In the warm and insightful 1979 book, Advice to a Young Scientist, British Nobel Laureate Sir Peter Medawar offered wry observations on the traits essential for a successful career in science. Medawar emphasized the importance of truly indispensable characteristics: common sense; diligence; a sense of purpose; and the ability to focus on a problem, concentrate, persevere, and not be frustrated by adversity. Scientific research unfolds in an atmosphere of human diversity, involving people of differing cultures and personalities. Medawar thus stressed the need for gifts like empathy, tolerance, and understanding. He counted these as critical for getting along with older scientists, collaborators, and administrators.

Great physical strength, athletic prowess, fleetness of foot, and perfect vision and hearing were not among Sir Peter's indispensable prerequisites for a successful scientific career. Few of the 2.2 million Americans classified as scientists and engineers by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics probably have these traits. Scientists are ordinary people with varying degrees of physical ability.

But misconceptions persist and have an unfortunate effect in deterring young people with physical and learning disabilities from careers in science. Well-meaning but uninformed parents, teachers, college admissions personnel, and others imply or state that science is unsuitable as a career for a person with a disability. They encourage bright, enthusiastic high school students to avoid chemistry labs out of concern that mobility aids-- or speech, hearing, or visual impairments-- will represent undue safety risks or interfere with traditional teaching methods. An extensive report by Anne Swanson and Norman Steere, published in the Journal of Chemical Education in 1981, found no basis for this concern. It indicated that people with disabilities pose no greater safety hazard in the classroom, laboratory, or workplace than their able-bodied peers. Few require any special pedagogical techniques. A 1995 study by the American Council on Education (ACE) indicated that college freshmen with disabilities have just as great an interest in a science major as other students.

The interest, unfortunately, seldom translates into a career in science. The ACE study, for instance, found that in 1994 about 9.2 percent of all college freshmen-- more than 140,000 students-- reported a disability. Yet National Science Foundation (NSF) data suggest that less than 300 people with disabilities receive Ph.D.s in science or engineering each year. People with disabilities are seriously underrepresented in scientific and technical fields. Census data show that people with disabilities constitute about 10.4 percent of the overall workforce, but only 2.7 percent of the science and engineering workforce. The proportion of people with disabilities working in science actually declined by 0.6 percent between 1980 and 1990.

Ample historical evidence shows that physical disabilities are no impediment to the most significant kinds of achievement in chemistry. Sir John W. Cornforth, an English organic chemist, was deaf. Yet he shared the 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions. The renowned American organic chemist, Henry Gilman, was blind for a large portion of his career. Wolfgang Pfleider, a famous German chemist, has no use of one arm and use of only three fingers on the other.

Misconceptions similarly limit job opportunities for people with disabilities who persist and get degrees and for scientists who develop a disability in mid-career. Most employers have had limited contact with people with disabilities. Many unfortunately tend to focus on the disability rather than the abilities inherent in those with disabilities. Employers also have unwarranted safety concerns and reservations about the cost of making the reasonable accommodations required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The safety record of disabled people in the workplace mirrors that of disabled students in academia: They do not pose safety hazards. Studies have shown that less than one-quarter of employees with disabilities need accommodations, and about 70 percent of such accommodations cost less than $500 per employee. Almost one-third cost the employer nothing. Almost 20 percent cost $50 or less. In many instances, the refinements prove beneficial for able-bodied employees who happen to be shorter, taller, less agile, older, or depart from the norm in other ways.

Working Chemists with Disabilities: Expanding Opportunities in Science originated out of the need to address these misconceptions and increase opportunities for people with disabilities in chemistry and other fields of science. Assistive technologies and legislation already have eliminated many real barriers. Some of the most serious remaining impediments are not physical, but attitudinal.

Despite the barriers, people with disabilities are pursuing careers in chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical engineering. People with disabilities also are pursuing careers in related fields that require a strong knowledge of chemistry and other sciences. How do they manage? Working Chemists with Disabilities: Expanding Opportunities in Science illustrates, with practical examples, how chemists with disabilities can and do work productively in academic, industry, and government settings. These role models are employed at all levels. They are laboratory technicians and directors, high school teachers and university professors. This book provides concrete examples of assistive technologies, architectural modifications to laboratories, and other accommodations that have been used successfully by people with disabilities in the workplace. Other strategies, including those related to job searching and interviews, also are discussed. In addition to practical information, the book presents illustrations of successful role models for precollege and college students with disabilities. It provides a unique opportunity for would-be scientists to "connect" with working scientists who have similar disabilities.

The profiles also should help resolve concerns among students, parents, teachers, and potential employers about the suitability of science as a career for those with disabilities. Indeed, the men and women profiled in the pages ahead unveil one of the best-kept secrets about our modern scientific and technological enterprise. Many areas of research today involve computer modeling and simulations, highly automated laboratory equipment, and multidisciplinary teams. Most research does not require great physical ability. The lone scientist with bubbling beakers to balance and manipulate is a rarity, indeed. Research team members share tasks so that an individual with a physical impediment is no impediment to the team effort. It should also alleviate concerns among potential employers about the cost and general utility of accommodations.

