Policy Concentrates DIVERSITY
▸▸ Sexual minorities drop out of sciences at a higher rate than other students Diversity in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce has long been a problem, but few studies have examined how sexual minorities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer students—LGBQ) persist in STEM fields as undergraduates. A new study by Bryce E. Hughes, an education professor at Montana State University, shows that LGBQ undergraduates are almost 10% more likely to leave science majors than their heterosexual counterparts (Sci. Adv. 2018, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aao6373). Hughes examined data on over 4,000 students at 78 institutions collected by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA. Students were surveyed as freshmen about their intended major and surveyed again as seniors. The low retention rate for LGBQ students persisted even when Hughes controlled for academic success and undergraduate research experience. In fact, more sexual minority students had research experience—49%— than the heterosexual student population, which had 41%. This suggests “that nonacademic factors are contributing to these decisions,” Hughes writes. Hughes did not include transgender students in the study because it focused on sexual rather than gender identity, he says.—ANDREA
WIDENER
GREEN CHEMISTRY
▸▸ Definition of “sustainable chemistry” unclear, report says The development and adoption of “sustainable chemistry” is hindered because agreement is lacking on what this term encompasses, according to a U.S. congressional report. In addition, there is no consensus on how to measure the sustainability of chemical processes and products, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concludes in the report. Nonetheless, GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, determines that one goal of sustainable
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C&EN | CEN.ACS.ORG | MARCH 19, 2018
GRADUATE SCHOOL
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Percentage of graduate students with symptoms of moderate to severe anxiety, compared with 6% of general population
Percentage of graduate students with symptoms of moderate to severe depression, compared with 6% of general population
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chemistry is more efficient use of energy, water, and materials while protecting the environment from harm when producing commercial substances. Another aim is to reduce or eliminate the use or creation of hazardous materials in the manufacture and use of chemicals. GAO concludes that three categories of technology can make chemical production more sustainable: catalysts, which reduce the energy needed for chemical processes; solvents that are derived from renewable materials or are less hazardous than solvents currently employed; and continuous processing rather than batch processing of chemicals. “The information laid out in this report will be useful to the chemical industry, to universities and other research institutions, and to policy-makers,” says Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who requested the report along with Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).—CHERYL HOGUE
OVERHEARD
“The gender gap in math is a form of social inequality like many others.” —A paper in Science last week that concludes girls perform better in math in countries with greater gender equality (DOI:10.1126/science.aar2307)
POLICY
▸▸ Trump’s administrators on the move ▸▸Mike Pompeo is President Donald J. Trump’s nominee to become secretary of state after Trump abruptly fired Rex Tillerson on March 13. Currently director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Pompeo, formerly a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, previously led the oil-field equipment company Sentry International and founded Thayer Aerospace. Pompeo is skeptical of climate change and would head the State Department as it represents the U.S. at international climate talks later this year. He has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Military Academy and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. ▸▸Lisa Porter is Trump’s nominee to be deputy undersecretary for research and engineering at the Department of Defense. Porter is executive vice president of In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture fund, and director of In-Q-Tel Labs. She has a B.S. in nuclear engineering from MIT and a Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford University. ▸▸Peter C. Wright is Trump’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Land & Emergency Management, which oversees the Superfund program to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous waste. Wright is an attorney and has worked since 1999 at Dow Chemical, now DowDuPont, on environmental health and safety as well as mergers and acquisitions. He has an A.B. in religion from Wabash College and a J.D. from Indiana University.—JYLLIAN KEMSLEY
