Chemical Education and Public Policy
Chemists have long passed along their specialized knowledge to students in classroom settings, and to apprentices and new employees in workplaces. They also are expected to use their expertise to benefit the wider society by advising governments as well as in creating new knowledge and beneficial products.
Most well-known chemists are remembered for their research. Some, however, are remembered more as educators than as researchers. This is particularly the case for those chemists who helped change what had once been a profession for white males into one that welcomes diversity in sex, race, and ethnicity.
In fulfilling their roles as citizens, chemists have taken leading roles in government in war and peace. A few chemists who became public servants in the course of their careers are profiled here, but those who worked for public and environmental health also belong in this category.