Review in Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

A.D. Bain and B. Berno, "Liouvillians in NMR: the Direct Method Revisited," Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (2011) accepted. (Invited Review) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnmrs.2010.12.002

Pacifichem 2010 Student Poster Competition Awards

Jérémie Leclerc, a Ph.D. student in the Michèle Auger's research group (Laval), has won one of the coveted student poster competition awards at Pacifichem 2010. His poster "Solid-state NMR spectroscopy reveals distinctive protein dynamics in closely related spider silks" was among of only 43 winners selected from more than 2000 student posters entered the competition, and the only poster from Canada to win. Congratulations, Jérémie!

Read the news story at C&EN
http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/88/i51/html/8851news12.html

NMR paper in Angewandte Chemie

L. Shi, I. Kawamura, K.-H. Jung, L.S. Brown, and V. Ladizhansky, "Conformation of a Seven-Helical Transmembrane Photosensor in the Lipid Environment," Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2011) online. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201004422

Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance: new entries

J.A. Ripmeester, "Forty-Plus Years of Research in Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy", Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance (2010). http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470034590.emrhp1041

R.M. Henkelman, "MRI: A Quantitative Measurement?", Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance (2010). http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470034590.emrhp1024

850 MHz NMR System at UBC

University of British Columbia Orders Canada's First Compact 850 MHz NMR System from Bruker to Enable Research on Microbial Diseases

Vancouver, British Columbia, December 15, 2010 (press release)
http://www.bruker-biospin.com/index.php?id=4291

Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: BRKR) announces a major order from the University of British Columbia for its ultra-high field AVANCE™ III 850 spectrometer. The 850 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) magnet and spectrometer will enable researchers at the University of British Columbia and nearby Simon Fraser University to study the mechanisms of microbial diseases. Funds to purchase Canada's first 850 MHz actively-shielded compact NMR magnet were provided to the ASTRID (Advanced Structural Biology of Re-emerging Infectious Diseases) project by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund, and the University of British Columbia (UBC).

Bruker's new 850 MHz Ascend™ magnetThe AVANCE III 850 spectrometer is based on Bruker's new 850 MHz Ascend™ magnet that combines the key advantages of Bruker's well-established UltraShield™ Plus magnets with the superior performance and greater convenience delivered by advanced superconductor technology. This further innovation has enabled the design of smaller magnet coils, resulting in a significant reduction in the size of the cryostat. The new Ascend magnets are therefore easier to site, even safer to run and offer reduced operating costs. With over 160 ultra-high field installations worldwide, Bruker has an unmatched track record in NMR magnet technology.

The AVANCE III 850 system includes Bruker's high-sensitivity CryoProbe™ technology, enabling researchers to perform measurements on very small quantities of sample. In addition it is equipped with Bruker's latest Efree™ probe technologies offering state-of-the-art research tools for the investigation of membrane proteins in biological solid-state NMR.

Suzana K. Straus, Associate Professor of Chemistry at UBC, commented: "In recent years developments in the field of solid state NMR have led to an emergence of biomolecular methods to investigate membrane proteins. With this new magnet and probe technology, we are now able to determine the full three-dimensional structures and to characterize the membrane interactions of a range of peptides and proteins of interest. This will have great impact on our knowledge of infectious diseases."

"The incredible sensitivity and dispersion of the CryoProbe equipped solution and solid-state 850 MHz spectrometer will enable ASTRID researchers to carry out challenging structural and dynamic studies of the complex biomolecular machines used by notorious pathogens, including methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis," said Lawrence McIntosh, Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Chemistry at the University of British Columbia.

MR microscopy conference in Beijing - ICMRM11

The 11th International Conference on Magnetic Resonance Microscopy will be held in Beijing, Aug 14-18, 2011.

http://www.cup.edu.cn/icmrm11/

The first circular for the conference is available for download (PDF, 289 kB)

Deadline for Abstract Submission March 30, 2011

The objectives of the ICMRM are to communicate recent developments in high-resolution, spatially resolved magnetic resonance methods and applications. Meeting strength stems from the eclectic background of participants and a diverse venue that has traditionally focused on non-clinical applications in science and engineering areas. The 1st ICMRM was held in 1991 in Heidelberg and was originally known as the "Heidelberg Conference". It is the biannual conference of the Division of Spatially Resolved Magnetic Resonance of the Ampere Society.

Bruce J. Balcom, Professor
Director MRI Research Centre
Canada Research Chair in MRI of Materials
Director, Institute for Materials Visualization and Analysis
Department of Physics
The University of New Brunswick
P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, E3B 5A3
New Brunswick, Canada

Cover article in Structure

DAXX protein, also known as a "death-associated factor", is an important player in many cell cycle processes. However the detailed molecular structure of this important protein has not been reported. In this cover article in Structure Lawrence McIntosh (UBC) and his team has discovered using NMR spectroscopy that the C-terminal half of DAXX is intrinsically disordered, whereas the N-terminal portion contains a well-folded helical bundle domain. This important work provides a structural foundation for understanding the diverse functions of DAXX.

E. Escobar-Cabrera, D.K.W. Lau, S. Giovinazzi, A.M. Ishov, L.P. McIntosh, "Structural Characterization of the DAXX N-Terminal Helical Bundle Domain and Its Complex with Rassf1C," Structure 18 (2010) 1642–1653. (Cover Article) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2010.09.016

CSC 2011: call for papers

The 94th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition is being held in Montréal, Quebec, June 5-9, 2011. This is Canada's largest annual conference devoted to the science and practice of chemistry. It gives participants a chance to exchange ideas, discover opportunities, make new contacts and broaden their knowledge. Our theme, Chemistry and Health, emphasizes the importance of chemistry in all areas of human activities, and more particularly in health.

The Call for Papers is now open and will close February 15, 2011.

Submit your abstract through Hermes Conference Centre via the CSC2011 website. Details are available at http://www.csc2011.ca/Program/submit_abstract.html

You can view the wide range of symposia representing the "Chemistry and Health" theme on the CSC2011 website http://www.csc2011.ca

Two NMR symposia are being organized:
- Solution NMR: Biomolecular Structure, Dynamics, and Function
- Solid State NMR: From Materials to Biomolecules

2009-2010 Annual Report

the 2009/10 Annual Report of the 900 NMR Facility has been finalized and is now available for download. We will start mailing printed copies shortly.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our users and clients, as well as our partners and funding agencies for continuing support.

International Conference on Structural Genomics 2011

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the International Conference on Structural Genomics 2011, which will be held in Toronto, Canada on May 10-14, 2011. This meeting is the 6th in this series of biennial meetings of the International Structural Genomics Organization. The meeting is designed to serve as a forum to discuss the most recent developments in structural genomics, structural/chemical biology, and their impact on research in biology, medicine and disease. A substantial number of short talks will be selected from submitted poster abstracts. Also, a limited number of student travel fellowships will be available for travel to this meeting. Please see the website for further details

http://www.icsg2011.org/

We hope to see you there!

Best regards,

Cheryl Arrowsmith - ICSG 2011 Organizer

Ted Baker, Stephen Burley, Dino Moras, Joel Sussman, Shigeyuki Yokoyama, Tom Terwilliger - ISGO Executive Committee

Canada Research Chairs in magnetic resonance

Government of Canada has announced (external link) an investment of $275.6 million to fund 310 new or renewed Canada Research Chairs at 53 Canadian universities. This includes renewal of four Chairs involved in magnetic resonance research.

Cheryl Arrowsmith (University of Toronto) Canada Research Chair Tier 1 in Structural Proteomics

Mitsuhiko Ikura (University of Toronto) Canada Research Chair Tier 1 in Cancer Structural Biology

Pascale Legault (Université de Montréal) Canada Research Chair Tier 2 in Structural Biology and Engineering of RNA

Josef Zwanziger (Dalhousie University) Canada Research Chair Tier 1 in the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Studies of Materials

John A. Weil (1929-2010)

Colleagues,

It is with sadness that we inform you that John A. Weil, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Physics at the University of Saskatchewan, died last Wednesday, November 17, 2010 in Saskatoon at the age of 81. John Weil was a well-known EPR personality, not only in Canada but also world-wide, who made many significant contributions to the theory and practice of magnetic resonance. He was a wonderful mentor and friend. He will be greatly missed.

