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52-572: Ira Remsen (February 10, 1846 – March 4, 1927) was an American chemist who introduced organic chemistry research and education in the United States along the lines of German universities where he received his early training. He was the first professor of chemistry and the second president of Johns Hopkins University . He founded the American Chemical Journal , which he edited from 1879 to 1914. The discovery of Saccharine

104-815: A Master of Science or a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.). Most undergraduate programs emphasize mathematics and physics as well as chemistry, partly because chemistry is also known as " the central science ", thus chemists ought to have a well-rounded knowledge about science. At the Master's level and higher, students tend to specialize in a particular field. Fields of specialization include biochemistry , nuclear chemistry , organic chemistry , inorganic chemistry , polymer chemistry , analytical chemistry , physical chemistry , theoretical chemistry , quantum chemistry , environmental chemistry , and thermochemistry . Postdoctoral experience may be required for certain positions. Workers whose work involves chemistry, but not at

156-817: A M.S. as professors too (and rarely, some big universities who need part-time or temporary instructors, or temporary staff), but when the positions are scarce and the applicants are many, they might prefer Ph.D. holders instead. Skills that a chemist may need on the job include: Most chemists begin their lives in research laboratories . Many chemists continue working at universities. Other chemists may start companies, teach at high schools or colleges, take samples outside (as environmental chemists ), or work in medical examiner offices or police departments (as forensic chemists ). Some software that chemists may find themselves using include: Increasingly, chemists may also find themselves using artificial intelligence , such as for drug discovery . Chemistry typically

208-403: A Master of Science (M.S.) in chemistry or in a very related discipline may find chemist roles that allow them to enjoy more independence, leadership and responsibility earlier in their careers with less years of experience than those with a bachelor's degree as highest degree. Sometimes, M.S. chemists receive more complex tasks duties in comparison with the roles and positions found by chemists with

260-559: A Ph.D. more often than not. Chemists with a Ph.D. as the highest academic degree are found typically on the research-and-development department of an enterprise and can also hold university positions as professors. Professors for research universities or for big universities usually have a Ph.D., and some research-oriented institutions might require post-doctoral training. Some smaller colleges (including some smaller four-year colleges or smaller non-research universities for undergraduates) as well as community colleges usually hire chemists with

312-604: A bachelor's degree are most commonly involved in positions related to either research assistance (working under the guidance of senior chemists in a research-oriented activity), or, alternatively, they may work on distinct (chemistry-related) aspects of a business, organization or enterprise including aspects that involve quality control, quality assurance, manufacturing, production, formulation, inspection, method validation, visitation for troubleshooting of chemistry-related instruments, regulatory affairs , "on-demand" technical services, chemical analysis for non-research purposes (e.g., as

364-466: A bachelor's degree as their highest academic degree and with the same or close-to-same years of job experience. There are positions that are open only to those that at least have a degree related to chemistry at the master's level. Although good chemists without a Ph.D. degree but with relatively many years of experience may be allowed some applied research positions, the general rule is that Ph.D. chemists are preferred for research positions and are typically

416-435: A combination of education, experience and personal achievements), the higher the responsibility given to that chemist and the more complicated the task might be. Chemistry, as a field, have so many applications that different tasks and objectives can be given to workers or scientists with these different levels of education or experience. The specific title of each job varies from position to position, depending on factors such as

468-410: A complexity requiring an education with a chemistry degree, are commonly referred to as chemical technicians . Such technicians commonly do such work as simpler, routine analyses for quality control or in clinical laboratories , having an associate degree . A chemical technologist has more education or experience than a chemical technician but less than a chemist, often having a bachelor's degree in

520-409: A different field of science with also an associate degree in chemistry (or many credits related to chemistry) or having the same education as a chemical technician but more experience. There are also degrees specific to become a chemical technologist, which are somewhat distinct from those required when a student is interested in becoming a professional chemist. A Chemical technologist is more involved in

