New partnering opportunities with Kraft Heinz, Amcor, and Procter and Gamble!

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Halo.Science is hosting two webinars for upcoming sponsored research opportunities. These helpful webinars provide high-level technical information for researcher applicants, including robust Q&As with the reviewers. Please share this with researchers in your units who may be interested in the following topics.

Kraft Heinz: Natural sweetener ingredient technology for low pH

Kraft Heinz is seeking natural sweetener ingredient technology to achieve a stable solution of 5-10 % stevia (or equivalent sweetness) for low pH systems (pH 2.0).

Disciplines: Chemistry, Food Science & Nutrition, Materials Science

Acceptable TRLs: 4-9

Funding is proposal-dependent starting with proof-of-concept, typically ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 for a 6-month length project with the potential for expansion based on results and opportunities.

Amcor Limited: Vinyl chloride- and styrene-free sealable coating for food packaging

Amcor is looking for a food law-compliant (direct contact) heat seal coating that may be applied onto one surface of aluminum foil. The coating’s primary performance criteria require maintenance of adhesion to aluminum and seal integrity while immersed in boiling water. An ideal coating will be solvent borne with a viscosity suitable for application via a continuous roll-to-roll process like coil coating.

Disciplines: Chemistry, Food Science & Nutrition, Materials Science

Acceptable TRLs: 2-9

Funding is proposal dependent, with $25,000 – $100,000 available for projects that last up to one year. There is potential for supplemental funding for projects that extend beyond one year.

Calling all OSU Women Innovators and Allies!

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Earlier this month, the OSU Advantage Innovation Impact Program team announced our newest program called Moxie: Empowering Women Innovators. Moxie is a dynamic 15-month program designed to support OSU faculty and researchers (including post-docs and graduate students). Selected participants will receive funding totaling $4,000 throughout the program, be paired with a dedicated innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) mentor, and have support through the crucial early stages of building your innovation concept.

Who

We’re looking for candidates who may be on the fence about participating in OSU innovation activities, but have research/projects that are (almost) ready for the next steps. This program is open to faculty, researchers, and graduate students. Ideally, our candidates will not have already participated in OSU Advantage Accelerator programming (such as the Accelerate program).

When

Moxie’s first cohort will begin in early October of Fall 2023 with weekly in-person sessions on Fridays 10-11am on the OSU campus. The cohort will only meet weekly for the fall term. The rest of the program is asynchronous. Check out our website for more details.

Next Steps

Moxie applications are open until June 30th and interested participants can sign-up for a virtual information session on June 7th from 2 – 3pm. 

Share

You can still help us empower women* innovators even if this program isn’t the right fit for you! We’re inviting you to forward this email to any OSU faculty member or researcher who may be a good fit for our first Moxie cohort, or you can send us their name and we’ll happily reach out. 

Thank you for helping us reach OSU’s future innovators!

Melissa and Molly

Innovation Impact Catalysts

Oregon State University | Advantage Innovation Impact Program

*Moxie is a program for everyone regardless of their gender identity or expression. Everyone who identifies as a woman, as well as those who support and fight for the rights of women, are encouraged to participate in this program. 

LEAD SCIENTIST

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RenuMAT (Renewable Upcycling, Materials and Asphalt Technologies) Team
Our team is comprised of creative, highly-skilled innovators who are engaged in research and technology development. This position is for a senior team member who will be involved with chemically upcycling wastes or undervalued feedstocks to produce new sustainable materials for the asphalt industry.
The focus of the Lead Scientist will include:
 Generating new ideas and collaborating with the research team to expand research capabilities
 Investigating new approaches for chemically upcycling wastes or undervalued feedstocks
 Propose creative low-cost chemistries, experimental design and implementation
 Chemical characterization of products through multiple methods, reaction mechanism investigations, and materials balance determination to help guide techno economic analysis and environmental impacts
 Review literature, write reports, assisting in writing proposals, and authoring peer-reviewed publications (when appropriate)
 Organizing and directing project activities and coordinating the efforts of a project team
 Supervising, interpreting and reviewing the applicability and accuracy of data and providing feedback to clients and project staff
 Planning, designing, coordinating, and controlling the progress of project work and communicating the progress to clients and senior management
The ideal candidate will have a PhD in Chemistry, or closely related field, with a strong background in synthetic organic chemistry or polymer chemistry. Experience in petroleum, coal, biomass, green chemistry, thermochemical/chemical conversion (liquefaction or extraction), asphalt or with producing asphalt products (or asphalt formation) is desirable.
Individuals will thrive in this position if they have a passion for innovation and problem solving, a desire to engage in a team-oriented culture, are detail-oriented, and possess strong verbal and written communication skills. Team members who excel in this position will have opportunities for future growth.
Starting Salary Range: $85,000 to $90,000 per year
We offer a comprehensive benefit package, including generous paid time off, flexible schedules, and tuition waivers for one free class at the University of Wyoming each semester. Our package includes a retirement plan (with an 8% employer contribution after one year and options to contribute to a supplemental plan), insurance (medical, dental, vision, and life) and an employee assistance program.
Submit resume and cover letter to Michelle Holmes, Human Resources Manager, by email at mholmes1@uwyo.edu. Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Prefer availability to start by July 1, 2023.
WRI is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Casey Rummelhart – S23 Undergraduate of the Quarter

