2015 Science Resource Centre Upgrade

Over the Winter Break your Undergraduate Resource Centre is receiving a technology upgrade.  Feel free to drop in and have a look!

12 new I7 Windows 64 Bit workstations installed to process your Chemistry and Physics labs, assignments and exercises.

Come down and use Spartan, Chem/BioOffice, Maple, SPSS, Protein Purifier and many other programs that are used in the production research labs.

http://www1.uwindsor.ca/chemistry/undergraduate-resource-centre

Special thanks to Joe Lichaa, our department computer technician, for making this installation!

Chemistry Holiday Party

The Chemistry Club is hosting a "Holiday Celebration" at the Rock Bottom Bar and Grill on Dec. 11, 2014 starting at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets are $10, and available from Sera (EH 274-1) or the main office (273 EH).

All students, faculty and staff are welcome!

UWindsor researcher on a roll using natural extracts to fight cancer

UWindsor researcher on a roll using natural extracts to fight cancer

After finding treatment possibilities in dandelion root extract, biochemistry professor Siyaram Pandey and the students in his lab have discovered a second natural extract that successfully targets cancer cells.

His latest paper shows that extract from the flowering plant long pepper makes cancer cells undergo apoptosis—essentially committing suicide.

“It targets the weakness of the cancer cells, the metabolic vulnerability of cancer cells. Healthy cells can tolerate the extract but cancer cells cannot tolerate it, they die,” says Dr. Pandey. In addition to testing the substance on a cellular level and studying cells in a petri dish in the lab, his team also fed it orally to mice with tumours. “We proved it is not toxic. It dissolves into the system, goes to the tumour site and blocks the growth of the tumour.”

Pandey, post-doctoral fellow Pam Ovadje, and graduate and undergraduate student contributors, have just published their long pepper findings in the November 2014 edition of PLOS One.

To read more, see the full Daily News story here!

Winter 2015 GA/TA positions now posted

Winter 2015 GA/TA positions

Interested in teaching?

Notice, schedules and applications for Winter 2015 GA/TA positions in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department are now posted at:

http://www1.uwindsor.ca/chemistry/gata-positions-for-winter-2015

Hallowe'en party and pumpkin carving contest

Hallowe'en party and pumpkin carving contest

12-2 PM
ESSEX HALL SCIENCE LOUNGE

COSTUME CONTEST AND FOOD WILL BE PROVIDED PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED FOR BEST COSTUMES!

RSVP TO ZAINAB (BAZZIZ@UWINDSOR.CA)

See below for information on the pumpkin carving contest!

Intro NMR Workshop Oct. 15-16

NMR Workshop
The NMR faciltiy is offering a 2 Day Introductory Workshop for  Undergraduate students, Graduate Students on the mornings of Wednesday October 15, and Thursday October 16 from 9 am to noon each day.  

This introductory workshop is geared toward undergraduate students, summer students and/or graduate students with limited (or no) NMR experience, but who are expected to make use of the NMR spectrometers as part of their research projects. The workshop is meant as a supplement to the "one on one" training that new students receive and will allow an opportunity to go into greater depth on many topics. The schedule will consist of a lecture to start each day followed by hands-on learning sessions where participants will get the opportunity to make NMR samples as well as to collect and process NMR data.

The topics covered include:
How an NMR spectrometer works
NMR Magnet Safety
Preparation of NMR Samples
Set up of 1D 1H and 13C NMR Experiments
Processing and Presentation of NMR Data

The workshop is free of charge to members of the Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry; however, enrollment is limited, so please register soon!

Registration can be done on the NMR Facility Web page.

http://www1.uwindsor.ca/chemistry/nmr/39/nmr-workshops

Got to to the " To register click here" link at the bottom of the page.