John's family is planning a memorial reception to honor his life. You are welcome to attend the reception which will be held on Wednesday December 29, 2010, 3-6 pm, at the Edwards Family Centre (333 4th Avenue North) in Saskatoon. For more information and to read the obituary published in Saskatoon StarPhoenix:
http://www.legacy.com/CAN-SASKATOON/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=146687310

The remembrance book is open online so you can leave your tributes and condolences for the family
http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/can-saskatoon/guestbook.aspx?n=john-weil&pid=146687310

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that the charitable donations to be made to support the research of young scientists at the University of Saskatchewan, Department of Chemistry, contact person: Ronda Duke (306) 966-4655, with a notation that it is in memory of Dr. John A. Weil.

Dr. Keith Brown
Department of Chemistry
Saskatchewan Structural Sciences Center
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
306-966-1725
http://chem4823.usask.ca/kbrown.html

Recognition: André Simpson

André Simpson, Professor of chemistry at the University of Toronto Scarborough, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) (full story at UTSC).

Web: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~asimpson/

Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry: a computational issue

A special issue of Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry on Quantum-Chemical Computations of Magnetic Resonance Parameters (2010, volume 48, issue S1) has been finalized and is now available online.

Canadian contributions

E.S. Kadantsev and T. Ziegler, "First-principles calculation of parameters of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy in solids", Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry 48 (2010) S2-S10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrc.2655

D.L. Bryce "A computational investigation of J couplings involving 27Al, 17O, and 31P," Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry 48 (2010) S69-S75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrc.2630

D.H. Brouwer, I.L. Moudrakovski, R.J. Darton, R.E. Morris, "Comparing quantum chemical calculation methods for structural investigation of zeolite crystal structures by solid-state NMR spectroscopy", Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry 48 (2010) S113-S121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrc.2642

NMR Thesis Defended: Vladimir Michaelis

Congratulations go to a long-time 900 Facility user Vladimir Michaelis who has just defended his Ph.D. Thesis! Well done, Vlad!

Vladimir Michaelis (Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba) November 10, 2010
Supervisor: Prof. Scott Kroeker
Ph.D. thesis "Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Studies of Disorder and Local Structure in Borate and Germanate Materials"

Vlad and Scott just published an important paper on 73Ge solid-state NMR in the Journal of Physical Chemistry which was part of his thesis project

Vladimir K. Michaelis and Scott Kroeker, "73Ge Solid-State NMR of Germanium Oxide Materials: Experimental and Theoretical Studies," Journal of Physical Chemistry C (2010) ASAP. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jp1071082

Russell Bell Symposium, McMaster

McMaster University, November 18, 2010

Russell Bell, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at McMaster, has made significant scientific contributions in the area of NMR, chemical biology using DNA and proteins, organic synthesis and in environmental remediation. In addition, he is renowned at McMaster University for excellence in teaching, particularly of first year chemistry. The department is pleased to recognize his contributions with this special symposium.

Hamilton Hall, HH-305

9:30-­9:35 Mike Brook, McMaster University: Opening Remarks

9:35-10:20 Fred Capretta, McMaster University: Six Degrees of Russell Bell

10:20­-10:35 Coffee

10:35-11:20 John Valliant, McMaster University: Title TBA

ABB­-163

1:30-2:20 Scott Bohle, McGill University: Chemistry of an All Black Pigment: The Quinoline Antimalarial Drug Target

2:30-2:35 Brian McCarry, Chair of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University: Concluding Remarks

2:35 Russell Bell, McMaster University: Some Thoughts

Contact Bob Berno for more information: bberno "at" mcmaster.ca

Dr. Bob Berno
Manager: McMaster NMR Facility
Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West
Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L9
Phone: (905) 525-9140 x24158 or x24686
Fax: (905) 522-2509
http://www.chemistry.mcmaster.ca/facilities/nuclear-magnetic-resonance-laboratory

"Canadian NMR Research" News Bulletin

The Fall 2010 Issue of the "Canadian NMR Research" news bulletin is now available for download.

You are welcome to share it with your colleagues and students.

Thanks for reading!

H.L. Holmes Award 2011: call for nominations

Applications are being accepted for post-doctoral studies in chemistry, physics, biology or mathematics as they relate to medical and biological processes. Awards cover a one or two-year period, depending on available funding and the research proposal. An Award can have a monetary value of up to $100,000 CDN per year.

Please consult the following link for more information:

http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/about/holmes-awards.html

Application Deadline: February 28, 2011

The Russell Varian Prize 2011: call for nominations

The Russell Varian prize honors the memory of the pioneer behind the first commercial Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometers and co-founder of Varian Associates. The prize is awarded to a researcher based on a single innovative contribution (a single paper, patent, lecture, or piece of hardware) that has proven of high and broad impact on state-of-the-art NMR technology. The prize aims to award the initial contribution that laid the ground for the specific technology of great importance in state-of-the-art NMR. It is sponsored by Varian Inc. and carries a monetary award of 15,000 Euro. The award ceremony will take place at the EUROMAR 2011 meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, August 21-25, 2011, with the prize winner delivering the Russell Varian lecture.

Rules for the Russell Varian Prize
- Only single pieces of work are considered (a paper, a lecture, a patent, etc).
- In case of multiple authorship, the prize is awarded to the author with the largest creative and innovative share of the contribution. Only in exceptional cases of truly equal shares can the prize be split between two authors of the same contribution.
- No individual can receive the prize more than once.
- Prize winners become members of the Advisory Board for the Russell Varian Prize that evaluates future nominations and makes recommendations to the Prize Committee.

Call for Nominations
Nominations must be forwarded by email to the Secretary of the Prize Committee, Vladimir Sklenar. The deadline for nominations is February 21, 2011. Nominations should be laid out in the format of a publishable laudatio proposal that in case of multiple authorship must include an outline of why the nominee is the most innovative author behind the paper. Attention is further drawn to the fact that the Russell Varian prize awards the earliest seed paper of an important technology rather than later more comprehensive and highly quoted papers.

Prize Committee 2011: Christian Griesinger, Jean Jeener (Chairman), Eriks Kupce, Thomas Prisner (EUROMAR 2011 representative), Vladimir Sklenar (Secretary), and Ole W. Sørensen

Advisory Board for the Russell Varian Prize: Erwin Hahn, Nicolaas Bloembergen, John S. Waugh, Alfred G. Redfield, Alexander Pines, Albert W. Overhauser, Martin Karplus

Previous Russell Varian Prize Laureates, Jean Jeener (2002), Erwin Hahn (2004), Nicolaas Bloembergen (2005), John S. Waugh (2006), Alfred G. Redfield (2007), Alexander Pines (2008), Albert W. Overhauser (2009), Martin Karplus (2010).

2010 MRS Fall Meeting

November 29 - December 3, 2010, Boston, MA
Abstracts for technical symposia are available online
http://www.mrs.org/s_mrs/sec.asp?CID=27791&DID=332879

Cover article in Angewandte Chemie

Low concentration and poor sensitivity often hinder or make impossible solid-state 17O NMR in large biomolecular systems. In this cover article in Angewandte Chemie Gang Wu (Queen’s) and co-workers from the University of Ottawa and NRC Canada show that at an ultrahigh magnetic field of 21 T the high quality solid-state 17O NMR spectra can be obtained for large protein–ligand complexes of up to 300 kDa in size. Complementary multinuclear 17O, 27Al, and 13C NMR data obtained in this work have aided in the structural refinement for an ovotransferrin bound Al-oxalate complex.

Jianfeng Zhu, Eric Ye, Victor Terskikh, and Gang Wu, "Solid-State 17O NMR Spectroscopy of Large Protein-Ligand Complexes," Angewandte Chemie International Edition 49 (2010) 8399-8402. (Cover Article) http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201002041

This is an ninth cover article featuring results obtained using resources of the National Ultrahigh-Field NMR Facility for Solids. See our cover gallery and the complete list of research publications enabled by the Facility here (complete list).

Two NMR papers in PNAS

P.A. Chong, H. Lin, J.L. Wrana, and J.D. Forman-Kay, "Coupling of tandem Smad ubiquitination regulatory factor (Smurf) WW domains modulates target specificity," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 107 (2010) 18404-18409. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1003023107

H. Ghasriani, T. Ducat, C.T. Hart, F. Hafizi, N. Chang, A. Al-Baldawi, S.H. Ayed, P. Lundström, J.A.R. Dillon, and N.K. Goto, "Appropriation of the MinD protein-interaction motif by the dimeric interface of the bacterial cell division regulator MinE," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 107 (2010) 18416-18421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1007141107

Recognition: Hiyam Hamaed

Hiyam Hamaed (University of Windsor) has been awarded the Governor General's Gold Medal as the top graduate student in her cohort. Hiyam did her Ph.D. in solid-state NMR under the supervision of Robert Schurko. While working on her Ph.D. project "Solid-state NMR spectroscopy of unreceptive nuclei in inorganic and organic systems" Hiyam was a frequent user of the 900 NMR Facility in Ottawa. Congratulations with the Gold Medal, Hiyam!

