Conor Broderick
@conorforgot.bsky.social
UCB Chemistry PhD Candidate | Organic methods for energy storage, occasionally electrochemistry for organic methods | Proud UAW 4811 member.
Pinned
Conor Broderick
@conorforgot.bsky.social
· Dec 18
Happy to have my (extremely abbreviated) review of one of my favorite albums of the year up in this issue of @thedrift-mag.bsky.social ! Read the rest of it, subscribe, etc
Stopping my deference to shared chemical expertise and returning to traditionalism by teaching exclusively the Bohr planetary model of orbitals and railing against the cultural Marxism of molecular orbitals theory
In defense of "contrarianism, RD writes, "if everyone around you is a professional scholar and everyone tends to agree about certain crucial questions, shouldn’t you be deferential to this shared expertise?" I wonder whether he would extend this critique to fields like physics or mathematics? /13
July 16, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Stopping my deference to shared chemical expertise and returning to traditionalism by teaching exclusively the Bohr planetary model of orbitals and railing against the cultural Marxism of molecular orbitals theory
Reposted by Conor Broderick
Last year, I developed a one hour training for scientists on both "hidden curriculum" and practical pointers I've figured out for working with journalists. I'd be happy to run it for free for a few scientists who need press as a lifeline to save their labs / projects. Please feel free to reach out.
July 11, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Last year, I developed a one hour training for scientists on both "hidden curriculum" and practical pointers I've figured out for working with journalists. I'd be happy to run it for free for a few scientists who need press as a lifeline to save their labs / projects. Please feel free to reach out.
gimlet-eyed gleam of an f-block chemist being able to show that one crustal abundance chart
petition to rename rare earths “actually-not-so-rare earths”
June 13, 2025 at 5:07 AM
gimlet-eyed gleam of an f-block chemist being able to show that one crustal abundance chart
Reposted by Conor Broderick
One of the happiest updates I’ve written since I started following this story. 12 students back in status and maybe more to come. Across the country, students are saying their SEVIS is back.
www.dailycal.org/news/campus/...
www.dailycal.org/news/campus/...
12 UC Berkeley students' visas restored by ICE in nationwide reversal
At UC Berkeley, 12 students have had their status restored today after 23 were terminated since April 4.
www.dailycal.org
April 25, 2025 at 2:03 AM
One of the happiest updates I’ve written since I started following this story. 12 students back in status and maybe more to come. Across the country, students are saying their SEVIS is back.
www.dailycal.org/news/campus/...
www.dailycal.org/news/campus/...
I love you batteries I love you ever decreasing cost of LFP I love you paired solar/storage I love you death of new fossil fuel infrastructure
"The association told pv magazine the sharply decreasing cost of BESS is making its inclusion both technically possible and commercially viable, helping African countries to address challenges around grid stability."
Storage is the fossil fuel killer. This is fantastic news.
Storage is the fossil fuel killer. This is fantastic news.
Almost 9 GW of utility-scale solar under construction in Africa
The Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA) says utility-scale solar projects are under development in 45 of Africa’s 54 countries, with more projects pairing solar and storage and emerging from dir...
www.pv-magazine.com
April 21, 2025 at 7:04 PM
I love you batteries I love you ever decreasing cost of LFP I love you paired solar/storage I love you death of new fossil fuel infrastructure
Reposted by Conor Broderick
The number of international students hit by the Trump administration's visa actions is likely much larger than reported. For example, Northwest Missouri State has 43 revocations--twice as many as the University of Michigan. The regional public angle here deserves more attention.
Five Key Takeaways From Tracking Student Visa Revocations
More than 1,500 students from nearly 250 colleges have had their visas revoked, but who they are—and why they’ve been targeted—is still largely unknown.
www.insidehighered.com
April 21, 2025 at 9:36 AM
The number of international students hit by the Trump administration's visa actions is likely much larger than reported. For example, Northwest Missouri State has 43 revocations--twice as many as the University of Michigan. The regional public angle here deserves more attention.
UCB chem moment
During a lecture on the Jahn-Teller effect I was recruited by a Marxist cell due to the lecturing professor telling us we had to seize the means of production.
I was further radicalised by an organic chemistry lecture on frontier molecular orbitals in which I was forced to sing the Red Flag.
I was further radicalised by an organic chemistry lecture on frontier molecular orbitals in which I was forced to sing the Red Flag.
Here's the secret of
"university indoctrination."
Professors aren't doing it.
Your little darlings are finally meeting a diverse group of people and realising that the stereotypes you've been feeding them are closed-minded garbage.
"university indoctrination."
Professors aren't doing it.
Your little darlings are finally meeting a diverse group of people and realising that the stereotypes you've been feeding them are closed-minded garbage.
