Craig Bettenhausen
@craigofwaffles.bsky.social
Science business journalist on staff at Chemical & Engineering News covering sustainability, specialty chemicals, industrial gas, and a fair amount of etcetera.
At the American Cleaning Institute's annual conference this week, my side quest: My wife has agreed to let me pick our dish detergent, a privilege earned after covering cleaning #chemistry for only 6 years.
February 4, 2026 at 12:43 AM
At the American Cleaning Institute's annual conference this week, my side quest: My wife has agreed to let me pick our dish detergent, a privilege earned after covering cleaning #chemistry for only 6 years.
"Fight ice with starfish skeletons" When I wrote that headline I was talking about water ice. But part of the point is that there's a lot of waste biomass available from invasive species, so, y'know, you do you.
cen.acs.org/materials/Ch... #chemistry #environment #winter #deicer #microscopy #ice
cen.acs.org/materials/Ch... #chemistry #environment #winter #deicer #microscopy #ice
January 30, 2026 at 4:39 PM
"Fight ice with starfish skeletons" When I wrote that headline I was talking about water ice. But part of the point is that there's a lot of waste biomass available from invasive species, so, y'know, you do you.
cen.acs.org/materials/Ch... #chemistry #environment #winter #deicer #microscopy #ice
cen.acs.org/materials/Ch... #chemistry #environment #winter #deicer #microscopy #ice
Also, "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" stops working as well soon, so develop actual coping, recovery, and rest methods.
If you’re over 30, quote this with some life advice 🤌🏼
January 30, 2026 at 12:26 AM
Also, "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" stops working as well soon, so develop actual coping, recovery, and rest methods.
Do get involved in some volunteer or community stuff, but don't be in leadership of more than one or two groups.
If you’re over 30, quote this with some life advice 🤌🏼
January 29, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Do get involved in some volunteer or community stuff, but don't be in leadership of more than one or two groups.
More rare earths news in the C&EN business watch this week but, at risk of being obliquely political, the action is in the separation and extraction technology; not in the geopolitical access to mined raw materials.
Read more over on the website:
cen.acs.org/business/Jan...
@cenmag.bsky.social
Read more over on the website:
cen.acs.org/business/Jan...
@cenmag.bsky.social
Jan. 27 Business Watch: Vioneo moves project to China; GSK to buy Rapt Therapeutics for $2.2 billion
Here’s what we’re watching in chemistry business news this week
cen.acs.org
January 27, 2026 at 11:16 PM
More rare earths news in the C&EN business watch this week but, at risk of being obliquely political, the action is in the separation and extraction technology; not in the geopolitical access to mined raw materials.
Read more over on the website:
cen.acs.org/business/Jan...
@cenmag.bsky.social
Read more over on the website:
cen.acs.org/business/Jan...
@cenmag.bsky.social
Ingredients from tara and red algae got validation in a peer-reviewed journal article on hair protection, reported last week in C&EN (not by me) Those have been trending in the personal care world, including via suppliers that are mostly chemical makers.
cen.acs.org/materials/bi...
cen.acs.org/materials/bi...
2 plant-based polymers shield hair from damage
Polysaccharides derived from a shrub and algae seem to form a protective film on hair
cen.acs.org
January 26, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Ingredients from tara and red algae got validation in a peer-reviewed journal article on hair protection, reported last week in C&EN (not by me) Those have been trending in the personal care world, including via suppliers that are mostly chemical makers.
cen.acs.org/materials/bi...
cen.acs.org/materials/bi...
As a someone with a 33 year NIH-funded lab whose grant is supposed to be reviewed this week, shut NIH down if that is what's needed to end ICE terrorism. Innocent lives are more important 🧪
The Senate may choose to vote together on the DHS and LHHS bills. Thus, a filibuster on DHS may mean no funding for NIH. What my colleagues are saying:
“Shut it down, public health will understand. I’ll work without pay again.”
- anonymous NIHer
“Shut it down, public health will understand. I’ll work without pay again.”
- anonymous NIHer
January 26, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Reading in Gasworld that #helium is now in oversupply makes me wonder: Have prices for #NMR folks and other scientific users dropped back to where they were around, say, 2020? Or are #gas suppliers demanding the same kinds of prices they charged during the helium shortages? #magnet
January 24, 2026 at 4:56 PM
@cenguild.bsky.social this is relevant to my interests
January 24, 2026 at 1:49 AM
@cenguild.bsky.social this is relevant to my interests
Reposted by Craig Bettenhausen
Yesterday it was cows using tools, today its penguins using satellite imagery.
January 20, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Yesterday it was cows using tools, today its penguins using satellite imagery.
Reposted by Craig Bettenhausen
Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.
January 17, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.
