Formação e trabalho de mestres e doutores em bioquímica titulados no brasil

This article reports questions related to the training and jobs of biochemistry graduates from Brazilian universities. It is focussed on academic and career paths and on relations between knowledge and work. The main questions addressed in this study were: what have been the paths since undergraduate education? What were graduates doing before their enrolment in master and doctoral programs? Which were their motivations for this? Where do graduates work now? How do they appraise some aspects of their graduate education? Did the degree enlarge their job opportunities and improve work quality? How much do they earn?

Licenciatura em Química da UFC: perfil sócio-econômico, evasão e desempenho dos alunos

This paper describes the studies of the performance and the efficiency of the Degree in Chemistry (nocturne) course at the UFC. The study embraces the period of its foundation (1995) until the current days. In general, the course has enhanced its efficiency, with an evident improvement presented by the students, which are more confident with strong indicative of better social prestige.

A extração de cafeína em bebidas estimulantes: uma nova abordagem para um experimento clássico em química orgânica

Caffeine extraction procedures from water soluble and water insoluble materials for preparing stimulating beverages are described. Water soluble materials used were instant tea and coffee and water insoluble materials were, among others, guaraná powder and maté leaves. The extraction of caffeine from water soluble materials, especially instant tea, is more suitable for an organic chemistry teaching laboratory than the classic experiment using tea leaves, due to the economy of time and a larger amount of extracted caffeine. The procedure is time-saving and requires only a four-hour period. The experiments illustrate the extraction process as used in undergraduate organic chemistry laboratories.

Uma proposta de síntese para o ensino integrado das disciplinas experimentais de química orgânica e inorgânica nos cursos de graduação

The synthesis of the layered compound VO(PO4)(H2O)2 and its use to oxidize 2-butanol to the ketone 2-butanone, is proposed as an experiment to integrate the organic and inorganic experimental undergraduate chemistry courses, in an atempt to overcome the observed disrupture between organic and inorganic chemistry.

Síntese dos analgésicos paracetamol e fenacetina e do adoçante dulcina: um projeto para química orgânica experimental

A synthesis of artificial sweetener dulcin starting from nitrobenzene was elaborated for undergraduate organic laboratory course. Paracetamol and phenacetin, both physiologically active analgesic compounds, were also prepared as intermediates. Besides a large scope of discussion subjects related with organic synthesis, interesting lectures about analgesics and sweeteners may also be performed in this project. The advantage of this project is the adaptability according to the conditions offered by the course, i.e., convenience and/or availability of time and reagents.

Síntese do isobutileno e seu emprego em reações de esterificação: propostas de aulas práticas de química orgânica para a graduação

An experiment for the synthesis of isobutylene from tert-butanol dehydratation using oxalic acid as catalyst, followed by preparations of tert-butyl benzoate and tert-butyl cinnamate is described. The synthesis are simple, requiring two periods of 4 hours and are suitable for undergraduate organic chemistry experimental courses.

Quatro décadas de química na UNESP/Araraquara

This article describes the history of four decades of activities in the Institute of Chemistry of Araraquara, UNESP: the beginning, the evolution of undergraduate and graduate courses and the infra-structure of teaching and research.

Eixos mobilizadores em química

Over the last five years there have been significant changes in higher education in Brazil as well as in research funding. As a contribution to the development of Science and Technology, and aiming to portray Chemistry today in Brazil, in the context of last year´s elections for President, State Governors, National Congress and Legislative Chamber, the Directors and Consulting Council of the Brazilian Chemical Society, SBQ, initiated in 2002 a series of activities to produce a document entitled Mobilizing Axes in Chemistry. This discusses undergraduate and graduate teaching in Chemistry, a new model for research funding, and the overall state of the art, and future perspectives. Six mobilizing axes have been identified and discussed to date: 1. Training of highly qualified personnel; 2. Decentralization, and discouragement of institutional in-breeding; 3. Stimulation of entrepreneurship and interdisciplinarity; 4. A guaranteed budget for Science and Technology; 5. Proactive interaction of academics with economic activity; and 6. Removal of institutional bottle-necks of all sorts. The Brazilian Chemical Society hopes that the new administration will in the near future begin the task of improving the national education system and increase funding for Science and Technology.

Inserção do conceito de economia atômica no programa de uma disciplina de química orgânica experimental

In this paper, the atom economy concepts are applied in a series of experiments during an experimental organic chemistry class, to implement "green chemistry" in an undergraduate course.

