Editors -- Marilyn Holloway and Sue Riches

Keep your eyes peeled in the next week or so -- a second Chemistry Ball is being organised.  Speaking from personal experience, the organisers are going to have to pull out all stops to beat last year's efforts.  The only thing missing in 2004 was most RSC academics, who were beaten hollow by the Chemistry Department who were quite well represented.  A repeat «no show» this year will incur compulsory lunch-time dancing lessons (including salsa and bellydancing).   Now that would be worth seeing.

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

AWARDS

Professor Peter Gill was recently awarded the Pople Medal at the opening ceremony of the Asian Pacific Conference for Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (APCTCC).  The Pople Medal is awarded annually to a young scientist in the Asian-Pacific region who has distinguished himself/herself by an important contribution.  We extend our congratulations to Peter.

Congratulations to the following completing PhD scholar:

Mark Mulcair(supervisor Dr Dixon) - Mechanism of DNA Replication Termination in Escherichia coli.

      Congratulations also go to: 

Amy Philbrook on the occasion of her marriage to  Doug McLean on 9 April 2005.    

Zen Thought for the Day !

*     The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a flat tyre.

*     The darkest hours come just before the dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbour's milk and newspaper, that's the time to do it.

*     Sex is like air. It only becomes really important when you aren't getting any.

*     Don't aspire to become irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

*     Remember, no one is listening until you break wind.

*     Never forget that you are unique, like everyone else.

*     Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

*     If you think nobody cares whether you're dead or alive, try missing a couple of mortgage payments

*     Before you judge someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you judge them, you're a mile away - and you have their shoes.

*     If at first you don't succeed, avoid skydiving.

*     Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

*     Have you ever lent someone $20 and never seen that person again? It was probably worth it.

*     If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

*     Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either; just bugger off and leave me alone.

*     Some days we are the flies; some days we are the windscreen.

*     Don't worry; it only seems kinky the first time.

*     Good judgment comes from experience: experience comes from bad judgment.

*     The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

*     A closed mouth gathers no feet.

*     There are two theories about how to win an argument with a woman.  Neither one works.

*     Generally speaking, you aren't learning much if your lips are moving.

*     Never miss a good chance to shut up.

*     Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

*     When we are born we are naked, wet, hungry, and we get smacked on our backside. From there on, life gets worse

*     The most wasted day of all is one in which we have not laughed.

*     Remember not to forget that which you do not need to know.

(our thanks to Professor Ray Withers for this contribution)

Recent Arrivals

A sincere welcome is extended to the following people who have arrived since our last issue:

Dr Stephen McAteer from England has commenced a postdoctoral fellowship with Professor Mander's research group (room 223, ext. 58339)

Dr Shane Simonsen from Queensland has joined Professor Otting's research group as a postdoctoral fellow (room E4B, ext. 56508).

Dr Helen Berney is working with Dr Dixon's group as a research fellow until July (room E205, ext. 54181).

Miss Jennifer Locke from Canada is currently a visiting international scholar with Professor Mander's group until the end of August (room 223, ext. 58339).

Mr Thibaut Ackermann from France has joined Professor Easton's group as a visiting international scholar until the beginning of August (room 109, ext. 54207).

Dr Mario Knoke from Germany has commenced a postdoctoral fellowship with Professor Banwell's group (room 229, ext. 59797).

Dr Felix Ho from Sweden has joined Professor Krausz's group as a visiting fellow until the middle of June (room 2, ext. 53577).

Milestones: 

Staff Publications since last issue as at 9 May 2005:

James, V.J., Richardson, J.C., Robertson, T.A., Papadimitriou, J.M., Dutton, N.S., Maley, M.A.L., Berstein, L.M., Lantseva, O.E., Martins, R.N. Fibre diffraction of hair can provide a screening test for Alzheimer's disease: a human and animal model study. Med. Sci. Monit. (2005), 11(2), CR53-57. http://www.MedSciMonit.com/pub/vol_11/no_2/5873.pdf

Moyano, G.E., Collins, M.A. Interpolated potential energy surface for abstraction and exchange reactions of NH₃ + H and deuterated analogues. Theor. Chem. Acc. (2005), 113(4), 225-232. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00214-004-0626-8

O'Neill, D.P., Gill, P.M.W. Benchmark correlation energies for small molecules. Mol. Phys. (2005), 103(6-8), 763-766.^§ http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?id=r26v407h3346511p

Schaeffer, P.M., Headlam, M.J., Dixon, N.E. Protein-protein interactions in the eubacterial replisome.IUBMB Life(2005), 57(1), 5-12. http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?id=u743k22211w896q4

Wang, G.M., Reid, J.C., Carberry, D.M., Williams, D.R.M., Sevick, E.M., Evans, D.J. Experimental study of the fluctuation theorem in a nonequilibrium steady state. Phys. Rev. E (2005), 71(4), 046142/1-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.71.046142

Yu McLoughlin, S., Jackson, C., Liu, J.-W., Ollis, D. Increased expression of a bacterial phosphotriesterase in Escherichia colithrough directed evolution. Protein Expr. Purif. (2005), 41(2), 433-440. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pep.2005.01.012

Zhou, Q., Kennedy, B.J., Ting, V., Withers, R.L. Thermal expansion and cation disorder in Bi₂InNbO₇. J. Solid State Chem. (2005), 178(5), 1575-1579. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jssc.2004.12.012

^§  Research conducted prior to commencement at RSC

Summary of Publications collected for the 2004 DEST Higher Education Research Collection Data

Total submission:  2 books, 5 book chapters, 2 conference papers, 149 journal articles = a total submission of 158 items.  11 publications submitted were ineligible but two of the eleven are being given further consideration.

Professor Elmars Krausz and student Maria Kubik have digitally processed the School's historic scrap book.  If anyone in the School can assist with annotating please contact Elmars on X53577

LUSH Notes for Toasting at Bramley's

May 14	1686	Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit was born in Danzig.  His thermometers had a great effect on experimental physics.
	1925	Yuval Ne'eman was born in Tel Aviv.  In 1961 he connected baryons and mesons with 3 x 3 unitary matrices.
May 16	1763	Nicolas Louis Vauquelin was born in Normandy.  He discovered chromium and beryllium in 1798.
May 15	1859	Pierre Curie was born in Paris.  He is known for measurement of the temperature-dependence of magnetic properties, for the discovery of piezoelectricity in collaboration with his brother, and for research on radioactivity in collaboration with his wife.
	1899	William Hume Rothery was born in Surrey.  He studied intermetallic compounds, and stated three rules of alloy formation.