Fall Graduate SeminarCHEM 691

Welcome Address from GPD

Outline

• Introductions

• Program Structure

• Goals of Seminar

• Website: http://alpha.chem.umb.edu/chemistry/Seminar/chem691index

M.S. in Chemistry• Six courses

– Synthetic Organic or Physical Organic– Inorganic; Synthesis and Analysis or

Inorganic; Structure and Reactivity– Quantum Mechanics and Spectroscopy or

Thermodynamics– Three additional elective courses

• Literature Seminar• Thesis Defense

Ph.D. in Green Chemistry• Six courses

– Synthetic Organic or Physical Organic– Inorganic; Synthesis and Analysis or Inorganic;

Structure and Reactivity– Quantum Mechanics and Spectroscopy or

Thermodynamics– Green Chemistry and Chemical Toxicology– One elective course

• Literature Seminar• Written Qualifying Exam• Oral Qualifying Exam• Dissertation Defense

Ideal Timeline for full-time MS Track

• Semester 1– Two courses, choose research advisor

• Semester 2– Two courses, begin research, select your thesis

committee • Semester 3

– Two courses, literature seminar, continue research• Semester 4

– Finish research, write thesis• Second Summer

– Defend thesis

Ideal Timeline for full-time Ph.D. Track

• Year 1– Four courses, choose research advisor, begin

research, select dissertation committee• Year 2

– Two courses, literature seminar, continue research• Year 3

– Written qualifying exam, continue research• Year 4

– Oral qualifying exam, continue research• Year 5

– Finish research, write and defend dissertation

Literature Seminar

• 40 minute talk as part of this course (691/692)

• On subject of interest, should have limited overlap with any on-going research in the department (especially from advisor’s research)

• Should obtain guidance from research advisor in selecting a topic

• Must get approval of topic from GPD

More on Literature Seminar

• Make sure your talk focuses on chemistry• Base your talk on a article from the primary

literature (avoid review articles)• Skim your favorite journal to select an article• Background; Use references from this article to

obtain secondary articles/perform a key word searches

• Do not be afraid to stop and start over from scratch a few times to find the right topic for you.

Format of the Literature seminar

• Powerpoint Presentation– Introduction– Experimental Methods and Design– Data– Discussion– Conclusion

Format of the Literature Seminar Continued

• It is better to go in depth than to go too broad and only scratch the surface.

• Give brief broad introduction to connected to the world we live in. Why should we care? How does the work your going to talk about fit in?

• How was the experiments carried out.• Critical examination of data.• Summary and discussion of significance and

what comes next; the next logical step in this line of research.

Written Qualifying Exam

• Six exams in one day based on six articles from the primary literature

• Articles are distributed six weeks in advance

• In addition to the articles, the exams can focus on material from core courses

• More on strategy in approaching the WQE next week

Oral Qualifying Exam

• You must prepare a research proposal in an area of study that is sufficiently removed from your dissertation research and other research interests being pursued within our department

• When choosing a topic, obtain suggestions from research advisor

• You must get approval from your dissertation committee and GPD before deciding on a topic

More on the Oral Qualifying Exam

• You must follow NIH or NSF proposal guidelines, including the formatting of the sections, but with the exception that you must stay within a 15 pg limit (You should shoot for between 12-15 pgs).

• I suggest you ask you advisor, GPD or other faculty member for a copy of one of their funded proposals that you could use as a guide for the format

• You should revise back and forth several times with your advisor and forward your proposal to your committee only after approval from your advisor

• Must get approval from committee before scheduling a public, oral defense of your proposal

Thesis Guidelines

• You should communicate regularly with your advisor to ensure that you are on track to graduate in a reasonable time span.

• You should revise your thesis back and forth several times with your advisor and forward your proposal to your committee only after approval from your advisor.

• You should obtain and closely follow the formatting guidelines from the Graduate Office. In addition to the guidelines from the graduate office, your style and formatting must confirm to the ACS (American Chemical Society) Style Manual.

• Must get approval from committee before scheduling a public, oral defense of your research.

AGSR

• Once a year

• Self evaluation

• Advisors approval

• GPD’s approval

• Comments back to you

Goals of Seminar

• Introduction to departmental research/help to choose an advisor

• Workshop for learning how to structure research talks

• Practice giving scientific talks

• Forum for the Literature Seminar

• Practice for defense proposals