
This user-friendly student text presents a comprehensive and novel approach to preparation for chemical research. It can be adopted as a textbook for research courses, but also for individual study. The author provides both undergraduate and graduate students with the necessary information for launching a research study. Useful details such as ordering supplies and dealing with granting foundations are included. Even working with maintenance crews is discussed. The text saves research directors valuable time in the development of courses and it even highlights foundational material with examples and case studies from the research world. It serves as the 'go-to' text and first resource in the exciting field of chemical research.
Ruth Ann Murphy, PhD, earned a BS in Chemistry and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin with additional graduate studies in Organic Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After teaching appointments in Chemistry at Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, and the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, she served as Chemistry Coordinator and Assistant Professor at the University of Albuquerque. As Professor of Chemistry, she then chaired the Division of Science and Math at Howard Payne University, Brownwood, Texas. This was followed by a teaching appointment at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB), Belton, Texas, where she continues as tenured Professor of Chemistry. At UMHB she has served as Chair of the Department of Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Geology; Amy LeVesconte Professor of Chemistry; Chair of the Health Professions Advisory Committee; Director of the Campus Recycling Program; and Principal Investigator for the Robert A. Welch Foundation of Houston chemical research grant. She has served as Chair of the Texas Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, and is a member of the Texas Association of Advisors for the Health Professions and the American Chemical Society including the Division of Chemical Education, Division of Chemical Health and Safety, and Division of Fluorine Chemistry. She is the author of Environmental Chemistry in the Lab, and co-author with Dr. James Beard of Environmental Chemistry in Society, Third Edition, both published in 2022 by CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL. Dr. Murphy enjoys introducing her students to chemical research and developing studies for them which align with their individual interests.
If you are looking for the 101st way to functionalize a CH group in an organic molecule that resists your ministrations, this book is not the place to look for it. But it you want a balanced view of the life skills that you need to make a living in chemistry, and have fun doing it, Ruth Ann Murphy's book is a wonderful introduction. It ranges widely, from what chemistry is to how to apply to graduate school, and how to write proposals and obtain funding. It also has some fascinating vignettes of the chemical life, even in the sections you might think would be boring, like laboratory safety. The overall aim of chemistry, to help build a better world for all, is not lost. "An Introduction to Chemical Research" is an excellent book, covering in unpretentious language practical matters that a chemistry student will face in their life.
Roald Hoffmann, PhD, Chemist and Writer
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
Frank H. T. Rhodes Professor, Emeritus Cornell University