Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
The 1950s saw the birth of the research university in the USA, to-
gether with that country seizing the lead in world chemistry, both aca-
demic and industrial. This was the time of birth and of explosive devel-
opment of the nuclear magnetic resonance tool (Becker 1996). This was
also the period when chemistry opened itself to molecular biology. Also
in the 50s, the chemical science restructured itself, focusing on bonding
and structure rather than on mere description and cataloguing of chemi-
cals and their characteristic properties and reactions, as had prevailed
since Lavoisier's time.
The rethinking of the science went on during the 1960s. This was a
time for questioning previously held dogmas, such as the rules governing
valence, rudely pushed aside with the discovery of noble gas compounds.
But there were other upsets too, to such an extent that one may wish to
call the 60s the 'Age of Hubris':
2
biological chimeras, spontaneous gen-
eration, high-temperature superconductivity, and the dissolution of po-
tassium permanganate in benzene are some of the examples of such a
mental attitude, calling for disrespect for tradition. The 60s were note-
worthy also for a major breakthrough, the Woodward-Hoffmann rules
governing electrocyclic reactions (Woodward & Hoffmann 1971). And a
social phenomenon, actually the converse of a mass movement, should
not be forgotten: when in 1968 the university came under attack, world-
wide, from students, from the media and from the local communities, and
even from its faculties, chemists as a whole camped within their ivory
tower, oblivious of outside disruptions.
3
The 1970s were the time of the first oil crisis. The petrochemical
industry suffered from the consequences. As a profession, chemists
worked on developing alternative energy sources. Photochemistry, with
goals such as catalyzed photocleavage of water providing fuel for a
hydrogen economy, came to the fore. There were many other projects,
such as gasification of coal, or attempts at direct functionalization of
2
The culmination of which came about later with the synthesis of palytoxin in 1989 by
Y. Kishi's team at Harvard, a monument to the Promethean ability of chemists.
3
Only negative evidence can be adduced in support of this assertion. For instance, the
series of autobiographies that Jeffrey Seeman edited for the American Chemical So-
ciety does not include, to my recollection, evidence of such concern on the part of the
academic leaders of the profession who were authors.
