Chemist

A chemist (from Greek chēm(ía) alchemy; replacing chymist from Medieval Latin alchemist)[1] is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, 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 of molecules and their component atoms. Chemists carefully measure substance proportions, chemical reaction rates, and other chemical properties. In Commonwealth English, pharmacists are often called chemists.

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 of subdisciplines of chemistry. Materials scientists and metallurgists share much of the same education and skills with chemists. The work of chemists is often related to the work of chemical engineers, who are primarily concerned with the proper design, construction and evaluation of the most cost-effective large-scale chemical plants and work closely with industrial chemists on the development of new processes and methods for the commercial-scale manufacture of chemicals and related products.

## Contents

* 1 History of chemistry
* 2 Education
* 2.1 Formal education
* 2.2 Training
* 2.3 Skills
* 3 Employment
* 3.1 Subdisciplines
* 4 Professional societies
* 5 Ethics
* 6 Honors and awards
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 External links

## History of chemistry

Main article: Chemistry:History of chemistry

German chemist Georgius Agricola (1494–1555) was the first to drop the Arabic definite article al-, exclusively writing chymia and chymista in describing activity that we today would characterize as chemical or alchemical. Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev, author of the first modern periodic table of elements Antoine Lavoisier (1743–94) is considered the "Father of Modern Chemistry".

The roots of chemistry can be traced to the phenomenon of burning. Fire was a mystical force that transformed one substance into another and thus was of primary interest to mankind. It was fire that led to the discovery of iron and glasses. After gold was discovered and became a precious metal, many people were interested to find a method that could convert other substances into gold. This led to the protoscience called alchemy.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024} from the Neo-Latin noun chimista, an abbreviation of alchimista (alchemist). Alchemists discovered many chemical processes that led to the development of modern chemistry.[citation needed] Chemistry as we know it today, was invented by Antoine Lavoisier with his law of conservation of mass in 1783.[2][3] The discoveries of the chemical elements has a long history culminating in the creation of the periodic table by Dmitri Mendeleev.[4] The Nobel Prize in Chemistry created in 1901 gives an excellent overview of chemical discovery since the start of the 20th century. At the Washington Academy of Sciences during World War I, it was said that the side with the best chemists would win the war.[5]

## Education

### Formal education

Jobs for chemists generally require at least a bachelor's degree in chemistry, which takes four years.[6]: 16 However, many positions, especially those in research, require a Master of Science or a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.). Most undergraduate programs emphasize mathematics and physics as 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 the Master's level and higher, students tend to specialize in a particular field. Fields of specialization include biochemistry, nuclear chemistry, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, polymer chemistry, analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, theoretical chemistry, quantum chemistry, environmental chemistry, and thermochemistry. Postdoctoral experience may be required for certain positions.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}

### Training

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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, has 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 as recession or economic 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 the Warsaw University of Technology in 2011

### Skills

Skills that a chemist may need on the job include:[7]

* Knowledge of chemistry
* Familiarity with product development
* Using scientific rules, strategies, or concepts to solve problems
* Putting together small parts using hands and fingers with dexterity

## Employment

Analytical chemists testing samples of explosives at Royal Naval Cordite Factory, Holton Heath during World War II

Most chemists begin their lives in research laboratories.[6]: 18 Many chemists continue working at universities.[6]: 18–19 Other chemists may start companies, teach at high schools or colleges,[6]: 19 take samples outside (as environmental chemists),[6]: 19 or work in medical examiner offices or police departments (as forensic chemists).[6]: 18

Some software that chemists may find themselves using include:[7]

* ChemSW Buffer Maker
* LabTrack Electronic Lab Notebook
* Agilent ChemStation
* Waters Empower Chromatography Data Software
* Microsoft Excel[8]: xix–xxi

Increasingly, chemists may also find themselves using artificial intelligence, such as for drug discovery.[9]

### Subdisciplines

Chemistry is typically organised into several major subdisciplines — including organic, inorganic, physical, analytical, and biochemistry — and encompasses numerous specialised and interdisciplinary fields. Many of these areas overlap with one another and with related sciences, and chemical research often intersects with disciplines such as biology, medicine, physics, materials science, and engineering.[10][11]

* Analytical chemistry is the analysis of material samples to gain an understanding of their chemical composition and structure. Analytical chemistry incorporates standardized experimental methods in chemistry. These methods may be used in all subdisciplines of chemistry, excluding purely theoretical chemistry.
* Biochemistry is the study of the chemicals, chemical reactions and chemical interactions that take place in living organisms. Biochemistry and organic chemistry are closely related, for example, in medicinal chemistry.