Read a feature story about Hiyam in the University of Windsor's Daily News (external link).

NMR paper in Nature

A.M. Ruschak, T.L. Religa, S. Breuer, S. Witt and L.E. Kay, "The proteasome antechamber maintains substrates in an unfolded state," Nature 467 (2010) 868–871. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature09444

Review in Annual Reports on NMR Spectroscopy

John A. Weil, "Magnetic Resonance of Systems with Equivalent Spin-1/2 Nuclides," Annual Reports on NMR Spectroscopy 71 (2010) 1-34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-089054-8.00001-0

IYC 2011 International Year of Chemistry

2011 is the International Year of Chemistry (IYC). IYC is a global celebration devoted to chemistry and its role in the well-being of society. Through events at the local, provincial, national, and international levels, organizers hope to spark enthusiasm for this central science in all people of all ages.

The Chemical Institute of Canada is proud to be leading the Canadian initiative and all CIC members are encouraged to join in the celebrations in 2011 by holding events of their own or participating in the many events planned throughout the year.

IYC will be promoted in Canada through activities and programs such as a Canadian stamp, the publication of Canadian chemistry milestones, Science Rendezvous, YouTube contest, Chemistry Olympiads, National Chemistry Week, partnerships with developing countries and global experiments. We are hoping to reach over 500,000 Canadians in our outreach campaign.

To learn about IYC and how to get involved visit the Canadian IYC website hosted by CIC at http://www.iyc2011.ca

Canadian IYC Organizing Committee

New NMR Book: Solid-State NMR Studies of Biopolymers

edited by Anne McDermott, Tatyana Polenova
Hardcover: 592 pages
Publisher: Wiley; September 2010
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0470721223
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0470721227
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/0470721227

Wiley: "The field of solid state NMR of biological samples has blossomed recently, requiring new practitioners in industry and academia to have fundamental understanding of this technology. Discussed are Solid State NMR methods for studying structure dynamics and ligand-binding in biopolymers as well as RF pulse sequences for various applications, including not only a systematic catalog but also a discussion of theoretical tools for analysis of pulse sequences. Including practical examples of biochemical applications, this dependable EMR handbook thoroughly examines a field sure to expand in the years ahead."

Canadian contributions

V. Ladizhansky, "Dipolar-Based Torsion Angle Measurements for Protein Structure Determination," Chapter 14, Solid State NMR Studies of Biopolymers (EMR Books), Eds. A.E. McDermott and T. Polenova, Wiley (2010) pp. 273-284. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470034590.emrstm1153

M. Auger, "Structural and Dynamics Studies of Lipids by Solid-State NMR ", Chapter 27, Solid State NMR Studies of Biopolymers (EMR Books), Eds. A.E. McDermott and T. Polenova, Wiley (2010) pp. 463-472. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470034590.emrstm1100

Table of Contents and Google preview are available (Wiley).

Bruker Almanac for iPhone/iPod touch

Published annually for over three decades, Bruker Almanac has been a tradition in Bruker's history, providing useful information to many scientists around the world. This almanac is now available as a free application for iPhone/iPod touch/iPad that can be downloaded from the iTunes store (download link). Bruker Almanac App provides several handy tables of useful NMR information.

To download the complete Bruker Almanac 2010 as a PDF file with scientific tables and charts and Bruker product guide visit www.bruker.com/almanac

Another NMR-related i-App is from Tim Burrow (University of Toronto). His recently updated Attenuator utility calculates attenuation values: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/attenuator/id367216554

Review in Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

A.J. Simpson, D.J. McNally, M.J. Simpson "NMR Spectroscopy in Environmental Research: From Molecular Interactions to Global Processes," Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (2010) in press. (Invited Review) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnmrs.2010.09.001

Biophysical Society 55th Annual Meeting

The 2011 Annual Meeting will be held in the Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Maryland, March 5-9, 2011.

Sunday, October 3, 2010, is the abstract submission deadline and deadline to apply for travel awards and the SRAA competition.

Abstract Submission
http://www.biophysics.org/2011meeting/tabid/2086/Default.aspx

Student, International, Minority, and CPOW Travel Award Applications http://www.biophysics.org/2011meeting/tabid/2171/Default.aspx

Student Research Achievement Award (SRAA) Application http://www.biophysics.org/2011meeting/tabid/2099/Default.aspx

Remember, you MUST be a 2011 Member to submit or sponsor an abstract and to apply for travel awards and the SRAA competition. Members also enjoy reduced registration rates. To join the Society, visit:
http://www.biophysics.org/Membership/JoinNow/tabid/64/Default.aspx

For continually updated Annual Meeting information, visit http://www.biophysics.org/2011meeting

Biophysical Society
9650 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 634-7114 Phone
(301) 634-7133 Fax
society "at" biophysics.org

Cover article in Dalton Transactions

David Bryce (University of Ottawa) has written a Perspective for Dalton Transactions about recent advancements in 43Ca NMR spectroscopy and its applications in materials science.

David L. Bryce "Calcium Binding Environments Probed by 43Ca NMR Spectroscopy," Dalton Transactions 39 (2010) 8593-8602. (Cover Article). http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c0dt00416b

This Perspective is featured on the cover of the current Dalton Transaction issue (2010, #37), and was recently highlighted by SpectroscopyNow.

This is an eighth cover article featuring results obtained using resources of the National Ultrahigh-Field NMR Facility for Solids. See our cover gallery and the complete list of research publications enabled by the Facility here (complete list).

Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance: new entries

L.E. Kay, "Structure and Dynamics of Proteins – Big and Small", Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance (2010). http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470034590.emrhp1027

W.F. Reynolds, "Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Correlation (HMBC) Spectra", Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance (2010). http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470034590.emrstm1176

NMR paper in Science

D.M. Korzhnev, T.L. Religa, W.Banachewicz, A.R. Fersht, L.E. Kay, "A Transient and Low-Populated Protein-Folding Intermediate at Atomic Resolution", Science 329 (2010) 1312-1316. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1191723

Abstract: "Proteins can sample conformational states that are critical for function but are seldom detected directly because of their low occupancies and short lifetimes. In this work, we used chemical shifts and bond-vector orientation constraints obtained from nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation dispersion spectroscopy, in concert with a chemical shift–based method for structure elucidation, to determine an atomic-resolution structure of an "invisible" folding intermediate of a small protein module: the FF domain. The structure reveals non-native elements preventing formation of the native conformation in the carboxyl-terminal part of the protein. This is consistent with the kinetics of folding in which a well-structured intermediate forms rapidly and then rearranges slowly to the native state. The approach introduces a general strategy for structure determination of low-populated and transiently formed protein states."

This research article by Lewis Kay (University of Toronto) and colleagues is also accompanied by the Science Perspective

H.M. Al-Hashimi, "Exciting Structures", Science 329 (2010) 1295-1296. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1195571

DREAMS program at Dalhousie

A recent and exciting development at Dalhousie University is the award of a new multi-investigator materials research program entitled DREAMS (Dalhousie Research in Energy, Advanced Materials and Sustainability). This program is funded by an NSERC-sponsored Collaborative Research and Training Experience grant.

The purpose of DREAMS is to train a cohort of researchers (Masters and PhD students, undergraduate summer research students and postdoctoral fellows) at Dalhousie University who will address important aspects of energy production/storage and sustainability. DREAMS student researchers play a pivotal role in renewable energy production and storage as well as the sustainable production of environmentally acceptable or re-usable materials. The DREAMS cohort tackles some of the world's most important energy and sustainability problems through advanced materials research.

Both Canadian and international students in Chemistry, Physics or Mechanical Engineering are eligible for the DREAMS program. Students will be supervised by Dalhousie DREAMS team members Heather Andreas (Chemistry), Jeff Dahn (Physics/Chemistry), Rich Dunlap (Physics), Dominic Groulx (Mechanical Engineering), Ian Hill (Physics), Harm Rotermund (Physics), Mary Anne White (Chemistry/Physics) and Joe Zwanziger (Chemistry/Physics).

