Monday, April 26, 2010

Shift Process Engineer position for Chemical Engineers

The Shift Process Engineer performs all manufacturing tasks required for the safe production of active pharmaceutical ingredients in compliance with FDA, DEA, OSHA Federal, State, and Local regulations. The primary objective of this position is to ensure that all manufacturing operations are conducted in a safe manner with a high regard for all applicable cGMPs and DEA requirements. Working flexibly across a broad range of chemical operations and participation on self-managed work teams is required. Training for and participation on Emergency Response teams is required. Availability for overtime and shift work (including rotating shifts and seven-day operation) is also required.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:
- Provide technical assistance to chemical technicians in order to troubleshoot and problem solve both process and equipment related problems.
- Achieve cycle time requirements in order to meet the production schedule.
- Attend Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs) for manufacturing operations.
- Prepare and revise production batch records and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- Provide training to chemical technicians on production batch records and SOPs.
- Work as a team member with the chemical technicians. Perform chemical operations as required.
- Perform the role of DEA coordinator. This requires witnessing all movement of controlled materials.
- Attend all required cGMP, DEA and ESHA training.
- Perform in process analytical testing and performing bench scale chemistry in the laboratory, when applicable. Seek out and identify opportunities for systems and process improvements.

Educational Requirements
BS degree in Chemical Engineering or Chemistry.

Joseph A. Aronne, CPC
Senior Pharmaceutical Recruiter
RJS Associates, Inc.
10 Columbus Boulevard
Hartford, CT 06106
Phone (860) 278-5840
Fax (860) 522-8313
cell (860-604-4711) after 5pm
joe@rjsassociates.com
www.rjsassociates.com

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is hiring

Are you a senior student about to graduate this summer and thinking about where to start your career? Are you a mid-career professional looking for a more challenging job within your field of expertise? Are you an experienced professional searching to use your wealth of knowledge in a leadership or management role? Well do I have good news for you !!

I am pleased to announce that NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is currently on a hiring spree, looking for talented engineers, scientist and administrative professionals for full-time positions at our locations in Greenbelt, Maryland and Wallops Island, Virginia !!! We have positions open for all levels of experience !!! It doesn’t matter at what stage you are in your career; you can be either a student graduating this summer (Bachelors, Masters or PhD), someone with less that 5 years of work experience, or have decades of professional background within your field... We have openings for everyone :) !!!

NASA is more than astronauts. We are scientists, engineers, computer programmers, personnel specialists, accountants, writers, maintenance workers, and much much more. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is the home to the nation’s largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists who build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the Sun, our Solar System, and the Universe. From high school interns to accomplished Nobel Prize winners, each member of the Goddard team plays a vital role in mission success. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to become part of our family :) ! To learn more about NASA Goddard, please visit our website at http://www.nasa.gov/goddard.

Over the years, NASA has been rated one of the best places to work in the Federal Government, offering excellent benefit programs and competitive salaries. To learn more about pay and benefits at NASA, visit http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/benefits/benefits.htm.

To apply or learn more about our currently open vacancies, please visit the USAJOBS website at http://www.usajobs.gov. Using the search engine, type in “Goddard Space Flight Center” for the complete list of our open vacancies. NOTE: Please read carefully the “Qualifications and Evaluation” section of each job post to determine eligibility.

Our HACE Recruitment and Outreach Subcommittee is committed to help foster a community in which diversity is recognized and embraced; making qualified Hispanics aware of present and future employment opportunities at NASA Goddard. We encourage applicants from underrepresented groups such as minorities, women, and people with disabilities. NOTE: All positions require US Citizenship and the listings close on April 30, 2010.

Please let us know about you by emailing us at hace.gsfc@gmail.com. Attach your resume and let us know about your areas of interest within NASA Goddard and include USAJOBS vacancy #’s you applied to.

