Chemist

For healthcare professionals who practice in pharmacy, seePharmacist.For other uses, seeChemist (disambiguation).

Achemist(from Greekchēm(ía)alchemy; replacingchymistfromMedieval Latinalchemist)is a graduatedscientisttrained in the study ofchemistry,or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level ofmoleculesand their componentatoms.Chemists carefully measure substance proportions,chemical reactionrates, and otherchemical properties.In Commonwealth English,pharmacistsare often called chemists.

The ApothecaryorThe Chemist,a portrait byGabriël Metsu,c. 1651–67

Chemists use their knowledge to learn the composition and properties of unfamiliar substances, as well as to reproduce and synthesize large quantities of useful naturally occurring substances and create new artificial substances and useful processes. Chemists may specialize in any number ofsubdisciplines of chemistry.Materials scientistsandmetallurgistsshare much of the same education and skills with chemists. The work of chemists is often related to the work ofchemical engineers,who are primarily concerned with the proper design, construction and evaluation of the most cost-effective large-scalechemical plantsand work closely with industrial chemists on the development of new processes and methods for the commercial-scale manufacture of chemicals and related products.

History of chemistry

Main article:History of chemistry

German chemistGeorgius Agricola(1494–1555) was the first to drop the Arabic definite articleal-,exclusively writingchymiaandchymistain describing activity that we today would characterize as chemical or alchemical.

Russian chemistDmitri Mendeleev,author of the first modernperiodic table of elements

Antoine Lavoisier(1743–94) is considered the "Father of Modern Chemistry".

The roots of chemistry can be traced to the phenomenon ofburning.Firewas a mystical force that transformed one substance into another and thus was of primary interest to mankind. It was fire that led to thediscoveryofironandglasses.Aftergoldwas discovered and became a precious metal, many people were interested to find a method that could convert other substances into gold. This led to theprotosciencecalledalchemy.The wordchemistis derived from theNeo-Latinnounchimista,an abbreviation ofalchimista(alchemist). Alchemists discovered manychemical processesthat led to the development of modern chemistry.

Chemistry as we know it today, was invented byAntoine Lavoisierwith his law ofconservation of massin 1783.Thediscoveries of the chemical elementshas a long history culminating in the creation of theperiodic tablebyDmitri Mendeleev.TheNobel Prize in Chemistrycreated in 1901 gives an excellent overview of chemical discovery since the start of the 20th century.

At the Washington Academy of Sciences duringWorld War I,it was said that the side with the best chemists would win the war.

Education

Formal education

Jobs for chemists generally require at least abachelor's degreein chemistry, which takes four years.However, many positions, especially those in research, require aMaster of Scienceor aDoctor of Philosophy(PhD.).Most undergraduate programs emphasizemathematicsandphysicsas well as chemistry, partly because chemistry is also known as "the central science",thus chemists ought to have a well-rounded knowledge about science. At theMaster'slevel and higher, students tend to specialize in a particular field. Fields of specialization includebiochemistry,nuclear chemistry,organic chemistry,inorganic chemistry,polymer chemistry,analytical chemistry,physical chemistry,theoretical chemistry,quantum chemistry,environmental chemistry,andthermochemistry.Postdoctoralexperience may be required for certain positions.

Workers whose work involves chemistry, but not at a complexity requiring an education with a chemistry degree, are commonly referred to aschemical technicians.Such technicians commonly do such work as simpler, routine analyses forquality controlor inclinical laboratories,having anassociate degree.A chemical technologist has more education or experience than a chemical technician but less than a chemist, often having a bachelor's degree in a different field of science with also an associate degree in chemistry (or many credits related to chemistry) or having the same education as a chemical technician but more experience. There are also degrees specific to become a chemical technologist, which are somewhat distinct from those required when a student is interested in becoming a professional chemist. A Chemical technologist is more involved in the management and operation of the equipment and instrumentation necessary to perform chemical analyzes than a chemical technician. They are part of the team of a chemical laboratory in which the quality of the raw material, intermediate products and finished products is analyzed. They also perform functions in the areas of environmental quality control and the operational phase of a chemical plant.

