Graduate Education In Chemistry Research Articles

Situational Interview Based Investigation of Advisor–Advisee Conflict Communication in U.S. Chemistry Graduate Education

Situational Interview Based Investigation of Advisor–Advisee Conflict Communication in U.S. Chemistry Graduate Education

Policies and Practices to Improve the Chemistry Graduate Student Experience: Implications of the ACS Survey of Graduate Students

STEM graduate education is vitally important in producing the talent needed to fuel our economy and provide solutions for the challenges we face in emerging diseases and climate change. Yet recent research indicates that women and students who identify as members of minority groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM face extraordinary challenges in their graduate careers. This commentary describes ways in which chemistry graduate education could become more supportive and inclusive through changes by graduate students, faculty, departments, funding agencies, and professional organizations. As a result the scientific workforce could utilize the full range of available talent and become more productive.

Celebrating Professor Barry M. Trost's 80th Birthday

Celebrating Professor Barry M. Trost's 80^th Birthday

Program elements’ impact on chemistry doctoral students’ professional development: a longitudinal study

The goal of graduate education has consistently been to produce independent scientists who can advance the knowledge of their fields, which has led to a series of staple elements in graduate components (i.e. research, courses, seminars, etc.) However, criticisms of graduate education in chemistry have been raised, stating that the current structure no longer matches the needs of our changing world, that it fails to prepare students for present and future careers in academia, industry, and government work. Suggestions have been made for improvement, but there is a lack of research investigating how graduate students actually grow professionally given the current common programmatic elements. To that end, a longitudinal, qualitative case study was conducted. Four chemistry graduate students were interviewed about their professional growth every 6 months during their first two years of graduate school based on their personal experiences to determine the impact of programmatic elements on graduate students’ professional development. Socialization theory and cognitive apprenticeship theory provided the lens for the development of the semi-structured interviews. Through the use of iterative thematic coding, evidence of five main themes was found: Career preparation, environment, perceived value, scepticism or faith in the system, and support. These themes bring into question the extent to which chemistry programs (of similar characteristics to those studied) are meeting their ethical responsibility of preparing students for the changing dynamics of careers that chemists assume. It was found that, in certain circumstances, the current chemistry graduate education structure falls short of those goals.

Stress and Mental Health in Chemistry Graduate Education

A key challenge for any graduate program is to address stress and mental health without lowering the bar for the degree. In our department, we have focused on eliminating unnecessary sources of stress. We, that means not just the departmental leadership, but graduate students, the director of graduate studies, mental health advocates, and professionals from the university health services. Only professionals can provide therapy, but the whole community can contribute to help prevent problems before they arise and to recognize and direct students in distress to appropriate resources. In particular, the student group Community of Chemistry Graduate Students (CCGS) is taking a key role in organizing regular events on physical and mental health and stress management. For example, their videos on the topics of mental health in graduate school, academic success, and the transition into a job after graduate school have attracted much attention. A very important tool to help us in our efforts is a biannual survey specifically designed together with the university health services to assess the sources of stress. This talk will address some of the new insights we have gained from analyzing the results of these surveys. (1) Stress and mental health in graduate school: How student empowerment creates lasting change, Mousavi, M. P. S.; Sohrabpour, Z.; Anderson, E. L.; Stemig-Vindedahl, A.; Golden, D.; Christenson, G.; Lust, K.; Bühlmann, P. J. Chem. Ed. 2018 , 95, 1939–1946. (2) http://ccgs.chem.umn.edu/surviving-and-thriving-higher-education

Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry: Aleksandr V. Zhukhovitskiy (student) and Jeremiah A. Johnson (preceptor)

Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry: Aleksandr V. Zhukhovitskiy (student) and Jeremiah A. Johnson (preceptor)

Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry: Junqi Li (student) and Martin D. Burke (preceptor)

Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry: Junqi Li (student) and Martin D. Burke (preceptor)

Nobel Laureate Signature Award For Graduate Education In Chemistry: Thomas E. Albrecht-Schmitt and Matthew J. Polinski