Joint Materials/Solid Mechanics Seminar Series with Prof. Gui-Rong Liu

BROWN UNIVERSITY
Joint Materials/Solid Mechanics Seminar Series

“Computational methods for certified solutions, adaptive analysis, real-time computation, and inverse analysis of engineering systems”

Friday, April 30, 2010 4:00-5:00 pm B&H Room 751

Prof. Gui-Rong Liu
Deputy Head of Mechanical Engineering
National University of Singapore

Abstract:

Rationale: Engineering systems become more and more sophisticated. Computer modelling for such systems is a must for optimal design, healthy monitoring, NDE, existing strength assessments, and service life prediction. The necessary requirements for an effective computational method have now become stability, convergence, automation, solution certification, adaptation, and real-time computation.
Theory: This talk introduces first the basic theory for a unified formulation of a wide class of compatible and incompatible methods based on FEM and meshfree settings. Important properties and inequalities for G spaces are proven, leading to the so-called weakened weak (W2) formulation that guarantees stable and convergent solutions. We then present some possible W2 models that meet all these challenges: 1) linear conformability ensuring the stability and convergence; 2) softening effects leading to certified solutions and real-time computational models; 3) insensitivity to the quality of mesh allowing effective uses of triangular/tetrahedral meshes best suited for automatic adaptive analyses.
Applications: A large number of benchmarking examples and practical examples will be presented to examine the theory and various numerical models, including material behavior at various extreme situations, dynamic behavior and interactions of red blood cells, inverse identification of material properties and cracks in engineering structural systems, and integrity assessment of dental implant systems via inverse analysis with real-time computation.

IBM semiconductor facility in Essex Junction, Vermont hiring supplemental manufacturing employees

I did want to pass this on for any engineering students at Brown who may be looking for summer work experience. The IBM semiconductor facility in Essex Junction Vermont where I work is looking to hire supplemental manufacturing employees. It may be of some interest to anyone interested in getting some experience in the industry. I personally did this for 2 summers while attending Brown and did help me land my first job after graduation. I know we usually hire local college students to help during the summer vacation season. Students would need to find summer housing, but Burlington is a college town and there are generally many summer sublet opportunities.

Any official openings would be posted at www.ibm.com. The possible summer only positions would be listed as production operators (search with keyword Essex and job area Manufacturing). There are a couple of official co-op/intern positions open in our division as well as some entry level positions listed in our division.

I'd be happy to talk to interested students, although I will say up front that my influence on helping them successfully get hired is likely extremely limited.

You can have them contact me via email (shelden@alumni.brown.edu).

Andrew Shelden '94
Sc B Material Engineering

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Brown Engineering Honors Thesis Presentations

Please Join us for Brown Engineering Honors Thesis Presentations
April 26-30
All Presentations will take place in Barus & Holley Room 190
Monday, April 26th 
12:00 noon – Benjamin Howard, Mechanical Concentrator
Tuesday, April 27th 
9:00 am – Julie Marton, Civil Concentrator 
11:00 am – Andrea Jones, Chemical and Biochemical Concentrator 
12:00 noon – Jun Kudo, Mechanical Concentrator 
2:00 pm – Kantapon Kaewtip, Electrical Concentrator
 4:00 pm – Shin Bowers, Chemical and Biochemical Concentrator 
5:00 pm – Allison Yorita, Chemical and Biochemical Concentrator
Wednesday, April 28th 
12:00 noon – David Gagnon, Mechanical Concentrator 
1:00 pm – Poh Shi Qing, Electrical Concentrator
Thursday, April 29th 
11:00 am – Adam Hoffman, Mechanical Concentrator
Friday, April 30th
1:00 pm – Petros Perselis, Electrical Concentrator

ALUMNI Profile in Person: Sam Blackman, Sc.B. ‘98

ALUMNI Profile in Person:
Sam Blackman, Sc.B. ‘98

The Entrepreneur's Imperative
Joy, freedom, pain and suffering:
Lessons from a 21st-century software startup

Date: Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Time: Noon (yes, there will be pizza)
Room: Barus and Holley 190

Overview:
Sam Blackman '98 is the CEO and co-founder of Elemental Technologies, a video software startup company based in Portland, Oregon. In 2006, Sam took the leap out of corporate comfort to start his own company with a couple friends. Since then, there have been a few successes, more failures, and above all else the Brown mantra of "lifetime learning" fulfilled. This talk will focus primarily on the lessons learned about starting a company, with a sprinkling of Elemental's technology added for flavor. If the thought of working for someone other than the man (or woman) has ever crossed your mind, this is the talk for you. Lunch is included, so please bring your appetite as well as your curiosity!

