ACS COMMENT
An Open Letter To Chemistry Faculty The globalization of the chemical indusA s chairman of the ACS Committee try—through acquisitions and mergers ini/ % on Economic & Professional Aftiated by foreign corporations and by doJ L j L fairs (CEPA) and a member of the mestic corporations expanding into foreign Governing Board of the Council for markets—demands new abilities. TechniChemical Research, I have been increascal personnel with strong language skills ingly in contact with individuals conmay have a unique advantage. cerned with the nature of graduate education in the U.S., particularly the preparaMany of my academic colleagues maintion of new Ph.D.s for the job market The tain that advertised industrial job descripoverwhelming consensus is that universitions are unusually narrow. If there is not a ties provide first-class training in narrow good fit, an individual will not get the job. fields of expertise but that the general eduI strongly maintain that if the graduate is cation of doctoral students does not adeonly narrowly prepared, once that project quately prepare them for entering the inis completed, he or she will be looking for dustrial and government chemical work another position. Only individuals who Edward Kostiner force. Another perception is that undercan integrate into the new R&D marketchairman, Committee graduate chemistry majors are being preplace will be successful over the long term. on Economic & pared for graduate study and not for sucAnd the current R&D marketplace reProfessional Affairs cessful careers in industry. quires people with a broad knowledge of chemistry and adequate exposure to relatThe U.S. chemical industry has undered fields such as biology, materials science, chemical engone a major restructuring. The radical downsizing of gineering, and physics. Indeed, a recommendation from a the research establishment has resulted in a relatively recently held ACS Presidential Colloquium suggests that high unemployment rate for chemists and other scienchemistry programs must provide broader exposure to tists. Although unemployment in the chemical induschemistry and related subjects, even at the expense of try tends to be cyclical, it is highly unlikely that time spent on thesis research. Students should be encourchemists will find a return to the extremely low unaged to attend courses and seminars outside their immeemployment rates seen as recently as 1988-89. Therediate specialties. fore, I believe that our responsibilities as chemistry faculty include not only helping our graduates find jobs More should be made of internships and participabut also providing them with the tools necessary to retion in cooperative (co-op) education as formal requiremain employable. ments in chemistry programs. Many institutions have developed successful co-op programs at the undergradMy recent interactions with corporate recruiters and uate level, particularly in engineering fields. A few deresearch executives have provided me valuable insight partments are beginning to use industrial research inas to what industry is looking for and—other things ternships to broaden their graduate students' outlooks being equal—how a new employee remains employvis-a-vis the chemical industry. Furthermore, one of the able. While many of these concepts are wrapped in jargreat predictors of successful job hunting for the B.S. gon, I believe they should be taken seriously. chemist is industrial experience. Because many compaThe new industrial setting requires a degree of nies use co-ops or internships for employment screenflexibility and the ability to be part of a team—not ing, it would be sensible to provide a mechanism by only to work with a team but also to be able to interwhich master's and doctoral students could participate act with scientists and technicians working in other in such programs. disciplines and with entirely different backgrounds. It seems to me that chemistry faculty have become too This interdisciplinary approach is mandatory. parochial in their approach to training students. We The well-prepared chemist must have an appreciation should attempt to provide all of our students the breadth of a broad range of technical areas as well as the ability of knowledge necessary for their success, especially those to communicate, both orally and through written reports tools that not only broaden their scientific outlook but that will be read by other technically trained personnel also ensure their continued employability. and by individuals with a business background. ACS Department of Career Services staff have develIndustry is carrying out less and less basic research. Inoped seminars and workshops on job searching, job secreasingly, industrial R&D is being driven by customers curity, and career transitions. These are easily adaptable and the marketplace. Individuals who understand busifor presentation to both undergraduate and graduate ness and economics (that is, how their work affects the students and/or groups of interested faculty. corporate bottom line) will have an advantage. 52
DECEMBER 19,1994 C&EN
