Analytical Chemistry October 1954 [antikvár]

ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY WALTER J. MURPHY, Editor Merck Graduate Fellowship—Practical Results "V/Tany of our readers will recall the famous March 1947 editorial entitled "The Profession of Analytical Chemist." In it, four very specific recommendations were put forth to help advance the profession and to obtain for it the proper recognition it deserves in top academic, industrial, and management circles. One of the four proposals suggested that industry establish graduate fellowships. Merck Co., Inc., Rahway, N. J., immediately offered to establish the Merck Graduate Fellowship in Analytical Chemistry and requested the American Chemical Society to administer it. The program has now been in operation for 6 years andit is possible to evaluate what it has done for the field. In evaluating the results to date, it is important to keep in mind the objectives set forth at the time the Merck Graduate Fellowship in Analytical Chemistry was established. "The fellowship will be awarded to that applicant who the Selection Committee believes will contribute most to the advancement of the theory and practice of analytical chemistry during the tenure of the fellowship and the course of his future career." Six fellows have been selected to date. Five have completed their doctoral work and four of them have been employed one or more years. How successfully the original aim has been met is demonstrated by the records of these recipients. This study, just completed by the executive secretary's office, indicates very clearly that'it would have been most difficult, indeed, probably impossible to select a more competent group of young people for the honor. Of the five recipients who have completed their doctoral work, two are teaching and three are in industry. Aside from their theses, the five have authored some 20 papers, resulting directly from the fellowship research, of which 15 have appeared in Analytical Chemistry and one is in the process of being reviewed. In addition, Merck fellows in analytical chemistry have authored 12 additional papers. Most of these have appeared in Analytical Chemistry or are currently being considered for publication. Obviously, the work of these five young analysts has been most fruitful of high quahty research results. Great praise should be bestowed not only on the five recipients—Paul S. Farrington, John T. Byrne, Charles N. Reilly, Donald L. Petitjean, and Donald H. Wilkins —but also on the men who guided their work—E. H. Swift, L. B. Rogers, N. Howell Furman, W. J. Blaedel, and G. Frederick Smith. The sixth recipient, Arnold M. Hartley, is studying under James J. Lingane. Several of the men who have received a Merck Fellowship in Analytical Chemistry have commented, and we are pleased to print excerpts from their remarks. "The fellowship was of great assistance to me as I completed my thesis work, and I hope I will be able to continue to contribute to the field of analytical chemistry. The existence of the fellowship should certainly assist in attracting competent students into this very important work." "The fellowship meant (and still does) a great deal to me and I hope the Merck people will see fit to continue this service." "I feel quite fortunate to have been one of the recipients of the Merck fellowship and wish to thank sincerely those who made it possible. It certainly helped me to complete my education and I urge that efforts be made to continue it." These eloquent tributes surely make superfluous any words Ave might add. The science of analytical chemistry has taken on an even greater role of importance than it has held in any period in the history of science, greater even than the period when alchemy was gradually supplanted by modern concepts of chemistry and chemists were mostly concerned with determining the constituents of natural products. If further progress is to be made in analysis, we must have research analysts well trained to carry on successfully both fundamental and applied research. As analysis becomes more complex, the greater the variety of training these specialists must have; their training must not only encompass many subjects, including ones not usually classified as chemical, but more than a mere familiarity with these subjects is necessary. Depth as well as variety is required. The accomplishments to date of those whose doctoral training has been made possible by the Merck Fellowship in Analj^ical Chemistry have set a wonderful pattern—one that constitutes a great challenge in the future. We are delighted to report that Merck has once again renewed the fellowship. 1533