Chemistry International
Vol. 22, No. 5
September 2000
An Outlook for
Chemistry in Chile in 2000 (cont')
Summary
History
Research
Human Resources
Graduate Programs
The Chilean Chemical Society (SChQ)
Closing Remarks
References
Human Resources
Financial support and human resources are the bases for scientific
and technological development. It is internationally accepted that the
number of scientists and engineers is an important parameter to measure
the status of science and technology. In Chile, the number of researchers,
scientists, and engineers is low whether it is expressed as an absolute
number or as a fraction of the total population. Chile has about 1.2
scientific professionals per thousand inhabitants in contrast to developed
countries, where this number varies between 4 and 9 per thousand. Most
of these researchers, scientists, and engineers are in universities
(about 70%), and the remainder are distributed in institutes (nearly
20%), and industry (10%). The total number of scientific professionals
working in Chilean universities is about 4 400, with nearly 400 of them
devoted to chemical research.
Graduate Programs
Chile has five graduate programs [5] leading to
a doctorate in chemistry; they are located at the Universidad de Chile
(initiated in 1973), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
(1973), Universidad de Concepción (1975), Universidad de Santiago
(1983), and Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (1983).
These programs have similar admission requirements, which include the
degree of Licenciado en Química or equivalent, two letters of
recommendation, and an interview. To complete a doctoral program successfully,
a student must pass 68 courses, a qualification examination in
English, and a thesis presentation. The most important activity is the
thesis, which must be an important and original contribution to the
development of an area of chemistry. The time required to complete the
thesis varies between two and four years. Currently, all five Chilean
doctoral programs are accredited by CONICYT, and financial support,
via fellowships, comes from CONICYT, the Ministry of Education through
the Improvement of High Teaching Quality Program (MECESUP), Fundación
Andes, and the universities. Since 1968, about 150 young Chilean scientists
have received doctoral degrees in chemistry. Most of them have taken
academic jobs; fewer than 20% have gone to industry.
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Logo
of the Chilean Chemical Society (SChQ)
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The Chilean Chemical Society (SChQ)
The Chilean Chemical Society (SChQ) was founded in 1946 to promote
all areas of chemistry, as well as to advise educational and government
authorities. The society is organized by Regions (Regionales) and Divisions
(Divisiones). Regions are centers that comprise members within a single
city; the five Regions are based in La Serena, Valparaíso, Santiago,
Concepción, and Valdivia. Divisions, as in other chemical societies,
group people with interests in a particular branch of chemistry. Each
Division organizes periodic meetings, seminars, and workshops.
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Prof.
Ernest Eliel (right), on the occasion of his nomination as an Honorary
Member of the Chilean Chemical Society, receiving the award from
Prof. Guillermo Contreras, President of the Society, at the 23rd
Chilean National Meeting held in Valdivia, 24-27 November 1999. |
The Divisions currently include Catalysis and Adsorption, Macromolecules,
Chemical Education, Natural Products, Inorganic Chemistry, Analytical
Chemistry, and Environmental Chemistry. Each Region and Division has
its own President and Council, elected by its members. Membership for
both is open to all chemists in the Society, which now has about 400
members.
The SChQ organizes and supports a broad range of activities to enhance
public awareness and promote a positive image of chemistry through a
strong program of public lectures, public symposia, exhibitions, posters,
and booklets. Every year, the Chemical Education Division organizes
the Olimpiadas de Química (Chemistry Contests) aimed at enhancing
interest in chemistry among high school students. Students from all
over the country participate in this event. The winners later compete
in the Olimpiadas Iberoamericanas de Química (Iberoamerican Contests),
which are held in a different Iberoamerican country each year.
The national meeting of the Society is the Jornadas Chilenas de Química,
which takes place every two years and includes academic and industrial
chemists from all over the country. Graduate students play an important
role at these meetings, where they have the opportunity to report and
discuss their research results with the national chemical community.
The Society publishes the Boletín de la Sociedad Chilena de
Química, which is a quarterly journal reporting original research
in all areas of chemistry. Its first volume was published in March 1950,
and its current volume is No. 45, whose first number was published in
March 2000. The Boletín is indexed in Current Contents and the
Science Citation Index, and it is currently one of the Iberoamerican
journals with a high relative impact factorquite an accomplishment
for a Society as small as the SChQ. The Boletín is sent to all
members of the Society. Currently, the SChQ web site is at http://www.schq.cl.
At present, the Chilean Chemical Society participates actively in several
international scientific organizations, including the International
Council for Science (ICSU), Federación Latinoamericana de Asociaciones
Químicas (FLAQ), Pacific Basin Societies (PBS), and IUPAC. The
SChQ maintains permanent exchange programs with the American Chemical
Society (ACS), as well.
Closing Remarks
The most important goals of the SChQ are to enhance awareness of the
importance of science in general and of chemistry in particular in everyday
life. This message must be brought home at three different levels. First,
and most important, it must reach the younger generation of Chileans,
represented by pre-high school students. Second, government authorities
must also be included in the scheme. Finally, the public at large needs
to accept the inherent need for and benefit of science in the contemporary
world. The general population also needs to consider large numbers of
scientists and institutions doing research as a reason for national
pride and not as a bothersome liability. Many problems and obstacles
remain, but the achievement of the national chemical community in the
last 50 years leads us to regard the future of chemistry in Chile with
sound optimism.
References
1. T. González Abuter. Sociedad
Chilena de Química 50 Años al Servicio de la Ciencia,
19461996. Sociedad Chilena de Química (1996).
2. C. Macilwain. Nature, Supplement
to Vol. 398, No.6726, 1 April 1999.
3. Indicadores Científicos
y Tecnológicos, Enrique Dellacasa (Ed.), CONICYT (1998).
4. Science in Latin America in Science
267, 808827(1995).
5. Programas de Postgrado en Química
de las Universidades Chilenas, Guillermo González (Ed.), Sociedad
Chilena de Química (1994).
This article was contributed by
Prof. Eduardo J. Delgado (Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty
of Chemical Sciences, Casilla 160-C, Universidad de Concepción,
Concepción, Chile; E-mail: [email protected]),
Secretary of the Chilean Chemical Society.