DREAMS trainees will carry out collaborative interdisciplinary research in Dalhousie's world-leading laboratories with innovative new courses and direct experience working with industrial partners. The DREAMS program is designed to facilitate the transition of new researchers from trainees to productive participants in the worldwide economic community.

What differentiates DREAMS from other programs is its mix of traditional and non-traditional training. Students will complete new and novel graduate courses, such as

• Advances in Solar, Thermoelectric and Energy Harvesting Materials
• Advances in Battery, Fuel Cell and Supercapacitor Materials
• Sustainable Materials Issues

One of the most exciting aspects of the DREAMS program is the opportunity to work in industry. For example, each of our PhD students will spend two internships (work terms) of two to four months, in an external industrial or government lab. Working alongside industry researchers will provide valuable research experience and connections for future employment. External work term partners include labs both in Halifax, and around the world (for example Axion Power International and 3M in the USA, and Toshiba in Japan). Students' travel and accommodation expenses are covered by the DREAMS program.

DREAMS facilitates interdisciplinary and collaborative research. For example, PhD students will carry out research in two Dalhousie labs, and they will be jointly supervised by two or more members of the DREAMS team. This approach will greatly enhance their research skill set and their interdisciplinary experience.

Other novel approaches of the DREAMS program include training in non-traditional subjects such as IP issues, marketing aspects of materials, and how to be interviewed by the media, plus workshops on the transition to employment, such as résumé writing and interview skills.

The DREAMS program offers Dalhousie students an innovative mix of traditional and experiential learning that will help them to become some of the world's top young materials researchers. Much more information, including application material, can be found at http://irm.dal.ca/DREAMS

Josef W. Zwanziger, Dalhousie University
http://jwz.chem.dal.ca/

"Canadian NMR Research" News Bulletin

As we prepare for another back to school season, this Summer issue of the "Canadian NMR Research" news bulletin is also all about students. In his Guest Editorial Joe Zwanziger writes about DREAMS, a unique training opportunity at Dalhousie University. Kris Ooms reports from the Western Canadian Undergraduate Chemistry Conference. And, quite fittingly, a special issue of the Canadian Journal of Chemistry is announced to honour Rod Wasylishen and his remarkable research and teaching career. We hope you'll enjoy browsing through this bulletin and will share it with your colleagues and students.

http://nmr900.ca/nmr_bulletin.html

Thanks for reading!

NMR Scientist position at the University of Toronto Scarborough

The Environmental NMR Centre and the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough are seeking a Senior NMR Research Associate to oversee the daily operation, training, and management of the Environmental NMR Centre. The position has a very large research and development component and the candidate is expected to work closely in and with the facilities Directors to maintain the centre at the cutting-edge of Environmental NMR globally and be central to pioneering new developments in NMR in general.

The Environmental NMR Centre currently houses two unique, Bruker BioSpin NMR systems. The first is a fully hyphenated 2D-HPLC-SPE-NMR-MS, and is novel both in Canada and Environmental Research in general. The second system has capabilities to perform in situ multiphase NMR analyses of heterogeneous samples that contain solid, gel and solution phase samples, the hardware is globally unique and being co-developed directly with Bruker BioSpin. The Centre focuses on the development and application of NMR techniques to study a range of environmental problems. The current topics of research include: environmental metabolomics, LC-SPE-NMR-MS applications to complex environmental mixtures, in vivo NMR spectroscopy imaging, hyperpolarization, DNP, development of multiphase NMR methods (solids, HR-MAS, solutions NMR as a single technique). In addition, the Centre focuses on the development and application of novel NMR approaches to complex systems (including soils, ocean sediments, atmospheric deposits (particles, rain, snow, glacial ice), cells, tissues, small organisms and other environmental matrices) to better understand structure and environmental reactivity.

After an initial probationary period, this will be a continuing full-time appointment.

The NMR scientist will report to the Chair of the Department and work closely with the Director and Associate Director of the Environmental NMR Centre. The research associate will be responsible for instrument maintenance, training of graduate students/postdoctoral fellows/visiting scientists assist in writing grant applications to upgrade the centre and co-publication of research with the facility's principal investigators and collaborators. The candidate will also be expected to lead research projects publishing both as a primary and secondary author. The successful candidate will take an active role in all aspects of the research of the NMR Centre and will strive to ensure that he/she becomes recognized as a leader in the field of Environmental NMR spectroscopy.

The candidate will also be involved in undergraduate thesis supervision in the Department's chemistry program and will be encouraged to apply to instruct one course in the undergraduate chemistry program on a yearly basis. The candidate will also oversee the operation/maintenance of a teaching/research Departmental NMR system (Bruker BioSpin 500MHz Avance) and ensure that faculty and students can acquire high quality data required for the teaching and research programs. These duties will include the set up of new experiments, training of students/faculty, maintenance and calibration. Candidates should note that the departmental NMR system is fully automated (BACS) with a single automatic tuning and matching probe (ATM) and that the department has only a small number of users, once running smoothly should require minimal intervention on a daily basis.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. in Chemistry or related discipline with a very strong background in NMR spectroscopy and a drive/passion for the development of NMR spectroscopy. In exceptional circumstances, an established leader in the field with a MSc degree but more than 10 years of experience may be considered. In addition, experience with metabolomics, chromatography, mass spectrometry and working with complex biological and/or environmental systems are a strong assets. Experience with pulse programming, custom processing of NMR data (MATLAB, ACD, etc.) and programming/webpage design is also beneficial. Experience with Bruker instruments is very important and the ideal candidate will have experience in (or enthusiastic to learn) all areas of NMR including solutions, HR-MAS, solids and imaging.

Salary will be commensurate with the candidate's qualifications and experience.

Applicants should send a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a statement of research, a statement of teaching and three letters of reference to:

Rose Jones (Assistant to the Chair)
NMR Scientist Search Committee
Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences
University of Toronto Scarborough
1265 Military Trial
Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4

Email submissions should be sent to: rjones "at" utsc.utoronto.ca

Unfortunately, applications that are not accompanied by at least three references cannot be considered.

We will start reviewing applications beginning September 13, 2010, although the search will remain open until the position is filled.

The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from visible minority group members, women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, members of sexual minority groups, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, UTSC
http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~physsci/

Andre Simpson's Environmental research group
http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~asimpson/

Myrna Simpson's Research Group in Environmental Chemistry
http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~msimpson/

Special Issue of the Canadian Journal of Chemistry honouring Rod Wasylishen

The Canadian Journal of Chemistry, the Canadian Society for Chemistry's principal medium for publication of research, is preparing a special issue to honour the career contributions of Professor Roderick E. Wasylishen, Canada Research Chair in Physical Chemistry at the University of Alberta. The issue is scheduled to be published in July 2011.

Rod continues to have enormous impact on the field of NMR spectroscopy in Canada and worldwide. He has won numerous awards including the Gerhard Herzberg Award from the Spectroscopy Society of Canada, the John C. Polanyi Lecture Award, and the Alumni of Honour Award from the University of Waterloo. He has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Killam Senior Fellow, a CIC Fellow, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Fellow of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance.

Rod's high-quality and prolific research output is evidenced by more than 300 peer-reviewed publications in top-notch scientific journals, as well as book chapters and reviews. Rod has consistently chosen to publish in the Journal and to promote the Journal among his colleagues. Beginning in 1969, Rod has published over 75 manuscripts in Can. J. Chem. Rod has also had a major impact on the training of the future generation of NMR spectroscopists in Canada.

The Canadian Journal of Chemistry is a monthly journal reporting current research findings in all branches of chemistry, including the traditional areas of analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical-theoretical chemistry and newer interdisciplinary areas such as materials science, spectroscopy, chemical physics, and biological, medicinal and environmental chemistry.

It is our pleasure to invite you to contribute an article, communication, or review article dedicated to Rod Wasylishen. All submitted manuscripts will be subject to normal peer review procedures. We anticipate and hope that this will be a very popular issue, and as such reach a large international audience. Instructions to Authors can be viewed at the journal web site:

http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/journals/forauthors_cjc.html

Please confirm by e-mail to Judy Murdoch if you intend to submit a manuscript (jmurdoch "at" uwo.ca) and submit your contribution via the online submission program at http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/cjc/osprey as soon as you can but not later than November 1, 2010. Please suggest at least three suitable reviewers two of which must be from a North American research institution in your cover letter or in the space provided in Osprey.

