Reshaping Chemical Sciences Education
The success of tomorrow’s STEM industry depends on the transformative power of innovative chemistry education. The 2026 ChemEd Summit helped provide the building blocks for that education by seeking to incorporate identified workforce and professional skills into curricular development.
The Summit provided an implementation-focused event that built on insights from the first ChemEd Summit, along with recent collaborations with the American Chemical Society. Using scenarios informed by industry and recent innovations in academia, participants collaboratively developed plans to integrate key knowledge, skills and abilities — including AI literacy, communication (beyond traditional technical writing), project management, adaptability, interdisciplinarity and real-world problem solving — across the chemistry curriculum.
Held March 13, the daylong event expounded upon the importance of setting the bar high for undergraduate chemical sciences education for the next-generation workforce. The summit was hosted by NC State’s Integrative Sciences Initiative (ISI) in partnership with the Departments of Chemistry and Molecular and Structural Biochemistry and the College of Sciences.
“I am thrilled to see the ChemEd Summit grow from the project I started as a College of Sciences Dean Faculty Fellow in 2024 into the vibrant initiative it is today with the championing and support of the ISI and the chemistry department and the ongoing college support,” said Ghada Rabah, the 2026 chair of the North Carolina section of the American Chemical Society and a teaching professor in the Department of Chemistry.
Engaging the Audience
Lightning talks and audience engagement sessions sought to reiterate the critical importance of equipping the next generation of scientists with interdisciplinary education, “soft” skills and hands-on experience in the areas of: adaptability and iteration, diverse communication, project management, applying to interdisciplinary and real-world problems; and AI in industry. Attendees were able to dig deeper into these topics through a series of presentations, including:
- AI tools available to educators, Kristy Borda, Research Librarian for the Sciences and Instructional Strategy, NC State University
- Basic neural networks 101 and molecular generation, Paul Liu, Professor, Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, NC State University
- Mini workshop: Meeting skills assessment needs with the ELIPSS skill rubrics, Juliette Lantz, Chemistry Professor, Drew University.
Participants from academia, industry and recent graduates also grouped by skill of interest and engaged in facilitated breakout discussions focused on identifying curricular activities in the chemical sciences that support professional skill development and interdisciplinary learning. Each participant was tasked with:
- Identifying two points in their curriculum to create an activity that introduces the skill and one that, later on, develops this skill;
- Designing an approach to assessment;
- Aligning with modern workforce needs; and
- Identifying resources needed for implementation.
Building on a Strong Foundation, Championing Education
In 2024, the first ChemEd Summit brought together local participants from academia, industry and the ACS to identify the essential knowledge, skills and abilities required in the dynamic landscape of chemical sciences. This collaborative undertaking sparked strong enthusiasm to develop a shared vision for the future of chemical sciences education.
“The first summit created a collaborative space for industry and academic partners to identify exactly what students needed to succeed post-graduation,” said Rabah. “This year’s ChemEd Summit focused on translating those insights into classroom practices. We will use data from this summit to guide next steps in developing this community and creating repositories of curricular activities and initiatives.”
The 76th Southeastern and 81st Southwest Joint Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society symposium that Rabah and Jeremiah Feducia, director of undergraduate programs for the ISI, in collaboration with Michelle Brooks from the American Chemical Society, was an important next step in beginning to build a national community of practice around these priorities. The recent ChemEd Summit reflects expanded engagement from nine academic institutions, along with professional and ACS participants, positioning NC State and the ISI to help shape conversations in chemistry and STEM education.
The 2024 Summit also helped identify existing curricular strengths to build on, opportunities for growth, and potential for stronger collaborations between academia and the professional sector to advance undergraduate curriculum developments. The full details of these findings can now be found in this article published online in the Journal of Chemical Education.
“The chemistry departments at many institutions are moving towards increased use of active learning, research-based laboratories, and other high-impact opportunities in their programs. All of these approaches build durable skill development into the chemistry curriculum, and this part of the outstanding education ISI offers.”
Juliette Lantz, chair and professor, Department of Chemistry, Drew University
Telling the ISI Story
This increased engagement, and the momentum it has generated, highlights the need for leadership in the chemistry education space and the opportunity the ISI is acting upon to make a difference. ISI’s championing of the initiative, along with support from the College of Sciences and the Department of Chemistry in particular, has been instrumental to its continued success.
“NC State truly is taking the reins to be a national leader in rethinking chemistry and STEM education, particularly at the interface of research, industry needs and interdisciplinary training,” said Feducia.