AWARDS Nobel Laureate Signature Award For Graduate Education In Chemistry: Thomas E. Albrecht-Schmitt and Matthew J. Polinski ShareShare onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail C&EN, 2016, 94 (1), pp 29–43January 4, 2016Cite this:C&EN 94, 1, 29-43Figure1of2Figure1of2Sponsor: Avantor Performance Materials Citation: For the development of the chemistry of californium that demonstrates its unique role in uniting the f-block with the d-block. What their colleagues say: “The unusual properties of the californium borate uncovered by Polinski open up new doors in actinide chemistry that no one thought ever existed. Polinski has contributed not just a single spectacular paper, but a body of work that allows the californium results to be properly evaluated.”—William J. Evans, University of California, Irvine Thomas E. Albrecht-SchmittCurrent position: Gregory R. Choppin Chair in Chemistry, Florida State University Education: B.S., chemistry, Southwest Minnesota State University; M.S., Ph.D., inorganic chemistry, Northwestern University Albrecht-Schmitt on what gets him inspired:“Among my favorite sources of inspiration is just sitting down with students and letting the conversation flow to wherever it goes. You would be surprised how many connections can be made between seemingly unrelated observations this way. I also try to get out into the wilderness as much as I can.”Matthew J. Polinski Current position: assistant professor of chemistry, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Education: B.A., chemistry, Washington & Jefferson College; Ph.D., chemistry, University of Notre Dame Polinski on his scientific role model: “Without a doubt, my scientific role model is Marie Curie. She was incredibly dedicated to her work, was an extremely humble person, and valued and promoted scientific explorations. Her work in understanding the basic tenets of radioactivity affects the lives of many today.”

Engaging in Curriculum Reform of Chinese Chemistry Graduate Education: An Example from a Photocatalysis—Principles and Applications Course

As worldwide energy shortages and environmental degradation increase, along with steady increases in population, current science and technology are confronted with many challenges to successfully sustain our society. Among the existing promising choices, photocatalysis has been widely considered as a potential solution to energy and environment problems because of its double functions of producing H2 fuel directly from water and efficiently decomposing organic pollutants. This paper reports on the teaching experience of a graduate course—Photocatalysis: Principles and Applications—in the 2011–2012 spring term at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), mainly involving the teaching materials, literature discussion, and students’ feedback. During instruction, great efforts were made to introduce state-of-the-art research activities as well as related opportunities and challenges identified in top research papers, which are well received by the students. Feedback collected from the students was ana...

Not Just Another Report

“Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences,” a report released late last year by the American Chemical Society, is prompting thoughtful conversations. On page 51, Senior Editor Celia Arnaud offers a sampling of opinions. Disagreements about specifics are expected with any report. This one is unusual for the praise it gets for candidness: “It was extraordinarily refreshing to read something coming from ACS that was reasonably frank about what most graduate students and postdocs would describe as a dismal job market,” Christopher J. Cramer of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, told Arnaud. The report comes from a commission appointed by 2012 ACS President Bassam Z. Shakhashiri. It is not only candid but also thoughtful and thorough in its analysis of the state of U.S. graduate education in chemistry and recommendations on how to improve it. One of its more striking conclusions is that the current funding of students through ...

Mixed Reactions To Education Proposals

The current model of chemistry graduate education dates back decades. But is it the right model for the 21st century? That’s the question that 2012 American Chemical Society President Bassam Z. Shakhashiri asked an ACS presidential commission to grapple with last year. The commission’s efforts culminated in the report “Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences,” which was released in December. The report made 32 recommendations related to five overall conclusions. Key recommendations deal with aligning the number of new Ph.D.s and job opportunities; improving the graduate student experience, including reducing the time to degree; revamping the system of graduate student funding; establishing a culture of safety; and treating postdoctoral associates as professionals. Now the chemistry community is getting a chance to assess those findings and recommendations. Among the people C&EN contacted, overall response was positive. But potentially affected parties—from graduate students to department hea...

EDUCATION Workshop explores challenges facing chemistry graduate education

Chemistry graduate education as it exists today may be unsustainable, leading chemists said last week at a National Research Council Board on Chemical Sciences & Technology workshop. The educational enterprise “has been successful at what it’s been asked to do,” said Gary B. Schuster, a chemistry professor at Georgia Tech. But the world has changed, workshop participants noted, and universities are facing declining state budgets, a poor job market, changing employer expectations, and shifting U.S. and global demographics. Workshop participants considered how chemistry graduate education in the U.S. should respond to these and other changes. George M. Whitesides, a chemistry professor at Harvard University, suggested abandoning the model in which, for a Ph.D. thesis, a student works as an apprentice for a single professor. Instead, he said, students should have broad experience, including working closely with more than one professor, involvement in multidisciplinary programs, and at least a part of ...

