National Academies Press: OpenBook

Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise (2012)

Chapter: Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
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D

Questionnaire Descriptions

 

D1. Chairs of U.S. Chemistry Departments

D2. Members of Society Of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences and the Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Council of the Society of Nuclear Medicine

D3. Chemistry Managers and Vendors of Commercial Nuclear Power Plants

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
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D1. CHAIRS OF U.S. CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENTS

The questionnaire below was sent via e-mail to 144 department chairs and 44 schools responded (a 30 percent response rate). Respondents were given the options of replying to questionnaire on a web-based interface, FAX, or postal mail. Department chairs (see Appendix H) were identified from the 2009 ACS Directory of Graduate Research (ACS 2009) and top 100 NRC chemistry departments (NRC 2011).

Questionnaire

A. Does your department offer courses which are devoted to or in part to nuclear and/or radiation chemistry? Yes or no (Circle one.)

1. Course title:___________________________

2. Level: (Circle one.) lower division, upper division, graduate

3. Typical enrollment_______

4. Lab work included? Yes or no

5. If broader course, about what percent devoted to nuclear/radiochemistry?

B. Is nuclear/radiochemistry material included in general lecture or lab courses?

1. Course title:___________________________

2. Approximately what fraction of the course lecture or lab time is devoted to nuclear/radiochemistry? ______

C. Does your department faculty include nuclear and/or radiochemists? If so, please provide their names and areas of interests specified according to the following designations:

1. Fundamental Nuclear chemistry—interest in nuclear properties (structures, reaction, fission, etc.).

2. Chemistry of radioactive elements—actinide and lanthanide chemistry, other elements such as Tc, Ra, Po, etc.

3. Analytical applications—uses activation analysis, tracers, etc. to measure elemental concentrations in geochemical, environmental, biological applications.

4. Nuclear probes for chemical studies—e.g., Mössbauer effect, nuclear orientation experiments, perturbed angular correlations.

5. User of tracer techniques and labeled compounds.

6. Nuclear medicine and radiopharmaceutical chemistry.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
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Faculty Name Primary Field (Circle one.) Second Area (Circle one.) Directs Grant Research (Circle one.)
______________________________ 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yes         No
______________________________ 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yes         No
______________________________ 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yes         No
______________________________ 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yes         No
______________________________ 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yes         No
______________________________ 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yes         No
______________________________ 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yes         No
______________________________ 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yes         No
______________________________ 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yes         No

The number of faculty in these areas in 2001 was _______.

The number of graduate students in research in these areas presently?____

In 2001?_______

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
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D2. MEMBERS OF SOCIETY OF RADIOPHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES AND THE RADIOPHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES COUNCIL OF THE SOCIETY OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE

The questionnaire below was sent via e-mail from the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) to its 760 members of the Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences (SRS) and the Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Council (RPSC). Respondents anonymously completed the questionnaire via a web-based interface.

Questionnaire

The National Academy of Sciences Committee on Assuring a Future U.S.-based Nuclear Chemistry Expertise in Nuclear/Radiochemistry has been charged with examining supply and demand for nuclear, radio-, and radiation chemistry expertise in the United States. To make recommendations for ensuring adequate availability of these skills, including necessary science and technology training, the committee is seeking information about workforce needs in the nuclear medicine field. Your input, as a member of the Society of Radiopharmaceutical Scientists and Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Council of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, is critical. The data gathered will help provide practical input to current educational programs and suggest ways to ensure the health and vitality of nuclear, radio-, and radiation chemistry in the United States.

If you have any questions, please email Sheena Siddiqui at ssiddiqui@nas.edu.

1. Do you consider yourself a nuclear and/or radiochemist, or do you work with radiotracers as part of your job? (If no, then survey is complete. Required)

•  Yes

•  No (Skip to end of survey and click Submit.)

2. What is your highest degree?

•  Bachelors

•  Masters

•  Ph.D.

•  M.D.

•  M.D., Ph.D.

•  Pharm.D.

•  Other (Please specify.)

3. What is the primary discipline of your degree (Please be as specific as possible (e.g. biological, chemistry, nuclear physics, etc.))?

4. In what country do you work? (Required.)

5. In what year were you born?

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
×

6. Which of the following best describes your primary employer?

•  College or university

•  University-affiliated research institute

•  Free-standing research institute or organization

•  Federal government agency

•  State or local government agency

•  Hospital or clinic

•  For-profit business or company

•  Self-employed

•  Other non-profit organization not mentioned above (e.g., professional association)

•  Other (Please specify.)

7. Do you currently have a faculty appointment? (If no, skip to question 10.)

•  Yes

•  No

8. In what department is your faculty appointment? (Please identify the departments of any joint appointments or secondary appointments you have.)

•  Faculty appointment

•  Joint appointment

•  Secondary appointment

9. What is your academic rank? (Select one and skip to question 11.)

•  Assistant professor

•  Associate professor

•  Full professor

•  Research assistant professor

•  Research associate professor

•  Research professor

•  Clinical assistant professor

•  Clinical associate professor

•  Clinical professor

•  Other (Please specify.)