Speaker Background:
As CEO, Chairman, and Co-Founder of Elemental, Sam has grown Elemental into the leading provider of GPU-accelerated video processing solutions. Prior to co-founding Elemental in 2006, Sam specified and architected next-generation products as an IC design manager for Pixelworks. He spent time in China organizing the company's Shanghai design center and was responsible for a wide variety of functional blocks on six ImageProcessor ICs. Prior to joining Pixelworks in 2000, Sam held engineering positions at Silicon Graphics and Intel Corporation. Sam holds an M.B.A from University of Oregon, an M.S.E.E. from University of California at Berkeley and a B.S.E.E. from Brown University in Providence, RI. While he's not as active as before Elemental and his two toddlers, Sam is an avid Ultimate Frisbee player.

Organized in collaboration with the Dean of the College Degree Days,
the Division of Engineering, and Commerce, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship.

Center for Fluid Mechanics Seminar Series with Marcos

CENTER FOR FLUID MECHANICS AND THE FLUIDS, THERMAL AND CHEMICAL PROCESSES GROUP
OF THE DIVISION OF ENGINEERING
SEMINAR SERIES
Marcos
Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

TUESDAY, April 27, 2010
APPLIED MATHEMATICS BUILDING
182 GEORGE STREET
ROOM 110
4:00pm

Bacteria in Shear Flow
I present a combined experimental and theoretical analysis of a bacterium exposed to a shear flow. I start by addressing the role of chirality in shear, motivated by the helical shape of some bacterial species (e.g. spirochetes) and of the flagella of all motile bacteria. While non-chiral objects at low Reynolds numbers faithfully follow streamlines, our model based on Resistive Force Theory predicts that the coupling of chirality and shear results in a lift force, which induces a drift perpendicular to the shear plane. We verified this prediction experimentally by exposing spirochetes to a plane parabolic flow in a microfluidic channel and tracking their lateral position by videomicroscopy. This method can be used to separate microscale chiral objects of opposite handedness when shear is larger than rotational Brownian diffusion, providing hope for a straightforward approach for the separation of chiral molecules, of considerable interest in the food and pharmaceutical industries. By tracking individual bacteria in microchannels, we find that shear alters bacterial swimming patterns and in particular reduces their ability to move across streamlines. This results from the bacteria undergoing Jeffery orbits, which bias cell orientation in the direction of the flow and hamper cross-streamline swimming. This can in turn hinder chemotaxis and thus have a significant negative effect on bacteria foraging. Finally, a separate set of experiments shows that bacteria do not alter their swimming behavior in response to shear: nature has apparently not deemed it worthwhile to develop a shear sensor at the micrometer scale.

Center for Fluid Mechanics Seminar Series with Michael Berhanu

CENTER FOR FLUID MECHANICS AND THE FLUIDS, THERMAL AND CHEMICAL PROCESSES GROUP
OF THE DIVISION OF ENGINEERING
SEMINAR SERIES

Michael Berhanu
Coworkers : Darija Cosic and Pr. Arshad Kudrolli
Clark University, Department of Physics, Worcester, MA

TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2010
APPLIED MATHEMATICS BUILDING
182 GEORGE STREET
ROOM 110
3:00pm