A chemist prepares a new fuel cell for testing at Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois. A chemist pours from a round-bottom flask at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California.

* Inorganic chemistry is 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 of organometallic chemistry. The Inorganic chemistry is also the study of atomic and molecular structure and bonding.
* Medicinal chemistry is 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 chemistry is the study of the structure, properties, composition, mechanisms, and chemical reaction of carbon compounds.
* Physical chemistry is 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 of calculus in deriving equations.
* Theoretical chemistry is the study of chemistry via theoretical reasoning (usually within mathematics or physics). In particular, the application of quantum mechanics to chemistry is called quantum chemistry. Since the end of the Second World War, the development of computers has allowed a systematic development of computational chemistry, which is the art of developing and applying computer programs for solving chemical problems. Theoretical chemistry has large overlap with condensed matter physics and molecular physics. See reductionism.

## Professional societies

Chemists may belong to professional societies specifically for professionals and researchers within the field of chemistry, such as the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom, the American 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:[12]

* Promoting the general public's appreciation of chemistry
* The importance of sustainability and protecting the environment
* The importance of scientific research and publications
* Respecting safety, such as by using proper personal protective equipment
* Respecting chemical security throughout the chemical supply chain, especially for labs and industrial facilities

This code of ethics was codified in a 2016 conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, run by the American Chemical Society. The points listed are inspired by the 2015 Hague Ethical Guidelines.[13]

## Honors and awards

Main article: Biography:List of Nobel laureates in Chemistry

The highest honor awarded to chemists is the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded since 1901, by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

* v
* t
* e

Laureates of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

1901–1925|

* 1901: Jacobus van 't Hoff
* 1902: Emil Fischer
* 1903: Svante Arrhenius
* 1904: William Ramsay
* 1905: Adolf von Baeyer
* 1906: Henri Moissan
* 1907: Eduard Buchner
* 1908: Ernest Rutherford
* 1909: Wilhelm Ostwald
* 1910: Otto Wallach
* 1911: Marie Curie
* 1912: Victor Grignard / Paul Sabatier
* 1913: Alfred Werner
* 1914: Theodore Richards
* 1915: Richard Willstätter
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918: Fritz Haber
* 1919
* 1920: Walther Nernst
* 1921: Frederick Soddy
* 1922: Francis Aston
* 1923: Fritz Pregl
* 1924
* 1925: Richard Zsigmondy

1926–1950|

* 1926: Theodor Svedberg
* 1927: Heinrich Wieland
* 1928: Adolf Windaus
* 1929: Arthur Harden / Hans von Euler-Chelpin
* 1930: Hans Fischer
* 1931: Carl Bosch / Friedrich Bergius
* 1932: Irving Langmuir
* 1933
* 1934: Harold Urey
* 1935: Frédéric Joliot-Curie / Irène Joliot-Curie
* 1936: Peter Debye
* 1937: Norman Haworth / Paul Karrer
* 1938: Richard Kuhn
* 1939: Adolf Butenandt / Leopold Ružička
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943: George de Hevesy
* 1944: Otto Hahn
* 1945: Artturi Virtanen
* 1946: James B. Sumner / John Northrop / Wendell Meredith Stanley
* 1947: Robert Robinson
* 1948: Arne Tiselius
* 1949: William Giauque
* 1950: Otto Diels / Kurt Alder

