Thesis

Becoming an assistant professor brings with it several challenges, one of which is developing new relationships that can be professionally and personally beneficial. Shira Joudan reflects on getting to know people at a new institution, having different types of relationships, and how they help with happiness and success.

As the search for new faculty begins across many chemistry departments, Bruce Gibb takes the opportunity to assess his potential biases — and discusses how to address them.

Given the fraught history of fluorine, Michelle Francl wonders what made medicinal chemists consider fluorine derivatives?

Becoming an assistant professor brings with it numerous challenges, one of which is teaching undergraduate courses for the first time. Shira Joudan reflects on the ups and downs of setting up and delivering her first course.

In the third of a trilogy of essays on types of intelligence, Bruce Gibb mines the thoughts of some of his peers on what personal qualities help chemists achieve success in the lab.

Teaching the history of science along with the science itself can give students greater context about the topic they are learning and a wider perspective on how it has developed. Michelle Francl, who has wrestled with how much time to spend on teaching history in the chemistry classroom for years, considers how unconventional histories can shift the curriculum.

There are lots of expectations for assistant professors, and many opportunities that are good for your career. Shira Joudan reflects on making a personalized reference document for how to decide which opportunities are best to pursue, and to which to say ‘no’.

Different roles require different types of intelligences, and trainee chemists are often tested on their linguistic and logical–mathematical intelligences at the expense of other types. Bruce Gibb describes the types of intelligences that chemists use, and suggests ways to teach and test them.

Large language models such as ChatGPT have been predicted to lighten the load for some workers but make some roles obsolete. Michelle Francl explores what they can do for chemistry professors.

Getting started at a new institution and building a research programme can be an exciting period, but there is much to do in a short space of time. Shira Joudan reflects on her first month as an assistant professor, discussing the stresses of setting up a new lab and how it’s easier with a little help from your (new) friends.

Bifurcating the population as either verbal or visual thinkers is one of the simplest ways to classify intelligence. Bruce Gibb argues that visual thinking is key to chemistry, and that teaching and testing must focus on this type of thinking rather than traditional approaches promoting verbal thinking skills.

The time between accepting a position as an assistant professor and taking the role is exciting and unique. But how much work is required before you even start? Shira Joudan ponders which tasks are necessary and how many times one should interrupt a very well-deserved break.

Winter brings a spike in mortality rates, but rather than simply having more parties to divert our attention, Bruce Gibb suggests that perhaps we should be looking to the misunderstood mushroom to give us a boost.

Introduced in response to growing numbers of scientists and conferences, posters gave an outlet to those not invited to give oral presentations. But why are poster sessions still the purview of students?

Sit back and settle in for a tour of the chemical analysis instruments aboard the James Webb Space Telescope and the techniques being used to explore the planets beyond our Solar System.

Decisions, decisions. There’s a lot to think about when moving on from a postdoctoral position and Shira Joudan takes us through the considerations that led to her ultimately taking a tenure-track position in a new city.

Bruce Gibb suggests that chemists can play a central role in democratizing access to energy by focusing on common elements.

Michelle Francl explores how glass revolutionized chemistry.

In early 2020, Shira Joudan was in the final stages of her PhD when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Despite the challenging circumstances, she graduated, found a postdoc position and will begin her independent academic career in early 2023.

Bruce C. Gibb offers some suggestions to chemists for how they can help save the world, one nudge at a time.