The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program Office invites interested applicants to join us for two upcoming webcasts, conducted through Adobe Connect, to provide information for the Class of 2015 PMF application. 
 
Academia are asked to share this information with students interested in applying to the PMF Program.
 
The Class of 2015 PMF application will open from October 1-15, 2014, and the announcement can be found atwww.USAJOBS.gov when it opens (simply search for “Presidential Management Fellows” during the open period).
 
To learn more about eligibility and how to apply, please review the “Become a PMF” section on the PMF website atwww.pmf.gov.   In addition, the 2015 PMF Assessment Preparation Guide has been published to the website.
 
Tuesday, September 30, 2014 from 3:00-4:30pm (Eastern Time):  A one-time Applicant Information Session that will focus on a general overview of the PMF Program, the 2015 PMF application, and a panel of current Fellows offering their advice and experiences.  There will also be an opportunity to ask questions throughout the presentation.
 
Wednesday, October 8 from 1:30-3:30pm (Eastern Time):  A question and answer session where applicants may submit questions regarding the 2015 PMF application cycle.
 
These webcasts will be conducted on-line through Adobe Connect and will have dedicated PMF Program Office staff to answer questions.  Applicants can connect at http://opm.adobeconnect.com/pmfapplicantchat/ and select “Enter as a Guest.”  Please note, the audio from the webcasts will be provided through your computer/device audio output.
 
Adobe Connect computer capability can be tested beforehand by going tohttp://opm.adobeconnect.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm.  Adobe Connect is also supported on mobile devices.  For more information, please visit http://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect/mobile-meetings.html.
 
As a reminder, these webcasts are intended for applicants planning to apply to the 2015 PMF application.  General information about the PMF Program can be found on the PMF website at www.pmf.gov
 
Thank you,
PMF Program Office

 

NSF Program Announcement and Information for National Science Foundation Update. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
 

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“Postgraduate Career Strategies: Academia”

Join us for a Webinar on October 2

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:

https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/970758119

The Center for Sustainable Materials Chemistry (CSMC) will host a webinar titled: “Postgraduate Career Strategies: Academia” as part of the ongoing series of Innovation Webinars. Panelists from academia will discuss the current landscape of a universities and the transition from working as a graduate student/post doc or in industry to working in an academic position. Panelists will be available to answer questions regarding current expectations for recent graduates, points to consider when searching for jobs as well as alternative non-research opportunities within academia. Panelists include John Conley (Oregon State Univeristy), Thuy Tran (Oregon State University), Shanti Deemyad University of Utah). Blake Hammann (Washington University, St. Louis) will moderate the panel.

Title:

“Postgraduate Career Strategies: Academia”

Date:

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Time:

12:00 PM – 1:00 AM PDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees

Required: Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer

Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet

Dear grad students,
 

Join the ChUME (Chemistry Undergraduate Mentorship and Empowerment) Initiative. 

ChUME was founded by six chemistry grad students and one post-doc in Fall 2013. Our mission is to foster professional long-lasting relationships between undergraduate and graduate chemistry students. In addition, we host seminars, socials, and professional development workshops every Term to assist undergraduate chemistry students in their success here at OSU and beyond.

 
ChUME Grad Student Responsibilities:
  • One hour weekly meeting with all ChUME mentors.
  • Participation in ChUME events.
  • Actively working with a minimum of one undergraduate mentee. 
  • Documenting your mentoring activities (meetings, research advising, etc) with ChUME. 
Benefits for you:
  • You can add an outreach activity to your grant proposals, CVs, resumés, etc.
  • You hone communication skills from one-on-one/group mentoring, and public speaking skills from ChUME events.
Looking for an opportunity to mentor undergraduate chemistry students? ChUME is ready to expand! A brief, rolling application for graduate students mentors can now be found here.
 