Sincerely,

Yining Huang, University of Western Ontario
David Bryce, University of Ottawa
Gang Wu, Queen's University

Pacifichem 2010: Registration is open

The 2010 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies Pacifichem 2010 will take place in Honolulu, Hawaii, December 15-20, 2010 and will be hosted by the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC).

Registration and housing reservation for Pacifichem 2010 is now open. The deadline for early bird registration is November 1, 2010.

Canadian NMR will be well represented by four symposia focusing on biological systems, polymers and inorganic materials. The technical program of Pacifichem 2010 and the full list of speakers are now available online at http://www.pacifichem.org/.

To see the NMR symposia schedules go to http://pacifichem.abstractcentral.com/planner.jsp
no need to login, just hit "search" and enter "nmr" in "Session Title Search"

NMR Symposia at Pacifichem 2010

NMR Spectroscopy of Polymers - Innovative NMR Strategies for Complex Macromolecular Systems (Symposium #12) Peter Macdonald, University of Toronto

Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics - Recent Advances in NMR (Symposium #43) Mitsuhiko Ikura, Ontario Cancer Institute

Advances in Solid-State NMR of Biological Molecules (Symposium #58) Michèle Auger, Université Laval

Solid-State NMR Methods and Applications in Inorganic Materials (Symposium #228) Scott Kroeker, University of Manitoba

New NMR book

Data Preprocessing for Chemometric and Metabonomic Analysis

by David E. Axelson
Softcover: 420 pages
Publisher: MRi_Consulting, Kingston, Ontario; July 30, 2010
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1926825618
http://www.chemometrics-analysis.com/

D. Axelson: "The best preprocessing methods will be the ones that ultimately produce a robust model with the most accurate predictive ability. Unfortunately, there are no particularly straightforward rules to guide investigators to the best selection of preprocessing options; the subsequent trial and error optimization process may be quite time consuming and confusing. However, spending little or no time investigating preprocessing options is likely to result in less than optimal results.

The primary objective of this book is to present a relatively focused outline of the major options available for data analysis, with an emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of the techniques discussed (see Table of contents, PDF). "

Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry: computational issue

Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry is putting together a special issue on "the Quantum-Chemical Calculations and their applications". Many papers from this issue, including several invited papers from Canadian groups, are already available online (Early View).

D.H. Brouwer, I.L. Moudrakovski, R.J. Darton, R.E. Morris, "Comparing quantum chemical calculation methods for structural investigation of zeolite crystal structures by solid-state NMR spectroscopy", Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry (2010) online. (Invited Article, Special Issue) http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrc.2642

D.L. Bryce, "A computational investigation of J couplings involving 27Al, 17O, and 31P," Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry (2010) online. (Invited Article, Special Issue) http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrc.2630

MOOT XXIII NMR Symposium - Second Announcement

The 23rd Annual MOOT NMR Symposium will take place at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia on October 16 and 17th, 2010.

The MOOT NMR Symposium provides an informal environment for students, post-docs and faculty to present lectures and posters, discuss existing collaborations, and to establish new ones. It has traditionally been a regional gathering of NMR spectroscopists from Ontario and Quebec but has been expanding to include NMR Spectroscopists from the Maritimes. As a result, MOOT XXIII will be hosted for the first time outside of its traditional region; on the East coast in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia! We welcome you to check out and bookmark our website for the most up-to-date information:

http://structbio.biochem.dal.ca/jrainey/NMRMOOT/index.html

Notices:

(1) Registration and submission of titles for oral/poster presentations are open as of June 30, 2010. The deadline for both is September 15, 2010. Visit the registration menu item on our website where registration information can be provided via Word document or fillable PDF.

(2) Be sure and register for the banquet, to be held Saturday evening at the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site on Citadel Hill - overlooking the downtown core of Halifax and the harbour.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/ns/halifax/index.aspx

(3) A big thank you to all of our confirmed sponsors, including Bruker BioSpin Canada, Agilent Technologies (formally Varian), Sigma-Aldrich Canada, New Era Enterprises, National Ultra-High Field NMR Facility for Solids (Canada), and Suraj Manrao. If you wish to sponsor this meeting, please contact Joe Zwanziger at jzwanzig "at" dal.ca.

Reminders:

(1) Accommodations - a block of rooms has been reserved at Atlantica (http://www.atlanticahotelhalifax.com) at a rate of $129 per night, including parking, and is based on 1-4 person occupancy. See the website for additional details and reservation deadlines.

(2) Travel - a 10% discount has been arranged with WestJet for your flight to MOOT XXIII. Again, additional details are on the website.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback about this year's MOOT and/or website, please let us know by email at mootnmr "at" gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing you in October!

Your MOOT XXIII Organizing Committee:
Mike Lumsden
Joe Zwanziger
Jan Rainey
Ulli Werner-Zwanziger

Don Hughes' Memorial Photos

Hello everyone.

Thanks to all of you who could attend the memorial service for Don last week. I know I enjoyed seeing all of you and sharing stories.

A few days ago we posted a slide show of photos that were taken during the service. In case you haven't had a chance to look through these, please take a couple of minutes to have a look (external link).

Take care,

Bob Berno

C&CB, McMaster

Opportunities for studying polymorphs and cement-based materials via Ca-43 solid-state NMR

June 11, 2010, University of Ottawa

Calcium is an important component in diverse materials and biochemicals. However, NMR spectroscopy of the only spin-active calcium isotope, Ca-43, is notoriously challenging due to its low natural abundance (0.14 %), low resonance frequency, and quadrupolar nature. Recently, researchers from the University of Ottawa, the NRC Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences (SIMS-NRC), and Dalhousie University have independently reported advances in studies of inorganic polymorphs and cement-based materials using Ca-43 solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

"In spite of the great complexity of the calcium silicate chemistry involved in the hydration of Portland cement, we have shown that Ca-43 solid-state NMR provides useful new insights into cement chemistry", says Igor Moudrakovski (SIMS-NRC) of his collaboration with the Institute for Research in Construction (SIMS-IRC). Josef Zwanziger (Dalhousie) and his academic and industrial partners have similarly applied Ca-43 NMR in their project on the development, optimization and commercialization of high performance cement based composite materials.

Zwanziger explains, "we are trying to understand the nature of the composite-cement interface, and the mechanisms of toughening and strengthening in concrete composites. Calcium NMR is one of the many tools which is shedding light on the nature of the interface." At the University of Ottawa, David Bryce and his research group have demonstrated the utility of calcium NMR in understanding polymorphism in solids. This work has implications for understanding biomaterials as well as inorganic materials.

Because Ca-43 NMR in solid state requires a very strong magnetic field for sensitivity reasons, all these experiments were carried out at the National Ultrahigh-Field NMR Facility for Solids (www.nmr900.ca), a national user facility managed by the University of Ottawa and housed on NRC's Ottawa campus, which houses Canada's only 21.1 T (900 MHz) NMR spectrometer.

The latest calcium NMR research has been published in PCCP and J. Am. Chem. Soc., and a perspective on the state of the field is now available in Dalton Transactions (Bryce, 2010).

David L. Bryce "Calcium Binding Environments Probed by 43Ca NMR Spectroscopy," Dalton Transactions (2010) online. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c0dt00416b

Igor Moudrakovski, Rouhollah Alizadeh, James J. Beaudoin, "Natural abundance high field 43Ca solid state NMR in cement science," Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 12 (2010) 6961-6969. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c000353k

David L. Bryce, Elijah B. Bultz, and Dominic Aebi, "Calcium-43 Chemical Shift Tensors as Probes of Calcium Binding Environments. Insight into the Structure of the Vaterite CaCO3 Polymorph by 43Ca Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy," Journal of the American Chemical Society 130 (2008) 9282–9292. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja8017253

NMR workshops at the 52nd Rocky Mountain Conference

The Solid-State NMR Symposium of the 52nd Rocky Mountain Conference on Analytical Chemistry will take place August 1-5, 2010 at the Snowmass Conference Center in Snowmass, Colorado.

http://www.rockychem.com/

Consider attending one of two traditional NMR vendor's events associated with this symposium (registration required). Both workshops will be held on August 1st in the Snowmass Conference Center.

