October 2004

Around DMSE

Prof. Subra Suresh has returned from his sabbatical. Be sure to greet him and welcome him back.

Many members of the department gathered in the Chipman Room on Sept. 28 to congratulate Prof. Angela Belcher on receiving a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. Prof. Belcher explained that while the award was announced that morning, the foundation had called her the week before and she was speechless at the news. Her thoughts on the award can be heard in an interview she gave to NPR's Michelle Norris.

Personnel

Erminia Piccinonno has accepted the position of Human Resources Administrator in the Department of Biology effective October 25. While saddened by her departure, we all wish Erminia much future success in her new role, and in thanking her for five years of exceptional service. Erminia will be extremely difficult to replace, but ASO has begun the search for an individual to fill the position that she is leaving.

It is a pleasure to announce that Richard Lay will join ASO as a Fiscal Assistant effective October 8, accepting the role currently held by Melanie Straight. Richard comes to ASO from the Department of Chemistry, where he is now an Administrative Assistant. Prior to coming to MIT, Richard held a variety of positions in industry, where he has gained a wealth of financial experience. Richard will be available at extension 452-3410. Please welcome Richard to the Department!

Melissa Sheehan will be on maternity leave from October 15, 2004 to January 10, 2005. In her absence, please contact Amanda Tat, regarding any issues on research proposals, or Teri Chung, regarding any accounting issues of daily inquiries.

Opportunities

The Competition launch for the Scientific Award BMW Group 2005. The BMW Group is inviting graduates and up-and-coming scientists to apply for the Scientific Award BMW Group 2005. The Award is endowed with prize money totalling EUR 70,000 and is being awarded for the eighth time. Young academics from around the world in all disciplines are asked to submit a summary of their dissertation or thesis. The closing date for entries is 7 January 2005. Bachelor''s dissertations, master's and doctoral theses are admitted for entry. "Passion for Innovation" is the motto for the Scientific Award BMW Group 2005, which serves the purpose of promoting pioneering ideas and outstanding talent. The Scientific Award BMW Group has been awarded every two years since 1991 and so far has been presented to 39 winners. 200 participants from more than 20 countries took part in the competition in 2003. Dissertations and theses in 16 disciplines were entered. DEADLINE: January 7, 2005

Events

The Materials Processing Center's "2004 Materials Day" event will take place on campus on Tuesday, October 19. This annual event brings together the MIT Materials Community and industrial and federal guests to review a specific area of materials R&D. This year's theme is "Improving R&D Cycle Time Through Materials Modeling." The program features four sessions to be held in Kresge Little Theatre and the Student Center:

• Process and Flow Modeling featuring speakers from our Chemical Engineering Dept
• Materials Modeling featuring speakers from our Dept of Materials Science & Engineering
• Modeling of Structures and Functionality in Integrated Microphotonics featuring speakers from our Microphotonics Center, and
• a Poster Session featuring a broad array of faculty, grad students and post-docs.

Additional details and electronic registration are available on the MPC website.

Please be encouraged to attend this important event, either as active participants or observers. Active participants in the Poster Session will have the advantages of:

• 1-on-1 interaction with some of the industrial and federal leaders in materials research, development and technology
• an opportunity to win one of three $500 prizes for the best poster
• receiving a complementary MPC fleece vest with logo, and
• meeting with and discussing their research with both their peers and faculty.

Please make plans to join faculty, peers, and guests for this stimulating day of events for our community.

Interdisciplinary Research: Tools for finding Chemical Information. Learn about the variety of resources you can use to find journal articles, conference papers, chemical property information, genetic sequencing information, and much more.

WHERE: 2-131

WHEN: 12-1pm

Thursday, October 14 -- SciFinder Scholar

Amy Christuk from Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) will introduce you to several searching techniques for finding chemical information using SciFinder Scholar, the most comprehensive chemical literature database.

Download SciFinder Scholar today!

Dessert and beverages will be provided. Feel free to bring your lunch! Sponsored by the Engineering and Science Libraries.

Archives

Please contact Rachel Kemper with news and announcements for this page. The DMSE community will be informed of changes and updates to this page through regular e-mail notifications. Please see recent award opportunities and job postings in relevant fields.