For more information, visit the NMR Facility Web Page

Alumni/Grad Student Career Night - Thurs. Oct. 30 at 7 PM

ANNOUNCING THE ALUMNI/GRAD STUDENT CAREER NIGHT

THURSDAY OCTOBER 30, 2014; 7:00 PM-10:00 PM
Location: THE BANK NIGHTKLUB (285 Ouellette Avenue, Windsor) 

In this event, Chemistry & Biochemistry Alumni, Randy Leavitt, (Maxxam Analytics), Vince Amoscato, (Ash Stevens Inc) and Dante Capaldi, (Capaldi Enterprises) with share their career related experiences. 

The event will include a light dinner.

PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND THIS COMPLIMENTARY EVENT.

RSVP with number attending to CHEMBIOHEAD@uwindsor.ca by Oct 23, 2014

Gathering for first year mentors and mentees, Sept. 26 at 4:15 p.m.

Informal gathering of all mentors (professors) and mentees (1st-year students)

You are invited to our first informal gathering with all mentors (professors) and mentees (1st-year students).  It will give you a chance to meet with your mentor!!

Location: Science Student Lounge (Essex Hall Rm 250)
Day and time: Friday, Sept. 26 from 4:15 pm to 5:30 pm.

Food and beverages will be servedsmiley

You will have a chance to win a $50 voucher for the UofW bookstore, as well as other prizes.

See you all on the 26th!!

Graduate Scholarship Deadlines - 2015-2016 - External Scholarships

TO ALL FACULTY, GRADUATE STUDENTS AND 4TH YEAR UNDERGRADUATES

Below you will find information regarding the 2015-2015 External Scholarship Award applications along with department deadlines for submission.

If you have any questions regarding any of these awards, please let me know.

Marlene Bezaire
Graduate Secretary
mbezaire@uwindsor.ca
519-253-3000 x3520

Vanier CGS, CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC,  and OGS) 2015-16

The deadlines for receipt of applications in our office for the external graduate scholarship competitions are listed below.

Here are some reminders to departments whose students may be eligible to apply to more than one agency (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC):

1.  Students may submit an application to only ONE tri-agency (CIHR/NSERC/SSHRC).  This can happen especially when doctoral students apply to CIHR, which they do so directly, and then to NSERC or SSHRC through the university.  

2.  Students may apply to one of the tri-agencies as well as OGS and Vanier.

3. Students should select the most appropriate agency for their research. If they, or you, are not sure which is the appropriate agency please contact CIHR, NSERC, or SSHRC.  Applications submitted to the wrong agency are rejected.

4. Students nominated for a Vanier CGS at one agency can apply only  to that agency’s postgraduate scholarships programs, not to another agency’s postgraduate scholarship programs.
For example, a student nominated for a 2015 NSERC Vanier CGS can apply only to the 2015 NSERC PGS/CGS program, not to the SSHRC or CIHR postgraduate scholarship programs.


EXTERNAL GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINES (for scholarships tenable in 2015-16):

**************************************************************************************************************************************
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Doctoral Research Awards:
Deadline for receipt of applications directly to CIHR:  October 1, 2014

Instructions and application information are available on the ResearchNet website:https://www.researchnet-recherchenet.ca/rnr16/vwOpprtntyDtls.do?prog=2097&view=currentOpps&org=CIHR&type=EXACT&resultCount=25&sort=program&all=1&masterList=true

NOTE: Students submit applications directly to CIHR, but must obtain an institutional signature from the Graduate Studies Office by September 29, 2014.

OPEN ONLY TO CANADIAN APPLICANTS

***************************************************************************************************************************************
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Vanier CGS) for Doctoral students - NSERC and SSHRC
Department Of Chemistry & Biochemistry Deadline – Thursday, October 2, 2014.  
Submit completed applications to Marlene Bezaire, room #273 Essex Hall.


Instructions and application information are now available from the Vanier CGS website:  http://www.vanier.gc.ca/eng/home-accueil.aspx

Applications are completed on-line by the student and referees, and printed off for the review of the department.  
Graduate Studies will forward all of the referees reports directly to the department.
The department reviews the applications and selects one nomination for NSERC or SSHRC (we have no allocation for CIHR)
Nominations are forwarded to Graduate Studies.

