On the whole, the department is rather highly thought of by its students, and there is profound respect for the lecturers in general.

Chemistry

Number of Concentrators: 108.

1951 Commencement Honors: summas, 2; magnas, 1; cums, 6.

The Department of Chemistry at Harvard is one of the best in the country. The reason for this is essentially the same as that which gives the Chemistry Department an almost unique position within the University. The members of the staff, with but one exception, excell both as teachers and as scientists. As courses in chemistry are essentially lecture courses, students in even the most elementary courses are assured of instruction of the highest quality directed by these outstanding men.

While admittedly, the lack of a tutorial system in the department makes close student-professor relationships more difficult to attain than in other departments of the University. The advisor system is there for the student to use as he sees fit. Professor Paul D. Bartlett, chairman of the department, points out that the type of contact the student has with his advisor is entirely up to him. "We're not very agressive in sitting the student down and dragging things out of him."

The requirements for a degree in chemistry are quite straightforward. Four courses in chemistry if Chemistry 1 is elected or 3 1/2 with Chemistry 2, plus Mathematics 1a and 1b and Physics 11a and 11b (or 1a and 1b with a grade of B or better in both terms). Because of the highly quantitative nature of some of the more advanced courses, a student who plans to go on in chemistry past the elementary courses is only kidding himself if he thinks that the minimal mathematics requirement is sufficient. While they are not required for concentration in chemistry, Math 2a and 2b are very highly recommended. The following courses in chemistry are required.

Chemistry 1, a course designed for those who have never studied chemistry before, presents a broad, general picture of inorganic and some organic chemistry. This course was brought to its present, highly commendable state by Associate Professor Eugene G. Rochow. As Rochow will hold the Wallace T. Carothers Research professorship next year, Dr. Pierce W. Selwood, Northwestern University, will substitute for him.

Chemistry 2 may be elected instead of Chemistry 1. This course takes the meat of Chem. 1, throws in a good deal of mathematical seasoning, and wraps it up in a half year. Associate Professor Leonard K. Nash, producer of the three shows weekly, is a perennial contender for the title of "Harvard's outstanding lecturer."

Chemistry 20, Organic Chemistry, is the brute memory course. Some even find it interesting. More than any other course in the department, the grade in Chem. 20 varies directly with the amount of study time expended. Frequent hour exams keep the student up to date. The laboratory work which takes from six to eight hours per week is really quite interesting. Experiments range from synthesis of dyes to extraction of area from human urine. Professor Louis F. Fieser, a wizard in the lab, competently presents an unexciting subject.

Professor James J. Lingane will be back in Chem. 40a and b next year. These courses now combine in one year the essentials of qualitative and quantitative analysis, which were taught in a year and a half until two years ago. It is, no doubt, these two half courses which make the Chemistry department infamous for its labs. Although the course catalogue states that the Chem. 40 involves ten to 14 hours, students currently taking the course swear that 20-25 hours a week is a better estimate. However, a very good case can be made for this all-afternoon-every-afternoon headache. These labs almost force the student chemist to develop the manual skills which will later be expected of him as a professional chemist. Nevertheless, it is probable that this massive lab requirement will be eased in the future.

Perhaps the most sophisticated course which the non-honors concentrator will meet is Chemistry 60, Physical Chemistry. Its topics, ranging from thermodynamics to atomic theory, explain mathematically, and in a more detailed manner, much of the material covered by earlier courses, thus tying together many of the loose ends which exist. The laboratory work which consists mainly of the measurement of physical phenomena, while not particularly time-consuming tends to be tedious at times. The laboratory writeups required are often overlong.

Honors candidates must take all the above courses plus one course in the "100s" group and one either in chemistry or in a related field. These advanced courses bring into play the department's other fine teacher-scientists in courses which range from highly theoretical Statistical Mechanics to completely practical Industrial Chemistry. Unlike his colleagues in other fields, the chemistry honors candidate neither writes a thesis nor takes general examinations. He earns honors solely on the basis of his grades. For the degree cum laude, he must have a B average in the course he has taken for concentration.

Each year a number of questions are invariably raised by Freshmen debating Chemistry as a field of concentration. Among these are: Will I do well in more advanced courses? Am I really suited to be a chemist? How do I know I'll really like chemistry?

There seems to be an empirical answer to the first question. Those who have received high honor grades in Chem. 1 or 2 invariably seem to do well in later courses. The converse is not necessarily true. There have been students who after doing only average work in one of these elementary courses have gone on to do brilliantly in advanced courses.