Crossing the Interface between Chemistry and Science

N umerous researchers have crossed the boundary between mathematics and physics, and the resulting interaction has benefited both disciplines. In contrast, there has been relatively little interaction between mathematicians and chemists. There are many reasons for this. Historically, the typical chemist has not been interested in problems that have led to tractable mathematical questions. Chemists have traditionally spent the bulk of their time in a laboratory, and the discipline of theoretical chemistry has evolved only recently. During the last few decades, the situation in chemistry has been changing, largely because of the development of powerful computers. Large-scale numerical computations have been extremely useful in chemistry, and there are now significant numbers of theoretical and computational chemists. These scientists are working on problems that are very different from those of traditional laboratory chemistry. Many of their questions and techniques are mathematical in nature, and research opportunities now exist that span the boundaries between chemistry and mathematics. Several such opportunities are described in a report, Mathematical Challenges from Theo-descriptions of many diverse areas in theoreti-cal/computational chemistry where significant mathematical problems have arisen. Several audiences are addressed in the report , such as individual researchers, funding agencies, professional societies, editors, and college departments of chemistry and mathematics. The report contains descriptions of cultural and institutional barriers to interdisciplinary research , as well as several ideas to improve communication and to foster collaboration between chemists and mathematicians. One suggestion is to encourage students in the disciplines to take courses in the other discipline. Another is for editors to solicit review articles that will help researchers bridge the gap between the subjects. Yet another suggestion is to have more inter-disciplinary conferences or simply to have speakers from one discipline occasionally present seminars in the other department.