A new vision for educating tomorrow's scientists

Public release date: 9-Apr-2013
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Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
504-670-4707 (New Orleans Press Center, April 5-10)
202-872-6042

Michael Woods
m_woods@acs.org
504-670-4707 (New Orleans Press Center, April 5-10)
202-872-6293
American Chemical Society

NEW ORLEANS, April 9, 2013 Fundamental changes are needed in the education of the scientists whose work impacts medicine, drug discovery, development of sustainable new fuels and other global challenges society is facing in the 21st century. Those changes in graduate education in chemistry are the topic of a special symposium here today at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the worlds largest scientific society.

The speakers will discuss results of one of the most comprehensive reports on graduate education in chemistry and the next steps in implementing its recommendations. The report, Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences, resulted from a year-long project of an ACS presidential commission.

Although it concluded that the state of graduate education in the chemical sciences is productive and healthy in many respects, it found that the education of doctoral-level scientists has not kept pace with major changes in the global economic, social and political environment that have occurred since World War II, when the current system of graduate education took shape.

Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, Ph.D., convened the panel, the Commission on Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences, as one of his major initiatives as 2012 ACS president. The William T. Evjue distinguished chair for the Wisconsin Idea at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Shakhashiri organized and moderated the symposium. More information about the presentations in the symposium appears at the end of this release.

"The time for a close look at the education of tomorrow's scientists in this key discipline was long overdue," said Shakhashiri. "We hope the Commission's work will create the best possible experience for future scientists upon whom society will depend so heavily to address the great global challenges facing us all. They include climate change, population growth, finite resources, malnutrition, spreading disease and water management."

The Commission found that:

• Current educational opportunities for graduate students, viewed on balance as a system, do not provide sufficient preparation for their careers after graduate school.
• The system for the financial support of graduate students, as currently operated by private, institutional, state and federal funds, is no longer optimal for national needs.
• Academic chemical laboratories must adopt best safety practices. Such practices have led to a remarkably good record of safety in the chemical industry and should be leveraged.
• Departments should give thoughtful attention to maintaining a sustainable relationship between the availability of new graduates at all degree levels and genuine opportunities for them. Replication in excess is wasteful of resources and does injustice to the investment made by students and society.
• Postdoctoral training and education is an extension of graduate education that is important for success in a variety of career paths, particularly for faculty appointments. Postdoctoral associates should be treated as the professional scientists and engineers they are. A postdoctoral appointment should be a period of accelerated professional growth that, by design, enhances scientific independence and future career opportunities.

The Commission developed its recommendations to address several fundamental concerns. Graduate programs, for instance, must prepare Ph.D. candidates for the present and future marketplace of opportunity. Second, the globalization of science necessitates stronger communication skills across disciplinary and cultural lines. Third, as many nations worldwide have greatly strengthened their scientific capacity by building universities and developing new businesses and markets, it is essential for the U.S. to engage more women and students from underrepresented populations to revitalize the chemical enterprise with new ideas and energy.

ACS is a leader in science education policy. ACS serves as co-chair of the STEM Education Coalition. For a full discussion of additional policy points, please visit the ACS STEM education policy webpage.

###

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note to journalists: Please report that this research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Follow us: Twitter | Facebook

The American Chemical Society has many educational resources and programs. They include college scholarships for minority and economically disadvantaged students, summer research opportunities for undergraduates, teacher training and grants for high school chemistry teachers. These and other programs can be found at http://www.acs.org/education, http://www.acs.org/scholarships and http://www.acs.org/grants.

(In lieu of abstracts, which were not available at press time, we present the schedule of the symposium below.)

A New Vision of Chemistry Graduate Education
Morial Convention Center, Rivergate Ballroom
Tuesday, April 9, 2013

1:30 p.m. Introductory Remarks
Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2012 ACS President

1:40 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: Overview and Responses to Big Questions
Larry R. Faulkner, University of Texas

2 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: Major Conclusions and Summary of Recommendations
Paul L. Houston, Georgia Institute of Technology

2:20 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: The Student Profile and Sustainability of Graduate Programs
Geraldine L. Richmond, University of Oregon

2:40 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: Safety as a Culture
Pat N. Confalone, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

3 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: Relevance for Chemical Engineering
Stacey Bent, Stanford University

3:20 p.m. Intermission

3:30 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: Education for Employment
Joel I. Shulman, University of Cincinnati

3:50 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: Student Support Mechanisms
Jacqueline K. Barton, California Institute of Technology

4:10 p.m. Panel Discussion

5 p.m. Adjourn

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Public release date: 9-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
504-670-4707 (New Orleans Press Center, April 5-10)
202-872-6042

Michael Woods
m_woods@acs.org
504-670-4707 (New Orleans Press Center, April 5-10)
202-872-6293
American Chemical Society

NEW ORLEANS, April 9, 2013 Fundamental changes are needed in the education of the scientists whose work impacts medicine, drug discovery, development of sustainable new fuels and other global challenges society is facing in the 21st century. Those changes in graduate education in chemistry are the topic of a special symposium here today at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the worlds largest scientific society.