Bruker Solid State NMR workshop and seminar
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
http://www.bruker-biospin.com/rmc2010_nmr.html

Varian 21st Solid-State NMR User's Meeting
2:00 pm - 7:00 pm
http://varianinc.com/cgi-bin/nav?/products/nmr/events/solids_2010/index

4th Annual VIVA NMR Symposium

Hi All,

I am pleased to announce that the 4th Annual VIVA NMR symposium will take place Monday, June 21st at Simon Fraser University (Burnaby Mountain Campus) in Burnaby B.C. Yes, that is only 2 weeks away! We apologize for the short notice but certain events have made it necessary to organize it early this year.

The aim of this one day symposium is to bring together NMR users, researchers and managers from western Canada and the north-west of the USA to share information on topics of general NMR interest and to foster the development of an NMR community. Talks or poster presentations by graduate students are especially encouraged. Talks must be registered before June 15th, all other registrations will end on June 20th.

On-line registration is now available at http://www.sfu.ca/~vivanmr

The symposium is designed to be affordable and thanks to generous sponsorship by Bruker Canada and Agilent Technologies (formerly Varian Inc) the registration fees are only $20 for students and $50 for non-students which includes the lunch banquet and afternoon poster social session.

The program will consist of 15-20 minute talks, a lunch banquet at Club Ilia, and a poster session/social gathering.

A meeting of NMR facility managers is scheduled to follow immediately after the conference at the Himalayan Peak Restaurant (at SFU) on Monday from 6 - 9 pm.

For further details see the conference website.

Due to the short time available we have not been able to reserve special accommodation this year but there are links on the website to accommodation at SFU.

Please feel free to forward this announcement to anyone who might be interested.

I hope to see you all here in 2 weeks!

Sincerely,

Andrew

--
Dr. Andrew Lewis
Director, Magnetic Resonance Facility
Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive, Burnaby BC V5A 1S6
Email: arl "at" sfu.ca, Tel: 604 306 7959
Fax: 778 782 3765, Office: TASC 2, Room 9908

Multidimensional NMR Methods for the Solution State

edited by Gareth A. Morris and James W. Emsley
Hardcover: 580 pages
Publisher: Wiley; June 2010
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0470770757
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0470770759
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/0470770759

Wiley: "Multidimensional NMR methods have transformed the way in which solution state NMR is used to elucidate the structures of chemical and biochemical systems. The first book covering new developments in nearly a decade, this much-needed resource explains recent experimental methods for the rapid measurement of multidimensional solution-state NMR spectra. With articles written by key developers of the techniques, the coverage deals with both the theoretical tools and the latest practical applications, giving an unmatched guide to students, researchers, technicians, and anyone else working with NMR techniques today"

Canadian contributions

A.D. Bain "COSY: Quantitative Analysis," Chapter 13, Multidimensional NMR Methods for the Solution State (EMR Books), Eds. G.A. Morris and J.W. Emsley, Wiley (2010) pp. 167-176. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470034590.emrstm0095

T.T. Nakashima and R.E.D. McClung "Heteronuclear Shift Correlation Spectroscopy," Chapter 22, Multidimensional NMR Methods for the Solution State (EMR Books), Eds. G.A. Morris and J.W. Emsley, Wiley (2010) pp. 289-304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470034590.emrstm0209

R. Muhandiram and L.E. Kay "3D HMQC-NOESY, NOESY-HMQC, and NOESY-HSQC," Chapter 25, Multidimensional NMR Methods for the Solution State (EMR Books), Eds. G.A. Morris and J.W. Emsley, Wiley (2010) pp. 335-350. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470034590.emrstm0563

The complete Table of Contents is available on Stan's NMR blog.

Renaissance of DNP

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) effect is based on the transfer of the large electron spin polarization to nuclear spins, thus DNP has a potential of significantly boosting NMR sensitivity, both in solids and in the liquid state. There has been recently a surge of interest in DNP mostly driven by advances in instrumentation. It was very timely, that Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics had decided to put together a special DNP-themed issue, which is now available online. This issue, guest-edited by leading experts in DNP, Robert Griffin and Thomas Prisner, represents a comprehensive overview of the modern state-of-the-art DNP instrumentation and research.
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys, 12 (2010) issue 22

Student Recognition

Fred Perras (Bryce Group, University of Ottawa) has been awarded the CSC prize for his poster entitled "Exploring the Validity of Common Assumptions Made in the Characterization of J Coupling Tensor Anisotropies" which was presented at the Ottawa-Carleton Chemistry Institute Day on May 28, 2010.

Rob Attrell (Bryce Group, University of Ottawa) has been awarded the 2010 Hypercube Scholar prize for his honours thesis entitled "A Solid-State Halogen NMR and Computational Study of Quadrupolar and Chemical Shift Tensors in Anilinium Halide Salts Exhibiting Halogen Bonding".
About the prize: Hypercube Inc. provides an award to the student whose prospective graduate studies program entails significant molecular modelling. The award consists of a framed certificate and a copy of the HyperChem software package.

Share your students success with the Canadian NMR community (E-mail).

David Cory awarded Canada Excellence Research Chair

David Cory, formerly a professor of nuclear engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been appointed Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Information Processing at the University of Waterloo (official announcement). Cory’s research at IQC is expected to contribute toward the world’s first generation of practical quantum devices (IQC).

At the MIT David Cory was leading development of innovative nuclear magnetic resonance methods for quantum information processing and advanced engineering (MIT's Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory).

About CERC: "The Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) Program supports Canadian universities in their efforts to build on Canada's growing reputation as a global leader in research and innovation. The program awards each of the some 20 chairholders and their research teams up to $10 million over seven years to establish ambitious research programs in Canada."

Radio-Canada: interview with David Bryce

Les Chercheurs

Dans le cadre de notre série sur les Chercheurs, nous recevons cette semaine David Bryce, professeur agrégé au Département de chimie et chercheur au Centre de recherche et d'innovation en catalyse de l'Université d'Ottawa (Radio-Canada).

World Wide Magnetic Resonance Conference 2010

Dear Colleague,

The WWMR2010 Conference (joint EUROMAR 2010 and 17th ISMAR Conference) in Florence (Italy, July 4th-9th) is approaching fast. Registered attendees are growing daily! Please visit http://www.cerm.unifi.it/wwmr2010/ to see the list of the invited speakers, the titles of their talks, and all the details about the activities going on around the Conference.

Abstract submission ends May 31st and a number of poster abstracts will be selected for upgrade to short oral presentations. If you wish to be considered for an upgrade, register at http://www.cerm.unifi.it/wwmr2010/ and tick the option box on the "Abstract submission" form. If you are 41 years old or younger you are eligible to apply for the ISMAR Award or if you are 40 years old or younger, you may apply for the Wiley Prize. You may find additional information on these awards on the web-site.

We strongly suggest booking accommodations as soon as possible.
Florence is a popular tourist destination and there are a number of events going on at the same time as the WWMR2010 Conference.

Newtours SpA has reserved a number of accommodations at special WWMR2010 conference rates located throughout the centre of Florence and within walking distance from the Conference venue. For more information please register at their web page at http://meeting.newtours.it/meeting_nwt/main.jsp

We look forward to seeing you in Florence.

Arrivederci!

Roberta Pierattelli
WWMR2010 Advertising Committee

Agilent Completes Acquisition of Varian

Agilent Technologies has finalized its acquisition of Varian. Following the announcement Varian, Inc. (VARI) was delisted from NASDAQ and ceased to exist as an independent company. Varian's MR business will be housed within Agilent's Life Sciences Group (LSG).

For more details on this merger see Stan's NMR Blog, who has been following this story since July 2009.
http://www.ebyte.it/stan/blog.html

Memorial Service for Don Hughes

Dr. Donald W. Hughes (1949 – 2010)

Dear friends,

Below is a message sent out from Brian McCarry, Chair on the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. This notice provides details of the upcoming memorial service to remember Don Hughes.

In order to help us plan for the event, I ask you to kindly send an RSVP via email to: nmr "at" chemistry.mcmaster.ca

Many of you have already sent kind words of support to us. We are preparing a commemorative booklet that will be on display at the memorial on June 3. May I have permission to include excerpts from your messages in the booklet?
Also, if any of you have photographs of Don that you wish to share, please forward them as well.

Thank you.
Bob Berno
----------------------------

Dear Chemistry Department and Friends of Don Hughes:

The department will be holding a memorial service to remember Don Hughes on Thursday, June 3 from 3-5 p.m. in the Great Hall of the University Club.