1951–1975|

* 1951: Edwin McMillan / Glenn T. Seaborg
* 1952: Archer Martin / Richard Synge
* 1953: Hermann Staudinger
* 1954: Linus Pauling
* 1955: Vincent du Vigneaud
* 1956: Cyril Hinshelwood / Nikolay Semyonov
* 1957: Alexander Todd
* 1958: Frederick Sanger
* 1959: Jaroslav Heyrovský
* 1960: Willard Libby
* 1961: Melvin Calvin
* 1962: Max Perutz / John Kendrew
* 1963: Karl Ziegler / Giulio Natta
* 1964: Dorothy Hodgkin
* 1965: Robert Woodward
* 1966: Robert S. Mulliken
* 1967: Manfred Eigen / Ronald Norrish / George Porter
* 1968: Lars Onsager
* 1969: Derek Barton / Odd Hassel
* 1970: Luis Federico Leloir
* 1971: Gerhard Herzberg
* 1972: Christian B. Anfinsen / Stanford Moore / William Stein
* 1973: Ernst Otto Fischer / Geoffrey Wilkinson
* 1974: Paul Flory
* 1975: John Cornforth / Vladimir Prelog

1976–2000|

* 1976: William Lipscomb
* 1977: Ilya Prigogine
* 1978: Peter D. Mitchell
* 1979: Herbert C. Brown / Georg Wittig
* 1980: Paul Berg / Walter Gilbert / Frederick Sanger
* 1981: Kenichi Fukui / Roald Hoffmann
* 1982: Aaron Klug
* 1983: Henry Taube
* 1984: Robert Merrifield
* 1985: Herbert A. Hauptman / Jerome Karle
* 1986: Dudley R. Herschbach / Yuan T. Lee / John Polanyi
* 1987: Donald J. Cram / Jean-Marie Lehn / Charles J. Pedersen
* 1988: Johann Deisenhofer / Robert Huber / Hartmut Michel
* 1989: Sidney Altman / Thomas Cech
* 1990: Elias Corey
* 1991: Richard R. Ernst
* 1992: Rudolph A. Marcus
* 1993: Kary Mullis / Michael Smith
* 1994: George Olah
* 1995: Paul J. Crutzen / Mario J. Molina / F. Sherwood Rowland
* 1996: Robert Curl / Harold Kroto / Richard Smalley
* 1997: Paul D. Boyer / John E. Walker / Jens Christian Skou
* 1998: Walter Kohn / John Pople
* 1999: Ahmed Zewail
* 2000: Alan J. Heeger / Alan MacDiarmid / Hideki Shirakawa

2001–present|

* 2001: William Knowles / Ryoji Noyori / K. Barry Sharpless
* 2002: John B. Fenn / Koichi Tanaka / Kurt Wüthrich
* 2003: Peter Agre / Roderick MacKinnon
* 2004: Aaron Ciechanover / Avram Hershko / Irwin Rose
* 2005: Robert H. Grubbs / Richard R. Schrock / Yves Chauvin
* 2006: Roger D. Kornberg
* 2007: Gerhard Ertl
* 2008: Osamu Shimomura / Martin Chalfie / Roger Y. Tsien
* 2009: Venkatraman Ramakrishnan / Thomas A. Steitz / Ada E. Yonath
* 2010: Richard F. Heck / Akira Suzuki / Ei-ichi Negishi
* 2011: Dan Shechtman
* 2012: Robert Lefkowitz / Brian Kobilka
* 2013: Martin Karplus / Michael Levitt / Arieh Warshel
* 2014: Eric Betzig / Stefan Hell / William E. Moerner
* 2015: Tomas Lindahl / Paul L. Modrich / Aziz Sancar
* 2016: Jean-Pierre Sauvage / Fraser Stoddart / Ben Feringa
* 2017: Jacques Dubochet / Joachim Frank / Richard Henderson
* 2018: Frances Arnold / Gregory Winter / George Smith
* 2019: John B. Goodenough / M. Stanley Whittingham / Akira Yoshino

