Beyond the Molecular Frontier:
Challenges for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineering has changed significantly in the last
two decades by broadening its scope into biology,
nanotechnology, materials science, computation, and advanced methods of process
systems engineering
and
control.
 "Beyond the
Molecular Frontier: Challenges for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"
is a report published in 2003 by the National Research Council that
brings together research, discovery, and invention across the entire spectrum
of the
chemical
sciences:
from fundamental,
molecular-level
chemistry to large-scale chemical processing technology. This reflects
the way the field has evolved, the synergy at universities between research
and
education in chemistry and chemical engineering, and the way chemists and
chemical engineers work together in industry.
The astonishing developments
in science and engineering during the 20th century have made it possible
to dream of new goals that might previously have
been considered unthinkable. This report identifies the key opportunities
and
challenges for the
chemical sciences, from basic research to societal needs and from terrorism
defense to environmental protection, and it looks at the ways in which
chemists and chemical
engineers can work together to contribute to an improved future.
Some Grand Challenges for Chemists and Chemical Engineers
Learn how to synthesize and manufacture any new substance that can
have scientific or practical interest, using compact synthetic schemes and
processes with high
selectivity for the desired product, and with low energy consumption and benign
environmental effects in the process. This goal will require continuing progress
in the development of new methods for synthesis and manufacturing. Human welfare
will continue to benefit from new substances, including medicines and specialized
materials.
Develop new materials and measurement devices that will protect citizens
against terrorism, accident, crime, and disease, in part by detecting and
identifying
dangerous substances and organisms using methods with high sensitivity and
selectivity. Rapid and reliable detection of dangerous disease organisms,
highly toxic chemicals,
and concealed explosives (including those in land mines), is the first important
step in responding to threats. The next important step for chemists and chemical
engineers will be to devise methods to deal with such threats, including
those involved in terrorist or military attacks.
Understand and control how molecules react—over all time scales and the
full range of molecular size. This fundamental understanding will
let us design new reactions and manufacturing processes and will provide
fundamental insights
into the science of chemistry. Major advances that will contribute to this
goal over the next decades include: the predictive computational modeling
of molecular
motions using large-scale parallel processing arrays; the ability to investigate
and manipulate individual molecules, not just collections of molecules;
and the generation of ultra fast electron pulses and optical pulses down
to x-ray wavelengths,
to observe molecular structures during chemical reactions. This is but
one area in which increased understanding will lead to a greater ability
to improve the
practical applications of the chemical sciences.
Learn how to design and produce new substances, materials, and molecular
devices with properties that can be predicted, tailored, and tuned before
production. This ability would greatly streamline the search for new useful substances,
avoiding considerable trial and error. Recent and projected advances
in chemical theory
and computation should make this possible.
Understand the chemistry of living systems in detail. Understand how various
different proteins and nucleic acids and small biological molecules
assemble into chemically defined functional complexes, and indeed understand
all
the complex chemical interactions among the various components of living
cells. Explaining
the processes of life in chemical terms is one of the great challenges
continuing
into the future, and the chemistry behind thought and memory is an
especially exciting challenge. This is an area in which great progress
has been
made, as biology increasingly becomes a chemical science (and chemistry increasingly
becomes
a life science).
Develop medicines and therapies that can cure currently untreatable diseases.
In spite of the great progress that has been made in the invention
of new medicines by chemists, and new materials and delivery vehicles by
engineers, the challenges
in these directions are vast. New medicines to deal with cancer,
viral diseases, and many other maladies will enormously improve human welfare.
Develop self-assembly as a useful approach to the synthesis and manufacturing
of complex systems and materials. Mixtures of properly designed
chemical components can organize themselves into complex assemblies with
structures
from the nanoscale
to the macroscale, in a fashion similar to biological assembly.
Taking this methodology from the laboratory experimentation to the practical
manufacturing arena could
revolutionize chemical processing.
Understand the complex chemistry of the earth, including land, sea,
atmosphere, and biosphere, so we can maintain its livability. This is a fundamental
challenge to the natural science of our field, and it is key to helping
design policies
that will prevent environmental degradation. In addition, chemical
scientists will use this understanding to create new methods to deal
with pollution and other threats to our earth.
Develop unlimited and inexpensive energy (with new ways of energy
generation, storage, and transportation) to pave the way to a truly sustainable
future. Our current ways of generating and using energy consume limited
resources and produce
environmental problems. There are very exciting prospects for
fuel cells
to permit an economy based on hydrogen (generated in various
ways) rather than fossil fuels,
ways to harness the energy of sunlight for our use, and superconductors
that will permit efficient energy distribution.
Design and develop self-optimizing chemical systems. Building on the approach
that allows optimization of biological systems through evolution,
this would let a system produce the optimal new substance, and produce
it as a single product rather than as a mixture from which the desired
component must
be
isolated and
identified. Self-optimizing systems would allow visionary
chemical scientists to use this approach to make new medicines, catalysts,
and
other
important
chemical products—in part by combining new approaches to informatics with rapid
experimental screening methods.
Revolutionize the design of chemical processes to make them safe,
compact, flexible, energy efficient, environmentally benign, and
conducive to the rapid commercialization
of new products. This points to the major goal of modern
chemical engineering, in which many new factors are important for an optimal
manufacturing
process. Great progress has been made in developing Green Chemistry,
but more is
needed as we continue to meet human needs with the production
of important chemical
products using processes that are completely harmless to
the earth and its inhabitants.
Communicate effectively to the general public the contributions that
chemistry and chemical engineering make to society. Chemists and
chemical engineers need to learn how to communicate effectively to the general
public — both through
the media and directly — to explain what chemists and chemical engineers
do and to convey the goals and achievements of the chemical sciences in pursuit
of a better world.
Attract the best and the brightest young students into the chemical
sciences, to help meet these challenges. They can contribute
to critical human needs while following exciting careers, working on and
beyond
the molecular frontier.
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