Happy New Year—renewal, welcome, and farewell

Abstract

A new year brings with it a new outlook, a promise of change, and the opportunity to look back on the previous year with some nostalgia. This is certainly true for ABC’s two educational columns “ABCs of Teaching Analytical Science” and “Building a Professional Career.” Regular readers will soon notice a new title: “ABCs of Education and Professional Development in Analytical Science.” This change in title recognizes the merger of the previous teaching column with the career column edited by John Fetzer. It also reflects the necessity to develop in our students the professional skills they will need for success in their careers as we endeavor to help them build their analytical chemistry content knowledge and problem-solving skills. The new focus of this column on education, rather than teaching, also reflects the need for scientists at all stages of our careers to continue our education and professional development. For example, the launch of the new column in 2013 with an article by Prof. Apryll Stalcup on “Surviving toxic work environments” effectively bridges the topics of education and professional development. I am also pleased to announce that along with a new column, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry welcomes Prof. Thomas Wenzel, Bates College, as a new column editor. Thomas Wenzel is active in research with undergraduate students in the area of chiral NMR shift reagents, and his research accomplishments were recognized with the 2010 American Chemical Society Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution. He is also a leader in analytical chemistry education reform and has championed teaching using problem-based and active learning approaches. His 2011 contribution “Active learning materials for equilibrium chemistry and separation science” published in the ABCs of Teaching Analytical Science column nicely describes his collaborative inquiry-based approach to teaching along with the materials he has developed to support this approach, which are available for free download through the Analytical Sciences Digital Library (www.asdlib.org). His educational activities were recognized through receipt of the 1999 J.C. Giddings Award for Excellence in Education sponsored by the Analytical Division of the American Chemical Society. He joins column coeditors Reiner Salzer and John Fetzer in guiding the selection of topics for future columns and ensuring high-quality informative contributions.