572-453: A lecture given by Lord Rayleigh . Rayleigh had noticed a discrepancy between the density of nitrogen made by chemical synthesis and nitrogen isolated from the air by removal of the other known components. After a short conversation, he and Ramsay decided to investigate this. In August Ramsay told Rayleigh he had isolated a new, heavy component of air, which did not appear to have any chemical reactivity . He named this inert gas " argon ", from

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624-507: A legal request, for testing purposes, or for government or non-profit agencies); chemists may also work in environmental evaluation and assessment. Other jobs or roles may include sales and marketing of chemical products and chemistry-related instruments or technical writing. The more experience obtained, the more independence and leadership or management roles these chemists may perform in those organizations. Some chemists with relatively higher experience might change jobs or job position to become

676-468: A manager of a chemistry-related enterprise, a supervisor, an entrepreneur or a chemistry consultant. Other chemists choose to combine their education and experience as a chemist with a distinct credential to provide different services (e.g., forensic chemists, chemistry-related software development, patent law specialists, environmental law firm staff, scientific news reporting staff, engineering design staff, etc.). In comparison, chemists who have obtained

728-680: A president of Johns Hopkins, he also took part in civil projects. He served on the Baltimore School Commission in efforts to improve the infrastructure of secondary education. In 1906 he was also involved in improvements to the Baltimore sewerage system. He also served on the Maryland Good Roads Commission. In 1909 he was posted as chairman of a board that dealt with food purity under the department of agriculture. The board came to be popularly called

780-615: A year later sought to study chemistry in Germany. He went to the University of Munich where he worked under Jacob Volhard (1834-1910) as well as one series of lectures under Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) who was the main attraction for Remsen to move to Germany. He then went to the University of Göttingen , on the recommedation of Friedrich Wöhler , and studied organic chemistry under Rudolph Fittig (1835-1910). His 1870 doctorate

832-461: Is derived from the Neo-Latin noun chimista , an abbreviation of alchimista ( alchemist ). Alchemists discovered many chemical processes that led to the development of modern chemistry. Chemistry as we know it today, was invented by Antoine Lavoisier with his law of conservation of mass in 1783. The discoveries of the chemical elements has a long history culminating in the creation of

884-1094: Is divided into several major sub-disciplines. There are also several main cross-disciplinary and more specialized fields of chemistry. There is a great deal of overlap between different branches of chemistry, as well as with other scientific fields such as biology, medicine, physics, radiology , and several engineering disciplines. All the above major areas of chemistry employ chemists. Other fields where chemical degrees are useful include astrochemistry (and cosmochemistry ), atmospheric chemistry , chemical engineering , chemo-informatics , electrochemistry , environmental science , forensic science , geochemistry , green chemistry , history of chemistry , materials science , medical science , molecular biology , molecular genetics , nanotechnology , nuclear chemistry , oenology , organometallic chemistry , petrochemistry , pharmacology , photochemistry , phytochemistry , polymer chemistry , supramolecular chemistry and surface chemistry . Chemists may belong to professional societies specifically for professionals and researchers within

936-568: The American Chemical Journal , which he edited for 35 years. He was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1879. In 1879 Constantine Fahlberg, working with Remsen in a post-doctoral capacity, made an accidental discovery that changed Remsen's career. Eating rolls at dinner after a long day in the lab researching coal tar derivatives, Fahlberg noticed that the rolls tasted initially sweet but then bitter. Since his wife tasted nothing strange about

988-784: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry . That same year, he was elected an International Member of the United States National Academy of Sciences . Ramsay's standing among scientists led him to become an adviser to the Indian Institute of Science . He suggested Bangalore as the location for the institute. Ramsay endorsed the Industrial and Engineering Trust Ltd., a company that claimed it could extract gold from seawater , in 1905. It bought property on

1040-552: The periodic table by Dmitri Mendeleev . The Nobel Prize in Chemistry created in 1901 gives an excellent overview of chemical discovery since the start of the 20th century. At the Washington Academy of Sciences during World War I , it was said that the side with the best chemists would win the war. Jobs for chemists generally require at least a bachelor's degree in chemistry, which takes four years. However, many positions, especially those in research, require