April 20, 2025 at 4:14 PM
UCB chem moment
Reposted by Conor Broderick
Sarah’s rules of looking for life with only chemical signatures:
1) the smaller the molecule(s) the more likely they can also be produced by abiotic processes
2) one molecule, if it can be produced by any abiotic process, will never be enough to definitively claim detection of life
1) the smaller the molecule(s) the more likely they can also be produced by abiotic processes
2) one molecule, if it can be produced by any abiotic process, will never be enough to definitively claim detection of life
April 17, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Sarah’s rules of looking for life with only chemical signatures:
1) the smaller the molecule(s) the more likely they can also be produced by abiotic processes
2) one molecule, if it can be produced by any abiotic process, will never be enough to definitively claim detection of life
1) the smaller the molecule(s) the more likely they can also be produced by abiotic processes
2) one molecule, if it can be produced by any abiotic process, will never be enough to definitively claim detection of life
Reposted by Conor Broderick
Among the many reasons it was good that Harvard decided to fight this is that "viewpoint diversity" can become insidious very quickly. e.g. Creationists in your evolutionary biology department, vaccine skeptics in your immunology department? Very important not to cede arbitration in that sense.
Beyond the ridiculous attempts to tip the scales to favor conservatives, this letter fundamentally misunderstands the timescales of faculty hiring. Between now and 2028 (the nominal end of the agreement), many departments at Harvard might hire ZERO faculty even in normal circumstances.
April 15, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Among the many reasons it was good that Harvard decided to fight this is that "viewpoint diversity" can become insidious very quickly. e.g. Creationists in your evolutionary biology department, vaccine skeptics in your immunology department? Very important not to cede arbitration in that sense.
Reposted by Conor Broderick
that's not a dire wolf. and that's not space!!!
defector.com/at-what-poin...
defector.com/at-what-poin...
At What Point Has One Actually "Been To" Space? | Defector
On Monday, the singer Katy Perry, the TV personality Gayle King, Fight Club star Lauren Sánchez, and a few others took a 10-minute, 21-second ride aboard the New Shepard rocket operated by Jeff Bezos’...
defector.com
April 15, 2025 at 7:27 PM
that's not a dire wolf. and that's not space!!!
defector.com/at-what-poin...
defector.com/at-what-poin...
Reposted by Conor Broderick
On the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, we thought we'd answer a question that's often asked,
"If they raised the Mary Rose, why not raise the Titanic?"
Allow our scaled diagram to explain...
"If they raised the Mary Rose, why not raise the Titanic?"
Allow our scaled diagram to explain...
April 15, 2025 at 8:21 AM
On the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, we thought we'd answer a question that's often asked,
"If they raised the Mary Rose, why not raise the Titanic?"
Allow our scaled diagram to explain...
"If they raised the Mary Rose, why not raise the Titanic?"
Allow our scaled diagram to explain...
Circumstances appear to justify handing it to Harvard University
Harvard University says it won't comply with a list of demands from the Trump administration as a condition for it to receive almost $9 billion in funding.
Harvard defies Trump's demands and risks $9 billion in federal funding
Harvard University says it won't comply with a list of demands from the Trump administration as a condition for it to receive almost $9 billion in funding.
bit.ly
April 14, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Circumstances appear to justify handing it to Harvard University
dire straights realizing that the best azeotrope for my material is 77% water and has a boiling point of 99 C
April 13, 2025 at 6:49 AM
dire straights realizing that the best azeotrope for my material is 77% water and has a boiling point of 99 C
This "burn the university to the ground" x "more fine chemicals manufacturing" situation is a great chaser to "gut all federal health and safety regulation"
From WH pool: Trump is considering tariffs on pharmaceuticals
April 9, 2025 at 5:28 AM
This "burn the university to the ground" x "more fine chemicals manufacturing" situation is a great chaser to "gut all federal health and safety regulation"
Reposted by Conor Broderick
Today is historic: thanks to years of organizing by GSWs & postdocs, Caltech’s first-ever union contract is now in effect!
We will finally see the benefits of our fight for higher wages, protections against bullying & discrimination, and support for international workers!
We will finally see the benefits of our fight for higher wages, protections against bullying & discrimination, and support for international workers!
April 2, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Today is historic: thanks to years of organizing by GSWs & postdocs, Caltech’s first-ever union contract is now in effect!
We will finally see the benefits of our fight for higher wages, protections against bullying & discrimination, and support for international workers!
We will finally see the benefits of our fight for higher wages, protections against bullying & discrimination, and support for international workers!
