Re: [kent-grads] Chemistry

[Brian Meadows <brian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 11:16:59 +0000 (GMT), Huge wrote:

>When did UKC decide to close its chemistry undergrad course?  And what's happened to the
>building? And the staff?
>
I don't know when the decision was actually taken, but according
to my (retired) former Ph.D. supervisor, the last year of
chemistry is currently being taught. There are a couple of
chemistry-related courses that will carry on (Forensic chemistry
was one of them, I think) but in his opinion, the courses will
struggle to provide people suitable for chemistry postgrad.
study. 

As regards the staff, I believe a fair number took early
retirement. I had joint Ph.D. supervisors, one of them is still
there, although spending large amounts of time away from UKC on
collaborative research, the other took early retirement a couple
of years ago. 

I assume the building is still there and has been swallowed up by
either Biology or Physics - the building was connected to biology
via an elevated walkway on the second floor, AFAIR. 

I guess it took a while for the curse of having me as a student
to get to UKC. I now have a B.Sc, M.Sc and Ph.D from three
different universities, and all of them have since decided to
stop teaching chemistry. UCW Aberystwyth was the first to bite
the dust, Lancaster closed quite recently (a few four-year
students were the last graduates in 2002) and now chemistry at
Kent is in its death throes. 

It seems crazy to me. I suppose you can't blame the universities
too much, if the financial straitjacket is impossible to resist
then there's no doubt that chemistry is an expensive degree to
teach, but even so... The Guardian (or at least its web site, all
I can get over here) ran an article a couple of weeks ago in
which they said that 29 chemistry courses had closed down, with
more to follow. 

No doubt the cycle will reverse and in a few years the government
will be bleating about the lack of science graduates. Nothing new
there. When I left UKC in 1981, out of 12 people graduating with
a Ph.D. in chemistry or chemical physics, three of us had jobs,
three others were going on to postdoc positions, and six were
signing on the dole. For myself, my two R&D jobs were both
'Thatchered' within six months of my starting work, and I ended
up moving into programming to earn a living, until ill-health
forced me into near-retirement. 5-10 years after I graduated, the
"We need more scientists" cries were starting to be heard. 

When the UK is losing the likes of Kroto to the USA because (he's
quoted as saying) it's virtually impossible for *him* to get
research money, then what hope have your "average" academics?
(Note for the non-scientists on the list, Prof. Sir Harry Kroto
is a British Nobel Prize winning chemist).

Here in the USA, as far as I can tell from the Univ. of Delaware
(my wife worked there until 1997) chemistry is flourishing in
American universities. Having spent a significant part of my
working life writing software for use in *LARGE* R&D
laboratories, there's certainly a fair few chemists still
employed here in the USA. 


Brian. 



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