Reactions to Changing Times: Trends and Tensions in U.S. Chemistry Graduate Education

Calls for reform in graduate education have emerged from professional societies, educational research, and foundations, with particular concern for how graduate students are prepared for their future professional environments. This qualitative research study explores current issues in Ph.D. chemistry education, including how U.S. chemistry departments have responded to calls for change in graduate students’ professional preparation. The study is based on document analysis and open-ended interviews with 22 chemistry faculty and administrators at 14 highly ranked chemistry departments. Many of these departments were beginning to implement changes in response to multiple and competing forces. Pressures on faculty to generate research funding had reportedly reduced time for one-on-one mentoring, but many departments were offering more student support outside research groups. Departments that had made targeted efforts to diversify their faculty and student body reaped rewards in recruiting and collegiality. Younger students and faculty were driving changes in departmental practices and cultures intended to address work-life balance. While some changes were widespread and others more scattered, many of the changes appear to be well aligned with recommended practices. Yet most departments were undertaking these reforms without holistic strategies, long-range plans, or methods for assessing the results of their changes.

Enhancing Graduate Education in Chemistry: The ACS Office of Graduate Education

This article provides an overview of the efforts and resources of the ACS Office of Graduate Education to enhance the graduate education of chemists.

Report On ?A Facilitated Conversation on Reform?

True to the title of the session, Bassam Shakhashiri led a free-wheeling, wide-ranging discussion about the goals of curriculum reform and about the overall purpose of chemistry education. Participants eschewed the idea that change should be uniform across United States campuses and instead insisted that the individuality of both students and instructors requires a diversity of teaching methods, even within the same classroom. Discussion focused on three different purposes for chemistry classes: general intellectual goals common to all or many classes in different departments on campus (e.g., ability to read and write well or think creatively); professional intellectual goals, involving chemistry’s specific thinking and problem-solving skills (e.g., understanding equilibria or designing synthetic pathways); and professional, technical goals important especially for majors, but also as exposure for nonmajors (e.g., knowledge of reagents or ability to distill liquids). Participants expressed a strong desire to demonstrate to their students their own excitement about chemistry and about teaching and to help students see the connections between chemistry and the rest of the world. Several people also commented on the necessity to increase the breadth of graduate education in chemistry to better prepare Ph.D.s for careers in academia or industry. Ultimately, participants suggested that reform must to a large extent be an individual effort, with help and inspiration from others outside, but final responsibility resting with each instructor.

Graduate Education in Chemistry: More and More about Less and Less?

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVCommentaryNEXTGraduate Education in Chemistry: More and More about Less and Less?A. Truman Schwartz Cite this: J. Chem. Educ. 1994, 71, 11, 949Publication Date (Print):November 1, 1994Publication History Received3 August 2009Published online1 November 1994Published inissue 1 November 1994https://doi.org/10.1021/ed071p949RIGHTS & PERMISSIONSArticle Views198Altmetric-Citations1LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit PDF (2 MB) Get e-Alerts Get e-Alerts

T. W. Richards' Role in American Graduate Education in Chemistry

T. W. Richards' Role in American Graduate Education in Chemistry

Facing reality in graduate education

It's been clear for some time that we must rethink, perhaps redesign, graduate education in chemistry. Numerous conferences have chewed on the subject. But it's all been rather unofficial and unfocused. Now, an official ACS body—the Committee on Professional Training—has come to grips with at least the core problems with last week's Report on Doctoral Education: Facing the 1970's (C&EN, Aug. 14, page 35), its first report on graduate education since 1964. report should be required reading, for it focuses on questions whose answers will set the chemical stage for a decade or more to come. main question, of course, centers on the current oversupply of Ph.D.'s and gross overcapacity of the institutions producing them in the face of shrinking R&D funds and a depressed job market. As the report notes: The present central issue . . . is that the sum of the projected aspirations of all graduate departments in the country ...

Graduate education in chemistry. A personal view

Fully two-thirds of those people who received advanced degrees in chemistry in the U.S. go on to work for a private corporation, most to the chemical industry. How can Ph.D. students be better prepared for this type of work?

Graduate education in chemistry and beyond

It is essential to examine from time to time the objectives and performance of chemical education at the graduate level, and the effectiveness of careers in the years beyond the university.