C&EN UN-Rankings

A UN-ranking list came out in C&EN based on chemistry and chemical engineering. Faculty were asked what was important in a graduate program. The results can be seen here:



What's surprising and kind of frustrating is that many diversity criteria had negative correlations, meaning that more diverse programs were less regarded in faculty's rating exercise.

Third Quarter Start-Ups

In C&EN this week, reports of third quarter start-ups were released. Capital investment across all industries decreased by 31%, and biotech deals decreased from 152 to 108 deals from the second quarter. Though, biotech still claims four spots in the top 10 largest deals for the third-quarter. Despite drops, Mark G. Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association reports there will be "reassuring signs of stability".

STEM Employer Exchange Luncheon

Today I attended a luncheon on campus that had representatives from various STEM companies to talk about their career and how they got there.  An R&D manager from Life Technologies was one of the speakers and he gave great insight into the various opportunities offered in science besides bench work.  He mentioned his career path brought him to all different areas of his company.  Another great aspect he enjoys is that he stays connected with the public and universities even though he works in industry.  He suggested to regularly attend conferences and seminars, and to publish papers so you stay active in the public world.  Great advice, great event!

My first Blog!

Hello everyone!
I have finally managed to find the time to start up a blog.  I think this will be a great place to write about what's going on that fascinates me in the world and hopefully things that I can one day contribute to.  As a science geek, this will mostly be about me and my involvement in my passion of science, more specifically biochemistry!