Training

In addition to all the training usually given to chemical technologists in their respective degree (or one given via an associate degree), a chemist is also trained to understand more details related to chemical phenomena so that the chemist can be capable of more planning on the steps to achieve a distinct goal via a chemistry-related endeavor. The higher the competency level achieved in the field of chemistry (as assessed via a combination of education, experience and personal achievements), the higher the responsibility given to that chemist and the more complicated the task might be. Chemistry, as a field, have so many applications that different tasks and objectives can be given to workers or scientists with these different levels of education or experience. The specific title of each job varies from position to position, depending on factors such as the kind of industry, the routine level of the task, the current needs of a particular enterprise, the size of the enterprise or hiring firm, the philosophy and management principles of the hiring firm, the visibility of the competency and individual achievements of the one seeking employment, economic factors such asrecessionoreconomic depression,among other factors, so this makes it difficult to categorize the exact roles of these chemistry-related workers as standard for that given level of education. Because of these factors affecting exact job titles with distinct responsibilities, some chemists might begin doing technician tasks while other chemists might begin doing more complicated tasks than those of a technician, such as tasks that also involve formal applied research, management, or supervision included within the responsibilities of that same job title. The level of supervision given to that chemist also varies in a similar manner, with factors similar to those that affect the tasks demanded for a particular chemist.

A chemist in the lab of theWarsaw University of Technologyin 2011

It is important that those interested in a Chemistry degree understand the variety of roles available to them (on average), which vary depending on education and job experience. Those Chemists who hold a bachelor's degree are most commonly involved in positions related to either research assistance (working under the guidance of senior chemists in a research-oriented activity), or, alternatively, they may work on distinct (chemistry-related) aspects of a business, organization or enterprise including aspects that involve quality control, quality assurance, manufacturing, production, formulation, inspection, method validation, visitation for troubleshooting of chemistry-related instruments,regulatory affairs,"on-demand" technical services, chemical analysis for non-research purposes (e.g., as a legal request, for testing purposes, or for government or non-profit agencies); chemists may also work in environmental evaluation and assessment. Other jobs or roles may include sales and marketing of chemical products and chemistry-related instruments or technical writing. The more experience obtained, the more independence and leadership or management roles these chemists may perform in those organizations. Some chemists with relatively higher experience might change jobs or job position to become a manager of a chemistry-related enterprise, a supervisor, an entrepreneur or a chemistry consultant. Other chemists choose to combine their education and experience as a chemist with a distinct credential to provide different services (e.g., forensic chemists, chemistry-related software development, patent law specialists,environmental lawfirm staff, scientific news reporting staff, engineering design staff, etc.).

In comparison, chemists who have obtained a Master of Science (M.S.) in chemistry or in a very related discipline may find chemist roles that allow them to enjoy more independence, leadership and responsibility earlier in their careers with less years of experience than those with a bachelor's degree as highest degree. Sometimes, M.S. chemists receive more complex tasks duties in comparison with the roles and positions found by chemists with a bachelor's degree as their highest academic degree and with the same or close-to-same years of job experience. There are positions that are open only to those that at least have a degree related to chemistry at the master's level. Although good chemists without a Ph. D. degree but with relatively many years of experience may be allowed some applied research positions, the general rule is that Ph. D. chemists are preferred for research positions and are typically the preferred choice for the highest administrative positions on big enterprises involved in chemistry-related duties. Some positions, especially research oriented, will only allow those chemists who are Ph. D. holders. Jobs that involve intensive research and actively seek to lead the discovery of completely new chemical compounds under specifically assigned monetary funds and resources or jobs that seek to develop new scientific theories require a Ph. D. more often than not. Chemists with a Ph. D. as the highest academic degree are found typically on the research-and-development department of an enterprise and can also holduniversitypositions as professors. Professors for research universities or for big universities usually have a Ph. D., and some research-oriented institutions might require post-doctoral training. Some smaller colleges (including some smaller four-year colleges or smaller non-research universities for undergraduates) as well ascommunity collegesusually hire chemists with a M.S. as professors too (and rarely, some big universities who need part-time or temporary instructors, or temporary staff), but when the positions are scarce and the applicants are many, they might prefer Ph. D. holders instead.

Skills

Skills that a chemist may need on the job include:

• Knowledge of chemistry
• Familiarity withproduct development
• Using scientific rules, strategies, or concepts to solve problems
• Putting together small parts using hands and fingers withdexterity

Employment

Most chemists begin their lives inresearch laboratories.Many chemists continue working at universities.Other chemists may start companies, teach at high schools or colleges,take samples outside (asenvironmental chemists),or work inmedical examineroffices orpolice departments(asforensic chemists).

Some software that chemists may find themselves using include:

• ChemSW Buffer Maker
• LabTrackElectronic Lab Notebook
• Agilent ChemStation
• Waters Empower Chromatography Data Software
• Microsoft Excel

Increasingly, chemists may also find themselves usingartificial intelligence,such as fordrug discovery.

