If there’s one thing I learned in my scientific pursuits, it is the importance of careful measurement and analysis, along with strong math skills. This aspect of scientific training and applied experience is valuable not only in professional scientific fields but in every field, even one with the prosaic job title of “homemaker.”
As an undergraduate chemistry major, the class I hated most was analytical chemistry, followed closely by calculus. Me and mathematical accuracy/precision just didn’t get along at the outset. I might even say I was a bit frightened of it. Luckily, this changed (gradually) when I entered graduate school and then the professional world. In my graduate lab and research jobs, I had all day to perform an experiment, and if something got in the way, such as a spill, a vacuum failure or water in a sample that was supposed to be dry, I had the time to fix it. What’s more, I had the time to run the tests more than once and to take copious notes and make observations I was too overwhelmed to make as an undergraduate student. It was an amazing realization. I became enamored of keeping long records of procedure and I cut my analytical teeth on a beautiful new (to me!) tool called a computer spreadsheet! With this tool, I was able to make sense of reams of data that otherwise would have taken long hours to chart and cross reference. Perhaps my lab-rat research jobs were spoiling me, but they suited my personality quite nicely.
Ultracapacitor Research and The Need for Versatility
In 1993, I got a job researching high-performance capacitor technologies because of my college experience with an analytical chemistry method: cyclic voltammetry. This helped me hone my analytical skills and introduced me to a wider variety of devices and materials. I basically learned to build and test capacitors from the ground up. It was valuable experience, and I also gained skills for using multiple tech and computer platforms, switching out between DOS, the then-brand-new Windows and a beloved Macintosh in my personal office. It taught me versatility.
I learned to integrate materials research with electronic analytical methods in a practical application, although it was still in its infancy. The application of my theoretical knowledge in a practical capacity was of immeasurable value. Progress was slow, but every step was documented and I became aware of the very real relationship between the composition of devices with their electrical and chemical properties. And the goal was clearly spelled out, even though it was years away: maximize the power of the double-layer capacitor in as small and efficient a package as possible. And, as the research lab only employed 4 people, it appealed to my solitary tendencies as well.
Back to College Labs and More Splendid Isolation: Drug Delivery Analysis in a Vet Lab
For me, the capacitor research job was an introduction to spreadsheets, analytical software, the use of gas furnace sintering techniques, meticulous drying and atmospheric testing techniques. Many of the devices I had never used before. It stood me in good stead when I was laid off from that job when the small branch in Auburn, Alabama was reabsorbed into the main company in San Diego, California. I procured a laboratory research technician job at the university veterinary school. The problem at hand: analyze and optimize the delivery of a drug into a decubitus ulcer (bedsore) using a specialized biopolymer patch impregnated with various levels of drug and applied under casts on greyhound dogs for varying lengths of time.
This work required a long process of purification and adjustment of samples, also familiarity and assistance in careful taking of samples from the dogs themselves. It was as close as I’ve come to practicing veterinary science, and it pointed out to me the great similarity between the animal kingdom and us humans. I have to say it also exposed me firsthand to the greater questions of ethical considerations when using laboratory animals. I witnessed no cruelty in my time there, but I realized how important it is not to subject animals to more stress than is necessary. I would often stroll around the school at lunchtime and talk to the dogs, goats, even the cows. Auburn is a “cow town” after all.
In the lab, I learned a multitude of skills in maintaining and administering a functioning research lab. I became familiar with even more analytical devices and regularly executed painstakingly long and complex sample preparation processes, even extending to the use and accounting for radioactive materials. I made good use of the relatively new World Wide Web and my ability to learn just about any operating system to assist my research into new methods and materials for carrying on the research at hand.
Honing Mathematical Skills: Teaching College Chemistry
My stint at the Auburn Veterinary School ended when my husband and I moved, first to Tuscaloosa and then to southern middle Tennessee. Short tenures in an inorganic research laboratory, medical record-keeping and computer technology customer service diversified my experience yet further, and also re-integrated me with a more people-oriented workplace. But eventually I came back around to my first principles: the study of chemistry. I decided to take an opportunity offered to me several years ago to teach basic chemistry101 at a local community college.
What I learned taught me new respect for teachers everywhere. You can be the smartest person in the world, but if you can’t communicate your knowledge in an accessible manner, you’re worse than useless in a classroom. I experimented by trial and error the means to getting students to listen (also some nifty and somewhat destructive demonstrations). Some were just too frightened to pick it up, despite my efforts to be clear and to put students at their ease.
Educating Others Brings New Insights and Revelations
The one specific aspect that struck me about learning and teaching chemistry was that one must have a strong backing of mathematics, especially in algebra. I had always considered myself merely average in math skills; what I didn’t realize is that my long experience with problem solving and diverse use of analytical techniques had honed my math abilities beyond what I had believed myself to possess. I regret to say that many of my first year students were almost totally ignorant of basic mathematics, even though my class had a college algebra prerequisite. Far from functioning as a regular college chemistry teacher, I was, of necessity, becoming a basic math teacher. In a nutshell, this reliance on math and analytical skills is emblematic of my lifelong experiences working in scientific fields. It is the basis of understanding the sciences, the “language of science,” and I never cease to respect its power.
I came to the realization that it was the fear of math, not the fear of chemistry that seemed to drag many students down. Once the math is understood, the nature of chemistry can be easily learned. This teaching experience also made me very much aware of the need for children to have a solid primary and secondary education. Many of my students had obviously been passed on to higher grades without mastering basic skills such as multiplication and division.
My diverse career progressions have shown me the paramount importance of mathematical and analytical skills in a variety of fields both related and unrelated to the chemical sciences. Even if you’re not a storehouse of esoteric information, you can make the grade by honing your basic symbolic problem-solving skills. I try to apply this concept in solving a number of the problems of everyday life. Maintaining these basic problem-solving skills I learned in my professional pursuits is important; especially should I once again decide to pursue a job in my primary field. But even in my current incarnation as a housewife, I find this analytical tendency helps me in even the most down-to-earth situations like fixing a broken dryer or upgrading my laptop.