Advancing The
Chemical Sciences
What do
you think of
when you
hear the word
‘chemistry’?
If you have given it much
thought – especially if chemistry
is a subject you are considering
studying at university – your
answer will be very different
from the caricature to be found
in many less informed minds.
Modern chemistry has little to
do with sitting for hours in a
starchy white coat, regarding
unfathomable apparatus with
the glazed eyes of a reality TV
addict. In fact the subject of
chemistry is an activity that now
embraces so many aspects
of science, technology and
medicine that it is becoming
hard to assert with any certainty
what chemistry is not. Here
are just a handful of topics
illustrating the fascinating scope
of modern chemistry, most of
which you can hope to find
covered in a good chemistry
degree course: the creation of
new materials for solar energy
harvesting; methods for trace
analysis at crime scenes; the
design of new anti-viral drugs;
the origin of elements in the
stars; non-intrusive methods of
critical diagnosis; nanoparticle
formation and applications;
mechanisms for the flow of
life chemicals across cell
membranes; the creation of
real and artificial gemstones;
laser methods for targeting,
moving and orienting individual
molecules – and these are just
the tip of one very large iceberg.
That is the reason why the title
of this article is taken from the
recently adopted slogan of the
Royal Society of Chemistry;
their choice exhibits the fact that
‘chemical sciences’ is good,
extended descriptor of what
chemistry is really about.
Given the breadth of the
subject, it is not surprising to
find a wide variety of chemistry
degree programmes available
for study – particularly in the
U.K. with its considerable
strengths in the field. Even for
‘straight’ chemistry there are
two types of degree you can
undertake, the BSc degree
which is usually three years
duration, and the MChem
‘integrated Masters’ degree
studied over four years. The
latter is the preferred (but not
invariable) route for those who
from the outset are clearly intent
on pursuing chemistry after
graduation. A research project
generally forms a significant part
of the final assessment for an
MChem degree, providing finalyear
students with invaluable
hands-on experience of cutting
edge chemical research; it is
no surprise that most such
finalists are enthusiastic and
graduate with a high class
Honours degree. As you will
discover from browsing the
websites, many other types
of chemistry degree are on
offer at most universities,
some combining chemistry
with elements of other allied
disciplines, such as chemical
physics, medicinal chemistry or
pharmacy. Still others involve a
year to be spent in industry or
at an overseas university. Bear
in mind, too, that within each
degree programme it will usually
be possible to make some
free choice course selections,
reflecting your developing
interests in specific areas of
the subject. With so much
to choose from it is always advisable, if you can, to visit
prospective universities and
judge for yourself. Prospectuses
and websites are a good start,
but there is no substitute for
coming to talk to staff and
current students, to get a feel for
each place and its surroundings.
If you plan to spend three or four
years of your life somewhere,
best be sure you will be happy
and well catered for there. From its very earliest days,
chemistry has attracted
students through its intrinsic
interest, and this remains a
powerfully good motive for
choosing the subject.
“Chemistry
races on:
it has
already left the
millennium far
behind”
When we are involved in
something that captures our
imagination, it tends to bring
out our best. However another
very good and equally valid
reason for choosing chemistry
is that a qualification in this
subject puts the new graduate
on a very firm and distinctive
footing in the employment
market – both within the U.K.
and internationally. Chemists
are involved in the science
base of the hugest industries
(pharmaceuticals, foods,
plastics, transport and energy
production, for example)
and chemical techniques are
now applied in the forefront
methods of atmospheric
research,
forensic science
and security,
medical
imaging and
food standards,
to name but
a few. Many
of those who
enter research
laboratories
become
involved in the
development
and formulation
of new
drugs, the
determination
of biomolecular
structures and
functions, or
the devising of
new methods
for creating materials such as
polymers from sources other
than increasingly costly (also
environmentally and politically
problematic) oil. Chemical
industry is a major part of
the economy of the U.K., as
it is of any almost developed
nation, and those who acquire
relevant skills and knowledge have a significant employment
asset. Above there is a need
for a new generation of wellinformed
and enthusiastic
chemistry graduates to enter the profession of teaching, to
begin planting seeds of the
subject for its future. Career
prospects here, too, are
excellent.
When I first went to university,
I had no idea what I wanted
to do afterwards, but the
interest of the subject
drew me onwards. Since
day one, I have found
chemistry unfolding into an
ever-expanding realm of
fascinating and sometimes
truly astonishing science. Not
so long ago, no-one guessed
that wonderfully symmetric
spherical 60-atom molecules
of pure carbon were present in
even ordinary smoke – and if
they could have guessed, they
could hardly have envisaged
the range of applications now
emerging. No-one knew
the beautiful structures that
have quite recently been
identified within complex
proteins; the progress has
been revolutionary. Chemistry
races on; it has already left
the millennium far behind. I
warmly invite you to come and
participate in the excitement of
a subject with its face firmly set
to the future.
Professor David L. Andrews
Head of Chemistry,
University of East Anglia
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