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Casey Rummelhart grew up in Lake Stevens, Washington. He was drawn to chemistry after taking AP Chemistry at Lake Stevens High School, and initially wanted to become a high school chemistry teacher. Casey chose OSU because he wanted to go out of state but still remain close to home. He has enjoyed working as a general chemistry lab and lecture TA, and helping students in his job at the Mole Hole. Casey will be graduating this spring, after only three years, and has been accepted into the PhD program for chemistry where he will begin in the fall. This summer, he’ll joining the Desnoyer group conducting research in organic chemistry. Outside of school and work, Casey likes partying, playing Pokémon, and enjoying his favorite food, pho.

Texas A&M University – San Antonio Graduate Ph.D. Program Chemistry

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I am reaching out to you regarding the search for a suitable candidate for the position of Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. Applicants should have a specialization in Analytical Chemistry, teaching experience, and some postdoctoral experience. This is a tenure track position.

I would very much appreciate your encouragement to those in your circle who meet the qualifications to apply for the position of: Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. The 9-month salary is in the range indicated in the College and University Professional Association (CUPA) salary data. Summer teaching is generally available and many of our STEM faculty have been successful in securing federal grants.

We are building a new university from the ground up; we are 13 years young. Currently we have 4 chemistry faculty. Everyone that joins us will leave their imprint on this institution. Further, San Antonio is a great city to live and raise a family, with affordable living costs.

We will also consider applications from established researchers desiring a change in their career in preparation for a different phase in their lives. They will leave a lasting legacy in shaping a new university serving primarily first-generation students in the San Antonio-Austin region of South-Central Texas.

I would greatly appreciate your assistance. Thank you and best regards.

Bala

M.K. Balasubramanya

Professor and Chair, Dept of Mathematical, Physical, and

Engineering Sciences &

Director of Innovation and Industry Partnerships

Texas A&M University-San Antonio

1 University Way

San Antonio, Texas 78224

Phone: (210) 784-2224

mbalasub@tamusa.edu

NSF opportunity in clean energy – call for EAGER or RAISE (includes computation, simulation, data science, bioenergy, etc)

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Please see the NSF call for Clean Energy Technology RAISE or EAGER Proposals

https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23109/nsf23109.jsp?WT.mc_ev=click&WT.mc_id=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

National Science Foundation (NSF) invites interdisciplinary groups of Principal Investigators (PIs) to develop potentially transformative, convergent, fundamental research proposals in the area of clean energy technologies. Two kinds of proposals will be considered: Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (RAISE) and Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER).

Topics of interest include the following:

  • Hydrogen, fusion, and/or geothermal technologies
  • Industrial heat and/or energy efficiency technologies
  • Fundamental challenges of enabling offshore wind/wave technologies
  • Critical materials for clean energy technologies – their recovery, reuse, and recycling
  • Net-zero fuels and bioenergy
  • Education and workforce development efforts

Research related to computational, simulation, and data-science tools that can lead to new insights in clean energy technology development is also encouraged.

Concept papers must be submitted prior to proposals and are due: EAGERs on 6/14/23 and RAISEs on 7/12/23

Research Chemist

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Research Chemist

GS-1320-12/13

Salary Range of $82,830 – $128,043 per year

Announcement Open: May 23, 2023 through June 21, 2023

The incumbent is a Research Chemist in the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Bio-Oils Research (BOR) Unit in Peoria, Illinois. The overall mission of BOR is to conduct basic and applied research on chemical, physical, and biochemical modification of new crop oils, gums, proteins, and other plant components to develop new industrial and value-added commercial products. The incumbent is responsible for conducting basic and applied research to develop new commercial technologies, processes, and biobased products for various markets including lubricant additives; lubricant base oils; and chemical additives. Incumbent will develop a stakeholder base to advocate for enhancing ARS research programs and to enable commercialization of new biobased products.

