Herman Skolnik Research Center
Hercules Incorporated W~lrnington,Delaware 19899
The Relevancy of Science Curriculums to Professional Careers in Industry
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am concerned in this presentation with what the academic environment is capable of doing relative to what it is doing in preparing students for professional careers as chemists. This statement implies, as I mean it to, that I do not think all is well with the education of scientists in general, and chemists in particular. My crit,ical note, however, is based not on original sin, as so many have been since the mid-1940's (1, 8), but rather on the orientation of view that isolates one discipline of science from the others and from the humanities. In brief, I think the educational system needs to be more relevant to existing and evolving professional careers for scient,ists. Two-thirds of the chemists in the United States are employed professionally in the industrial communit.y (3);yet, graduates, especially a t the BS but also a t the PhD level, have little or no idea of the challenges of or opportunities in the chemical industry, because only a relatively few of their teachers have more than a superficial understanding of the objectives and values of industrial research and development. They have even less appreciation of the part their graduates play or can play in t,heindustrial community. Each faculty member tends to view chemistry in terms of his specialized subject area. This parochial view, however, is in harmony with the academic departmental structure in which each discipline is regarded as an isolated and self-centered segment of specialized knowledge. As a result,, BS curriculums have become extremely narrow and uniform. In chemistry, this is further reinforced by the minimum standards used as criteria by the ACS Committee on Professional Training in evaluating colleges and universities for the ACS approved list. The BS science graduate which this type of curriculum produces lacks a broad background not only in general education but in science as well and has little or no insight into how our society has been shaped socially, culturally, economically, psychologically, and philosophically by science and technology. This is not the way it needs to be. Science is so important that no education is complete without some interdisciplinary course work. The Induslrial Environment
As t,he curriculum has maintained chemistry as an isolated discipline, the chemical industry has melded research and development with the realities of production and the market place. In response to the challenges chemists found in the chemical industry, new disciplines Presented in Joint Symposium on "The University and Chemical Information," ACS Division of Chemical Education and Chemical Literature, ACS National M e e h g , Chicago, Ill., September, 1970.
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of chemistry evolved, such as polymer chemistry. New interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary sciences evolved, such as material science and environmental management. New opportunities evolved for chemists with unique talents, abilities, and capacities in assignments such as personnel, sales, purchasing, patents, literature, marketing, and many others. During this evolutionary period, industrial R & D management designed a recruitment and training pattern to complen~entand supplement the academic product (4,6). At the same time, both academic and industrial leaders have sought ways to strengthen the links between the educational program and potential professional careers. Now is the time, however, for more significant progress, particularly in view of the strong indications that the chemical industry is shifting from a total chemical base to a mix of sciences and technologies. For example, a transition has already occurred from the emphasis on making polymers to the making of films, fibers, nonwovens, and composites from polymers. The transition required a new spectrum of knowledge and skills which are not associated with the aims of most academic departments of chemistry. Yet industrial chemists, along with others, have been in the forefront of these advancing technologies. Minimum Educational Standards
Because chemistry is a basic science, the BS degree in chemistry must be defined by minimum educational standards. I do not think most professional chemists would want to eliminate the primary courses of analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry; or the related courses in physics and mathematics; or optional courses in biochemistry and advanced inorganic and organic chemistry; or other courses such as Engiish and languages. On the contrary, most professional chemists in industry are puzzled by the absence of polymer chemistry as at least an optional course (6). The real challenge in the minimum educational standards for all disciplines of science, however, lies in the need for a primary survey course in science. There is not enough time in four academic years to expose all science majors to separate courses in chemistry, physics, biology, botany, astronomy, agriculture, entomology, anthropology, geology, and medical sciences; however, a suitable survey course in science has yet to be designed. Possibly the perfect course cannot be set, as it must convey the norms and values of science as a whole that evoke the scientific method in and sustain the enthusiasm of scientists. I t must avoid mere facts and more facts with the compartmentalization of each discipline of science, and seek for a relevant unity in the scientific method and an integrated homogeneity of subject content.