For inquiries, please email us at osu.chume@gmail.com.
Please, encourage your research faculty to support their Postdocs and Research Associates in attending this important showcasing event. We are grateful to have this community of highly productive researchers on campus and this National Postdoc Appreciation Week event is meant to demonstrate this.
 
We need these people to leave their busy schedules for an afternoon to present their research results, but we also need their faculty mentors to show their support by attending the event, so please help us get the word out and encourage your Postdocs and Research Associates to submit an abstract, and your faculty mentors to show their support by attending the event.
 
Thanks to the many units and colleges who are supporting the event, there will be refreshments!
 

Name:  Michael W. Burand

Area of Study / Position Title: General Chemistry Laboratory Coordinator

Why chemistry?  (What about it initially interested you?): I liked science when I was young since it was a way to understand how the world works. I had an excellent chemistry teacher in high school and was very fortunate to receive a scholarship to study chemistry in college.

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? I’m the instructor for general chemistry laboratory sections taught in LPSC. I develop course materials and manage the TAs who teach the laboratories. Occasionally I teach general chemistry lecture sections as well.

One thing you truly love about your job?  It’s great to be able to work with colleagues and TAs to come up with new laboratory teaching pedagogies, and I love it when it’s clear something we’ve created is helping students gain a better understanding.

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself.  I received my pilot’s license while in high school.

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!

Cheers,
Dave Reingold

Alexandra Carlton is a student at the University of Southern California who recently completed the CH 331/332/337 online Organic chemistry series with OSU. She has been accepted to Bastyr Naturopathic Medical School this fall to study Naturopathic Medicine, a field she is passionate about. Alexandra says—

My vision as a naturopathic doctor is to help people live a positive balanced healthy lifestyle, educate people about their own health, cure ailments, and possibly save a life.

Alexandra has worked very hard to reach her goal; she took the Organic chemistry series online because she was not able to work it into her schedule at USC. But she points out that online Organic chemistry is not easy. Her advice to other students:

Make sure to stay on top of your work and have good time management skills.  Also, get a tutor if you need it because it is one of the hardest undergraduate courses out there.  If you are taking the hybrid CH 337 organic chemistry lab class, make sure you complete and do everything the first two weeks that the online class asks you to do, because when you get to the on campus 2 week portion, it is very fast paced, so you definitely have to be prepared!

When we asked Alexandra how she found OSU’s online chemistry, she mentioned that she found it online, and that OSU’s Organic Chemistry was the only online organic class her medical school would accept. That fact says a lot about our great instructors here at Oregon State! Her school also likes our series because the final class, CH 337, is a hybrid class with 2 weeks of online study, then 2 weeks of on-campus lab work in Corvallis.

Best wishes to Alexandra for her continued success in medical school, and thanks to her for sharing her story.

Paul Weatherford is a recent addition to the Chemistry department.
Paul Weatherford is a recent addition to the Chemistry department.

1.    Name: Paul Weatherford
2.    Area of study / position title: Biological lab sciences / Science Storekeeper
3.    Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you, etc.)?  Uh, Chemistry is the wave of the future. Creating new, exciting ways to blow up the lab was always main goal of mine!
4.    Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? My basic job duties are customer service, purchasing/procurement, inventory management, receiving, problem solving and minion herding.
5.    One thing that you truly love about your job? I get to see the cutting edge of new technologies being created and help facilitate their progress into reality.
6.    One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. I am a fully certified PADI Divemaster and research diver with the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, OR.

 

 

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 will be held 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.

The final NSF GRFP application deadlines for 2015-16 awards are from October 29, 2014 through November 4, 2014, depending upon the area of study.

For applicant eligibility, please see the complete eligibility requirements in Solicitation NSF-14-590 at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14590/nsf14590.htm.

Please forward this announcement to eligible students, and encourage them to attend – seating is limited, and registration is required:  Click here to register. Faculty and advisors may attend, although students will have priority. Deadline for registration is Tuesday, September 30, 2014.

If you have any questions, please send an email to the Graduate School at Graduate.Scholarships@oregonstate.edu.