Robert 1. Pecsok University of Hawaii Honolulu, 96822
ChemTeC An Innovative Approach to Chemistry
"Chemical technicians! Who needs them?" Perhaps as much as 90% of the routine laboratory work done by professional chemists could be done equally well or better by qualified technicians. Does this mean that we need fewer chemists? Not necessarily. I t does mean that each chemist could he several times as productive (and more valuable to his employer) if he had two or three technicians working with him. A 1967 Engineering Manpower Commission study ( I ) projected a demand for 60,000 additional chemical technicians by 1975. But the total number of graduates of recognized chemical technology programs is less than 500 per year. The Need for a New Curriculum
Programs to train chemical technicians have been available in a number of two-year community colleges, junior colleges, or technical institutes. Most of these programs have included standard university-type courses in general, analytical, and organic chemistry taught in much the same manner and with the same texts as their university counterparts. Students who could survive this type of program were not content to become technicians and instead went on to finish a 4-yr program. The vast majority of students who did not survive did not become technicians either. This latter group of students, who had some interest in chemistry hut could not survive a standard university curriculum, is the very group who should have become technicians. The end result has been frustration for students and instructors. Many of these programs are marginal or are being terminated for lack of student interest. Traditionally, technicians have been trained by industry on the job. Such training seldom extends beyond the immediate task a t hand. Thus, a technician may be anything from a dishwasher to an operator of an nmr spectrometer. For this type of technician, each new task requires additional training. As a group, chemical technicians have little if any professional status, primarily because the term is used so loosely and the qualifications vary so widely. In the early sixties, the American Chemical Society hecame concerned about the role of the technician (2). The heart of the problem seemed to he that technology instructors were forced to adopt university-level texts for students who did not need, were not interested in, and could not understand, the abstract principles which formed the basis of the texts. There is little doubt that the first 2 yr of a 4-yr university curriculum is not a satisfactory preparation for a chemical technician. The typical university course emphasizes the broad theoretical foundations of chemistry, and the accompanying laboratories serve to augment the student's understanding. Courses for technicians should be based on a practical laboratory approach, supplemented by enough theory to explain what the experiment shows.
Table 1. The ChemTeC Writing Team
Alian R. Croft Lawrence F. Dalen Harry C . Hajisn Charles F. Hammer Donald G. Hicks Roben A. Hoirrader P e u i C..lurr willi& ~ieffe~ Charles M.Knobler Rohwt 0. Krienke J. I. Lseowrki Aubrey L. McClellan William H. MeFadden Clifton E . Meloan JohnH. Paxton Wade H . Ponder J. Howard Purndl will;am ROY^ Fred W.Schmitz H . Vernon Seklemlan David*. Shiriey .lack Soriniky James H. Thsmsr William J. Wasserman Thelma Wiiliams
i.
Gniwrrify of Texas at Austin PulkCommunity College Lm Anmior Trado-Technical Cullere Rhode IslandJunior Colleeo Georeetllwn Uniuerritv G e o ~ i aStale Ilniuerdty Esao Research and Rngineerinr Company Merrilr College coliw Uniuerrify 01 Calihmia. Lor Angelen
dwsnrter
TexasStaf~Technicallnrlilvte University olTerasat Austin ~h~~~~~ Company international Flavors & Fragances Kansas Stare University GreenvilleTechnbal Education Center Ciemson University UnivorsifuCollezeuf Swansea. Wales H&S
coilaae
NewYork C w Community Colleec Los AngelerTrade-Technical College University miTennessee Loop Collene WarhinetunTeehnical lnrtitute SeaitleCentral Communil)~Celbge N o w York City Community College
Table 2. Pilot Schools in the ChemTeC Proiect Flnrissanl Valley Community Cnlleee Croonville Technical Edueatinn center Loop C d q e Los AneelesTrade-T
