Evan Faulkenbury: Did you ever take a test in college and earn what you thought was an impossibly low grade? Well, so did this recent graduate from USC, studying chemistry.
Reese Lycan: “I think probably the most memorable test I ever had — and I cannot believe I’m about to say this — but it was physical biochemistry, and I opened the grade on Blackboard, and I saw an 18 out of 100, and I thought, there is no possible way that that is correct. And it unfortunately was, and I still managed to finish with an A in the class because that’s how hard the material was, that’s how big the curve was. So, it was kind of a shock, but also it was kind of reassuring in a way that, you know, it just solidified that this material is so difficult, that that is a passing score. But that was crazy, I can’t explain how my heart just dropped seeing that, it was ... yeah, it was scary.”
Evan Faulkenbury: That was Reese Lycan, who graduated this past spring. See, kids? You don’t have to be perfect on every test or every quiz. Reese made an 18 on a test. An 18! That’s out of 100. But she didn’t quit. She made an A in the class. And with a degree from USC from the chemistry and biochemistry department, she’s going to do great things in her career.
On this episode of Remembering the Days, we’re exploring the history of chemistry at the University of South Carolina. I’m Evan Faulkenbury. If you’re like me, you get the shakes when you remember studying chemistry in high school or college. I was more of a history guy. But even if chemistry or science isn’t your thing, it’s worth knowing about because that subject helped shape the university into what it is today. Since the early 1800s, chemistry has been a foundational pillar at what is now the University of South Carolina. For over two centuries, USC’s chemists — both students and professors — have accomplished transformational research.
In a 2001 program review, the department chair called the program “a vital cog” in the growth of the university and state of South Carolina. And he was right.
Before diving deeper into this history, let’s hear from a few more recent chemistry students at Carolina. Up first is Sophia Woytowitz.
Sophia Woytowitz: “My freshman year coming into college, I remember I was in the honors course for gen chem. It’s for chemistry and biochemistry students. We were very talkative, communicative, and we really developed a strong bond, and to this day I still say ‘hi’ to those classmates. But I remember I didn’t do too well on the first exam. I was able to learn from that, especially because of that tight-knit community. My professor was able to help us individually. And I was able to make a really strong comeback and stick with that professor for a full year, finishing out my two — one and two — gen chems.”
Evan Faulkenbury: Sophia is now a junior, and she has settled into the program, and she even completed her first internship this past summer. Addie Meeker is a senior, and because of one of her chemistry professors, Addie’s already deep into undergraduate research.
Addie Meeker: “I took analytical chemistry the first year coming into USC. And that professor that taught that class, she actually made a very big impression on me because she’s newer to USC, I think this is maybe her third or fourth year, but she reached out to me in November and was like, ‘Hey, are you interested in doing undergraduate research?’ And I had no idea that that was even an opportunity that anybody could have. ‘Heck yeah, I want to do it. This sounds really awesome.’ Just in that first semester alone, I really got a good idea of just how much the chemistry department at USC had to offer and just all of the resources that would help me, you know, eventually hone in and decide kind of more what I want to do with my career.”
Evan Faulkenbury: So here's the throughline: the history of chemistry education at USC is all about its people. And that didn’t come from out of the blue — it goes way back.
Until 1865, enslaved people were also part of South Carolina College. One enslaved man named Jack cleaned and maintained the chemistry laboratories on campus. According to historian Jill Found, Jack's knowledge and role was essential to the study of chemistry at South Carolina College. For more on Jack, check out episode six of Remembering the Days, “Looking for Jack.”
In January 1820, Thomas Cooper, the newly hired professor of chemistry at South Carolina College and the college’s soon-to-be president, delivered an introductory lecture on chemistry to the small student body. In his speech, which stretched out for 13 pages of small print, Thomas Cooper laid out his vision for students studying chemistry at South Carolina College and why it was important. He closed by saying, “I shall endeavor to impress upon my hearers in the course of lectures I propose to give, that the science I have the honor to teach, is pregnant with information of the most useful kind.”
Chemistry was taught alongside classical subjects like Greek and Latin, philosophy. ... Well-educated, elite males were expected to understand agrarian principles, and as scientific knowledge grew out of the Enlightenment, educators wanted them to be up to speed on the latest scientific developments. So, they learned chemistry.
In 1912, USC established the chemistry major. As the department expanded, it added a master’s degree in 1948, a Ph.D. in 1954 specializing in organic and physical chemistry, and then a biochemistry division was added in 1971. And then in 1991, the department's name officially changed to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Labs have moved across campus from building to building since 1817, and now, the department resides in the John Palms Center for Graduate Science Research on Main Street. Faculty members have earned numerous national recognitions and grants, and grad students have gone on to prolific careers in industry and academics. With over two centuries of chemistry education, the department has earned several awards, tested new technologies and made many discoveries.
And the research USC’s chemistry professors conduct alongside their students is groundbreaking. They focus on organic and inorganic chemistry, molecular biology, physical and theoretical chemistry, among other areas. In so doing, Carolina’s chemists are advancing science to make better batteries, solar fuels and other renewable energies.
But current faculty agree their department isn’t just old; it’s special. The chair, Dr. Qian Wang, has been at USC since 2003, and in 2013, he became a Carolina Distinguished Professor.
Qian Wang: “As a department, we have all three pillars, faculty members, staff members and students. And we are blessed with how all the three pillars are very strong. And as you said, we have great undergraduate students here, and also we have a really strong graduate program. I think it is one of the strongest ones in the state.”
Evan Faulkenbury: So what exactly is a department? Well, it’s made up of people: students, staff, faculty. And if faculty and staff are pouring their knowledge into students, after they graduate and stay involved as alumni, that cycle keeps turning and growing stronger.
Emeritus professor Dr. Scott Goode believes the chemistry department is more like a family.
Scott Goode: “Everybody says, 'We are a family,' and they may or may not be. The chemistry department is a family, and I can give a couple of examples. Our faculty have one key, it opens every lab in the building, every office in the building, and it is very helpful. When we have a disaster like a water line breaks and a lab floods, the people who run in are not necessarily the people who are responsible for the disaster. They're the people who live closest to campus. I was the building facilitator for many years. I would get these calls about some sort of disaster, and I would come in here, and I would see full professors with squeegees pushing water down drains in labs that weren't their own, but they lived close by.”
Evan Faulkenbury: So whether you were once part of the chemistry department or another academic department at USC, or perhaps just a fan of the university, you’re part of the Carolina family. So keep those squeegees handy, just in case.
On the next Remembering the Days, Chris Horn goes back to the 1950s when USC got a breath of fresh air with the arrival of Donald Russell as its new president. In five years, President Russell put the university on a trajectory for success and set the stage for its booming growth in the 1960s and beyond. That’s next, on Remembering the Days.