Departments whose disciplines span all tri-council agencies may forward one nomination for each as appropriate, but note #4, above.

OPEN TO CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS

***************************************************************************************************************************************
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Doctoral Scholarships:
Department Of Chemistry & Biochemistry Deadline – Thursday, October 2, 2014.  
Submit completed applications to Marlene Bezaire, room #273 Essex Hall.

Instructions and application information are available from NSERC's website: http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/students-etudiants/pg-cs/bellandpostgrad-belletsuperieures_eng.asp

Applications are completed on-line by the student and the referees, printed off and submitted to the department for review, along with supporting documentation.
Department designate uploads students' transcript to NSERC's on-line site.
Graduate Studies will forward all of the referees reports directly to the department.

Department submits paper copies of the eligible applications to Graduate Studies, along with a ranked list (free-form) of the applicants .

Additional information and instructions from our office will follow.

OPEN ONLY TO CANADIAN APPLICANTS

*****************************************************************************************************************************************

Master's scholarships for:

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)

Department Of Chemistry & Biochemistry Deadline – Monday, November 24, 2014
Submit completed applications to Marlene Bezaire, room #273 Essex Hall.

Instructions and information are available at:   http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/students-etudiants/pg-cs/cgsm-bescm_eng.asp

Additional information and instructions from our office will follow.

OPEN ONLY TO CANADIAN APPLICANTS

*****************************************************************************************************************************************
Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS) for Master's and Doctoral students in any discipline:  

Department Of Chemistry & Biochemistry Deadline – Wednesday, January 14, 2015


Instructions and application form will be available from the Graduate Studies website later in the Fall.

OPEN TO CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

Safety and SOPs

As part of its commitment to laboratory safety, the Department has recently launched several initiatives of which all faculty, staff and students need to be aware.

First, the Department has constituted a Departmental Safety Committee. The mandates of this Committee include reporting on safety to the Departmental Chair and council, reviewing safety-related incidents and complaints and recommending actions in response, pro-actively devising safety policies, and performing laboratory inspections. The Chair of this Committee and Departmental Safety Officer is Dr. Michael Boffa. The Committee's members are Nedhal Al-Nidawy (staff); Stephanie Kosnik (graduate student), Dr. Stephen Loeb (chemistry faculty) and Dr. Bulent Mutus (biochemistry faculty).

Inquiries regarding safety can be addressed to Dr. Boffa or to any of the committee members.


The second initiative is a Laboratory Safety Orientation Checklist that must be filled out by all existing faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students performing research. These checklists are intended to be a standardized platform to direct and document safety training for all Department members engaged in laboratory research.

Over the next few months, a departmental safety web page will be developed.

Please click here to visit the current incarnation of this page.

Mango Party, May 30

Dr. Pandey's Mango Party will take place May 30 at 3 p.m. in front of Essex Hall.

Donations will be accepted for the Canadian World Education Foundation, which supports the education of children of widowed mothers in Indian and Kenya.

All are welcome!

NMR Workshop - May 22-23, 2014

NMR Workshop

The NMR facility is offering an Introductory Workshop for both graduate and undergraduate students, on the mornings of Thursday May 22 and Friday May 23 2014, from 9-12 each day.

This introductory workshop is geared toward undergraduate students, summer students and/or graduate students with limited (or no) NMR experience, who are expected to make use of the NMR spectrometers as part of their research projects.  The workshop is meant as a supplement to the "one on one" training that new students receive and will allow an opportunity to go into greater depth on many topics.  The schedule will consist of a lecture to start each day followed by hands-on learning sessions where participants will get the opportunity to make NMR samples as well as to collect and process NMR data.

The topics covered include:

• How an NMR spectrometer works
• NMR Magnet Safety
• Preparation of NMR Samples
• Set up of 1D 1H and 13C NMR Experiments
• Processing and Presentation of NMR Data

The workshop is free of charge to members of the Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry; however, enrollment is limited, so please register soon!