It has been truly gratifying to receive messages of condolence from many former students, postdocs and industrial partners who worked with or interacted with Don over the past 25 years. For those of you attending the CSC in Toronto, this memorial service is being held the day after the conference concludes; it is our hope that this arrangement will be convenient for those collaborators and friends of Don who may be attending the conference.

A small, private funeral will be held this Saturday; however, the family wishes are that only family and a few close friends be in attendance.

An autopsy was performed last week and the coroner reported that there was no obvious cause of death. The coroner reported that Don was in excellent health. A number of samples were taken for analysis in the hope of determining a cause of death. If I receive any conclusive information on this matter, I will be sure to pass it on to you.

Please feel fee to pass this message on to anyone you know, near or far, who may be interested in attending the service or in knowing about the service.

All the best,

Brian McCarry

http://www.chemistry.mcmaster.ca/index.php

"Canadian NMR Research" News Bulletin

the Spring 2010 Issue of the "Canadian NMR Research" news bulletin is now available for download.

You are welcome to share it with your colleagues and students.

Thanks for reading!

NSERC 2010 Grants Competition Results (updated)

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has announced results of the 2010 NSERC competition in the Discovery Grants Program (DG), Research Tools and Instruments Grants (RTI) and Scholarship programs. Among grant recipients

Michèle Auger (Université Laval) has her NSERC Discovery Grant renewed for five years, "Biophysical studies of membrane-peptide interactions and silk proteins"

Vladimir Michaelis (University of Manitoba, graduate student of Scott Kroeker) has been awarded an NSERC Post-Doctoral Fellowship.

Myrna Simpson's (University of Toronto Scarborough) NSERC Discovery Grant was renewed. Myrna has also been awarded an NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement.

Darren Brouwer (Redeemer University College) has been awarded a NSERC Discovery Grant for five years, "New Methods for Structure Determination of Materials by Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy".

David Bryce's (University of Ottawa) NSERC Discovery Grant has been renewed at $61000 per year for 5 years.

The National Ultrahigh-Field NMR Facility for Solids has received NSERC RTI funding for a cryogen-free cooler for the 900 MHz NMR spectrometer. Once installed, the sample cooler will provides powerful, stable and reliable cryogen-free cooling down to -80oC to samples in existing MAS and static NMR probes. This successful application to NSERC was a collaborative effort of three of the Facility users, David Bryce (University of Ottawa), Roderick Wasylishen (University of Alberta), and John Ripmeester (Carleton University).

Share your success with the Canadian NMR community (E-mail).

Solid-State NMR Workshop at CSC 2010

The National Ultrahigh-Field NMR Facility for Solids and Bruker Canada are pleased to present the 5th Annual Solid-State NMR Workshop at the 93rd Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition in Toronto (CSC 2010). The workshop will take place on Saturday afternoon, May 29, 2010 in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre MTCC.

This annual Canadian solid-state NMR event focuses on the latest developments in solid-state NMR spectroscopy with emphasis on practical aspects and applications in materials and life sciences. The workshop will be of interest not only to NMR spectroscopists, but also to students and other researchers interested in using modern NMR techniques in their research practice.

Download the Workshop Program and Abstracts (PDF)

Workshop program

Session 1 (MTCC, room 203B)
Chair John Ripmeester (NRC Canada)

13:00-13:30 Scott Kroeker (University of Manitoba) "Further Adventures with 73Ge NMR of Solids: Halides and Oxides"

13:30-14:00 Andre Sutrisno (University of Western Ontario) "Natural Abundance Solid-State 73Ge and 67Zn Wideline NMR Studies at Ultrahigh Magnetic Field"

14:00-14:30 Leigh Spencer (McMaster University) "Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries: A Solid-State NMR Analysis"

14:30-15:00 Fabien Aussenac (Bruker France) "Solid-State NMR Dynamic Nuclear Polarization at 263 GHz"

15:00-15:15 Coffee Break

Session 2 (MTCC, room 203B)
Chair Roderick Wasylishen (University of Alberta)

15:15-15:45 Alex Bain (McMaster University) "Probing Spectra of Big Quadrupoles"

15:45-16:15 Cory Widdifield (University of Ottawa) "Solid-State 127I NMR Spectroscopy and GIPAW DFT Calculations of Inorganic Iodide Systems: Structure, Symmetry, and 'Beyond Second-Order" Quadrupole-Induced Shifts"

16:15-16:45 Peter Pallister (Carleton University) "33S Ultrahigh-Field Solid-State NMR and First Principles Calculations in Various Sulfate Systems"

16:45-17:15 Faciliy Users Meeting David Bryce & Victor Terskikh "National Facility user survey results and overview of application procedures"

17:15 Reception sponsored by Bruker Canada

Registration for the NMR Workshop is free but space is limited. To register please forward your name and affiliation to Victor Terskikh

Email: Victor.Terskikh@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

Note that the NMR Workshop registration is separate and independent from the CSC 2010 conference registration.

NMR papers in Nature

M.J. Plevin, D.L. Bryce, and J. Boisbouvier, "Direct Detection of CH/pi Interactions in Proteins," Nature Chemistry (2010) in press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nchem.650

J. Chan, A.R. Lewis, M. Gilbert, M.-F. Karwaski, A.J. Bennet, "A direct NMR method for the measurement of competitive kinetic isotope effects," Nature Chemical Biology (2010) online. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.352

T.D. Ladd, F. Jelezko, R. Laflamme, Y. Nakamura, C. Monroe and J.L. O’Brien, "Quantum computers," Nature 464 (2010) 45-53. (Review) http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature08812

Attenuator app for iPhone/iPod touch

Tim Burrow (University of Toronto) wrote a utility application for the iPhone/iPod touch that calculates attenuation values:

http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/attenuator/id367216554

Attenuator is a utility for anyone working with radio frequency sources and needs to know power and voltage after attenuation.

You can specify an input voltage (Vpp or Vrms) and dB of attenuation to get the output voltage, power and attenuation. The impedance can be specified, typically 50 Ohm for most systems.

This free application is available in English, French, Chinese and Japanese and is sponsored by Open Technologies.

For more information visit: http://www.attenuator.ca/

MOOT XXIII Preliminary Announcement

We are excited to announce that the 23rd Annual MOOT NMR Symposium will take place at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia on October 16 and 17th, 2010.

The MOOT NMR Symposium provides an informal environment for students, post-docs and faculty to present lectures and posters, discuss existing collaborations, and to establish new ones. It has traditionally been a regional gathering of NMR spectroscopists from Ontario and Quebec but has been expanding to include NMR Spectroscopists from the Maritimes. As a result, MOOT XXIII will be hosted for the first time outside of its traditional region; on the East coast in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia!

We are currently working on getting the http://www.mootnmr.org/ domain name redirected, but for now we welcome you to check out and bookmark our website for the most up-to-date information:

http://structbio.biochem.dal.ca/jrainey/NMRMOOT/index.html

Preliminary Details:

(1) Registration along with abstract submission for posters and talks is scheduled to begin around June 1, 2010.

(2) Accomodations - a block of rooms has been reserved at Atlantica (http://www.atlanticahotelhalifax.com/) at a rate of $129 per night, including parking, and is based on 1-4 person occupancy. See the website for additional details and reservation deadlines.

(3) Travel - a 10% discount has been arranged with WestJet for your flight to MOOT XXIII. Again, additional details are on the website.

(4) Banquet - to be held Saturday evening at the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site (http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/ns/halifax/index.aspx) on Citadel Hill - overlooking the downtown core of Halifax and the harbour.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback about this year's MOOT and/or website, please let us know by email at mootnmr "at" gmail.com.
We look forward to seeing you in October!

Your MOOT XXIII Organizing Committee:

Mike Lumsden
Joe Zwanziger
Jan Rainey
Ulli Werner-Zwanziger

New Canadian NMR jobs

NMR Laboratory Supervisor, Department of Chemistry, the University of Alberta http://www.careers.ualberta.ca/competition.aspx?id=A104910984

Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of British Columbia
http://www.biochem.ubc.ca/department/career.html

For more details and other job postings go to NMR jobs

NMR paper in Science

T.L. Religa, R. Sprangers, L.E. Kay, "Dynamic Regulation of Archaeal Proteasome Gate Opening As Studied by TROSY NMR," Science 328 (2010) 98-102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1184991

Solid-State NMR Best Paper Award

Dear colleagues,

we would like to draw your attention to the following new initiative of the journal of Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonanc (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ysnmr).

