JCE VIPEr: Inorganic Chemistry Learning Objects for Use in the General Chemistry Curriculum
A new JCE VIPEr column can be found in the July issue of the Journal of Chemical Education:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed100366m
The Inorganic Discussion Weekend is a fantastic opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to present their research in a colleagial environment. IDW is held every year at the end of October and rotates among universities in Ontario and Quebec. This year, the conference will be hosted by the University of Windsor, making it even more accessible to students and faculty in the Midwestern U.S.
For more information, check out: http://www.idw.yorku.ca/
A new JCE VIPEr column can be found in the July issue of the Journal of Chemical Education:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed100366m
Please take a look at the following link to the NSF call for proposals for Chemistry and Materials Research at the Interface between Science and Art (SCIART). The (required) Letter of Intent is due March 12, 2010 and the Full Proposal deadline is May 04, 2010
All,
Just a brief reminder (and plug) that abstract submissions for BCCE 2010 are just around the corner. A complete list of symposia is available at the conference website (www.bcce2010.org). While there isn't a specific inorganic chemistry symposium, there are many topics that I believe will be of particular interest to the VIPEr community (e.g., using history in teaching, online homework, clickers, bonding theory usage in chemistry, integration of research and teaching, etc.).
Colleagues
I have an excellent research student who is considering applying for the ACS International REU program. Students can be placed at institutions in Germany, Italy, France, and Scotland. Does anyone have experience with this program or tips for assembling a successful application?
I went to a wonderful seminar given by David MacKay (http://withouthotair.com) at the Armourer's and Brasiers Cambridge Forum. He talked about the physics (i.e. what would it take, not what would it cost) to provide the UK with energy from renewable resources. One of my favorite quotes (and there were many) was:
Burning chemicals should be a thermodynamic crime.
It just makes me laugh.
In late 1966 or early 1967, while still a grad student at IU, I drove down to the University of Kentucky for a two day seminar on reaction mechanisms of coordination compounds. The speakers were Fred Basolo, Ralph Pearson, Cooper Langford and Harry Gray (who had just moved from Columbia to Cal Tech). Langford and Gray had just published their book "Ligand Substitution Reactions" (now available free as a pdf at http://caltechbook.library.caltech.edu/100/) and Basolo and Pearson had just finished working on the second ed