Registration can be done on the NMR Facility Web page.

http://www1.uwindsor.ca/chemistry/nmr/39/nmr-workshops

Go to to the "To register click here" link at the bottom of the page.

5th Annual Nano Ontario Conference - Nov. 6 & 7, 2014, University of Windsor

5th Annual Nano Ontario Conference - Nov. 6 & 7, 2014 - University of Windsor

http://nanoontario.ca/conference/ 

Abstracts due Sept. 12, 2014
Registration deadline: Oct. 6, 2014

Click here to download a flyer for this event.

Conference Features:
• Industry panel discussion
• Highlighted presentations from the best contributed papers and invited talks from leaders in the field
• Interactive networking with the nanotechnology community from academia and industry
• Exhibition from industry and sponsors

Keynote speakers:

Tricia B. Carmichael, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Windsor, Windsor Ontario

David J. Lockwood, Principal Research Officer, National Research Council Canada, Institute for Microstructural Sciences, Ottawa Ontario

Gregory W. Auner, Strauss TEAMS Endowed Chair, Director, SSIM, Professor, Electrical and Computer, Biomedical Engineering, and the Department of Surgery, Wayne State University, Detroit Michigan

Lawrence T. Drzal, University Distinguished Professor, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Director, Composite Materials and Structures Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing Michigan

Robert J. Nemanich, Professor, Department of Physics, Arizona State University, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Tempe AZ

Conference registration, accommodation, and abstract submission available at http://www.nanoontario.ca/conference

If you would like to become a sponsor please contact Suong Mancini: sto@uwindsor.ca

59-410 final presentations: April 28 and 29

The final defences for 59-410 take place on April 28 and 29 from 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM.  Coffee and refreshments are available at each break.  

Students, staff, family, friends and faculty are all welcome.

The full schedule is available by clicking here.

Now hiring: tenure-track position in Environmental Chemistry - DEADLINE: May 19, 2014

Tenure-track position in Environmental Chemistry - DEADLINE: May 19, 2014

Click here to see this posting on our web site!

Tenure-Track Faculty Position in Environmental Chemistry - DEADLINE: May 19, 2014
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) and the Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry

The Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER-UW) and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Chem/Biochem) at the University of Windsor invite outstanding candidates to apply for a Tenure-Track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the area of Environmental Chemistry, commencing as early as July 1, 2014 or soon thereafter. This position is subject to final budgetary approval.

GLIER-UW and Chem/Biochem are research intensive units with active and vibrant graduate programs with diverse sources of external funding within the Faculty of Science. The successful candidate will have a joint-appointment with the two units in the Faculty of Science. To learn more about GLIER-UW and Chem/Biochem, please visit our website at http://www.uwindsor.ca/glier and http://www.uwindsor.ca/chemistry.

The successful candidate will be expected to develop an active research program and mentor graduate students in aquatic nutrient chemistry dynamics as related to primary production in aquatic ecosystems and support GLIER-UW’s mission (aquatic resource sustainability with a focus on interacting multiple stressors). Particularly exciting opportunities exist for research on the eutrophication crisis in the lower Great Lakes, while expertise in large-lake nutrient stress in general would be an asset. Expertise and experience in analytical methods development, chemical cycling, bioavailability and modeling and their application to environmental research approaches are considered strong assets. Existing GLIER-UW faculty members work on aquatic environmental processes and issues and have strengths in ecological tracers, fisheries, conservation and evolutionary genetics, invasion biology, ecotoxicology, predictive ecology, biogeochemistry, large-system modeling and nutrient/metal/chemical dynamics.

The ideal candidate must possess a PhD, in Chemistry and/or Environmental science with subsequent interests in developing and delivering training in instrumental analyses related to analytical chemistry in environmental systems. Teaching duties will be assigned in Chem/Biochem and shared with graduate teaching and supervision duties within the GLIER-UW graduate program.