The speakers will discuss results of one of the most comprehensive reports on graduate education in chemistry and the next steps in implementing its recommendations. The report, Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences, resulted from a year-long project of an ACS presidential commission.

Although it concluded that the state of graduate education in the chemical sciences is productive and healthy in many respects, it found that the education of doctoral-level scientists has not kept pace with major changes in the global economic, social and political environment that have occurred since World War II, when the current system of graduate education took shape.

Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, Ph.D., convened the panel, the Commission on Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences, as one of his major initiatives as 2012 ACS president. The William T. Evjue distinguished chair for the Wisconsin Idea at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Shakhashiri organized and moderated the symposium. More information about the presentations in the symposium appears at the end of this release.

"The time for a close look at the education of tomorrow's scientists in this key discipline was long overdue," said Shakhashiri. "We hope the Commission's work will create the best possible experience for future scientists upon whom society will depend so heavily to address the great global challenges facing us all. They include climate change, population growth, finite resources, malnutrition, spreading disease and water management."

The Commission found that:

• Current educational opportunities for graduate students, viewed on balance as a system, do not provide sufficient preparation for their careers after graduate school.
• The system for the financial support of graduate students, as currently operated by private, institutional, state and federal funds, is no longer optimal for national needs.
• Academic chemical laboratories must adopt best safety practices. Such practices have led to a remarkably good record of safety in the chemical industry and should be leveraged.
• Departments should give thoughtful attention to maintaining a sustainable relationship between the availability of new graduates at all degree levels and genuine opportunities for them. Replication in excess is wasteful of resources and does injustice to the investment made by students and society.
• Postdoctoral training and education is an extension of graduate education that is important for success in a variety of career paths, particularly for faculty appointments. Postdoctoral associates should be treated as the professional scientists and engineers they are. A postdoctoral appointment should be a period of accelerated professional growth that, by design, enhances scientific independence and future career opportunities.

The Commission developed its recommendations to address several fundamental concerns. Graduate programs, for instance, must prepare Ph.D. candidates for the present and future marketplace of opportunity. Second, the globalization of science necessitates stronger communication skills across disciplinary and cultural lines. Third, as many nations worldwide have greatly strengthened their scientific capacity by building universities and developing new businesses and markets, it is essential for the U.S. to engage more women and students from underrepresented populations to revitalize the chemical enterprise with new ideas and energy.

ACS is a leader in science education policy. ACS serves as co-chair of the STEM Education Coalition. For a full discussion of additional policy points, please visit the ACS STEM education policy webpage.

###

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note to journalists: Please report that this research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Follow us: Twitter | Facebook

The American Chemical Society has many educational resources and programs. They include college scholarships for minority and economically disadvantaged students, summer research opportunities for undergraduates, teacher training and grants for high school chemistry teachers. These and other programs can be found at http://www.acs.org/education, http://www.acs.org/scholarships and http://www.acs.org/grants.

(In lieu of abstracts, which were not available at press time, we present the schedule of the symposium below.)

A New Vision of Chemistry Graduate Education
Morial Convention Center, Rivergate Ballroom
Tuesday, April 9, 2013

1:30 p.m. Introductory Remarks
Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2012 ACS President

1:40 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: Overview and Responses to Big Questions
Larry R. Faulkner, University of Texas

2 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: Major Conclusions and Summary of Recommendations
Paul L. Houston, Georgia Institute of Technology

2:20 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: The Student Profile and Sustainability of Graduate Programs
Geraldine L. Richmond, University of Oregon

2:40 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: Safety as a Culture
Pat N. Confalone, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

3 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: Relevance for Chemical Engineering
Stacey Bent, Stanford University

3:20 p.m. Intermission

3:30 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: Education for Employment
Joel I. Shulman, University of Cincinnati

3:50 p.m. ACS Commission on Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: Student Support Mechanisms
Jacqueline K. Barton, California Institute of Technology

4:10 p.m. Panel Discussion

5 p.m. Adjourn

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/acs-anv030813.php

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