What the Chemist Should Bring to His Profession1

---

PACIFIC SOUTHWEST ASSOCIATION OF CHEMISTRY TEACHERS

What the Chemist Should Bring to His Profession1 THE IMPORTANCE OF A LIBERAL OUTLOOK THOMAS D. STEWART University of California, Berkeley, California

INCONSIDERING what the chemist should bring to his profession we should concern ourselves with those characteristics which are to be developed and improved in the individual, rather than fundamental aptitudes. We may take for granted that inherent talent for physic d science exists in the individual together with the evidences of such talent, such as avid interest, willingness to work, and scholastic success in key subjects. There is no subsitute for natural aptitude, but there is considerable choice in how that aptitude is exercised and developed. Perhaps there is no profession, aside from homemaking, that entails as varied a set of operations as that of the chemist. The home-maker is successful to the degree that she can work with her hands a t a multitude of things, analyze problems of all magnitudes, be at once a gracious hostess and servant, and be a t home in a hovel or a castle. The chemist may not have even a choice of materials with which to work but must be adaptable to any circumstance, as was one of our studsnts who majored in foods and biochemistry and was employed in a cement plant. He may work in laboratory or plant, in an ofice or library, in a white collar or overalls, alone or closely associated in a team; and the members of the team may be chemists, engineers, laborers, clerks, bosses, or helpers. What manner of person, what kind of training and experience is the most suitable to unforeseeable requirements? Not a single kind of person nor a single kind of training will do, except as we can designate those features of personality and education which are common backgrounds for all activities. I recall a few weeks ago asking a student to present himself for an interview with a potential employer. His response was, "I shall have t o return home to change my clothes if I go today." He was attired as is the normal California sophomore. On another occasion I visited an industrial plant and met a former student, now in his thirties, in overalls. He excused himself sayA symposium presented at the University of California, Berkeley. on Feb. 12. 1951.

ing I had caught him setting up a pilot plant he had designed. What implications are there here that a man wants t o he presentable? To me it suggests that these men have a sense of the fitness of things and do not want to be misjudged. They will conform as the job requires, or convention dictates, and they want it understood that it is never too much trouble t o dress, either for dinner or a dirty joh. The problem of conformingis often not one of willingness so much as awareness. What is proper under given circumstances and how can one know? Good taste in dress, in manners, in speech, in deportment may seem incidental to being an artisan, but the qualities of good taste and a sense of fitness mark one as sensitive to what is good and bad, whether it be in technical work or normal living. One has a chance to develop and display his attributes of mind at home, in recreation, in social gatherings in as great a degree as in his professional work. One could urge that the chemist as a person should bring to his profession as broad a social experience as possible, to the end that he will understand those with whom he is thrown in contact and not he misunderstood himself. Often I hear from personnel men: "We are all congenial here, do a lot of mutual entertaining in our homes. We want a man who will fit in." One company I know puts a premium on so-called cultural interest among its technical staff. Why are these things important? Because in work a t the professional level one is not measured by the number of cords of wood cut per day, but by the quality and soundness of work and ideas. It is easier to convey ideas clearly to a man you know than to a stranger; one gets to know a man only through diverse contacts, not through the limited communion available from technical subject matter and technical language. One could urge development of bona jide interest in the humanities. Fortunately this does not detract from an adequate professional training, as it need not depend on formal educational facilities nor involve expenditure of money. It does have to be worked at, and it must be fun. If I seem to underemphasize professional training it is

334

JUNE, 1951

through the hope that others have been explicit in suggesting specific fields of work. I was once impressed by an industrialist who came our way looking for men. I asked: "For what kind of work are they needed?" He answered: "I do not know for sure, but we are shorthanded. Last year I went east for men with specific training, but this year our problems are as yet indefinite and we have found your graduates more generally adaptable." So this is the scope of our task; to be professionally educated one must be prepared to do anything, a t least be prepared to learn anything. Perhaps an educated person is merely one with a high capacity to learn; if, in addition, he has sure reliance in his techniques and good judgment, he will go far. And how does one achieve a decisive judgment? By practice. A man who has never learned a complicated set of

335

facts with certainty does not know what it means to know; if he has never performed a task with speed and precision he does not have the feel for work done adequately; if he is right only now and then, never sure of himself, his judgment is not trustworthy. So one may urge a high standard of achievement through elementary school, high school, and college, not for itself alone but for the basic training it implies. Not excellence and sureness uniformly a t all points, but an experience with perfection which permits a man t o say, "I know" and be right, is the goal. And if he can adopt this attitude toward his professional work and be inept in speech, careless in appearance, and unaware of the cultural values of his civilization, he runs the risk that the quality of his professional work may be misappraised and his judgment questioned.