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Ashley Ringer McDonald

@aringermcdonald.bsky.social
231 followers 98 following 100 posts

Computational chemist, Professor, Cal Poly SLO. MolSSI Board of Directors. Past Chair ACS COMP.

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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Isn’t one of the big conspiracy theories of this World Cup that the hydration break was in fact created so the US broadcasters could show more commercials? Like I thought that was the whole thing of it.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
I was in a doctor’s office waiting room today in which THREE people were simultaneously having phone conversations on speakerphone.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
On NextDoor for my neighborhood recently, there was a heated argument about what the components of the canonical 7 layer dip are. There were also people who strongly believed there are not only 7 canonical ingredients but also a canonical order for the layers.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Last year, a fire started in a garbage truck on campus, and we all learned that what they are trained to do is dump the garbage out of the truck so that it won’t cause the vehicle to explode. So then there was just a literal pile of garbage in the middle of the road.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Happy Pi Day, everyone! I hope the pie police don’t come for me for calling these mini French fruit tarts pies.
Tray containing small pies with blueberry, blackberries, and strawberries.
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Reposted by Ashley Ringer McDonald
MDAnalysis @mdanalysis.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
MDAnalysis is participating in #GSoC 2026! 👉 Read our blog post for details on how you can apply to work with MDAnalysis through GSoC: www.mdanalysis.org/2026/02/19/g... 🗓️ Pre-proposals must be submitted by March 9. ❗For transparency and fairness, use public forums for all #GSoC communications.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 22/02/2026
Has @avogadro.cc helped your research? Teaching? As we prepare Avogadro 2.0 for release this spring, I'm hoping to feature some stories (and citations). #compchem #opensource #openscience ⚗️ Let me know: discuss.avogadro.cc/t/avogadro-s...
discuss.avogadro.cc
Avogadro Stories (for 2.0 Release)
As we finish up the 2.0 (final!) release, I’d like to feature some stories (and citations) about how Avogadro has shaped research and teaching. So if Avogadro has helped your research, please let me ...
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Justin Lemkul @justinlemkulvt.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Please join us for food and drink at the 2026 BPS meeting! Happening on Saturday. Plenty of tickets left!
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
I definitely have one in my office. Ping me tomorrow and I can tell you. Also, the entire chapter on molecular interactions is gone!!!
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
I had this recipe where I would thaw a carton of it, mix in a packet of onion soup mix, and then pour that over chicken or pork chops and bake it. I thought it was fine dining.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 02/02/2026
Come join us in Pittsburgh this summer #chemsky - see why we've gotten great reviews from past REU students Have questions? Ask away...
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Applications are now open for the 2026 MolSSI ACT-CMS Faculty Fellowship. This fellowship supports faculty in molecular science disciplines who are developing curriculum to integrate cyberinfrastructure skills in the undergrad curriculum. Info session on Jan 30. More info: act-cms.molssi.org#/home
act-cms.molssi.org
MolSSI ACT-CMS
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Have any of you watched that show Chad Powers where a guy wears a disguise and pretends to be a college student so he can play football? Can I do that here? What would I need for an early career faculty member disguise anyway?
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Well, well, I guess I’ll be having a very different year than I was expecting.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
On the contrary, I walked to Mordor last year with my sister on one of those Internet fitness challenges and I have a medal to prove it!!
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
The banana cream pie there with the special mini bananas that only grow in Hawaii is also not to be missed.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Maybe they mean they are a free radical.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
I don’t know that anyone in my network is a rattlesnake biologist, but I do know that my colleague @emilytaylorscience.com is awesome and does amazing work in conservation and education and if you DO happen to be an amazing rattlesnake biologist looking for a post-doc, you should definitely apply.
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C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
For the December #Newscripts, @fmorningstar.bsky.social took a look at the chemistry of two pop culture moments from the past year: An explosive scene in 28 Years Later and the GBBO sugar dome disaster. Read more: cen.acs.org/education/sc... #chemsky 🧪
An illustration of a red-eyed, gray-skinned zombie chef holding a cake topped with a transparent dome that is exploding and releasing a bluish-purple cloud.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
I have the original failure video, a later video using PVC plastic wrap that works, and tons of pictures of my finished cake!
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Is this article about me?!? Did they know about the plastic wrap failure on the GBBO sugar dome thanks to my posts?!?!? @fmorningstar.bsky.social I am available for comment!!
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Nick Riley @nmriley.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Do you know outstanding undergraduate researchers who could use up to $1,000 in travel funding to present their work at the Spring @acs.org or @pittcon.bsky.social Meetings? Please encourage them to apply for a Kolthoff award! Deadline is Jan. 12, 2026. acsanalytical.org/undergraduat...
acsanalytical.org
Awards for Undergraduate Students
Visit the post for more.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
