They worry that the U.S. will fail to attract the young scientific hopefuls needed to replace the chemists who will be either retired or deceased by the end of the 1990s; they add muscle to their warning with the prediction that if academic chemistry falls, so will American industry. They support their prognostications with the observation that America's chemical industry is one of few having a positive trade balance--$15.7 billion in 1989--in the world economy without the help of a government subsidy.
But this is the voice of the academic scientist. Talk to industrial chemists and you're likely to receive a different message. Yes, they are concerned about the quality of chemists coming out of the university. But many industrial chemists don't accept the negative prognostications of the academic chemists. And they suggest that even if the predictions come true, the industry can deal with the situation.
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