Why is chemistry rewarding?

“I recall the very first time that I completed a natural product synthesis. This particular molecule had never been made before. I had just done an NMR comparison of synthetic vs. natural. The spectra were identical. I was about three feet off the ground. I was so excited. I remember I called my wife. I was jumping up and down. I think I realized then, just like now, what power we as chemists must have in our hands and minds, to be able to construct a complex molecule of nature – for the first time, in this case – from simple reagents. I still think about that. It still excites me.”
John Lechleiter, President and Chief Executive Officer, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, Ind He is a 34-year ACS member.

“Today I have the time, experience, and opportunities to encourage young people to pursue one of the many possible careers in chemistry. I assure them that my professional life is never boring in a lab warmly filled with teenagers messing with bubbles, color changes, and little explosions. I love being involved in this career, where I can make a difference!’
Barbara Pressey Sitzman, ChemCom and Advanced Placement chemistry teacher, Granada Hills Charter High School, Granada Hills, Calif. She is an 11-year ACS member.

“I love the creative aspects of performing chemical syntheses and uncovering reactions, mechanisms or structures that have very little or no precedent. I believe that basic research is the key to engender fundamental knowledge leading to applications and solutions to real world problems.”
Dan Rabinovich, Professor of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Charlotte. He is a 19-year ACS member.

“Chemists have unique understanding of the world around them that people in other professions usually miss. When I go to science meetings that have broad participation, there are always fundamental questions involved where only the chemists know how something works.”
George Schatz, Morrison Professor of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., and Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Physical Chemistry. He is a 40-year ACS member.

“One of the biggest `ah, ha’ moments that I’ve had in my career was seeing phase transitions right before my eyes in polymer blends. People had been predicting these things theoretically, but no one had actually studied them experimentally. One of my students said, ‘I’m seeing this really strange thing. I don’t know what to make of it.’ So I went and took a look at it and it dawned on me what was happening. We spent years pursuing those simple observations. A less observant student might have ignored it and gone on.”
Donald Paul, Ernest Cockrell, Sr. Chair in Engineering, University of Texas, Austin; Editor, Industrial & Engineering Chemical Research. He is a 44-year ACS member.

“I love the excitement of the discovery of new and exciting facts about chemistry in the laboratory. Although I rarely get into the laboratory myself these days, I experience this excitement through my graduate students. I am proud to participate in the development of careers of young people in the sciences.”
Isiah M. Warner, Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives; Boyd Professor and Philip W. West Professor of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry at Louisiana State University. He is a 33-year ACS member.

“What I find to be rewarding in medicinal chemistry is the development of new concepts in the design of compounds that target opioid receptors. Of course, seeing the concepts work is the ultimate excitement, particularly when the pharmacology can be explained in terms of chemistry.”
Philip Portoghese, Distinguished Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; editor, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. He is a 48-year ACS member.

“It’s amazing how many chemical concepts can be taught using materials commonly found in the home, and at grocery and hardware stores. I’m proud to have the opportunity to help people, including my own young children, realize how closely chemistry is connected to their everyday lives.”
Erica Jacobsen, Secondary School Chemistry Education Editor, Journal of Chemical Education, The Dalles, Ore. She is a 4-year ACS member.

“I was drawn to chemistry because I like problem solving. But the part that I really enjoy is the creative side – the times when I get to think, `this is what I need, How am I going to get there?’”
Katherine Glasgow, Senior Materials Scientist, Nomacorc LLC, Zebulon, N.C. She is a 12-year ACS member.

“I am proud to teach young (and not so young) chemists to search for the information needed to advance science and understand the world around them. The glow on their faces as they discover the perfect paper or learn that no papers have been published on the topic of their dissertation or grant request is a great reward.”
Judith N. Currano, Chemistry Librarian, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphi. She is a 10-year ACS member.

“The most rewarding aspect of chemistry is the possibility it gives for us to exert our creativity. The synthesis of a new compound or the improvement in an existing technology requires a lot of creativity. I am proud to be a chemist because I know that chemistry can help humankind solve many of our problems, such as global warming, diseases, energy and many others.”
Claudio J.A. Mota, Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is a 15-year ACS member.

“I love reading the old textbooks and the old articles about the giants of chemistry. What’s amazing about it is the basic premise hasn’t changed. It’s still about solving problems. It’s still the same excitement of trying to change the world for the better.”
Steven Furyk, Project Seed alumnus; Research Chemist, DuPont, Wilmington, Del. He is a 9-year ACS member.