Granular Aggregates with Capillary Interactions We consider assembly of identical spherical particles (of diameter about 3 mm) floating on the surface of a viscous liquid. Interface deformation and gravity create attractive interactions between particles, leading to capillary aggregation. Firstly, features of this phenomena are experimentally investigated for a small number of particles to understand self-organization of floating spheres. Then for a large number of particles, density is homogeneously increased. Dense aggregates are formed and we investigate structure of such a cohesive granular medium as a function of area fraction. Using Voronoi tesselation, heterogeneity is characterized. Moreover significant short range order is found, by computing pair correlation function and orientational order parameter. This two-dimensional example demonstrates that structure of an athermal system of attractive particles contrasts strongly with the cohesionless case. When density is increased, heterogeneity decreases and steric effects become more important compared to attraction of particles. Finally jamming transition is reached, inducing the buckling of the aggregate.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Tau Beta Pi Alumnni Career Panel

Engineering Career Panel - What can you do with an engineering degree?

Free Nice Slice pizza and refreshments will be served during...
A question and answer forum of a panel of alumni of the engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi, who took their undergraduate engineering degrees and went into a variety of fields including academia, consulting, marketing, entrepreneurship, and industry.

Thursday, April 15
6 PM
Barus and Holley 190
Contact Eli_Fine@brown.edu with questions.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

“Scale and Time Dependent Mechanics of Polymeric Nanofibers”

BROWN UNIVERSITY
Joint Materials/Solid Mechanics Seminar Series

“Scale and Time Dependent Mechanics of Polymeric Nanofibers”

Prof. Ioannis Chasiotis
Department of Aerospace Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Abstract:

The mechanical response of polymeric nanostructures as a function of size and strain rate is largely unexplored. This seminar will elaborate on the mechanical behavior of electrospun polymeric nanofibers at strain rates 10-4 - 200 s-1 as a function of their diameter and fabrication conditions. The experiments were conducted via MEMS tools in conjunction with digital image correlation motion tracking, which allowed for high resolution measurements in force and nanofiber extension. The advantage of this method lies with the ability to carry out nanoscale experiments in ambient conditions, contrary to commonly followed practices that require imaging with electron microscopy. The elastic modulus and the tensile strength of nanofibers with diameters between 200-800 nm varied by a factor of seven with fibers in the range of 200-300 nm resulting in the highest property values. Thinner fibers that demonstrated the highest mechanical strengths were characterized by molecular alignment which was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Most mechanical properties varied monotonically in the aforementioned range of strain rates, while they were a strong function of the nanofiber diameters and the necking instabilities occurring during the tensile experiments. These results supported the optimization of the fabrication method of electrospinning in order to produce amorphous polymeric nanofibers with true ultimate tensile strength as high as 900 MPa and ductility exceeding 200% at most applied strain rates.

Monday, April 19, 2010 - 4:00-5:00 pm - B&H Room 190

DPR Construction, Inc. Campus Visit

Building to a Higher Level
DPR Construction, Inc. is a unique technical builder with a passion for results. Ranked in the top 50 general contractors in the country over the last 10 years, we are a national commercial general contractor and construction manager that has grown with our customers by delivering measurably more value. With the purpose of building great things—great teams, great buildings, great relationships—DPR is a truly great company. Our relentless accountability, proven technical expertise, and collaborative approach allow us to provide a higher level of quality service on projects of all sizes and complexities, whether it's a multi-million-dollar technical facility or the renovation of a single office.

Jack Poindexter (Class of ’99) and myself (Class of ’00) would love to talk about how our experience at Brown has prepared us for the real world.

Join us on Wednesday, April 14th from 5:30 to 6:30 in BH Room 190 - Dinner will be served.

We will be promoting internship opportunities still available within our company this summer, and we will be looking for folks we can conduct interviews with on Thursday. More information is available on our website: www.dpr.com

Southwest Airlines and HACU Open Travel Program for College Students

Southwest Airlines and HACU Open Travel Program for College Students
LANZATE TAKES OFF!