Finally, Working Chemists with Disabilities: Expanding Opportunities in Science illustrates the sometimes-forgotten fact that scientists with disabilities are ordinary people. They have rich, busy, fulfilling personal lives away from the laboratory. They garden, hike, ski, fish, SCUBA dive, run marathons, mentor young people, have pets and families, and enjoy stage shows in Las Vegas and the tourist scene in San Francisco.

Some role models have had physical disabilities since birth. Others developed disabilities later in life. These role models have mobility, visual, hearing, and other disabilities resulting from hereditary disorders, illnesses, and accidents. Some have a single disability, and others have several. Each individual has made uniquely personal decisions about the amount of assistive technology and the kinds of accommodations necessary for his or her own work.

The book describes the workplace modifications, policy changes, strategies, and other accommodations that work for these individuals. But it is not intended as a list of "required" or "standard" accommodations for any specific disability. The person with disabilities and the employer or teacher must reach joint decisions on which accommodations best fit each circumstance. The role models emphasize two points in this regard: Parents, teachers, employers, and others should avoid making unilateral decisions on what accommodations are "best" for the person with disabilities. Identifying the most effective accommodations requires primary input from the person with disabilities. And others should avoid making decisions that place unwarranted restrictions on a disabled person's activities, especially in the laboratory. Instead, give the person with disabilities an opportunity to demonstrate what he or she can accomplish.

Working Chemists with Disabilities: Expanding Opportunities in Science is the second major publication of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Committee on Chemists with Disabilities. The first, produced with support from NSF, was Teaching Chemistry to Physically Handicapped Students. More than 10,000 copies of this popular educational booklet have been distributed. First published in 1981 and revised in 1985 and in 1993, Teaching Chemistry to Students with Disabilities (as it's now called) deals with lecture/discussion techniques, special classroom arrangements, testing/evaluation methods, and other strategies for chemistry faculty who teach students with disabilities. Working Chemists with Disabilities: Expanding Opportunities in Science complements the teaching guide but addresses a distinctly different need and a much wider audience.

Readers may wish to consult other publications and resources on scientific careers for people with disabilities, which are listed in the resource section of this book. In particular, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has pioneered efforts in this area through its Project on Science, Technology and Disability. In 1975, at the request of John Gavin, a biochemist who is deaf, AAAS began to advocate the entry and advancement of persons with disabilities in science and engineering. AAAS began this initiative before the passage of federal legislation mandating access to postsecondary education for qualified students with disabilities. Early in the AAAS project, a deaf chemist, Nansie Sharpless, encouraged ACS to be the first AAAS affiliate society to ask members with disabilities to serve as role models. Among the many valuable publications of AAAS are the Resource Directory of Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities and the Barrier-Free in Brief series.

Some of the federal legislation that has helped to eliminate barriers to scientific careers for people with disabilities include The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, first passed in 1975, which mandated a free and appropriate education to all precollege students with disabilities. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which took effect in 1977, required colleges and universities to make educational opportunities accessible to students with disabilities. In 1990, the ADA provided the most comprehensive mandate to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities in education, the workplace, and the community. About 49 million Americans who have disabilities are covered by the ADA. It applies to any public or private business or institution that employs people or offers goods or services to the public. Among other provisions, the ADA requires employers to provide "reasonable accommodation" to employees with disabilities. Employers likewise may not deny a job to a qualified applicant solely because of a disability.

Another resource worthy of special note is the federally funded program, Job Accommodation Network. This free consulting service for employers provides suggestions on possible general workplace accommodations, including office and computer modifications.

Both the NSF and the National Institutes of Health offer financial support to encourage persons with disabilities to pursue careers in science. These research supplements or facilitation awards typically fund assistive technology, interpreters, accessible transportation, and other services for those working in funded programs.

As many of the role models attest, advances in computer technology that benefit the general population can be of particular usefulness to people with disabilities. These range from well-known technologies such as e-mail and inexpensive document scanners to software that recognizes voice commands and displays text and images in magnified format.

In dealing with society's physical and attitudinal barriers, the scientists profiled in this book display their mastery of the very traits that Sir Peter Medawar regarded as critical for a career in science. People with disabilities succeed by developing creative solutions to problems. They know how to persevere without unduly dissipating time and energy in frustration. They recognize the importance of hard work and embrace it as the route to success. They are a little-recognized part of the ability so often overlooked in society's focus on the disability. Asked what advice he would offer the potential employer considering a scientist with disabilities, one of the role models hesitated not a moment: "If you're fortunate enough to get one of these applicants, hire."