The latest issue of H2View* magazine was not open 5 minutes before my cat decided he needed to sit on it. A #distinguishedGentleman with specialized tastes in reading. (*Gasworld’s #hydrogen sub-brand)
January 17, 2026 at 3:40 AM
The latest issue of H2View* magazine was not open 5 minutes before my cat decided he needed to sit on it. A #distinguishedGentleman with specialized tastes in reading. (*Gasworld’s #hydrogen sub-brand)
I'm gathering info for a #science and #business reporting, as well #photography and lesuire, trip in #Slovakia in the spring. I'd love to chat with or hear from folks that know it, especially Banská Bystrica. #journalism #travel #chemicals #biobased
January 14, 2026 at 10:17 PM
I'm gathering info for a #science and #business reporting, as well #photography and lesuire, trip in #Slovakia in the spring. I'd love to chat with or hear from folks that know it, especially Banská Bystrica. #journalism #travel #chemicals #biobased
My New Years wish is for my tear gas science explainer article in @cenmag.bsky.social to stop becoming over and over. cen.acs.org/policy/chemi...
#protest #ice #minnesota #DHS #chemsky
#protest #ice #minnesota #DHS #chemsky
Tear gas and pepper spray: What protesters need to know
Experts discuss the use and chemistry of the riot-control agents and how to neutralize their effects
cen.acs.org
January 14, 2026 at 12:41 AM
My New Years wish is for my tear gas science explainer article in @cenmag.bsky.social to stop becoming over and over. cen.acs.org/policy/chemi...
#protest #ice #minnesota #DHS #chemsky
#protest #ice #minnesota #DHS #chemsky
My 2026 outlook for biobased chemicals and fuels, short video format. Full written version in the thread
January 10, 2026 at 3:00 PM
My 2026 outlook for biobased chemicals and fuels, short video format. Full written version in the thread
Once a year, the business and policy teams at C&EN brave predictions. This time, I tackled biobased chemicals and fuels as well as clean hydrogen. In short, 2026 is going to be a year where both markets mature through adversity. #bioeconomy: cenm.ag/wco2026bioba... #hdyrogen: cenm.ag/wco2026h2
January 8, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Once a year, the business and policy teams at C&EN brave predictions. This time, I tackled biobased chemicals and fuels as well as clean hydrogen. In short, 2026 is going to be a year where both markets mature through adversity. #bioeconomy: cenm.ag/wco2026bioba... #hdyrogen: cenm.ag/wco2026h2
Celebrities, CEOs, I’m cool as a cucumber. But when I see a famous jar of #NIST peanut butter, you know I’m literally in line to take a selfie. #analytical #chemistry #nerd #science
January 7, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Celebrities, CEOs, I’m cool as a cucumber. But when I see a famous jar of #NIST peanut butter, you know I’m literally in line to take a selfie. #analytical #chemistry #nerd #science
The hitch with social media in journalism is that I came here just now to find a specific DM from a source about organic acids in personal care and ended up commenting on a cartoon about Adam & Eve and forgetting what I was up to. It's like the doorway problem but with no end of doorways.
January 6, 2026 at 7:24 PM
The hitch with social media in journalism is that I came here just now to find a specific DM from a source about organic acids in personal care and ended up commenting on a cartoon about Adam & Eve and forgetting what I was up to. It's like the doorway problem but with no end of doorways.
Reposted by Craig Bettenhausen
The 2026 Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List (run by Arvind Ganesan and Todd N. Whittaker) has 96 research/teaching positions and 19 teaching-only positions: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... #facultychemEjobs #chemsky
AY25-26 Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List
docs.google.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:33 PM
The 2026 Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List (run by Arvind Ganesan and Todd N. Whittaker) has 96 research/teaching positions and 19 teaching-only positions: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... #facultychemEjobs #chemsky
Reposted by Craig Bettenhausen
The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List has 359 tenure-track positions and 65 teaching positions: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... #facultychemjobs #chemsky
Faculty, if you know of tenure-track positions that we should be listing, or see an error, please e-mail me at chemjobber@gmail.com
Faculty, if you know of tenure-track positions that we should be listing, or see an error, please e-mail me at chemjobber@gmail.com
The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List
docs.google.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:35 PM
The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List has 359 tenure-track positions and 65 teaching positions: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... #facultychemjobs #chemsky
Faculty, if you know of tenure-track positions that we should be listing, or see an error, please e-mail me at chemjobber@gmail.com
Faculty, if you know of tenure-track positions that we should be listing, or see an error, please e-mail me at chemjobber@gmail.com
Reposted by Craig Bettenhausen
We are proud to announce the formation of the Chemical & Engineering News Guild. We represent staffers across the editorial and operations teams at C&EN. 1/6
January 5, 2026 at 5:16 PM
We are proud to announce the formation of the Chemical & Engineering News Guild. We represent staffers across the editorial and operations teams at C&EN. 1/6
I'm going to try to not reporter over a Christmas break; it's goofy how much I'm dreading the volume of unread emails that may await me after not checking them for 12 days. There's already 216 just from today and yesterday being busy.
December 23, 2025 at 10:12 PM
I'm going to try to not reporter over a Christmas break; it's goofy how much I'm dreading the volume of unread emails that may await me after not checking them for 12 days. There's already 216 just from today and yesterday being busy.
President Trump signed an executive order yesterday that seeks to ease cannabis access for research and clinical purposes, including marijuana and hemp. Nothing about the legality of pot changes now, experts caution, but the step is likely to advance cannabis science. cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...
December 19, 2025 at 9:40 PM
President Trump signed an executive order yesterday that seeks to ease cannabis access for research and clinical purposes, including marijuana and hemp. Nothing about the legality of pot changes now, experts caution, but the step is likely to advance cannabis science. cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...