Chemistry academic

Unfortunately, the tension between the computational chemists and the medicinal chemists at pharmaceutical companies did not ease in the 1970s. Medicinal chemists were at the top of the pecking order in corporate research laboratories. This was an industry-wide problem revealed in conversations at scientific meetings where computational chemists from industry (there were not many) could informally exchange their experiences and challenges. (Readers should not get the impression that the tension between theoreticians and experimentalists existed solely in the business world. It also existed in academic chemistry departments.)... 

At this time, the interdisciplinarity of the materials field is being emphasized as much as the topic itself. Materials chemistry will bring to the academic chemistry community an excellent opportunity to practice what they often preach (or agree with) regarding the importance of interdisciplinarity, as they incorporate more courses from the materials science and physics departments as part of their requirements. 

As in any reexamination of the field, chemists and chemical engineers should ask serious questions about current practices. Does the divisional structure in academic chemistry departments discourage multi-investigator research, or encourage artificial distinctions Are the traditional divisions still the best structure... 

See Jeffrey A. Johnson, "Academic Chemistry in Imperial Germany," Isis 76 (1985) 500524. 

See, e.g., David Knight, "Journals," 99126, in Sources for the History of Science, 16601914 (Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 1975), on 119. On the exponential rise in organic chemistry, see Jeffrey Johnson, "Academic Chemistry in Imperial Germany,"... 

The status of chemists in the eyes of executives was boosted by the successes of chemists in fields such as plastics, petrochemicals, and synthetic textiles. The industry s growing demand for trained chemists forged a new relationship with many academic chemistry departments. For example, universities supplied industry with chemists and with basic research to supplement work done in industrial laboratories. In turn, industry provided financial support to chemistry departments. Many of the increasing number of chemistry students in American universities were supported by pre- and post- doctoral fellowships from chemical corporations (Thackray et al., 1985). 

When asked if they had any second thoughts about having chosen a career in chemistry, 89% of interviewees answered that they did not, one took a neutral position, and only four indicated that they had second thoughts about their careers. Two of the four expressing doubts about having chosen a career in chemistry were women who admitted that they were not fully prepared to deal with the competitive nature of academic chemistry. Nevertheless, the vast majority of interviewees indicated that if they had to do it again, they would choose a career in chemistry because of their fascination with and love for the subject matter. In short, an overwhelming majority of interviewees were satisfied with their career choice. 

Academe. In academe, more interviewees at historically white colleges and universities cited difficulties associated with tenure, and promotion beyond the associate professor level. Indeed, many interviewees who took non-academic appointments expressed concern about pursuing an academic career because of the subjectivity of the tenure process and the lower salary levels relative to those in industry. Several chemists at research universities said that they were unable to recruit top graduate students in their department - even when they had funded projects. In fact, some interviewees claimed to have knowledge of well-trained chemists leaving academic chemistry out of fmstration because their research was stymied without students. These claims require further investigation. 

Committee on Chemical Safety (1995) Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories, 6th edn. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 70 pp. 

Green Solvents for Academic Chemistry 169 Table 6.6. Hydrogenations in BMT salts. 

---