The Importance of Chemical Research to the U.S. Economy (2022) / Chapter Skim
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To continue to build upon the momentum of chemical knowledge contributing to breakthroughs and large impacts in the chemical economy, it is important to consider where new knowledge, tools, and technologies are needed in the chemical sciences, in addition to considering how chemistry can continue to innovate while having a positive impact on the environment. To accomplish this, the chemical enterprise must consider the needs for training, educating, and preparing a future workforce, and how the funding landscape can best encourage future advances (Figure S-1)
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chemical economy are responsible for $5.2 trillion, or 25%, of the U.S. gross domestic product, and the entire chemical enterprise supports 4.1 million jobs in the United States.
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competitiveness and collaboration in the global chemical economy -- Chemistry is a global enterprise and the United States is a key player. To assess how to best move forward, it is necessary to understand the historical and current positions of the United States in the global chemical economy and how innovative discoveries in fundamental chemical research are key to improving U.S.
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These innovations directly influence the chemical economy, environment, and quality of life and also advance knowledge and discovery in many other scientific and technological disciplines, such as the life sciences, information technology, earth sciences, and engineering. Conclusion 2-4: The chemical economy is critically important for our national economy and our leadership in the international chemical enterprise.
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Sub-Recommendation 1-4: To help guide policy and funding decisions around chemical research, federal agencies who fund and track data related to scientific research should collaborate to collect, and make available, the tools and data needed to understand the impact of fundamental chemical research on the chemical economy. As a part of this initiative, large-scale evidence-building efforts to collect, standardize, use, and interpret these data should be funded.
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For chemical research to evolve with, and help advance, the moving landscape of the chemical economy toward sustainability, the committee makes two key conclusions, one of which is included below. Conclusion 3-3: As fundamental chemical research continues to evolve, the next genera tion of research directions will prioritize the future of environmental sustainability and new energy technologies.
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By understanding what is most likely for the energy landscape in the future, chemical researchers can make decisions about what the pressing needs will be to help move sustainability forward. Conclusion 3-5: As the world moves deeper into its current energy transition -- includ ing the switch to electric vehicles, the implementation of clean energy alternatives, and the use of new feedstock sources -- coupled with an increasing focus on circularity, the committee expects that decarbonization, computation, measurement, and automation will significantly alter the operations and processes of current industries, creating new opportunities and challenges that will benefit from fundamental chemistry and chemical engineering advances.
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Chemical knowledge contributes to many diverse fields of science and technology. When teams of researchers with diverse expertise gather to solve a central problem in a critical area, chemistry drives basic knowledge and practical application in order to help teams accomplish major advances.
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While there are millions of employees in the chemical economy, this report focuses on the needs of those who go through chemistry and chemical engineering training programs. There are several critical components to training, preparing, and empowering the next-generation chemical workforce, including the need for a diverse workforce and equitable training practices, the need for well-developed mentorship and professional development programs, and an emphasis on educational training that is adaptable to the future needs of the chemical enterprise.
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Conclusion 5-5: Creating an equitable and inclusive learning environment that exposes trainees of the future chemical workforce to new and innovative chemical tools, technolo gies, and instrumentation, as well as interdisciplinary knowledge and critical collabora tion skills, will require a serious and sustained investment from funding agencies, uni versities, industry partnerships, and accreditation programs. This investment is critical because the tools and practices that enable chemical research are constantly evolving, and training programs must be able to adapt to best facilitate the learning of basic-to advanced chemical principles that will help students succeed.
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There are many examples of fundamental chemical research being further pursued as a marketable product or process to contribute to the chemical economy through SBIR/STTR programs, and these programs also foster an emerging area of the chemical workforce where university researchers create and work in these small start-ups that are based on the grants from these programs. Recommendation 8: Funding agencies should continue to support innovations in the chemical sciences through Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Tech nology Transfer programs in order to leverage their previous investments in fundamental research and allow researchers the opportunity to bring new products or processes to market.
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To accomplish the chemical research described in this report, there is a critical need for laboratory space, instrumental facilities and support, access to computation, and much more. Infrastructure is critical for training the next generation of the chemical workforce, as educators continually rethink and adapt curricula based on new tools and technologies that will be critical to the future of research and industry.
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