Estabilidade relativa de alcenos: análise dos critérios encontrados nos livros textos de graduação e uma proposta de explicação operacional para alcenos dissubstituídos

Despite of being used as thermodynamic criterion to rank alkene stability in a number of undergraduate textbooks, the heat of hydrogenation does not describe adequately the relative stability of disubstituted alkenes. In this work, both the heat of formation and the heat of combustion were used as thermodynamic criteria to rank correctly the stability of alkenes according to the degree of alkyl substitution and also in the disubstituted series (geminal > trans > cis). An operational model based on molecular orbital and valence bond representations of hyperconjugation is proposed to show how this effect can explain the order of stability of this class of compounds.

Química geral experimental: uma nova abordagem didática

This essay describes a new didactic approach, in according with the national curriculum guidelines for chemistry undergraduate courses in Brazil, employed during the one-semester course "Experimental General Chemistry" for chemistry undergraduate students at the Federal University of Piauí. The new approach has positively helped student's training by improving their reading skills and their understanding of scientific reports, by developing the use of electronic tools to search and to recover the required knowledge for their learning activities, and by improving their skills of understanding published texts and dealing with digital sources. At the same time the students are strongly stimulated to enter the research program for undergraduate students available at the University.

Um experimento de análise em fluxo envolvendo reações enzimáticas e quimiluminescência

An experiment is proposed to introduce some fundamentals of flow analysis, chemiluminescence and kinetic monitoring of enzymatic reactions in undergraduate courses. Chemiluminescence detection is performed with a simple spectrophotometer equipped with a lab-made spiral flow cell constructed from a polyethylene tube. The hydrogen peroxide produced by the glucose oxidation in the presence of glucose oxidase is continuously monitored by the reaction with luminol in alkaline media in a flow injection system. The exercise allows also the discussion of important analytical features and the comparison with different optical methods of analysis.

A formação do Químico

Training of highly qualified personnel is the most transversal axis among those identified in the document "Mobilizing Axes in Chemistry", published by SBQ, in 2002, which demands to deep the discussions, initiated in the symposium "The Chemist's Education", whose main objective was to discuss the repercussions of that training in the teaching and in the industrial section. After the publication of an initial paper, a couple of meetings and workshops held in Rio de Janeiro, in December 2003, involving the national chemist community, discussed the "The role of the graduate degrees in the Chemist's Education" and "The Chemist's Education", and confirmed the need to invest in the formation of qualified human resources in profusion and in all levels. Actions to be taken were delineated. Presently, the graduate programs in Chemistry are showing expressive results. However, although these professionals are mostly absorbed by the academy (the absorption of the industry is less significant), only a few programs give special attention to the didactical and pedagogical training. The regional decentralization is actually a tendency in most programs, but the interaction academy-economic activities is still a challenge. It is necessary to establish with the industrial section, the highly qualified professional's profile in Chemistry that the industry can absorb. The undergraduation is growing in number and quality, however still excessively concentrated in the Southeast area. The national "Curricula Guidelines" for Chemistry Courses, through its flexible approach, propitiate the integral, interdisciplinary (non compartmentalized) and critical-reflexive training of the professionals as citizens and as entrepreneurs. However, deficiencies are still recognized. The evaluation system of undergraduate courses has been able to identify the most fragile modalities of courses and other indicators. It was also verified that Brazilian chemistry industry absorbs minimally the highly qualified professionals, which is attributed to the fact that the Federal Council of Chemistry is vertically organized and does not recognize the graduate degrees as professional qualification. In the conclusion, it stands out, among other aspects, the importance of the effective implantation of the national curricula guidelines, bringing out courses whose didactical and pedagogical projects may offer a solid formation in Chemistry, but comprehensive and general enough to enable the Chemistry professionals to develop varied skills.

Esquema para interpretação de espectros de substâncias orgânicas na região do infravermelho

This article decribes a simple and systematic method to interpret an infrared spectrum using a flow chart to elucidate the structure of a simple organic compound. It is aimed at undergraduate courses of organic chemistry to make beginners proficient. The proposed flow chart for infrared spectrum interpretation and characterization of organic compounds is suitable for theoretical and experimental courses.

Espectros eletrônicos de alguns complexos de geometria octaédrica de Ni2+: uma introdução prática à teoria do campo cristalino no curso de graduação

The experiment introduces the undergraduate students to the crystal field theory. The electronic spectra of the octahedral complexes of [Ni(L)n]2+ (L = H2O, dmso, NH3 and en) obtained in the experiment are used to calculate 10Dq and B parameters. The experiment shows how the parameters can be calculated and correlated with the nature of the ligands and the field intensities produced.