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 Inorganic
Chemistry
Inorganic chemistry is the
study of the synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic
compounds. It has applications in every aspect of the chemical industry
including catalysis, materials science, pigments, surfactants, coatings,
medicine, fuel, and agriculture. Inorganic chemists are employed in fields
as diverse as the mining and microchip industries, environmental science,
and education. Their work is based on understanding the behavior and the
analogues for inorganic elements, and how these materials can be modified,
separated or used often in product applications. It includes developing
methods to recover metals from waste streams; employment as analytical
chemists specializing in analysis of mined ores; performing research on
the use of inorganic chemicals for treating soil. Many inorganic chemists
go into industry, but they are also at universities and in government
labs. Inorganic chemists who work in government say their time is
increasingly spent writing grant proposals and competing for a small pool
of research money. Inorganic chemists compare their jobs to those of
materials scientists and physicists. All three fields explore the
relationship between physical properties and functions, but inorganic
chemistry is the most keenly focused on these properties at the molecular
level.
Materials
Science
Materials
science is an applied science concerned with the relationship between
the structure and properties of materials. Chemists who work in the
field study how different combinations of molecules and materials result
in different properties. They use this knowledge to synthesize new
materials with special properties. Materials science is one of the
hottest career areas in science, but to think of it as a single career
is misleading. Perhaps one reason for its popularity is that it unites
applications from many scientific disciplines that contribute to the
development of new materials. Chemists play a predominant role in
materials science because chemistry provides information about the
structure and composition of materials as well as the processes to apply
and synthesize them. Materials science overlaps to a large extent with
polymer science resulting in many new polymeric materials being
developed in this century. Materials scientists are employed by
companies whose products are made of metals, ceramics, and rubber, for
example; they work in the coatings (developing new varieties of paint)
and biologics industries (designing materials that are compatible with
human tissues for prosthetics and implants). Other applications of
materials science include studies of superconducting materials, graphite
materials, integrated-circuit chips, and fuel cells. Materials science
is so interdisciplinary that preparation in a number of related areas is
important.
Medicinal
Chemistry
Medicinal
chemistry is the application of chemical research techniques to the
synthesis of pharmaceuticals. During the early stages of medicinal
chemistry development, scientists were primarily concerned with the
isolation of medicinal agents found in plants. Today, scientists in this
field are also equally concerned with the creation of new synthetic drug
compounds. Medicinal chemistry is almost always geared toward drug
discovery and development. Medicinal chemistry research is an important
area of research that is performed in many university labs. Medicinal
chemists apply their chemistry training to the process of synthesizing
new pharmaceuticals. They also work on improving the process by which
other pharmaceuticals are made. Most chemists work with a team of
scientists from different disciplines, including biologists,
toxicologists, pharmacologists, theoretical chemists, microbiologists,
and biopharmacists. Together this team uses sophisticated analytical
techniques to synthesize and test new drug products and to develop the
most cost-effective and environmentally friendly means of production.
Oil
and Petroleum Chemistry
The oil and petroleum industry
offers chemists and chemical engineers a broad range of work opportunities
over a wide area of chemistry. For example, specialists in chemometrics
rely on statistical and computer expertise to put lab instruments online
at a refinery. Working with delicate machines can be a challenging
assignment anywhere, but in a refinery they must operate under hostile
conditions--including temperature extremes, vibrations from surrounding
equipment, continuous operation, and locations that make monitoring
difficult. With crude oil being the raw material for polymer production,
there are positions for polymer chemists throughout the field. Since these
positions are also defined by the demands of a business environment, most
polymer chemists work on projects with real-world applications rather than
do "research for its own sake." Many in the industry view polymers as a
growing field in which many questions are unanswered and many areas still
untested.
Organic
Chemistry
Organic chemistry is that
branch of chemistry that deals with the structure, properties, and
reactions of com-pounds that contain carbon. It is a highly creative
science. Chemists in general, and organic chemists in particular, can
create new molecules never before proposed, which, if carefully designed,
may have important proper-ties for the betterment of the human experience.
Organic chemistry is the largest chemistry discipline in both total
numbers and annual Ph.D. graduates. those industries that depend on
research and development (R&D), working on projects from fundamental
discovery to highly applied product development. The foundation of the
pharmaceutical industry is its large pool of highly skilled organic
chemists. For example, nature may provide a molecule such as a complex
anti-biotic, an antitumor agent, or a replacement for a hormone such as
insulin; organic chemists determine the structure of this newly discovered
molecule and then modify it to enhance the desired activity and
specificity of action, while decreasing undesired side effects. Indeed,
organic chemists have produced a wonderful myriad of highly successful
products to fight human diseases. Nearly all modern pharmaceutical agents
are first designed, synthesized, and optimized by organic chemists working
in collaboration with biologists.
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by
the American Chemical Society and the US Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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