The CHEMIST at WORK ROY I. GRADY
AND
JOHN W. CHITTUM
The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio
Introduction*
T
HE contributions of chemistry to the advancement of civilization have received considerable attention. For example, those publications supported by the Chemical Foundation which portray the accomplishments of chemistry have done much to make America chemistry-conscious. Other publications equally as important have been and are being prepared which show how chemistry is serving man, and how it may do so more effectively in the future. Again the work of the Chemical Foundation with the Farm Chemurgic Council is a case in point. In spite of the increasing amount of material on what chemistry has done and may do in the future, there seems to be a dearth of information on what the chemist himself does and how he does it. A few outstanding biographies, such as "The Life of Pasteur" constitute the exceptions. One of the reasons why such biographies have been so well received is that they give specific illustrations of how the individuals solved certain problems which confronted them. Most persons seem to be interested in the individual, his life, what he does, and how he does it. Such information regarding what the chemist does should be of extreme value and interest to many persons. For example, i t is apparent that the average student has considerable difficulty in selecting a suitable vocation. The information available regarding * A revision of a paper presented before the Division of Chemical Education at the ninety-third meeting of the A. C. S.. Chapel Hill. North Carolina. April 13. 1937.
what is involved in a given profession is quite meager. A student, for instance, may like chemistry as a study, but he does not know whether he would like it as a life work. The ordinary vocational talk is entirely too general to be of much assistance. The writers of this paper believed that they could help the student in this matter by compiling a description of the chemist's work and problems in the various fields of chemistry so that anyone interested could obtain a fair crosssectional picture of the profession. In order to accomplish this purpose they asked a number of persons engaged in different fields of chemistry to write accounts of their work. These persons were asked to describe the general nature of the activities in which they were engaged and to give several examples showing how specific duties are performed. The persons who were asked to contribute were selected so that they would represent as many diierent degrees of attainment as possible. Some of them have spent a life time in the profession; others have been graduated from college but three or four years. The contributors discussed duties and problems in many different fields. Thus i t is believed that these articles will give the reader a representative picture of the work of the chemist. This should be of interest and value to the layman, the student, and the chemist. As these articles are published, the editors wish to acknowledge their obligation to the different contributors. It is obvious that without their generous cooperation, this undertaking would have been impossible.
