Preparing Chemists and Chemical Engineers for a Globally Oriented Workforce

Globalization—the flow of people, goods, services, capital, and technology across international borders—is significantly impacting the chemistry and chemical engineering professions. Chemical companies are seeking new ideas, a trained workforce, and new market opportunities regardless of geographic location. During an October 2003 workshop, leaders in chemistry and chemical engineering from industry, academia, government, and private funding organizations explored the implications of an increasingly global research environment for the chemistry and chemical engineering workforce. The workshop presentations described deficiencies in the current educational system and the need to create and sustain a globally aware workforce in the near future. The goal of the workshop was to inform the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, which provides a science-oriented, apolitical forum for leaders in the chemical sciences to discuss chemically related issues affecting government, industry, and universities. Table of ContentsFront MatterIntroduction and SummaryContext and Overview1 How Do National Labor Forces Become Global, and Who Should Care?The Industrial Perspective2 Major Trends Shaping the Future Workplace3 Boundary-Crossing Technology Networks at Degussa4 Evolving Opportunities— Building a Global, Technical WorkforceThe Academic Perspective5 Does the U.S. Style of Chemical Engineering Education Serve the Nation Well?6 The Itinerant Chemist—Where Will the Jobs Be in 2020?7 Attracting and Preparing Chemists and Chemical Engineers for a Global WorkforceThe International Perspective8 Seeing the World Through a Different Window9 Expanding Boundaries to Advance Medical Research— Lessons Learned at the National Institutes of Health and Ways ForwardAppendix A: Workshop ParticipantsAppendix B: Biographical Sketches of Workshop SpeakersAppendix C: Origin of and Information on the Chemical Sciences Roundtable