Colleges Were Sweating a Major Compliance Deadline. Now the Justice Dept. Has Delayed It. Most of public higher ed was supposed to meet federal website-accessibility standards by Friday. The Trump administration pushed the requirement back a year.

I’d like to thank all the procrastinators who willed this delay into existence. We can achieve great things with our collective inaction!

Bonus carnivorous plants: sundew, Venus fly trap, pitcher plants with flower

Past food, about to get replaced: celery, dill, parsley

Future food: Apple, cucumber, tomatillo, pear (yes, we grow apples in Charleston, SC!)

Blue berries, strawberries, black berries, and new this year: raspberries

I have like no social media following, but I’m so happy it’s spring, I just have to share these pictures from our garden…first up flowers

Chemistry labs make tons of plastic waste. Can we recycle it? Chemists and innovative recyclers are trying to turn gloves, pipette tips, and other laboratory plastic waste into something useful

Proud to see this in C&EN highlighting some of our alumni tackling an important sustainability challenge!

Chemistry labs make tons of plastic waste. Can we recycle it? cen.acs.org/environment/...

A long read but a good one for those of us in higher ed struggling with how to talk to students about their use of AI

Come join us! We’re seeking a tenure-track colleague in Organic Chemistry. Our department is solely-undergraduate, and well-equipped for a PUI- 400 MHz NMR, six mass specs (including MALDI AND HRMS ESI), and more. DM me with questions!
#chemsky

@chemjobber.bsky.social

jobs.cofc.edu/postings/17277

Four syringes with pink colored solutions

I have been working out a new environmental chemistry lab for the detection of NOx from various combustion sources (pink solution = NOx). When I couldn’t capture detectable levels from the tailpipe of a car, I decided to try it on the gas burners in my kitchen and…

Scanning electron microscope image of human hair (black and white)

Me: “I’ll take you to the lab and we can look at your hair under the electron microscope!”
9yo: “You really should have gotten one that’s in color”
😭

Backyard garden with multicolored zinnias

Yellow zinnia

Orange zinnia

Purple zinnia

Zinnia appreciation post #gardening

Because I have opened a BlueSky window and am procrastinating on reading final papers, let me also share what this spring has been like from my corner of the academic world.

Rainbow over downtown Charleston

Rain clearing out just in time for graduation. I’ll take this as a good sign! 🌈

“…some find it completely stretchy while others say it's not stretchy, and some say it's not see through while others find it faintly see through.”

Thank you. Very helpful.

AI-generated summary of customer reviews: “some find it runs true to size while others say the sizing is off, some describe it as soft while others find the material weird, some say it's thick while others find it thin, some consider it good quality for the price while others find it low quality,…”

chemsky !!!!!

Sig figs!

Close up picture of Dorset apple blossom

Phew, apple blossoms survived what is hopefully 🤞🏻 the last frost of the year

Fortune cookie fortune that says,”Seek professional help when needed for your mental health.”

Right on, fortune cookie, right on…

Google maps showing Gulf of Mexico renamed “Gulf of America”

I mean…what are we even doing here?

💔💔💔

Empty grocery case with no eggs left

Possible winter storm or bird flu? A bit of both? Who knows!

Why does the start of every semester make me want to go off grid. Technology is not my friend right now…

Orange tabby under white Christmas tree skirt with head poking out

All I really know is second hand through students and also feel behind on understanding the ins and outs of AI, but from what I understand a paid subscription to ChatGPT will allow you to upload a PDF to be summarized

One way I have seen students try to use it is to help them understand the scientific literature (e.g., “summarize this paper in a way a non expert could understand”). I am sure this will present opportunities to see the limits of what AI can do, if that’s the sort of thing you are going for…

Won a free pair of headphones for completing a campus survey…just got word from payroll I will be taxed for the prize in my next paycheck 😑

Backyard raised bed garden with herbs, cabbage, kale, arugula, lettuce, bok choy, carrots, celery, onions, radishes

Could use some help eating these greens #garden #GardenSky 🌱

💔💔💔