1092-542: The periodic table . Ramsay was born at 2 Clifton Street in Glasgow on 2 October 1852, the son of civil engineer and surveyor, William C. Ramsay, and his wife, Catherine Robertson. The family lived at 2 Clifton Street in the city centre, a three-storey and basement Georgian townhouse. The family moved to 1 Oakvale Place in the Hillhead district in his youth. He was a nephew of the geologist Sir Andrew Ramsay . He

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1144-689: The "Remsen Board". There was considerable pressure from manufacturers to vilify the members of the board who were criticized in the press. A cartoon from this period depicted him sitting on a board with nails. He died on March 4, 1927, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California . His ashes are interred behind a plaque in the chemistry building on the Homewood campus at Johns Hopkins University. In the 37 years of his service he guided 107 PhD students. In 1925 eighty-four of his students held positions as professors and forty were heads of chemistry departments in

1196-540: The 2015 Hague Ethical Guidelines . The highest honor awarded to chemists is the Nobel Prize in Chemistry , awarded since 1901, by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences . William Ramsay Sir William Ramsay KCB FRS FRSE ( / ˈ r æ m z i / ; 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in

1248-533: The Cooper Institute. He did not complete his bachelor's degree but apprenticed for a while under a homeopathic physician who was on the faculty of New York Homeooathic Medical School. He dropped out of this as well and joined the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University receiving an MD in 1867 with a thesis on fatty degeneration of the liver. He then practiced at Irving Place, New York and

1300-753: The English coast to begin its secret process. The company never produced any gold. Ramsay was the president of the British Association in 1911–1912. In 1881, Ramsay was married to Margaret Johnstone Marshall (née Buchanan), daughter of George Stevenson Buchanan. They had a daughter, Catherine Elizabeth (Elska) and a son, William George, who died at 40. Ramsay lived in Hazlemere , Buckinghamshire , until his death. He died in High Wycombe , Buckinghamshire, on 23 July 1916 from nasal cancer at

1352-545: The Greek word meaning "lazy". In the following years, working with Morris Travers , he discovered neon , krypton , and xenon . He also isolated helium , which had only been observed in the spectrum of the sun, and had not previously been found on earth. In 1910 he isolated and characterised radon . During 1893–1902, Ramsay collaborated with Emily Aston , a British chemist, in experiments on mineral analysis and atomic weight determination. Their work included publications on

1404-657: The US. After his death, the new chemistry building, completed in 1924, was named after him at Johns Hopkins. His ashes are located behind a plaque in Remsen Hall; he is the only person buried on campus. His Baltimore house was added to the National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975. Remsen Hall in Queens College is also named for him. In 1946, to commemorate

1456-406: The United States and became a professor at Williams College , where he wrote the popular text Theoretical Chemistry . Remsen's book and reputation brought him to the attention of Daniel Coit Gilman , who invited him to become one of the original faculty of Johns Hopkins University . Remsen accepted and founded the department of chemistry there, overseeing his own laboratory. In 1879, Remsen founded

1508-542: The age of 63 and was buried in Hazlemere parish church . A blue plaque at number 12 Arundel Gardens , Notting Hill , commemorates his life and work. The Sir William Ramsay School in Hazlemere and Ramsay grease are named after him. There is a memorial to him by Charles Hartwell in the north aisle of the choir at Westminster Abbey . In 1923, University College London named its new Chemical Engineering department and seat after Ramsay, which had been funded by

1560-691: The case but the documents are lost. The suit was ultimately dropped. When the American Chemical Society gave him the Priestley medal in 1923 the citation would mention that Remsen served the science of chemistry and sought no commercial gains from his work. Throughout his academic career, Remsen was known as an excellent teacher, rigorous in his expectations but patient with the beginner. "His lectures to beginners were models of didactic exposition, and many of his graduate students owe much of their later success in their own lecture rooms to