U.S. Citizenship is required. For further information and complete application instructions, go to the

USAJobs Web site: https://www.usajobs.gov/ and refer to announcement number

ARS-D23MWA-11958155-HCL. Applications must be received by the closing date of June 21, 2023.

Contacts:    Application procedure: Heather Lee at Heather.Lee@usda.gov or 301-504-1410

Scientific information: Dr. Steven Cermak at Steven.Cermak@usda.gov or 309-681-6233

USDA/ARS is an equal opportunity employer and provider

Matthew Nguyen – W23 Undergraduate of the Quarter

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Matthew Nguyen – W23 Undergraduate of the Quarter

Matthew Nguyen has been named one of our Winter 2023 Undergraduates of the Quarter; and we’re so proud.  Mathew is from Beaverton, Oregon and is currently studying chemistry here at Oregon State University. Being close to home as well as the largest research university in Oregon are the main reasons that Mathew decided to attend Oregon State. Mathew was never interested in chemistry until he took AP chemistry in high school, where he had a chance to develop his interest. Despite being in this course at the height of the pandemic, and only watching experiments through the screen, Mathew knew that this was the right pathway for him. 

Beginning his freshman year, Mathew was quick to get into research. He was very eager to start experimenting and figuring out exactly what aspect of chemistry interests him the most. He asked his organic chemistry professor about labs to join, and one particular lab, Dr. Kyriakos Stylianou’s lab came up as a recommendation. After talking to various professors, and reading some recent publications, Mathew decided that the chemistry of Kyriakos’s lab was the most interesting and decided to make the commitment of attending the research meetings. Later on, he was able to officially join the lab and begin projects of his own.

Currently, Mathew is doing research on Metal Organic Frameworks, or MOFs. As of now, he is working on two different projects – one is studying a nickel-based MOF, and the other is studying a cerium-based MOF. The Nickel MOF project is focused on studying its water capture properties, in addition to experimenting with its synthetic pathways through the use of polymer beads. The cerium MOF project focuses on its properties in photocatalysis, in addition to finding new uses for this material. This Cerium project also extends into identifying new MOFs, where he is studying synthetic pathways for derivatives of the Cerium MOF.

After he completes his undergraduate degree Mathew will be moving on to complete his Masters in chemistry. Past this Mathew is deciding between pursuing a Ph.D. or going to medical school. Both of which have been dreams of his. Right now, Mathew is just focused on pushing out publications.

Outside of the chemistry lab, Mathew can be found rock climbing or preparing for meetings with the Vietnamese Student Association for which he is an officer. He can also be found playing the guitar or eating Phở.

We’re so proud of everything Matthew has accomplished so far, and can’t wait to see what he accomplishes in the future.

Stormy Macomb – W23 Undergraduate of the Quarter

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Stormy Macomb – W23 Undergraduate of the Quarter

We’re delighted to announce that Stormy Macomb has been named one of the Winter 2023 Undergraduates of the Quarter.

Stormy grew up on the Oregon Coast in the small town of Warrenton, right on the mouth of the Columbia River. Stormy chose to pursue chemistry because she fell in love with how chemistry surrounds everyday life- it made sense to her. After being homeschooled through high school, she received a GED to attend community college, where she attended college with her mom and brother. It was Stormy’s mom who inspired her to pursue education in addition to chemistry, fostering her love for helping people learn. “I couldn’t be where I am today without her,” Stormy writes.

Now, Stormy attends Oregon State, pursuing chemistry and education and working as a general chemistry TA. After OSU, she plans on getting a Master’s in Education and interning at a local high school. Her long term goal is to be a high school or community college chemistry teacher in her hometown, working to encourage more interest in STEM.

Outside of school, Stormy likes to read fiction and paint scenery. She cooks and bakes regularly, and enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons and Magic the Gathering with her husband and friends. Stormy’s favorite book is Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, and her favorite food is French fries (or any other form of potato).

We’re so proud of Stormy and everything she’s accomplished while at OSU.  We can’t wait to see what she does in the future.