Many colleagues, friends and former co-workers have contacted me following my last two blog entries to express sympathy and offer help. These days scientists from New Orleans who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina have many options. I, for example, could relocate my group to a hosting institution anywhere from California to New York. Universities and government laboratories are helping out. Sometimes the conditions in the hosting institution are so great that it is likely that our displaced... Click to continue

Since my last entry, all the faculty members of the chemistry department at University of New Orleans (UNO) have been found. The department established an alternative e-mail network to deliver information to faculty and students about UNO issues. Our associate chair, Ray Sweany, and Scott Whittenburg, who recently assumed a position in the UNO administration, have been working in Baton Rouge in the effort to rebuild the university. Both are exhibiting extraordinary leadership under very... Click to continue

Like the entire city of New Orleans, the University of New Orleans chemistry department -- of which I am a member -- was blown away by Hurricane Katrina. Most of the faculty and students evacuated the city ahead of the storm. This is a routine for most New Orleans residents during hurricane season. Some of the faculty, particularly the more senior ones, became complacent over the years and decided to ride out the storm.

The local media has a lot to do with this irrational decision. I... Click to continue