CHEMICAL EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA* S. REESE, IV, WILMINGTON, DELAWARE JOHN
Cities, like people, have true personalities and Vienna certainly possesses one of distinct charm. It is perhaps for such a reputation that Vienna is unappreciated by many Americans as a center of modern education. Celebrated for its school of medicine, one finds that other fields of science, specifically chemistry, have by no means been neglected. Indeed one has only to pass down Waehringerstrasse, just a step from the famous Ring-
strasse, to be convinced of this fact. Here are located the chemical laboratories of the University of Vienna, in a truly imposing group of buildings. Although a good part is devoted to physics, one finds here four distinct chemical laboratories. Of these the two largest are "The First Chemical Institute" and "The Second Chemical Institute," each possessing its own equipment and faculty. They are directed by Professors Wegscheider and Spaeth, respectively, and a student may receive his entire chemical training in either one. In addition there are two smaller laboratories in which only research is carried on. The first of these, sharing building equipment with "The Second Institute," is headed by Professor Franke, while the other, "The Institute for Chemical Technology," is under the leadership of Professor Pollak and is associated with the "The Pirst Institute."
* Paper written while Dr. Reese was studying at the University at Vienna,
1927-28.
The buildings which house these laboratories are in every respect modern, with all conveniences such as excellent lighting and first-class ventilation. Likewise the lecture halls possess splendid equipment and exceptional acoustics. Indeed, the laboratories have been hut recently equipped, though their construction was begun in the year preceding the World War. At that time Vienna was the center of the old Austrian-Hungarian Empire and its educational facilities were designed to meet the needs of some fifty millions, yet today these same facilities are crowded by apeople amounting to only six and a half millions. An education in Austria costs nothing and already this little country is over-educated and, to be specific, has far more trained chemists than can possibly find proper employment. As a matter
MICRO-ANALYTICAL
APPARATUS IN
THE
LABORATORY OF CHEMICAL
TECHNOLOGY
of fact, the over-crowded laboratories have much available though unequipped space. Lack of funds is the cause of this, while the over-crowding is done to meet current expenses. In the Chemical Technology lahoratory there is a limited capacity of thirteen students, yet i t is crowded with nineteen prospective Doctors of Philosophy and annoyed with a waiting list of nearly sixty. This laboratory, "The Institute for Chemical Technology," was organized as a separate unit some years ago under the capable leadership of its present director, Professor Pollak. Its purpose was to provide a distinct school for the training of young men as "Koloristen" in dyeing processes, in which field of chemical education Vienna has traditionally held a place
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second only to Lorraine. Its laboratory, though small, contains ample equipment for a limited number of students and possesses in addition a well-developed division for micro-analysis and in the basement a wellequipped semi-works laboratory. The latter consist of a "Farherei" and a newly equipped room for the preparation of dye intermediates. The work done in the laboratory proper is intended entirely for doctor's dissertations
and is necessarily purely scientific, while such practical applications as are possible are tried out in the basement. In regard to such equipment as glassware, a student may borrow from the limited laboratory supply. Chemicals may likewise be obtained in the building though the limited supply often causes much inconvenience. Nevertheless, the universal low cost contrasts strikingly with conditions in America. But perhaps more consideration of the students themselves would be of interest. As a rule one finds quite a diversifiedgroup of people; for example, in the laboratory above described, there are among others a Swede, who during the war served as an officer in one of the famous Austrian regiments, two Hungarians, a Prussian, a Pole, a Mexican, a Russian, and the writer, an American. Among the few remaining Viennese, there are several young women. The proportion of women to men in these laboratories is much greater than in America though few of them actually follow chemistry as a profession. These particular students have all passed a preliminary examination with their professor requisite to starting work on their doctor's dissertation. When eventually such research has been accepted, the
student goes to his books and when sufficiently prepared presents himself to the faculty for a final examination. As a prerequisite to this examination he must, however, have sustained an examination in pure philosophy and likewise in a minor subject such as physics, biology, etc. In all this work a student may attend lectures when and where he pleases. However, he usually favors those professors to whom he has paid a fee and under whom he must take his examinations. No study is a t any time compulsory and a student prepares himself entirely according to his own inclinations. Nevertheless, before commencing his doctor's dissertation and the work outlined above, a student must ordinarily have been in the University for about three years. Of these the first two are devoted to inorganic and physical chemistry, the only required work, however, being two semesters, or a year each of qualitative and quantitative analysis. Examinations follow the completion of each division of analytical work and a final examination on the inorganic field comes usually a t the end of the second year's study. The student then must accomplish what is usually a year of laboratory work in organic chemistry and terminated by an examination. Thereupon the student may present himself when prepared for a final comprehensive examination covering inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry and physics. The same independent method of study prevails during this period as later, and this freedom obviously causes some variation in length of time required to become a Doctor of Philosophy. However, by conceding three semesters for an acceptable thesis, the average length of training amounts to a total of between four and five years. It would appear from this outline that a chemist's higher education is indeed narrow, but for admission to the University a young man must have satisfactory records from either a Gymnasium or a Redgymnasium where he has mastered the humanities as well as modern languages, history, and probably higher mathematics. A young man is, on the average, eighteen years of age when leaving the Gymnasium. It is of interest that there are no private schools to mention, and that all children, rich and poor alike, receive the same education in the same schoolrooms. Having now given some idea of the equipment and students, some consideration must be taken of the more important research effortsmade in these laboratories. As mentioned above, much of the work in the "Laboratory for Chemical Technology" has to do with dyestuffs. Many of the recent investigations have been concerned with phenolsulfonylchlorides in the preparation of vat, azo, and ice dyes, and also with aromatic sulfur containing compounds in which the sulfur may be di-, quadri-, or hexavalent. The following compound is typical of many intermediates which have been prepared and which give not only very fast but also very cheap dyes:
Dithioindigoes, alizarin and its derivatives are also being investigated. Of a more theoretical nature has been an attempt to prove the existence of sulfur radicals such as
O w 0
.
Their results, however, were
negative for only the doubled compound,
was obtained in this case. Of late, work has been done on solution mediums of cellulose, for example, sulfocellulose. In the other laboratories there is the work of Prof. Spaeth on alkaloids, whose recent solution of the constitution of cotoin, based on previous work of Pollak and Karrer, is worthy of note. Prof. Klemenc should be mentioned for his work on the equilibrium of nitric acid and Prof. Pollak, though a t present engaged in no particular research, is making important contributions in organic chemistry to Abderhalden's new handbook for pharmacists. The work of Prof. Feigl is perhaps the most original. His new organic-inorganic complex compounds, in addition to a purely theoretical interest, provide an excellent series of new qualitative tests. In closing, it might be remarked that the study of chemistry and the chemists themselves are much the same the world over, despite a great difference in method and superficial things. There is, however, one important diierence in the European system which should be noticed by Americans. One finds that the responsibility of accomplishment rests completely with the student and not with the teacher. It need scarcely be remarked that the contrasting condition existing in America is already recognized and one hopes that a complete change will eventually come.
