Where Are They Now? Catching Up With The Texas A&M Chemistry Class Of 1976
The October 21-22 presentation of the 2016 A.I. Scott Medal for Excellence in Biological Chemistry Research at Texas A&M University was unique by any standard — not only because it featured an extra day in celebration of Scott as one of the trailblazers of Texas A&M Chemistry during its past 50 years as a department within the College of Science, but also because it coincided with the 40-year reunion for a group of chemistry former students from the Class of 1976 along with a bonus two from the Class of 1975.
Eleven former students were represented in the group that Texas A&M Department of Chemistry Head Simon North described in a single word: amazing.
“These former students have made impressive contributions in their careers and demonstrate the exciting range of opportunities available to our current chemistry students,” North said. “I was delighted to meet with this wonderful group and to show them around the department.”
“We are always proud of the accomplishments of our former students, and this group sets an especially high bar for our current students to emulate,” added Dr. Holly C. Gaede, instructional assistant professor of chemistry and undergraduate advisor for Texas A&M Chemistry. “We are grateful for the service they have provided to our department in the spirit of selflessness, and we value their continuing contributions enormously.”
As the saying goes, it takes one to know one, so we’re taking it from one who knows it best: Tonalee Carlson Key. Included below is her first-person summary of the gathering:
2016 marks the 40th anniversary of the Class of 1976. Nine chemistry majors from that class and two from ’75 gathered in October for a reunion weekend.
The May 1976 B.S. chemistry graduates include: Elliott Bay, John Beckerdite, Kevin Dick, Bobby Grigsby, Alex Haas, David Hayes, Fred Jensen and Tonalee Carlson Key. John, David, Bobby and Tonalee all started in 1972 as B.S. chemistry majors. Alex and Elliott started as chemical engineering and physics majors, respectively, but shifted to B.S. chemistry after their freshman year. We were unable to contact Kevin or Fred.
Donald Slater started as a B.S. chemistry major participating in the work/study program. The six months of classes and six months of work made it difficult to take some B.S. courses, so he switched to the B.A. chemistry program. He graduated with a B.A. chemistry degree in August 1976.
Jerry Hunt was a B.A. chemistry major and graduated in December 1975. John Fraser started as a math major and switched to the B.A. chemistry program after freshman year. He graduated in May 1975.
Mike and Pat Killough started as B.S. chemistry majors and graduated in May 1975.
Of these eleven, six received Ph.D.s, one an M.S., one a second B.S. and one an M.D. Seven work(ed) in the chemical industry, one spent his career at a national laboratory, one is a doctor, one crossed from a chemistry to a geology career, and one was an environmental scientist with a state agency.
To add to the weekend fun and broader educational experience, we asked Key for a bit of past-present perspective pertaining to the then-and-now of Aggieland — questions she posed to the reunion group. Her answers and that of her classmates Donald Slater and Elliott Bay are reflected in composite below.
“Our thoughts on Texas A&M today are very similar,” Key said. “Our responses about the environment for new graduates offer some different viewpoints, since Donald went to work when he finished his B.A., Elliott went to work after he finished his Ph.D. and I worked in government.”
What strikes you as the most different and also unchanged about Texas A&M today?
Tonalee: “The group found the heart of the campus we knew mostly unchanged. Many of the buildings had been updated or repurposed, the Fish Pond had been moved, and Law and Puryear dorms were gone. Of course, the biggest physical changes are around the edge of the ‘old’ main campus and the new campus across the railroad tracks. As Donald noted, ‘even with the new buildings, the campus still had the old feeling.’ While it was nice to visit on an away football game weekend, I missed getting to see students on campus. They are the soul of the university. But does anyone say howdy any more?
“Elliott also noted that the chemistry building is much larger. The classrooms are modern and Internet-connected with cable outlets and Wi-Fi boxes everywhere. Our connectivity 40 years ago was dial-up modem. He liked that some of the classrooms still had chalk blackboards. He was disappointed to hear that chemistry was no longer taught in Room 100. He was impressed, as were we all, with what the undergraduates are doing in the labs and that they are writing up the results in Journal of Physical Chemistry format.”
Compare and contrast today’s environment for newly minted chemistry grads with what you found yourselves facing 40 years ago as you embarked on your own promising futures.
Donald: “I think the most significant difference for new graduates is the Internet. I think it would make it easier to research companies and search for a job. I also feel the explosion of new technologies and scientific breakthroughs gives new graduates a wide variety of career opportunities.”
Elliott: “The thing I found myself facing 40 years ago when I first started working in chemical industry was simply that I did not know how to do the job. I did know how to learn what I needed to know, and I did know how to approach and solve the problems put before me. These learning and problem-solving skills were taught to me at Texas A&M. I see the same thing in new chemistry graduates entering industry for the first time. I always tell them that no one expects them to walk in knowing exactly how to do the job, but they will be expected to learn to do it. Those who learn quickly and show creativity tend to excel in chemical industry. This is true for more than just chemistry.
“I have noticed that Ph.D. chemists in chemical industry have more of the leadership roles than the B.S. and M.S. chemists, but I believe the outlook for all degrees in chemistry is very good. Perhaps I am biased, but I believe chemistry is the most important of all the sciences. Understanding chemistry is the best place to begin if you want to make just about anything, from pharmaceuticals to glass fiber.
“I see materials science as an up and coming part of chemical industry. Look at what has happened with high performance engineered materials and things like batteries and flat-screen displays over the past 20 years. My definition of chemistry also includes biochemistry. DNA technology is currently changing the world, and these changes are accelerating. Knowing what I know now, DNA technology is the chemistry I would pursue if I had it all to do again.”
Tonalee: “I wholeheartedly agree with Elliott that the the most valuable lesson I learned in my chemistry studies was how to think my way through a problem. It was an essential skill for the environmental work I did. Environmental problems almost always involve multiple subject areas. For example, in air quality, there are the sources, atmospheric chemistry, meteorology and health effects, to name a few. You need to think and work along multiple avenues to address the problem on which you are working. I think the environmental issues we are working on today are more complex and interesting than when I started 30 years ago.”
View brief biographies for all the attendees on the College of Science website.