The course in science I visualize would he analogous to the experience of listening to a great symphony, a blending of many disciplines into a harmonious whole. Thus, how the subject is taught should he of equal importance to what is taught. If each course in the chemistry curriculum were integrated with the process of total education, the student's exposure to and contact with the literature, historical, social, and communication aspects would be continuous. As it stands today, too few faculty members are able or willing to participate in the educational process other than within the strict boundaries of their discipline, thus reinforcing and proliferating the specialist pattern of the curriculum. But, consider the increased effectiveness of a professor of English composition, with some education in chemistry, teaching a class composed of mostly chemistry majors over that of a professor with no knowledge of chemistry. In today's world there is no valid reason for excluding chemistry subjects from English composition for chemistry majors. There is also no valid reason for excluding the pertinent parts of the humanities from a chemistry course. This relevance between disciplines, however, is missing even in closely related subjects, such as physics, mathematics, and chemistry. Flexibility in Career Choicer
Along with the need for wider perspectives and relevance in the education of chemistry majors, there also exists the need for flexibility in accommodating the talents, abilities, capacities, and motivations of individual students. To satisfy this need, faculty advisors or counselors will have to he more than policemen of credits, prerequisite requirements, and schedule conflicts. They will need to acquire an awareness of the opportunities in and needs of the industrial enterprise for professional chemists, the knowledge and skill requirements for each opportunity and need, and' the supply and demand situation for professional chemists in the various occupational sectors in order to enlarge the field of choice and growth potential of the student's career in the industrial environment. Let us consider for the moment the insight and guidance an effective faculty advisor or counselor might give to a student whose talents and capacities lie in both linguistics and science. Being aware of the employment opportunity as a technical translator within the same salary bracket as laboratory chemists with the same educational and meaningful experience level, the student has two choices for developing his talents. Should he choose the technical translator path, his electives would be concentrated in languages. But even if he should choose to concentrate his electives in chemistry and related sciences, he might be well advised to enhance his linguistic talents with a few electives or by self study. Chemistry is international as a science, technology, and industry, and there is an increasing need for chemists who are multilingual.. Dependmg on the student's personality, motivations, talents, and capacities, an effective faculty advisor can guide him into a variety of career opportunities. These opportunities in the chemical industry are related to combinations of a well-founded education in chemistry with library science (for a chemical librarian); psychology (for personnel work); law (for patent work); eco-
nomics (for sales, purchasing, market research, and economic research) ;computer science (for chemicalinformation or data system work); history, literature, and philosophy (for literature research or technical editing); and so on to an almost endless series of combinations. I would hope, however, that no combination makes t,he student a lesser chemist than his laboratory counterpart, hut allows each in his choice of career to contribute to the advancement of chemistry and chemical technology. Those of us in the chemical industry who manage technical information operations know only too well how unaware chemistry majors are of the opportunities in our activities. When we interview these people, a large proportion of the time must he spent on informing them of what literature chemists do and what knowledge, talents, and skills are necessary. If we are proficient in delineating this aspect and in ascert,aining t,hat t,he interviewee has a serious and basic interest in being a lkerature chemist, we can then direct the interview to establishing his or her potential in our activities. Although only a relatively few chemists affect t,he chemical literature as authors, essent,ially all professional chemists are d e c t e d by the chemical lit,erat,ure as readers and users. Thus, within most, working days, each often wears the hat of the literature chemist in using the literature. In view of the importance of the literature to scientists, it is surprising that their appreciation of it is engendered, for the most part., after the BS degree. I do not think that a curriculum of chemistry can he viable without conveying a deep appreciation and understanding of the historical and lkerature aspects to the students. Both aspects, the historical and literature, should he a part of every course, a t least to some extent. I wouldgo so far as to suggest that the history, philosophy, and literature of chemist,ry should constitute the contents of an optional course. Motivating Students
A student is attracted to chemistry for a variety of reasons, such as: the desire to he useful, the excitement of learning, the challenge of exploring, the hope of fiuding order, the drive to test established knowledge, or simply the urge to use his hands skillfully and his brains meaningfully. Should not these reasons he reinforced in every course within the chemistry curriculum, whether it he organic chemistry, English composition, or economics? Curriculum designers and faculty members have the responsibility for fanning the spark of motivation into a fire that the student can nurture throughout his professional career (7). Too many students leave the educational environment with the conviction that education goes on in academic buildings and nou-here else. Anareness of the need to continue to educate themselves and develop their potentials is essential to the graduates who do not want to become obsolete within a decade or so. Relevant teachers and a relevant curriculum mould orient them to the idea of education as a continuing, lifelong process. In summary, I suggest a reorientation of view in t,he educational program for the BS in chemistry that recognizes the relevancy of chemistry to potential careers in Volume 48, Number 9, September 1971
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the industrial community and to the impact of science on our evolving society. Rather than curriculum reform and a new layer of courses, I think attention must be focused on the educational content of each course as it relates to the totality of knowledge. Practice and training within the confines of segmented disciplines will need to be deemphasized if education is to cultivate the student's ability and capacity to choose a meaningful career, to change careers within a changing environment, and to continue to grow as a scient,ist throughout his career. Literature Cited ( 1 ) Chem. E w . N s s a , 4 8 , n o . 3 1 . 1 0 . 1 1 (1970). ( 2 ) R o n s ~ s e ~C. o E., , Chcm. Eno. Newa, 4 8 . n o . 2 3 . 5 0 (1970) (3) REIBS.H . . Chcm. Ena. News. 48. no. 27. 18 (1970). . A. r ,L.. PETRELLA, A,, AND SWAB%L. E , JR., Re& Mono%, ( 4 ) H o ~ ~ o wF ~ 13.281 (1970). ( 5 ) GROB,R. L.,*NO HUSK.G. R., J. CHEM.EDVO..4 7 , 5 1 6 (1970). ( 6 ) CAmns. R. W . . J. C n m . Eouc.. 4 5 , 5 0 3 (1968). W.. "ROWt o M a k e s s t u d e n t Like Science," N m York Timcs. ( 7 ) SULLIVAN. p. 8 . Science Seotion, July 26, 1970.
