ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY WALTER J. MURPHY, Editor
Encouraging Analytical Research
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A SMALL percentage of the young people who attain their bachelor’s degrees in chemistry or chemical engineering go on to graduate shool. Most go into industry, government, educational institutions, and other activities. Many of these young graduates have unusual aptitude for graduate work. With a little encouragement and support, more of them would go on with th&r studies. Those that do often make substantial fundamental contributions to the advancement of science. In order to increase the interest of well qualified young men and women in specializing in analytical chemistry, it is necessary to show them the opportunities for high grade work and success in this field. During the past several years heartening steps have been taken in this direction by the establishment of several awards and fellowships. The public recognition of the outstanding work of the recipients has raised the prestige of the profession of analytical chemistry and undoubtedly encouraged some young chemists to make careers in the field of analysis. In 1947, for example, illerck and Co., Inc., established the Merck Graduate Fellowship in Analytical Chemistry. This has been renewed each year since 1947. Contributions to chemical science made by recipients, not only while they were fellowship students, but since that time, are many (see editorial, ASALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, October 1954). The current recipient, Arnold M. Hartley. is continuing his graduate work at Harvard University with the aid of the $2500 fellowship. Hartley, whose iyork is in the field of coulometric titration, is studying under the direction of James J. Lingane. Also in 1947 the Fisher Scientific Co. established the Fisher Award in Analytical Chemistry “to recognize and encourage outstanding contributions to the science of analytical chemistry, pure or applied, carried out in the United States or Canada.” This award is for $1000. Typical of the high caliber men to receive it is Ernest H. Swift. Swift, the 1955 recipient, is professor of analytical chemistry at California Institute of Technology. He is credited with development of an original system of analysis which provides a comhination of qualitative and quantitative methods. In 1953 Beckman Instruments, Inc., established the Beckman Award in Chemical Instrumentation “to recognize and encourage outstanding achievement in the development of new instruments for chemical analysis and in the application of analytical instruments for chemical process measurement and control.’’ This award is also for $1000. A pioneer in the application of infrared spectrometry, R. Bowling Barnes is the first to receive the Beckman Award. Barnes, formerly
with American Cyanamid and American Optical Co., is now president of Olympic Development Co. He has utilized infrared spectroscopy in qualitative and quantitative analysis of organic molecules. These awards and fellowships are administered by the AMERICASCHEMICAL SOCIETY.Recipients are selected by committees of experts in the field of each award. It is difficult to measure directly the impact of such awards and fellowships on the field of analytical chemistry. We feel, however, that they are substantial. We congratulate these companies for their contributions to this important field of chemistry and the recipients n-ho are making continuous contributions to the field.
A Splendid Growth Record 1954, the Division of -4nalytical Chemistry 504 members. By September it was up to 1069; by late Sovember the total was 1390. By early December it was over 1400. In short. membership has about tripled in 8 months. In the September editorial in ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, we noted that the Analytical Division’s goal for 1955 was 2000 members. In 1953, the Analytical Division was 10th in membership of the 21 divisions of the ACS. To get to the top it would have to beat such leaders as the Division of Petroleum Chemistry with 2654 members and the Division of Rubber Chemistry with 2240 members. Although this goal of 2000 seemed large in April, it no longer seems unrealistic. When one considers that there are approximately 26,000 paid subscriptions to ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY and that a substantial percentage of authors whose papers appear in ANALYTICAL are not divisional members, it is obvious that there are thousands of analytical chemists who should be listed among the active members of this division. On several occasions we have pointed out reasons why we believe analytical chemists should be members of the division. These are many. Some are specific, such as substantial savings on purchasing abstracts of ACS national meetings; others are less tangible but important, such as fostering through group effort the prestige and recognition of analysts. We know of no better way for an analytical chemist to help advance his profession and himself than to become active in the Division of Analytical Chemistry. If only l5Y0 of the readers of ASALYTICAL CHEMISTRY n-ere members, the Analytical Division would definitely lead all of the 21 divisions of the Society in membership.
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