Surviving Chemistry Seminars

Considering Chad Orzel's Notes Toward a User's Guide to Synthetic Chemistry Talks, I made a list of questions you can (almost) always ask at a chemistry seminar (not just synthetic):

• What is the impact of pH on ‹thing you're studying›?
• What is the impact of temperature on ‹thing you're studying›?
• What is the impact of solvent[1] on ‹thing you're studying›?
• What is the effect of concentration/crowding on ‹thing you're studying›?

Riskier – Orzel might say "unsporting" – but often applicable questions include:

• What impact does ‹thing you're studying› have on the environment/society?
• What are the ethical implications of ‹thing you're studying›?

[1]: in biological chemistry, substitute "media" for "solvent"