Community Outreach: Science Alive

Yesterday, the Biology Chemistry Club participated in the annual Science Alive community outreach event at the Main Branch of the St. Joseph County Public Library. IU students and faculty showcased student-made artwork of bacterial cultures in petri dishes (pictured on the left); let children peer through microscopes at plant, animal, and fossil samples; and offered a hands-on slime/putty-making opportunity using borax and glue. The right picture shows Dr. Ann Grens (Biology) in the back helping a student with a microscope while the foreground shows Dr. Kasey Clear (Chemistry), Rachel Hall (Biochemistry major), and Ellie Gore (Biology major) helping kids make colorful slime. One kid under 10 years old exclaimed "This is the best day of my life!" several times while making slime as she was thoroughly impressed by all of the wonderful activities provided by the many organizations cooperating to make Science Alive a success in the community once again. Thanks to the many student volunteers who gave up time studying for classes for this rewarding, but taxing, effort at inspiring local kids to think and wonder.

The Universe Revealed - Making Sense of Our Senses

At the beginning of the semester (January 10), biochemistry professor Shahir Rizk gave the talk Making Sense of Our Senses: The Art and Science of How We Perceive the World at the Main Branch of the St. Joseph County Library in downtown South Bend. This is just one talk in The Universe Revealed lecture series which is a partnership between the Science faculty at IU South Bend and University of Notre Dame to explore diverse topics in science. Rizk talked about the seeming magic of proteins that, for example, can distinguish different colors of light in our eyes, serve as antifreeze in polar fish, and let fireflies glow in the dark. The artwork above was created by IU South Bend B.S. biochemistry graduate, Maggie Fink, who is now working on her Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame. Fink researched with Rizk while she was an undergraduate and she continues to work with Rizk in their collaborations on the intersection of art and science. At the sites below, you can watch a recording of the lecture and also learn more about the lecture series, in particular the time and subject of upcoming lectures.

Video recording - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFHnZUnOk0g

Lecture series - https://universerevealed.nd.edu/

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go ...

We just ran a Google job search for "chemists" and "biochemists" in a 60-mile radius from South Bend (excluding Illinois) and found over 30 positions available (not including pharmacy jobs and internships). The results were not exhaustive (there are more positions) and some of the positions require experience, or further study, that a fresh graduate would not have. Still, the results look promising:

South Bend, IN
   Tri-Pac                                         
   Catalytic Life Science  
Mishawaka, IN
   InfoSoft                                       
   Siemens Healthineers              
Angola, IN         
   Trine University                         
Elkhart, IN
   Voyant Beauty                            
   Career Transitions, LLC             
   Clean Harbors                          
Plymouth, IN
   BC Forward                                
La Porte, IN
   American Renolit Corportation
   Tradebe Environmental Services
Griffith, IN
   TRADEBE                                     
Portage, IN
   Covanta                                       
   Hire Support                               
   Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories
Hobart, IN
   Eastern Catalytics                      
Hammond, IN
   Clean Harbors                            
Waterloo, IN
   CyberCoders                              
Notre dame, IN
   Saint Mary's College                 
Winona Lake, IN
   Grace College and Seminary   
Valparaiso, IN
   ShoreMet, LLC                            
Kalamazoo, MI
   Bausch & Lomb                          
   Trusted Human Capital            
   EG Workforce Solutions           
   Resume Library                          
   Eurofins USA PSS                       
   Zoetis                                           
Niles, MI
   H B Fuller Company                  
Benton Harbor, MI
   Lake Michigan College              
Stevensville, MI
   Alpha Resources - Michigan    
St. Joseph, MI   
   LECO                                            
Portage, MI
   Eurofins