Title: Division of Chemistry Newsletter No. 6
        February, 2005
Date: 07/19/05

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Division of Chemistry Newsletter No. 6
February, 2005
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**************************Update to the Committee of
Visitors (COV) report
Reception and town meeting at the ACS National Meeting in
San Diego
Workshop reports
Personnel changes and availability of positions within the
Division of Chemistry
George Rubottom joins NSFs EPSCoR Office as a Senior
Advisor
The Division of Chemistry seeks an Executive Officer
Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee
(MPSAC) news
Request for qualified reviewers
NSF Custom News Services

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Update to the Committee of Visitors (COV) report

NSF policy now requires annual updates on how the Division
of Chemistry has responded to the recommendations in its
most recent Committee of Visitors (COV) report.  The report
and initial response (2004) may be found at
http://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/activities/cov/covs.jsp#mps.  The
January 2005 update can be found at
http://www.nsf.gov/mps/advisory/responses_cov/che-actions-01-
31-05-04-COV-report.pdf. The Division welcomes additional
feedback from its community, which may be sent to
chemplans@nsf.gov.

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**************************Reception and town meeting at the
ACS National Meeting in San Diego

We invite you to meet and speak with NSF staff members and
Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee
(MPSAC) members at a reception  and town meeting to be held
at the upcoming ACS National Meeting in San Diego.  On
Monday, March 14, 2005, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the San
Diego Convention Center, Room 30 D/E, the following NSF
staff members and MPSAC members will be available to meet
with you informally:  Shenda Baker, Don Burland, Ron
Christensen, Luis Echegoyen, Art Ellis, Rich Foust, Joan
Frye, Jean Futrell, Mostafa El-Sayed, Janice Hicks, Susan
Hixson, George Janini, Raima Larter, Carl Lineberger, Lee
Magid, Ty Mitchell, Kathy Parson, George Rubottom, and Frank
Wodarczyk.
A town meeting will be held from noon until 1:00 p.m. as
part of the reception. This is an excellent opportunity to
share information and perspectives on developments in the
chemistry community and at NSF.
As part of the event, a continuous slide show of research
nuggets provided by our principal investigators will be
presented.  Our website now includes nuggets submitted by
principal investigators:
http://www.nsf.gov/mps/che/nuggets/nuggets.jsp.
We will also preview an upcoming national on-line poster
session of undergraduate research supported through the
Divisions REU program.
Refreshments will be available at the reception.

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Workshop reports

The Division of Chemistry supported community workshops to
explore opportunities associated with: Terahertz science
(organizers Mark Sherwood, Phil Bucksbaum, and Charles
Schmuttenmaer; co-supported by DOE and NIH); and Models of
Thought Processes (organizer Irving Epstein; co-supported by
four NSF directorates).  Reports for these two workshops may
be found at http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/reports/list.html and
http://hopf.chem.brandeis.edu/thoughtworkshop.html.
The Division will be exploring with the community
initiatives in cyber-enabled chemistry.  A workshop to help
define cyber-related research and education opportunities
was held (co-organizers Mark Gordon and Teresa Head-Gordon;
co-supported by the Division of Shared Cyberinfrastructure).
The workshop report is posted at
http://bioeng.berkeley.edu/faculty/cyber_workshop/.
Undergraduate Research Centers (URCs) were discussed at a
workshop (co-organizers Amy Shachter and Michael Doyle). The
report is available at
http://www.scu.edu/cas/research/urc.cfm.
A MPS workshop was held for the Approaches to Combat
Terrorism program (organizer Hctor Abrua). The report may
be found at www.actworkshop.org.
Three workshops were held to identify science drivers for
the Molecular Basis of Life Processes, an MPS emphasis area
in the FY2005 budget that the Division of Chemistry was
asked to coordinate on behalf of  the MPS Directorate.   One
of these workshop reports is now complete (co-organizers
Jacquelyn Gervay-Hague and Jeffery Saven). This report also
provides guidance on issues identified in the COV report
(see above) on mentoring for applicants for CAREER awards
and on mid-range instrumentation.  The workshop report is
posted at at http://www.chem.ucdavis.edu/groups/gervay-
hague/MBLP_Final_Report.pdf.
We thank the workshop organizers and workshop participants
for their assistance.

Personnel changes and availability of positions within the
Division of Chemistry

We congratulate Raima Larter and Charles Pibel on becoming
permanent program officers in the Division of Chemistry.
Raima serves in the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry
program and Charles in the Experimental Physical Chemistry
program.  Don Burland is stepping down as the Executive
Officer in the Division of Chemistry, but will continue to
serve the Division part-time as a Senior Advisor.  Linda
(Lee) Magid is serving as Interim Executive Officer while
the Division conducts a national search for an Executive
Officer (see below).

The Division of Chemistry welcomes Ronald Christensen,
Walter Ermler, and Richard Foust as rotators (see below).
Ron is from Bowdoin College and will assist the Special
Projects Office and the Experimental Physical Chemistry
program.  Walter is based at George Mason University and is
working with the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry
program and the Special Projects Office.  Rich is from
Northern Arizona University and will assist the Special
Projects Office.  A complete listing of current staff may be
found at http://www.nsf.gov/staff/staff_list.jsp?org=CHE.