I feel like we had the exact same experience this afternoon. After about 15 uploads, I figured out that if you just don’t put anything in the address box, it still submits your letter and you don’t get that annoying “ambiguous address” pop up box.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
I similarly ran over my own toe with a grocery cart recently and also felt it was somehow hugely unfair that no one appreciated how grievous an injury it was.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Omg, this is the most Baltimore thing to do ever.
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Miranda Andrews @femchemist.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Come be my colleague! We are hiring someone at the Asst. or Assoc. Prof. level to teach undergrad Physical Chemistry. The successful candidate is also encouraged to contribute their expertise to other new or existing courses at UIS. @chemjobber.bsky.social #chemsky uis.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
uis.csod.com
Assistant or Associate Professor, Physical Chemistry
Summary:The School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health (ISP) in the College of Health, Science and Technology (CHST) at the Un...
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
We have 5.5 contact hours per week. We teach in what we call the studio format, where there is no separation between lecture and lab; you just have ~5.5 hours of class per week (either 3 110-minute sessions or 2 170-minute), which includes lecture, problem solving, activities, and labs.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
When I was doing Invisalign, my dentist regularly complimented me on my compliance and that I never lost my trays during the whole process. I was feeling really good about myself until I realized that the majority of her other patients were teenagers. 🤣
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
I am very excited! After students stole (by which I mean borrowed and never returned) two copies of the first edition from my office, I got a second edition, which was just recently stolen! Maybe I’ll hold out for a third edition now!
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Now that Timothee Chalamet has been Willy Wonka, I just don’t find him credible in any other role. I can only think of Willy Wonka. It’s particularly bad in the Dune movies, but I thought it was silly when he tried to be a serious Bob Dylan too.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
This is the kind that I had success with.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
This is the kind of plastic wrap you need.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
This brand worked for me. It doesn’t say anywhere on the box that it is actually PVC, but it must be.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
And the video. I should have poured more sugar but by the time I did a second one, my sugar had cooled too much.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
The hero of our story.
A picture of a package of stretch-tite plastic wrap.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
I kinda did it!
Dome of sugar that is slightly crooked.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
I didn’t even know the name Saran Wrap originated from the actual polymer name! There is so much polymer chemistry to learn here!
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Glad I didn’t make a special trip to Costco to buy any! Thank you for testing it!!!!
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Which is my theory about why the Costco plastic wrap doesn’t clearly state on the box what polymer it is.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
The sugar is about 115 C when you pour it. Polyethylene’s melting point is as low as 105 so it will never work. PVC’s melting point is about 160 C, so it should be fine. But a twist is that lots of people don’t like PVC so consumer products that use it often try to avoid saying that’s what it is.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Don’t do it unless you can buy some PVC plastic wrap! My internet research suggests that the stretch-tite brand is made from PVC. Some people say the Costco brand in the yellow box is also PVC, but I can’t find any real confirmation of that.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
If anyone needs to know this, most plastic wrap in the US is made from polyethylene, but plastic wrap in Europe is made from PVC. This really matters if you are trying to make a decorative sugar dome for a cake after you saw them do it on a British baking show. #chemsky
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Omg, the American Girl doll. Amazing.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Co-sign 100% of this.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
In my grad school version, I wouldn’t even have actual garlic, just garlic powder 🤣
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Reposted by Ashley Ringer McDonald
Xuhui Huang @xuhuihuangchem.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
I received many requests to share materials from our undergraduate course “Machine Learning in Chemistry” — here you go! A preprint summarizing insights and lessons learned: chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr... A Jupyter Notebook Tutorial Gallery: xuhuihuang.github.io/mlchem/html/...
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
Note to self: decrease shrimp consumption for awhile. (Also, this article is super interesting.)
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Undergraduate comp chemists! I know it’s a tough grad school climate right now, but here is someone great who is actively looking for 2-3 new students. Apply, apply, apply!!!
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
I found the solution to this one. On Canvas, if you go to Settings (very bottom of left side navigation menu) and you scroll through very carefully reading, there is a tiny little checkbox that says “Use course grading scheme” and you can uncheck it! Then it doesn’t display any letter grade at all.
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Ashley Ringer McDonald @aringermcdonald.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
Cue small world music! I am the physical chemist who was hired to replace Rod (who is of course irreplaceable) when he left.
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