year in my general chemistry class – I had to understand how this was possible. After my chemistry instructor explained to me how this relied on superconductor materials, and that stable levitation was possible due to ‘quantum locking’, I knew I wanted to research these further.
What advice might you have for other Undergraduate students thinking of pursuing research or just getting started? – Expect to be overwhelmed in the beginning of any research experience. I learned more about chemistry in one month of research then I did in one year of taking a class.