When I think about what DEI means to me, I’ve always seen it inherently rooted in the ethos of intersectionality. Everyone is positioned at a unique place in social space. Your views and relationships to politics, gender, religion, sexuality, class, and science afford you a specific place in the world. It not only affects how much agency you have to exercise your ambitions and will, but also how you see the world. One of the team’s main goals was to have students research more about this for minority chemists – to have the students not only learn about the chemist’s scientific contributions, but also how their backgrounds and histories helped them make these discoveries. That’s why the unique experiences of minority chemists are so important.

With this project, our team set out to revel in the pioneering success of these chemists, but also to investigate how each of these chemists rose to overcome the distinct challenges and obstacles that faced them. Science doesn’t happen in a vacuum: it’s an institution baked into the fabric of society. From academia and education to the medication and discoveries that better your life, science affects the way we view, learn, and harness knowledge. Yet science is also susceptible to prejudice, bias, and discrimination. This is where the power of sociology can help us learn more about the natural sciences.

In reading through the biographies created by the students, it’s clear that many recognized the struggles facing minority chemists within science. Many of these chemists faced the aforementioned prejudice, bias, and discrimination. Students were able to pick up on these dynamics, showcasing that we can be cognizant of these social forces when awareness is brought to them. My analyses simply added an additional sociological element to concepts that were either alluded to or implied.

During the project, I collected survey and interview data from the students to learn about their experiences in creating these biographies. Many students, particularly those from marginalized or minority backgrounds, found the project really resonating. Since the minority chemists were chosen by the students, many empathized with the chemists’ stories. The struggles brought on by distinctions in class, race, and gender rung a little too true.

Throughout this book, we’ve tried to focus not only on the scientific discoveries of the chemists but also on the experiences that positioned the chemists to make their discoveries. Inherent obstacles that were purposefully baked into the institutions of chemistry have posed innumerable problems to aspirant chemists from various backgrounds. The minority chemists that you’ve read about in this book overcame these problems and found solutions. They made discoveries when others (including those from more privileged backgrounds) couldn’t. The importance of DEI comes from the ability to revel in these different viewpoints – to build solidarity in spaces where only a few limited worldviews had been allowed to flourish.

       It’s likely that you’ve heard about DEI before. You will also probably continue to hear about it in places far beyond this classroom. However, as the ideas of DEI continue to be become more ubiquitous, they’ve also come under attack. But without such clearly identifiable incentives and analyses related to the dispersion of social power, privilege would continue to be largely limited to very specific groups of people. As powerful or compelling as the stories of the chemists that you’ve read in this book have been, the world of chemistry has largely been limited to a Eurocentric worldview. As interdisciplinary work continues to happen where chemistry, education, and the social sciences intersect, hopefully this can be curtailed.

       Whether it’s successfully completing a chemistry assignment, studying for a standardized test, or just to learn more about minority chemists, I hope you’ve gotten something out of reading this book. At the same time, I hope this book has given you insight into the importance of different worldviews and the value that minority voices can give. I hope that you’ve seen the importance of DEI in chemistry.