OPPORTUNITIES INTRO Chemistry Committee to Survey Opportunities in the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Committee to Survey Opportunities in the Chemical Sciences GEORGE C. PIMENTEL (Chairman), University of California, Berkeley ALLEN J. BARD, The University of Texas at Austin FRED BASOLO, Northwestern University JOHN H. BIRELY, Los Alamos National Laboratory JOHN I. BRAUMAN, Stanford University HARRY G. DRICKAMER, University of Illinois, Urbana HANS-G. ELIAS, Dow Chemical Co. MOSTAFA A. EL-SAYED, University of California, Los Angeles DAVID A. EVANS, Harvard University JOSEF FRIED, University of Chicago GERHART FRIEDLANDER, Brookhaven National Laboratory HARRY B. GRAY, California Institute of Technology VLADIMIR HAENSEL, University of Massachusetts, Amherst RALPH F. HIRSCHMANN, Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories WILLIAM A. LESTER, JR., University of California, Berkeley RUDOLPH A. MARCUS, California Institute of Technology FRED W. McLAFFERTY, Cornell University KOJI NAKANISHI, Columbia University ALAN SCHRIESHEIM, Argonne National Laboratory HOWARD E. SIMMONS, JR., E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc. WILLIAM P. SLICHTER, AT&T Bell Laboratories GABOR A. SOMORJAI, University of California, Berkeley EARL R. STADTMAN, National Institutes of Health CHRISTOPHER T. WALSH, Massachusetts Institute of Technology GEORGE M. WHITESIDES, Harvard University WILLIAM SPINDEL, Staff Director, Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology (BCST) ROBERT M. SIMON, Staff Officer, BCST PEGGY J. POSEY, Staff Officer, BCST ROBERT C. ROONEY, Editor, Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and MARTIN A. PAUL, Technical Consultant, BCST MARY E. BUNDY, Administrative Associate to Dr. Pimentel JEAN E. YATES, Financial Coordinator, BCST RENEE R. HARRIS, Senior Secretary, BCST iii CHAPTER I Introduction Two decades have passed since the publication of NRC Report 1292, Chemistry: Opportunity and Needs, edited by Frank H. Westheimer. The frontiers that it envisaged in 1965 have indeed fulfilled their promise, and almost all of the report's optimistic expectations have been realized. In fact, the advances have been so rapid and so penetrating that the structure of chemistry and its interactions with contiguous disciplines have qualitatively changed. Physics has provided a panoply of powerful diagnostic tools that extend the experimental horizons of chemistry. Chemical theory has advanced to full partnership in the discipline, substantially aided by the revolutionary advances made by computer scientists. Molecular biology has made remarkable progress in its elucidation of life processes and has placed before chemistry challenging problems that require explication at the molecular level. Hence it is timely for a new assessment of the status of chemistry, the opportunities that can be seen ahead, and the resources needed to pursue them. This report presents that assessment. Chemistry is a central science that provides fundamental understanding needed to deal with many of society's needs. It is a critical component in man's attempt to feed the world population, to tap new sources of energy, to clothe and house humankind, to provide renewable substitutes for dwindling or scarce materials, to improve health and conquer disease, to strengthen our national security, and to monitor and protect our environment. Basic research in chemistry will help future generations to cope with their evolving needs and unanticipated problems. Because of this responsiveness to human needs, chemistry has become a crucial element in the nation's economic well-being. The U.S. Chemicals and Allied Products industry employs more than a million people, makes annual manufacturing shipments totalling about $175 billion, and, currently, displays a $12 billion positive international balance of trade, second highest of all commodity groups. Our competitiveness in a range of international markets depends upon maintaining our present position of leadership in the chemical 3 INTRODUCTION sciences. There is no area of basic science that offers a more secure investment in the nation's future. Finally, our culture embraces the premise that learning about ourselves and our environment is an ample basis for encouraging scientific inquiry. Chemistry contributes substantially to this cultural enrichment. For example, nothing preoccupies humans more than questions about the nature of life and how to preserve it. Because all life processes are manifestations of chemical changes, understanding chemical reactivity is a requisite foundation for our ultimate understanding of life. Thus, chemistry, along with biology, contributes to human knowledge in areas of universal philosophical significance. Fortunately, we find ourselves in a time of special opportunity for advances on all these fronts. The opportunity derives from our developing ability to probe and understand the elemental steps of chemical change and, at the same time, to deal with extreme molecular complexity. Progress is epitomized by the striking fact that the number of new compounds continues to increase at a rate that is faster than exponential. Powerful instrumental techniques furnish a crucial dimension. They account for the recent acceleration of progress that now promises especially high return from the investment of additional resources in the field of chemistry. It will be helpful to describe here the organization of this report. Following this introductory chapter, an Executive Summary of the report makes up Chapter II. Each of the three Chapters III, IV, and V begins with three sections, A, B, and C, that focus on chemistry's responses to society's needs. Several of these sections are introduced, in turn, by a one-page vignette that presents in nontechnical language a case history illustrating chemistry's usefulness. The section then describes recent important accomplishments and identifies poten |