The Editors and Publisher of Solid State NMR would like to stimulate research in this field by initiating the Solid-State NMR Best Paper Award. The prize will consist of a free subscription to the journal and a certificate. All authors of articles published in the journal are eligible to the Award. Starting in 2010, an international respected committee of scientists from the Editorial Advisory board will select the winner from the papers published in each calendar year, the primary selection criteria being the degree of scientific innovation and quality.

Yours sincerely,

Hellmut Eckert
Editor-in-Chief
Inst. fuer Physikalische Chemie
Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet Muenster
Corrensstrasse 28-30, D-48149 Muenster
Germany

Canada Research Chairs in magnetic resonance

Government of Canada has announced today (external link) an investment of $165.5 million to fund 187 new or renewed Canada Research Chairs in 44 Canadian universities. This includes renewal of two Chairs involved in magnetic resonance research.

Gary Shaw (University of Western Ontario) Canada Research Chair Tier 1 in Structural Neurobiology

Vladimir Ladizhansky (University of Guelph) Canada Research Chair Tier 2 in Biophysics

Our sincere congratulations to Gary and Vladimir with this well-deserved recognition!

6th Annual McGill Biophysical Chemistry Symposium

Tuesday, May 13, 2010: This one-day, on-site Symposium aims to bring together research groups interested in using physical/chemical tools to study biological systems. This will be a great opportunity to interact with other biophysical/biochemical labs in Eastern Canada. This year's program is very exciting, with talks from researchers at Montreal, Ottawa, Sherbrooke, and Kingston, and a plenary lecture from Prof. Mike Summers (HHMI).

For more information, click here

http://www.chemistry.mcgill.ca/

CSC 2010: Solid-State NMR Workshop

The National Ultrahigh-Field NMR Facility for Solids and Bruker Canada are pleased to present the 5th Annual Solid-State NMR Workshop at the 93rd Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition in Toronto (CSC 2010). The workshop will take place on Saturday afternoon, May 29, 2010.

This annual Canadian Solid-state NMR event focuses on the latest developments in solid-state NMR spectroscopy with emphasis on practical aspects and applications in materials and life sciences. The workshop will be of interest not only to NMR spectroscopists, but also to students and other researchers interested in using modern NMR techniques in their research practice.

Workshop program

Session 1

13:00-13:30 Scott Kroeker (University of Manitoba) "Further Adventures with 73Ge NMR of Solids: Halides and Oxides"

13:30-14:00 Andre Sutrisno (University of Western Ontario) "Natural abundance solid-state 73Ge and 67Zn wideline NMR studies at ultrahigh magnetic field"

14:00-14:30 Leigh Spencer (McMaster University) "Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries: A Solid State NMR Analysis"

14:30-15:00 Fabien Aussenac (Bruker France) Title TBA

15:00-15:15 Coffee Break

Session 2

15:15-15:45 Alex Bain (McMaster University) "Probing Spectra of Big Quadrupoles"

15:45-16:15 Cory Widdifield (University of Ottawa) "Solid-State 127I NMR Spectroscopy and GIPAW DFT Calculations of Inorganic Iodide Systems: Structure, Symmetry, and 'Beyond Second-Order Quadrupole-Induced Shifts'"

16:15-16:45 Peter Pallister (Carleton University) "33S Ultrahigh-Field Solid-State NMR and First Principles Calculations in Various Sulfate Systems"

16:45-17:15 David Bryce & Victor Terskikh "National Facility user survey results and overview of application procedures"

17:15 Reception sponsored by Bruker Biospin Ltd.

Registration for the NMR Workshop is free but space is limited. To register please forward your name and affiliation to Victor Terskikh

Note that the NMR Workshop registration is separate and independent from the CSC 2010 conference registration.

Bibliometrics as Weapons of Mass Citation

Dear colleagues and friends of the magnetic resonance community,

A recent paper that appeared in Chimia, accompanied by a post-face written by Richard Ernst, attracted much interest and generated some passionate responses. Since the journal is not widely accessible, I asked the Editor to provide pdf files that you can upload and forward if you wish. Our paper can be found at:

http://www.chimie.ens.fr/Resonance/bibliometrics_1.pdf

The post-face can be uploaded from

http://www.chimie.ens.fr/Resonance/bibliometrics_2.pdf

Sincerely,

Geoffrey Bodenhausen

http://www.chimie.ens.fr/Resonance/geoffrey_bodenhausen.html

Pacifichem 2010: Call for Papers closes on April 5

The 2010 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies (Pacifichem), will take place in Honolulu, Hawaii, December 15 - 20, 2010 and will be hosted by the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC).

The Call for Papers will close on April 5, 2010.

Submit your abstract via the Pacifichem 2010 website. Details are available at http://pacifichem.abstractcentral.com/

NMR Symposia at Pacifichem 2010

NMR Spectroscopy of Polymers - Innovative NMR Strategies for Complex Macromolecular Systems (Symposium #12) Peter Macdonald, University of Toronto

Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics - Recent Advances in NMR (Symposium #43) Mitsuhiko Ikura, Ontario Cancer Institute

Advances in Solid-State NMR of Biological Molecules (Symposium #58) Michèle Auger, Université Laval

Solid-State NMR Methods and Applications in Inorganic Materials (Symposium #228) Scott Kroeker, University of Manitoba

To view the full list of symposium visit http://www.pacifichem.org/symposia/

Interview with Ronald Gillespie

Ronald J. Gillespie, Professor Emeritus at McMaster, is a world-renowned chemist who has made many significant contributions to our understanding of the molecular structure and geometry. He was also one of the first to use NMR spectroscopy in chemical research. Read an interview with this fascinating Canadian personality in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Chemical Education.

Liberato Cardellini "Modeling Chemistry for Effective Chemical Education: An Interview with Ronald J. Gillespie," J. Chem. Educ. (2010) ASAP. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed800166f

Related story

50 years of NMR at McMaster University (April 28, 2008)

Alex Bain (McMaster)

"It started with a chance remark from one of our senior colleagues, that it was 1958 when McMaster received its first NMR spectrometer, a Varian DP60. That seemed to be a good reason for a celebration, so on Friday May 2, we are having a one-day symposium. Two of the pioneers, Ron Gillespie (who ordered the instrument) and Russell Bell will be there. However, we will miss two other central figures: Don Eaton and Brian Sayer, who have both passed away. The symposium also will be the day before a memorial in Winnipeg for Ted Schaefer, who was a great father figure for many of us.

The 50th anniversary event has led to lots of discussion and a number of themes. One is the progress of the field since that time..."

Read the full Guest Editorial by Alex Bain in the Spring 2008 issue of the Canadian NMR Research News Bulletin

52nd Rocky Mountain Conference

The Solid-State NMR Symposium of the 52nd Rocky Mountain Conference on Analytical Chemistry will take place August 1-5, 2010 at the Snowmass Conference Center in Snowmass, Colorado.

Abstracts are now being accepted for both oral and poster presentations. Deadline to submit an oral presentation abstract is May 1, 2010. Deadline to submit a poster presentation abstract is June 15, 2010. For information on submitting an abstract, or to submit your abstract online

http://rockychem.com/callforpapers.htm

This year’s Vaughan lecturer is Ago Samoson (Tallin, Estonia). Other confirmed invited speakers are

Michele Auger (Laval, Canada), Brad Chmelka (UC Santa Barbara), Paul Ellis (Pacific Northwest), Phil Grandinetti (Ohio State), Gina Hoatson (William & Mary), Christopher Jaroniec (Ohio State), David Doty (Doty Scientific), P.K. Madhu (Tata Institute, India), Dominique Massiot (Orleans, France), Eric Munson (Kansas), Niels Nielsen (Aarhus, Denmark), Hartmut Oschikinat (Berlin, Germany), Guido Pintacuda (Lyon, France), Linda Reven (McGill, Canada), Asher Schmidt (Haifa, Israel), Klaus Schmidt-Rohr (Iowa State), Hans Spiess (Mainz, Germany), Chad Rienstra (Urbana-Champaign), Pei Tang (Pittsburg), Piotr Tekely (Paris, France), Robert Tycko (NIH)

Funds are available to offset the travel cost for students and postdoctoral fellows. For more information about conference registration, hotel and travel arrangements, please see

http://www.rockychem.com/

We look forward to welcoming you in beautiful Snowmass, Colorado.

Rocky Mountain Conference SSNMR Organizing Committee