Subdisciplines

Chemistry typically is divided into several major sub-disciplines. There are also several main cross-disciplinary and more specialized fields of chemistry. There is a great deal of overlap between different branches of chemistry, as well as with other scientific fields such as biology, medicine, physics,radiology,and several engineering disciplines.

• Analytical chemistryis the analysis of material samples to gain an understanding of theirchemical compositionandstructure.Analytical chemistry incorporates standardized experimental methods in chemistry. These methods may be used in all subdisciplines of chemistry, excluding purely theoretical chemistry.
• Biochemistryis the study of thechemicals,chemical reactionsandchemical interaction}s that take place in livingorganisms.Biochemistry and organic chemistry are closely related, for example, inmedicinal chemistry.

A chemist prepares a newfuel cellfor testing atArgonne National Laboratory,Lemont, Illinois

A chemist pours from around-bottom flaskatLawrence Livermore National Laboratory,Livermore, California

• Inorganic chemistryis the study of the properties and reactions of inorganic compounds. The distinction between organic and inorganic disciplines is not absolute and there is much overlap, most importantly in the sub-discipline oforganometallic chemistry.TheInorganic chemistryis also the study of atomic and molecular structure and bonding.
• Medicinal chemistryis the science involved with designing, synthesizing and developing pharmaceutical drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, synthesis and development of new chemical entities suitable for therapeutic use. It also includes the study of existing drugs, their biological properties, and their quantitative structure-activity relationships.
• Organic chemistryis the study of the structure, properties, composition, mechanisms, and chemical reaction of carbon compounds.
• Physical chemistryis the study of the physical fundamental basis of chemical systems and processes. In particular, the energetics and dynamics of such systems and processes are of interest to physical chemists. Important areas of study include chemical thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, electrochemistry, quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics, and spectroscopy. Physical chemistry has a large overlap with theoretical chemistry and molecular physics. Physical chemistry involves the use ofcalculusin deriving equations.
• Theoretical chemistryis the study of chemistry via theoretical reasoning (usually withinmathematicsorphysics). In particular, the application ofquantum mechanicsto chemistry is calledquantum chemistry.Since the end of theSecond World War,the development of computers has allowed a systematic development ofcomputational chemistry,which is the art of developing and applyingcomputer programsfor solving chemical problems. Theoretical chemistry has large overlap withcondensed matter physicsandmolecular physics.Seereductionism.

All the above major areas of chemistry employ chemists. Other fields where chemical degrees are useful includeastrochemistry(andcosmochemistry),atmospheric chemistry,chemical engineering,chemo-informatics,electrochemistry,environmental science,forensic science,geochemistry,green chemistry,history of chemistry,materials science,medical science,molecular biology,molecular genetics,nanotechnology,nuclear chemistry,oenology,organometallic chemistry,petrochemistry,pharmacology,photochemistry,phytochemistry,polymer chemistry,supramolecular chemistryandsurface chemistry.

Professional societies

Chemists may belong toprofessional societiesspecifically for professionals and researchers within the field of chemistry, such as theRoyal Society of Chemistryin the United Kingdom, theAmerican Chemical Society(ACS) in the United States, or the Institution of Chemists in India.

Ethics

The "Global Chemists' Code of Ethics" suggests several ethical principles that all chemists should follow:

• Promoting thegeneral public's appreciation of chemistry
• The importance ofsustainabilityand protecting the environment
• The importance of scientific research and publications
• Respecting safety, such as by using properpersonal protective equipment
• Respectingchemical securitythroughout thechemical supply chain,especially for labs and industrial facilities

This code of ethics was codified in a 2016 conference held inKuala Lumpur, Malaysia,run by the American Chemical Society. The points listed are inspired by the 2015Hague Ethical Guidelines.

Honors and awards

Main article:List of Nobel laureates in Chemistry

The highest honor awarded to chemists is theNobel Prize in Chemistry,awarded since 1901, by theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

See also

• List of chemistry topics
• List of chemists
• List of Chemistry Societies

External links

• American Chemical Society
• Chemical Abstracts Serviceindexes and abstracts the world's chemistry-related literature and patents
• Chemists and Materials ScientistsArchived2006-01-16 at theWayback Machinefrom the U.S. Department of Labor'sOccupational Outlook Handbook
• Royal Society of Chemistry
• History of Chemistrylinks for chemists
• Luminaries of the Chemical Sciencesaccomplishments, biography, and publications from 44 of the most influential chemists
• Selected Classic Papers from the History of Chemistry
• Links for Chemistsguide to web sites related to chemistry
• ChemistryViews.org