DALLAS, TX – March 16, 2010 – Southwest Airlines, in conjunction with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), announced today the opening of “Dándole Alas a Tu Éxito/Giving Flight to Your Success,” its annual education travel award program. Online applications will be accepted through April 30, 2010, at www.hacu.net. A panel of judges comprised of college professors and education advocates from coast to coast will gather this summer to select students who will receive free travel to their colleges and universities.

Related Web Site: http://www.hacu.net/hacu/Lanzate_EN.asp

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The Scoop on the STEM fields

The Career Development Center at Brown has begun building an initiative around the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields during the Spring 2010 semester. The purpose of our program, in the form of a blog, is to focus on resources and presentations held on campus, as well as present insightful pieces from alumni and graduate students in the sciences. Additionally, we provide a wealth of knowledge on concentration possibilities, internships, career and job opportunities, and graduate school opportunities. Please visit http://careerdevelopment.brown.edu/blog/?cat=5 to find out The Scoop on the STEM fields.

$2,000 Barcode Challenge

$2,000 (yeah, $2,000) up for Grabs
Why not give it a try?

We're a team of Brown CS students and alumns (we've also graduated from Apple and Google) building an awesome startup right here, in Providence. Our team is pretty small and we're looking for some serious talent to help us out. What better way to find talent than by creating a fun challenge?
We have a really good barcode scanner for the iPhone 3GS but we want to extend it to the older model iPhones which have a fixed-focus camera.
Be the first one to write a decoder for UPC/EAN barcodes that can decode blurry pictures of barcodes taken with a first or second generation iPhone (3G), and we’ll write your name on a $2,000 check.
You can use any language you want (Matlab, C, C++, Obj-C preferred), and any Computer Vision library, as long as we can include it in a commercial program and it’s available for C/C++/Obj-C.
You can work in teams and cooperate.
The decoder’s success rate must be of at least 85% and must run in real time (i.e.optimizable to decode a barcode in less than 0.2 seconds)
Send us an email if you are participating, so we can update you with news. challenge@dedoware.com
You have until April 26th, 2010, but you should keep us posted on your progress.Visit http://www.dedoware.com/challenge for more details

Spread the Word!

MoSAIc REU at Iowa State University

The MoSAIc REU at Iowa State University will provide participants with a ten-week research experience in the area of Microscale Sensing Actuation and Imaging. Students will pursue fundamental investigations related to design and manufacturing of microscale sensors, actuators and smart materials as well as development of state-of-the-art imaging and diagnostic systems. Examples include flexible linkages, magneto-restrictive materials, solar cell architectures, nanomechanical sensors for biological agents, switchable surface assemblies and high spatiotemporal resolution 4-D imaging sensors. The research experiences will be complemented by cohort experiences including a suite of short courses, professional development and extracurricular activities. A unique component of the REU site will be a workshop on ethical issues pertaining to engineering research. Students can walk away from their REU experience where they evolved from a dependent status to a relatively independent status with life-long learning skills that will impact their contributions to society.

Applications are due by April 23, 2010

> More information can be found at http://www.me.iastate.edu/mosaic

“Phase-field crystal study of compositional domain formation on surfaces”

BROWN UNIVERSITY
Joint Materials/Solid Mechanics Seminar Series

“Phase-field crystal study of compositional domain formation on surfaces”

Prof. Mikko P. Haataja
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Princeton University

Abstract:

When deposited on a surface, bulk-immiscible binary alloys often display interesting compositional domain formation phenomena at the atomic scale, driven by the lattice mismatch between the substrate atoms and the alloy constituents. Control of such nanoscale features may offer a means to engineer surfaces with tunable chemical and mechanical properties. In this work, we study the structure and dynamics of such domains using the so-called phase-field crystal (PFC) method. In the limit of purely elastic deformations of the adlayer, the model predicts the formation of compositional nanoscale domains for a 1:1 mixture, in agreement with experiments and previous simulations. We further examine the interplay between misfit dislocation formation and compositional patterning for a wide range of alloy compositions.