Remarkable level of administrative cowardice in this memo
Johns Hopkins tells faculty not to ‘intervene’ in potential ICE detainments on campus
Johns Hopkins tells faculty not to “intervene” in ICE detainments
A memo sent by the Office of General Council at Johns Hopkins instructs faculty and staff not to intervene if federal law enforcement detain a community member on campus.
buff.ly
March 30, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Remarkable level of administrative cowardice in this memo
Reposted by Conor Broderick
🚨An SEIU 925 member at UW Medical Center has been in ICE detention since early March after being denied re-entry to the U.S. following a trip to the Philippines. She’s part of our union family — and this could happen to any of us.
March 27, 2025 at 4:45 PM
🚨An SEIU 925 member at UW Medical Center has been in ICE detention since early March after being denied re-entry to the U.S. following a trip to the Philippines. She’s part of our union family — and this could happen to any of us.
God, california is the future (derogatory)
St Paul may ditch rent control for anything built after 2005: "Instead of applying rent stabilization to a building after it has been open for 20 years, the proposal would exempt all new buildings forever."
Amid pressure, St. Paul council considers weakening rent control
The City Council aims to exempt new buildings from the city’s rent stabilization ordinance while pushing new tenant protections.
www.startribune.com
March 20, 2025 at 4:37 AM
God, california is the future (derogatory)
Reposted by Conor Broderick
Must read: Mahmoud Khalil speaks out for the first time since his arrest by the Trump administration in an exclusive letter, dictated over the phone to his family, from ICE detention in Louisiana.
March 18, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Must read: Mahmoud Khalil speaks out for the first time since his arrest by the Trump administration in an exclusive letter, dictated over the phone to his family, from ICE detention in Louisiana.
Someone tell the massive number of PIs who actively retaliated against their grads for striking about their Maoist cadre pedigree
One columnist, a professional pundit, is living in a paranoid delusion. The other, a sociologist, is living in America.
March 16, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Someone tell the massive number of PIs who actively retaliated against their grads for striking about their Maoist cadre pedigree
Reposted by Conor Broderick
Columbia has expelled the president of @swcolumbia.bsky.social, a HELU member org, for participation in Palestine solidarity activism. This comes less than 24 hours before SWC's first bargaining session. We stand with SWC-UAW against this illegal interference in bargaining.
uaw.org/in-shocking-...
uaw.org/in-shocking-...
In Shocking Move, Columbia University Fires Union President One Day Before Contract Negotiations Begin, in Further Crackdown on Free Speech - UAW | United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implem...
In the latest assault on First Amendment rights, Columbia University has expelled and fired Grant Miner, President of UAW Local 2710, which represents thousands of Columbia student workers.
uaw.org
March 14, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Columbia has expelled the president of @swcolumbia.bsky.social, a HELU member org, for participation in Palestine solidarity activism. This comes less than 24 hours before SWC's first bargaining session. We stand with SWC-UAW against this illegal interference in bargaining.
uaw.org/in-shocking-...
uaw.org/in-shocking-...
Reposted by Conor Broderick
Here is an open letter signed from UChicago AAUP signed by over 200 faculty to our administration on what we believe this moment requires:
uchicagoaaup.wordpress.com
uchicagoaaup.wordpress.com
March 10, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Here is an open letter signed from UChicago AAUP signed by over 200 faculty to our administration on what we believe this moment requires:
uchicagoaaup.wordpress.com
uchicagoaaup.wordpress.com
Reposted by Conor Broderick
Very interesting to see which liberals decrying Trump are now silent about the detention of a Columbia grad student. It can't possibly be the pro palestine thing can it? 🤔
March 9, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Very interesting to see which liberals decrying Trump are now silent about the detention of a Columbia grad student. It can't possibly be the pro palestine thing can it? 🤔
Reposted by Conor Broderick
UPDATE—Mahmoud's attorney says they do NOT know where he is.
They were first told he was sent to an ICE facility in Elizabeth, NJ. But when his 8-month-pregnant wife tried to visit him, she was told he's not there.
They've received reports he may be sent as far away as Louisiana.
They were first told he was sent to an ICE facility in Elizabeth, NJ. But when his 8-month-pregnant wife tried to visit him, she was told he's not there.
They've received reports he may be sent as far away as Louisiana.
March 9, 2025 at 7:58 PM
UPDATE—Mahmoud's attorney says they do NOT know where he is.
They were first told he was sent to an ICE facility in Elizabeth, NJ. But when his 8-month-pregnant wife tried to visit him, she was told he's not there.
They've received reports he may be sent as far away as Louisiana.
They were first told he was sent to an ICE facility in Elizabeth, NJ. But when his 8-month-pregnant wife tried to visit him, she was told he's not there.
They've received reports he may be sent as far away as Louisiana.
Never in history has there been a better time to have an egg allergy, it's my time to shine
March 1, 2025 at 5:15 AM
Never in history has there been a better time to have an egg allergy, it's my time to shine