In addition, an outstanding record of research productivity, and a willingness to work in a highly collaborative and multidisciplinary research environment is expected. Significant financial resources and dedicated laboratory space are associated with this faculty position. The appointee will have access to state-of-the-art facilities including laboratories for trace organics and metals, heavy and light stable isotopes, applied molecular genetics and genomics/proteomics, toxicology, fish husbandry, GIS, computational simulation modeling, analytical and aqueous geochemistry and microscopy. In addition, a recently successful large infrastructure grant has established new facilities for advanced field and lab research, with particular focus on environmental stressors in the Great Lakes under the broad themes of biogeochemical function, genomics/proteomics and ecosystem tracers.

Applications will include:

• a letter of application, including a statement of citizenship/immigration status;
• a detailed and current curriculum vitae;
• a two (2) page outline of research interests; and
• the names of three referees.

The short-listed candidates may be invited to provide further information in support of their applications. To ensure full consideration, complete an online application by the deadline date of May 19, 2014.

Reference Letters to be sent to:
Dr. Daniel Heath, Director
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor
401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4
Phone: (519) 253-3000 X 2732, Fax: (519) 971-3616
E-mail: glierjobs@uwindsor.ca

- CLICK HERE to see the official posting on the faculty recruitment site

- CLICK HERE to complete an online application

--------

Visit the University of Windsor HR site for more employment opportunities.

Foundation funding to support natural compound research

Providing a catalyst for positive change in the world is the operating principle of the Jesse and Julie Rasch Foundation. Widely-known for supporting a broad range of philanthropic projects, the foundation has just approved $80,000 in research funding for biochemistry professor Siyaram Pandey’s project, Evaluation of anti-cancer effect of various compounds against Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

According to foundation chair Jesse Rasch, Dr. Pandey’s research into natural compounds in the fight against cancer is the type of work the organization has a mandate to support.

“I am an entrepreneur and I look at investing in research in the same way my company looks at investing in start-ups and venture capital,” Rasch says. “We provide seed money for interesting ideas that will hopefully be able to attract the larger grants once there is proof of concept to be able to fund clinical trials. We do what we can to get things kick-started.”

Rasch says a media article about Pandey’s dandelion root research caught the attention of the foundation and falls in line with other natural compound research they support.

To read the full story on the Daily News, click here.

There is also a Windsor Star story, that can be linked to by clicking here.

Chem Prom - May 2

Chem Prom happens:

Fri. May 2, 2014
Galileo Hall, Caboto Club
Doors open at 7 pm

Dinner, drinks and dancing!
Come shake off the winter chill!
Tropical dress optional!

Tickets are $30

See Corey, Zainab (Rm 276), Gyllian (Rm 268), Natalia (Rm 386-1) or Marlene (Rm 273-1) for tickets!

SOUSCC 42 @ UWindsor

The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of Windsor welcomes undergraduate students from across Ontario to the 42nd Southern Ontario Undergraduate Student Chemistry Conference on Saturday, March 29, 2014.

This conference provides an opportunity for undergraduates to present and discuss their research, to meet other chem students from across the province, and to interact with academic and industrial researchers.

For more information, visit the SOUSCC web site:

http://souscc.cs.uwindsor.ca/

Pot Luck lunch: celebrating St. Patrick's Day and the arrival of spring!

Join us for Chemistry and Biochemistry’s

POT LUCK 2014

(A potluck is a gathering of people where each person or group of people may contribute a dish of food prepared by the person or the group of people, to be shared among the group.)

To celebrate: St. Patrick’s Day/Spring

When: Friday, March 21st, 2014, 12:00 noon-1:30 p.m.

Where: Conference Room, 273, Essex Hall

Students, Staff & Faculty Welcome

$2 DONATION AT DOOR

If you have a favourite dish you would like to bring, see Marlene or Cathy, or sign the sign up sheet in office!

Chemist discovers shellfish material that may help prevent algal blooms

Chemist discovers shellfish material may help prevent algal blooms 

Harmful algae blooms like the massive one that afflicted Lake Erie in 2011 are a serious threat to our waterways, but a chemistry researcher and his industrial partners are testing a new method of filtering agricultural wastewater with the help of an unexpected material: ground up shrimp and lobster shells.