1612-834: The centenary of Remsen, the Maryland chapter of the American Chemical Society , began awarding the Remsen award, in his honor. Awardees are frequently of the highest caliber, and included a sequence of 16 Nobel laureates between 1950 and 1980. Chemist Chemists use their knowledge to learn the composition and properties of unfamiliar substances, as well as to reproduce and synthesize large quantities of useful naturally occurring substances and create new artificial substances and useful processes. Chemists may specialize in any number of subdisciplines of chemistry . Materials scientists and metallurgists share much of

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1664-447: The commercial success of saccharin, from which Fahlberg profited, but he was incensed at the perceived dishonesty of not crediting him as the head of the laboratory. Fahlberg would soon grow wealthy, while Remsen merely grew irritated, believing he deserved credit for substances produced in his laboratory. In a letter to Scottish chemist William Ramsay , Remsen commented, "Fahlberg is a scoundrel. It nauseates me to hear my name mentioned in

1716-461: The discovery of the inert gaseous elements in air" along with his collaborator, John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh , who received the Nobel Prize in Physics that same year for their discovery of argon . After the two men identified argon, Ramsay investigated other atmospheric gases. His work in isolating argon, helium , neon , krypton , and xenon led to the development of a new section of

1768-420: The exact roles of these chemistry-related workers as standard for that given level of education. Because of these factors affecting exact job titles with distinct responsibilities, some chemists might begin doing technician tasks while other chemists might begin doing more complicated tasks than those of a technician, such as tasks that also involve formal applied research, management, or supervision included within

1820-758: The field of chemistry, such as the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom, the American Chemical Society (ACS) in the United States, or the Institution of Chemists in India. The "Global Chemists' Code of Ethics" suggests several ethical principles that all chemists should follow: This code of ethics was codified in a 2016 conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , run by the American Chemical Society. The points listed are inspired by

1872-419: The kind of industry, the routine level of the task, the current needs of a particular enterprise, the size of the enterprise or hiring firm, the philosophy and management principles of the hiring firm, the visibility of the competency and individual achievements of the one seeking employment, economic factors such as recession or economic depression , among other factors, so this makes it difficult to categorize

1924-425: The management and operation of the equipment and instrumentation necessary to perform chemical analyzes than a chemical technician. They are part of the team of a chemical laboratory in which the quality of the raw material, intermediate products and finished products is analyzed. They also perform functions in the areas of environmental quality control and the operational phase of a chemical plant. In addition to all

1976-519: The molecular surface energies of mixtures of non-associating liquids. Ramsay was elected an International Member of the American Philosophical Society in 1899. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published on 26 June 1902, and invested as such by King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace on 24 October 1902. In 1904, Ramsay received

2028-640: The pedagogical training received from attendance upon Remsen's lectures to freshmen." Remsen made his teaching laboratory centric. He founded the American Chemical Journal that he edited out of Baltimore and competed with the Journal of the American Chemical Society run by the American Chemical Society. The latter journal did not publish much in organic chemistry. Remsen had joined the ACS in 1878 but he let his membership expire. When he rejoined he

2080-428: The phenomenon of burning . Fire was a mystical force that transformed one substance into another and thus was of primary interest to mankind. It was fire that led to the discovery of iron and glasses . After gold was discovered and became a precious metal, many people were interested to find a method that could convert other substances into gold. This led to the protoscience called alchemy . The word chemist

2132-450: The preferred choice for the highest administrative positions on big enterprises involved in chemistry-related duties. Some positions, especially research oriented, will only allow those chemists who are Ph.D. holders. Jobs that involve intensive research and actively seek to lead the discovery of completely new chemical compounds under specifically assigned monetary funds and resources or jobs that seek to develop new scientific theories require

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2184-414: The responsibilities of that same job title. The level of supervision given to that chemist also varies in a similar manner, with factors similar to those that affect the tasks demanded for a particular chemist It is important that those interested in a Chemistry degree understand the variety of roles available to them (on average), which vary depending on education and job experience. Those Chemists who hold

