r2010 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

_pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc

_Vol. 88 No. 1 January 2011

_Journal of Chemical Education 5

10.1021/ed101044m Published on Web 11/19/2010

Chemical Education Today

Welcome to the International Year of Chemistry!by Nancy B. JacksonOffice of the President, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC 20036, United Statespresident@acs.org

I am especially honored to serve as president of the AmericanChemical Society (ACS) during the International Year ofChemistry.I have stated previously in these pages (1) that chemical educators playa crucial role in ACS and that I would, as president, call on educatorsnot only for their obvious expertise in chemical education, but to giveinsight on how chemical scientists should and could be communicat-ing with the general public and to play a pivotal role in theInternational Year of Chemistry 2011 (IYC 2011). That time isnow. As those involved in chemical education, we are intimatelyaware that chemistry is essential to the developments and innovationthatweneed tomake in energy, sustainability, and security;all issuesthat are foremost in the minds of people everywhere. But it is ironicto me that despite the critical role that chemistry must play inaddressing these needs, our science is so undervalued by the generalpublic, not just here in the United States, but around the world. It isspecifically this undervaluation that prompted theUnitedNations toput forth the idea of an International Year of Chemistry (2).

The American Chemical Society is the ultimate champion ofchemical education in the United States and provides an impressiveamount of support, curriculum materials, policy recommendations,and leadership. The ACS Science Education Policy, 2007-2010 (3)gives an excellent summary of what chemical education needs tothrive; a more detailed discussion in Science Education Policies forSustainable Reform (4) provides comprehensive guidelines tobetter science education. I remain committed to advancing ACSscience education programs and policies.

The goals of IYC 2011 are to increase the public appreciation ofchemistry in meeting world needs, to encourage interest in chemistryamong young people, and to generate enthusiasm for the creativefuture of chemistry. I hope you can find some time to carve out ofyour busy academic schedules to participate in this worldwidecelebration of our science.

Communicate Your Enthusiasm for Chemistry

Communicating science to the public is something I firmlybelieve we must make a priority across the board. Whether student,educator, or life-long scientist, we all need to take the time to explainthe importance and benefits of science to others.Maybe communicat-ing chemistry to the public is something we should help our studentsthink about.How about a 2-min talk geared to the level of the generalpublic explaining what one of the lab class experiments was all about?We all know that summarizing chemistry to the general public isharder than it sounds. The recently inaugurated Chemistry Ambassa-dors program (5) has several suggestions about connecting our mem-bers and theirmessageswith the peoplewho live in their communities.It is about encouraging our members to be compelling spokespersonsfor their profession, whether they have a lot of time, or a little.

Professional scientific organizations like the American Chemi-cal Society (6) have tremendous resources and expertise that arededicated to public communication. We must continue to tweak

and refine those assets to find the best way of reaching the variouspublics whose understanding and support we seek.

Inmy travels, both international and domestic, I have found thatyoung people become interested in chemistry when you explain tothem how chemistry can “change the world”: how it is necessary forreaching sustainability, how essential it is to energy, medicine, andimproving the lives of all. Within the United States, I find manyyoung students intrigued by the international opportunities of science.As we all know, the stereotype of the chemist in a lab coat stuck in alaboratory every dayworking on some esoteric problem still exists.Weneed to open the door of possibilities in chemistry for our youngstudents to encourage them to think about chemistry as a career.

I have also shared with students that I went to college to be apolitical science major and when I switched to chemistry my firstattempt in my new field left me shaken and feeling like I was notsmart enough. I even briefly abandoned the idea of being a chemistrymajor. But my freshmen chemistry professor and mentor, TheodorePerros, told me that any career I could have with a political sciencedegree, I could do better with chemistry whether it was environ-mental issues, energy, or public health. Eventually I regained my self-confidence and excitement about the possibilities, and earnedmyB.S.in chemistry. Even after I finished my master's in chemical engineer-ing, I hesitated about the Ph.D. But somewhere along the way,I learned to believe in myself, and ultimately, that faith helped me toachieve that degree. Dr. Perros was instrumental in helping medevelop confidence in my ability to do chemistry.What an influenceeducators have on the lives of their students! Without Dr. Perros,I am not sure where I would be today. I am sure that sharing yourpassion for and pursuit of chemistry will inspire your students topursue chemistry and live their dreams.

Literature Cited

1. Jackson,N.B. J.Chem.Educ.2009,86, 1170;DOI: 10.1021/ed086p1170.2. ACS IYC 2011 Web Page. http://www.acs.org/iyc2011 (accessed

Oct 2010).3. ACS Science Education Policy Web Page. See the downloadable

ACS position paper, Science Education Policy, 2007-2010. http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_SUPERARTICLE&node_id=1892&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=a41e6a31-dc75-426a-8a40-5c0a3dab1120 (accessedOct 2010).

4. Society Committee on Education (SOCED) Web Page. See thepublications section for the policy document, ACS Science EducationPolicies for Sustainable Reform. http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_TRANSITIONMAIN-&node_id=1531&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=ba92e078-9ad2-47c5-bf72-113f1cf5be1f (accessed Oct 2010).

5. ACS Chemistry Ambassadors Program Web Site. http://www.acs.org/chemistryambassadors (accessed Oct 2010).

6. ACSHomePage. http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content (accessedOct 2010).