The ISI is intentional in training students to work with each other and have an interdisciplinary mindset — a major benefit to companies that depend on these skills to thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Shaping Academic Conversations
NC State and the American Chemical Society (ACS) share a strong commitment to preparing students for post-graduation success. Engaging the ACS both in the past and present was intentional and critical — not only for their outstanding expertise and workforce data, but also for the organization’s significant role in establishing curriculum guidelines and accrediting chemistry programs.
“There is a real need for chemistry faculty to know the current and future projected landscape of industry so they can best prepare their students for what’s ahead,” said Michelle Brooks, assistant director of higher education for the ACS. “This connection — something you’re seeing with the ChemEd Summit and NC State — is something that is much-needed in terms of preparing students for all career paths. We all have had similar interests, and because of the first event, this has grown to have more of a national emphasis.”
Brooks and the ACS had started to apply gleanings from the first ChemEd Summit to what the organization thought needed to be done in the classroom to start preparing students. For example, the ACS Approval Program has shifted its focus to skill development and is actively discussing how AI fits into the curriculum.
Brooks took what she had learned to ACS mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regional meetings, and now is planning for the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education this summer. One of the major topics of discussion — preparing students for industry careers. ACS will also be involved in open discussions on the use of AI and on making educational materials accessible to blind and low-vision students.
“We’re discussing ways to incorporate guidance on use of AI in education,” said Brooks. “Every day in the Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed there are discussions of AI. The next step is to provide support for faculty who are teaching students how to use these tools. I was happy to see people talking about AI at this year’s ChemEd Summit. This definitely gave us a better idea of how AI is used in industry, to help us in preparing students for these careers..”
She noted that the ChemEd Summit speaks to broader opportunities for educational applications, and that the event and the ACS share the ability to bring people together with similar ideas in preparing students for industry, interdisciplinary work. “The folks at NC State are at the forefront of this initiative and the partnership we’ve developed has helped us learn more about what students need ,” she said.
Additionally, the ISI and ChemEd Summit are aligned through the ACS 2026-29 vision of “A World Built on Science.” Chemistry has tendrils into all different areas of science, and an interdisciplinary experience for students shows how all of science is connected.
“I think that what’s happening at NC State is all a part of our vision for the future, and specifically what the ACS is trying to do with undergraduate education,” said Brooks. “The ChemEd Summit experience exemplifies that vision, and NC State is one of the first places I will go to help bring people together around what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Making Industry Connections
NC State’s and the ISI’s leadership in interdisciplinary education and training also showcase the importance of industry partnerships in preparing students for the workforce of tomorrow. Joshua Harris, associate director of Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc., highlighted his involvement in the 2026 ChemEd Summit and the indelible industry connection to STEM education.
Harris gave a lightning talk revolving around the scenario of a client proposing a new AI/machine learning project, the potential to train AI on clinical trial data to predict individual patient outcomes, and the importance of adaptability, communication, perspective alignment and interdisciplinary teamwork in a positive outcome.
“I have no doubt that a chemistry student from NC State will be well-equipped for their field in terms of the hard science,” said Harris. “I am an NC State graduate myself (in materials science and engineering), so I’m confident in the university’s ability to produce students who know how to operate in their field. The extra bit that translates to success in industry are the soft skills: clear communication and teamwork, flexibility and critical thinking. You really need these skills to stand out in a professional setting, so it would behoove students and university programs to emphasize them as much as possible.”
Interdisciplinary teamwork is absolutely essential to Harris’ job and many other industry occupations. Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in particular boasts a mix of Ph.D. employees and college graduates with many different backgrounds: biology, physics, materials science, computer science and chemistry. The company’s clients approach them with diverse problems, and they often have to work together and with clients to fully understand and solve a problem.
“Real science or engineering rarely consists of plug-and-play textbook problems; instead, we’re faced with challenges that are difficult for any one person to solve,” said Harris. “In today’s world, with AI and other technologies rapidly advancing, those challenges are increasingly interdisciplinary, and require efforts from several different people or teams with different backgrounds. There’s no way to do that without clear and respectful communication, so that you can work together as a team.”
What’s Next
Just as the first ChemEd Summit in 2024 sought to transform undergraduate chemical sciences education for the next-generation workforce, this year’s ChemEd Summit seeks to build upon the importance of industry connections and team-oriented educational efforts.
“NC State in general, and ISI in particular, have made great concerted efforts in convening interdisciplinary conversations around the future of science education and workforce preparation — with a key focus on industry partners in this process,” said Pierce. “Moving forward, we’re continuing to work with these partners and the American Chemical Society to give students the absolute best opportunities to make an impact on STEM industries in the future.”
This post was originally published in Provost's Office News.