Chemists amid coronavirus: 2020 in review

During this difficult time, Chemistry World has been checking in with dozens of notable chemists around the globe to see how they are weathering the novel coronavirus pandemic. While different countries have had varying success controlling the spread of Covid-19, chemists everywhere are adjusting to a new normal. This includes, in most cases, interventions like physical distancing requirements, rotations that limit the number of people in the lab at once, and the near impossibility of travel, which have reduced research productivity and impeded collaborations across institutions as well as internationally.

Addressing this crisis has also required professors to learn to teach chemistry not only remotely, but also in very challenging so-called ‘HyFlex’ environments that involve accommodating students who are live in the classroom, live via the Internet, or watching a recording of the class asynchronously. In addition, it has created roadblocks for professors trying to reach tenure, students who need to hit milestones to complete their degrees, and for newly-minted chemistry PhDs wanting to network and find jobs.

At the same time, however, some actual benefits have arisen from the Covid-19 catastrophe. For example, the pandemic has spurred real innovation in chemistry education – forcing it to become more high-tech, to move beyond the lecture, and to reimagine exams as well as mentorship. The pandemic has also driven further changes that have meant chemistry courses and conferences are much more widely accessible, regardless of geography and resources. It has had a certain equalising effect on the field.

Many nations are in the midst of a second wave of the virus that has brought, or threatens to bring, increased restrictions to universities and their research labs. Chemistry students, professors and researchers everywhere are uncertain and worried about what the future holds. There is little doubt, however, that Covid-19 will change the scientific enterprise significantly and maybe even radically.