I went to a wonderful seminar given by David MacKay (http://withouthotair.com) at the Armourer's and Brasiers Cambridge Forum. He talked about the physics (i.e. what would it take, not what would it cost) to provide the UK with energy from renewable resources. One of my favorite quotes (and there were many) was: 

Burning chemicals should be a thermodynamic crime.

It just makes me laugh.

In late 1966 or early 1967, while still a grad student at IU, I drove down to the University of Kentucky for a two day seminar on reaction mechanisms of coordination compounds.  The speakers were Fred Basolo, Ralph Pearson, Cooper Langford and Harry Gray (who had just moved from Columbia to Cal Tech).  Langford and Gray had just published their book "Ligand Substitution Reactions" (now available free as a pdf at http://caltechbook.library.caltech.edu/100/) and Basolo and Pearson had just finished working on the second ed

My startup client in the Southwest seeks a synthetic inorganic chemist. The applicant should have a Ph.D. in Chemistry or Materials Science with at least 10 years of hands-on laboratory experience synthesizing and processing complex oxides using both wet chemical and thin film techniques. Knowledge of Solid State Physics is a plus.

I also posted this announcement in the Opportunities for Undergraduates forum, but given the additional opportunities this program offers for faculty, I wanted to post here as well!

Please help spread the word about the 2009 NSF Summer Research Program in Solid State Chemistry and Materials for Undergraduates and Faculty.  Prof. Doug Keszler (Oregon State University), Prof. Cathy Page and Prof.

Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates at Northwestern University