## See also

* List of chemistry topics
* List of chemists

## References

1. ↑ "chemist". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/chemist.
2. ↑ Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent (1783). "Réflexions sur le phlogistique, pour servir de suite à la théorie de la combustion et de la calcination" (in fr). Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences (Paris: Imprimerie Royale) 1783: 505–538. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k35818/f631.item. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
3. ↑ "Antoine Laurent Lavoisier: The Chemical Revolution". American Chemical Society. https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/lavoisier.html.
4. ↑ PubChem. "Periodic Table of Elements" (in en). https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/periodic-table/.
5. ↑ Harrow, Benjamin (1918). "The Chemists of America". The Scientific Monthly (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 7 (4): 356–360. ISSN 0096-3771. http://www.jstor.org/stable/7047.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Howell, Sara (2017-07-15) (in en). Chemists at Work. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. ISBN 978-1-68048-753-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=b9NhDwAAQBAJ.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Chemists". https://neworks.nebraska.gov/admin/gsipub/htmlarea/uploads/Occ Profile Chemists.pdf.
8. ↑ Billo, E. Joseph (2004-03-22) (in en). Excel for Chemists: A Comprehensive Guide. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-46080-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=5i1T0q7G9mIC.
9. ↑ Griffen, Edward J.; Dossetter, Alexander G.; Leach, Andrew G. (2020-08-27). "Chemists: AI Is Here; Unite To Get the Benefits" (in en). Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 63 (16): 8695–8704. doi:10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c00163. ISSN 0022-2623. PMID 32459965. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c00163.
10. ↑ "Overview of chemistry subdisciplines". https://catalog.mines.edu/undergraduate/programs/chemistry/.
11. ↑ "The 5 Main Branches of Chemistry". https://www.thoughtco.com/the-5-branches-of-chemistry-603911.
12. ↑ "Global Chemists' Code of Ethics". https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/global/international/scifreedom/global-chemists-code-of-ethics-fi-2016.pdf.
13. ↑ Stoye, Emma (2016-05-23). "Global code of ethics planned for chemists". https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/global-code-of-ethics-planned-for-chemists/1010209.article.

## External links

* American Chemical Society
* Chemical Abstracts Service indexes and abstracts the world's chemistry-related literature and patents
* Chemists and Materials Scientists from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook
* Royal Society of Chemistry
* History of Chemistry links for chemists
* Luminaries of the Chemical Sciences accomplishments, biography, and publications from 44 of the most influential chemists
* Selected Classic Papers from the History of Chemistry
* Links for Chemists guide to web sites related to chemistry
* ChemistryViews.org

* v
* t
* e

Branches of chemistry

* Glossary of chemical formulas
* List of biomolecules
* List of inorganic compounds
* Periodic table

Physical|

* Chemical kinetics
* Chemical physics
* Chemical thermodynamics
* Cryochemistry
* Nuclear chemistry
* Electrochemistry
* Femtochemistry
* Geochemistry
* Micromeritics
* Photochemistry
* Quantum chemistry
* Solid-state chemistry
* Spectroscopy
* Spin chemistry
* Surface science
* Thermochemistry

Organic|

* Biochemistry
* Bioorganic chemistry
* Biophysical chemistry
* Chemical biology
* Clinical chemistry
* Fullerene chemistry
* Medicinal chemistry
* Molecular biology
* Neurochemistry
* Physical organic chemistry
* Polymer chemistry

Inorganic|

* Bioinorganic chemistry
* Bioorganometallic chemistry
* Ceramic chemistry
* Cluster chemistry
* Coordination chemistry
* Materials science
* Organometallic chemistry
* Physical inorganic chemistry

Others|

* Actinide chemistry
* Analytical chemistry
* Astrochemistry
* Atmospheric chemistry
* Carbochemistry
* Petrochemistry
* Carbohydrate chemistry
* Chemistry education
* Clay chemistry
* Click chemistry
* Computational chemistry
* Cosmochemistry
* Environmental chemistry
* Food chemistry
* Forensic chemistry
* Green chemistry
* Ocean chemistry
* Post-mortem chemistry
* Sonochemistry
* Stereochemistry
* Supramolecular chemistry
* Theoretical chemistry
* Wet chemistry

See also|

* History of chemistry
* Nobel Prize in Chemistry
* Timeline of chemistry
* Timeline of chemical element discoveries
* The central science
* Chemical reaction
* Chemical element
* Chemical compound
* Atom
* Molecule
* Ion
* Chemical bond

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