Industrial internship:
Related References ABELSON,P. H.. "Soienoe and Engineering Polioiea," in "A Critical Review of E. R.. GAL-0% B.. A N D BR*INARD, Thermodynamics" (Editors: &"ART. A. J.. Mono BookCorp., Baltimore, Md., 1970, p. 513. B~owowsxr.J., "Science and Human Values." Harper & Row, New York,
Press. NewYork, 1952. Dhules, J. T.. "The Soientifia Approach." Academic Press. New York. 1965. H*as~nolr. W. O., "The Scientific Community:' Basic Books. Ino.. New Vn.& ,a&< R O R N I ~D. . F.. "The Changing Face of American Soienoe:' The Robert A. Welch Foundation Research Bulletin No. 18, Houston. Tex.. March, 1966. K u w , S., "The New Brahmins. Scientific Life in America," William Morrow & Co., Ino.. New York. 1968. SNOW.C. P., "The Two Cultures and The Scientific Revahtion," Cambridge Univ. Press, New York. 1961. STILL J. W . . "Science and Education a t the Crossroads." Public ABairs press. washington. D. C., 1958. Denartment of Chemistrv and Chemical Enaineetina. Universitv of Illinois. alumni Newsletter. NO,.^, Summer, 1970. "Soientific Thouaht. 1900-1960" (Editor: H*nnB. R.) Clarendon Press. Oxford, E n g l a G , 1969. "The Challenge of Our Times" ( E d ; t o ~ :Dmre~s.F.. A N D SMITH.T. M.) A"
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An Intersession Program
One of the programs offered during Gannon College's first Intersession in January 1971 was an I n d u s t d Internship, a. program designed t o give junior and senior science and engineering majan an opportunity to work with and observe the professionals in their fields of concentration. This program was modeled after the cooperative programs offered by many engineering schools and also after s similar internship programoffered a t Mereyhunt College. [WESC H ~ R SR. , MAIXY CHARLES, J. CHBM.EDUC.,45,685 (196811. A total of sixteen (16) students and eight (XI companies participated in this inaugural internship program a t Gannon. A sampling of the companies and projects is shown in the table.
Examples of Participants in industrial Internship Student's Major
Chemi~try Chemistry Chemistry Physics Ilatingscale:
5
=
Student Rating'
Gaeral Eleelrie Company, Erie, Pa. Coordination of Back-Order Shipping Schedules Inventory Control Computer Control of Numerically Controlled Machines Quality Control Evalustion of Diesel Engine Components Upkeep of Production Charts Locomotive Marketing Lord Corpondion, Erie, Pa. D. S. C. of Natural Rubbers Resins for Coatings Computer Pmgrsmmer--Operator Measurement of the Acoustic Properties of Snow
Finance Marketing Mathematim Mech. Engr. Ind. Mgt. Bus. Mgt.
a
Company and Project Title or Description
Outstanding; 4 = Above average; 3 = Average; 2 = Below Average; 1 = Failing.
During January 1971 the students worked a t the participating companies under the guidance of a capable and interested supervisor, who directed the iltudents in the completion of their assigned projects. The pmjects were ones which euebled the students to become involved in some meanindul way in the research, develo~ment, or . ~roduction . other operation of the companies. In most cases, the student worked as part of a. team an a continuing project or operation within the company. However, a. number of students were assigned smdl independent projects, and two others were moved around to different positions within a department or within the company. For their part in the program the students received three credits from Gannon College and anomind salary from the company. (In accordance with U.S. Department of Labor regulations, the students' salaries were a t least equivalent to the minimum wage.) Comments of all of the personnel involved in this program were favorable, with everyone in agreement that the experience gained by the student was invaluable. Although, in most cases, the company did not receive any direct tangible benefits from the program, all of the industrial personnel agreed that the program was a.desirable one and that i t should be continued and expanded. The only adverse comment concerning the program was thst the actual work time involved was too short for the student to become truly involved in the company's operation. However, 611 concerned agreed that, given the limited time of a four-week Intersession, a meaningful program could he worked out and carried through. This was sptly demonstrated during the Gannon program where one of the projects was suecessfully completed in the four-week period and the results were presented, by the student, a t a meeting of the Western Pennsylvania Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers held a t Gannon on April 24, 1971. I n three other instances, the students involved were able t o develop and successfully test procedures for quality control. I n three other ceses, the contribution of the students resulted in the accelerated, successful completion of projects already in progress a t the psrticipating industry. GANNON COLLEGE ERIE,PENNSYLVANIA 16501
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Journal of Chemical Education
ROBERTH. BECKER
