Reactions

Letters to the editor

Discovery or invention of elements?

I’m following up on the Jan. 14 editorial (C&EN, page 2) mentioning a reader’s comment about the discovery versus invention of transuranic elements. Helge Kragh in his wonderful book From Transuranic to Superheavy Elements: A Story of Dispute and Creation also discusses whether the term “discovery” is applicable to transuranic elements. Since they are nonexistent, with the exception of neptunium and plutonium, they are not discoverable but created. Another concern in the book is whether a few atoms of an element with fleeting lifetimes, stripped of electrons, is sufficient reason to call them elements at all and to assign them a prized position within our periodic table.

Kragh also does some inventing himself by naming the atomic nucleus that cosmologist Georges Lemaître proposed as the original universe. Kragh writes, “Lemaître did not think of his primeval atom as a chemical element in the ordinary sense and he wisely avoided suggesting a name for it. But perhaps ‘universium’ would be appropriate.”

Howard G. Barth
Wilmington, Delaware

Skills for graduate school

I read with great interest Bethany Halford’s article on the future of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) (C&EN, Feb. 4, page 20). It should not come as a surprise that GRE scores, just like undergraduate grade point averages, may not be excellent predictors for success in graduate programs.

In addition to knowledge of a subject matter (which can be evaluated through tests such as the GRE), success in graduate school requires a variety of additional skill sets. A few of these additional skills include the ability to communicate and negotiate effectively with colleagues and advisers, being open minded and accepting of criticism, the willingness to be mentored, and for those pursuing academic careers, the ability to be a mentor. Additionally, some graduate students, especially international students, need to be able to adapt to different social and academic cultures.

Muhammad A. Sharaf
Oakland, California