We thank Brian Tissue, who returns to Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University; Carol Korzeniewski, who
returns to Texas Tech University; and George Rubottom, who,
as noted below, is moving to NSFs EPSCoR Office as Senior
Advisor.  We thank Brian for his assistance with the Special
Projects Office; Carol for her help with the Analytical and
Surface Chemistry program; and George for his stewardship of
the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry program.  The
Division of Chemistry and the chemistry community have
benefited greatly from Brians, Carols, and Georges
contributions.

The Division of Chemistry asks you to consider serving as a
program officer should your circumstances permit it, and to
help us identify other individuals who might serve in this
capacity.  Rotators are responsible for planning,
coordinating, and managing programs that support research,
education, and human resource development in the chemical
sciences.   Applicants should have a Ph.D. or equivalent
training in the chemical sciences, extensive knowledge of
one or more chemistry subfields, and at least six years of
successful independent research activity.  Applicants should
be familiar with the chemistry community and have
administrative experience.  Other important attributes are
strong verbal and written communication skills,
organizational skills, facility in using technology tools,
and the ability to work effectively on a team.  If you are
interested in serving as a rotator, please see
http://www.nsf.gov/about/career_opps/careers/science.jsp.
About half of our 16 program officers are rotators, and they
bring fresh insights to our work at NSF.  Rotators can
maintain their research programs while working at the
Foundation.   NSF provides time, travel resources, and use
of technology to enable rotators to stay in touch with co-
workers at their home institutions.  Rotator positions are
typically held for one or two years, but other arrangements
are possible.  Rotators not only serve the community and
help to shape chemistry, but they also have excellent
opportunities for professional development and establishment
of new research directions upon returning to their
laboratories.

Information about current open rotational program officer
positions can be found at
http://www.nsf.gov/publications/ods/results.cfm?TextQuery=&C
urrent_status=Current&timeframe=Restrict+timeframe+to%3A&doc
Type=Vacancy+Announcements&docSubtype=Scientific+and+Profess
ional&search2.x=28&search2.y=8.
Applicants interested in rotational positions should send an
email describing their interest and CV to Art Ellis at
aellis@nsf.gov.  NSF is an equal opportunity employer
committed to employing a highly qualified staff that
reflects the diversity of our nation.

George Rubottom joins NSFs EPSCoR Office as a Senior
Advisor

We wish George Rubottom farewell as he leaves the Division
of Chemistry after 20 years of extraordinary service.
George is joining NSFs EPSCoR Office as a Senior Advisor.
A mainstay of the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry
program since he arrived at NSF, in 1984, George has
assisted many individuals at NSF and in the chemistry
community, and he has contributed substantially to the
advancement of basic research and education in the chemical
sciences.  The Division of Chemistry looks forward to
continuing to work with George in his new position and
wishes him continued success in his professional activities.

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The Division of Chemistry seeks an Executive Officer

NSFs Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
(MPS) seeks candidates for Executive Officer of its Division
of Chemistry.  The Division supports basic research and
education in the principal subdisciplines of chemistry and
closely related areas, as described at
http://www.nsf.gov/mps/che/about.jsp.  Appointment to this
Senior Executive Service position may be on a career basis,
or on a 2-to-3 year limited term basis, with a salary range
of $135,136 to $162,100.  Assignment under Intergovernmental
Personnel Act provisions is also possible.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent professional
experience in chemistry or a related field, substantial
research administration experience, and demonstrated
leadership skills.   Announcement S20050036, with position
requirements and application procedures, is located on the
NSF Home Page at
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2005/s20050036/s20050036c.txt, or can
be obtained by calling NSFs Executive Personnel staff at 703-
292-8755 (Hearing impaired individuals may call TDD 703-292-
8044).  Applications must be received by March 18, 2005. NSF
is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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**************************Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Advisory Committee (MPSAC) news

Carl Lineberger is the new chair of the Mathematical and
Physical Sciences Advisory Committee (MPSAC).  David Oxtoby,
President of Pomona College, has joined the MPSAC.  Other
chemists who continue to serve on the MPSAC are Shenda
Baker, Luis Echegoyen, Mostafa El-Sayed, and Jean Futrell.
The MPSAC has organized workshops on cyberscience and on
theory for MPS this past year.  The MPSAC chemists are
organizing a poster session to feature the broader impacts
of NSF-supported projects that will be held in conjunction
with the Fall, 2005, ACS national meeting in Washington,
D.C.
Information about the MPSAC may be found at
http://www.nsf.gov/mps/advisory.jsp.

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Request for qualified reviewers

The Division of Chemistry seeks to enhance its pool of
qualified reviewers of proposals.  We invite researchers in
the chemical sciences who have not previously reviewed for
the Division of Chemistry but are interested in providing
this service to contact us by visiting our website at
http://www.nsf.gov/mps/che/reviewer/reviewer_info.jsp and
completing the online registration form.  We welcome
qualified reviewers from academic, industrial, and
government employment, as well as from other countries.   It
is important to recognize that the National Science
Foundation reserves the right to choose reviewers.  While we
are unable to assure individuals that they will be asked to
review proposals, we do attempt to call upon as many
qualified reviewers as possible, and we try to limit the
number of requests that we make to any single individual,
recognizing the many demands our reviewers have on their
time.

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**************************MyNSF

In order to receive NSF program announcements, vacancy
announcements, newsletters or other information as soon as
they are published, you can subscribe to MyNSF.  You pre-
select as many key words as you like; every time an NSF
document containing one or more of your key words is
published, you'll receive email notification with a link to
the appropriate web page.  For further information, please
visit the MyNSF website: http://www.nsf.gov/mynsf/.

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