10. What is the title of your primary employment position?

11. In the past 10 years, have you been involved in training undergraduate students, graduate students, medical students, and/or postdoctoral fellows in a research laboratory setting? (If no, skip to question 14.)

•  Yes

•  No

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
×

12. For each of the following, indicate approximately how many individuals you have trained in the laboratory. (Enter “0” if you haven’t trained anyone. Do NOT count students whom you are currently training.)

•  Undergraduate students

•  Master’s students

•  Doctoral students

•  Medical students

•  Postdoctoral fellows and trainees

•  Other (Please describe.)

13. Currently, how many of the following types of students are you training in your lab?

•  Undergraduate students

•  Master’s students

•  Doctoral students

•  Medical students

14. Based on your experience and knowledge of the workforce, how would you rate the adequacy of the nuclear/radiochemistry workforce over the next 5 years?

•  The supply of nuclear/radiochemists is substantially larger than the demand for these individuals.

•  The supply of nuclear/radiochemists is somewhat larger than the demand for these individuals.

•  The supply of nuclear/radiochemists is slightly larger than the demand for these individuals.

•  The supply of nuclear/radiochemists is about the same as the demand for these individuals.

•  The supply of nuclear/radiochemists is slightly smaller than the demand for these individuals.

•  The supply of nuclear/radiochemists is somewhat smaller than the demand for these individuals.

•  The supply of nuclear/radiochemists is substantially smaller than the demand for these individuals.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
×

D3. CHEMISTRY MANAGERS AND VENDORS OF COMMERCIAL NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

The questionnaire below was sent via e-mail from committee member Ronald Chrzanowski to chemistry managers of all 65 nuclear power plants in the United States (listed in Appendix I). Responses are presented in an aggregated format.

The purpose of survey is to find out as much as possible about the supply and demand of nuclear chemists and radiochemists. Indications are that there appears to have been a sharp increase in the demand for graduates with nuclear chemistry degrees and there also appears to be a greater demand than there is a supply. These questions, along with a complementary survey sent to universities, are designed to determine if this supply-demand gap is real and if so, how it is likely to evolve in the coming years.

Plant or Organization Name: ____________________________________________________

1. Does your organization employ Chemists holding a BS, MS or Ph.D. in Nuclear Chemistry or Radiochemistry?

2. Roughly how many Nuclear Chemistry or Radiochemistry degree holders does it employ?

3. How many degreed Chemists do you employ in total?

For the following questions, base your answers on the following description of a Nuclear Chemist or Radiochemist: a Chemist that deals with radiochemistry or reactor chemistry.

4. How many openings did you have for nuclear or radiochemists in the past year?

5. How many of these openings did you fill with nuclear or radiochemistry graduates?

6. Do you anticipate hiring nuclear or radiochemists in the next 20 years? If so, how many do you anticipate hiring? Please provide an estimate by degree.

Total number of hires in next: 5 yrs 5-10 yrs 10-15 yrs 15-20 yrs
Nuclear or Radiochemisty BS _________ _________ _________ _________
Nuclear or Radiochemistry MS _________ _________ _________ _________
Nuclear of Radiochemistry PhD _________ _________ _________ _________

7. Have the type of tasks assigned to nuclear or radiochemistss today changed from that over the past several years?

8. What are the major tasks for nuclear or radiochemists today?

9. Have you had difficulty finding nuclear or radiochemists to fill your positions?

10. Do you hire nuclear or radiochemists out of school or do you require a minimum number of years in the discipline?

11. Do you hire non-nuclear or non-radiochemists and train them in-house to perform the nuclear or radiochemist functions?

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
×

REFERENCES

ACS (American Chemical Society). 2009. DGRweb 2009 [online]. Available: http://dgr.rints.com/ [accessed September 7, 2011].

NRC (National Research Council). 2011. Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States. J. P. Ostriker, C. V. Kuh, and J. A. Voytuk, Eds; Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Available online at www.nap.edu/rdp/. Also see: http://graduate-school.Ph.D.s.org/rankings/chemistry/rank/larger.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
×
Page 179
Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
×
Page 180
Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
×
Page 181
Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
×
Page 182
Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
×
Page 183
Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
×
Page 184
Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
×
Page 185
Suggested Citation:"Appendix D: Questionnaire Descriptions." National Research Council. 2012. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13308.
×
Page 186
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The growing use of nuclear medicine, the potential expansion of nuclear power generation, and the urgent needs to protect the nation against external nuclear threats, to maintain our nuclear weapons stockpile, and to manage the nuclear wastes generated in past decades, require a substantial, highly trained, and exceptionally talented workforce. Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise examines supply and demand for expertise in nuclear chemistry nuclear science, and radiochemistry in the United States and presents possible approaches for ensuring adequate availability of these skills, including necessary science and technology training platforms.

Considering a range of reasonable scenarios looking to the future, none of these areas are likely to experience a decrease in demand for expertise. However, many in the current workforce are approaching retirement age and the number of students opting for careers in nuclear and radiochemistry has decreased dramatically over the past few decades. In order to avoid a gap in these critical areas, increases in student interest in these careers, in the research and educational capacity of universities and colleges, and sector specific on-the-job training will be needed. Concise recommendations are given for actions to avoid a shortage of nuclear chemistry, nuclear scientists, and radiochemists in the future.

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