Chitosan is a material made by treating crushed shellfish with sodium hydroxide, and professor Bulent Mutus is discovering that various forms are effective in lab tests at removing micronutrients, phosphates and metals like copper, zinc, and iron from greenhouse wastewater.

“There’s an inexpensive and plentiful supply of these materials, and we’ve been able to prove in concept that this can work,” said Dr. Mutus. “Now we’re just trying to scale it up in to an actual working filter that we can test in the field.”

Algal blooms are the result of an excess of nutrients, including nitrates and phosphates from household products and fertilizer used in agricultural and recreational settings, running off land into streams and rivers that drain in to warmer lakes. A large bloom could remove the water of oxygen fish and other aquatic wildlife need to survive.

To read more of this story, click here to see the full article on the Daily News.

Public lecture to shine light on x-ray crystallography

Public lecture to shine light on x-ray crystallography

X-ray crystallography can determine the arrangement of atoms in materials and make three-dimensional pictures of molecules— more than 25 Nobel prizes have been awarded on the basis of its use.

In honour of the centennial of the first Nobel prize awarded for this remarkable tool, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 2014 as the International Year of Crystallography.

UWindsor chemistry professor Charles Macdonald will explain how X-ray crystallography works and illustrate some highlights discovered using this method in a free public lecture entitled “X-Ray Crystallography: A Century of Exploring the World at the Atomic Scale,” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 19, at Canada South Science City.

This amazing avenue of discovery underpins major advances in physics, chemistry, material science, biology, medicine, engineering, and more. Dr. Macdonald’s lecture is sponsored by the Faculty of Science as part of the Science Café series, which offers discussion of important science research for the general public.

Click here to see the original story on the Daily News.

Red Hot Chili Peppers….

…are often added to the chilis found at the

The 2nd Annual Chili Cook Off takes place on Friday, February 14, 2014 in 273 Essex Hall, and is open to all students, staff and faculty!

See Marlene in the main office if you would like to register for this great event!

High school students conduct their own chemistry magic show

About 35 students from the International Baccalaureate program at Assumption College Catholic High School participated in the chemistry and biochemistry department’sINteractive Chem ExperimentS, or INCHES program, an outreach and recruiting initiative which provides them the opportunity to conduct experiments in the University’s chemistry labs.

 “You can talk and talk, but if kids get the chance to do these things themselves, then they’re really going to remember it,” said chemistry professor Tricia Carmichael, who oversaw the students, along with colleague Rob Schurko and a group of graduate students.

If any high school chemistry teachers from Windsor or Essex County want to bring their class in for our INCHES (INteractive CHemsitry ExperimentS) laboratory program, please contact Tricia Carmichael or Rob Schurko.

Graduate students who are interested in volunteering in the INCHES project can contact Profs. Carmichael or Schurko as well!

Click here to see the Daily News article.

Outstanding chemists and biochemists receive research and infrastructure grants

Congratulations to Otis Vacratsis and Rob Schurko, who are recipients of the new Golden Jubilee Research Excellence Awards announced by VP Research Michael Siu and Dean of Science Marlys Koschinsky.  Made possible through the research stimulus fund, the two-year awards come with $40,000 a year in research funding and one course release per year.

Dr. Vacratsis said the funding will help him hire graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who will utilize a variety of analytical and biological techniques to better understand the cellular processes involved in CMT, a neuromuscular disorder characterized by loss of muscle mass and touch sensation across various parts of the body. Currently incurable, the disease is one of the most common inherited neurological disorders and affects about one in 2,500 people.
“We do very basic, fundamental science in my lab, but hopefully people will be able to use our findings in a clinical setting,” Vacratsis said.

Congratulations also to Michael Boffa and Jichang Wang, who received infrastructure grants in support of their research programs.

Click here to access the full story from the Daily News.