2236-608: The rolls, Fahlberg tasted his fingers and noticed that the bitter taste was probably from one of the chemicals in his lab. The next day at his lab he tasted the chemicals that he had been working with the previous day and discovered that it was the oxidation of o-toluenesulfonamide he had tasted the previous evening. He named the substance saccharin and he and his research partner Remsen published their finding in 1880. Later Remsen became angry after Fahlberg, in patenting saccharin (along with his uncle Adolph Moritz List), claimed that he alone had discovered saccharin. Remsen had no interest in

2288-400: The same breath with him." The controversy would enter court when Constantine Fahlberg, Adolph List, George Merck and Theodore Weicker went to court to sue A. Klipstein & Company of New York for patent violation. Klipstein used the claim that Remsen and Fahlberg were involved in the discovery and that Fahlberg had falsely claimed himself as the inventor. Remsen's testimony was also included in

2340-460: The same education and skills with chemists. The work of chemists is often related to the work of chemical engineers , who are primarily concerned with the proper design, construction and evaluation of the most cost-effective large-scale chemical plants and work closely with industrial chemists on the development of new processes and methods for the commercial-scale manufacture of chemicals and related products. The roots of chemistry can be traced to

2392-412: The training usually given to chemical technologists in their respective degree (or one given via an associate degree), a chemist is also trained to understand more details related to chemical phenomena so that the chemist can be capable of more planning on the steps to achieve a distinct goal via a chemistry-related endeavor. The higher the competency level achieved in the field of chemistry (as assessed via

2444-469: Was educated at Glasgow Academy and then apprenticed to Robert Napier, a shipbuilder in Govan . However, he instead decided to study Chemistry at the University of Glasgow , matriculating in 1866 and graduating in 1869. He then undertook practical training with the chemist Thomas Anderson and then went to study in Germany at the University of Tübingen with Wilhelm Rudolph Fittig where his doctoral thesis

2496-552: Was elected president in 1902. In 1913 he allowed his journal to be merged into the ACS journal. In 1901 Remsen was appointed the president of Johns Hopkins, where he proceeded to found a School of Engineering and helped establish the school as a research university. He introduced many of the German laboratory techniques he had learned and wrote several important chemistry textbooks. In 1912 he stepped down as president, due to ill health, and retired to Carmel, California . While serving as

2548-743: Was entitled Investigations in the Toluic and Nitrotoluic Acids . Ramsay went back to Glasgow as Anderson's assistant at Anderson College . He was appointed as Professor of Chemistry at the University College of Bristol in 1879 and married Margaret Buchanan in 1881. In the same year he became the Principal of University College, Bristol, and somehow managed to combine that with active research both in organic chemistry and on gases. William Ramsay formed pyridine in 1876 from acetylene and hydrogen cyanide in an iron-tube furnace in what

2600-670: Was made in his laboratory by Constantine Fahlberg who worked in collaboration with Remsen but patented the synthesis on his own, earning the ire of Remsen. Ira Remsen was born in New York City on February 10, 1846. He was the son of James Vanderbelt Remsen (1818–1892) and Rosanna née Secor (1823–1856) who came from family of Dutch settlers. His mother had Huguenot ancestors. He went to the New York Free Academy where he studied Greek, Latin, maths and sciences. He also attended popular lectures by Robert Ogden Doremus at

2652-563: Was on investigations on piperic acid and its derivatives. He worked as an assistant to Fittig from 1870 to 1872 and during this time he met William Ramsay (1852-1916). He married Elisabeth Hilleard Mallory on April 3, 1875, in New York City, New York. They had two children together. Their son, Ira Mallory Remsen (1876–1928), became an artist and playwright living in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California . In 1872, after researching pure chemistry at University of Tübingen , Remsen returned to

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2704-434: Was the first synthesis of a heteroaromatic compound . In 1887, he succeeded Alexander Williamson as the chair of Chemistry at University College London (UCL). It was here at UCL that his most celebrated discoveries were made. As early as 1885–1890, he published several notable papers on the oxides of nitrogen , developing the skills that he needed for his subsequent work. On the evening of 19 April 1894, Ramsay attended

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