Monday, April 12, 2010 4:00-5:00 pm B&H Room 190

Brown Degree Days: Science and Society, Life After Brown

Brown Degree Days:
Science and Society, Life After Brown

Wed. April 7, 5:00pm
Third World Center, 68 Brown St., 1st floor lounge

Refreshments will be served.

Deborah Weinstein:
Visiting lecturer in Gender and Sexuality Studies
Professor Weinstein is an historian of Science who now teaches two courses of interest to STS students.
Her own work is on the history of the human sciences.

Elizabeth Schibuk:
“After writing my Science and Society thesis on undergraduate science education reform, I decided to give science education a try. Since graduating in May 2008, I've been teaching chemistry, physics, and sustainable design at a small charter high school in Pawtucket RI. My background in Science and Society has informed my teaching practice as I've worked to develop interdisciplinary units in my classroom. Earlier this year my chemistry students spent five weeks investigating the science and the politics of nuclear warfare and nuclear energy. My students got the chance to video conference with an active nuclear submariner as well as with a former Naval nuclear reactor operator before writing position papers on a nuclear-chemistry related "issue" of their choice. In a different vein, my physics class recently began studying the history of astronomy, and has been studying the historical interface between science and religion as they prepare to perform a mock trial of Galileo. Though these projects certainly deviate from any standard high school curriculum, I find student engagement increases when students can study science in the context of some social or historical "problem." I very much enjoy teaching science and recognize the ways that my Brown education inspired me and prepared me for this career.”

Keystone Strategy business analysts and consultants

Keystone Strategy (www.keystonestrategy.com)

Keystone is looking to hire both business analysts (individuals graduating with a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree) and consultants (students graduating from PhD programs or certain master’s programs, depending on experience) to join its team who can start in the May-Oct 2010 time frame. These positions will be based at our San Francisco and Boston offices.

Keystone is not your typical strategy consulting firm. Formed in partnership with professors from Harvard Business School and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Keystone has unique access to experts and thought leadership from top academic institutions. Drawing upon the experience of our experts, we focus on data-driven strategy and economic consulting services for leading Fortune 100 science and technology firms. We tackle complex business problems in rapidly evolving industries such as online advertising, internet services, semiconductors, software, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

The Keystone culture encourages analysts to quickly contribute to client engagements. Typical responsibilities for our analysts include conducting quantitative and qualitative research, managing interviews, written and slide driven communication of research and insight, and contributing to final recommendations. We seek high performing analysts to join our team – individuals who thrive on analytical problem solving and who are smart, ambitious and inquisitive. For more information, please see our website at http://www.keystonestrategy.com.

Application Process
Please forward the following to Kelley Wittbold (kwittbold@keystonestrategy.com) and CC Rhiannon Adams, our Human Resources personnel, at RAdams@keystonestrategy.com as soon as possible:

• Resume
• Cover Letter which touches upon each of the ideal qualifications listed http://keystonestrategy.com/Job_Analyst.html

In the subject please mention Analyst Application_Your Name

For more information, please contact
Kelley Wittbold, Brown University ‘07 - kwittbold@keystonestrategy.com

Brown Science Center Trivia Showdown!

Brown Science Center
Trivia Showdown!
April 14th 7-9 PM
Science Center, 3rd Floor SciLi


Come watch your favorite professors shoot questions at teams of 3-5 until only 3 are left standing! These 3 will compete in the finale round for one of the great grand prizes! Want to participate? Email brownsciencecenter@gmail.com with a team of 3-5 members, a team captain, and their contact info- it's that simple! Want to just watch (and laugh?) Every person to show up gets a free raffle ticket for a chance to win another awesome prize, and some good science networking!

Want to know the prizes?
1st place: $75 to www.thinkgeek.com <http://www.thinkgeek.com>
2nd place: $50 to kabob and curry
3rd place: $35 to ben & jerry's
Raffle Prize???? Secret! ????

Sign up deadline: Thursday, April 8th, so SIGN UP ASAP!