Banish quantum mechanics from general chemistry? - ACS Publications

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letters letters Division I vs Division Ill To the Editor:

As a "Division I" faculty member, I was not "infuriated" by Jack Hedrick's Prauocative Opinion (January 1992),but I was a little puzzled by his reaction to Division I participation in chemical education sessions a t national meetings. The submission of papers a t national meetings is open to everyone. Meeting organizers are usually glad to entertain suggestions for symposium topics and to accept volunteers to organize symposia. It falls on each of us to externalize our work and to share our expertise with others, through the medium of scholarly publications and meetings. These means of expression are available to Division 111 schools as well. Indeed, the Journal of Chemical Education, a peer-reviewed ACS journal, usually has more papers from smaller schools that from the larger Division I schools. Do Division 111 schools do a better job of teaching undergraduates? Very likely so. Many of my best graduate students came fmm such schools, and I would be glad to get more of them. But I would counter that Division I schools do a better job of teaching graduate students and of doing research. The education of the next generation of professionals is also an important job that nceds to be dona wcll. Research is not iust a self-indulgenceon thc pan offaculty; it is the centraltheme of graduate education. Itk all a matter of where the resources and the enthusiasm are directed. I'll have to agree that the emphasis on research, grants, and publications at Division I schools does sometimes interfere with a full commitment to undergraduate education. Only the most talented and energetic faculty members can do a superior job on all fronts. We all aspire to the stature ofJohannes Coetzee, but regretfully we don't all measure up. A s for Division I being a "closed shop within the ole boy network", this has not been so for many years. Our chemistry department graduate student population is approximately one-half women; 30% of my own graduate students over the last 24 vears have been women. But it is true that there are comparatively few womcn t'arulty in most rhemistry departments: only 10ri ofour tenure-track faculty are

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women. Having served on many search committees, I can assure you it is not the result of sexist policy but rather of the small number of women applicants. T. C. O'Haver University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 Banish Quantum Mechanics from General Chemistry? To the Editor:

In the March 1992 Forum on naching General Chemistry appears the article "General Chemistry Course Content", written by the Chairperson of the Task Force on the General Chemistry Curriculum. This article lists Atomic Spectra, Quantum Mechanics, and Schrodinger's Equation among a list of subjects labeled "Unteachable at the General Level." I wish to register disagreement with this apparently popular position. Quantum mechanics is arguably the most significant intellectual achievement of the 20th century. Furthermore, quantum mechanics has been foundational to why chemistry is understood in a much more profound manner t h a n was the case in 1926. Whether one likes it or not, orbitals have become the lingua fmnca of chemistry since the 1963paper of Woodward and Hoffmann. Furthermore quantum mechanics has had a very practical impact on chemistry Just take away every NMR spectrometer in the world if you want to revert to a pre-quantum understanding of nature. In the course of teaching the first semester of General Chemistry over the past eight years both a t Berkeley and Georgia, I have found that a reasonable introduction to Quantum Mechanics, Schrodinger's Equation, and Atomic Spectra can be achieved in six 50-miu lectures. Judging from their written responses, my students enjoy this material and would be eager to learn more if time permitted. They surely understand the periodic table at a level that would have been impossible without the mention of quantum mechanics. Let's keep general chemistry in the 20th century Henry F. SchaeferIll University of Georgia Athens, GA30602